Russian Factor in the Military and Political Conflicts of Europe in 1917–1920

Статья посвящена т. н. «русскому фактору» в период после окончания Первой мировой войны и до 1920г. Революционные события в России радикально изменили внешнеполитическую ситуацию на европейском театре и одновременно стали оказывать серьезное влияние на внутреннюю повестку стран участниц конфликта, благодаря активной политике Советской России по продвижению революционных идей и поддержке революционных движений в Европе. Подобная практика была вызвана не столько искренним желанием раздуть революционный пожар и безусловной верой в его возможность, сколько необходимостью физического выживания молодого «пролетарского государства» во враждебном капиталистическом окружении. В статье подробно рассматривается идеологическая подоплека внешней политики Советской России в это период и деятельность на этом поприще ее вождя В.И. Ленина, его попытки повлиять на общественно-политические процессы в Германии, Венгрии и Польше, а также анализируются изменения в идеологической повестке большевиков после провала советской политики по созданию плацдармов для продвижения революции в центральную Европу. Также в статье обращается внимание на то, что за внешней ширмой буржуазной революции в России явно проступают признаки целенаправленной политики по удалению с карты Европы и Азии империй — Османской, Германской, Австро-Венгерской и Российской, чему предшествовала активная компания по девальвации самих монархических институтов. Большевистская же политика по полному демонтажу прежней системы, несмотря на внешнюю враждебность идеологических установок, оказалась вполне приемлемой для тех, кто стремился не допустить пересборки Центральных держав. The article deals with the influence of the so-called Russian factor in the events following the end of the First World War up until 1920. The revolution in Russia radically changed the situation in Europe, having a major impact on the domestic and foreign policies of the belligerent nations, caused by active Soviet support for revolutionary movements in Europe. This practice stemmed not from a sincere desire to fan the revolutionary flames but rather from the survival instinct of the newly-established proletarian state, surrounded by hostile capitalistic countries. The article examines the ideological motivations behind Soviet Russia's foreign policy during this period and the activities of its leader, Vladimir Lenin, as well as his attempts to influence social and political processes in Germany, Hungary, and Poland. The study also analyzes the changes in the ideological agenda of the Bolsheviks after the failure of Soviet policy to create springboards for the advancement of the revolution into Central Europe. Moreover, the paper points out that the smokescreen of the revolution in Russia reveals clear signs of a concerted effort to wipe the Ottoman Empire, the German Empire, the Austro-Hungarian Empire, and the Russian Empire from the map of Europe and Asia, preceded by an active campaign aimed at undermining the monarchic institutions themselves. Meanwhile, the Bolshevik policy that sought to completely dismantle the old regime, despite the hostility of its ideology, eventually proved perfectly acceptable for those who aimed to prevent the Central Powers from rising up again.

Carlos Giménez, España, Una, Grande y Libre (1976-1977), and Comics of the Transition

I reexamine the Spanish Transition in terms of the interventions that cartoonists in the 1970s used to lay bare the machinations of the old regime still in power. Specifically, I analyze Carlos Giménez’s España, Una, Grande y Libre series, an exemplary counter-narrative against the dominant discourse produced by post-Franco government officials and economic power brokers. This collection—which denounces state-sanctioned violence and champions popular mobilizations in the name of a more just society—is also a pioneering work that makes visible the victims of the long-silenced crimes of Francoism.

РИСИ СУСПІЛЬНО-ПОЛІТИЧНИХ ТРАНСФОРМАЦІЙ У МОСКОВСЬКІЙ ДЕРЖАВІ В XVII СТ.

Ключові слова: Московська держава в XVII ст., династія Романових, самодержавство, абсолютизм, станово-представницька монархія. Анотація На основі новітніх історичних досліджень поданий неупереджений погляд на розвиток Московської держави в XVII ст. через призму соціокультурного, проблемного підходу до суперечливих в історіографії питань, що турбують сьогоднішніх істориків, політиків, звичайних людей України, Росії, інших країн світу і стають предметом численних спекуляцій та маніпуляцій. У результаті проведеного дослідження висвітлено основні риси суспільно-політичних трансформацій у Московській державі в XVII ст., акцентовано увагу на спростування радянських та сучасних російських міфів щодо розвитку централізованої самодержавної моделі Московії, визначаються можливості цивілізаційного вибору Московської держави XVII ст. між станово-представницькою та абсолютистською моделями розвитку. Посилання Andreev, 2003 – Andreev I.L. Aleksey Mihaylovich [Alexey Mikhailovich]. Moskva: Molodaya gvardiya, 2003. 638 s. [in Russian] Ahiezer, 2013 – Ahiezer A., Klyamkin I., Yakovenko I. Istoriya Rossii: konets ili novoe nachalo? [History of Russia: end or new beginning?] / 3-e izd., ispr. i dop. Moskva: Novoe izdatelstvo, 2013. 496 s. [in Russian] Bogdanov, 2009 – Bogdanov A.P. Nesostoyavshiysya imperator Fedor Alekseevich [Failed Emperor Fyodor Alekseevich]. Moskva: Veche, 2009. 320 s. [in Russian] Volodihin, 2013 – Volodihin D.M. Tsar Fedor Alekseevich, ili Bednyiy otrok [Tsar Fyodor Alekseevich, or Poor youth]. Moskva: Molodaya gvardiya, 2013. 267 s. [in Russian] Danilov, 2007 – Danilov A.G. Alternativyi v istorii Rossii: mif ili realnost (XIV–ХІХ vv.) [Alternatives in the history of Russia: myth or reality (XIV – XIX centuries)]. Rostov-na-Donu: Feniks, 2007. 303 s. [in Russian] Zarezin, 2018 – Zarezin M.I. V puchine Russkoy Smutyi. Nevyiuchennyiy uroki istorii [In the abyss of the Russian Troubles. Unlearned history lessons]. Moskva: Veche, 2018. 400 s. [in Russian] Istoriia Rosii, 2013 – Istoriia Rosii (z naidavnishykh chasiv do kintsia XVIII st.) [History of Russia (from ancient times to the end of the XVIII century)]: navch. posib. /avtor-uklad. V.M. Mordvintsev. Kyiv: Znannia, 2013. 346 s. [in Ukrainian] Kozlyakov, 2004 – Kozlyakov V.N. Mihail Fedorovich [Mikhail Fedorovich]. Moskva: Molodaya gvardiya, 2004. 352 s. [in Russian] Kozlyakov, 2017 – Kozlyakov V.N. Boris Godunov. Tragediya o dobrom tsare [Boris Godunov. The tragedy of the good king]. Moskva: Molodaya gvardiya, 2017. 330 s. [in Russian] Lobachev, 2003 – Lobachev S.V. Patriarh Nikon [Patriarch Nikon]. Sankt-Peterburg: Iskusstvo-SPb, 2003. 416 s. [in Russian] Lukin, 2000 – Lukin P.V. Narodnyie predstavleniya o gosudarstvennoy vlasti v Rossii XVII v. [Popular ideas about state power in Russia in the XVII century].Moskva: Nauka, 2000. 296 s. [in Russian] Marchenko, 2015 – Marchenko O.M. Istoriia slovianskykh narodiv. Chastyna persha. Istoriia Rusi, Moskovskoi derzhavy, Rosiiskoi imperii do kintsia XVIII st. Kurs lektsii dlia studentiv vyshchykh navchalnykh zakladiv: Navchalnyi posibnyk [History of Slavic peoples. Part one. History of Russia, the Moscow State, the Russian Empire until the end of the XVIII century. Course of lectures for students of higher educational institutions: Textbook]. Druhe vydannia, pereroblene y dopovnene. Kirovohrad, POLIMED-Servis, 2015. 385 s. [in Ukrainian] Narysy istorii, 2007 – Narysy istorii Rosii [Essays on the history of Russia]: per. z ros. /B.V. Ananich, I.L. Andreiev, Ye.V. Anisimov ta in.; Za zah. red. O.O. Chubariana. Kyiv: Nika-Tsentr, 2007. 800 s. [in Ukrainian] Nefedov, 2004 – Nefedov S.A. Pervyie shagi po puti modernizatsii Rossii: reformyi seredinyi XVII v. [First steps towards modernization of Russia: reforms of the middle of the XVII century] // Voprosyi istorii. 2004. №4. – S. 33–52. [in Russian] Payps, 2012 – Payps R.E. Rossiya pri starom rezhime [Russia under the old regime]. M.: Zakharov. 2012. 480 s. [in Russian] Pisarkova, 2007 – Pisarkova L.F. Gosudarstvennoe upravlenie Rossii s kontsa XVII do kontsa XVIII veka. Evolyutsiya byurokraticheskoy sistemyi [Russian government from the end of the XVII to the end of the XVIII century: the evolution of the bureaucratic system]. Moskva: ROSSPEN, 2007. 743 s. [in Russian] Svetova, 2013 – Svetova E.A. Dvor Alekseya Mihaylovicha v kontekste absolyutizatsii tsarskoy vlasti [The courtyard of Alexei Mikhailovich in the context of the absolutization of the tsarist power]. Moskva: MGU, 2013. 212 s. [in Russian] Sedov, 2006 – Sedov P.V. Zakat Moskovskogo tsarstva: Tsarskiy dvor kontsa XVII veka [The decline of the Moscow kingdom: the royal court at the end of the XVII century]. Sankt-Peterburg: Dmitriy Bulanin, 2006. 604 s. [in Russian] Skryinnikov, 1988 – Skryinnikov R.G. Rossiya v nachale XVII v. Smuta [Russia at the beginning of the XVII century. Troubles]. Moskva: Myisl, 1988. 283 s. [in Russian] Stanislavskiy, 1990 – Stanislavskiy A.L. Grazhdanskaya voyna v Rossii XVII v. [The Civil War in Russia in the XVII century]. Moskva: Myisl, 1990. 270 s. [in Russian] Talina, 1996 – Talina G.V. Tsar Aleksey Mihaylovich: lichnost, myislitel, gosudarstvennyiy deyatel [Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich: personality, thinker, statesman]. Moskva: Magistr, 1996. 144 s. [in Russian] Ulyanovskiy, 2006 – Ulyanovskiy V.I. Smutnoe vremya [Time of Troubles]. Moskva: Evropa, 2006. 448 s. [in Russian] Cherepnin, 1978 – Cherepnin L.V. Zemskie soboryi Russkogo gosudarstva v XVI – XVII vv. [Zemsky Cathedrals of the Russian State in the XVI – XVII centuries]. / Moskva: Nauka, 1978. 420 s. [in Russian] Shokarev, 2013 – Shokarev S.Yu. Smutnoe vremya v Moskve [Time of Troubles in Moscow]. Moskva: Veche, 2013. 320 s. [in Russian]

ADMINISTRATIVE-TERRITORIAL DIVISION IN THE RSFSR (1920s–1930s)

The article discusses the process of changes in the administrative-territorial division of the RSFSR in the 20s–30s of the XX century. The article distinguishes several stages. Relying on historiography and sources, the author tries to analyze and summarize the historical experience in reorganization of the RSFSR administrative-territorial system from the “spontaneous” emergence of new administrative-territorial units against the background of the existing old-regime administrative-territorial units to the first consolidation reform, when governorates, volosts, uyezds were finally liquidated, as well as the second reform of the Soviet government, the essence of which was fragmentation. The study shows that all the transformations of the young Soviet republic in the studied area took place in connection with changes in the form of power organization, as well as with a change in the principles of regional policy and the direction of economic development of the country’s territories. At the present stage, opinions on the return to the governorate administration began to appear more and more often in the research literature, which became the subject of a detailed analysis by the author of this work. The article suggests and substantiates possible directions for improving the administrative-territorial division of the RSFSR after the reform in the 1920s–1930s in order to implement the policy of the Bolsheviks and further territorial development of the country. The main approaches to the formation of the RSFSR administrative-territorial division, identification of local socio-economic systems, determination of the optimal size of administrative-territorial entities are highlighted. The interrelation between the administrative-territorial division and economic zone division in Russia is substantiated.

Unveiling the Unseen: The Role of the Gulf over the Sudanese Transition Period

Sudan, an African-Arab country, has in recent years been witnessing the political transformation process of the revolution-coup spiral. The Sudanese people, who overthrew the 30-year-old regime, are not satisfied with the revolution that came into power in 2019. This new conjuncture, which can barely be called a revolution, did not solve the structural problems such as corruption, unemployment, injustice, or inability to rule. Therefore, the fire of revolution and the desire for democracy have not yet died out in Sudan. However, the role of external and internal actors influencing the country’s transformation process deserves scrutiny. In this sense, this piece seeks to answer the question of how Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates have been actively involved in and diverting the transformation process in Sudan. The main claim of the study is that the Saudi-UAE axis is diligent in establishing an authoritarian military regime in Sudan. The notions of secularization and normalization with Israel stand out among the projects that the UAE is trying to implement in Sudan. The UAE and Saudi Arabia, using petro-dollar as a tool, are directly engaging in Sudan’s transition period.

Religion and Revolution in Europe

The French Revolution and Napoleonic Empire altered the religious landscape of France, Europe, and the wider world. Revolutionaries reduced religion to a matter of opinion in the 10th Article of the Declaration of the Rights of Man and Citizen (1789), legitimizing their seizure of Catholic lands and disavowal of the religious and political hierarchy of Old Regime France and its empire in the process. This in turn ignited a dechristianization campaign, local conflicts between Catholics, Protestants, and Jewish communities, and counter-revolutionary war in France. The violence reverberated well beyond France’s borders, both throughout Europe and in imperial and non-imperial spaces. From Prussia to Portugal to Port-au-Prince, revolutionaries inspired violence against and in defence of religion, drove les religieux across borders and into the borderlands, and sparked debates over secularization (laïcization, in France) and the rights of individuals and collective, religious bodies for generations.

1918 and the Habsburg Monarchy as Reflected in Slovak Historiography

With regard to the “long” nineteenth-century history of the Habsburg monarchy, the new generation of post-1989 historians have strengthened research into social history, the history of previously unstudied social classes, the church, nobility, bourgeoisie, and environmental history, as well as the politics of memory.The Czechoslovak centenary increased historians’ interest in the year 1918 and the constitutional changes in the Central European region. It involved the culmination of previous revisitations of the World War I years, which also benefited from gaining a 100-year perspective. The Habsburg monarchy, whose agony and downfall accompanied the entire period of war (1914–1918), was not left behind because the year 1918 marked a significant milestone in Slovak history. Exceptional media attention and the completion of numerous research projects have recently helped make the final years of the monarchy and the related topics essential ones.Remarkably, with regard to the demise of the monarchy, Slovak historiography has focused not on “great” and international history, but primarily on regional history and its elites; on the fates of “ordinary” people living on the periphery, on life stories, and socio-historical aspects. The recognition of regional events that occurred in the final months of the monarchy and the first months of the republic is the greatest contribution of recent historical research. Another contribution of the extensive research related to the year 1918 is a number of editions of sources compiled primarily from the resources of regional archives. The result of such partial approaches is the knowledge that the year 1918 did not represent the discontinuity that was formerly assumed. On the contrary, there is evidence of surprising continuity in the positions of professionals such as generals, officers, professors, judges, and even senior old regime officers within the new establishment. In recent years, Slovak historiography has also managed to produce several pieces of work concerned with historical memory in relation to the final years of the monarchy.