Music, Theatre, and Diplomacy: The Paris Opéra during the Second Empire

One of the first accomplishments of the Second Empire (1852–70) was to bring the Opéra under the control of a committee of the most highly placed politicians in the land. While this had far-reaching consequences for the development of repertory in the capital and beyond, it also opened up the possibility of using the Opéra as a locus of diplomatic activity, and major works and productions were made to work for diplomatic purposes. The Opéra emerged as a site of four types of diplomatic activities: the spectacle of state visits, the celebration and monumentalizing of military victories, the restoration and maintenance of good relations, and the promotion of Napoléon’s imperial project. Occasionally, as at the end of the “Crimean war,” the Opéra served as one of the sites for a series of prolonged negotiations that would lead to formal treaties.

RUSSIAN DRAMA DURING THE CRIMEAN WAR OF 1853–1856

The Crimean War of 1853–1856 became a real challenge for Russian society and was reflected in the culture and art of that time, including drama. Already during the war, plays dedicated to this historical event were being created and staged in theatres. This article analyses four plays – “For the Faith, the Tsar and the Fatherland” by Pyotr Grigor’yev, “The Veteran and the Recruit” by Aleksey Pisemsky, “The Feat of the Mother” by Orest Miller, “The Russians in 1854” by Adelaida Tal’tseva. The general ideological message of those dramatic works included patriotism, glorification of the greatness of the Fatherland and the strength of the Russian people, the Orthodox faith, in connection with which the plays created the image of a Russian soldier for whom participation in the war is a matter of honour and faith. The study establishes the correspondence of dramatic works of the period of the Crimean War of 1853–1856 to the requirements of the time, their close connection with the historical context of the era, as well as an orientation towards ease of perception by the audience. The author of the article defines the general features of patriotic plays of the Crimean War period at the plot and ideological level.

Production of and Supply of the Army with Small Arms on the Eve of the Russo-Turkish War (1877–1878). A Brief Overview of the Russian Military Industry

In the wake of the Crimean War, the upper military circles in Russia changed their thinking with regard to firearms. General Milyutin became Minister of War. It was the time when Alexander II reigned over Russia. In 1856, the calibre of Russian firearms was reduced to 6 inches, or 15.24 mm. The process of re-equipping the Russian army with M1856 rifles using expanding Minié bullets was launched. These rifles demonstrated that the percussion systems had reached the limit of their capacity for improvement. Nothing else could be improved in terms of their firing speed. Despite the resistance of the conservative military circles, Milyutin encouraged new inventions, and the 1860s became a period of experimentation with firearms. Some new cartridge systems were introduced. The high-quality M1856 percussion rifle was not destined to take part in war times, but the Russian army had been fully equipped with it for a short period of time. Almost all systems of the 1860s were based on this rifle. Over 10 systems of firearms with an internal needle fuse were proposed to the weapons commission. In 1866, the Englishman Karle proposed his own system with an internal needle fuse. Krnka, Berdan I, and Berdan II came next. After 1866, the Terry-Norman, Karle, and Krnka rifles entered the Russian army. These systems were developed on the basis of the 6-line M1856/58 rifle. The latter was converted into a rear-loading rifle. In 1869, the Krnka rifle was chosen as the main system, which became the main weapon of the Russian army in the following years. At the beginning of 1877, there were 613,297 Krnka rifles, 150,868 Karle rifles, 17,810 Berdan I and 325,254 Berdan II rifles in the Russian army.

The Crimean War of 1853-1856 in the Memory Space of Russia and France

On the example of commemoration of various wars and key historical events, it is possible to reconstruct and comprehend the value orientations of states at certain phases of their development. In this article, we propose to turn to the Crimean War of 1853-1856, which was reflected in the historical memory of the two participating countries - Russia and France. With such a comparative approach, attention is drawn to different levels of commemoration of this event: we are talking about scientific research on the Crimean campaign, about the people's memory of generations, about state and political practices. The authors analyze these aspects and identify which of them are most widespread in Russia and Europe, so that the memory of the Crimean War is preserved in modern society. The authors analyze the phenomenon of the forgotten war - a term that has entered the scientific lexicon of the French community and is used to describe the campaign of 1854-1856. The study of the problem makes it possible to answer an important question: why do certain traditions of memory exist, whether they help to form a certain consciousness, value attitudes.

On the Similarity of Colonialist Policies Implemented Against the Ottoman Empire and the Far East: The Bargains Over Korea After the Shimonoseki Agreement

The industrialized Western powers, seeking free trade, raw materials and market, turned their faces to the underdeveloped states of the Middle and the Far East in the 19th century. First Ottoman Empire, then China and Japan became the targets of this process in a short time. Ottoman Empire was transformed into a semi colony between 1856-1881. After China’s defeat against Japan, the French and British diplomats had discussed repeating the policy which they implemented against Ottoman Empire after the Crimean War in 1853-1856, for China. Colonial effects had begun with trade agreement in Ottoman Empire and continued with changes in judiciary, land laws and increasing the rights of foreigners. Also Japan, who learned how to be a colonialist from British Empire, captured the sovereignty and made changes to judicial and social laws in Korea. In this study, we emphasized that the colonial policies were the same everywhere in both the Near East or the Far East. The Archival documents show the similarities to colonial policies implemented in the Ottoman Empire and Korea. The main source of the findings in this study is the diplomatic correspondence of British diplomats in the region, in the National Archives.

THE FOURTH BASTION OF SEVASTOPOL: ARCHAEOLOGICAL DISCOVERY OF 2019

В 2018-2019 гг. основным объектом исследований Севастопольской экспедиции ИИМК РАН стали оборонительные сооружения, расположенные на Историческом бульваре г. Севастополя. Археологические раскопки Четвертого бастиона позволили проследить историю его строительства. Впервые были получены достоверные данные о местоположении, характере и конструкции основных элементов фортификации правого фланга 4-го бастиона: валганга, горжи, эскарпа и контрэскарпа. Открыты орудийные дворики, части бруствера с орудийными амбразурами, вспомогательные площадки для размещения боеприпасов, погреба для хранения пороха и бомб, блиндажи для личного состава. Во рву обнаружены вырубленные в скале навесы-убежища и 14 входов в контрминные галереи, потайной ход для скрытного перемещения войск. В ходе раскопок собрана представительная археологическая коллекция предметов войны и быта защитников бастиона и их противников, достойная пополнить экспозиции музеев Севастополя, посвященных его обороне в годы Крымской войны. В 2019 г. специалистами ИИМК РАН и Эрмитажа разработана и представлена в Министерство культуры РФ концепция музеефикации и приспособления для современного использования выявленных сооружений в районе правого фаса 4-го бастиона на Мемориальном комплексе памятников обороны города в 1854-1855 гг. «Исторический бульвар» (г. Севастополь). In 2018-2019 defensive fortifications located in the Istoricheskiy (Historical) Boulevard of Sevastopol (Fig. 1) became the main object of excavations carried out by the Sevastopol expedition of the Institute for the History of Material Culture (RAS). The archaeological excavations of the fourth bastion provide an insight into the history of its construction. Reliable data on location, characteristic features and technical design of the key fortification elements of the bastion right flank such as terreplein, neck line, escarp and counterscarp were obtained for the first time. The excavations revealed gun positions, parts of breastwork with gun ports, auxiliary areas for ammunition storage, a magazin for gun powder and bombs, dugout shelters for manpower. Shelter awnings cut out in rock and 14 entries into countermine galleries as well as a secret passage for surreptitious movements of troops (Fig. 3; 4) were identified. A representative archaeological assembly of war items and paraphernalia of bastion defenders and their enemy was collected during the excavations. It will replenish expositions of the Sevastopol museums dedicated to its defense in the Crimean war (Figs. 5-8). In 2019 specialists of the Institute for the History of Material Culture prepared a concept note for museification and adaptive use of constructions discovered in the right side of the fourth bastion at the 1854-1855 Memorial Ensemble of the City Defense Sites known as ‘the Historical Boulevard' (Sevastopol). The concept note was forwarded to the Russian Ministry of Culture.