Abstract: The paper offers an analysis of modern research devoted to the qualification of the state of the modern political system in Spain. The author's attention is focused on the interpretation of systemic changes, the indicator of which was the activity of a new national party – "Citizens". The activities of the "Citizens" revealed the crisis of the traditional political system, based, in particular, on bipartisanship, within which two national forces dominated the country for more than 30 years – the conservative People's Party (NP) and the center-left Spanish Socialist Workers' Party (PSOE). Therefore, the activity of the Citizens Party in 2015-2022 is an illustrative example of the changes taking place in the country's political system. The author systematized the main directions of modern historiography, both Spanish and Russian, paying attention to the logic of their formation, the focuses of research interest, the source base and the methods used by specialists. The methodological basis of the work is based on the principles of historicism, objectivity, systematic analysis; historical and genetic method and comparative approach, which is due to the research logic of studying works on the transformation of the Spanish political system over time, and involves a comparative analysis of domestic and foreign literature. The conclusion is made about the similarity of methodology and sources; the "turn" in the study of Spanish Transit and the party-political system formed in 1975-1982 is defined – the transition from "modeling" to historical specifics. The main characteristics of the Spanish political system that exist in modern research are revealed, and the controversial prospects for the evolution of the system are noted. The author's qualification of the party system (the movement from bipartism to unstable multiparty system) dominates both modern historical works and political analysis. Modern researchers and analysts mainly paid their attention to the bright Podemos party, which is associated with its loud rhetoric and opposition to the constitutional foundations of Spain, but the activities of "Citizens", despite their activity in a crisis situation, turned out to be on the sidelines of research interest.

Keywords: modern historiography, bipartism, party system, hispanism, Foreign historiography, Transitology, transformation of traditional system, Citizens party, evolution of the political system, Spain

Abstract: The subject of the study is the specifics of the organization of the service for the protection and escort of persons detained in the Russian Empire in the period 1718–1917, using the example of the Peter and Paul Fortress. The object of the study is the main directions of organizing the activities of the Peter and Paul Fortress as a place of detention in our country for the protection and escort of persons held in it in the period 1718–1917. Studying the history of the experience of organizing the activities of places of detention in our country is necessary to understand the origins of the requirements for the organization of security and escort services for persons held in modern similar institutions. After all, ensuring security during protection and escort is part of the overall national security of modern Russian society. Research method: general scientific research methods (analysis, synthesis, description, comparison) were used, the basis was the dialectical method of cognition. It was important to study the historical experience of the organization of this service and to trace its transformation and change of tactical techniques for its improvement during the time indicated in the title in order to understand the main weaknesses of these activities. The scientific novelty of the study lies in the fact that it was proved that during the specified historical period, only constant vigilance during the guard and escort service in relation to persons in custody made it safe for the employees themselves and for the citizens of the country. It is concluded that the measures for protection and escort on the basis of the specified place of detention were improved depending on the behavior or actions of the persons held in it. Therefore, every modern employee of the convoy service of our time should remember that any tricks of persons in custody will be stopped if you are brave, vigilant and resolute. In this regard, it is important to conduct classes and trainings based, among other things, on the experience of previous generations of convoy units, since the tricks of detainees may be repeated over time, taking into account the development of new technologies.

Keywords: consequence, shackles, search, camera, gendarme, guards, prisoner, dungeon, fortress, caretaker

Abstract: The collapse of the USSR marked the collapse of the former state order. The former Soviet republics faced such destructive phenomena that seemed simply unthinkable in the conditions of the former socialist way of life. Associations and groupings became sharply active in the political arena, the participants of which expressed aggressive hostility to the changes taking place in the country. The purpose of this article is to use various materials (normative legal acts and draft laws, periodicals, statistical data, Internet resources, as well as research literature) on the basis of a comprehensive use of various materials to identify the main problems and contradictions of the state policy aimed at countering political extremism in the first post-Soviet years. The subject of the study is a holistic political and legal process aimed at the development and adoption of adequate anti-extremist legislation.  For the most complete disclosure of the problem posed, problem-chronological, formal-legal, institutional and systemic approaches were used. The scientific novelty of the research lies in an attempt to comprehend the state-legal policy aimed at combating various forms of political, national and religious radicalism as an integral and, at the same time, extremely contradictory strategy, which was implemented in the context of the crisis situation in the country. The acquired knowledge will allow us to better understand the changes that have occurred in the understanding of political extremism at the state and legal level in subsequent years. The formation of anti-extremist legislation in post-Soviet Russia was complicated by the confrontation in which all branches of government were involved. Even after overcoming the "crisis of dual power" and the adoption of a new Constitution, the Russian state was in a state of division, which made it difficult to develop and adopt a law on combating extremism. In the mid-1990s, the opinion prevailed in the socio-political discourse about the increased threat from radical nationalist (fascist) formations with the dangerous inaction of law enforcement agencies. These attitudes influenced the President and Parliament, who were the main subjects of the legislative initiative. Excessive politicization of the legislative process made it significantly difficult to develop adequate solutions. The situation was exploited by radicals who continued their illegal activities unhindered. Thus, the problem of countering political extremism did not lose its relevance in the second half of the 1990s and can serve as a subject for further study.

Keywords: political party, Yeltsin, State Duma, president, criminal code, decree, law, extremism, nationalism, fascism

Abstract: The article is devoted to the study of the place and role of parliamentary associations of the subjects of the Russian Federation in the formation of a unified system of interregional integration at the initial stage of the federal reform in 2000-2005. The object of the study is the parliamentary associations of the subjects of the Russian Federation, the subject is the process of including parliamentary associations in the emerging system of interregional integration and cooperation. The following aspects of the problem are considered: the formation of state policy regarding interregional cooperation of the subjects of the Federation and the participation of parliamentary associations in this process; the organization of interaction between the Federation Council, presidential plenipotentiaries in federal districts and parliamentary associations; the conditions and main directions of activity of interparliamentary associations in the context of the redistribution of powers on subjects of joint jurisdiction of the center and regions. General scientific and special historical research methods were used as the methodological basis of the work: methods of analysis and synthesis, historical-genetic, problem-analytical and historical-comparative methods, as well as the method of structural and functional analysis. The author concludes that the potential of parliamentary associations operating in Russia since the early 1990s has been used to form a system of managed interregional integration. They were included in the joint legislative process on the subjects of joint jurisdiction of the center and the subjects of the Federation by establishing cooperation with the Federation Council and exercising general control over their activities by the presidential Plenipotentiary representative in the federal districts. The study showed that in response to the centralizing policy of the federal center, the parliamentary associations operating in 2000-2005, in order to promptly respond to the requests of the federal center, centralize their organizational foundations and transfer the main levers of management of associations to the heads of legislative authorities of the regions. It is noted that under the conditions of legislative restrictions, the activities of associations are mainly concentrated around issues that are jointly managed by the center and the regions. At the same time, their ability to influence the legislative process is significantly reduced, as well as to defend the consolidated position of the legislative bodies of state power of the subjects of the Federation before the federal authorities.

Keywords: interparliamentary cooperation, centralization, powers, administrative reform, integration potential, integration, subjects of the Russian Federation, legislative branch, Interparliamentary associations, federal policy

Abstract: The subject of the study is the process of transformation of the structures of the Presidential apparatus responsible for ensuring a continuous dialogue between the head of state and parliamentary parties and movements, most of which in the 1990s were adjacent to the opposition camp. The purpose of the work is to identify the key factors that influenced the formation and further diversification of departments of the presidential administration interacting with the Russian party-political spectrum in the crisis situation of the 1990s, based on the use of various sources (normative legal acts, analytical materials of political journalism, electronic resources). Problem-chronological, formal-legal, institutional, systemic and structural-functional approaches are used as the main methods.  The scientific novelty of the study lies in the almost complete absence of works examining the history of the formation and evolution of the Presidential Administration from the angle of the impact of the party-political and electoral factor on this institution. In the course of the conducted research, it was possible to establish that interaction with socio-political associations was not the main activity of the Presidential Administration in the 1990s. Only after the restoration of the Communist Party, as well as the election of the opposition Duma (1993), a department appeared in the Presidential Administration that oversaw interaction with the new parliamentary fronde. The main task of this structural unit (despite the frequent change of names, numbers and responsibilities) was its participation in the implementation of a common strategy for the political containment of anti-presidential (anti-communist, anti-reformist) forces in a crisis situation. At the same time, the activities of the department for working with parties in the context of the general anti-communist strategy of the 1990s were of an auxiliary (technological) nature, while the main political issues were resolved by the first persons of the opposing sides at a personal (behind-the-scenes-informal) level.

Keywords: Decree of the President, Satarov, Stankevich, Loginov, Yeltsin, political parties, State Duma, Administration of the President of the Russian Federation, Russian socio-political center, elections

Abstract: The article is devoted to the study of the practical experience of the activities of the associations of inter-parliamentary cooperation of the regions of the Russian Federation in the 1990s and the implementation of strategies for using their integrative potential. The object of the study is inter–parliamentary associations, the subject is the strategies of integration cooperation formed by them. The purpose of the work is to analyze the use of the integration potential of the activities of the associations of interparliamentary cooperation of the regions of the Russian Federation in the 1990s. Attention is drawn to the fact that inter–parliamentary associations - associations and councils formed various integration strategies, which were formed depending on the goals and objectives of interaction declared by the associations. The organization of the activities of interparliamentary cooperation associations was aimed at developing joint solutions, the form and content of which depended on whether the issue belonged to the appropriate level of competence – the exclusive jurisdiction of the Russian Federation, the joint jurisdiction of the Russian Federation and its regions, as well as the exclusive jurisdiction of the regions of the Federation. It is established that the implementation of the strategies of the associations was carried out by resolving common problems for the participants, such as: the development of model laws and legislative initiatives, generalization of law enforcement practice, as well as support for individual initiatives that are key for the regions of the Federation – a member of the association. The content of the cooperation of the councils was mainly related to the coordination by the subjects of the Federation of legislative support for the implementation of socio-economic development programs of the regions of the Federation. A feature of the activities of interparliamentary cooperation associations was the formation of a consolidated position on rule-making, which falls within the competence of the exclusive jurisdiction of the Russian Federation, as well as the development of unified positions on the socio-political events taking place in the country.

Keywords: interparliamentary council, integration strategy, legislature, regional processes, integration associations, parliamentary associations, regional integration, integration potential, interparliamentary cooperation, interparliamentary association

Abstract: The object of consideration is the government of Russia during the Russian-Japanese War, the subject is the activity of the government in Russia in the field of business communication during the war. The purpose of the study is to trace the main trends in optimizing the activities of the Russian government system in the field of business communication in 1904-1905 based on archival documents. A number of tasks are being solved to achieve the goal. To analyze the innovations developed by the government system, represented by the Ministry of Internal Affairs, to optimize business communication in 1904-1905. To study how these innovations were implemented in a particular region – Kaluga Province. To consider the results of the activities of the Ministry of Internal Affairs and the provincial authorities in optimizing business communication in 1904-1905. The novelty of the study is as follows. The question is raised about how the Russian government system reacted to the complicated situation of 1904-1905. The emphasis is placed on the consideration of optimization attempts in the field of business communication. This problem is considered at two levels: the All–Russian – Ministry of Internal Affairs and the regional - Kaluga province. It is concluded that the leading circles of Russia in 1904-1905 tried to make changes in the field of government. There are two groups of innovations: an attempt to optimize the form of business communication and an attempt to organize cost savings in the process of business communication. Innovations spread from the center to places and took root slowly. The "correspondence on the reduction of correspondence" "survived" the war, "caught" three interior ministers, and there was no guarantee that the innovations had fully taken root. Belated changes failed to increase the efficiency of governance so much that the empire was able to gain the upper hand in the conflict in the Far East and avoid revolution.

Keywords: government, The Russian Empire, Russian-Japanese War, revolution, provinces, Russian history, Kaluga Province, optimization, business communication, authorities

Abstract: S.E. Desnitsky's views on public administration occupy a special place in the history of managerial thought in Russia of the XVIII century. This place is determined by the fact that, unlike all those who wrote on management topics in that era, he was not an official. He was an observer and an expert, which gave him the opportunity to system analyze and develop a set of proposals for improving governance in Russia. The subject of the article is the set of views of S.E. Desnitsky, designated here as the "management concept". The purpose of the study is to identify the basic elements of this concept. The reference method is a combination of systematic and semantic analysis of Desnitsky's texts, in comparison with the texts of figures of the European Enlightenment. The main conclusion of the article is the complex of semantic blocks identified by the author, the combination of which makes up Desnitsky's management concept. The author comes to the conclusion that Desnitsky saw the purpose of management in introducing organizational principles into "natural" relations and, first of all, into property relations. Desnitsky supplemented the universal principle of the "common good" with the principles of the welfare of the state and estate management. To solve management problems, he proposed to follow two organizational principles: separation of powers and multi-level management. For each of the "authorities" allocated to him, he defined tasks peculiar only to her and the tools necessary for their solution. The preservation of the unity of governance in the state, according to Desnitsky, is achieved by highlighting the law as the main instrument of governance.

Keywords: the common good, XVIII century, Desnitsky, European Enlightenment, history of managerial thought, history of political thought, Catherine II, management concepts, history of Russia, history of public administration

Abstract: The object of the study is the history of the relationship between state power and statistical science in the Russian Empire in the second half of the XVIII – first half of the XIX centuries. The author examines the practices of censorship supervision over the publication of research papers in the field of state studies – an early descriptive direction of statistical science. The article analyzes the main stages of the development of legislation in the field of the civil press and highlights the key claims that the censorship authorities had against the authors of statistical works. Special attention is paid to the study of the social and political context in which the evolution of censorship restrictions on the dissemination of statistical data took place. It is noted that the tacit ban on the publication of any statistical information, which existed in the middle of the XVIII century, was replaced by the liberalization of censorship legislation at the beginning of the Alexander reign. In the future, with the formation of statistics-state studies as a political science, the attention of the state to the content of these works became more and more intense. The growth of conservative tendencies in domestic politics led to the fact that the government increasingly suppressed the free interpretation of statistical materials. The formation of the institution of departmental censorship in the mid-1820s gave rise to the problem of the plurality of censorship authorities, which became a serious barrier to the development of state studies. It is concluded that a broad interpretation of the norms of censorship statutes made it possible for interested ministries to delay the publication of statistical works for a long time, or not to allow them to be printed at all under the pretext of inaccuracy or secrecy of data.

Keywords: Russian Geographical Society, St. Petersburg Censorship Committee, The Main Board of schools, Dmitry Petrovich Zhuravsky, Evdokim Filippovich Zyablovsky, Konstantin Ivanovich Arsenyev, Karl Fedorovich Herman, history of statistics, history of censorship, science and power

Abstract: The object of the study is the personal composition of the Moscow Magistrate in 1722 and 1744, as well as various aspects of the formation and functioning of city magistrates in Russia of the XVIII century. The choice of the Moscow Posad, in addition to the importance of its place among the urban settlements of Russia, is due to the fact that both stages of the formation of the composition of magistrate officers in Moscow are provided with sources that fairly fully and in detail reflect the election procedure. In contrast to the available studies, the emphasis is not on the policy of the state authorities in relation to the village population, but on the motives and strategies of the village taxmen themselves, who elected magistrate ministers. An analysis of the composition of the Moscow Magistrate in the 1720s and 1740s demonstrates that the townspeople sought, formally following the letter of the law, with the help of elections to draw the attention of the central government to certain difficulties faced by the townspeople community. In addition to the general village interests, the interests of individual groups that clashed in the struggle were reflected in the election process and the composition of the electors. A comparative analysis of two episodes of the elections to the Moscow Magistrate reveals a complex combination of both conflict and consolidation within the posad at different stages of the formation and functioning of this important structure of city self-government.

Keywords: behavioral strategies, a new social history, posadskaya community, Moscow Magistrate, elections, Regulations of the Chief Magistrate, city self-government, city magistrates, urban reform, history of Russia

Abstract: This article examines the establishment of government structures responsible for conducting privatization, as well as the rapid evolution that they underwent overt the period from 1991 to 1993. The struggle of various political forces resulted in creation of the two departments responsible for conducting privatization – the State Property Committee and the Federal Agency for State Property Management. The author elucidates the factors of their creation, analyzes the aspects of the political struggle between various Russian elite groups that influenced the structure of privatization bodies. Analysis is also conducted on the practical activity of both “privatization” bodies and the State Property Committee and the Federal Agency for State Property Management during the 1991–1993. The following conclusions were made: 1. The bodies responsible for privatization were created for political reasons, and despite the outlined objectives, were not assigned the task of effectively selling state property. 2. The State Property Committee was formed as part of I. S. Silaev’s government for engaging enterprises from the union jurisdiction to the Russian jurisdiction. 3. The Federal Agency for State Property Management was established to obstruct the government of I. S. Silaev in managing privatization; however, due to imminent resignation of this government and formation of the new Yeltsin-Gaidar government with the dominant position held by another elite group – “young reformers” – it was no longer relevant all the way until 1993.    

Keywords: crisis of 1990-s, Russian federal property fond, State Committee for State Property Management, directors’ corpus, economic reform, privatization, Supreme Soviet, Russian government, working collectives, vouchers

Abstract: The subject of this research is the land relations of Kuban Cossacks viewed through the prism of normative legal institutionalization. Special attention is given to the problem of land use of kuren and stanitsa farm settlements. The author examines the peculiarities of land use of Black Sea and Line Cossacks, questions of population and development of Kuban in the XIX century. Methodological platform is comprised of the general scientific principles of historicism, objectivity, alternativeness and systematicity, which gives a comprehensive perspective upon the problem of land use of Cossack settlements and reconstructs a holistic historical picture of research. Self-containment of land relations of Kuban Cossacks remained a phenomenon of local history for a long time, and is yet to be examined in modern Russian historiography. The following conclusions were made: 1) free use of land in Kuban in the late XVIII – early XIX centuries was gradually replaced by more restrictive measures for normative regulation of land relations; 2) practice of permissive type of legal regulation developed into the replotting system of land distribution in Kuban Cossack Army chronologically define reallotment of land; 3) initial restrictions in multiple Cossack communities with regards to  the use of wild lands spread onto the use of any land, and crop lands became the first category in allocation of lands in Kuban.

Keywords: stanitsa, farmstead, Cossack hut, land use, Cossack settlements, Kuban Cossacks, land matters, Kuban, resettlement, land development

Abstract: The subject of this article is the financial activity of Moscow City Duma during the 1860s. The goal is to reveal administrative decisions of the Duma and its leader A. A. Shcherbatov aimed at improvement of financial policy, repletion and balance the municipal budget. Research methodology is comprised of the following methods: historical and typological that helped to reconstruct the conditions that promoted effective work of the Duma; historical and comparative that allowed assessing the result o reforms  conducted by the Duma based on the situation of municipal economy prior and after their implementation; quantitative for analyzing statistical data of work of the Duma, etc. The conditions are indicated  that enabled successful and effective work of the Moscow City Duma during the 1863-1869. The author systematizes the financial management measures; analyzes the efficiency of financial projects of the Duma; determines the role of city’s mayor A. A. Shcherbatov in elaboration of drafts of financial reform and their implementation.

Keywords: the Moscow mayor, Alexander Alekseevich Shcherbatov, the financial activity, the Moscow city Duma, the history of cities, the history of municipal administration, the history of Russia, the local government, the financial reform, the government interaction

Abstract: “Dedication” by P. P. Shafirov is one of the few texts of the early XVIII century that reflects goal-setting of public administration through the concept of “value”. The object of this article is the establishment of Russian administrative thought in the early XVII century. The subject of this article is the process of development of the concept of “value” as fundamental in substantiation of the goal of public administration. The author attempts to reveal the content of this concept in the text of “Dedication” in juxtaposition to the texts of Western European philosophers of the XVII century who rely on the concepts of “value” and “common good”, and to the similar in tasks texts of Russian authors – P. P. Shafirov and his contemporaries. The main conclusion consists in determination of fundamental difference between the Russian and the European concept of “value”. It implies that in Russia, the concept of “value” is primarily attributed to the state, while in Europe the basic concept was the “common good”. Shafirov deemed it possible to interpret the “state value” not only as creation of the conditions for expansion superiority and strength of the state, but also as the “value to its nationals”. It opened the door for transformation of “state value” into the “common”. Such transformation was not complete, which resulted in parallel existence of the two concepts: “value of state” and “common value”

Keywords: Dedication, concept, history of managerial thought, history of public administration, history of Russia, Peter I, Shafirov, XVIIII century, history of political thought, governance

Abstract: The article presents an analytical review of the main regulatory and legal documents in the sphere of mass housing constructions in 1955-1969 with the aim to identify their impact and effect on the construction industry in the period under review. The research object of this study is the regulatory legal acts in the field of mass housing constructions in 1955-1969. Based on the study of regulatory legal acts on this issue, it was possible to identify their influence on the development of the construction industry and mass housing constructions in the USSR during the studied period, which is the research subject of this study. The author analyzes all the major laws that were important for the development of mass housing constructions and highlights the features of each of them. This research is based on the principle of historicism. Its implementation allowed the author to consider mass housing constructions as a process taking into account specific historical facts in its development. In addition, the author used the problem-chronological method to consider the topic in its historical sequence. The novelty of this study lies in the fact that for the first time in historiography the author makes an attempt to comprehensively systematize the regulatory and legal documents developed and adopted at the highest level in the field of mass industrial housing constructions in order to assess their impact and effect on the state housing policy of the USSR.

Keywords: breakthrough, construction, change of architectural style, industrialization of the construction industry, typical five-story houses, mass housing construction, housing crisis, khruschevki, Khrushchev's reforms, legislative base

Abstract: The subject of this research is the socio-economic and political-legal situation of the steppe regions of Western Siberia (the steppe region) at the turn of the 18th - 19th centuries that determined the conditions for the adoption of the Empire's law code concerning the indigenous peoples in the national outskirts. The author draws attention to the presence of Russia's other geopolitical tasks in the Central Asian region (reaching “natural borders”) which became an additional element in the development of the steppe spaces. The content of the administrative-legal reform of the 1820s - 1830s attests to the implementation of comprehensive regulation in the relations of this nomadic society, taking into account the experience of managing other national outskirts, and also considering the peculiarities of the administrative and socio-economic structure of the steppe. The aim of this article is to identify the various prerequisites for the administrative and legal reform in the steppe region at the beginning of the 19th century. The result of this study is the conclusion that the autocracy came to achieve its single goal - the nomads' transition to a settled state through a complex of economic, political and social mechanisms for the implementation of the border policy. The article's research methodology is based on the application of the theory of political modernization, which allows to identify the patterns of socio-economic and political-legal development of the steppe region at the beginning of the 19th century. The author's main contribution to the study of the conditions for administrative and legal reform in the steppe region is the introduction into the scientific circulation of a new body of archival sources from both Russian archives, as well as from regional archives. The article's novelty is its identification of a set of prerequisites and patterns in the development of the domestic and foreign policy situation in the steppe regions of Western Siberia.

Keywords: The Council of biys, кazakh society, adat, Speransky, Boundary commission, administrative and legal policy, steppes, the raids, Charter, natural boundary

Abstract: The author’s research interest is focused on the transformation of the regulatory and legal restrictions of the electoral law in the North American electoral process up to the end of the 19th century.The subject field is drawn by defining the structure and analyzing the qualification requirements as an integral system of restrictive regulation on the size and composition of the electoral body, which allowed the exclusion of certain social, religious, professional, ethnic and other groups and strata of the American society. The author examines the origins of the qualifying restrictions in the electoral law, which began in the period of the late colonial history. The methodological basis of this study is the comparative historical approach, which also considers the emergence and directional influence of various qualifying restrictions in the North American electoral law during the named historical stage. The main source used for this research are the materials from the two-volume edition of "The Federal and State Constitutions, Colonial Charters, and Other Organic Laws of the States, Territories, and Colonies, Now or Heretofore Forming the United States of America", prepared by the upper chamber of the US Congress and published in the national press department of government documents in 1787. This study has confirmed the lack of balance between the government and states objectively declared right of citizens to elect and be elected and the subjective right that the voter-individual held in reality. By having a discriminatory effect on the system of personal and individual characteristics of citizens, the qualifying restrictions on the right to vote, which was of constitutional design or in the form higher court decisions (at federal and state levels), allowed to regulate the number and composition of the electorate and to exclude certain social, religious, professional groups and strata of the American society. The author’s research interest is focused on the transformation of the legal restrictions on electoral law in the North American electoral process until the end of the 19th century.The subject field is localized by defining the structure and analyzing qualification requirements as an integral system of restrictive regulation of the size and composition of the electoral body, which allows excluding certain social, religious, professional, ethnic and other groups and strata of American society. The author examines the origins of the qualifying restrictions of electoral law, which began in the period of late colonial history. The methodological basis of the study is a comparative historical approach, within the framework of which the emergence and directional influence of various qualifying restrictions of the North American electoral right at this historical stage is considered.

Keywords: citizenship qualification, freehold qualification, race qualifications, moral and piety qualifications, gender qualification, electoral qualifications, residence qualification, voting right, property qualification, poll tax

Abstract: The subject of this research is the conflict situation in South Ossetia in 1989-1991, while the object of research is the policy and activity of the South-Ossetian movement "Adamon Nykhas". The author examines in detail such aspects of the subject as the ethnic composition of the area at the time of the tension escalation, the driving forces of the Ossetian national movement, and also the battle tactics for achieving the goals set by the leaders of "Adamon Nykhas". Special attention is paid to the ideological component in the rhetoric of the movement, as well as to studying the situation without touching upon the questions concerning Ossetian war, a more traditional subject in historiography. The methodological basis of this research is the comparative-historical approaches within the framework of which the activity of the movement "Adamon Nykhas" is investigated at different stages of the development of the ethnopolitical situation. The main conclusions of the conducted research are the following two main consequences: first, despite the difficult economic, political and humanitarian situation in the South Ossetian Autonomous Oblast, the movement consistently pursued the aim to consolidate society in the aspiration to assert the rights of the autonomous region. Secondly, to overcome the information vacuum in the policy of the leadership of the USSR regarding the South Ossetia question, seeking not to allow the spread of chauvinistic sentiments in the region. The article's particular contribution to the study of this subject is the possibility of using the presented material when developing courses in the field of conflictology and ethnopsychology. In its turn, the novelty of this research lies in that the study of the activity of "Adamon Nykhas" remains a very little studied page in the history of the Georgian-Ossetian question.

Keywords: national movement, South Ossetia, Adamon Nykhas, Georgia, ethnopolicy, autonomous region, USSR, conflict situation, nationalism, national sovereignty

Abstract: Based on archival material for the first time introduced into scientific circulation, the author demonstrates that the staff of the apparatus of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR even before the formation of the constitutional commission on April 25, 1962, began preparatory work for writing the draft of the future third Union Constitution. The author succeeded in determining when, who and by what reasons became the initiator of this work, and what specific proposals were prepared by various departments of the apparatus for reforming the structure of the highest state agencies of the USSR, above all, the Supreme Soviet of the USSR and its presidium. In the article, which is of an interdisciplinary nature, the results of the study of this problem by historians and jurists are briefly summarized, and new archival material is introduced into the scientific circulation which allows to fill the gaps identified by the author in Russian historiography. The specific contribution of the author to the study of the topic under consideration is his discussion of the preparatory work that was undertaken for the creation of the third Union Constitution even before the official formation of the Constitutional Commission of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR, conducted by the staff of the apparatus of its presidium. Of particular interest are the initiatives of directorate and employees of the legal department who proposed to review the functions and competencies of the highest state authorities.

Keywords: agencies of state power, Presidium of the Supreme Soviet, legal subdivision, draft of the third Constitution, chambers of the Supreme Soviet, model of all-people's state, criticism of the Stalin Constitution, Khrushchev’s Thaw, Union State Council, post of the President of the USSR

Abstract: The topic of this article is the general police in Siberia. The research subject is the reorganization of the agencies of the general police in Siberia in the post-reform period during the second half of the 19th century. The history of the pre-Revolutionary Siberian general police has not yet been the focus of scholars' close attention – only some aspects of this topic have been underlined in studies of a more general nature. Returning to the forgotten traditions of the organization and activities of the police agencies, it is important to take into full account the historical experience that had been accumulated over the centuries. It is also necessary to take a new look at already known facts and events in light of today’s realities in order to overcome the old myths and misconceptions and also to prevent the appearance of new ones. The theoretical and methodological basis of this research is made up of such principles of historical knowledge as objectivity, historicism, determinism, alternativeness and the social approach, which require an unbiased approach to the analysis of the researched problems, as well as a critical treatment of the sources. The author comes to the conclusion that the powers of the police agencies in the region had their own specificities and were much broader than in the central provinces of the Russian Empire. The reorganization of the general police in Siberia during the second half of the 19th century changed the structure and method of staffing the Ministry of Internal Affairs. It was not of a fundamental but rather of an external character. The police reform of 1867 in Siberia left almost unchanged the limits of power, the subjects of the department, the distribution of duties, the procedures, the responsibility and accountability of the general police, pending the transformation of the administrative and economic management and the judicial system. The police agencies were left with a fairly large circle of prerogatives. In addition, many policemen continued to work in the old-fashioned way, trying to ignore the changes in the current legislation. The legislator had failed, as local leaders and visiting auditors admitted, to place the uyezd's internal affairs agencies within the strict framework of the law.

Keywords: history of Siberia, power, local government, reform, administration, governor, police, authority, national policy, policeman

Abstract: The subject of this study is the image of central power in the Muscovite state. The research object is the views of the Rostov archbishop Vassian on the tsar’s image and the essence of his power as described in his “Epistle on the Ugra” in 1480. The author examines in detail the historical context of the named text’s creation, the possible reasons that motivated archbishop Vassian to address his prince, and the ideological content of his work. Particular attention is given to Vassian’s thoughts on the legitimacy of the Horde’s rule, closely intertwined with his thoughts on the nature and designation of regal power, and the true meaning of the title “tsar”. The article’s research is conducted through the use of methods of comparative analysis, political-textological analysis of sources and historical-political reconstruction. In addition, the work uses general scientific methods – analysis, synthesis, induction, deduction, comparison and others. The work’s novelty lies in its evaluation of the “Epistle in the Ugra” as a spiritual-political text. The author comes to the conclusion that Vassian from Rostov tried to influence through his works the solution of the specific political issue at hand, and for the first time in Russian political thought elaborated a detailed argumentation of the rights of Muscovite Grand Princes to the regal title and simultaneously proved the lack of such a right among the Horde rulers, using the Holy scriptures as his main argumentation source. The presented by him image of a “Christ-loving tsar”, which consequently became the subject of lively activity among Russian scribes, firmly established itself in the ideology of the Russian state.

Keywords: Standing on the Ugra, Horde, Holy scriptures, Russian scribes, spiritual-political publicism, “Epistle on the Ugra”, Vassian Rulo, Christ-loving tsar, Muscovite state, tsar

Abstract: A significant feature of the development of Russia into a modern state is its democratic parliamentary traditions, which in 2016 have crossed the 110-year milestone. The aim of this article is to study the experience and lessons of the election campaign of the political parties in Nizhny Novgorod during the elections to the First State Duma. The article presents a brief description of the leading political parties of the Nizhny Novgorod governorate and reveals the difficulties they faced during this election campaign, including: the necessity of conducting a propaganda campaign under the conditions of the Russian Revolution and the limited freedom of opposition parties. Additionally, all parties simultaneously had to address the issues of party formation and to organise election campaigns. During the course of the election campaign in Nizhny Novgorod, the parties used traditional forms and methods of election technologies – newspaper articles, brochures, proclamations, leaflets, meetings with voters –, as well as unconventional methods – from the use of administrative resources to manipulating ballots. A particular means of participating in the election struggle was demonstrated by the Nizhny Novgorod electorate through protest behaviour. In Nizhny Novgorod the Constitutional-Democratic Party won a landslide victory. A certain role in this victory was due to the agitators’ active participation, the party's more attractive program for the majority of the population, its variety of forms in working with the electorate, and the absence in the party elections of the Socialist-Revolutionaries and the Social-Democratic parties. But the more momentous contribution to the outcome of the election campaign was due to the presence in Russia of a huge body of protest electorate, which expressed its negative attitude towards the Russian government's policy by voting for the most oppositional party.

Keywords: parliament, election campaign, elections, political parties, electorate, Constitutional-Democratic Party, opposition party, election technologies, revolution, State Duma

Abstract: The object of this research is the question of corruption within the local administration of the Russian Empire. The author for the first time in historiography attempts to demonstrate on the basis of relevant historical materials the level of corruption in local government agencies during the first half of the 19th century. The research source base consists of documents preserved in the State Archive of the Vologda olblast (protocols and registrars of the Vologda Chamber of the Criminal Court for the years 1802–1855), which up to today has not been subjected to a complex analysis nor has yet been introduced into scientific circulation. The identified material from the judicial-investigative practice has allowed the article’s author to establish the number of corruption-related crimes and to reveal the particularities of their investigations and judicial trials. In the presented study the author used general scientific, as well as specific methods of research. To achieve the set scientific aim the author applied the means of the interdisciplinary approach that allowed to examine corruption in its historical-judicial context. The article’s main conclusion resulting from this research is that the operative conditions of the local administrative apparatus during the first half of the 19th century was a favourable environment for the illegal enrichment of officials. The analysis of the judicial-investigative practice concerning corruption and extortion cases has allowed to establish that the acting legal norms during the studied period could not ensure the eradication of corruption and the lowering of its dissemination within the local administration.

Keywords: gosudarstvennye organy, chinovnik, nakazanie, dolzhnostnoe prestuplenie, vzyatka, likhoimstvo, korruptsiya, mestnoe upravlenie, Vologodskaya guberniya

Abstract: This article is dedicated to the examination of the specifics of Russia’s management system in place during the first half of the 17th century, which formed as a result of the dynastic crisis at the end of the 16th – beginning of the 17th centuries. The author analyses the legal documents that limited the monarchy during this period, such as the “Cross record of Vasiliy Shuyskiy” (1606) and election agreement of the prince Vladislav from the 4th of February 1610 and from the 17th of August 1610. Additionally, significant attention is allocated to the problem of the “Restrictive record of Mikhail Romanov”, which has been subject of debate in Russian historical sciences from the 19th century onwards. Using the systematic analysis and the historical genetic method, the author carried out a study of the principal properties and features of the established political and legal regime during this period. Based on this research, the author came to the conclusion of the prospects of the undertaken changes, which could have contributed to the formation of the principle of power separation and of alternative institutions of power to autocracy. On the basis of comparing this with the analogous process in Western Europe, the failure of the set constitutional tendencies is tied to the slow development in Russia of a strong, independent in property class, similar to the European bourgeoisie, and also of the particularities of the mental mode of the Russian people.

Keywords: Zemsky Sobor, Michael Romanov, Time of Troubles, intervention, dynastic crisis, Rurik dynasty, serving nobility, Boyar Duma, Granted Charter, Tushino camp

Abstract: The subject of this research is the normative judicial system of the Russian Empire concerning the termination of employment contracts for agricultural works. The author studies the grounds for dismissal prescribed in the “Regulations concerning employment for agricultural works” of the 12th of June 1886 and the practice of their actual implementation. The article presents a comparative analysis with legislative norms regarding contract termination for factory employment as the main branch of the hired labour market in the 1880–1910s. The author describes the technical and judicial shortcomings of the studied regulations and analyses the social and economic context of adopting the “Regulations concerning employment for agricultural works”. The research’s methodology is the following: historical-judicial, legalistic, historical, comparative, analysis, deduction, induction, dialectical. On the basis of the research results the author comes to the principal conclusion according to which the legislative regulation of contract termination for agricultural works corresponded to the world’s and Russia’s levels of legislation of the time. The general direction of the studied norms was of a conservative-protective nature and corresponded to the direction of the internal politics of the 1880–1890s. At the same time certain prescriptions and approaches were caused by both the objective needs of households and the particularities of working in the agricultural sphere. Moreover, some of the established laws differed into the direction of softening the workers’ position in comparison to the norms of factory-plant legislation. The existing technical judicial shortcomings regarding the practice of dismissal concerned equally the level of judicial technique of the end of the 19th century and the law-makers’ subjective aims of preserving the employers’ wide ranging powers.

Keywords: Russian Empire, normative judicial system, history of labour law, employee dismissal, employment contract, factory-plant legislation, employee, employer, law enforcement, agricultural law

Abstract: This article addresses the pan-Germanic concepts of state power and structure in Germany after the November revolution of 1918. The leaders of the Pan-German league (H. Class, L. von Vietinghoff-Scheel, A. Müller) based their vision of the necessary government restructuring on the principle of dictatorship. The idea of dictatorship was tied by some with the sole rule of a leader (Class), by others – by popular representation, chosen from the number of the “true” patriots of Germany (Vietinghoff-Scheel). The author underlines the continuity between Pan-Germanism and National socialism. In the history of Pan-Germanism the Weimar period is of particular importance. This is due to the fact that during the period of Weimar parliamentary democracy the supporters of Pan-Germanism developed significant changes in their views, political thinking, and course of action in the direction of their radicalisation. Despite the sharpness of their statements against government authorities, Pan-Germanists were forced to admit the real political power of these authorities, as well as the absence of a united opposition front due to the fragmentation of the antigovernment forces. Until the middle of the 1920s the Pan-Germanists actively supported antigovernment speeches, but later sought to achieve their goals through legitimate means, as their attempts of violent coups were not successful. Because of this they formulated concepts of political reorganisation, the propaganda of which aimed to unite German society around the Pan-German league.

Keywords: Weimar republic, dictatorship, Freikorps, national socialism, Bamberg declaration, Pan-Germanism, Pan-German league, parliamentarism, November revolution, “Beer Putsch”

Abstract: This article studies the specifics of throne succession in England, the particularities in the establishment of the rules of monarch-change in the period of the early Middle ages, and the reasons for its crisis due to the unwritten constitution of a crown inheritance system during the second half of the 17th century. The article addresses the problem of the necessity for a legislative prescription of throne succession order on the basis of a wide range of historical sources. The author reviews the approaches and argumentation lines regarding this question expressed by various political forces within the country. Special attention is given to the process of development and adoption of the 1689 Bill or rights – the first legislative act, which in very general terms established the rules of changing sovereigns on the English throne. This article’s research methodology is in many ways defined by its comprehensive interdisciplinary nature, which assumes the use of methods and approaches characteristic to historical, political, and juridical sciences. At the same time priority is given to the principle of historicism, which implies a scientific explanation of phenomena, objects, and events in precise historical conditions and interrelations in order to expose the patterns of their development and the reasons for their qualitative changes. The other basic principle at the base of this research is the principle of scientific objectivity that involves the refusal of a stereotypical perception of the studied object, limited with whichever earlier established limits and clichés. The scientific novelty of this article lies in the fact that it is the first in Russian historiography examination of the complex process of modernisation of the unwritten English constitution, in such a crucial aspect of constitutional law as the replacement of the head of state, carried out on the basis of different original sources. The author establishes the unbroken link of this process with the shift from absolutist rule to parliamentary monarchy happening in England at the turn of the 17–18th centuries.

Keywords: throne succession, Bill of Rights, monarchy, constitution, Tory, Whigs, House of Commons, House of Lords, Stuarts, Glorious revolution

Abstract: The article examines the main lines of the Soviet government’s policy towards the Bey courts of Adat regulations in Kyrgyzstan during the first years of Soviet rule, which can be divided into two stages. At the first stage, during the years of the fiercest struggle with the Basmachis in 1918–1920, local Soviet agencies went in the direction of the complete prohibition of Bey and Qadi courts. At the beginning of 1921 on the territory controlled by the Bolsheviks, the operation of Qadi and Bey courts was discontinued and a secular judicial system was set in place with two branches – the Revolutionary tribunal and the People’s court. At the same time, naturally, in the regions controlled by the Basmachis legislation was carried out on the basis of Sharia and Adat. With the transition to NEP, however, conditions changed and legislation according to the norms of Adat was restored. The resulting situation contained two parallel-existing systems – Soviet and traditional. Concurrently with this started a rapid process of limiting the jurisprudence of Bey courts, which ultimately brought their termination at the turn of the 1920s–1930s. The scientific novelty of this research is set in the first place by the use of archival documents, not used previously in the study of this topic. This led to a series of new and original conclusion.

Keywords: Sharia, Adat, Bey courts, Bolsheviks, Soviet authority, traditional legislation, decrees, NEP, Revolutionary legal sense, People’s court

Abstract: The aim of this research is to study the developmental particularities of the Roman Land law, which defined the social life of Roman society from the Kingdom until the beginning of the Empire. More precisely, the article aims to expose the mechanism of the judicial process, which reflected the development of this branch of the Ius Civile. The basis for this research is the key source on land surveying and judicial procedures in land exploitation of Rome – the body of treatises written by Roman land surveyors (Corpus agrimensorum romanorum). However, this exceptional monument has not been sufficiently used by Russian and foreign scholars of Ancient Rome. The study of the judicial proceedings on land law is usually based on the works of classical jurists, which rather reflect the later stages of its development. Meanwhile in the Corpus agrimensorum, specialists of the Roman land law point to the long preservation of archaic forms of conducting legal processes, which August also included in the cadastral system. This raises a question: why in an optimal land survey system that precisely identified the position of ownership and possession were continued to be included methods of the previous ancient judicial process? A particularity of the Roman economy was the early registration of land ownership, established in the Ius Quiritium. These possessori existed during the whole period of the Republic, despite attempts of reorganization and the conservation of the judicial process. This is why the controversia de fine – the debate on natural boundaries – remained crucially important in land law and for a long time preserved clauses for pleadings. These clauses were also preserved by other delimitation legal claims: de rigore, de positione terminorum and what is more important, the controversia of the “on territory” – de loco, because they are all devoted to ownership relations. Ius Honorarium significantly contributed to the separation of ownership trials from delimitation suits. But even in the controversia of de modo, de possessione beside clearly defined propriety interest, were also preserved delimitation clauses. Without their full analysis it would have been impossible to come to a just verdict. This is why in the period of the praetorian law the judicial process established the adiudicatio (adjudgement), which led to a conflict resolution compromise that ensured social order. August also created a special law Ius Subsecivorum (law of segments), devoted to the judicial destiny of segments left from land surveyed fields. It was precisely on these segments of land that propriety disputes arose in cadasters, which were reflected in the controversia of delimitational character with attributes of the archaic judicial processes. This is why the preservation of ancient forms of judicial proceedings allowed full use of the possibilities of different land categories in a familiar for the Roman legal consciousness formulation. And this is precisely what defined the formation of the land law into a separate branch of the Ius Civile.

Keywords: controversia, judicial process, land surveyors, expertise, praetorian formula, adiudicatio, border, land ownership, August, Ius Honorarium.

Abstract: the article deals with the reforms of the governance carried our by Peter I and his supporters aimed at finding the effective management for collecting taxes. The author disclose motives and history of creation of the financial bodies, gives brief analysis of their activities in the field of taxation and in solving fiscal challenges. The article reveals main reasons of failure in the creation of both central and local tax-paying controlling bodies.

Keywords: history, governance, reform, taxation, Peter I, fiscal, tax-paying controlling bodies, fees, taxes, college.

Abstract: the article shows two views on a criminal act, reflected in the Council Code of Tsar Alexey Mikhailovich in 1649. One point of view is subjective and moral and was a common heritage of the Russian law, the other is in the field of objective law and was brought to the domestic law from the foreign and church sources. Under the influence of these two representations of the same substantive legal standards the different chapters of the Council Code was described with different terms.

Keywords: history, the Council Code of 1649, crime, robbery, fighting, theft, plundering, murder, a dashing man.

Abstract: the history of creation and enactment of the Constitution of the RSFSR in 1937 is for the first time studied based on the archival materials. The article highlights some features of these processes in comparison over the preparation of the Stalin Constitution of 1936. The article emphasizes that the development and adoption of the new republican constitutions was a part of the Soviet Union of the constitutional reform carried out in the second half of the 1930-ies. A conclusion about a special role of party structures — the Politburo and Central Committee of the CPSU(b) controlling the entire process of creating and adopting new republican constitution is made. The study of the materials of the brief national discussion of the draft of the Constitution of the RSFSR in 1937 reveals the range of the most significant problems that worried the people of the Russian republic. Among them — the national ratio, the position of autonomous regions, the equalization of economic and social rights of urban and rural population, education, repression.

Keywords: history, constitution, constitutional reform, the Commission, the Politburo, a project of the RSFSR, the Allnational debate, an extraordinary session.

Abstract: The article investigates the relations between the concepts of “robbery” and “murder” in the Russian Pravda. Substantiated that the in “Russian Pravda” the duel, battle, combat was called a “robbery”. Laws pursuing robbery “without fault”, establishes criminal liability for malicious (unjustified, unfair) armed attack on another person without regard to consequences, which offset the offensive themselves. Later malice was an additional internal feature of the concept.

Keywords: history, robbery, thief, murder, fight, combat, truth, article, battle, attack