In Russia, after the adoption of Christianity, dance practice was prohibited by the Orthodox Church as a legacy of paganism and out of fear of the influence of Catholicism. The culture of ballroom dance was established in the life of the Russian people only at the turn of the XYII-XYIII centuries, during the Petrine household reforms. At this time, salon choreography in Europe was at a high stage of development, and Russia had to make a lot of effort to reach this level, continuing to overcome the resistance of the Church.

This article is the second part of the research into the fates of Mathew and Sergey Murav’ev-Apostols, the Decembrists (See the part I: [25]). The scholar analyzes the reasons due to which they started their active participation in the secret societies, their role in the plot and their view on the possibility of a military revolution being carried out in Russia as well as on the post-revolutionary form of the government. This work also deals with the formation of Sergey Murav’ev-Apostol’s religious views. It is demonstrated that the latter corresponded with the mystic search of the 1820s era. Particular attention is given to the description of Mathew Murav’ev-Apostol’s ideological crisis of 1824. It is concluded that the conspiracy activity of both the brothers was based on the aspiration for social realization, unachievable under the Russian absolute monarchy.

The article is devoted to the formation of liberal political parties at the beginning of the XX century, the proto-party period in their history and the social nature of such associations. It is noted the natural connection of party structures with the circle culture that logically preceded them. At the same time, the emerging organizations were formed in the conditions of revolutionary cataclysms and largely responded to the challenges of the time.

The article analyzes the ideas about state symbols in the Russian Empire at the turn of the 19–20 centuries, visualization, methods of broadcasting. The transformation of perception of power symbols and their visual images in connection with the events of 1905 in St. Petersburg and Moscow is traced. The study of their functioning in the Moscow space during the period of the First Russian Revolution allows us to focus on the moment of inclusion of alternative (revolutionary) symbols in the phase of active political struggle. As a result, the traditional idea of Pervoprestol’naya (Moscow) as the spiritual, sacred center of the Russian Empire is being destroyed. The revolutionary political culture is further developed.

The article examines the situation when the satirical magazine Krokodil, which was published in mass circulation, was obliged to respond by “translating” the political meaning of the disagreements between the united opposition and the Central Committee of the VKP(b) into the language of satirical illustrations to show the potential and real incompatibility of any faction in the party with the opinion of the Central Committee majority to a wide range of readers. The drawing in Crocodile, depicting the opposition in the form of a compartment of a train following its “line”, was the first such experience of the magazine. The masses had to learn that everyone could be approached by a “controller” and asked for “travel documents” for the socialism under construction.

The article is devoted to the relationship of Francisco Afonso Chaves (1857–1926), a Portuguese scientist, with his Russian colleagues. He was a prominent meteorologist and seismologist, a propagandist of science, whose repute extended far beyond his native Azores and Portugal. In the article the examples of contacts of F.A.Chaves with Russian scientists (M.A.Rykachev, B.B Golitsyn, N.A.Demchinsky, and S.N.Nakhimov) are provide. In addition, much attention is given to the reflection of the «Russian theme» in the relationship of F.A.Chaves with his European colleagues. The article concludes that although Chaves’ relations with Russia were episodic, noticeably inferior to contacts with scientists from other European countries, these ties are remarkable in the context of the history of the Russian-Portuguese scientific dialogue. It is also indicative the «cross-country», since these relations involved scientists from different countries, united by common scientific subjects.

The article deals with the participation of centrist liberals in the events of the Great Russian Revolution of 1917. It is noted that many of them left their mark in the "chronicle" of 1917 as state and public figures, publicists. The author focuses on the Russian Radical Democratic Party (RRDP), which is characterized as the "final point" in the development of the centrist trend in Russian liberalism of the early twentieth century. On the basis of publications of the newspaper "Otechestvo" examines the views of party ideologues on the causes and nature of the global revolutionary transformations of 1917, are given their evaluation of the activities of the Provisional government and the main political forces, the forecast for the future of Russia. The article summarizes the development of liberal centrism and emphasizes the relevance of its historical experience.