Abstract: The presented article analyzes the reaction of the British press to the proclamation of the Monroe Doctrine by the American president in 1823. The reaction of leading London periodicals such as The Examiner, The Monthly Magazine, The London Magazine and The Morning Post is considered. The author describes in detail the diversity of opinions: from support for Republican ideals and their contrast with the monarchical aspects of the policy of the Holy Alliance to expressing concerns about the negative impact of the doctrine on Britain's trade and economic interests in Latin America. The author concludes that the London newspapers have a balanced, albeit emotional assessment of the influence of the Monroe Doctrine on international relations and the specific interests of Great Britain. The article focuses on the period of the 1820s and the British reaction to American foreign policy activity, neglecting to consider the British position in the context of the War of Independence of the Spanish colonies of 1808-1819. In the study of newspaper materials by domestic and foreign scientists, general philosophical (deduction and induction, systematic approach, synergetic approach, etc.), general scientific (observation, comparative method, etc.) and private scientific methods specific to a particular field of knowledge. The Monroe Doctrine provides a rare example of a 200-year-old speech that remains the subject of regular references when discussing the current international political agenda to this day. The article examines the reaction to the Monroe Doctrine, which is one of the fundamental documents of American public policy, which became one of the first steps for the formation of American strategic culture in its current state. The relevance of the article is based on the need for a comprehensive study of the reports of the leading London press to identify their impact on international relations and the specific interests of the United Kingdom. Despite the fact that the Monroe Doctrine has been around for two hundred years, it does not lose its relevance in relation to Latin American states with the United States, and, more importantly, in relation to the United States, with other actors in world politics.

Keywords: Anglo-American contradictions, State sovereignty, Legitimacy, Anglo-American relations, UK Foreign Policy, International relations, London newspapers, British Press, U.S. Foreign Policy, Monroe Doctrine

Abstract: This article assesses the foreign policy roles of Nigeria and South Africa, given their status as regional powers, and the regional complexes within which they operate. Drawing references from a plethora of policies and speeches of the Presidents of the two States, this article argues that CFP, given its emphasis on foreign policy decision-making processes related to momentous events as well as its implication in day-to-day events, is useful as a theoretical framework in this assessment. Nigeria and South Africa are both active state actors in the international system. Unarguably, Nigeria and South Africa are two important nations in the continent of Africa whose foreign policy actions and inactions are crucial to the desire development of their areas of regional and global influence, particularly for the African continent. Methodologically, it employs the use of comparative analysis relying solely on secondary information for data generation and analysis of the direction of the foreign policy of Nigeria and South Africa. The article contributes to the literature by illustrating the potential impact and regional implications of foreign policy analysis as an approach to international relations (IR), within which the behavior of these two African States can be analyzed in the wake of new members into BRICS, African Union (AU) been made a permanent member of the G20, giving the continent an important voice on key global issues. Noting that the dynamic evolving role of South Africa and Nigeria in the global arena, should be expected to increase positioning Africa in decision making process of both regional and world politics; regional and global peace and security, such as in Ukraine crisis and reform within the United Nations security Council. Both countries need to unite their efforts and practical strategies to advance the common goal of Africa development, peace and security.

Keywords: SADC, Economic Diplomacy, African Union, ECOWAS, Nigeria, Foreign Policy, South Africa, Apartheid, Foreign Policy Analysis, Conflict

Abstract: The article is devoted to the analysis of the prospects for the creation of the Balkan Union in 1904-1905, the idea of which arose under the influence of the aggravation of the international political situation in connection with the Eastern question, as well as due to the beginning of the Ilinden uprising in Macedonia. This was the first attempt in the twentieth century by young Slavic states to unite and coordinate joint foreign policy goals in the fight against the Ottoman Empire. The main sources of research are the diplomatic documents of the Balkan countries, as well as reports from Russian diplomats, the analysis of which led to the conclusion that the agreements reached during the negotiations between Serbia, Bulgaria and Montenegro, although they did not lead to the final formation of the alliance, still played a major role in the future and formed the basis of the Balkan Union of 1912-1913. They also stressed the role of the Russian Empire as an arbitrator in inter-Balkan relations. The main focus of the article is on analyzing the Serbian-Montenegrin negotiations aimed at concluding a union treaty between the countries and strengthening bilateral relations, which became possible after the change of the ruling dynasty in Serbia. Despite the fact that at first Serbian and Montenegrin politicians highly appreciated the importance of possible agreements, later negotiations failed due to serious disagreements between the parties on the issue of future territorial delimitation in the event of victory over the Ottoman Empire and the inability to work out a compromise text of the treaty. The conducted research made it possible to significantly complement and expand the picture of the Serbian-Montenegrin and inter-Balkan negotiations of 1904-1905 and to conclude that during this period conditions had not yet developed for rapprochement and coordination of foreign policy goals between the Slavic countries of the Balkan peninsula, and the beginning of negotiations on the formation of the Balkan Union was dictated to a greater extent by the temporary aggravation of the situation in connection with the uprising in Macedonia.

Keywords: The Balkan League, The Russian Empire, inter-Balkan relations, Serbian-Montenegrin relations, Foreign policy, diplomatic relations, Bulgaria, Montenegro, Serbia, Ilinden Uprising

Abstract: The object of the study is the international relations of Azerbaijan at the junction of the XX and XXI centuries. The subject of the study is the relationship between Azerbaijan and Kazakhstan after the disintegration of the USSR. The author dwells in detail on the bilateral relations between Baku and Astana during the presidency of Heydar and Ilham Aliyev. The greatest attention is paid to cooperation in various fields within the framework of Trans-Caucasian logistics projects through the prism of involving Caspian partners in them. This perspective allows us to note that Kazakhstan has gained an important "logistics hub" in Azerbaijan, and Azerbaijan fount in Kazakhstan a partner. The research methods are content analysis, discourse analysis and historical research methods. The scientific novelty of the study lies in the fact that Azerbaijan's foreign policy is reflected quite briefly in Russian historiography, especially in the framework of bilateral relations with the countries of Central Asia. The attention of domestic researchers, as a rule, focuses on relations with Russia, as well as other countries of the South Caucasus and Turkey, however, it should be noted that Azerbaijani-Kazakh relations became one of the foundations of the Caspian vector of Eurasian integration at the turn of the century. The main conclusion of the author is that the Azerbaijani-Kazakh relations allowed the two countries not only to solve their own geopolitical problems, but also to qualitatively improve the Caspian vector of Eurasian integration, harmoniously supplementing it with the "West-East" direction. It should be noted not only the intensity of contacts, but also their productivity, a reflection of this is the involvement of Kazakhstan in logistics projects in the South Caucasus, participation in which allows the Central Asian country to have another "corridor" to the world ocean. Probably, the bilateral relations under consideration were the most productive in the region between the post-Soviet countries, with the exception of bilateral relations in which Russia participated.

Keywords: Baku, Caspian sea, International relations, Eurasia, Kazakhstan, Astana, Russia, Caspian Region, Azerbaijan, Post-Soviet space

Abstract: The object of the study is the international relations of Azerbaijan in the XXI century. The subject of the study is the North American and European directions of the foreign policy of the Republic of Azerbaijan in 2003-2019. The author dwells in detail on the interaction of Azerbaijan with the United States of America and the European Union within the specified chronological framework. The greatest attention is paid to bilateral relations, as well as partnership within the framework of various international projects. This perspective allows us to consider Azerbaijan as one of the main keys of access to the Caspian region for the United States and the EU, which have considered the region as strategically important since the disintegration of the Soviet Union. The research methods are content analysis, discourse analysis and historical research methods. The choice of chronological framework is due to the fact that 2003 is the year of the beginning of the presidency of Ilham Aliyev. In 2019, Azerbaijan, together with the whole world, entered a pandemic, which marked the transition to the transformation of almost all spheres of life. However, apart from the pandemic, the Karabakh crisis has become another event in the life of the state, the significance of which has yet to be studied. The scientific novelty of the study is that the foreign policy activity of the Republic of Azerbaijan is reflected quite briefly in Russian historiography. The main attention of researchers, as a rule, is paid to the relations between Baku and other actors in the South Caucasus and the Caspian region, however, it should be noted that the US and the EU had a great influence on the political climate of the entire post-Soviet space and the Caspian Sea was no exception. The main conclusion of the author is that the influence of the West reached its apogee in the middle of the "noughties", but then, for various reasons, its curtailment followed. It is also worth noting the multi-vector approach that allowed Azerbaijan to strengthen its position in the international arena at the beginning of the XXI century, which helped Baku to overcome the Karabakh crisis relatively painlessly.

Keywords: Foreign policy, South Caucasus, Post-Soviet space, Baku, CIS, Caspian region, International relations, European Union, USA, Azerbaijan

Abstract: The historical analysis of the research carried out during 1928-1934 within the framework of the Kola peninsula expedition of the USSR Academy of Sciences is presented. The initial boundary is due to the creation of the expedition, the final one is due to its reformatting into a stationary structure – the Kola base of the USSR Academy of Sciences. The sources for the preparation of the article are archival materials identified by the authors from the Archives of the Russian Academy of Sciences, published expedition reports, as well as scientific literature prepared based on the results of the research under consideration. It is noted that the drivers of the Kola complex expedition were both purely cognitive interest and the needs of industrial development of high latitudes. The work carried out made it possible to show significant activity of researchers in studying the natural resources of the Kola Peninsula, identifying promising mineral deposits, determining various patterns of their distribution and searching for the optimal development methodology. Along with this, a certain place in the work of the expedition was given to other areas of research, both related to ensuring the possibility of developing the extractive industry (geocryological, partly ecological and biological), and having an indirect connection with this problem. In this regard, the importance of conducting research within the expedition aimed, among other things, at studying the traditional culture of the aboriginal ethnic groups of the Kola Peninsula is noted.

Keywords: traditional culture, indigenous peoples, minerals, scientific research, natural resources, expeditions, Academy of Sciences of the USSR, Kola Peninsula, Arctic, folklore

Abstract: The object of this article is Russian Sinology The subject of the study is the process of spreading university studies in the Far East. The goal is to reveal the main directions and activities of educational contacts, to show their role in the spread of Sinology in the Far Eastern region of the Russian Federation. The author used the methods of scientific cognition in the article, followed the principles of conceptual consistency in the presentation of the material. Today, the expansion and deepening of scientific and educational contacts between the Russian Federation and the People's Republic of China as the most important factors of interaction between countries in various fields. Unfortunately, the issues of analyzing the activities of regional scientific and educational complexes in the field of Chinese studies are not sufficiently reflected in modern scientific literature.                 In this article, for the first time in Russian historiography, an attempt is made to specifically investigate educational contacts in the Far East. The author examines the main directions and important achievements of their interactions and summarizes the historical experience of cooperation between neighboring regions of the two countries during this period. Thus, thanks to their active interaction in order to increase educational competitiveness, many useful exchange programs for students, teachers and co-education have been implemented in the field of education. Groups of Chinese language learning in the Russian Far East region and Russian language learning in the Northeast of China have become widespread.

Keywords: Far Eastern Federal University, Heihesk University, Heilongjian University, Victor Lavrentievich Larin, Olga Pavlovna Elantseva, Institute of Confucius, Chinese, the Far East of Russia, northeast of China, Educational cooperation

Abstract: The actual research is dedicated to the problem of transformation of the local elites in the rank structure and administrative system in the Late Classic Maya kingdoms of the Western region. The Maya early states of the segmentary type were formed in the Usumacinta Basin in the period between 400–500 AD and existed until the beginning of the 9th cent. By the 6th cent. the headship of the regions within such kingdoms was in the hands of local rulers with a wide range of powers, related to the royal dynasties and betraying their power by inheritance within the lineage, at the origins of which could stand the military leaders — yajawte. In the 7th cent. the privileges of local lords are significantly expanded, in particular, they add to their titulature the traditional royal titles and tend to be more independent, which leads to a series of military conflicts with kings. In the middle of 7th cent. kings transferred the rulership authority over the regions to the sajals, formerly ordinary local administrators, who were now endowed with significant powers of regional governors. The rank of sajal was not uniform, they could receive high ranking positions in royal court and form a new elite or sajals make up the local nobility transferring administrative powers in their own lineages. Thus, a unified centralized system of administrative rulership was formed in the Western Maya kingdoms at the beginning of the 8th cent.

Keywords: Mesoamerica, royal court, Maya hieroglyphic inscriptions, epigraphic sources, segmentary state, administrative system, sajal, local lordship, Usumacinta Basin, Maya

Abstract: The article examines the formation of one of the foreign policy doctrines of expansionism, which became the main instrument of US foreign policy in the twentieth century. The theory of "open doors", the essence of which is to provide equal opportunities to all interested parties on the basis of unlimited economic freedom and unhindered penetration of capital, was proclaimed by Secretary of State J. Hay in 1899 in relation with China, which was considered as a potential market for the sale of industrial goods and a profitable object of capital investment. Having opposed the division of China by the European powers, the American ruling elites proposed to replace individual control over individual parts of the country, according to the concluded agreements on "spheres of influence", with the establishment of a collective system of external supervision over its entire territory. By putting external expansion in the form of international agreement, they wanted to force competitors stronger in military and political terms to play by the proposed rules, transferring power rivalry to the trade and economic area, where their commercial superiority was undoubted. The nationalist movement of the Yihetuans, which began in the autumn of 1898, aimed at expelling foreigners out of the country, jeopardized the idea of implementing the doctrine of "open doors". After much thought, the White House abandoned the widely disseminated peacefulness and approved the participation of the expeditionary force in the joint intervention of European powers in China. Interference in the internal political affairs of a formally sovereign state meant that the United States was involved in its violent redistribution. Later, Washington continued to follow its course around the world, creating an arsenal of new political and economic methods, officially formalized as a generally accepted international principle in the 1922 treaty of the Nine Powers.

Keywords: Edna Chaffee, alliance of eight nations, Edwin Conger, ihetuan movement, William Rockhill, the open door doctrine, John Hay, William McKinley, informal empire, colonialism

Abstract: The article is devoted to the study of an important problem of the territorial affiliation of Northern Epirus at the Paris Peace Conference of 1946 and the role of Soviet diplomacy in its solution. The interests of Greece, Albania, the USSR and the Western powers in this region, the military and political-diplomatic confrontation of Greece, on the one hand, Albania, on the other, as well as the influence of the factor of the Soviet state in resolving the issue of Northern Epirus are considered. The purpose of this article is to study the national-territorial claims of Greece to Northern Epirus, which were discussed at the Paris Peace Conference. Based on the review of documentary archival materials in the course of the study, the author of the article came to the conclusion that in the process of resolving the issue of the status of Northern Epirus, Greece failed. The evaluation of the results of the efforts of the USSR government to protect the territorial integrity of Albania is given. The active participation of the USSR was aimed at maintaining peace in the region. Comparing the positions of the parties, the author shows the course of the political struggle around the adoption of final decisions on the status of Northern Epirus. The methodological basis of the research is the principles of historicism and consistency, which involve the consideration of phenomena and facts in their entirety and development in accordance with the conditions of a particular historical epoch. The principle of objectivity is also used. The relevance of the research problem is explained by the need to ensure the territorial integrity of states and the normalization of ethnic relations in them. The scientific novelty of the study consists in the fact that, based on the involvement of archival documentary materials, an attempt was made to study the question of the status of Northern Epirus in 1946 in the context of the approval of territorial changes after World War II. In the scientific literature, this problem has not been specifically posed in such a perspective until now.

Keywords: Tsaldaris, diplomatic struggle, USSR, Greece, Albania, Northern Epirus, soviet diplomacy, Paris Conference, Molotov, Vyshinsky

Abstract: The decades since the end of the Cold War, the foreign policy of the Republic of Korea has undergone multiple changes; besides the traditional commitment to maintain and develop relations with its military and political ally – the United States – the new vectors have emerged. . The Korean government turns attention to such directions as: international status of the country; its authority on the world stage; as well as autonomy combined with globalism and autonomy through neutrality. The subject of this research is the foreign policy of the Republic of Kazakhstan at the turn of the XX – XXI centuries. The object is the main foreign policy trends. As a result of the conducted research, the author determines the vectors in foreign policy of the Republic of Korea: orientation towards alliance with the United States; globalism with intention to form new alliances; pursuit of cooperative autonomy; and acquisition of autonomy through neutrality. The article reveals cyclicity in the shift of attitudes depending on the political affiliation of the leader of the country: conservative presidents aim to maintain the alliance, while democratic presidents strive for autonomy. Although, the recent foreign policy vector of the Republic of Korea, which suggests acquisition of autonomy through neutrality, seems impossible due to the existing responsibilities, it remains relevant.

Keywords: Lee Myung-bak, neutrality, Republic of Korea, history of policy, internationalism, autonomy, US-Korean alliance, foreign policy of the Republic of Korea, Roh Moo Hyun, Park Eun Hye

Abstract: River transportation along the Amur River has played a crucial role in the development of Sino-Russian relations since the middle of the XIX century. With the opening of Far Eastern borders and the improvement of Sino-Russian relations at the turn of the XX – XX centuries, they river transportation amplified its importance. The subject of this research is the cooperation of the Amur Shipping Company and Heilongjiang Shipping Group in the Far East. An overview is given to the activity of the two largest shipping companies of Russia and China in the Amur River Basin, as well as to the line of activity of the Chinese company aimed at the development of Sino-Russian border relations. The scientific novelty lies in the analysis of interaction between the Amur Shipping Company and Heilongjiang Shipping Group. The conclusion is made on the immensity of the accumulated historical experience of cooperation, all-round role of interaction between the the Amur Shipping Company and Heilongjiang Shipping Group in Sino-Russian relations, gradual development of the two corporations, and development potential of further cooperation in the conditions of COVID-19 pandemic. The article is relevant for studying the strategic development of Heilongjiang shipping companies and the role of Amur river transport in the context of Russia's economic integration into the Asia-Pacific Region.

Keywords: Amur River, Russian-Chinese relations, Russian-Chinese cooperation, Amur River Shipping Company, Heilongjiang Shipping Company, Far East, Russia, China, shipping, Asia-Pacific region

Abstract: The subject of this research is the political relations that developed between the Czech national politicians of Bohemia and the French diplomatic mission in Austria-Hungary in the early 1870s. Analysis is conducted on the initial stage of Czech political Francophilism. The article employs the historical-genetic method that allows tracing the establishment and development of the indicated ties. Comparative-historical method is used for describing the specificity and important aspects of the Czech-French contacts of the early 1870s in relation to 1860s, as well as on the background of parallel Czech-Russian relations. The novelty is defined by the fact that this topic, namely the Czech political Francophilism, has not been previously covered within the Russian historiography. The main conclusion lies in the thesis that in the early 1870s Czech politicians and French diplomats manifested equal and mutual interest for the first time. Both parties pursued to exert pressure on Vienna: the French – to entice over the Third Republic in the conflict with Prussia, and the Czechs – to force change the status of the Czech lands in the monarchy. The analysis demonstrates that the Czech politicians were exceedingly pragmatic: if in the end of 1870 they openly supported France, then in the beginning of 1871 they have ignored the initiatives of French diplomats. This is substantiated by the potentially successful negotiations with the imperial center. Moreover, the political Francophilism suggested the desire of the Czechs to show the strategic (economic, political, and cultural) significance of the lands of the Czech Crown not only in Austria-Hungary, but also in the European space.

Keywords: the Czech issue, Czech-French relations, František Palacký, František Ladislav Rieger, francophilism, France, Bohemia, Czech lands, Austria-Hungary, Albert Lefaivre

Abstract: The subject of this research is the historical conditions for the creation of Visegrád Group – subregional organization of the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary and Poland. The collapse of the system of pro-communist regimes in the countries of Central and Eastern Europe allowed the local dissident circles to create the “ideological” framework for subregional organization, which is based on the idea of the Central European identity. In the late 1980s, the idea of subregional cooperation in the socialist camp won support of a number of Western European countries. However, the initiative on the development regional cooperation in Central and Eastern Europe was taken over by the United States. The United States prompted the decision of the G7 member-states on the transfer of the European Commission a coordinating role in assisting Poland and Hungary as the flagships for conducting political and economic liberalization in Central and Eastern Europe. The novelty of this research consists in the analysis of attempts of subregional cooperation outside the framework of the European Economic Community in the late 1980s. Attention is also given to the previously unstudied criticism of the process of accession of the countries of Visegrád Group to the European Economic Community. Critical assessments substantiated by ineffectiveness of the programs of assisting the countries of Central and Eastern Europe, as well as by posing threats to the stability of the European Economic Community member-states due to inclusion of the former socialist countries into the united Europe. The main conclusion lies in the statement that the collapse of the socialist camp at the turn of the 1980s – 1990s actualized the pursuit of identity in the new world by the Central and Eastern European countries. The oath of European integration was selected as a universal method for solution of this problem. However, regional cooperation remained a relevant question, since rapprochement with the Western Europe alone could not eliminate all the contradictions between the countries. The cooperation between Poland, Hungary and Czechoslovakia became the most successful example of such cooperation and served as the prototype for creation of other subregional structures.

Keywords: Central European identity, interstate cooperation, subregional organization, Hungary, Poland, Czechoslovakia, Visegrad group, post-communist transition, PHARE programme, european agreements

Abstract: This article raises the virtually unstudied in Russian historiography topic on the development of resorts of the south coast of Crimea during 1914–1919, the World War I, and revolutionary events of 1917. The situation in the Russian tourism sector in the years of World War I is consonant with the current situation caused by the coronavirus pandemic. The Russian people, who prefer vacationing abroad, descended on the Russian resorts, which were not ready for such turn of events. This caused a public discussion on the topic of improving the Russian health treatment facilities, the materials on which are barely introduced into the historical discourse. The theme of economic and sociocultural development of the south coast of Crimea in the early XX century, which until recently was farmed out to historians and art historians, remains relevant. In the course of working on this article in the libraries and archives, the author reveals and introduces into the scientific discourse various types of sources that can shed light on the transformation of the south coast of Crimea after the beginning of the World War I. The three most promising vectors for further development of the topic are outlined: work with verbatim reports of the Congress on the improvement of health treatment facilities (1915), advertising materials and documentation of the newly established resort towns Laspi and Foros, as well as the sources of historical memory (memoirs, correspondence, diaries), which reflect the everyday life in the resorts of the south coast of Crimea during the wartime and revolutionary period.

Keywords: garden city,  Russian Revolution, Southern Cost of Crimea, history of leisure, World War I, history of Russia, Laspi,  Foros, sources of historical memory, history of tourism

Abstract: This article is dedicated to the analysis of Turkey's foreign policy aimed at achieving regional leadership after the Cold War, as well as the changes that took place therein under the rule of the Justice and Development Party) since 2002. The author describes the principles of Turkey's policy in the Balkans under the rule of the Justice and Development Party, which are founded on the doctrine of strategic depth proposed by Ahmet Davutoğlu in 2001, who was appointed Minister of Foreign Affairs in 2009 (until 2014). The following questions arise: are the political priorities and goals outlined in the theory compatible with the Turkey’s foreign policy in the Balkans, which holds an important place in the doctrine; and what is the impact of the neo-Ottoman approach adopted in relation to Muslim communities in the Balkans affect the policy conducted against the non-Muslim communities? Besides the Davutoğlu’s doctrine, the article employs archival documents obtained from the official website of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Turkey, as well as publications and books by various Turkish and foreign experts that allow reconstructing the true picture of events. The goal of this work is to comprise a broad picture of Turkey's position on the international arena in the 2000s and foreign policy perception of the Justice and Development party overall. In this regard, analysis is conducted on Turkey’s interests in the Balkans and the policy for achieving them under the rule of the Justice and Development Party.

Keywords: Justice and Development Party, Military, Diplomacy, Economy, Geopolitics, Balkans, Post-Cold War, Turkish foreign policy, Strategic depth, Ahmet Davutoglu effect

Abstract:   The article is dedicated to the results of urbanization of Chita Oblast in the late Soviet period. The author examines the established structure of urban settlements, count of cities and industrial townships, as well as their functional designation in the late 1980s. A brief characteristic of production base formed in the Soviet period (organizations, enterprises, etc.) is given by each city and large worker’s settlement. Calculation is conducted on separate demographic parameters of urbanization of the region: share of the urban population, share of the population of cities and industrial townships in the urban population, etc. The research leans on the official results of the All-Union Census of 1989, as well as the data from the official websites of urban settlements in Zabaykalsky Krai. It is underlined that by the end of the 1980s, on the territory of Chita Oblast was formed a broad and dispersed network of urban settlements, which for the most part scattered along Trans-Siberian Railway and southward towards the border with China. Trans-Baikal Railway and mining industry played the leading role in formation of majority of cities and workers’ settlements. The structure of urban settlements highlighted the capita of the region – Chita by demographical and functional aspects. However, nine more cities and five large townships with over 12,000 population and developed infrastructure, smoothed out the territorial imbalances in urbanization of the region.  

Keywords: Far East, Chita Oblast, city population, city, urbanization, Chita, Russia, Zabaykalsky Krai, historical demography, urban settlements

Abstract: The goal of this article consists in determination of the key aspects of foreign policy of the First Czechoslovak Republic, described in the Soviet historical science since the end of the World War II until dissolution of the Soviet Union. The subject of this research is the writings of Soviet historians dedicated to examination of foreign policy of interwar Czechoslovakia. The object of this research is the Soviet historiography of the late 1940s – late 1980s. The interest towards foreign policy problematic is substantiated by its crucial importance for the existence of the First Republic, which fully depended on the stability of the Versailles System of international relations that gave rise to it and was eliminated along with it. Analysis the works of Soviet historians allows concluding that the main vectors in examination of foreign policy of the First Czechoslovak Republic and its assessment were formed by the early 1960s, and with no significant changes lasted until dissolution of the Soviet Union. It is worth noting that the national historiography at that time significantly advances in studying various aspects of foreign policy of the First Czechoslovak Republic, namely Czechoslovakia–Soviet Union relations and events preceding the Munich Agreement and liquidation of the First Republic. However, the prevalent in Soviet science class approach, with all its significance, did not allow giving an unbiased assessment to the events of 1938, as well as to foreign policy of the interwar Czechoslovakia overall.

Keywords: interbellum, Sudeten Germans, soviet-czechoslovak relations, international relations, foreign policy, The First Czechoslovak republic, historiography, Treaty of Versailles, Munich Agreement, class approach

Abstract: The article's research subject is the process of establishing trade and economic relations between Ceylon and other countries in the late 19th - early 20th centuries, its scope and importance for the country. The author dedicates particular attention to export and import goods and the geography of their origin and destination, and questions the established opinion in historiography that Ceylon in the period under review was a raw materials appendage to the metropolis of Great Britain. In order to solve these aims, the author cites and analyzes archival documents of economic nature compiled by Russian diplomats. The methodological basis of this study is constituted on the principles of historicism, analysis and synthesis, as well as quantitative methods, which allow the analysis of the development course and changes in the foreign trade of Ceylon. The novelty of this study lies in the fact that the establishment of Ceylon's trade and economic relations with foreign countries in the late 19th - early 20th centuries is for the first time examined on the basis of Russian archival documents. The author comes to the conclusion that the openness of the Ceylon economy had attracted investments from various countries and the direct trading partners of Ceylon were a number of countries in Europe, North and South America, Asia and Africa.

Keywords: coconut products, tea, integration, colonial goods, trade relations, metropolis, colony, Ceylon, rubber, colonialism

Abstract: The research subject of this article is the work of the special Amur Committee of the Russian emperor, which was a deliberative body called to discuss the means and methods of penetrating into the Amur region. The author proposes to consider the impact this institution had on the development of Russia's Far East policy in the second half of the 1850s. The author pays particular attention to the results of the committee's work during the period 1858 - 1861, when, as a consequence of the second opium war, Russia decided to intensify its activities in returning the territories of the Far East it had once assimilated into the Empire. The study is based on the analysis of published sources and unpublished materials from Russian archives (State Archive of the Russian Federation, Archive of the Foreign Policy of the Russian Empire). The author seeks to observe the principles of objectivity and historicism in applying the historical-comparative and historical-typological methods. The novelty of this research lies in it compensating the existing historiographic lacunae concerning the work of the Amur Committee in Russian and foreign historiography. According to the results of this research, the author concludes that the Amur Committee was an irregular advisory body, which, in addition to the emperor, included the highest dignitaries of the Russian Empire on a permanent basis. The collective decisions made by the committee were an expression of the will of its influential members and therefore largely determined the general direction of Russia's policy in the Far East during the second half of the 1850s.

Keywords: Opium Wars, Amur Committee, Foreign policy, Japan, China, Far East, Russian empire, Putyatin, Muravyov-Amursky, Ignatyev

Abstract: The subject of this research is the study of humanitarian technologies, the formation of personal photo collections by Soviet scientists and their interpretation in a modern context. The practical application of visual research methods in sociology and anthropology, for the study in ethnic and social terms of the culture and everyday life of the indigenous populations of the North, was dictated by the need for their multidimensional examination. The systematic analysis of expeditionary drawings and photographs as a visual heritage of the Soviet era makes it possible to examine ethnographic “cultural texts” from the standpoint of new anthropological contexts within the framework of compiling memorials of events. The object of this research is the visual heritage of the Soviet scholar-ethnographer I. S. Gurvich. In studying the scientist's use of visual research methods for capturing practical observations in the course of a comprehensive study of the ethnocultural heritage and the historical and cultural dialogue of the few indigenous peoples of the North in the second half of the 20th century, the authors followed the current direction of modern visual anthropological research. In the course of the undertaken research, the authors tested the hypothesis of I. S. Gurvich's introduction of the method of visually fixating practical observations in his field studies for the Northern Expedition of the USSR Academy of Sciences. This method developed into its final form in the 1970s in the scholar's visual program of everyday history studies. The assessment of the research paradigms on the gathering of visual collections by the named intellectual and scholar of the Soviet school of Russian ethnography, allowed the authors to interpret the method of fixating the "everyday" life activities of the above-named research object with the help of photography, as an independent language of cultural self-description. A large-scale photo project on the peoples of the North, carried out by the scientist, is presented as an ethnographic “text of culture”.

Keywords: intellectual traditions, humanitarian technologies, Soviet ethnographic project, anthropological discourse, cultural heritage, culture text, visual studies, Author's intention, expedition photography, visual anthropology

Abstract: The subject of this study is the organization of the political formations in Ahcupul (a region in the eastern part of northern Yucatan) at the end of the late post-classical period (first half of the 16th century). The author resorts to an analysis of the region's political geography, criticizing S. Quesada's dominant interpretation in Mayan Studies which deliberately neglects the "European" concept of territoriality. Special attention is focused on the question of the nature of the political relations within the supralocal polities, which are traditionally considered to be built on personal ties between the rulers of individual nomadic formations. At the heart of this study's scientific approach lies the concept of historicism, and an important role in the topic's examination is played by the auxiliary historical discipline - political geography; additionally, historical linguistics is also used. The author drew a number of conclusions from the study. In the first place, the predominant in Mayan Studies reconstruction of the political geography of Akhkupul is identified as not corresponding to reality. Instead of the four supralocal capitals indicated by S. Quesada (Popola, Saki, Chichen-Itza, Ek'Balam), seven villages can be recognized as such (including Khukhbilchen, Ts'ikab and Tepop). Secondly, there is no serious basis for the idea that Saki was the capital of two supralocal policies at the same time. Lastly, the interpretation of the term "idzincab", to which researchers have not paid attention up to now, suggests the existence of symbolic links not only between members of the political elite (local and regional rulers) but also directly between subordinate polities.

Keywords: cuchcabal, Conquest, Late Postclassic period, Pre-Columbian Mesoamerica, political organization, political geography, Yucatan, Maya, Ahcupul, cah

Abstract: The article is focused on an examination of the measures taken by the USSR's top leadership to increase economic independence and, in particular, to strengthen the defensive capability of the Soviet Far Eastern Territory (FET) in the first half of the 1930s. In the author's opinion, a significant part of these measures was directly related to the foreign policy situation in the Far East that arose after the beginning of Japan's occupation from September 1931 of the north-eastern part of China - Manchuria. In this article, the author discusses the insufficiently studied complex issue of the development and implementation mechanisms of the Soviet Far Eastern policy in the period of the Manchurian crisis' unfolding. Among the scientific methods applied in this work, the fundamental place is occupied by the principle of historicism, which implies the consideration of all known facts in the form of a complex process of their appearance and development, in direct connection with certain features inherent in one or another particular historical epoch. Additionally, the author uses the comparative-historical method in order to analyze the manifold views of contemporaries on the events that occurred during the Manchurian crisis. The article's scientific novelty lies in its use of both published sources, such as thematic collections of documents from the archives of various departments and sources of personal origin (correspondence, speeches, and statements by representatives of the leading strata of the USSR), as well as unpublished archival materials from the collections of the State Archives of the Russian Federation (SA RF), the Russian State Military Archives (RSMA), the Russian State Archive of Social and Political History (RSASPH). Within the framework of an integrated approach, the author proposes to evaluate the planned, special domestic political program in the Far East, implemented on the initiative of the political, economic and military elite of the Soviet Union as a natural consequence of the "Manchurian crisis".

Keywords: defense construction, military-industrial complex, the USSR, The Soviet leadership, Far East, The Manchurian crisis, transport, OKDVA, MSDV, Pacific Fleet

Abstract: The research subject of this study is the "Periplus of the Baltic Sea", a text by Laskaris Kananos, who was the first Byzantine to travel to the countries of Northern Europe and who left a brief description of his trip. From the end of the 19th century, when this text was discovered and published, and up to today scientists dispute the time of its creation. There are several variants of the dating of this text in historiography, the most recognized of which is 1438-1439, the beginning of the Ferrara-Florence council. The article examines in detail all existing hypotheses, each of which has its drawbacks. The author sets as his goal the establishment of a new, supported by the source itself, dating of the "Periplus of the Baltic Sea". The main scientific method of this article is to compare the information contained in the text with the historical realities of the Baltic countries during the 15th century with the perceptions of the Byzantine contemporaries of this region. By identifying the similarities and differences, the author determined the degree of originality of the message of the Byzantine traveler and the approximate period to which it corresponds. The main contribution of the author to the study of this topic is the establishment of a new dating of the text of Laskaris Kananos. The most probable time for a Byzantine to have traveled to the Baltic countries is 1442-1448 or 1457-1466. Given the approximate time required to return from the trip and to write the essay, the source can be finally dated to the 1440s-early 1450s or 1460s.

Keywords: Laonikos Chalkokondyles, Gemistus Pletho, Claudius Ptolemy, periplus, medieval geography, Baltics, Scandinavia, Byzantium, John Kananos, Laskaris Kananos

Abstract: The article addresses the little-known aspects of Soviet-Vietnamese relations and the biography of Ho Chi Minh. The subject of this study is the direction of the foreign policy of the military-political leadership of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam in the period from 1945-1950. With the August Revolution, Ho Chi Minh and his associates came to power in Vietnam. The choice of foreign policy direction was not as straightforward for the Vietnamese leadership as Soviet historiography has claimed. With the help of new sources, such as the "Pentagon Documents", documents from the archive of the CIA, as well as Russian archives, it has become possible to study the formative process of the foreign policy direction of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam and the process of choosing an ally for this state. The author dedicates considerable attention to Ho Chi Minh's cooperation with US intelligence agents as a little-known episode, especially in Russian historiography. In the course of researching this topic, the author used the historical-genetic method, the principles of historicism and objectivity. In addition to the above-named principles, the approach from the positions of Hans Morgenthau's political realism and Kenneth Waltz's neo-realism was also applied. Vietnam, like any other state, sought to realize its national interests, but under the conditions of the beginning of the Cold War and the formation of a "bipolar world", this aspiration depended on the general structure of the global balance of power. Having analyzed the new array of sources, the author comes to the conclusion that under certain conditions, Vietnam could have followed the capitalist path of development, thus becoming a neutral state or even an ally of the United States.

Keywords: South-Eastern Asia, Communist International, H. Truman, Viet Minh, "Pentagon Documents", August Revolution, Ho Chi Minh, Office of Strategic Services, First Indochina War, Soviet-Vietnamese relations

Abstract: The subject of this article is the entity of the relations that existed between the main ethnic groups (primarily Belarusians and Poles) on the territory of the Bialystok region of the BSSR, most of which was transferred to postwar Poland by the Soviet Union. The chronological frame of the study is the period from the time of the end of the German occupation up to the peak of the Polish nationalist underground activities in the region (1944-1950). The choice of the postwar period makes it possible to analyze the interethnic relations in all their acuteness, as characteristic of a period of unstable borders, crises caused by ethnic and ideological conflicts, and weakness of the authorities under the conditions of restoring a peaceful life after the cruelest wartime turmoil. Within the framework of this research based on archival evidence, the author analyzes such key phenomena for the understanding of the Polish-Belarusian relations as the policy of the Polish armed anti-Soviet underground against the Belarusian population and the reaction of Belarusians and Poles to the postwar settlement of the region in the context of the establishment of the socialist system. The conclusions presented by the author indicate that the political and interethnic conflicts in the post-war years were closely intertwined on the territory of Western Belarus. The article demonstrates their influence on the principles of coexistence of the two main national communities in the region. Their tracks are still making themselves felt today, materializing in the form of ethno-confessional ideological notions, which to this day echo in Polish regions tightly inhabited by Belarusians.

Keywords: Belarus, Poland, history of the USSR, sovietization, World War II, ideological conflict, nationalism, interethnic relations, terror, armed anti-soviet underground

Abstract: At the turn of the 20th - 21st centuries Yugoslavia disintegrated, ending with Montenegro’s proclamation of independence. The author of this article demonstrates the role of outside international actors in the detachment of Montenegro. The United States supported the establishment of the Belgrade agreement, developed with the active participation of the European Union, and the adoption on its basis of the Constitutional Charter of Serbia and Montenegro, which provided for the possibility of holding a referendum after three years on the withdrawal of one of the republics from the state community. Having taken part in the preparation of the referendum and renouncing the right cemented in the Belgrade Agreement to regulate disputes between Belgrade and Podgorica in the economic sphere, the European Union effectively contributed to the secession of Montenegro. The author convincingly argues with critics who do not see the guilt of the European Union in taking responsibility for the region but not wishing to take real steps to preserve the unified union state of Serbia and Montenegro. The author examines the issues from the positions of universal, general and global history, applying the multi-disciplinary and interdisciplinary approaches, and using the historical and logical methods. The author comes to the conclusion that in the 2000s the United States and the European Union played an important role in resolving the internal political issues of the states in the post-Yugoslavia space (including monitoring the change in the Yugoslavian constitution and the transformation of one state (the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia) into another (Serbia and Montenegro), and the regulation of the rules for conducting a referendum on the independence of Montenegro), which is unacceptable from the standpoint of respecting the principles sovereignty, freedom and democracy. The results of this research are not only new but can also be of practical use both in scientific research and in the activity of political forces.

Keywords: external intervention, independence referendum, E.U. foreign policy, U.S. foreign policy, Milo Djukanovic, Javier Solana, Venice Commission, Montenegro, Serbia, Federal Republic of Yugoslavia

Abstract: This article examines the initial period in the history of the Weimar republic when the question of the first German democracy’s existence stood particularly acutely. The author’s focus is placed on those political forces and their representatives that threatened this democracy from right and left. Special attention is dedicated to the situation in the Eastern Prussian territories: Poznan, Upper Silesia, Eastern Prussia. The attitude of the authorities of Weimar Germany towards the territorial losses at the expense of Prussia is also addressed, as well as the activities of the German Freikorps and their leaders. The author indicates the reasons for the failures of the left-radical (communist) coup d’état and of the right-radical coup on Prussian territories. Additionally, the author discusses the situation in Upper Silesia, where the interests of the Social-Democratic party of Germany, representing the democratic authorities of the republic, clashed and the right- and left-radicals. The last acted within the framework of the Communist party of Upper Silesia, using the ideas of Upper Silesian separatism and Soviet organisation. They were opposed by the representatives of the Prussian officer corps, which organised the defence of the region from Poles and employing there the Freikorps.

Keywords: German Communist party, Freikorps, “Eastern territories”, history of Germany, history of Prussia, Weimar republic, German Social-Democrats, Upper Silesia, Upper Silesian separatism, councils

Abstract: This article maintains that a model of presentation of rational knowledge from the moment of its appearance in man inevitably took on a religious character. However, this mere fact attests to active scientific search for resolving this fundamentally important (perhaps most important) intellectual problem. How does scientific knowledge that permits transformation of surrounding reality emerge? At present only the search directions for this over-complicated structure are identified. On the whole the brain perceives itself for the purpose of awareness and transformation through technologies of surrounding reality. And as a result it undergoes changes, perfecting itself in a certain way. This most complex enclosed intellectual and social process, whose disclosure is repelled from psycho-physiological factors, since ancient times has been reflected in the construction of a model of the world. The elements of the model of the ancient Mayan world differ by significant elaboration of scientific knowledge (especially mathematics and astronomy, which belongs to constant, general cosmic, influence on the anthroposystem). Therefore they coincide with similar knowledge of the Old World. This knowledge has both an applied, a necessary for survival, character (cyclical reproduction, social organization, agricultural and hunting calendar), and an abstract character, pointing to the current state of developing society. Complex structures of social construction and abstract knowledge are superimposed on a complex of perceptive-empirical ideas reflecting the development of man’s thinking and his intellectual abilities (though externally this statement also looks like a set of “myths,” “mythological images,” and illogicality of the space-time continuum).

Keywords: history, methodology, interdisciplinary, scientific knowledge, history of technology, anthroposystems, model of the universe, ancient Maya, Mesoamerica, ancient world.

Abstract: The article focuses on one of the key episodes in the history of late Yucatec Maya, the extermination of the nobility of one of the most powerful dynasties of Yucatan Shiva by their old foes from Kokomo family. The historians of the Conquest, considered that this was the main reason that led them to the Spanish camp and that it allowed the Spanish conquistadors to finally conquer the peninsula after the two failed attempts. In the study of this episode, little attention was paid to the source research aspects. Existing versions contain different dates of the incident, the participants and the aim of the pilgrimage. Analysis of the versions preserved in written early colonial sources using a simple cross-criticism shows that they actually date back to the injured party, that is, Shiva, where the description of the event in a short time transformed into the description of the alleged embassies of Shiva to the Spaniards, reports of which have been taken for granted by historians of the major conquest (R. Chamberlain, V.I. Gulyaev). These sources reflect the views of the interested party. Recent studies of the sources O. Harada and T. Hillerkyussa show how easy it was for the authors to manipulate the facts. Documents created by the Indian authors after the Conquest are written in the “loyalist” spirit and distort or do not mention the facts, which are improper from the point of view of the morality and culture of the conquerors (such as the pagan cults). These researchers suggested that the attitude to the Spanish conquerors did not depend on the relationship of the local rulers against the overall fragmentation of the polities of Yucatan. The fatal nature of the episode with the extermination of pilgrims in Otsmale is exaggerated by the historians. The Shiva dynasty actively sought an alliance with any force hostile to Kokomo, and this was one of the hidden purposes of the “pilgrimage”. The results of this study reassess some of the key episodes of the Yucatan conquest .

Keywords: history, conquest, Yucatan, embassy, Maya, post-classics, Shiva, Kokomo, the colonial regime, the Mayan calendar, Otsmal, kuchkabal.

Abstract: the article gives the review of International congress “The Unity of Italy Through the Eyes of Europe”, dedicated to the 150th anniversary of the Unification of Italy and held on September 15–19, 2011 in Turin and Moncalieri at the initiative of Inter-University Center for the Study of Travel in Italy and the European Library of Culture “Victor Del Litho”. The main theme of the congress was view of the Europeans on events in Italy, associated with the expulsion of foreigners and the national unification of the country: impressions of volunteers —direct participants of the movement for national unification, evidence of foreigners (correspondence, letters, diaries), the response of European states to the unification of Italy, women’s participation in events of 1860s, etc. Strong emotional response from Europeans and Americans is an evidence of worm emotional support.

Keywords: history, international congress, the Unity of Italy, Europe, public speaking, travel, memories, diaries, correspondence, women.

Abstract: The article includes the review of the speeches of Italian and Russian historians, who participated in the international conference, as organized by the Institute of Russian History of the Russian Academy of Sciences within the framework of the Year of Italian Language and Culture in Russia. The authors showed a wide specter of problems, which were discussed at the conference, paid special attention to the speeches, which were devoted to the insufficiently studied aspects of Russian-Italian relations in XV— XX centuries.

Keywords: history, Russian-Italian social, political and cultural ties, history of diplomacy, the Third Rome, the religious teachings, Empire, Decembrists, artists, Soviet cartoon, the 2nd World War

Abstract: the article analyzes the relationship of Denmark with the European Economic Community, the reasons for entry into it, and especially participation in the EEC/EU. Particular attention is paid to the ratification of the Maastricht Treaty in Denmark and providing the country a number of exceptions from the general rules of the EU. Denmark had the opportunity not to participate in the four areas of cooperation: European citizenship, the European single currency, European defense and cooperation on justice and home affairs at EU level. Author considers how these exceptions affect the position of countries within the EU in practical and political terms. Saving the “Danish reservations” reduces the impact of the country in the EU, but allows it to save more autonomy within the framework of European integration. This “integration dilemma” is constantly on the agenda of the Danish government. Currently, Denmark is an active debate about the possibilities of withdrawal of some reservations, which is certainly in the interests of the country.

Keywords: history, Denmark, European integration, European Union, the Maastricht Treaty, “the Danish reservations”, the Lisbon Treaty, integration dilemma, the referendum, the European single currency.

Abstract: the article examines the history of the formation of the capital region in the twentieth century. Author gives a description and analysis of the basic administrative and territorial changes over the course of this century. The statistical and cartographic data reflecting these changes is given. The questions of scientific and effective administrative and territorial division is discussed.

Keywords: history, historical geography, an administrative-territorial division, Moscow Province, Moscow Region, Moscow Area, the history of the formation of the capital region, demographic, administrative and territorial boundaries, stewardship areas.

Abstract: Kosovo declared independence on Feb. 17th, 2008. International mediators have formulated the problem — to create a multicultural and multi-ethnic community in a newly independent state. Is this a feasible task for today, considering that the Serbian population in the majority does not recognize the independence of Kosovo from Serbia? How is the life of the Serbian population in Kosovo? Can we talk about the gradual establishing Albanian-Serb dialogue? What are the prospects for the consolidation of Kosovo’s society? How strong is the resource of Kosovo identity? Writing of this article was supported by the Russian Humanitarian Scientific Fund (project number 10-01-00316a).

Keywords: history, Kosovo, ethnicity, conflict, Albanians, Serbs, integration, minorities, the Balkans, state

Abstract: The article includes characteristic features of the civil wars in Africa during the Cold War and after its completion. It identifies the causes, driving forces, both external and internal factors, stages and effects. The attempt to determine the historical significance of the civil wars in the political and social evolution of the Black continent is made. This article was prepared with the support from the National Science Foundation Research University “Higher School of Economics”: Project № 10-01-0073 “Genocide as a political decision in the era of globalization (as an example of the Central African region)”.

Keywords: history, Africa, post-colonial epoch, civil wars, “cold war”, authoritarianism, conflict, representatives, democracy, genocide, ethnicisation