Abstract: The article deals with the problem of the influence of representatives of the National Armed Forces of Venezuela on the course and results of the coup in April 2002. The relevance of the topic is determined by the fact that the failed coup became a key point in the first stage of the government of Hugo Chavez and largely determined the president's policy towards further establishing personal control over all institutions of power, as well as definitively outlined the harsh anti-American vector of the Bolivarian policy. The emphasis on the actions of military officials in the coup makes it possible to determine their real significant role in the April events. In this regard, attention is paid to the influence of the institution of the army in general and individual officers in particular on political processes in Venezuela. The methodological basis in the article is provided by general scientific (descriptive, analysis and synthesis), as well as historical (chronological) and political science (institutional) research methods. In Russian historiography, the episode with the coup, as a rule, was considered within the framework of global studies on H. Chavez and Chavismo in general. Therefore, within the framework of the work, more emphasis is placed on foreign historiography. These facts determine the novelty of the work, which consists both in attracting previously unused materials to the study, and in specifying the topic of the coup and the role of the Venezuelan Armed Forces in it. Based on the analyzed data, the conclusions of the work indicate that the actual intervention of senior officers in the political crisis in the country initially brought the presidency to the putschists, and then deprived them of almost seized power, ensuring the return of Hugo Chavez to the Miroflores Palace. In addition, independence in the actions of the military is emphasized in the conditions of chaos and a vacuum of power that came on April 11, 2002. In this regard, it is also indicated that specifically the senior officers acted spontaneously and were not actively involved in the real-life conspiratorial circles that were preparing a coup d'etat. Therefore, when the military most important for the coup saw that the measures taken by the putschists did not meet their vision, they deprived the right of their support and did not actually oppose the fact that another group of military officers returned the legitimately elected president to office.

Keywords: Venezuelan coup d'état attempt, General Raul Baduel, General Efrain Vasquez Velasco, Hugo Chavez, National Armed Forces of Venezuela, armed forces, coup d'etat, Venezuela, Avila plan, Pink tide

Abstract: The article discusses the activities of Russian humanitarian, professional and public organizations in determining the legal status of Russian migrants in Europe and providing legal assistance to refugees and Russian legal entities in exile in 1917 - 1920s, as well as the trade unions of Russian lawyers in exile and their activities of legal assistance to their compatriots. The author examines the foreign policy of different states concerning the legal discrimination of Russian refugees and the geopolitical context in which the legal integration of Russian emigration took place in the societies of host countries. The study views the Russian humanitarian and legal activity as a factor in preserving the civic identity of these emigrants. The methodological basis on which this research is based is the principles of historicism and systematicity, which imply the application of the chronological method in the research process, as well as the methods of retrospection, periodization and actualization. The article explores for the first time in historiography the little-studied page in the history of Russian emigration: the creation in Germany in the 1920s of an effective system of humanitarian and legal assistance to Russian refugees aimed at clarifying their legal status and restoring the legal existence of Russian commercial enterprises in exile. For the first time in historiography, the author examines the ability of the emigrant community to self-organize in order to assert its rights in a foreign language and foreign culture society.The factors that significantly complicated the Russian emigrants' humanitarian and legal status, thereby also hindering their integration into European society, included: the long irresolution of their legal status; the significant number of legal obstacles; the ineffectiveness of officials with respect to the refugees' actual lack of rights; the legal conflict in international law that arose with the emergence of the Russian emigration phenomenon; and the unprecedented humanitarian and legal crisis of the post First World War period in Europe. Under these conditions, the Russian emigrant community nonetheless managed to develop effective mechanisms to help its compatriots in the legal sphere.

Keywords: social adaptation, legal being, Union, civil identity, legal discrimination, adaptation of emigrants, Russian emigration, humanitarian organization, charity, Congress of Russian lawyers

Abstract: This article is devoted to the confrontation between the Stalinist "revolution from above" and the "Bukharin alternative" through the prism of the functioning of the collective rule of the Bolshevik party. The subject of this research is the influence of the traditions and mechanisms of the collective rule on the intraparty struggle, as well as the evolution of the informal relations and balance of forces within the "steering group" of the Bolshevik party under the conditions of the intraparty struggle during the period from 1928 to early 1929. Understanding these aspects of the intraparty struggle is a necessary condition for obtaining a full answer to the questions of how real the "Bukharin alternative" was to Stalinism and how inevitable was the final destruction of the collective rule and the beginning of the formation of Stalin’s dictatorship? The methodological basis of the study is the historical-genetic method, which allows to reveal the cause-and-effect relations and regularities of the evolving confrontation between Stalin and "Bukharin’s group". The scientific novelty of this research lies in it presenting the issue of the intraparty struggle of the late 1920s with a new perspective and attracting new archival materials, fully revealing the essence of the informal ("shadow") side of the intraparty struggle. The author comes to the conclusion that the balance of forces that existed in the upper echelon of the Bolshevik party in 1928 conditioned the significant influence of the traditions and mechanisms of the collective rule on the intraparty struggle. In fact, the defeat of the "Bukharin alternative" and the final destruction of the collective rule became possible only after Stalin, taking advantage of the gross political mistake made by Bukharin, rallied around him the majority of the "steering group" of the party.

Keywords: collective rule, Politburo, revolution from above, Bukharin alternative, New Economic Policy, emergency methods of grain procurement, peasant uprisings, discussions, Bolshevik party, intraparty struggle

Abstract: The question of choosing the heir to the king of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth Augustus II was resolved during the reign of Anna Ioannovna. The most prominent among the contenders were the Saxon crown prince Friedrich Augustus, the former king Stanislaw Leszczynski, the Portuguese infant Manuel and one of the Polish magnates, the so-called "Piast". However, Russia’s position had undergone significant changes over time. The article examines for the first time the formative process of Russia’s outlook on the question of the Polish succession, which became the starting-point for diplomatic relations during the 1730s. The position of the Russian court is studied within the context of the foreign policies of the "great powers". The situation in the 1720s is analysed with regard to the preceding period of the Great Northern War. The article uses the comparative and historical-genetic methods. Despite the traditional opinion, the negative attitude towards the Saxon kurprinz developed only at the end of the Great Northern War in connection with the cooling between Peter and Augustus. Catherine I had sought closer ties with Saxony. Stanislaw Leszczynski, the henchman of Carl XII, was considered by Peter as a substitute for Augustus during the course of the Aland Congress and enjoyed the support of Catherine up to 1726. Only starting from the beginning of 1729 can it be said that Leszczynski began to be seen as a figure dangerous for Russia. The primary Russian candidate during the 1720s was "Piast", which was at different times played by the sons of Jan Sobieski, S. Denhoff, and M. Wisniowiecki. Their weakness forces Russian allies to seek other options. However the Russian government did not notice the futility of the "Piast". It was precisely under Peter II that the idea formed that the unacceptance of the kurprinz and Leszczynski followed the policy of Peter the Great and the state interests of Russia. This paradoxical turn, undoubtedly related to the work of A. I. Ostermann, needs to be further studied.

Keywords: Russian history, Russian foreign policy, Polish question, Polish succession, diplomacy of Peter the Great, Catherine I, Peter II, Stanislaw Leszczynski, Augustus III, 18th century diplomacy

Abstract: The article analyses the process of forming a civil society in Russia and its particularities. The author ties the particularities of forming a civil society in Russia with the trailing nature of its modernisation. Russia later than other countries joined the modernisation process. Another particularity of the modernisation process in Russia is its instability in historical terms, as during different periods of history various aspects of modernising changes were realised with differing intensities. The author draws a parallel between today's modernisation process and the one initiated by Alexander II during the 1860s–1870s. The author further examines the different sides of this process: the democratisation of social relations, the creation of self-governing institutions, and the evolution of the social conscience. The author analyses the historical facts that characterise the modernisation process both during the 19th century and at the turn of the 21st century. This research is based on archival documents, periodical press, and memoirs. The author comes to the conclusion that the process of forming a civil society in Russia has a number of unique features: the government’s greater role, the unevenness of this processes territorially and institutionally, the slow and mosaic transformation of the social conscience. This defines the incompleteness of the forming process of a civil society and the irregular development of its institution.

Keywords: civil society, modernisation, democracy, constitutional state, social conscience, middle class, market economy, political culture, legal culture, non-governmental organisations

Abstract: The paper investigates the issue of the negotiatiations of the White Kolchak Government with Finnish authorities about the military assistance in 1919. The aim of work is to clarify the course of the events and the reasons for the unsuccessful outcome of the negotiations. The article presents new archival documents that provide insights on the history of negotiations. The documents did not support the version of the “anti-national policy” of the White movement, and reveal the viable reasons for the refusal of Kolchak in meeting the demands of Finland. Cited documents confirm the stable greatpatriotic standing of A.V. Kolchak and the other top leaders of the White Guard in the Finnish question and in view of the national question as a whole. The documents reveal that the objective reasons for denying the demands of Finland were the absence of the guarantees of military support from Finland in addition to the political risks in a complex political environment. The results of this paper can be used in reviewing works on the history of the Russian Civil War, the White movement in Russia and Siberia.

Keywords: Russian history, the Civil War, the White movement, Finland, the national question, foreign policy, A.V. Kolchak, G. Mannerheim, N. N. Yudenitch, S.D. Sazonov.

Abstract: the article is devoted to the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Manifestos of 4th of December, 1762 and 22nd of July 1763 On Allowing Foreigners to Settle in Russia and on the Free Return of the Russian People, who Fled Abroad by the Empress Catherine II. It reviews the process of the implementation of these legal acts in practice, it shows the specific features of the colonization of the Volga region and Novorossiysk territory during the reign of Catherine II, Pavel I, Alexander I and in later periods. The authors highlight the paradoxes in history of Germans related to the Soviet state building, they describe the progress and effects of their forced displacement during the Soviet period.

Keywords: history, the Russian Empire, Catherine II, migration policy, migration, colonization, autonomy, Germans, deportation, patriotism.

Abstract: the article examines the causes of de-legitimization of royal power in Russia, that took place during the World War I. Author states that the government failed to offer the public a picture of the world, giving an adequate explanation of what was going on, and consolidate the people around the figure of the Emperor. The focus of the article is on the mistakes that were made in the field of ideological politics (in the image of the enemy, interpretation of the meaning of the war, the representation of the image of Nicholay II, informing the public about the war.) The search for the German spies campaign organized by the authority in order to justify military failures turned against it, have spread the rumors about the presence of German traitors among the members of the royal family and the government. Nation and monarchy were opposed to each other and the government has lost the trust of society and the people.

Keywords: history, World War I, the political culture, the February Revolution of 1917, Nicholay II, the Russian Empire, ideology, propaganda, the power crisis, the image of the enemy.

Abstract: the article describes Stolypin’s (national and rational) type of modernization in Russia, analyzes the methodology of the Stolypin’s reforms, shows that Stolypin has created an integrated program of reform in Russia, based on the idea of connecting the state and freed personality into a united creative-oriented whole, driven by a common aim creation of the Great Russia. In a relatively short period of time Russia has achieved visible results in all spheres of life, in terms of economic growth in 1913th the country came to the first place in the the world, and the by the gross industrial output to the fifth place. After the death of Stolypin the transformation he planned continued, but the executors of his plans lacked his will and energy.

Keywords: history, national history, the Stolypin reforms, holistic program, a national road, traditions, rational type of modernization, the rule of law, the release of "stanovyasheysya personality, " economic development.