The author expresses his positive attitude to Medvedev’s professions of striving for stable development of Russia. At the same time the author emphasizes that ‘sustainable development' concept authored by Albert Gore is a myth. It is impossible to mobilize a system for purposes of boosted development without ingredients of correct, flexible authoritarianism. Interests of individual careers, clannish interests, and ideological differences are to be sacrificed to development. People alien to each other in every respect may come together in ‘the territory of development' provided they are ready to put development above everything else. The author examines ‘The conception of long-term social and economic development of the Russian Federation up to 2020' elaborated by the RF Ministry for economic development and trade and demonstrates the conception is devoid of analysis of several important aspects: implementation of the previous Conception of development up to 2010, the current condition of Russia. Besides that, the new Conception lacks of a serious discussion on possible strategies of Russia’s development. The aim of the Conception is declarative and vague, ways are not indicated. Nowadays the authorities' principal task is not substitute political intrigues for development. The contemporary humankind has one topical mega-project of development and this mage-project is called ‘modern' which has nothing common with blind replication of Western models of development (Westernization). The prerequisite of ‘modern' is the national state which is absolutely necessary for implementation of this mega-project.

The first part of the article focuses the reader on the source of global destabilization which arose from the major post-WW II geopolitical confrontation with the involvement of two superpowers, the USA and the USSR. The author shows how the US has used nuclear weapons to bolster its imperial ambitions and to suppress the Soviet influence. The main point is that ever since the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, the US has deployed nuclear weapons as the centerpiece of its strategy of achieving and maintaining global hegemony. The study documents the way that American leaders have not been sparing of the threat to use nuclear weapon to achieve US foreign policy objectives. The author reminds that the doctrine of «full spectrum dominance», the cornerstone of which are technological supremacy and nuclear arms did not come into being with Harry S.Truman. He simply took over a traditional American global strategy to ensure that the US remained the dominant power for the long term if not forever.

The author examines positions of Central Asian and South Caucasus countries as well as states adjacent to these countries occupy in the world. The author supports his interpretation with analysis of the latest data on absolute and relative (in per capita terms) GDP calculated on the basis of purchasing power of currencies. The adduced materials give evidence of the fact that in circumstances of independent development and reconstructive economic growth, under impact of deep economic crisis these countries did not converge. On the contrary, they increasingly came off within global social and economic space. A particular attention is paid to social consequences of economic dynamics including main characteristics of majority of these countries' populations. For this purpose per capita consumption indicators are examined (per capita consumption of the most qualitative foodstuffs, i.e. meets, fish, milk, eggs and sugar) as well as indicators of population provision with durable goods. Situation in the sphere of popular education is examined primarily on the basis of data on development of higher education. The similar examination of public health is done on basis of data on dynamics of infant mortality, aggregate per capita expenses on medical services and comparison on these data with cumulative economic characteristics.

Faith is one of history’s motors. At the same time history of the faith itself is inadequately investigated so far. Faith is not identical to religion. This notion embraces not only what people believe in (in God, saints, after-life) nut all diversity of individual and collective practices that embody this belief. Faith is a social and psychological process. In different societies people believe differently. J.-C. Shmitt, the French Historian is a specialist in the history of Middle Ages. His subject is Middle Ages. History of faith he plots is not merely history of Catholicism, institutes if the Church, sacraments and rites. He tries to understand what did it mean to believe in Middle Ages. Author raises a series of fundamental questions. What was the role of faith in medieval society? What were specific mechanisms of new beliefs' dissemination and of the Church control of the faith? Was there any place for religious doubts in the medieval culture?

Reminiscences of N.N.Shevyakina, teacher of Russian language and literature, graduate of Leningrad State University are devoted to the blockade of Leningrad. Everyday life and workdays of the blockade have become the principal interest of the author. The author’s aspiration to communicate her personal experiences authentically and precisely make Shevyakina’s notes a valuable historical source.

The re-united ‘bourgeois-democratic' Germany on the pattern of the Weimar republic — this was the Soviet blueprint for resolving the German question as of late May-early June 1953 (see Doc.1). A month later a subject of a German unity was first tuned down (Doc.2) and eventually vanished altogether from the Soviet political agenda (Doc.3) Why this sea-change? In an introductory article an attempt is made to pinpoint the reasons and motives of the Soviet leadership in making such a sharp turn. In commentator’s view, it was the explosive events in East Germany in June 1953 that played a crucial role in this context. Further transformations in the Soviet treatment of the German question — up to the early 90s — are addressed to in a final part of the article.

This article is written in memory of Reginald Zelnik (1936−2004), former professor of history at the University of California (Berkeley). Distinguished specialist in Russian studies, he was highly respected by his colleagues and friends both in the USSR and post-Soviet Russia for his innovative approach to the many aspects of the Russian labor movement. Having still retained their pioneering spirit Zelnik`s works keep inspiring scholars in their attempts to penetrate into the depth of the most controversial problems of Russian social developments after 1861.