Abstract: The subject of this article is the archaeological material unearthed during the excavations of the multi-layered monument Ust-Menza 5 in Western Transbaikal. As the research object, the authors consider the oldest industries of the Ust-Menzinsky archaeological complex in a wide chronological range from the end of the Middle Paleolithic to the Bronze Age. The authors present in detail the history of the study of the monument and introduce the results of the latest research. This article is the first step towards the analysis of the archaeological material from the Ust-Menzinsky complex of monuments associated with high river terraces. The authors consider the high terraces as Middle Pleistocene elevations from 20 meters onwards. The basis for the study of high elevations was already laid in the 1980s, but at that time they were not given sufficient attention. The study of Ust-Menza 5 was conducted using the latest methods of interdisciplinary research. Particular attention is paid to the geomorphological and stratigraphic analysis of sediments, which revealed archaeological materials. For the stone industry, the authors used morphological, technological and typological methods. The novelty of this work consists in its introduction into scientific circulation of new data from the Upper Paleolithic and Bronze Age and the authors' presentation of their vision regarding the place of these materials in the historical and chronological periodization of the region. The authors conducted a regional correlation of the materials. The aim of this article is to present the latest research conducted in the Ust-Menza 5 lot, which is connected to the IV terrace above the floodplain. A detailed analysis of the stratigraphic context and stone inventory will enable to see the possibilities of studying multi-layered monuments at high terraced levels.

Keywords: stratigraphy, periodization, stone industries, Upper Paleolithic, Ust-Menza, Western Transbaikal, river terraces, absolute dating, Khentei archaeological culture, paleofauna

Abstract: The article presents an analysis of the geographical ideas concerning Pskov and the Pskov land as part of the Tsardom of Muscovy, which developed in England and France in the 16th - 17th centuries. The authors pay special attention to the written testimonies of English and French intellectuals, diplomats, traders and travelers, who wrote their opinions on the natural and geographical features of the Pskov borderland. A separate group of sources is formed by maps of English and French origin, reflecting the level of knowledge of the inhabitants of Western Europe in the early Modern Era about the borders and geographical features of the western borders of the Russian state. The methodological basis of this study is the historical-genetic and historical-comparative methods that allow to trace the development of the English and French authors' ideas concerning the natural and geographical features of the Pskov land in the 16th - 17th centuries and to identify the sources of recurring opinions on the region that were fixed in the mind of Western Europeans. The initial testimonies on the Pskov land, both in written sources and on maps, contain significant inaccuracies in their descriptions, which are explained by the authors' poor acquaintance with the territory of the Russian state. They received information from other foreign sources, either third-hand from residents of Muscovy or from merchants and diplomats who visited the country. By the 17th century the volume of accumulated information made for more and more accurate maps of the region. The descriptions of the region's geographical features, compiled by people who directly visited Pskov, were often short. The travelers were above all interested in the natural conditions and convenience of the border location of the city itself.

Keywords: maps, geography, testimonies of contemporaries, Early Modern Period, England, France, Tsardom of Muscovy, Pskov land, Guillaume Le Testu, Anthony Jenkinson

Abstract: The subject of this study is the material from the excavations of the ancient settlement "Chaika", located in the vicinity of Evpatoria (North-Western Crimea). In 2018, archaeologists excavated on the territory of the settlement a section with architectural remains from the 4th - middle of the 2nd centuries B.C.E. The earliest object is a Greek building: an estate courtyard. The walls have openings, three of which are wider than ordinary doorways, designed for carrying large-sized containers, which points to the estate having an agricultural function. In the eastern part, the estate is covered with an adobe structure dating to the end of the Greek period, which was cut by the Late Scythian dugout of the end of the 2nd century B.C.E. In the western part of the site, on top of the layer of sand that covers the ruins of the Greek construction, a fragment of a wall and pavement from the Late Scythian period was unearthed. The author applies the field research method on the ancient settlement "Chaika", which is traditionally used for the excavation of ancient settlements. The examination of the newly identified ceramic material, which has made it possible to date the constructions, was conducted in the field. The author also applied the comparative-typological method of comparing identified objects. The study's research methodology consists of its consideration of new material from the "Chaika" settlement in comparison with the material from excavations of previous years, as well as material from other monuments which are part of the agricultural chora of Chersonesos. The article's novelty lies in the fact that in the western section of the "Chaika" settlement new architectural structures were discovered, which add to our understanding of the structure of the settlements in the Chersonesos chora. The author examines the estate near the warehouse location, where goods were brought before being sent to Chersonesos. The discoveries confirm the fact of dugout residential constructions at the beginning of the Late Scythian period. A fragment of construction in the western part of the site testifies to the significant endurance of the Late Scythian settlement.

Keywords: antique manor, Crimea, Northern Black sea coast, greek building, Chora of Hersonesos, late scythian culture, antique culture, settlement, antique graphity, Hellenistic period

Abstract: The subject of this research is the "Diegesis", that is, the "Narration" of John Anagnostes, which concerns the siege and fall of Thessalonica in 1430. Despite the fact that the text of John Anagnostes has been known to Byzantinists for a long time, it has only been used in general works on the history of Byzantium under the Paleologoi and in studies on the policies of the Turks in the former territories of the empire. In this article, the author aims to analyze the attitude of John Anagnostes towards the Turks and Latins, as well as towards his fellow Romaioi who survived the siege of Thessalonica with him. The author undertakes to evaluate, through the prism of the “friend or foe” relationship, how strongly were subject to change the usual paradigm of self-identification in the Byzantine consciousness under the conditions of conflict and a transitional period. The author's main research method is the comparison of the criteria presented by John Anagnostes for the attitude towards the Turks and Latins with those of contemporary to him Greek authors, as well as with the Byzantine tradition in general. As a result of this analysis, the author comes to the conclusion that under the conditions of conflict, the level of uncertainty increased within the group to which Anagnostes referred himself to, and as a consequence the attitude towards an alien element, if manifested, is situational. At the same time, the religious affiliation of Anagnostes, which allows adaptation to the changing situation around Thessaloniki, having become the Turkish city of Selanic, comes to the foreground. In turn, the political and linguistic elements of the Byzantine identity appear unimportant to Anagnostes. On this basis, the author makes the assumption that the Byzantine identity had begun its transformation long before the fall of Constantinople.

Keywords: Symeon of Thessalonica, Christianity, Hellas, Romaios, Thessalonike, John Anagnostes, Byzantine identity, Mental history, Byzantium, Historical anthropology

Abstract: The article addresses the only study to date that is focused entirely on the iconography of full-figured Deesis and analyzes the theses presented in it.The author's attention is focused mainly on the theses regarding the models and their copies by icon painters; the images revealed through modifications; the extent of their prevalence and relationship of modifications and their “lists”. The author, stating his adherence to the textological research method, analyzes genealogical studies on particular icons and iconographic types. The author examines the conclusions regarding the icons of the iconostasis of the Kremlin Annunciation Cathedral as “the only archetype” for Russian Deesis icons, as well as the simplification of this “archetype” by subsequent icon painters, leading to the appearance of new imagery.The novelty of the proposed approach lies in the collation of icon images using the contours of their drawing, which allows to visually present the discussed images with all their details, as well as to compare a significant number of icons at the same time. As a result of the verification of the theses from the work under review, carried out using extensive additional material (the author considered more than one and a half hundred Deesis iconostases and their fragments), the following conclusions were made:1) the icons of the Annunciation Cathedral were not the iconographical source of Russian Deesis icons;2) in Russian icons there is no simplification of the drawing compared with the icons of the Annunciation iconostasis;3) the author did not observe any universal or compulsory copying;4) in some cases perhaps several models were used at the same time, which makes Deesis icons almost closed for genealogical research;5) the number and variety of image versions that are part of the Deesis far exceed those described in the literature.

Keywords: the Vasil'evsky Deesis Row, textual criticism, copying, archetype, the Blagoveschensky Deesis Row, stemma, icon-tracing, iconography, the Deesis, labor saving

Abstract: The article addresses one of the most important sociological aspects of studying the topic of Victorian estate architecture: the aspect of the client. The Victorian era was accompanied by a particular boom in the field of suburban construction. The research subject of this article is the social composition of clients of the English country house during the Victorian era, which was very variegated and diverse. The author sets before himself the task of uncovering the most common motives that caused British landowners of this era to start building country houses or to rebuild their family nests. In this article, the author applies the method of art sociology, which is widely used in contemporary art history studies, and which considers the history of art and, in particular, architecture as a reflection of the characteristics of a period's social life. Using the example of British art sources, the author attempts to tie the topics in the history of suburban residential architecture of the 19th century with the social processes taking place in Victorian Britain. They can be most clearly seen, in the author's opinion, in such aspects of examining the historical material as the topic of the client, when not only his wealth but also his various ideological ambitions directly influence the architectural process.

Keywords: English customer, sociological aspects, British household, English country house, Victorian age, English estate, country house building, British architecture, English country house architecture, sociology of art

Abstract: The study of the growth of the Juchi Ulus (the Golden Horde) is bound by objective difficulties: only fragmentary information was deposited in monuments, contained in sources of various origins. This is the reason why scholars are obliged to apply complex research methods for the reconstruction of public relations in the Golden Horde. The subject of this article is the analysis of the methodological approaches applied to study of the history of the evolution of societies and communities on the example of the study of the history of Juchi Ulus (the Golden Horde). At the center of the author's attention lies the method of verbal modeling, which, unlike mathematical modeling, remains aside from the comprehension of its application in studying the Humanities. The article proposes a comparative analysis of the theories of historical research and the practice of their application to the history of Juchi Ulus (the Golden Horde) in order to describe the method of verbal modeling.  The article proposes the use of modeling techniques for the reconstruction of historical processes in the Juchi Ulus, presents the thesis of the importance of this method and the specificity of its application to the history of the Golden Horde. One of the conclusions in the understanding of the modeling method applied to the history of the Golden Horde is the observation that all written sources are verbal / symbolical (descriptive) models. This solution to the source study field of historical knowledge in relation to the development of the Golden Horde is proposed for the first time in historiography.  

Keywords: verbal model, source study, methodology, Golden Horde, Juchi Ulus, historical modeling, method, text, society, story

Abstract: The subject of this study is the liquidation process of special camps of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the USSR, which operated in the Soviet zone of occupied Germany during the period of 1945 - 1950. Based on a wide range of sources, above all sources from the State Archives of the Russian Federation (GA RF) and the Archives of Foreign Policy of the Russian Federation (AVP RF), the author analyzes the complex of reasons (pertaining to both foreign and domestic policies) that prompted I. V. Stalin to make the decision to gradually release the detainees from the special camps (consisting, for the most part, of interned German citizens). The author gives particular attention to the examination of the features behind the operation of special camps in the period under review. The methodological basis of this study is constituted by the principles of historicism, analysis and synthesis, as well as the historical-genetic method, which allowed the author to consistently analyze the stages of the camp network closure within the context of the Soviet policy towards Germany. The article demonstrates how the need for the dissolution of special camps, due to their inefficiency and the high costs of their operation, gradually saturated at the Ministry of Internal Affairs and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the USSR, as well as presents an analysis of this process' ties with Stalin's policies in East Germany. The article substantiates the idea that the easing of the repressive policies in East Germany was directly linked to the creation of the German Democratic Republic and Stalin’s desire to consolidate as wide a range of citizens as possible around the ruling party (SED - Socialist Unity Party of Germany) to further Sovietize the country.

Keywords: Soviet-German relations, USSR, Ivan Serov, Stalin’s repressions, internment, SMAG, special camps in Germany, Gulag, soviet foreign policy, Stalin

Abstract: The article's research subject is the discussion between representatives of government circles (S. Y. Witte) and the revolutionary movement (G. S. Khrustalev-Nosar, S. Golub, F. F. Raskolnikov, V. M. Chernov) on the question of the significance of the Saint Petersburg Soviet of Workers' Delegates in 1905, linked to the publication in 1911 of the book by A. Morsky (V. I. Stein), the literary agent of S. Y. Witte, about the revolutionary events of 1905. The research object is the memoir writings of S. Y. Witte, the works of literary agents S. Y. Witte and A. Morsky (V. I. Stein), and the articles of the named representatives of the revolutionary movement.  The author examines in detail such aspects of the topic as the purpose of the Saint Petersburg Soviet of Workers' Delegates, its activities and the reasons for its defeat. The research methods applied to this study are the analysis of the assessment of the revolutionary situation in 1905 and the meaning of the St. Petersburg Soviet of Workers' Delegates, as well as a comparison of the identified assessments, a consideration of the similarities and differences in them, and a generalization of the author's comparison. The study's main conclusions are the author's assertion of the ambiguities in the assessment of the events of 1905 and the role of the St. Petersburg Soviet of Workers' Delegates, and the presence of significant differences in the approaches to understanding the purpose of the St. Petersburg Soviet. The author's main contribution to the study of the examined topic is the revelation of the public discussion on the brochure of the literary agent of S. Y. Witte, A. Morsky (V. I. Stein), on the question of the St. Petersburg Council of Workers' Delegates in 1905. The novelty of the presented research lies in the fact that it demonstrates the controversy that took place concerning the question of the purpose of the idea of Soviets in 1905 in the public sphere in connection with the brochure of A. Morsky.

Keywords: Soviets, government, working class, revolutionary movement, samoderzhavie, The Soviet of Worker's Deputies, The First Russian Revolution, revolution, The Russian-Japanese War, people's mind

Abstract: The article is focused on one of the key figures in the foundation of the "Five Star Movement” - Gianroberto Casaleggio. He remains unjustifiably overlooked in Russian historiography, overshadowed by the extravagant comedian B. Grillo, although he played a significant role in making certain decisions related to the promotion of the "Five Star Movement" in Italy’s political arena in the early years of its existence. The Milanese entrepreneur worked in the field of IT services for a long time, but in 2004 decided to combine his knowledge with the incredible charisma of the Genoese comedian. The author analyzes the work of the Milanese entrepreneur in the process of founding a new political association in Italy in the 2000s and his views on the development of Italy in the future. The author comes to the conclusion that G. Casaleggio's unique role in the process of creating the “Five Star Movement” is equal to that of the Genoese comedian B. Grillo. The author also reveals the political views of G. Casaleggio and his attitude towards the Internet and modern methods of communication, which helped the movement enter the body of the Italian Parliament in 2013.

Keywords: anti–politics, internet, Italy, political movement, Beppe Grillo, Gianroberto Casaleggio, Five Star Movement, direct democracy, mobilization, Italian politics

Abstract: The main sources for studying the history of the revival of the Vinaya school of Chinese Buddhism at the end of the Ming dynasty - beginning of the Qing dynasty, to date remain genealogies and monastic chronicles. This article presents the possibility of expanding the topic's source base through works of religious and ethical nature. Using the example of “the Initial Approach to Bodhisattva Vows in the Sutra Network of the Brahma” by Yijie Shuyu, the author demonstrates how such works can contain additional historical and biographical information. The author reveals specific historical reasons, methods and aims of using the religious commentary genre to transmit this information. In the article, the author undertook a comparative analysis of the biographies of the Vinaya School monks, which are part of the work under study, with their biographies in earlier and later sources. The study shows that Yijie Shuyu innovatively reworked the material available to him through sources within the framework of the concept of the lineage of reincarnated patriarchs, which was created to enhance the prestige of the Vinai school. The author comes to the conclusion that Yijie Shuyu used the available to him commentary genre on questions concerning Vinaya to raise the prestige of the lineage to which he himself belonged.

Keywords: Yijie Shuyu, Qianhua, sources, Qing, Ming, religion, Vinaya, Buddhism, China, Bodhisattva vows

Abstract: The presented article proposes to consider the particularities behind the development of the men's Orthodox monastery Voznesenskaya Davidova Pustyn in the second half of the 19th century.The research object of this study is the men's Orthodox monastery Voznesenskaya Davidova Pustyn, while the research subject is the various areas of the monastery's life (activities of priors, material support, economy, building construction, etc.).The study is based on the archival material extracted from a number of Russian state archives: the Russian State Historical Archive, the Central State Archive of Moscow and the Russian State Archive of Ancient Acts, as well as one private archive: the monastic archive of the Voznesenskaya Davidova Pustyn. By applying the research method of historical reconstruction, the author analyzes the archival material, which is introduced into scientific circulation for the first time, that makes it possible to identify key aspects in the life of the monastery during the period under study. This monastery and its history during the second half of the 19th century have only once been the central object of research in a scholarly work, namely, in 1915 when the monastery turned 400 years old. The article puts forward the conclusion that in the second half of the 19th century, specifically, from 1854 to 1893, the monastery changed three superiors: father Varlaam, father Iosif and father Yoanikiy, who not only did not weaken the monastery (it continued to remain a self-governing monastery), but on the contrary, they managed to create such a spiritual and financial foundation that enabled the next abbot, archimandrite Valentin, to raise the status of the monastery in 1915 - in honor of the 400th anniversary of the monastery - by raising the rank of Voznesenskaya Davidova Pustyn to that of a second-class monastery.

Keywords: status, archive, economy, monks, Voznesenskaja Davidova Pustin’, monastery, Orthodoxy, Moscow region, architecture, abbot of the monastery

Abstract: The article's research subject is the formation of historical memory through mass media culture on the example of a specific figure: the British King George VI, whose image was practically reinvented in the last 10 years and revealed to the public after decades of obscurity and one-sided approaches. The research material for this study includes more than 10 television and film sources produced in the last 40 years which portray King George VI, and which are mainly contextual or hermeneutical biographies of George himself or of historical figures close to him. The author's research method is the analysis and socio-cultural interpretation of the collection of film and television productions with the figure of George VI with the aim of identifying the dynamics and features behind the formation of a historical character's figure in popular culture and historical memory. The author comes to the conclusion that over the past ten years, Anglo-American cinema and television have re-created the image of King George VI to become a recognizable historical person, firmly tied to the most important historical events and personalities of the 20th century and possessing a whole range of remarkable qualities. George VI was re-introduced as a positive and active figure in British history in its entirety, which was previously present only on the pages of focused studies about the king, but not in popular culture. The established consensus among professional scholars concerning the figure of George VI was successfully transferred to the sphere of mass culture, and this had a significant influence on the formation of the historical memory about the late king.

Keywords: Winston Churchill, television, historical memory, cinematography, II World war, king George VI, monarchy, Great Britain, mass culture, king Edward VIII

Abstract: The article addresses the main ideas discussed in the book written by Petr Tolochko “Ukraine Between Russia and the West: Historical and Journalistic Essays”. Petr Tolochko is a famous Ukrainian scholar of Medieval history, who made a great contribution to Soviet and world scholarship with his research in the field of Ancient Rus'. The reviewed book is focused on events taking place in modern Ukraine and in Ukrainian historical sciences. The reforms of the latter are based not on historical research, but on the desire to follow national ideology. Petr Tolochko analyzes the political and ideological foundations of this situation and presents refutations of a number of historical interpretations proposed by the new Ukrainian historiography. The scholar raises questions about the unity from the roots of the Russian and Ukrainian peoples in the culture of Ancient Rus', as well as about the proximity of Ukrainian culture to Russian or to Western cultures. For Petr Tolochko, the unity of the source is indisputable, but the solution of the second question is ambiguous. The main danger of the new historical ideology is that Ukraine is put in the position of being a victim of Russia's imperial influence. This contradicts the role that Ukrainian political and cultural figures played in the formation and development of Russian culture and statehood. In addition, as a consequence of this approach, a historical inferiority complex is implanted in Ukrainian self-consciousness. The prospects and hopes of overcoming the crisis processes lie in seeking a dialogue between cultures. The downside of modern Ukrainian ideology is one-sidedness, contrary to the diversity and complexity of its historical development.

Keywords: historical inferiority complex, historical influence, historical development, historical responsibility, Ukrainian political crisis, national ideology, history of Ukraine, history of ancient Russia, historical science, dialogue of cultures