Abstract: The subject of the article is the views of one of the founders of the Soviet state and the Bolshevik party, G. E. Zinoviev (1883-1936), on the essence and functions of the communist party. This topic is analyzed through the prism of the political biography of the hero, which determined the emphasis placed on the following three points: 1) understanding of the Communist Party, 2) the place of the Party in the Soviet political system, 3) the boundaries of intra-party pluralism. The sources for the analysis are the texts of books, speeches, articles, drafts, brochures and statements of G. E. Zinoviev. In addition to the specified range of sources, the presented work is based on the existing historiography about G. E. Zinoviev (the works of Yu. N. Zhukov, S. S. Voitikov, V. N. Samokhodkin, E. D. Fliginskaya and other researchers). In his work, the author used a materialistic concept (in particular, historical determinism), as well as historical-genetic and historical-typological methods. It is established that Grigory Evseevich Zinoviev had his own formal views on the essence and functions of the Communist Party, which followed the general course of Bolshevism, but also had their own characteristics. Zinoviev's definition of the Communist Party boiled down to recognizing it as the only vanguard and political organization of the proletariat, and the possibility of the existence of only one Communist Party was emphasized, and within this Communist Party the impossibility of forming internal factions was postulated. The scientific novelty of the study lies in the fact that it systematizes the views of such a major Bolshevik and Soviet figure as G. E. Zinoviev on the role and functions of the Communist Party, as well as their inclusion in the history of Marxist and Bolshevik political thought.

Keywords: Soviet political system, VKPb, RCPb, RSDLP, Bolshevism, Marxism, Bolshevik party, party, Grigory Evseevich Zinoviev, discussions in the party

Abstract: The paper examines the features of interaction between the central government and the regions within the RSFSR (oblasts, krais), the status of which implied direct subordination of the regional authorities to the central government, at the final stage of the Soviet Union. A detailed analysis of the first steps in creating the institute of presidential representatives, as well as the problems that hampered its functioning, is carried out. The results obtained are correlated with the main tasks of «shock therapy» to assess the conditions for implementing radical market reforms. The formulation of the problem and revision of the existing scientific concepts based on the inclusion of sources that have not been previously introduced into scientific circulation predetermine the scientific novelty of the work. An appeal to the office documentation of government bodies made it possible to identify a vast discrepancy between law enforcement practice and the legislation in force during the period under study in matters of organizing the work of the executive vertical. The regions within the RSFSR were excluded from the unified management system, and the policy of the leadership of the territories and regions turned out to be inconsistent with the general state course. An attempt to overcome this problem by creating an institution of presidential representatives by the end of 1991 did not yield significant results, since it did not receive the necessary personnel, organizational and resource support. It did not allow the country's leadership to overcome the trends of destruction of a unified economic space and increased social tension. Under these conditions, the success of the government's stabilization and reform efforts turned out to be unattainable in the short term.

Keywords: State building, dismantling of the USSR, Representative of the President, President, economic reforms, federal relations, Public administration, Shock therapy, The economic crisis, market reforms

Abstract: The object of the study is the policy of the Russian authorities aimed at leveling protest activity in the Armed Forces in the context of the protracted crisis of the 1990s. After the fall of the one-party dictatorship that subordinated the security forces, Russian legislation provided for a rigid model of de-partization and depoliticization of the Armed Forces. However, in the post-Soviet years, this strategy lost its relevance both due to the weakness of the parties themselves and the apolitical nature of the officer corps, tired of years of pressure from political organizations (CPSU). The problem was something else: the huge "Soviet-Russian" army, being a vestige of the previous system, did not fit into the paradigm of the new statehood, and therefore was subject to radical and painful reform, which threatened to put the Armed Forces on the brink of disaster. For thousands of military personnel and their family members, the most acute problem has become the elementary problem of survival. Historical, sociological, formal legal, institutional and systemic approaches are used as the main research methods. In the second half of the 1990s, against the background of chronic underfunding in the army, cases of spontaneous protest became more frequent. These actions were nonviolent, spontaneous and scattered in nature, and therefore did not pose a serious threat to the authorities. Among the main factors that restrained open rebellion, one can name the lack of an all-Army protest coordination center, the lack of independent political thinking among senior officers, and the lack of a constructive program. This also includes army discipline, as well as the availability of sufficient means for the regime to pre-empt and suppress individual pockets of protest. At the same time, the authorities, realizing that by condemning their military to a miserable existence, they themselves act outside the legal framework, tried to resolve the conflicts that arose cautiously, trying not to resort to harsh measures. The question of how long this delicate balance could have been maintained remains open. At the end of the 1990s, there were faint signs of a revival of the army. The military was one of the first to catch these trends: exhausted by the "five-year plans" of liberal reforms, after all the temptations offered to them by opposition parties, they regained faith in the state. The scientific novelty of the work lies in the application of an interdisciplinary approach to the study of a complex problem related to the restructuring of the Russian army during the years of unstable internal political instability.

Keywords: Rokhlin, Grachev, Yeltsin, officers' meeting, military, law, political parties, depoliticization, armed forces, Putin

Abstract: The authors analyze the work of the Soviet government with peasant women in the Yenisei province during the New economic policy. The collection, systematization, summarization of data and construction of the narrative were carried out on the basis of the problem-chronological method. The historical-genetic method is used to analyze the activities of women's departments from 1920 to 1929, the emphasis is placed on the first, most difficult stage of their creation and the beginning of work (until the mid-1920s), when the Soviet government brought the country out of acute political and economic crisis after the Civil War, intervention and war communism. The historical-systemic method made it possible to consider the work of womens' departments to involve women in social production and political life in the context of the changes taking place in the country and the socio-economic conditions of the Yenisei province. Based on the comparative historical method, the tasks and their practical implementation in the field of womens' issues are compared. It is shown that in the conditions of economic devastation after the First World War and the Civil War, famine, and mass epidemics, the harsh tax policy of the Soviet government among the East Siberian peasantry caused an increase in anti-Bolshevik sentiment. Experience of women's departments working with peasant women in the 1920s showed that without solving urgent economic and social problems of society (mass illiteracy, lack of modern industrial sectors, technical backwardness in agriculture, manual labor, low standard of living, etc.), the transformation of womens' position and their involvement in socio-political life were impossible. It became obvious that this kind of large-scale task could only be solved gradually with an increase in the educational level of the population, the qualifications and professional level of women, and the solution of many everyday issues. All these tasks were related to the need to modernize the state's economy.

Keywords: New economic policy, illiteracy of the population, peasant woman, woman question, zhenotdel, Yenisei province, delegate, Eastern Siberia, volost organizer, prodrazverstka

Abstract: The article examines the confrontation of the armed anarchist detachments of the "Black Guard" with the Bolsheviks in the spring of 1918. The causes and features of the emergence of anarchist detachments, the position of anarchists in the political arena of the country in 1917 - early 1918 are illustrated. The author gives an assessment of some early Soviet studies on "anarchist uprisings" in the provinces of the Central Chernozem region. After the February and October revolutions of 1917, anarchism in Russia embarked on a new path of development, which was characterized by attempts to unite and create a single combat force to protect the "revolutionary gains" from the interventionists and White Guard forces. The object of the study is the history of the anarchist movement in the Central Chernozem region during the establishment of Soviet power. The subject of the study is the armed actions of anarchists against the authorities in Orel and Voronezh in March-April 1918. The methodological basis is the consideration of historical phenomena and their interrelations in the context of the studied time (the principle of historicism). A comparative historical method was used to establish the similarities and distinctive features of the armed actions of anarchists in Orel and Voronezh. The article attempts to comprehensively study the history of the anarchist movement in the Central Black Earth region. The author analyzes only a small fragment of this topic. The spring of 1918 was a period of the defeat of anarchist detachments and organizations throughout Russia, these processes took place on the territory of the Central Chernozem region. Based on the works of his predecessors and memoir sources, the features of the defeat of the anarchist detachments in Orel and Voronezh are analyzed. During the analysis, it was possible to demonstrate that the anarchists were only part of the rebel forces, consisting of detachments arriving from the Ukrainian front, dissatisfied with the supply. Some Soviet authors often saw in these speeches a "Socialist-Revolutionary" conspiracy" or assigned the anarchists a leading role, making them the main instigators of uprisings. Which, according to the author, is an erroneous position.

Keywords: Central Chernozem region, the city of Orel, Voronezh, The Black Guard, The Bolsheviks, anarchism, Revolution, Political history, the history of Russia, regional history

Abstract: The object of the study is the government's actions to suppress the uprising of Stepan Timofeevich Razin in Tambov and Shatsky counties. The subject of the study is the actions of government troops against the rebels in these regions. The author examines in detail such aspects as: the activities of the voivodes (Y. T. Khitrovo, I. V. Buturlina, E. Pashkov, S. Khrushchev, A. Eropkin and B. E. Myshetsky) and a detailed description of the clashes of the military men of the Russian state with the rebels. Special attention is paid to the successes of the rebels, the number of forces, the number of trophies received after the battles, the interaction between cities, the problems faced by the voivodes, the composition of the troops, including the regional aspect of the serving people, the change in the leadership of the Y. T. Khitrovo regiments to B. E. Myshetsky and the relationship of the voivodes with Moscow.   The research methodology is based on the principles of historicism, scientific objectivity and consistency. The methods used are logical and historical-genetic. The novelty of this study lies in a detailed analysis of the actions of government troops in Tambov and Shatsky counties. This is especially relevant in connection with the analysis of the situation in neighboring regions, where by the end of 1670 it was possible to localize the Razin movement. A special contribution of the author is a detailed analysis of the source database, which helped in achieving the research goal. The main conclusions of the study are: the situation in these regions that has developed negatively for government troops is due to the large number of military personnel living in Shatsky and Tambov counties who actively joined the ranks of the rebels; the presence of a large number of problems in the regiments and the incompetence of the commanders. Also, as a conclusion, we can note the rather prompt response of the government to such an urgent and rapidly changing situation in the regions.

Keywords: Myshetsky, Buturlin, Khitrovo, Tambov, Shatsk, Razin, Cossacks, suppression, uprising, Eropkin

Abstract: The paper characterizes the state of a set of functionally interconnected settlements that developed by the mid-1930s on the territory of the modern Tyumen region. The subject of the study is the network of settlements in the region, the object is its number, economic and socio-cultural development. The density of the settlement network, the ratio of collective, individual and other farms in each district is determined. Attention is focused on the creation of collective farms in the course of collectivization that unfolded during this period. Statistical data on the number of industrial enterprises and points of trade in villages, as well as data on the development of communication institutions (post office, telephone), schools and hospitals, club institutions are presented. The scientific novelty of the publication consists in determining not only quantitative, but also qualitative indicators of the development of the settlement network of the region. The district specifics were revealed, which consisted in the economic specialization of the majority of administrative-territorial units in the production of oil, the dominance of timber processing enterprises in the northern regions and flax processing plants in the southern ones. The conclusion is made about the predominance of the cooperative form of trade in the villages over the state one. Positive changes in the state of socio-cultural infrastructure were noted, expressed in an increase in the number of school and medical institutions. At the same time, the school network consisted of 86% of primary schools. There was still a shortage of hospitals and outpatient clinics, medical personnel in rural areas.

Keywords: trading points, industrial enterprises, infrastructure, collective farm, Tyumen region, settlement network density, communication institutions, settlement network, school, hospital

Abstract: The object of the research is the change in the image of the Reform and Opening-up Era in the historiography of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) under Xi Jinping. The goal is to trace the transformation of the historical positioning of the reform period in the context of Xi Jinping's announcement of a "New Era" in the history of the PRC and to identify aspects of continuity and break points between the two stages of the country's history. The most representative texts were selected as sources: speeches of party leaders on the occasion of the round anniversary of the start of the Policy of reforms and openness in 1998, 2008 and 2018 and the 2021 "Resolution of the CCP Central Committee on the Major Achievements and Historical Experience of the Party over the Past Century". The research method is qualitative content analysis. The novelty of the work lies in the consideration of issues that have not yet received proper coverage either in domestic or foreign science. The studies currently available on the topic of the change in the CCP’s approaches to its own historiography after the adoption of the “historic resolution” in 2021 are mainly publicistic in nature. The author comes to the conclusion that the proclamation of a "New Era" means the end of the period of reforms and openness, which the PRC entered in 1978 following the results of the 3rd plenum of the 11th CPC Central Committee. The related changes in party politics are indicated.

Keywords: Deng Xiaoping, Historical policy, Historic Resolution, Ideology, China, CCP, Historiography, New Era, Xi Jinping, Reforms and Opening-Up

Abstract: The subject of this study is the first general presidential election of the Fifth Republic in 1965. This is one of the key events of the presidency of General Charles de Gaulle, since for the first time since the adoption of the constitutional amendment on October 28, 1962, the elections of the head of state of France have acquired the status of universal popular vote. This presidential campaign is of particular research interest due to the fact that de Gaulle, the leader and savior of the French nation, failed to immediately collect a majority of votes in the first round of voting. Did the General's failure mark the transformation of the political behavior of the French people? And if so, why did this happen? In order to answer these questions, the author studies the peculiarities of the election campaign and the motives of the voters, which is the object of the study. There is no denying that the presidential campaign of 1965 has already been the subject of research in the works of Western scientists who appeared in the first few years after the elections, it is also described in general works on the Degoll presidency. At the same time, the influence of the peculiarities of the 1965 election campaign on the choice of voters did not become a separate topic of study. The main conclusion of this article is that the change in the motives of the French vote was associated with the new economic situation, with a new generation of young voters - children of the war era and the occupation of France. Also, the choice of the people was influenced by the widespread use of modern propaganda methods, primarily television. De Gaulle was "blackballed" in the first round largely due to the fact that he initially refused to use the possibilities of new ways of propaganda, did not at all create a more attractive, understandable image to voters, believing that his previous merits would be enough to win.

Keywords: political struggle, transformation of voter behavior, presidential campaign, political image, public sentiment, reasons for voting, election tactics, methods of propaganda, presidential elections, The Fifth Republic

Abstract: The subject of this research is the relationship between the government and society in Russian province of the early XX century in the course of creating institutions intended to solve the problems that arose during the Russo-Japanese War of 1904–1905. The goal of this research is to examine the establishment of public institutions in Kaluga Province in 1904, which cooperated with the government in such spheres as aid to wounded and ill soldiers and sailors, navy, and mobilized military personnel. The article leans on the unpublished materials of the State Archive of the Kaluga Oblast, namely documents of the Governor's office, and other sources; employs narrative and comparative-historical methods. The conclusion is made that the leadership of the Russian Empire made attempt, at times untoward, to interact with society, which could have alleviated the effect of activity of the radical forces in the approaching revolution. The author describes how the provincial government, following the will of the central authorities, utilized the potential for interacting with society. An overview is given to the realities of emergence of the institutions for the help the cause of war, their structure, and specificity of response of the authorities to local initiatives. An important factor in failure to establish effective dialogue between the provincial government and society was the somewhat formal approach of the authorities towards inviting persons who have power in society to the institutions. The valuable experience in organizing public institutions in 1904 indicates the inclusion of persons relevant to management, with understanding the essence of problematic, representatives of business circles. The channels of relationship between the government and society should have been established not shortly before the revolution, but in a more stable period of 1890s. The conclusions reveal the prerequisites for the revolutionary disturbances of the XX century in Russia, and are relevant at the present.

Keywords: revolution, provinces, society, public institutions, Kaluga province, Russian history, authorities, Russian empire, Russian-Japanese War, government

Abstract: In the middle of the III century, the Roman Empire marked the advent of a prolonged crisis. In order to confront the barbarian invasions and usurpers revolt, military transformations, the Roman Empire was in needed for military transformations and revision of the military machine that has formed in the previous periods. In the late 250s – early 260s, the Emperor Gallienus created a mobile army corps, which in the ancient sources received a name of the “Dalmatian horsemen”. The following questions arise on the structure and size of this mobile corps. Relying on numismatic, narrative, and epigraphic sources, this article examines the changes in organizational and staffing structure of the Roman army in the middle of the III century; assesses the size and composition, and tasks of the Gallienus’ mobile corps. The author analyzes the opinions that have accumulated in the Russian and foreign historiography throughout 200 years, and develops a relevant perspective on the problem of creating a field army during the third century crisis.  The conclusion is made that the Emperor Gallienus had formed a strong mobile army. It was not just a cavalry, but was based on the vexilationes of the border legions of infantry and horsemen. Gallienus did not seek to create a permanent mobile army, being guided by the prevailing military and political circumstances. He used the mobile corps for retaining the controlled territories, repelled the barbarian invasions and suppressed the usurpers. Gallienus’ mobile army has proven to be an effective instrument in hands of the central government. Aurelian reinforced the army with additional detachments, and later on successfully used it against Palmyrene and Gallic separatists, having restored the unity of the empire.

Keywords: Field army, Cavalry, Vexillation, Legion, Military Affairs, Ancient Rome, Antiquity, History, Crisis of the III Century, Gallienus

Abstract: In the Soviet Union, the Great October Socialist Revolution was regarded as the key event in history of the country, performing the role “founding myth”. Despite the fact that three decades have passed since the dissolution of the Soviet Union, there is yet no uniform opinion to neither February nor October revolutions. Modern parties have expressed their attitude towards the events of 1917 within the framework of their historical policy. The author analyzes the attitude of the parties towards revolution, and determines the peculiarities of the image of the past they formed. The official occasion of the centenary of the Revolution. The author concludes on the absence of the unified approach of modern parties towards the revolutionary events of 1917. The parties have been divided into three groups: supporters of the October and supporters of the February single out one of the revolutions, placing emphasis on its achievements; “evolutionists” demonstrate a negative attitude towards the events of 1917, believing that the revolutions distorted the natural course of events in Russia. Among major parties, only United Russia could not formulate a clear attitude towards revolution, reducing it to the formula of “consent and reconciliation”. It can be expect that political parties will continue to develop their own historical policy.

Keywords: October Revolution, Edinaia Rossiia, Spravedlivaia Rossiia, LDPR, KPRF, PARNAS, Yabloko, historical memory, historical policy, February Revolution

Abstract: The object of this research is the antirecession policy of the United States during the Great Depression. The subject of this research The Smoot-Hawley Tariff Act, process of its adoption, and consequences. Special attention is given to the history of increase of tariffs on imported goods. The legislative bill drafted by congressmen R. Smoot and W. Hawley is considered one of the unsuccessful economic reforms in the history of the United States. The tax reform was conceived before the recession and was called to protect local farmers from excess of cheap foreign agricultural products on American markets. However, there was no substantial benefit from the increased tariffs on imports. Most historians find that this measure worsened the position of the lower classes of the population. There is also an opposing opinion that the legislation did not play a serious role in deepening of the recession. The article analyzes the extent of the impact of this legislation in the U.S. during the 1930s. The scientific novelty of this research consists in utilization of the transcripts of addresses of the members of U.S. Congress as the sources for research of the process of passing the legislation, as well as press materials in order to examine opinions on the legislative bill and consequences of increased tariffs. It is established that the adoption of the Smoot-Hawley Tariff Act had negative consequences for the economy, although not as severe as commonly cited. The impact of the new law was not as substantial on the background of the ongoing Great Depression. Passing of the protection measures took place almost simultaneously with other countries, with some countries raising the tariffs before the United States. The tax reform greatly affected the political situation in the United States, playing its role in diminishing the ratings of the President and the Republican Party. 

Keywords: the US trade policy, statistics, international relations, Herbert C. Hoover, the Smoot-Hawley Tariff Act, protectionism, the USA, the Great Depression, the US tax policy, the US Agricultural policy

Abstract: The subject of this research is the examination of the first stage of reforms of camp economy: its transformation after adoption of the Decree “On the Changes to the Development Plan of 1953”. The goal of this work consists in determination of consequences of the large-scale reduction of the economic activity of the GULAG. The question of impact of the Decree on the Changes to the Development Plan upon economic activity of forced labor has not previously been the subject of a separate research. The author analyzes the incidence of reduction of economic activity of the GULAG, as well as generalizes the data on the activity and fate of the forced labor camps assigned to the constructions under liquidation. The conclusion is made that the changes to the development plan of 1953 became the first and crucial step in the GULAG reforms, which predetermines its final liquidation in 1960. After adoption of the decree, work was immediately halted on twenty largest construction objects of the GULAG, combined cost of which amounted to 49.2 billion rubles.

Keywords: construction program, reform, forced labor, camp system of the USSR, economic activity of the Ministry of Internal Affairs USSR, camp economy, GULAG, Great construction sites of communism, economic efficiency, historiography

Abstract: The research subject of this work is the formation of the Egyptian nationalist Wafd Party and the main points of its program. The author examines in detail the impact of the 1919 anti-British revolutionary demonstrations on the radicalization of the Wafdist movement, which had previously held a moderate stance on the issue of gaining independence from Britain. Particular attention is focused on the social composition of the participants in the nationalist movement, the main reasons that prompted people to oppose the country's dependent status, and the personality of Wafdist leader Saʻad Zagul, as well as the particularities of how his figure was perceived in light of the persecution initiated by the colonial authorities. This study is based on the principles of historicism, scientific objectivity, as well as a systematic approach and the comparative-historical method. The novelty of this study lies in the fact that the author successively examines the changes in the key Wafd positions against the backdrop of the development of the liberation movement in Egypt. Additionally, the author raises the question of the coherence of the real aims and ambitions of the Wafdist movement and of the image of the party that was formed during the years of the Egyptian Revolution and to which it was forced to conform in its future political activities.

Keywords: radical nationalism, declaration, revolution, anti-British demonstrations, high commissioner, Saad Zaghloul, Wafd, Protectorate, liberation movement, negotiations

Abstract: The research subject of this study is the policy of the United States Agency for International Development, acting in the interests of the US Department of State (and financed by it) in Yugoslavia, and later in Serbia, towards supporting local protests and opposition movements against the regime of President Slobodan Milosevic, including the main protest movement "Resistance". The involvement of the USAID was carried out as part of a project to democratize the country and prepare it for Euro-Atlantic integration. The article's study is based on information obtained from reports of the USAID organization for Yugoslavia / Serbia. As research methods, the author chose the analysis of documents and USAID reports on Serbia related to the period under review, including documents that became publicly available through leaks. Additionally, the author also analyzes the work and reports of American foundations involved in sponsoring protest movements in Serbia. This topic has remained practically unstudied by the modern scientific community, although its relevance is easily comprehensible in light of the widespread use of democratization methods by the United States of America in other countries of the world. As a result of the conducted analysis, it was possible to trace the direct financial support of USAID to the "Otpor" protest movement involved in the overthrow of President Milosevic. Subsequently, USAID took an active part in introducing political processes within Serbia with the aim of directing it towards Euro-Atlantic integration.

Keywords: Euro-Atlantic Integration, Protest support, NGO, Revolution, Democratisation, Milosevic, USAID, Yugoslavia, United States State Department, Geopolitics

Abstract: The article focuses particular attention on the analysis of the diary of B. V. Nikolsky (1870-1919), writer, poet, legal scholar, and politician, from the aspect of reconstructing the author’s perception of the revolutionary shocks of 1917, which today seems particularly relevant in light of the “linguistic turn” and “memorial boom” of modern historiography. The value of B. V. Nikolsky’s diary lies in the fact that the ego-sources of the leaders of the right-wing monarchist direction practically did not survive: many prominent extreme right-wing politicians were shot (Nikolsky himself was shot in 1919), went missing, and the smaller part was able to emigrate, which led to the loss of personal materials. Thus, the evidence of the revolutionary events of 1917 through the prism of the perception of the far-right conservative, a confirmed monarchist, is valuable in the light of their uniqueness and relevance to the study of history through personality. The reconstruction of the personal perception of the events of 1917 was based on a textual analysis of the diary of B. V. Nikolsky, and the principle of historicism was applied in the study of the historical context of creating an ego source and a biography of the author. The examination of the diary led to the following conclusions: B. V. Nikolsky was an extraordinary person, full of contradictions: a comprehensively educated and versatile person, but at the same time with an extremely difficult character and excessive conceit; a convinced monarchist, but at the same time “thirsty” for the fall of the ruling dynasty; legal scholar, lawyer, conservative, band yet  “accepting” that the power of the Bolsheviks is much more positive than the power of the liberal Provisional Government. Diaries of B. V. Nikolsky are a unique ego-source, reflecting how deeply and contradictory he experienced the changes in 1917.

Keywords: personal history, New Biographical History, the Bolsheviks, the Provisional Government, the October Revolution, the February Revolution, Boris Vladimirovich Nikolsky, autobiography, ego sources, diaries

Abstract: The article examines the contribution of the Minister of National Education S. S. Uvarov to the development of women's education which was part of the Russian education system. With Uvarov's participation, new educational institutions were being established in the western governorates, where there was basically no Russian school for girls, based on the model of the closed institutions set up by the Vedomstvo of Empress Maria. Heading the education board of the Smolny Institute for Noble Maidens for nearly one and a half decades, Uvarov used this institution as a model for others and carried out a number of changes aimed at improving both the educational process and its regulation. The methodological basis of this study is the principle of historicism and the historical-biographical method, which allowed the author to analyze the formation of women's institutional education in the context of public policy. The article demonstrates how, in accordance with the general direction of the ministry’s educational policy, most closed women's institutions, as well as men's educational institutions, went through a renewal of personnel structure starting from the late 1830s. The places of class inspectors and teachers were occupied by professionally trained specialists, often undergoing internships abroad. The author concludes that the work of S. S. Uvarov contributed to the significant improvement in the development of training in women's institutions.

Keywords: girls’ boarding schools, establishments of Empress Maria, Emperor Nicholas I, Ministry for People’s Education, staff reform, Smolnyi Institute, Uvarov, pedagogy, women’s education, class inspector

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 Socio-Economic Crisis in the Nizhny Novgorod Governorate and its Role in the Loss of Legitimacy of the New Democratic Government during the Period of February-October 1917 (Based on the Materials of the Press of Nizhny Novgorod)The subject of this study is the particular features of the social and economic crisis in the Nizhny Novgorod governorate between February and October 1917, as well as its influence on the level of confidence and the legitimacy of the new democratic power among the governorate's population. On the whole, the revolutionary euphoria that prevailed in the governorate and the spontaneously formed popular consensus provided a huge opportunity for the new government to become truly legitimate. The aim of this article is to establish: why in October the population of Nizhny Novgorod turned their backs on the new democratic government, which was enthusiastically welcomed only eight months previously. The study is based on the main methodological principles of historical science: historicism, objectivity and the social approach to historical phenomena. In addition, concrete historical methods were used: logical, comparative-historical, and problem-chronological. As the principal source for the study of this topic, for the first time in scientific literature, the materials of local periodicals were used. Their analysis allowed the author to more accurately assess the socio-economic and political situation in the named governorate between February and October 1917, the mood of the population, to identify the main factors behind the failure of the economic and, above all, food policy of the authorities of Nizhny Novgorod. The authors come to the conclusion that local authorities during March-October 1917, having become hostage to the inability of the Provisional Government to solve the two main issues for peasants - land and food -, and unable to cope with the socio-economic problems nor with the public chaos and anarchy in the governorate, lost the support and trust of the citizens of Nizhny Novgorod.

Keywords: diarchy, systemic crisis, economic crisis, food crisis, social stratification, legitimacy of power, Nizhny Novgorod governorate, October Revolution, February Revolution, Great Russian Revolution

Abstract: The subject of this study is the war in the Vendée (1793-1795), one of the key events of the French Revolution, which ended with the suppression and death of tens of thousands of people. The Republicans perceived the residents of the Vendée through the prism of a certain image system: within the framework of this system, the rebels appeared in the minds of the rest of the French population, as the main enemies of the First Republic. It was so important for the Republicans to put an end to this uprising that they hastened to proclaim the end of the war even before the plan for the reconciliation of the region was approved. The main methods of research of this study are the historical-problematic and systemic approaches that make it possible to study the Republicans' views from the position of imagology and anthropological history. The subject of this article is the Republican views on the Vendée. The scientific novelty of this article is determined by the author's efforts to trace the process of designing mental images in the era of the French Revolution of the 18th century. Based on a wide range of sources, the article puts forward the conclusion that since the beginning of the uprising, the Republicans had principally only discussed ways of fighting the insurgents with force. The Vendée was the first region that placed itself outside the legal field of the Republic and refused to recognize the authority of the National Convention. The Republicans had to find a way to return the Vendée back to the bosom of the state, but the peace option was ruled out because the Vendée, according to the French population, was the concentration of all counter-revolutionary forces. The "symbolic destruction" of the Vendée not only confirmed that the department fell out of the legal field but also strengthened this status. The peaceful discourse was not accepted, since the people of the Vendée ceased to be subjects of law in the eyes of the Republicans and lost the opportunity to return to the bosom of the Republic, except through vengeance.

Keywords: revolt supression, Jean-Baptiste Carrier , National Convention, "colonnes infernales", general Louis Turreau, First Republic, Vendée, France, War in the Vendée, French Revolution

Abstract: The article is focused on the study of collective leadership's potential as a variant of the evolution of the system of power in the Bolshevik party in the 1920s. The subject of this article is the structure and political culture of the oligarchic power model in the Bolshevik Party in the 1920s and their influence on the inner-party struggle in the All-Union Communist Party (Bolsheviks). Understanding the mechanisms of the functioning of the highest echelon of power in the USSR is a prerequisite for studying the inner-party struggle of the 1920s as a complex issue. The methodological basis of this study is the historical-systematic method, which allowed the author to consider the inner-party struggle in the All-Union Communist Party (Bolsheviks) in the 1920s through the prism of the functioning of the system of highest authority in the USSR. The scientific novelty of this research lies in that this view of the issue allowed the author to revise to a certain extent some ideas enrooted in historiography and to deepen the general understanding of the Stalinist dictatorship's genesis from the subsoil of the Bolshevik leadership. The author comes to the conclusion that the model of collective power was a logical continuation of the traditions that developed under Lenin. After Lenin, collective leadership was perceived in the party environment as the optimal direction of political development under the conditions of the absence of an unconditional leader of the party. In the minds of the Bolshevik functionaries, the mood of "unity" prevailed and the inner-party struggle was considered a dangerous phenomenon that represented the threat of undermining the dictatorship of the Bolshevik party and stability in the highest echelon of power. At the same time, as the study shows, the post of General Secretary of the Central Committee undoubtedly gave Stalin important advantages in the struggle for power, and yet this factor was not decisive in Stalin's victory in the inner-party struggle and the destruction of collective leadership.

Keywords: Bolshevik Party, collective leadership, Politburo, Central Committee, Steering Seven, Lenin, Stalin, conflict theory, Workers’ opposition, inter-party struggle

Abstract: The author examines the mental dispositions of Russian society and their role in the revolution of 1917 and in the process of the formation of civil society. Using the work of V. I. Lenin, normative acts, letters and appeals of Russians to the authorities and Soviet leaders, the author investigates the particularities of the mental dispositions of Russian society and compares them with the values of civil society. The article uses documents from different historical periods: the First Russian Revolution, Stalinist collectivization and industrialization, the Perestroika. Applying the method of historical retrospect, analysis and synthesis, the author identifies a number of particularities of the mental dispositions of the Russian public consciousness and the reasons for their formation. The author demonstrates that the slow formation of private ownership of land and communal use of land slowed down the development of individualist psychology and the understanding of the inviolability of the rights and freedoms of the individual, but reinforced the notion of violence as the most optimal form of solving all social issues. The article also affirms that the mental dispositions of Russian society dictated a slightly different image of democracy than adopted in Western countries. People's ideas about democracy grew on the traditions of peasant self-government without the separation of power, based not on law, but on patriarchal customs, resulting in a strong feature of social consciousness - paternalism. The author claims that these features of public consciousness were clearly manifested throughout the 20th century and have survived to this day, which is an essential factor hampering the formation of civil society in modern Russia.

Keywords: collectivism, paternalism, Soviet power, The Great October Revolution, democracy, public consciousness, civil society, mentality, the idea of violence, sense of justice

Abstract: The research subject of this article is the attitude of Russian socialist parties towards the liberal movement and their evaluation of its political significance on the eve of the Revolution of 1905-1907. The understanding of this aspect of the Russian socialists' ideology allows to clarify the origins of the tactical principles of the Socio-Democrats and Socialists-Revolutionaries to which they adhered during the time of the first Russian revolution, as well as to identify the differences in their perception of the essence of the political regime. The article examines the issue of alliance in the Russian opposition movement at the beginning of the 20th century as seen by the Socialist parties. The methodological basis of this study is the comparative-historical method, which permits to identify the essential features of the ideology of two Russian socialist parties by means of comparing their relations towards representatives of liberal ideology during the time of the latter's growth of degree of opposition. The novelty of this research lies in its use of the comparative method for studying the issue of alliance in the Russian opposition movement at the beginning of the 20th century. This approach has allowed to reveal that both the Social-Democrats and Socialists-Revolutionaries were prepared to consider liberals as their allies in the fight against the existing regime, viewing them as an oppositional force. However, the demands put forward by the Russian liberals were not sufficiently democratic for the socialists to consider it possible to support them in any practical way.

Keywords: unity of opposition, Bolsheviks, Mensheviks, socialist-revolutionary, political struggle, universal election law, issue of alliance, liberalism, socialism, social movement

Abstract: The article is dedicated to the examination of the processes of forming the system of administration of public education and of the cultural-educational activities during the first years of the establishment of the Soviet government in the Tyumen (Tobolsk) governorate prior to its entry into the Ural Region in 1923. Based on the analysis of archive materials, the author identified and analyzed the features of the formation and of the human resources of Tyumen's provincial department of public education under the conditions of the civil war, as well as under the circumstances of the establishment of the system of soviets. The article gives an assessment of the role of the military-revolutionary committee of the Tyumen governorate and of the provincial political and educational committee in the organization of public education. The positivist approach serves as the methodological base of this study. The main method of research was the historical-systematic method, which is based of the principles of the systematic approach to the analysis of processes and events of the past as whole historical systems. The analysis and comparison of archival materials is based of the principles of objectivity and historicism. The scientific novelty of this work is substantiated by the introduction into the academic discourse of archive materials that allow to expand the perception of the content of state building processes in the field of public education, as well as political agitation in the territory of the Tyumen governorate. The author comes to the conclusion that the development of organizational structures and of the system of administration of public education in the studied region were under the influence of the conditions of the unfolding civil war and the continuous changes of political power.

Keywords: civil war, Education department, public education, People's Commissariat for Education (Narkompros), Central Political-Educational Committee of Narkompros, Tyumen governorate, military crisis, revolutionary committee, Provincial revolutionary committee, department of public education

Abstract: Based on pre-Revolutionary legislation and previously unknown documents from state archives, the article comprehensively examines the specifics of local government in Siberia in the beginning of the 19th century. The subject of this research are the changes in the system of the governorate and general-governorate administrations of the region. The growing interesting in the history of local government is tied not only to the aim of scientists to have a more profound look into the past, but also driven by strictly practical needs. Turning to the forgotten traditions of local government, it is important to consider more cohesively the historical experience that was accumulated for centuries. Considering modern realities, it is also essential to have a new look on the already known facts and events in order to overcome old myths and fallacies and prevent the appearance of new ones. The theoretical-methodological base of this study consists of the principles of historical cognition: objectivity, historicism, determinism, alternativity and the social approach that presume an objective approach to the analysis of the examined topic, as well as a critical treatment of sources. Upon writing this article, the author made a reassessment of some well-known and established historical phenomena, introduced into scientific circulation new archival material and normative-legislative acts earlier unknown to a wide circle of scientists. The author comes to the conclusion that the power of the administrative-police bodies in the region had their specifics and were to a significant degree more broad than in the central governorates of the Russian Empire. The article pays special attention to the attempts to reorganize regional local governments. The author examines in detail such aspects of the topic as the aim of the Supreme Power to place under their control the almost independent power of the governors and general-governors without introducing a social element into the system of governing. The «Institutions for governance of the provinces» of 1775 was extended to the region without taking into account the huge Siberian distances, the presence of only a small number of people capable of carrying out the administrative powers, and the small population of the province. The «Institutions» of 1775 also did not consider the stratification of the confessional and multi-ethnic composition of the Siberian population, extending European principles on native peoples of the region of Siberia. The socio-economic development of the region and the growth of colonization at the beginning of the 19th century caused the necessity of a more flexible organization of the local administration.

Keywords: administration, governor, police, authority, national policy , elections, reform, self-government, power, history of Siberia

Abstract: The article is focused on Russia's historical experience of settling vast land territories at the end of the 18th – 19th centuries by means of attracting labour resources from European countries. Based on the key provisions laid down in the Manifestos of Catherine II in 1762 and 1763, the authors investigate on a documental basis the participation of German peasants in realising the Empire's colonisation policy in the Volga and Novorossiysk regions. The authors highlight the role of the Russian Germans as a powerful labour resource in restoring the Soviet economy in the course of the 20th century, after its devastation during the period of resistance to the Fascist aggression in 1941–1945, as well as the Germans' active role in reviving USSR's economy in 1940–1980s and in the cultural rebirth.

Keywords: history, Catherine II, German colonies, land settlement, resettlement, mobilisation, deportation, collectivisation, Volga German autonomy, Soviet government, consolidation, patriotism

Abstract: This article undertakes an attempt to reveal the influence of the “Chyhyryn conspiracy”, organised by the group of revolutionists-populists (Y. V. Stefanovich, L. G. Deutsch, I. V. Bokhanovsky) with the aim of arousing a peasant uprising in the Kiev governorate with the help of a forged imperial manifest, on the further development of the revolutionary movement in 1878–1880. Turning to the practical experience of the “Chyhyryn conspiracy” allows to specify the realisational direction of the Black Repartitioners’ ideological constructions. For the study of the practical and publicist activity of the revolutionary-populist organisation the author uses the topical-chronological method. Upon the analysis of the opinions and assessments voiced during the discussions in the populist camp the comparative method is applied. The author comes to the conclusion that the discussion within the populist environment regarding the use of the Chyhyryn experience in the following revolutionary practice played a key role in the ideological and theoretical crisis of “Land and Liberty”. The direct role of Y. V. Stefanovich in the split of “Land and Liberty” in August 1879 and the consequent creation on its basis of the “People’s Liberty” and “Black Repartition” is clarified. Through arguments the author demonstrates the influence of the Chyhyryn events on the development of the tactic of “propaganda by deed” in the populist camp.

Keywords: revolyutsionnoe narodnichestvo, bakunizm, «Chigirinskii zagovor», «Zemlya i volya», «Chernyi peredel», narodnyi monarkhizm, «propaganda deistviem», agrarnyi terrorizm, narodnicheskaya publitsistika

Abstract: This article considers the interpretations by the Party of Socialists Revolutionaries, given by the SRs themselves in the final, emigrant period of their existence. The discussion includes a presentation of the features specific to the SRs’ emigration after October 1917, and the key moments in its formation and development. The author highlights the analysis of the problems pertaining to the party’s history at the time of the controversy surrounding the trial in 1922 of the PSR leaders, as well as at the conference of the party’s Prague group in 1931. The main approaches of the SRs-émigrés to the party’s activity in 1917–1920s, the period of revolution and the Civil war, are studied and the reasons of the PSR’s failures in the political struggle are also outlined. The views of the Socialits Revolutionaries in emigration are examined from the point of view of intellectual history on the basis of the comparative historical method from the position of scientism and multifactualism. The premise is the realisation of the undivided link between the history of ideas and concepts, on the one hand, and of the history of conditions and forms of intellectual activity, on the other hand. For the first time the materials from the party forums of the Socialists Revolutionaries in emigration are analysed, and the author notes the numerous attempts at writing a history of the party and the attention to this given by prominent members of this party. Overall, the SRs (as well as the Mensheviks) authors, admitting their political mistakes, nonetheless considered the main reason for their defeat to be the weakness of those social forces on which Democratic Socialism should rely on in Russia. The author also notes the influence of the SRs’ views on the consequent development of foreign historiography.

Keywords: social democracy, repression, the party of socialists-revolutionaries, emigration, revolution, third way, civil war, democracy, the working class, the peasantry

Abstract: The revolutionary events in Germany during 1918–1919 posed a serious threat to the officer corps of the Kaiser army. The system of soldiers’ councils that developed during the unfolding of the revolution strove to become the foundation for the new armed forces, electing commanders and removing the established officers in the military hierarchy. This article examines the question of the relationship of the German officer corps towards the activity of the soldiers’ councils in military units and its attitude towards those seeking commanding authority among the collective government bodies. The article also analyses the relationship principles between the soldiers’ councils and the officers during the German revolution. This research is based on documents pertaining to the activity of the soldiers’ councils, the orders of the Supreme command, transcripts from Pan-German council congresses, memoirs and correspondence of members of the officer corps and civil authorities. The author comes to the conclusion that the soldiers’ councils were seen by the officer corps as a potential channel for the spread of the revolution, a source for inciting breach of discipline among the troops. This appraisement of the soldiers’ councils by the officers, based largely on hypothetical apprehension rather than on actual experience, determined the elaboration by the military commanders of a common strategy, jointly with the civil authorities, directed at the dissolution of the council system within the army.

Keywords: Ebert-Groener pact, Paul von Hindenburg, Friedrich Ebert, Wilhelm Groener, council of representatives, German revolution, soldiers’ councils, German officer corps, Pan-German congress of deputies, Hamburg articles

Abstract: This article examines the transition process of the military elite from the Kaiser army to the Reichswehr of the Weimar republic, complicated by revolutionary events, conditions of military defeat and the limitations imposed by the Treaty of Versailles. With all the particularities of the military elite of Germany, its attempt not to submit to the political situation of the period like never before forced the German military to seriously take into account the various political factors in achieving their goal – the creation of a stable armed force capable of coexistence with a republican government, leaving at its head representatives of the elite, thus ensuring continuity from the old army. In many ways the conditions posed by those at the source of the Reichswehr seemed almost to contradict them, nor did the elite possess the necessary unity within itself and maintained a continuing distrust towards the centre-left forces that came to power, but towards the spring of 1921 the most turbulent period of the transformation was over. The military elite demonstrated a high level of autonomy and stability during the next decades, but it was unable to influence the formation of the Nazi government in Germany.

Keywords: Groener, Reinhardt, Putsch, monarchists, Freikorps, Weimar republic, military elite, Reichswehr, Versailles, von Seeckt

Abstract: This article discusses the views of Y. O. Martov and V. M. Chernov regarding the October revolution of 1917 and the key aspects in the life of the Soviet society in the post-October period. The author substantiates the opinion that Russia–USSR in those years lacked the conditions for a victorious socialist construction and provides the views of the above-named political activists which describe the particularities of the seizure and preservation of power by the Bolsheviks. The evaluations of Y. O. Martov and V. M. Chernov on the state’s political structure and economic policy created by the Bolsheviks is also analysed. Furthermore, the policy lines of the Menshevik and SR party programs is indicated in the context of the general political development before and after the October revolution of 1917. The author designates the doctrinal and practical political differences inside the left spectre of political forces in pre-Revolutionary and post-Revolutionary Russia. The basis for this study – the works of Y. O. Martov and V. M. Chernov, which provide rich material for the description of the theoretical heritage of the socialist parties' major leaders.

Keywords: economic structure, terror, political system, socialism, October revolution, V. M. Chernov, Y. O. Martov, V. I. Lenin, new economic policy, “constructive socialism”

Abstract: The Perestroika, the collapse of the Soviet ideology and of the USSR can be associated with a series of causes and factors that in sum permit to understand the completely unpredictable fall of the Soviet Union. One of these factors was the CSCE experiment. Already immediately after the signing of the Final act in 1975, the Helsinki process, in spite of the optimism of the Soviet leaders, began to affect the political system of the country in a destructive manner. The code of conduct for governments in a state of peace with each other and in relation to their citizens was developed on a global European level and had a far-reaching echo in Western society, as well as in the Soviet one – despite the criticism and doubt of the Western community at the beginning of the 1970s. If before the coming to power of Gorbachev the proclamation of new principles and the demand for their implementation remained an issue only for the dissident movement, which was subjected to repression, while the Helsinki process acted rather like a forum for the political and propagandistic confrontation between the East and the West, then with the beginning of the Perestroika the international obligations began to have widespread voicing and activity in the Union with the CSCE becoming one of the priority directions of the Soviet foreign policy. The liberalisation of social life in the USSR (amnesty of political prisoners, cessation of dissident persecutions, informational and emigrational policies) and the addition of humanitarian aspects to the concept of homeland security had their roots in the Helsinki process and legitimatised the ensuing results in its framework of liabilities. At the same time the Viennese encounter of the CSCE was of great historical significance with the Kremlin put forward the initiative to assemble a conference on human rights in Moscow which, along with other accepted new obligations, was used by society and the new leaders for the further democratisation of the country. Because of the CSCE the USSR solved a number of humanitarian questions and passed a series of laws aimed towards becoming a constitutional state. Under the influence of the Helsinki process the democratic Western-liberal principles penetrated the Soviet political and ideological life which, in turn, led to an ideological crisis and in conjunction with other factors – to the fall of the USSR. The global historical significance of the Helsinki process consisted in its overcoming ideological marks, the de-ideologisation of international relations and the recognition of the universality of human rights, as well as the legitimacy of these rights’ international protection. It was precisely as a result of the Helsinki process that human rights became a constituent part of diplomatic relations. Ultimately this all served as the precondition for the end of the Cold War.

Keywords: Moscow Helsinki group, human rights movement, human rights, Soviet Union, Helsinki process, CSCE Final act, CSCE, Mikhail Sergeyevich Gorbachev, Perestroika, Openness

Abstract: The article examines the ideological basis of the Private committee’s activity – the circle of “young friends” of Alexander I that developed the main internal political changes at the beginning of the 19th century. The concepts of law, legality and constitution stated in the article’s title were fundamental notions in the discussion and elaboration of a series of reforms. The principal aim of this article is to elucidate the understanding of these concepts by committee members and the emperor at the beginning of his reign. The main source for this study is the material from the archive of P. A. Stroganov, the so-called protocols of the Private committee. At the beginning of his reign, Alexander I and his entourage aimed to establish a constitution as the final outcome of their work – an unchangeable law (or codex of laws), which would allow to systematise and define the administrative system, to validate and strengthen the emperor’s authority, to finalise the process of the classes’ rights legalisation. However, apart from asserting the emperor’s authority, there existed the idea of the power of law, which would restrain despotism and abuse of the monarch, should it become necessary.

Keywords: government constitutionalism, reforms, class policy, constitution, legality, law, social contract, Alexander I, Private committee, F.-C. Laharpe.

Abstract: The article considers the preparation at the end of the 1850s – beginning of the 1860s of the Russian educational system reform (1864). This topic permits to address the wider question of the relationship between state authorities and society. The creation of new legislature on comprehensive schooling occurred in the context of a general social rise. In the preparative work of this reform many renowned Russian pedagogues were called upon, with many projects, for the first time in Russian lawmaking, being published in open press and publicly discussed. The author points to several opinion changes of government representatives on the role of public participation in popular education and in their relationship towards the activity of the liberal opposition. As the government dealt with the wave of public agitation, caused by the promulgation of the Peasant Emancipation Manifesto of 19th February 1861, its loyalty to public opinion diminished. This was reflected in the development process of the final version of the Provisions on primary schools and secondary educational institutions, and gave the reform the sense of a compromise.

Keywords: culture of the post-reform period, system of education, government education policy, comprehensive school, reform, socio-pedagogical thought, education community, liberal opposition, power and society, history.

Abstract: This article is a study of an attempt to create a so-called uniform socialist government during the period of the Great Russian Revolution of 1917. It evaluates the activity of a real socialistic coalition of Bolsheviks and Left Socialist Revolutionaries (SRs) between the end of November 1917 and July 1918. It attempts to provide answers to controversial questions: Would it be possible to create a broad socialist coalition on the eve of and immediately after the October coup (the efforts of Vikzhel)? Was a union under the authority of the Left SRs and Bolsheviks doomed to collapse? How should this union be evaluated—did it bring good or bad? What circumstances and reasons—natural or artificial (the rebellion of 6 July, the murder of von Mirbach, and so on)—brought on the collapse of this union? Who is guiltier for the collapse of the union—the Bolsheviks or the Left SRs? And other questions. The work practices of the “Soviet coalition” in the center (the government) and outlying areas are shown on a broad documentary basis.

Keywords: history, October Revolution, Soviet authority, Bolsheviks, socialist parties, coalition, socialist government, uniform government, politics, conflicts.

Abstract: The history of Bavarian Soviet Republic, proclaimed by anarchists and leftist socialists («independents») on the 6th of April 1919, and brought back to life a week later, and then decimated by government forces in early May 1919, was considered a controversial topic in Soviet media and historiography. A broad spectrum of ideological opponents of the Soviet experiment in Southern Bavaria used those events as means of proving the utopic nature of Revolutionary plans of exiting the post-World War I crisis. The evaluation of historical experience by both opponents and proponents of the Bavarian Soviet Republic, had one thing in common – the evaluation of its historical experience in comparison to the Bolshevik dictatorship, its social and economic politics, the struggle between the Bavarian Red Army and the white movement. Outside scholarly interest, the everyday life of the vast majority of the population remained – those that were involved into the Revolutionary process passively, instead of actively. However, it was its mood and sway, action and inaction that determined the tragic face of the Soviet Bavarian Republic in the end. Addressing the topic of revolutionary everyday life and accenting its importance for the effort to reconstruct the complex picture of Bavarian Soviet Republic’s history, the author keeps the scarce source base of such research in mind. Along with the brief existence of the Republic itself, with its capital city situated in Munich, and the deliberate eradication of its documentary heritage, largely due to the fact that the Communists forbade the publication of newspapers, independent of the central authority, and classified as Bourgeoisie press. Yet still, not all is lost. The author’s research was saved by the numerous diaries of contemporaries and witnesses, the majority of which were published as early as 1960—1970s, as well as rich memoire based which emerged in the period between the World Wars. Lastly, a significant amount of information about the life in Bavarian Soviet Republic was contributed by judicial practice, which was preserved in the State’s attorney funds and archives.

Keywords: German Revolution, Bavarian Soviet Republic, German Communist party, Red Army, food confiscation

Abstract: the involvement of Russian population into a democratic election process in early XX-th century played an important role in the political history of this country. Politicization of Russian society was a necessary condition, and one of the manifestations of the birth of a democratic culture, the forming of a political identity of the citizens and their political consciousness. The author explores politicization in the context of interaction between government and society on the basis of introducing the average citizen into the political sphere. The author is basing the research on the testimonies of contemporaries and analyzes a broad number of sources, including written letters of governors to the Ministry of Internal Affairs. Research on this particular kind of documents requires us to pay attention to historical context during research, minding other documents of a different origin, but similar in content. The testimonies of the people in power do not offer an accurate or complete picture of social and political life in early XXth century Russia, but they cannot be ignored by a historian that seeks to understand and explain the motivation of Russian electorate at the very beginning of democratization in our country.

Keywords: history, State Duma, political history, political parties, democratic culture, politicization, parliamentarism, elections, revolution of 1905–1907., election law.

Abstract: the late 1980᾽s – the 1st half of 1990᾽s was the period of development in the cities of Western Siberia territorial bodes of local initiative. Firstly they were deprived of the legal and ideological foundation, decentralized and differ in structure. As a form of self-organization of politically active urban population of Western Siberia, the bodies of public initiative could not avoid crisis influence, but proved the necessity of their existence as an element of an emerging system of territorial self-government.

Keywords: history, self-government, the cities of West Siberia, the urban population, self-organization, territorial public selfgovernment, community organizations, territorial bodies of public initiative, local councils, local authorities.

Abstract: The article is devoted to the history of enaction of constitutional acts in Serbia during the time from the moment when its autonomy was recognized within the borders of the Ottoman Empire (1835) until the formation of the Kingdom of Serbs, Croatians and Slovenians (1918)/ During that time 5 constitutions were passed, and some of them were in force twice. The study, which was implemented within the framework of modernization and socio-cultural approaches, shows that the lack of constitutional stability was caused by the immaturity of the political culture and the weakness of social and economic basis of the young state. The ambitions of the political elite, aimed at the formation of an European constitutional order in a patriarchal Serbia, coupled with the acute inner political struggle, shaken the system of government, that is why the issue of enaction of a Constitution throughout the period.

Keywords: history, Serbia, Constitution, traditionalism, patriarchy, law, parliamentarism, democratization, modernization, liberalism

Abstract: the article studies the role of the Life peerages Act 1958 in means of the House of Lords of the British parliament reform in order to make it more effective element of the legislative system. It analyses the specific moments of preparation and discussion of the reformation plan, advantages and disadvantages of the different plans, offered by representatives of the ruling party and opposition. The main attention is driven to the parliamentary debates and attitude of the leading political UK forces and public associations towards the Act. Author gives en evaluation of the impact made by the Act acceptance on changing the membership of the House of Lords and quality of its work, determines the nature of the reform and its relationship with previous attempts to modernize the House of Lords.

Keywords: history, reformation of the House of Lords, the Conservative Party, the Labour Party, the parliamentary debates, the cabinet, opposition, life peerages, the Marquis of Salisbury, “the guests of the backwoods”.

Abstract: the article deals with the struggle that unfolded after the Xinhai Revolution, which overthrew the 267 year yoke of alien Qin dynasty and established the Republic of China. Population feared any changes and did not realize that the past has been an obstacle to national development. The fight of the progressives against the old society fetters was played a significant role in country’s life, perhaps no less important than changes in the economy and political system of the Republic of China (1911-1949). Xinhai Revolution became a turning point in the pathway to the renewal of China. Going by this path, the country has achieved that its economy at the beginning of the XXI century was recognized as the second economy in the world.

Keywords: history, the Xinhai Revolution, the Republic of China, Sun Yat-sen, Yuan Shikai, traditions, bandaging legs, weaving braids, smoking opium, the Gregorian calendar.

Abstract: The article is dedicated to the formation of counter-elite in the ruling class of Russian society in connection with the debate and radical socio-economic reforms initiated by the abolition of serfdom. The reforms failed to solve many problems of development of agrarian sector of Russia. Attempts to overcome them in the existing political system led to serious contradictions and struggles within the ruling elite: nobles, officials, agricultural intelligentsia, to a gradual formation of the so-called “counter-elite”.

Keywords: history, reform, the abolition, society, nobility, peasantry, power, elite, development, people