The author deals with the problems of the world organization and potential perspectives of the economically leading countries' development. One of the world organization model, project Modern, has approached the point of no return. This project is exhausted and depleted. It is quitting to be a perspective one precisely where it did emerged. The USA already is unable to develop within this project’s limits and this fact is confirmed by many economic data. China and India develop within confines of the Modern project but precisely for this reason both countries present a threat to the US hegemony. The big game is just commenced. Russia and India have to pay a greater attention to this game, to examine its thin structure, its logic be all means avoiding the temptation to ‘demonize' any participant of the game. The world and the humankind are to find positive exits from the dead end that seems to be ultimate.

The present article is devoted to a current state of relations between Russia and the Baltic States. The author considers various aspects of these relations — political, economic, strategic and humanitarian. The goal of the author is to analyze the basic ‘problem knots' of these relations, to make recommendations concerning the need of a ‘reset' of these relations. The main problem of the Russian-Baltic relations, according to the author, lays in different perceptions of the common history, as well as in attempts of the Baltic political elite to shape their Russian policy according to a certain ideological schema. Only having destroyed this ideological approach, it is possible to open a new page in the bilateral relations.

According to the thesis of ‘Ethnicization' of Stalinism, the regime considered ‘enemy' ethnic groups as its main enemies in the 1930−1940s. The study of ‘German operation' 1937−1938 in Western Siberia allows to put the certainty of this interpretation to doubt. The comparison of ‘ethnic' cleansings and NKVD campaign under the order № 447 (‘kulak operation') gives the key to understanding the peculiarities of the former. The criteria of the social past life was determinative in choosing a person as a victim of ‘ethnic' cleansing.

The article deals with results and consequences of the first solving fight of the Great Patriotic War — to the battle for Moscow, tragic and heroic pages of one of the key moments of our history. The material demonstrates the plans of the German command and emergency measures of the Soviet leadership to increase of fighting capacity of Red army at the beginning of 1942. On the basis of the known and recently opened documents the potential of warring sides, world situation of the USSR, an assessment of its possibilities from allies are considered. The attention is given to a morale of the Soviet armed forces on the eve of new titanic fights with Wehrmacht.

In XX century «memory» became a point of special reflection and investigation. This article examines the concept of memory and its implications in culture of early XX century. It reviews the use of this term in the most important modernist texts and questions the functions of memory both in discourse and practices. The 1st World War gave rise to the modernist doubt in utopian ideals of Enlightenment Project and indicated the break with rationalism. This turn was closely engaged with new cultural understandings of memory. War gave rise to doubt in validity of memory (idea on which there were based main norms and realizations of truth and verification in different situation, in everyday life and theoretical framework, in both bureaucratic and private practices). Many authors came to one paradoxical conclusion: «memory» is oblivion, memory not recalls but deforms past, it substitutes for reality, memory deprives people of time and free will. The concept of «memory» was converged in XX century with the problem of temporality and people identity. This article analyzes how «memory» was entangled with new cultural practices.

The author deals with peculiarities of the Russian emigrants; forms and means of the cultural memory preservation and creation of the ideal past models. The Russian communities abroad were transformed by a new social experience that had impact also on the culture of memory. The very expulsion brought about creation of a new, often idealized image of Russia, its people and culture and re-thinking of their own historical experience. Every educated person in emigration sought to create a new image of Russia that would satisfy him or her. The Russian exiles looked for ‘points of memory' around that the emigrant identity could jell. At the same time the recollections of the past served as the stage for ideological and political clashes.

The article is devoted to a little-known page of A.V.Tyrkova-Williams' biography (1869−1962). A.V.Tyrkova-Williams was a public and political figure of pre-revolutionary Russia and the Russian emigration and died 50 years ago in Washington. The peculiar position this lady held in the Central Committee of the CD party as well as the analysis of her publications in ‘The Russian Buzz' (Saint-Petersburg, December 1912 — August, 1913) (Tyrkova-Williams was the unofficial editor-in-chief of the newspaper) allows the author to characterize her as a major figure of the centrist current in the Russian liberalism (tentatively speaking, between members of the CD party and members of the ‘Union of 17 October' party) that jelled in events of the Russian Troublous Time of the early 20th century).

In January of 1722 Czar Peter I affixed his signature on so called «Table of ranks». This original state act established three parallel ladders of ranks for civil, military, and court services in Russia. Components of the built vertical of ranks were united around the principle of permanent ascendancy of pretenders to certain peaks of bureaucratic career in accordance with length of personal service. Abrogation of this one of the most fundamental acts of autocracy was a natural sequence of revolutionary events of 1917. However the hidden impact of the ancient Czar’s decree, a reminder of the governing role of transformation its logic introduced in the society and armed forces was in different degrees felt for a long time. Most likely, in new Russia specialists of various profiles will express the attention to the ancient text in order to draw relevant conclusions required for understanding of the past problems and issues of current practice of state government.