FROM THE BRITISH EMPIRE TO THE UNITED KINGDOM – THE IMPERIAL PATH OF THE ASCENSION AND DECLINE OF ENGLAND IN THE XX-XXI CENTURIES

The British Empire has become the most powerful in the world by the end of the XIX century. Having 1/4 of the worlds’s area the empire had a dramatic impact on historical and cultural development of its colonial countries. Moreover "the Great Game" which Britain was playing in Asia was aimed to prevent strengthening of Russia. After the Second World War the colonial domination began to fade away and "the New Britain" found new focus of its historical, political and socio-cultural development.

The Great Game in Front and Central Asia in the XIX century: historiography of the question

The purpose of the article is to study the events of the big game, their reflection and comparison in Russian and English historiography. For its implementation, considerable amounts of materials related both to the time of these events and to modern authors were used. Since the research concerns the topic of political rivalry between the two states, the observation of a subjective attitude in some works is not unexpected. However, the works presented in the article generally stand up to historical objectivity. The Big Game is an important event in terms of what is essentially a forerunner of subsequent global conflicts, primarily the cold war.