On the History of the Anglo-Russian Confrontation in the Western Caucasus

The article examines the scale and methods of the anti-Russian military-political activity of British emissaries in the Western Caucasus in the first half of the 19th century. The scientific novelty lies in the fact that for the first time in the work the intelligence activity of British “traveling” agents in the Western Caucasus is subjected to a special study, as an independent, gaining strength way of fighting in international contradictions for the Caucasus. The relevance of the topic of the proposed article seems to us indisputable due to the incompleteness of international rivalry and the eternal Eastern question. Russian Empire in the late 20s — early 30s XIX century. took possession of all legal rights to the North-West Caucasus and outlets to the Black Sea. With its confident military successes and new territorial accessions, Russia threw a serious challenge to the European powers, and especially England, the dominant power on the European continent at that time. One of the most important tasks of England is to nullify all the achievements of Russia in Turkey and prevent its consolidation in the territory of the Western Caucasus. England, adhering to the favorite method of “raking in the heat with someone else’s hands”, and in Circassia is testing its effectiveness. Since the 30s. XIX century. Numerous British agents flooded the Caucasus, turning the Circassians against Russia. The Black Sea coast of the Caucasus has become a place of uninterrupted supply of weapons to the mountaineers. As a result of the work, the author comes to the conclusion that the sources considered in the work can represent a scientific basis for confirming the involvement of Britain in anti-Russian agitation in the Western Caucasus. The uninterrupted supply of weapons to the highlanders organized by British agents helped to maintain military tension and a fighting spirit in Circassia.

Typification and correction of forest vegetation syntaxa of the Western Caucasus

The article presents the typification and correction of mountain forests’ syntaxa established by one of the authors for the Western Caucasus. Unvalid classification units are validated according to the International Code of the Phytosociological Nomenclature (Theurillat et al., 2021): 2 associations of mesophytic deciduous forests of the order Lathyro–Carpinetalia and 3 associations of fir-beech forests of the order Rhododendro pontici–Fagetalia orientalis of the Carpino–Fagetea class, as well as 2 associations of oak pubescent forests and juniper woodland communities of the class Quercetea pubescentis. The main reasons of the invalidity of original publications are the absence of a nomenclature type or the ineffectiveness of the publication.

PRELIMINARY ESTIMATION OF THE INFLUENCE OF CYDALIMA PERSPECTALIS INVASION ON THE SPECIES COMPOSITION AND STRUCTURE OF EARTHWORM POPULATION (OLIGOCHAETA: LUMBRICIDAE, ACANTHODRILIDAE) IN THE RANGE OF BUXUS SEMPERVIRENS (WESTERN CAUCASUS)

The earthworm fauna and population structure in Colchic ecosystems of the southern slope in the Western Caucasus were studied. First, in May 2013 we have sampled earthworms of the forest communities. This research was repeated in 2018 after Buxus sempervirens L. destruction by Cydalima perspectalis Walker (Lepidoptera, Crambidae). Altogether 13 earthworm species were registered in the soils of original B. sempervirens phytocenose and derived phytocenoses of the Western Caucasus. Endemicity of earthworms in the study area was higher than in most regions of Russia. The earthworm samples in 2013 and 2018 were similar in species composition, but differed in terms of dominant species. The structure of the earthworm population in the soils of the secondary phytocenoses has become closer to the earthworm communities of the other forests in the Western Caucasus. Analysis of the relative position of taxocenes in 2013 and 2018 space NMDS model, allows to put forward a hypothesis about the reduction of their total "ecological niche" after the disappearance of B. sempervirens . We believe that a broader “ecological niche” in 2013 is associated with a greater mosaicism (diversity) of the worm habitat formed by boxwood communities.

The variety trial of lawn red fescue in the Western Caucasus and Central Chernozem Region

В 2017–2020 годах проведены экологические испытания существующих сортов и новых селекционных образцов овсяницы красной, созданных на основе исходного материала, полученного из местных популяций, произрастающих в различных экотопах мелового юга Среднерусской возвышенности. Объектом изучения были сорта овсяницы красной газонного типа Россинант (стандарт), Гостёнка, Искринка, Везёлка и 14 селекционных образцов, выделившихся в селекционном питомнике по комплексу морфо-биологических признаков, характерных для сортов газонного направления. Опыты проводили в трёх экологических точках: г. Геленджике (Краснодарский край); пгт Новомихайловский (Туапсинский район Краснодарского края); с. Драгунское (Белгородский район Белгородской области). Изучали продуктивность побегообразования, выраженную в среднем количестве сформированных побегов в год, и урожайность зелёной массы. Установлено, что исходный материал обладает высокой побегообразующей способностью и невысокой надземной продуктивностью, сопоставимыми с сортами, широко используемыми в газонных культурфитоценозах. Анализ корреляции между изучаемыми признаками показал, что в условиях юга Среднерусской возвышенности (экологическая точка «Белгородская область») с высокой вероятностью можно вести селекционную работу и отбор ценных генотипов овсяницы красной для условий Черноморского побережья Западного Кавказа по признаку «Среднегодовой прирост побегов». Показана корреляционная связь этого признака между экологическими точками «г. Геленджик» и «Белгородская область», подтверждённая достоверной корреляцией рангов Спирмена средней силы (rs = 0,446, P > 0,05). Не установлено тесной связи между урожайностью зелёной массы в экологической точке «Белгородская область» и экологических точках Западного Кавказа. В связи с этим для оценки селекционного материала необходимо проводить широкие экологические испытания исходного материала в экологических точках регионов, в которых предполагается использовать перспективные сорта. Сделано заключение о возможности использования исходного селекционного материала мелового юга Среднерусской возвышенности для создания сортов газонного направления для условий Западного Кавказа. The variety trial for red fescue genotypes tool place in 2017–2020. Local populations growing in the south of the Central Russian Upland were used as parental material to obtain the genotypes. The following lawn varieties were tested: “Rossinant” (standard), “Gostenka”, “Iskrinka”, “Vezelka” as well as 14 other genotypes carrying the number of valuable traits. Plants were grown in three different locations: Gelendzhik; the Tuapse region; the Belgorod region. The trial tested the average number of shoots formed in a year as well as green mass productivity. Parental lines actively formed shoots but had low productivity similar to widely cultivated lawn varieties. Red fescue genotypes with high annual shoot yield were widely spread in Gelendzhik and the Belgorod region (rs = 0.446, P > 0.05). The correlation between green mass productivity and the Belgorod region were insignificant same as for the Western Caucasus. It is highly important to test parental lines in the area of respective cultivation. Parental material from the south of the Central Russian Upland can be used to develop lawn genotypes for the Western Caucasus.

Western Caucasus written artifacts and the Danube script

В рамках данной статьи рассматриваются западнокавказские письменные артефакты: проблемный аспект их изучения, основные тенденции предыдущих исследований, выдвигается гипотеза родства данных артефактов с протописьменными системами культур Восточной Европы и Ближнего Востока. Изучение данных культурных элементов в свете новых археологических данных позволяет рассматривать их как осколки неолитической знаковой системы. Наряду с цивилизационным скачком, произошедшим в неолите (земледелие и сельское хозяйство, крупные поселения и новый общественный уклад, значительно изменивший характер социально-экономических отношений), произошло переосмысление способов передачи и фиксации информации, тем самым образуя фундамент для возникновения протописьменных систем, распространившихся посредством культурной экспансии и миграций на большие территории, в том числе и Западный Кавказ. Также отмечается, что графическая основа кавказских памятников выходит за пределы кавказско-месопотамско-анатолийского ареала, подтверждением чего служит так называемое винчанское письмо. Делается вывод о том, что знаковый фундамент, сформировавшийся в дунайском энеолите, способствовал образованию первых цивилизаций в исследуемом регионе. This paper deals with the Western Caucasus written artifacts: the problematic aspect of their study, the main trends of previous studies, the hypothesis of the relationship of these artifacts with the oldest writing systems of cultures of Eastern Europe and the Middle East. The study of these cultural elements in the light of new archaeological data leads to the conclusion that they can be considered as fragments of the Neolithic sign system, in particular their commonality with the so-called Danube script. Along with the civilizational leap which occurred in the Neolithic (land husbandry and agriculture, large settlements and a new social structure that changed significantly the nature of socio-economic relations), a rethinking of the methods of transmitting and fixing information took place. Thus, the foundation for the emergence of writing systems that spread through cultural expansion and migration to large territories, including the Western Caucasus, was formed. The author also notes that the graphic basis of Caucasus monuments goes beyond the Caucasus-Mesopotamian-Anatolian range, as confirmed by the so-called Vinca script. It is inferred that the glyph foundation formed in the Danube Eneolithic contributed to the formation of the first civilizations in the region under study.

FEATURES OF THE FORMATION OF EXTREME EXOGENIC PROCESSES IN THE ALIBEK VALLEY (WESTERN CAUCASUS)

In the mountains, special types of geosystems are formed, whose origins are attributable to exogenic processes - debris flows, avalanches, landslides, etc. Since 2009, a regular survey of key objects and centers of heterogeneous extreme process development has been carried out for their identification and monitoring in the Central Caucasus (the Cherek- Balkarsky basin). To obtain a more complete picture of their course in the Northern Caucasus as a whole, and to track that cycle, the authors considered it expedient, beginning in 2021, to monitor also the Western Caucasus, the area of Teberda and Dombai. The article analyzes the results of expeditionary observations, as well as meteorological indicators that affect the course of extreme exogenic processes, their derivatives for 2020 and for the first eight months of 2021, from the Teberda and Terskol meteorological observatories.On the left side of the Alibek River valley, the predominant processes are talus and, to a lesser extent, avalanches. That side has a southern exposure and is arid relative to the right, northern one. On the one hand, moisture is insufficient for the successful formation of debris flows; on the other hand, sparse vegetation in the upper parts of the slope and the lower upper border of the forest do not inhibit exogenous processes.Air temperatures in Teberda are 4-5°C lower than in Balkaria. This contributes to the reduction of glacier melting, inhibiting exogenic processes. Higher moisture and the lack of grazing contribute to the formation of rich and dense vegetation, with a similar effect. This factor neutralizes the more active than in the Central Caucasus, frost weathering and high saltitudes, contributing to a higher rate of mobility of both water and debris.

Introduction study of Gynostemma pentaphyllum (Thunb.) Makino in the conditions of the Western Caucasus

Relevance. Due to the fact that gynostemma is an endemic plant, providing the pharmaceutical industry with domestic raw materials is not possible, this problem can be solved only through the introduction of this species into the culture.Material and methods. Studies on the introduction of Gynostemma pentaphyllum (Thunb.) Makino in the experimental fields of medicinal crop rotation of the North Caucasus branch of FGBNU VILAR, located in the zone of Western Ciscaucasia, were carried out to study the biomorphological and environmental features of growth and development of the plant, the most optimal conditions for growing and determination of economically valuable indicators. Propagation was carried out through seedlings from seeds received under the contract from South Korea, which were planted in the open ground in early May in areas with direct sunlight and under the canopy of trees (shade). Gynostemma pentaphyllum is a climbing liana with a creeping stem, so it was grown as a trellised crop.Results. It has been established that gynostemma under Krasnodar Territory conditions passes all stages of phenological development, starting from the first year of vegetation, grows and bears fruit every year. The duration of the growing season from 229 to 238 days was determined. Harvesting was carried out in the phase of budding – beginning of flowering. The most optimal condition for growing this crop is shading compared to the option of direct sunlight, where there was a significant increase in growth and development of gynostemma, which contributed to a significant increase in yield. On the rhizome of gynostemma II and III years of vegetation new additional shoots are formed, the number of which is significantly higher in the variant with shading. The conducted introduction studies indicate the possibility of cultivation of Gynostemma pentaphyllum (Thunb.) Makino in the zone of the Western Caucasus.

THE CULT OF FIRE, WATER AND PURITY, OR ELEMENTS OF ZOROASTRISM IN THE ETHNO-RELIGIOUS TRADITION OF THE OSSETIANS

Статья посвящена одному из самых спорных, а потому наиболее перспективных направлений современного осетиноведения, к которым относится проблема поиска и объяснения следов зороастризма в традиционной религии осетин. В.И. Абаев категорически отрицал даже возможность зороастрийского влияния на религиозную традицию скифов и, как следствие, алан, в силу чего поиски зороастрийских элементов в культуре осетин считал бесперспективными. Тем не менее, результаты исследований более позднего периода вполне дают основание для поиска зороастрийских параллелей в осетинской религиозной практике. Как известно, в эпоху раннего Средневековья зороастризм выступал в роли идеологического инструмента во внешней политике Сасанидов на Западном Кавказе и распространялся, как правило, среди иранских народов. Зороастризм поощрял развитие скотоводства: оно воспринималось как борьба с силами зла, что отвечало интересам аланского общества, его потребностям. Наиболее убедительно с точки зрения археологии следы зороастризма представлены в склеповом погребальном обряде. Целью настоящей статьи является анализ некоторых элементов зороастризма в религиозном культе осетин, отраженных в нарративных письменных (неархеологических) источниках начала ХХ в. Особенно четко искомые черты проявлены в осетинской обрядовой практике праздников новогоднего цикла. Они сохранились в практике возжигания новогоднего огня, а также в сходных с зороастризмом элементах ритуального очищения жилища и стойла для скота. Кроме того, в практике использования в обрядовой практике ритуальных трех пирогов с сыром угадывается древнеиранский культ жертвоприношения воде, сохранившийся и в зороастризме. One of the most controversial, and therefore the most promising areas of modern Ossetian studies is the problem of finding and explaining traces of Zoroastrianism in the traditional religion of Ossetians. V.I. Abaev categorically denied even the possibility of Zoroastrian influence on the religious tradition of the Scythians, and, as a result, of the Alans, by virtue of which, the search for Zoroastrian elements in the culture of the Ossetians was considered futile. Nevertheless, the results of studies of a later period provide a basis for searching for Zoroastrian parallels in Ossetian religious practice. It is common lnowledge, that in the early Middle Ages, Zoroastrianism acted as an ideological tool in the foreign policy of the Sassanids in the Western Caucasus and spread, as a rule, among the Iranian peoples. Zoroastrianism encouraged the development of cattle breeding: it was perceived as a struggle against the forces of evil, which met the interests of the Alanian society and its needs. From the point of view of archeology, traces of Zoroastrianism are most convincingly presented in the crypt burial rite. The purpose of this article is to analyze some of the elements of Zoroastrianism in the religious cult of the Ossetians, reflected in the narrative written (non-archeological) sources of the early twentieth century. The sought-for features are especially clearly manifested in the Ossetian ritual practice of the New Year's cycle holidays. They are manifested in the practice of lighting the New Year's fire, as well as in elements similar to Zoroastrianism in the ritual cleansing of dwellings and cattle stalls. In addition, in the practice of using ritual three pies with cheese in ritual practice, the ancient Iranian cult of sacrifice to water, which was also preserved in Zoroastrianism, can be associated with this.

Bridges as Geoheritage Viewpoints in the Western Caucasus

Distant observation of unique geological and geomorphological features facilitates comprehension and tourism of these important resources. Bridges offer an opportunity for such observation, and the idea of bridge-based geoheritage viewpoints is proposed. In the geologically-rich area of the Western Caucasus (southwestern Russia), eleven bridges were assessed semiquantitatively with the newly proposed approach. The results indicated their different but moderate utility as geoheritage viewpoints. The utility of two bridges is high. Bridges differ not only by the quality of the views they offer but also by their accessibility. Mandatory permissions and entrance fees reduce this property in several cases. Although the study area is somewhat specific due to the relatively large number of bridges and their utility, similar situations can be found in other geographical localities. Bridge-based geoheritage viewpoints are important to geotourism development, and, particularly, they contribute to establishing optimal and comfortable routes.