The establishment of a peaceful life in Belarus after its liberation from the Nazis in 1944 was associated with the solution of a host of complex problems in such basic spheres of social life as economy, state and public security, ideology, ineffective personnel policy. These problems were most critical in the western regions of the BSSR, where the situation was complicated by the forcing of Sovietization. The post-war normalization in the Republic was negatively influenced by the undercover struggle for the first secretary post of the Central Committee of the CP(b)B. The arbiter in it was Stalin, who constantly manipulated the nomenklatura groups.

In the late XIX – early XX centuries in Russia, several hundred stories of military units were published, the authors of which were professional military personnel. None of these books and pamphlets claim to be original and independent in their assessments of the historical events and persons described, which casts doubt on the legitimacy of considering them part of Russian historiography. At the same time, the analysis of these publications as a tool of commemoration looks promising. The article considers the use of the history of military units for the formation of ideas about the past as a means of forming an imperial identity.

The article analyzes the views of General A. I. Denikin, who headed the White movement in the South of Russia, on the peculiarities of psychology, economic and military activities, social mood, perception of a different identity, interfaith interaction, political interests, the search for allies and patrons, methods of communication with the conditions of a foreign cultural environment characteristic of the mountain peoples of the North Caucasus in years Civil War in 1917–1920. The commander's reflections reveal his understanding of the relationship between Russia and the North Caucasus, as interaction between the Center and the periphery in a single large society. This concept is confirmed by the practice of their difficult, but, nevertheless, effective joint development. In the conditions when the North Caucasus region is the sphere of interests of many states of the world, it continues to remain and develop within Russia.

The article is devoted to party building among the Crimean Tatars in 1917–1928, the goals of their party leaders, relations between them and the leadership of Crimea, political contacts of Crimean politicians with local Bolsheviks, with the Central Committee of the RCP(b). The attached materials, including archival materials, contain a variety of information about the party life of the Crimean Tatars, its features during these 10 years.

With Decemberist Peter Pestel action analysis the author brings attention to the situation in the Southern Society. Peter Pestel had both serious opponents with whom he could not agree and loyal friends. Head of the Kamensk council of the Southern Society Vasily Davydov was one of the closest to Pestel among the conspirators. However, despite his loyalty to Pestel personally and devotion to the ideas of the Decembrists, Davydov was not ready for revolutionary actions. His activities were limited to talking about the need for political reforms in Russia only.

The article focuses on emperor’s dual position towards the State Council. Up until the year 1906 monarch remained nominal head of the highest legislative authority of Russian Empire but his links with the Council weakened with time. So, in the second half of the 19th century his attempts to influence (to control) the outcome of the discussion of laws were qualified as unwarranted interference and violation of the rules of the law-making process. At the same time emperor’s involvement in bureaucratic process grew steadily so he finally became not only the final part of legislative process but necessary component of records management.

This article examines the functions of the name of the biblical first-killer Cain as a precedent for the depiction and naming of Svyatopolk the Accursed in the monuments of the Borisoglebsk cycle. The naming of Svyatopolk "okan'ny" (the Accursed) is based on the principle of paronymic attraction (rapprochement with the name Kain, to which the semantics of rejection and extreme sinfulness is ascribed, as it were). It is shown that the functioning of the lexeme okan'ny in these texts is different: in Nestor's "Reading about Boris and Gleb" it is used in relation to Svyatopolk mainly in the nominative, not in the attributive function and as if it becomes his name and at the same time turns into the occasional equivalent of the name Kain. The almost complete refusal of Nestor from using his own name Svyatop'lk / Svyatopolk, apparently, is associated with his sacred connotations (the root "holy"). It can be traced how in the later Old Russian literature the very name Svyatopolk / Svyatopolk becomes a precedent.

The article deals, based on the archival documents and published materials, with the contribution of the well-known folklorist and literary critic Yuri Matveyevich Sokolov (1889–1941) to the development and formation of the Library of the State Historical Museum in the post-revolutionary period, and his activities as head of the museum library in 1922–1929, as well, as the circumstances of his forced departure from the Historical Museum due to the conflict with the Museum's management. A number of published documents are being introduced into scientific circulation for the first time.