Abstract: The purpose of this study is to analyze the “short 20th century” concept as an interpretative model of modern historical science that claims to be universal. The author analyzes the concept of the “short 20th century” proposed by Eric Hobsbawm. The subject of the article is the concept of the “short 20th century”, the object is the possibility of its application and transplantation into Indonesian historical research. The novelty of the study lies in the analysis of the concept of the “short 20th century” as an interpretative model that allows us to analyze the features of the historical, social and cultural development of Indonesia in the context of those transformation processes that were launched by the development of nationalism, modernization and secularization. It is assumed that the interpretive models proposed by Western historians have a claim to universality, although the effect of its transplantation into non-Western historical contexts may be limited. The article analyzes 1) the features of the social and economic components in the transformation of Indonesia during the “short 20th century”, 2) the role of the factors of nationalism and Islam in political changes within the framework of political competition and the confrontational model of relations between the Ummah and the ruling elites, 3) the consequences of “short 20th century” for the subsequent history of the region. The article shows the potential of the concept of the “short 20th century” for analyzing the history of social and political transformations in Indonesia. The results of the study suggest that the effect of using the concept of the “short 20th century” is limited. The author believes that this interpretative model can be effective relatively and useful for analyzing social and political dynamics through the prism of confrontation between secular and religious institutions as sources and drivers of change.

Keywords: natioanlism, Islam, modernization, social transformation, socio-economic history, history, Indonesia, short 20th century, Ummah, historiography

Abstract: The search for the optimal route of the Trans- Siberian Railway took more than a decade in the second half of the XIX century. The discussions on this issue involved not only government officials, but also representatives of business circles, members of Russian scientific and technical societies, and broad public circles. Russian Geographical and Imperial Russian Technical Societies' activity in the 1870s - early 1890s to develop proposals on the route of the transcontinental railway, as well as on the use of waterways in the context of solving the problems of the construction of the Trans–Siberian Railway is considered in the article. The main sources were verbatim reports, reports and other materials published following the meetings of participants of these Russian scientific societies, as well as invited speakers.   Discussions about possible directions of the future Trans-Siberian Railway line, which took place in the 1870s – early 1890s, contributed to the gradual formation of the main possible options for the route of the railway, taking into account, first of all, economic interests, financial opportunities, technical difficulties and construction deadlines. Some of the proposed solutions and recommendations were taken into account during the construction of the Trans-Siberian Railway in subsequent years. In addition, thanks to the participation of scientists, engineers and other specialists in these discussions, it was possible to formulate priority tasks for further topographic, geological, hydrological, climatic and other studies of the territories of Siberia and the Far East, which were planned to be carried out with the direct participation of the state, both in the context of railway construction tasks, and in general to expand knowledge about these territories.

Keywords: trucking, railway bridges, Ob-Yenisei Canal, Siberia, railway construction, Russian Technical Society, Russian Geographical Society, Trans-Siberian Railway, waterways, ferry crossings

Abstract: The research subject of this study is the work of surveyors in the new territory of the Russian Empire that was granted by Catherine II at the end of the 18th century to the Black Sea Cossack army. The relocation of the Black Sea Cossacks to Taman and the further economic development of the Kuban territory created the need for establishing borders and land surveying. In Russian historiography, the work of land surveyors in this particular territory has remained little-studied. This is due both to the poor preservation of historical sources and to the fact that the work of land surveyors on the territory of the Black Sea Cossack army has never been made the object of an in-depth analysis. This study has applied the methods of archival research of documentary information on the activities of surveyors in disparate sources and used the methods of analysing historical sources based on a systematic approach. The novelty of this study lies in the fact that the author was able to restore the whole picture of the work of land surveyors who took part in the development of the territory granted to the Black Sea Cossack Army by Catherine II in the late 18th century. Based on an analysis of historical sources, various aspects of this work were traced, starting from the participation in the expedition of M. Gulik, who was sent to inspect and describe the territory located on Taman and along the Kuban River, including the formation of the petition asking for the grant of land, and finally to the final demarcation from the territories of the Yekaterinoslavsky and Caucasian governorships and setting plans for cities and villages.

Keywords: plans of cities, demarcation, surveyors, development of the territory, Kuban, Taman, black sea Cossacks, General surveying, Vasily Kolchigin, map

Abstract: The subject of this article is an in-depth examination of the views on nature and rural life prevalent in Venice during the Renaissance era, which was considered moral and worthy of a noble person. The main sources for this work are the agricultural treatises of Agostino Gallo "Ten Days of Real Agriculture and Pleasures of the Villa" (Brescia, 1564) and Giuseppe Falcone "A New, Charming and Pleasant Villa" (Brescia, 1559). The examination of these texts enriches with new information our knowledge regarding the cultural life of the educated Venetians of the 16th century and their daily living habits. The author's research method is based on the extraction of information from agricultural treatises relevant to our study, whose content was closely tied to reality and which inform us of the nature of an important historical source that allows us to reconstruct in general outlines the typical setup of provincial life characteristic of the studied epoch. The research novelty of this study consists in it analyzing the text of agricultural treatises in terms of what advantages were associated with the way of life on an estate, and what values of a moral order were associated with it. Turning to these sources illustrates how they also contain valuable information about the due organization of the living setup in a country villa, reflecting the real practice of living arrangements.

Keywords: Renaissance, Venice, nature, treatise, villa, agricultural, pastime, benefit, landscape, entertainment

Abstract: This article discusses the historical and architectural reconstruction of Yakut settlements, differentiated depending on the seasoning of their economical activity. The article is written in relation to the case study of life and household activities of one paternal family, who lived on the plainlands in central Yakutia. The academic interest in this topic is sparkled by the fundamental and organic interconnectedness of paternal family’s natural habitat and the surrounding habitat that is characterized by the preservation of existing ecosystems. The author has researched extensively on preexisting organic basics of formation of traditional Yakut housing in the late historical period, as well as necessary maintenance buildings for successful northern cattle breeding. The characteristics of historical and architectural formation of settlements, emerging as a result of seasonal economic activity and communication with the surrounding organic habitat, were re-created. Research material had been collected during multiple field trips, measuring works and interviews with the witnesses. The main conclusion and the dominating result of the research is the historical and architectural reconstruction of Yakut settlements that appeared during the expansion of natural-resources lands. The settlements slowly lost their social and functional meaning due to the emergence of centralized structures of resettlement in Central Yakutia in the Postwar years.

Keywords: traditional housing, maintenance buildings, summer road, winter road, Yakut settlements, seasonal climate changes, Central Yakutia, paternal family, natural habitat, historical and architectural reconstruction

Abstract: The subject of the author's research is the yet unstudied aspects of the transnational history of the intelligence services of the USSR and the GDR in the sphere of controlling the educational system of the East German students in the Soviet Union: their mutual collaboration, the area of operation of the Stasi, the methods of recruitment and mobilisation of unofficial informers, and the conflict areas of the Socialist integration. On the basis of material from Russian and German archives, the author reconstructs the strategies of assessing reality and behavioural practice of the students, the reasons for collaborating with intelligence services, and the attempts to use uncontrolled niches for private benefit. On the methodological plan the article presents an interdisciplinary study, created at the intersection of new political, transnational, and social history, historical anthropology, and sociology of international relations. The student delegation became a Stasi channel, securing the effect of having a limited presence on the territory of the governing country, as well as a possibility to have an indirect influence on the internal affairs of the Soviet Union: the organisation of the educational process and control over Soviet and international students, and also over representatives of West Germany (entrepreneurs, scholars, tourists). The author notes the pragmatic flexibility of the intelligence services' discourse on interagency with respect to official propaganda words, and also confirms the fruitfulness of the refusal to universally consider all the agents of the Stasi as ingrained servants of dictatorship in favour of a differentiated approach to analysing the motives for collaborating with secret services.

Keywords: East German students, Stasi, Comecon, Socialist bloc, history of the German Democratic Republic, intelligence history, transnational history, social group resistance, mobilisation practices, Cold War culture

Abstract: Based on the materials in Russian and German archives, memoirs, and biographic interviews, this article examines the transnational space of Soviet universities and career paths of graduates from the German Democratic Republic (GDR) as one aspect of socialist integration during the Cold War. The author analyzes the community of graduates as a social network. It examines official and unofficial mechanisms of support, public space of representation, and use of network resources as social capital, as well as the principles of operation and communication of scientific and professional communities in the USSR and GDR. Analysis is preceded by a critical review of the modern state of methodological concepts of “transnational history” and “social networks,” and their prospects for use in the study of interactions of ordinary actors within the framework of the socialist camp. The author concludes that, in spite of an ambivalent experience in teaching and conflict situations, communication of the scientific and expert community within the so-called Eastern Block bore a lively and productive character. At the conclusion of the article, the transformation of a career network into a social one and the fate of scientific and personal contacts after the collapse of the socialist camp and unification of Germany are traced.

Keywords: transnational history, cultural history, history of the USSR, history of the GDR, socialist integration, academic mobility, social network, expert community, scientific communication, transnational space.

Abstract: the article traces the evolution of the nobility and merchant estates in Bogorodsky region of Moscow governorate in stages of formation (XVIII – 1st third of XIX century), mass transformation (2nd third of the XIX century – 1917), the exploitation of their material component (1917 – present time). Homesteads are seen as the most important architectural and urban areas facilities, centers of social, cultural and economic life of the region, heritage sites. For each stage the brightest objects and related phenomena are described. The article shows up the specific character of the eastern Moscow suburbs estates: the early industrial activity and mass belonging to merchants. Preserved manor complexes and production facilities harmoniously related to them are suggested to be considered as heritage sites of the urban level. Today there are 39 different objects of the different estate of preservation, which may be involved in the life of modern society for restoring the communication of times and generations.

Keywords: history, cultural studies, country estate, eastern Moscow suburbs, nobles, merchants, business, architecture, landscape, heritage.

Abstract: the article discusses the gradual formation of symbolic spaces in Maikop and positive mythology in the historical discourse. It explains the rationale for the emergence of myths: “Maikop — the City of Military Glory”, “Maikop — the Green City”, “Maikop — the City of classical Russian culture”, “Maikop — the City-Worker”, “Maikop — the center of the urban culture of ethnic Circassians”. It is concluded that the combination of polyphonic symbolic spaces and urban myths is the basis of psychological comfort and security of multi-ethnic and multi-confessional population of the city.

Keywords: history, urban planning, the province, a symbolic space, urban myths, mythologems, cultural policy, architectural appearance, ethnicity, multi-confessional.

Abstract: the article discusses the historical consciousness of a little-known French philosopher of XVI century, poet and theologian Robert Le Roch, author of historical and eschatological poem «The Mirror of Eternity». The study focused on Le Rock’s perception of present as an epoch in the history of mankind, which he conceptualizes through the lens of two concepts — the history of Christian theology and medieval ideas about God’s chosen people and the special mission of «Christian » Kings of France. It is the interaction of these two concepts that determines the identity of Le Roch’s representations about «our time» as a historical epoch.

Keywords: History, Apocalypse, Second Coming, historical consciousness, the Holy Roman Empire, Renaissance, sacred history, theology of history, France.

Abstract: The article is devoted to the two significant literary monuments of Russian pilgrims’ literature, which were written by a celibate priest Barsanuphius in the second half of XV century. The first pilgrimage to the Jerusalem is usually not studied by scientists who specialize in studying the literature of pilgrimage, but this work is of undoubted interest to the artifacts study, because it contains detailed information about the Christian holy places of Palestine. Second pilgrimage gained popularity among researchers, because it is the first Russian description of Egypt and the Sinai.

Keywords: history, pilgrimage, travels, sources, artifacts, Christian, East, Old Russian, literature.