Issues per 2024 yr.

Issue No 1 from 2024 yr.

In February 2024, at the Center for Socio-Political History (a branch of the State Public Historical Library of Russia) The international conference "New facets of current problems of modern history" was held. A high bar for scientific discussion was set by the conceptual report of V.V.Zhuravlev, PhD, Professor, laureate of the State Prize of the Russian Federation in the field of science and technology. The researcher's vision of the problems of "metamorphoses of Russian modernization", the causes of arrhythmia of social processes, the role and place of reforms and revolutions in it, etc., is of interest to a wide range of readers. Responsible for the publication of L.N.Lazareva.

Keywords: revolution; reforms; Russian modernization

The Crowning of Russian Sovereigns and the Tradition of the Empire of the Romei

The idea that Moscow is the Third Rome, the heir to spiritual culture and the modern embodiment of the Roman and Roman powers, is so established that we consider the translation of the imperium to be undeniable, embodied in the borrowing of the wedding ritual of Russian autocrats from the basileus of Constantinople from the end of the 15th century. Having studied the sources, we were convinced that Ivan III and Metropolitan Macarius, who established the

wedding ceremony of the great princes and kings, did not think about the Roman and Constantinople heritage. It developed from the second half of the 16th century, and in fact, Tsar Fyodor Alekseevich turned to the Roman coronation scenarios in 1676. He established the rite of the wedding of kings, which demonstrated the continuity of their power from the Orthodox autocrats of the Second Rome.

Keywords: Third Rome; coronation of emperors; coronation of Tzars; Ivan III; Ivan IV; Alexey Mikhailovich; Fedor Alekseevich; Alexander III; Pseudo-Codin; A.V.Gorsky; E.V.Barsov; Kh.M.Loparev

The Anniversary of the Decembrist Uprising on the Pages of Scientific Journals of the mid-1920s

The article examines the anniversary historical narrative about the Decembrist revolt, presented on the pages of the scientific journals of the 1920s. An analysis of the topics of research and the nature of scientific discussions made it possible to see that historians turned to many unstudied subjects, but were unable to contrast the pre-revolutionary “legends” with a new coherent concept of Decembrism. The formation of the historical narrative was influenced by the coexistence of different generations of scientists. Marxist historians supported the ideologically correct theory of Pokrovsky, studied the Southern Society, the Society of the United Slavs and Chernigov Regiment revolt, and “bourgeois” researchers, who did not move away from “liberal concepts”, continued to focus on studying the Northern Society and the revolt on December 14th.

Keywords: Decembrists; Decembrist Revolt; 14 December 1825; anniversary; historical narrative; commemorative practice; historical memory

The Second “Capital Cityˮ: the Formation of Moscow's Administrative Infrastructure During Catherine the Great's “City Reforms”

During the administrative-territorial reform of the second half of the XVIII century. There was a process of not only creating a large number of cities, but also creating with them the infrastructure necessary for the execution of cities assigned to him administrative functions (city reform). Reformers who implemented this task on the ground were everywhere faced with a lot of difficulties. The need to look for funds and buildings. Administrators were constantly looking for a compromise between software requirements and the opportunity at their disposal. However, the infrastructure created at that time formed the basis of a modern management system and often continues to fulfill these tasks today. The work on the basis of archival documents analyzed the process of implementing plans for the reform of the city on the example of Moscow.

Keywords: Russian city; pre-reform city; public places; administrative reform of Catherine II; reform of the city of Catherine II; functions of the city

Secret Officers in the Information Work of the VCHK – GPU – NKVD in the Donbas in the 1920–1930s

Based on the study of open sources and published materials, the author made an attempt to explore a number of features of the organization of information and analytical work of the special services in the Donbass in the 1920s – 1930s. It is based on documents unknown to the scientific community, stored in archival institutions of Donbass, and various previously published materials by famous domestic researchers. The emphasis is placed on the fact that the Soviet leadership managed to rationally build, as a result of competent organization of a system of work with secret employees, the Cheka-GPU-NKVD bodies in the Donbass in the very first years of Soviet power established effective work to monitor the situation in the region. This made it possible to quickly take appropriate response measures in cases of threats to state security.

Keywords: Cheka-GPU-NKVD, agents, information-analytical and operational work, secret officers, USSR, Ukrainian SSR, Donbass

On Some Aspects of Relations Between Russia and Serbia During the First Serbian Uprising

The period of national liberation struggle for the restoration of Serbian statehood of the 19th century. traditionally occupies a special place in the study of the history of Russian-Serbian relations. Аlthough the political and diplomatic relations between Russia and Serbia in the first half of the 19th century has good scientific ground thanks to extensive research by Yugoslav (Serbian) and Soviet (Russian) historians, a number of aspects that are crucial for understanding of the evolution of the development of bilater al relations require additional study. One of these periods was bilateral relations during the years of the First Serbian Uprising in 1804–1813, which was essential for the history of Serbia as well as for the entire Balkan Peninsula. Within the framework of this work the author aims to touch upon only some key aspects of Russian-Serbian relations at this stage, focusing on the activities of the mission of the first diplomatic agent – Konstantine Rodofinikin.

Keywords: national liberation struggle for the restoration of Serbian statehood; political and diplomatic relations between Russia and Serbia in the first half of the 19th century; the First Serbian uprising of 1804–1813; Konstantin Rodofinikin

At the Origins of the Oriental Cabinet of the Historical Library: 85th Anniversary of its Opening

The article is devoted to the organization of a specialized scientific reading room of the Historical Library – the Cabinet of the East and its role in the history of Russian Orientalistics. The Cabinet of the East was founded by the largest scientists, on whose initiative and plan it was created simultaneously as an information center, a reading room and a club to unite the disunited orientalists of Moscow. The organization of such an integrated unit in the Moscow public library system was the first experience in this area. The article uses archival materials and photographs published for the first time.

Keywords: libraries’ history; the Historian library’s history; scientific reading rooms organization; Cabinet of the East; comprehensive unit; The Great Patriotic War; moscow oriental studies; educational role

Hungarian Historian József Perényi and Soviet Historical Science

The article is devoted to contacts and interaction between Professor Pérenyi József (1915–1981), the eminent Hungarian specialist in Russian History, and his Soviet colleagues. The evolution of his perception of official Soviet historiography: from fascination after World War II to attempts to overcome the boundaries of the official Soviet narrative in the 1960s and 1970s. are analyzed. In this article the contacts of J.Pérenyi with B.D.Grekov, A.L.Sidorov, M.N.Tikhomirov, T.M.Islamov are studied. The contacts with the A.V.Florovsky, a Russian émigré historian from Prague, were woven into this context.

Keywords: J.Pérenyi; Soviet historical science; Hungarian historiography; Sovietization; Soviet-Hungarian scientific relations; B.D.Grekov; A.V.Florovsky

Issue No 2 from 2024 yr.

The Russian Federation and the Chechen Republic in 1994: on the Eve of Conflict

The article deals with the policy of the Russian Federation towards Chechnya in 1994. The Russian-Chechen negotiations reached an impasse. Moscow categorically refused to recognize the independence of Chechnya, as D.Dudaev insisted. In the spring of 1994, the Kremlin actually refused to consider him the legitimate president of Chechnya. In the summer of 1994, taking advantage of the deepening internal political crisis in Chechnya, the Russian leadership decided to use the policy of the "half-power option". Its essence was the overthrow of Dudaev by the forces of the Chechen opposition, which relied on the help of Russia. In November 1994 this policy has completely failed. The Russian-Chechen negotiations in early December 1994 ended in failure, after which it was decided to conduct a full-scale military operation against Dudayev.

Keywords: Russian Federation; Chechen Republic; separatism; Chechen conflict; political struggle; B.N.Yeltsin; D.M.Dudaev; U.D.Avturkhanov.

“We will justify the Government's trust”: the Participation of the Russian Orthodox Church in Soviet Ideological Campaigns in 1945–1953

The article examines the participation of the Russian Orthodox Church in the Soviet ideological campaigns in 1945-1953. The differences between the church’s approach towards the ideological campaigns in domestic and foreign policy are being identified. It is made a conclusion that in domestic dimension the Russian Orthodox Church participates in mobilization campaigns, while in foreign dimension it was involved both in mobilization and repressive campaigns. The author analyzes the distinctions between the Orthodox and the Soviet lines in such issues, as the construction of communism, the concept of the Soviet patriotism, Stalin’s cult of personality, the antagonization of West and the struggle against colonialism.

Keywords: Russian Orthodox Church; Journal of the Moscow Patriarchate; Late Stalinism; Ideological Campaigns; Personality Cult; Cold War.

Alexander Nevsky and the West: Literary Image and Reality

The image of Grand Duke Alexander Yaroslavich Nevsky (1221–1263) was formed and approved in modern society by literature and, in part, by art. Scientific data allow us to judge that this image differs from historical reality in many aspects, and first of all it concerns the prince's confrontation with the West. But do comprehensive scientific studies make it possible to present the true pages of the prince's life and the features of his personality as vividly as it is done in literature and art? The article positively answers this question by recreating the key scenes of Alexander's struggle with the Crusaders in the light of modern scientific knowledge.

Keywords: Alexander Nevsky; Crusades; Ice Battle; Teutonic Order; Friedrich Staufen; Gregory IX; Alexander IV; Innocent IV; Wilhelm Sabinsky; Andreas Velven

“The Central Committee of the Party thinks a lot about it”: Shaping the Foundations of Cultural Policy in Late Stalinism

The publication of a documentary publication devoted to the cultural policy of late Stalinism will summarize the long-term research work led by Professor V.V.Zhuravlev, Doctor of Historical Sciences, on the publication of documents, characterizing the set of key features of the “Stalinist” catching-up modernization. In the collection, “Stalin's economic Legacy: plans and discussions. 1947–1953” The compilers included sources characterizing the search for a theoretical basis for a long-term development strategy of the country. At the next stage – in the collection “Social policy in the USSR in the postwar years. 1947–1953” – the “Stalinist" model was considered in the context of the post-war reconstruction of the country. The task of the new stage was to identify the features of post-war cultural policy through the prism of its conceptual foundations and practical implementation mechanisms.

Keywords: cultural policy; late Stalinism; documentary publication; catching up modernization; agitation; propaganda; ideology; Union of Soviet writers

Decembrists in the Russian Public Consciousness of the 2000s

The article analyzes the perception of the Decembrists in Russia in the 2000s: in media publications, speeches of politicians and public figures. It describes the events and celebrations associated with the Decembrists that took place during this period. It is noted which politicians and public figures associated themselves with the Decembrists and in connection with what such associations were made. It is concluded that by the early 2010s the preconditions for the formation of a new ideology had already appeared, according to which the notion of “Decembrist” acquires a negative coloring.

Keywords: Decembrist;, Russia in the 2000s; ideology; opposition; authorities

“For the benefit of our entire vast Fatherland...”: Ivan Nikolayevich Klingen (1851–1922)

The economic and educational activities and scientific views of the outstanding agrarian of the late XIX – early XX century I.N.Klingen are considered. The article notes the significant contribution of I.N.Klingen to the synthesis of advanced agricultural science and agricultural practice in Russia, as well as to the development of agricultural education and domestic agronomy in general.

Keywords: agrarian rationalization; enlightenment; I.N.Klingen

Ideological Aspect of the Construction of Communal Houses in the 1920s in the USSR

The article is devoted to the ideological reasons for the creation of projects and the construction of communal houses in the 1920s in a Soviet country. The article describes how the predecessors of scientific communism – Campanella, Thomas More, Fourier and others – imagined the city-commune. The article analyzes the architectural and planning ideas of the first years of Soviet power, the architects' rationale for the advantages of collective organization of settlement and life, and explores attempts to create new types of housing and public institutions, taking into account the specific historical conditions and tasks facing the country.

Keywords: collectivization of life; socialization of the household; socialization of cultural and household services and upbringing of children; house-commune; restructuring of everyday life

The Role of S. S. Uvarov in the Establishment and Work of the Archaeographic Commission

The role of S. S. Uvarov, the president of the Academy of Sciences, and later the Minister of Public Education, in the process of creating and at the initial stage of the work of the St. Petersburg Archeographic Commission is characterized in this article. The concept of “Orthodoxy, autocracy, nationality” by Sergey Semenovich Uvarov had a significant impact on the structure of the commission and its activities. In many ways, the Archaeographic expedition of P. M. Stroev and the publication of the results of its work, and then the regular Commission for the publication of Russian sources, are the result of Uvarov's patronage. On the one hand, Uvarov directly interfered in the organizational and scientific activities of the Commission. On the other hand, this intervention guaranteed the constant, systematic and regulated publication of sources on Russian history.

Keywords: S.S.Uvarov; P.M.Stroev; N.G.Ustryalov; Archeographic Commission; triad “Orthodoxy, autocracy, nationality”

Development of Human Rights Media Journalism of Perestroika Times (on the Example of “Glasnost” magazine)

This article is about human rights journalism of the Perestroika period is given on the example of the samizdat magazine Glasnost by S.I.Grigoryants, published in 1987–1989. The publication and the attitude of the Soviet government towards it are compared with the underground collections of human rights defenders that were published in the 1960s – 1980s and were actively persecuted by the KGB. The purpose of the article is to trace whether the beginning of perestroika and the announcement of glasnost influenced the human rights journalism of the last years of Soviet rule.

Keywords: “Glasnost”; S.I.Grigoryants; Soviet human rights defenders; samizdat; Perestroika press

Jazz journalism on the Internet

This article examines jazz journalism in the modern media space, its main sources, development and forms. The main objective of the work is to identify the characteristic features of modern jazz journalism and determine its specificity.

Keywords: jazz; jazz journalism; media; music journalism

Issue No 3 from 2024 yr.

In Search of a Way out of the Spiral of Confrontation, or How can Russia Resist the Challenge of the West?

The purpose of this article is to define the ideological and civilizational platform of the confrontation between the West and Russia in the Ukrainian conflict, to study the specifics of the emergence of the ideology of “Ukrainianism”, to analyze the political and economic motivation of the West in the continuation of the conflict. The article details the systemic errors of Russian policy towards Ukraine. The task is also set to highlight the state and church aspects of the confrontation in Ukraine.

Keywords: Special Military Operation in Ukraine; Ideological Foundations of Ukrainian Nationalism; Miscalculations of Russian Diplomacy.

“The Cold War was on the Wane”: Coverage of the Suez Crisis in Orthodox Periodicals

The article examines the papers of the Orthodox periodicals devoted to the Suez crisis. The Russian Orthodox Church adhered to the Soviet position, but its line was not identical to the state course. As a result of comparing the state and church approaches towards the Suez crisis, the differences between them are being identified. It is made a conclusion that in 1956–1957 the Russian Orthodox Church sought to maintain dialogue with both the Patriarchates of Alexandria and Jerusalem, and also neglected the US contribution to the settlement of the conflict.

Keywords: Suez Crisis; Russian Orthodox Church; Journal of the Moscow Patriarchate; Cold War; Religious Politics; A.V.Vedernikov

Military Crimes as a Factor in the Criminalization of Russia in World War I

The article is devoted to a rare topic – economic crimes on the Russian front during the First World War. In the center of the study are single and mass violations in property relations in the provision of the army. The author comes to the conclusion about the constant growth of economic crimes, the tendency to increase the amount of losses, the growth of group frauds. The article emphasizes such factors of economic crimes as lack of proper control, lack of reliable legal basis, clash of interests of military, civil administration and free market agents, impossibility to refuse to involve ethnic groups hostile to the army in the supply business. It is concluded that there are serious contradictions between the requirements of a new type of war and the reality of everyday warfare.

Keywords: total war; frontline everyday life; food supply; economic crimes; ethnocriminalistics; military field control

The First Translator of Cervantes into Russian Nikanor Ivanovich Oznobishin and his Genealogy

The manuscript of N.I.Oznobishin. discovered by O.M.Burank. is the first of Cervante translations into Russian known to date. The article analyzes this translation, and also on the basis of archival materials, the biography of Nikanor Ivanovich Oznobishin (about 1726/1727 –1788), a lieutenant of the Life Guards of the Preobrazhensky Regiment, a Russian translator, writer and public figure of the XVIII century, thegrandfather of the poet Dmitry Oznobishin, is studied, the genealogy of the branch of the Oznobishin family leading to Nikanor Ivanovich Oznobishin is reconstructed.

Keywords: Ivan Mikhailovich Oznobishin; Nikanor Ivanovich Oznobishin; genealogy of the Oznobishin family

“Glimpses of China's Awakening” at the Turn of the XIX–XX Сenturies ( Based on the Pages of the Magazine “Vestnik Evropy”)

The author focuses on the coverage of the initial stage of the Europeanization process in Qing China in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries on the pages of «Vestnik Evropy». Using the example of the publications of this journal, a panorama of the views of both domestic researchers (M.V.Venyukov, P.S.Popov, etc.) and direct leaders and participants of the mentioned transformations on the motivations, stages and essence of the reforms, as well as the reasons for their failure is presented. The characteristic features of the perception by Russian liberals of attempts to borrow from the European experience in Qing China are revealed.

Keywords: reforms in Qing China in the late 19th and early 20th centuries; «Vestnik Evropy»; M.V.Venyukov; P.S.Popov

The Revival of the Cossacks and the “Red-White” Memory

I argue the early stage of Cossack activism (late 1980s – 1990s) was a part of shaping Russian civil society. I assume the victim narrative was shaped by the Cossack intellectuals in 1989–90, and it was used politically to ensure that the revived Cossacks were officially recognized as a distinct nation who had suffered under Soviet rule and were entitled to regain their forcibly lost land ownership rights and administrative self-governance of the territory. Furthermore, there is a statement that the division of the Cossack movement into Red and White is not related to the memory of the Civil War, since the anti-Bolshevik victimhood narrative was consensual, but to the issue of public service.

Keywords: Cossack revival; collective memory; genocide of the Cossacks; memory politics; history and modernity; civil society

The Christian Workers' Union of Finland in the Revolution of 1905–1907

The article deals with the history of the emergence and activities of the clerical Christian Workers' Union of Finland during the 1905–1907 revolution. It analyses the Union's programme, numbers, social composition, organisational structure, goals and objectives. It shows the peculiarities of the formation of the ideological paradigms of the Union, which were a peculiar combination of Christian dogmas about equality and socio-economic and political demands of the part of the working class that saw the Christian faith as the basis of human existence.

Keywords: Christian Workers' Union of Finland; working class; Christianity; socialism; Christian tenets; Lutheran clergy; religiosity; clericalism

“For the Benefit of Our Entire Vast Fatherland...”: Ivan Nikolaevich Klingen (1851–1922)

The economic and educational activities and scientific views of the outstanding agrarianО of the late XIX – early XX century I.N.Klingen are considered. Special attention is paid to his advanced scientific and practical developments to solve key agricultural problems in Russia; the researcher's significant contribution to the development of a number of agricultural sectors and domestic agricultural science is noted. Conclusions are drawn about the specific scientific, practical and social significance of the long-term activities of a number of leading Russian agricultural innovators of the XIX – early XX century.

Keywords: agrarian rationalization; enlightenment; I.N.Klingen