Abstract: The study is devoted to the activities of A.V. Shemansky in the museum organization established on the basis of the former Peterhof imperial residence in 1925–1937. A student of Leningrad University, who has gained experience in preserving the historical and artistic heritage in his native Tambov province, gets a job in the Management staff of the Peterhof palaces-museums. In the mid–1920s, there was an active search for new forms and contents of museums. Unsuccessful experiments led to the closure of expositions and the repurposing of former royal palaces for the needs of the young Soviet state. A.V. Shemansky joined the working group on the creation of a new type of museum exposition from the first days of his work. The study of the activities of A.V. Shemansky as deputy for scientific work made it possible to consider the policy of power in relation to the symbols of the royal system on the example of the Peterhof palace. The research methodology is based on the principles of historicism, objectivism and systematic scientific analysis. The article is based on extensive archival materials from various repositories and pre-war travel guides to Peterhof and the suburbs. The scientific activity of A.V. Shemansky has not yet become the subject of a separate study. The name of the Peterhof researcher is often found in studies of the biographies of his closest associates: N.I. Arkhipov and S.S. Geichenko. Also, the activity of our hero is noted in the works devoted to the method of thematic exposition. The scientific novelty of the work lies in the fact that, based on specific historical material, the ways of creating museum expositions in the conditions of the prevailing state ideology are shown. The study reveals the importance of the role of A.V. Shemansky in the development and popularization of Peterhof Palace museums. A. V. Shemansky was a true guardian of cultural heritage, opposing the closure of museums and the transformation of historical sites into parks of culture and recreation. In the name of the true mission of the museum business, A. V. Shemansky sacrificed himself and survived a terrible ordeal, going through the investigation and the camp.

Keywords: palace-museums, science, exposition, guidebooks, royal residence, A. V. Shemansky, ideology, culture, Peterhof, museum

Abstract: The subject of research is the history of the Central Department Store as a memorable object of the Battle of Stalingrad. Today the building belongs to historical monuments of federal significance, as well as to architectural monuments of regional significance. The central department store is part of the ensemble of the Square of the Fallen Wrestlers - the main square of the city. The choice of the subject of research is due to the need for historical analysis of the architectural objects of the main Square for the subsequent computer modeling of iconic historical and cultural objects of the pre-war and military Stalingrad based on the application of the methodology of 3D reconstruction of structures. Systematic and interdisciplinary approaches were used as the methodological basis of the study. The source base is represented by periodicals (newspapers, scientific journals), historical documents and reference publications. During its work, the Stalingrad Central Department Store has established itself as one of the best in the union. It is known that in terms of its indicators, SCDS was among the advanced and was very quickly able to win the status of Indicative. During the Battle of Stalingrad, the building was partially destroyed. In October 1942, the headquarters of the 71st Wehrmacht division was located in its basements. Later, in January 1943, the basements of the department store were occupied by the headquarters of the 6th Army and its commander, Field Marshal Friedrich Paulus, where he was captured on January 31 by soldiers of the 38th motorized rifle brigade of the Soviet 64th Army.

Keywords: Battle of Stalingrad, Central Department Store, architectural monuments, architects of Stalingrad, Square of the Fallen Wrestlers, pre-war architecture, buildings of Stalingrad, iconic objects of Stalingrad, capture of F. Paulus, pre-war Stalingrad

Abstract: The article examines the last stage of the existence of the Chudov Monastery of the Moscow Kremlin in its last decades. This period is one of the least studied in the history of the monastery, and yet, it is at this time that both the personal dramas of the inhabitants of the monastery before the closure of the monastery and the procedure for transferring valuables to the Armory that began immediately are exposed. Using the example of the monastery, we see how the new government forms a position regarding valuable monuments. It is noteworthy that the inhabitants of the monastery believed to the last that they would be able to find a compromise solution and leave at least a few monks to guard the monastery and perform divine services, but, unfortunately, the plans of the new government were completely different. In parallel with the process of evicting the monks, there is a struggle for the preservation of the complex exclusively as a monument of architecture and culture, where the main role is played by the Department for Museums and the protection of monuments of Art and antiquity, in those years it was headed first by I. Grobar, and a little later it was replaced by N.Sedova-Trotskaya, which led to the strengthening of the department - this allowed us to do a lot for the preservation of monuments. The work introduces new sources that describe in detail the plot of the relationship between the monastery and the new government, the scrupulousness of preparing for the restoration of the monastery and the feat that scientists performed to save the monument from further destruction as a result of shelling. But all the efforts of scientists for the restoration were in vain, in a great hurry, on the night of December 16-17, 1929, the Cathedral of the Miracle of Archangel Michael was blown up. The restorers did not have time to finish the work on measurements, photo fixation, and even save the frescoes already removed from the walls, which were prepared for museumification.

Keywords: Council of People 's Commissars, Nikolai Dmitrievich Kuznetsov, Kremlin Monuments Department, 14th Kremlin Building, Supreme Soviet of the USSR, Igor Emmanuilovich Grabar, Glavnauka Narkompros, Revolution, Moscow Kremlin, Chudov Monastery

Abstract: This article is dedicated to the works of the Russian artist Nikolay Koshelev of the turn of the XIX – XX centuries in the genres of religious and church painting. The introduction of the principles of historicism and realism into the Russian culture of the XIX century discovered a new perspective on religion themed easel paintings, church art and iconography, as well as created opportunities for the new content and formal means for depicting the subjects of painting. The article leans on the monumental cycle “The Passion Journey of Christ” by Nikolai Koshelev for the Church of Saint Alexander Nevsky in Jerusalem. The article traces the complex intertwinement with of the features of church painting with the features of academic easel religious painting in the context of artistic culture of the turn of the XIX – XX centuries. The detailed analysis of the monumental cycle of “The Passion Journey of Christ” at the Alexander Metochion in Jerusalem (created between 1890 and 1900)  reveals certain peculiarities of the artistic form of Nikolay Koshelev's works in the context of Russian church and religious painting of the XIX - early XX centuries. This topic should be viewed in relation to the general problems of modernization of public consciousness and cultural life in Russia of that time.

Keywords: icon painting, monumental painting, church painting, religious painting, Russian artistic culture, realism, historicism, Nikolay Koshelev, Alexander Compound in Jerusalem, Russian art

Abstract: This article explores the peculiarities of spatial planning and construction phases of apse in the Franciscan Church of San Lorenzo Maggiore in Naples. Gothic deambulatory with a crown of radial chapels in the Church of San Lorenzo Maggiore is a unique typology of apse structure for the architecture of Franciscans in Italy. The architectural monument is ranked with a number of other Franciscan churches in Naples, built under the patronage of the monarchs of the Kingdom of Naples from Anjou Dynasty. Analysis is conducted on engineering aspects and system of orders of the Neapolitan Church. The analysis of formal-stylistic features and taking and consideration of historical peculiarities of the architectural monuments, the author suggests possible influence of the architectural language of French Gothicism upon the plan of the Church of San Lorenzo Maggiore. The article revises historiography of the question of origin of oriental hue in the Church of San Lorenzo Maggiore. The author substantially broadens the vector of research problems and interpretations associated with examination of French influence upon the plan of the apse of the Church of San Lorenzo Maggiore. The novelty of consists in the analysis of apse of the Church of San Lorenzo Maggiore the context of logics of the development of deambulatory in French Gothicism, rather than borrowing of this shape from medieval Italian architecture.

Keywords: Italian Gothic Architecture, Franciscan Architecture, Gothic architecture, Apse, Ambulatory, Naples, San Lorenzo Maggiore, Franciscans, Kingdom of Naples, Angevin Dynasty

Abstract: This article examines museum construction in one of the major Russian regions – Saint Petersburg of the XVIII – early XX centuries. The author determines four stages: early museums, specialized museums, new field-specific groups, museum expansion; as well as their key traits and peculiarities. Special attention is turned to the latter stage – museum expansion (1894-1916). The author presents the matrix of all established museums in chronological order, their founders, year of creation, and relations with the field-specific groups. The scientific novelty consists in the attempt to fill the gap by carrying out a first comprehensive research dedicated to museum development in Saint Petersburg of the imperial period. In order to reflect the processes unfolding in the history of museums of Saint Petersburg, the author reveals the trends and patterns, indicates the significance of museums created by the contemporaries, and demonstrates the link between the emergence of museums and the economic upswing in the country. Colossal experience of museum construction of Saint Petersburg, understanding of its importance in preservation of cultural and historical heritage, as well as progressive ideas of museum figures served as the prerequisite for creating the state supervision system and museum legislation, and allow outlining the ways for future development of museums.

Keywords: museum dynamics, museum construction, specialized groups, imperial period, museum history, stages, St.Petersburg, museum, imperial Russia, museum sector

Abstract: The article presents an analysis of the causes for the unsatisfactory conservation state of the Upper Paleolithic wall image of a two-humped camel in the Kapova cave (South Ural, Republic of Bashkortostan). The work in revealing the monument's original colorful painting without a preliminary scientific examination of the layered calcite crusts, the absence among the organizers and participants of restoration specialists, archaeologists and karstologists with extensive work experience in the Kapova Cave - an archaeological monument of national significance, led to the corrosion of these unique images' colorful layers. The karstological and archaeological studies of the "Horses and Signs" panel in the Chaos Hall were undertaken in 2009 by the article's authors and are still ongoing. The discovery of the two-humped camel image and its significance for studying the culture of the Upper Paleolithic has pushed to the background the significant issue of preserving this image. The article presents the first review of the causes for the unsuccessful exposure of the monument's drawing. The modern state of the Chaos Hall in the Kapova Cave provides unfavorable conditions for the preservation of these drawings, exposed from beneath calcite crusts, which have acted as a natural preservative. The main factor of destruction is tied to the abundant focal infiltration of karst waters, which have variable physical and chemical parameters due to the high permeability of the rock mass. At the same time, there are no tested methods of protecting paint layers of exposed images in caves, which puts the Kapova Cave drawings at risk of rapid degradation. At the present stage of cave exploration, new clearing of drawings is unacceptable and may lead to their destruction.

Keywords: Preservation, karst water, calcite, karstology, Upper palaeolithic, Cultural heritage, Palaeolithic parietal art, Kapova cave, microbial contamination, paint layer degradation

Abstract: The article's topic is the history of the most famous monument of the southern coast of Crimea, its "business card" - the Swallow's Nest Castle. For the first time in Russian historiography, based on an analysis of a body of sources - primarily archival, but also published memoirs and visuals - the authors disprove the existing common errors in scientific and popular literature and resolve long-standing disputes: the sequence of land purchases on Cape Ai-Todor during the 19th - early 20th centuries, the construction of the summer house-castle "Swallow's Nest", the reconstruction in 1913 and the change in appearance, as well as the castle's history after its nationalization by the Soviet government and throughout the 20th century. The authors introduce into scientific circulation documents, which were discovered by them, from the State Archive of the Republic of Crimea, the Russian State Historical Archive, and the Central State Historical Archive of St. Petersburg. The information found is supported by data from numerous memoirs and visual sources. The novelty of the research undertaken by the authors lies primarily in their reconstruction of the true history of this important monument of Russian culture from the late 19th - early 20th century - the Swallow’s Nest Castle, which is also an important symbol of Russia's development of the southern coast of Crimea as a resort destination in popular culture. The author presents the resolution of long-standing disputes over the owners and builders of this monument and the sequence of their change.

Keywords: archival sources, complex source studies, history of leisure, Swallow's Nest, cape Ai-Todor, memoir sources, late Imperial period, Crimea, Russia, visual sources

Abstract: The article is focused on the topic of the preservation of cultural movable objects under the conditions of operating churches, which is a current topic in the context of modern practical church and museum activity. The subject of analysis is the features of movable cultural monuments and the factors affecting their preservation. The article addresses the example of how it is permissible, for the sake of preserving a historical and cultural heritage, to reject the historically fair concept of setting up a relic in its native environment. The author identifies the main causes that influenced the adoption of this decision. To preserve movable monuments, the author selected other, more appropriate locations in churches that operate on the territory of the monastery. The study's research is based on the comparative and interdisciplinary methods. Of significant value to the work are also the descriptive, historical, analytical methods, and the method of scientific observation. The author's particular contribution to the research of this topic is that she collected and analyzed the microclimate parameters of this unique church and gives a description of some movable cultural valuables. The novelty of this study is that the author explicates the dependence of the particularities of cultural valuables' placement on the temperature and humidity regime (THR) inside and outside the room, using the example of the existing churches of the convent in the city Polotsk. The author puts forward the assumption that for the preservation of the cultural heritage it is necessary to conjoin administrative, scientific, and historical approaches.

Keywords: microclimate, movable cultural monument, monumental painting, immovable cultural monument, textiles, Polotsk’s valuables, restoration, preservation, silver reliquary, Savior-Transfiguration church

Abstract: The subject of this article is the collection of seven okimono statuettes, which are artifacts of the applied arts made from ivory by Oriental masters. The collection is part of the funds of the municipal public institution of culture "the Yalta Historical and Literary Museum" that had arrived there from being previously at the Eastern Museum of Yalta upon the unification of the two institutions. Significant attention in this work is given to the description and attribution of the objects. An appendix is added at the end of the article with the illustration of the hallmarks found on the statuettes, as well as photographs of the artifacts themselves. An approximate chronological framework for the creation and existence of the presented objects of material culture was determined by using the analogy method. The difficulty in attributing these objects lies in the absence of specialized reference works and determinants, and requires the use of a wider range of scholars-Orientalists. The artifacts of the collection of okimonos are unique monuments of the decorative and applied arts of the 19th - beginning of 20th century. The materials presented in this article are published for the first time and are tied to the need of introducing this collection into the general scientific circulation as a historical source. It is important to note that this collection of ivory artifacts created by Eastern masters, preserved in the funds of the municipal public institution of culture "the Yalta History and Literary Museum", is currently one of the largest collections of its kind known on the territory of the Republic of Crimea, and it undoubtedly requires further more extensive examination.

Keywords: okimono, miniature sculpture, White period, collection, ivory, carving, Yalta Historical and Literary Museum, Oriental Museum, Japan, applied arts

Abstract: The article's research subject is the chapel in Moscow which housed for several centuries the miraculous icon of the Savior (the Merciful) Mandylion. The chapel is part of the Moscow-region monastery of Voznesenskaya Davidova Pustyn' (today Chehovskiy region). The research object is the history of this chapel from the 18th century to the 1920s. During the Soviet years, at the time of the nationalization of church properties, began the ownership fight over the miraculous icon in which took part several sides: the Soviet authorities, the monastic authorities, the congregation and the Gregorians. The chapel changed several times its status during the 1920s. The icon went missing at the end of the 1920s. This article traces, on the basis of the introduction of new archival material extracted by the author from the Central State Archive in Moscow, the history of the chapel and the icon, in which it was housed from the second half of the 18th century to the end of the 1920s. This is the first article dedicated to the history of the chapel by the Moskvoretsky Bridge and to the search of the holy object. The author collected all of the existing archival material at the disposal of scientists on this subject and through the method of historical reconstruction presented the history of the life of the named chapel. On the basis of archival material for the first time introduced into scientific study, the author describes the history of the chapel by the Moskvoretsky Bridge from the end of the 18th century to the 1920s and the fate of the venerated icon of the Savior Mandylion housed in it.

Keywords: Savior, monastery, Nikitin, Zamoskvorechye, archive, merchants, Moscow, icon, chapel

Abstract: The article is focused on the discussion concerning the relative age of the wall paintings found in the Ignatievskaya Cave in view of the archaeological context of the colour mineral pigments found in the strata of Southern Ural cave monuments dating to the Upper Palaeolithic. The features of the paintings’ style, created with red colour, gave rise to the consideration of their creation during the Holocene period. The results of direct radiocarbon dating from drawings in black colour, made with charcoal, presented new arguments in favour of a post-Pleistocene dating for the monument’s whole pictorial cycle. At the same time, the results of a comprehensive archaeological study of the Ignatievskaya Cave, including the results of radiocarbon dating, revealed direct evidence of the existence of artistic activity in the monument at the end of the Upper Palaeolithic. However, up to today scholars have not undertook a comparison of the archaeological context of the nature and conditions of occurrence of colour mineral pigments in the cultural layer of Upper Palaeolithic sites in this region. The comparison of the archaeological context of the distribution of red ochre in the cultural layer of the Ignatievskaya Cave with the distribution of coloured mineral pigments in other sites of the Southern Ural allows to consider the possible Late Palaeolithic of the red drawings. The similarities in the archaeological context of the colour pigments in Late Pleistocene cultural layer near the wall paintings in the Kapova and Ignatievskaya Caves, as well as the absence of evidence for the use of ochre in the Holocene layer, including locus with paleoanthropological remains, on the site of both sites significantly strengthens the conclusion that at least part of the Ignatievskaya Cave red-colour paintings date to the Upper Palaeolithic.

Keywords: Ignatievskaya cave, Kapova cave, Southern Urals, Upper Palaeolithic, ochre, colour mineral pigments, archaeological context, radiocarbon dating, Palaeolithic art, pisanitsa

Abstract: The Upper Palaeolithic site Kamennaya Balka in the Rostov oblast has been studied for more than 50 years by the archaeologists of the Scientific-Research Institute and Museum of Anthropology of Lomonosov Moscow State University and the Section of Archaeology of the History Department of Lomonosov Moscow State University. During the past few years scholars have surveyed the northern part of the site Kamennaya Balka II, where the main territory of the oldest inhabitation of the site was located – that is, the lowest cultural layer, which was identified by M. D. Gvozdonover already in 1960. Upon excavation, various redeposited objects from the lowest layer had been discovered which allowed not only to reveal the manufacturing and household structure of the site, but also to find original sources for the precise dating of the oldest cultural stratum of the site. The examination of the lowest cultural layer was conducted on the basis of a complex approach that includes a morphological analysis of the flint artefacts found on the site, microstatigraphical and intrasite spatial analyses, and evidence obtained from natural science methods. The lowest cultural layer in the northern part of the site Kamennaya Balka II is represented by numerous finds of flint artefacts and of various objects from within the cultural layer. The flint artefacts of the lowest cultural layer, a collection that consists of 3000 objects, have features common with the Caucasian Upper Palaeolithic. The intrasite spatial analyses of the distribution of the finds and objects has allowed to identify on the northern part of the site two large manufacturing centres accompanied by smaller clusters of finds (in individual working places) that attest to a complicated layout of the site and of a diversity in domestic activities taking place on the territory of the ancient site of Kamennaya Balka.

Keywords: Upper Paleolithic, Lower Don, Kamennaya Balka, cultural layer, microstratigraphy, intrasite spatial data, iradiocarbon dating, site, flint inventory, Marianna Gvozdover

Abstract: Based on rarely used archival and document material, this article analyzes the role of Highlanders material culture of the Wartime (13th–17th centuries), represented by armory and fortifications. This article states that all Caucasian nations developed a clear defense system against foreign enemies and fellow tribesmen alike, who were raid driven by feudal elites, need or personal bravado. Therefore, there are almost no settlements in the Caucasus region, where turrets or habitable towers did not overlook the buildings and surrounding grounds did not have defense walls, customs posts, cave covers, fortresses or castle-like complexes. Methodological basis for this article was formed by historical and comparative, structural, abstract and logical research methods. Each of them had a particular application and played a significant part in processing, systematization and generalization of studied sources. Specifically, historical and comparative method allowed to analyze the facts under comparison and thereupon define both consistent patterns and characteristics of discovering Highlander material culture of the Wartime, represented by fortifications and armory of all kind. Structural analysis method was necessary for a study of complex structural components without dividing them into elements. Abstract and logical method allowed generalization, synthesis and integration of article’s conclusions. The author concludes that the fortification culture was defined by the genetic ties to the empirics of house building and therefore contained all the positive achievements of ethnic architecture. Its workmanship was beautifully reflected in historical and cultural landmarks created by the nations who inhabited this region.

Keywords: ethnic architecture., fortified culture, cave fortifications, creative activities, North Caucasus region, mountain peoples of the Caucasus, battle towers, Housing, Construction technology, Monumental buildings

Abstract: The article presents an attempt at studying the little-known iconographic image of the Azov Theotokos, considered to have been irretrievably lost. The research subject is the history, iconography, and known manuscripts of the icon "the Sign of the Multitude of the World" (Azov icon of the Theotokos). The article describes the historical context and true history of the creation and historical fate of the studied icon, which is surrounded by many myths and speculations. On the basis of archival materials, art history and theological literature, and available images the authors conduct the first detailed analysis of the icon’s iconography. The research uses the following methodologies: study of theological, historical, art history literature, and examination of archival and museum material. The scientific novelty of the research consists in that this is the first detailed analysis of the Azov Theotokos icon’s iconography brought into the scientific context. Furthermore, the authors bring into the scientific art history context the image of the Vytegorskaya icon, considered to have been irreversibly gone but which was accidentally found in the Regional Studies Museum in the city of Vytegra in the Vologoroskaya region. Furthermore, the article for the first time attempts to textologically analyse the inscriptions made on the studied icon.

Keywords: emperor Peter Alexeyevich, prince Golitsyn, iconographic image, Leontiy Tarasevich engravings, Vytegorskaya Pokrovskaya Church, Kiev-Pechersky Patericon, icon drawing, Azov icon, Theotokos icon, iconography

Abstract: The subject of this article is the socio-cultural image of the uyezd-towns of the Russian Empire at the beginning of the 20th century. The focus of this study is the provincial periodical press, which reflects the most important problems, issues and events the inhabitants of the town of Tsaritsyn faced in their local life at the beginning of the 20th century. The author devotes particular attention to the description and review of newspaper articles in which contemporaries reverberated their thoughts on the issues, life and customs of the local inhabitants. The aim of this article is to present the socio-cultural image of the town of Tsaritsyn at the beginning of the 20th century. In order to achieve this aim the author gives special attention to the examination of the attitude of the inhabitants of the town of Tsaritsyn towards theatre and leisure in general, based on the material from the local newspaper "Tsaritsynskoe Slovo". The main method applied to this study is the comparative-historical approach. The interdisciplinary approach was also applied to the study provincial periodical press. The relevance of the current article lays in the fact that provincial periodical press remains today virtually unstudied. The author introduces into scientific use multiple new historical sources, above all, the newspaper "Tsaritsynskoe Slovo", which has not been examined anywhere. Meanwhile this newspaper is of great value both as a historical source and as a mirror of the life and customs of the inhabitants of Tsaritsyn at the beginning of the 20th century. Analysing the notes of the named newspaper, the author reconstructs the socio-cultural image of the town of Tsaritsyn which allows to reconstitute the general image of the uyezd-towns of the Russian Empire at the beginning of the 20th century.

Keywords: socio-cultural image, 20th century, culture, Tsaritsyn, periodicals, Saratov governorate, newspapers, Pre-revolutionary press, "Tsaritsynskoe Slovo", theatre

Abstract: This article is focused on the stages of adoption into the Russian cultural tradition of the theme of the Passion of Christ. The Ancient Russian icon-painters inherited the Byzantine iconography of the Theotokos of the Passion with worshipping angels and the Instruments of the Passion (13th-century icon from the museum of Kalyazin). The theme of the Passion seems to disappear later on from the artistic usage and only reappears again in the middle of the 17th century in the form of an icon, miraculously acquired in 1641. Using the semiotic approach in interpreting the pose and gestures of the icon’s figures, the author identifies a particular accentuation on the “vulnerability” of Christ, concerning his human nature. The author further traces a link between the canonisation of the icon and the establishment of the Moscow Monastery of the Passion (Strastnoy monastery) with the ruling dynasty of the Romanov family. The article reviews the different directions of the Passion theme’s distribution in Russian culture during the 17th–19th centuries: “the Legend” recounting the appearance of the miracle-working icon; the venerated prototype established in its lists; the symbols of the Passion in the adornments of the decorative and applied arts and book illumination; the cycle of engravings and literary compositions. The author proposes to consider the origins of the Passion theme’s adoption not only with the transfer of the European Baroque tradition, but also with the very complex environment of the early Modern period.

Keywords: ikona, ikonografiya, dinastiya Romanovykh, skazanie, atributy Strastei, tserkovnoe iskusstvo, emblematika, rannee Novoe vremya

Abstract: The author of this article is the main concept-developer and author-composer of the glossary encyclopaedia “Literature museums of Russia”. As such the author offers to discuss his vision of museums and of the museum world, elaborated through the research conducted on this subject for the realisation of the named encyclopaedia, and to be considered by professional societies of museum curators and museologists, historians, culturologists, and other specialists in the humanities. Working on the encyclopedia was seen by the author as an opportunity to take a different look at what is considered today to be the true understanding of museums, to verify this knowledge, and to confirm or correct its validity. The research was conducted through an interdisciplinary approach, with the application of the results from a study of the information support problems in historical sciences. The author notes that the collection of established perceptions regarding museums had undergone a transformation. The outlook on museums through the cut-profile group in this study proved to be productive for the acquisition of new knowledge, including at the beginning of the research and on already developed stages of preparing the encyclopedia. A significant conclusion derived from this study is that because of insufficient development thinking many phenomena and events of the literary process and in the history of literature have not been clearly reflected in museums representations (that is, they have not been adapted into museum presentation).

Keywords: museology, culturology, concept of the encyclopaedia, glossary, institutional approach, cultural history, social (historical) memory, informational approach, system approach, literature museums

Abstract: The article examines the events relating to the Crimean war (1853–1856) through an analysis of fictional literature from which the artistic image of Sevastopol of that time is reconstituted. On the example of the works of L. N. Tolstoy “Sevastopol sketches” and M. M. Filippov “Besieged Sevastopol” the semantic content, structure, and basic functions of the artistic image are revealed. The key historiographical stances on the question of using literature as a historical source are also addressed. The author provides case examples of works by history scholars using literature as a historical source: M. V. Nechkina, S. O. Schmidt, L. N. Gumilev, G. R. Naumova. The comparative historical method is applied to demonstrate the inseparable connection between the past and the present, which also allowed to determine the image’s role and to establish a link between epochs. In this regard the artistic image is viewed as a conductor of moral issues, profound emotions, and a kind of “developer” of human activity in history. The artistic image of the city created by the classic authors is analysed as a source for historical perceptions of events, phenomena, and people. The article demonstrates how the heroic characters from the named literary works impacted the formation of the socio-cultural space of Sevastopol.

Keywords: heritage, source, culture, function, image, literature, war, Crimea, Sevastopol, society

Abstract: Recently Russian historical science has devoted significant attention to the process of development, transformation and representation of the image and ideology by a political power. Monumental works of painting were the traditional sphere for the embodiment of the Moscovy Rus’ ideology during the XVI–XVIIth centuries, including the decoration of the Grand Duke’s, and later the Tsar’s, residence – the Kremlin Palace. The article focuses on the history of one of the lesser studied monuments of the Kremlin: the Russian tsarinas’ throne room – the Tsarina’s Golden Chamber in the Grand Kremlin Palace. The masterful execution of the paintings on the chamber’s walls are considered among the most outstanding works of Russian monumental painting of the first half of the XVIIth century, while their subject theme presents an attempt at creating a comprehensive image of the ideal Orthodox Tsarina, protectress of the faith and relics. The article reconstructs the main stages in the history of the creation, revelation and restoration of the mural paintings in the throne room, presents for the first time a detailed description of the subject content of the paintings, and exposes its historical-literary basis and ideological concept. This permits to include the Tsarina’s Chamber among the list of the most important monuments of Russian Medieval Art, and also to enrich the understanding of the political ideology in the XVI–XVIIth centuries and the particularities of its artistic embodiment.

Keywords: history, historiography, source study, palace complex, sovereign court, Tsarina’s Chamber, throne room, painting, restoration, conceptual purpose.

Abstract: The article examines the history of one of the most esteemed and renowned military distinctions of Prussia and the German – the order “Pour le Meʹrite”. It describes the establishment of the order by king Fredrick II, notes its connection with the order of “de la Geʹneʹrositeʹ”, which was created in the XVIIth century, and underlines the importance of the order “Pour le Meʹrite” as an exclusively prestigious distinction destined to serve as a symbol of Prussia’s strengthening and expansion. The author gives a description of the order’s symbols, for military valor and for civil honor, and separately mentions the various “bonuses” to the distinction (“oak leaves” and diamond figures), as well as the special class of the order “Pour le Meʹrite” – the Big Cross. Special attention is given to the practice of awarding the distinction “Pour le Meʹrite” and to some of the most illustrious knights of the order, among which were statesmen and military generals. A milestone in the history of this award was the establishment by king Frederick William IV in 1842 of a civil class of the order, which was bestowed upon famous scholars and artists. The awarding of the civil distinction of the order “Pour le Meʹrite” has survived to today, thereby connecting the historical and the contemporary German distinction systems. The article is accompanied by illustrations.

Keywords: Pour le Meʹrite, history, Prussia, Germany, decoration system, oak leaves, diamond figures, merit, military, scientific.

Abstract: the article focuses on one story from the history of the Museum of Fine Arts named after Tsar Alexander III (at present the Pushkin Museum of Fine Arts): an attempt to implement a project of reconstruction of early Christian catacombs. Author shows how and when this idea arose, who financed the project, how was working on copying the frescoes performed. The author explains the reasons for refusal of Tsvetaeva I.V. from the project.

Keywords: history, the Museum of Fine Arts, Moscow University, Italy, Russia, charity, philanthropy, the Roman catacombs, the early Christian frescoes, cultural heritage.

Abstract: The article provides information on scientific and methodological workshop, held on 22-23 April 2011 in Krasnoyarsk, which was organized by the Humanities Institute of Siberian Federal University (SFU) and the Association of History and the computer and focusing on the following issues: reality and perspectives in the use of virtual reconstruction methods in the research activities; the results of the use of virtual reconstruction in the educational process; the possibility of using virtual reconstruction in scientific and educational activities of museums, educational centers, and others; problems associated with the characteristics of complex use of different sources during the development of virtual reconstructions.

Keywords: history, historical and cultural heritage, cultural artifacts, virtual reconstruction (VR), 3D-modeling, research experience, using virtual reconstruction in educational process, the possibility of using virtual reconstruction in scientific and educational activities, the task of creating virtual resources for Russian cultural artifacts, technologies of representation of virtual resources for cultural artifacts.

Abstract: The article analyzes the transformation process of emigration from Russia, since the period of the Muscovy until eve of World War I, including its scale, social groups, migrants, education in the world of various Russian diasporas (literary,scientific, religious, national, political) . The author presumes the fact that in the triad of meaning formative concepts (person, society, state), the interests of the state and the emperor were placed as the cornerstone, and that the person in Russia could get the relative freedom of action in three ways: through long service to the state, bribery and emigration.

Keywords: history, national history, emigration, the Russian diaspora, identity, society, state, freedom, defector, «Russian Europeans».