The author focuses on history and time, perennial problems of the world science and philosophy. However these abstract theoretical problems should not be considered apart from the present and comparatively recent political context. The problem of history as time which has dense meaning content of it own is investigated in connection with historical experience of Russia which has come through temptations of the liberal epoch. This experience, however, is the legacy which allows understanding of the present day state of the society and to work out the tactics and trajectory of the further development. History and time are burning issues that require profound analytical activity of the society and representatives of its intellectual elite.

The author deals with peculiarities of Russia-Turkey relations at their present stage. The author considers all aspects of these relations stability in a wide context and draws analogies with form and content of relations over the extended period of history. A particular emphasis is made on geopolitical rivalry of powers and issues of interest balance. The article is intended for international relations and global politics specialists as well as for general readers.

Since 1991 states of Latin America, Spain and Portugal hold meetings of heads of states, Ibero-American conferences. Spain, one of the principal sponsors of these conferences notes their importance in its Ibero-American policy and in formation of Spain’s relations with the EU. However such important issues as composition of summit participants, regulations of summits and their agenda are unresolved heretofore. Meanwhile new problems arise. For instance states of Bolivarian bloc as well as Argentine, Brazil, and Mexico are loosing interest in the Ibero-American cooperation. Greater efforts are required from the Spanish diplomacy for development of relations with states of the region and for alignment of Ibero-American and European vectors in Spanish foreign policy. So far hopes pinned at the Spanish Socialist Worker Party government headed by J.L.Rodriguez Zapatero have not proved true.

The article invites to revisit an extremely elaborate and fascinating history of the mid-18th century Ossetian diplomatic mission to St. Petersburg. Up to nowadays it has remained customary for some scholars to make this subject one of those to illustrate that Russian policy in the Caucasus was an onward march with no ebbs or twists. The author claims to give a broader picture to include both impartial «laws of history» and imperfect human beings doomed to create this very history in their own way.

The author analyzes the role of Darwinism in the present day spiritual culture and demonstrates the logic of Darwinism emergence, regular and inevitable character of its emergence and subsequent development. It is emphasized that the theory of evolution is the product of ‘systemic way of thinking'. Such way of thinking combines poorly with the ‘object-centered' thinking which is peculiar for ordinary conscience. The author investigates processes that take place in the contemporary Russian ordinary conscience.

The author considers V.N.Toporov’s works dedicated to study of the ancient Russian hagiography and demonstrates continuity of Toporov’s approach in respect of G.P.Fedotov’s approach and fundamental differences of Toporov’s approach from investigation of hagiography practiced in historical and literary studies. V.N.Toporov’s method is seen as an example of original philosophical (historiosophical) discourse, as an experience in the sphere of ideal text reconstruction, reconstruction of the ‘super-myth’ created by the world and about the world. In a more narrow way it is an attempt to re-create and reconstruct the psychological image, spiritual and internal personality of a saint. In its core assumption and in many specific interpretations that do not imply the strict verification this approach is fundamentally different from methodology of so called Tartu-Moscow school to which V.N.Toporov is usually assigned.

The paper deals with the political background of S.M.Budenny's essay «The Babism of Babel». Based on archival documents it establishes the fact of major political campaign against A.K.Voronsky, the Chief Editor of «Krasnaya Nov» journal being prepared in the autumn 1924. That campaign was only a part of the wider campaign aimed against L.D.Trotsky, the member of Political Bureau of Central Committee of Russian Communist Party (Bolsheviks). K.Ye.Voroshilov, the closest Stalin’s supporter in his struggle for power, initiated Budenny’s essay as well as the number of yet unpublished works against Babel’s «Red Cavalry». S.N.Orlovsky, a military prosecutor and A.I.Tarasov-Rodionov, a writer were Voroshilov’s assistants and actual authors of the article.