Experimental Exercises as an Element of Joint Combat Training of the Air Forces and Railway Troops in the Prewar Period and During the Great Patriotic War (1931-1945)

This article deals with the organization of experimental exercises of the Air Force and Railway Troops in the conditions of increasing military threat during the prewar period and the years of Great Patriotic War combat operations. The relevance of the study is due to the lack of scientific research on the history of interaction and joint combat training of aviation and special technical branches units. In the course of this research, the role and place of experimental exercises in the system of joint combat training of the Air Force and Railway Troops were defined, and the main areas of weapons and military equipment testing were analyzed. A conclusion was made about the fundamental role of the Gorokhovets Aviation and Railway Troops test field in the study of joint combat use and in the development of new models of air weapons and recovering equipment for Railway Troops. The effectiveness of using of the experience of such experimental exercises is positively assessed. Conclusions are formulated and scientific-theoretical recommendations are offered to improve joint combat training of Aviation and Railway Troops units at the present development level of the Russian Armed Forces.

The Political Environment of the Cities of Northern Kazakhstan at the Cusp of the 19th-20th Centuries

Cities of the northern part of Kazakhstan at the turn of the 19th-20th centuries had played the role of administrative units for a long period; however, the gradual development of the urban environment and the integration of the cities of the national outskirts into the system of socio-economic relations of the empire led to the formation cooperation of a citizen not only in the economic aspect, but also, in the political aspects. The research attempted to analyze the processes associated with the formation of a political space in a colonial city, where representatives of the national intelligentsia were the subjects, and the emerging media and public spaces were the tools. The author insists that the political component of the city had developed in the context of the all-Russian political situation. The systemic crisis in all spheres of the state's life demanded new formats of their rights struggle. Under these conditions, the intelligentsia takes the initiative and develops its own style of struggle, expressed in the creation of newspapers, which will later become the print organs of the parties. For example, the newspaper "Kazakh" will become the official organ of the Alash party. Thus, the author argues that the formation of the political space in the colonial city is the result of the activities of the intelligentsia. The article uses the data of the regional archives of Kostanay, Petropavlovsk and NurSultan cities. One of the methods of this research was the historical and genetic one, which allows considering the problems in its development and identifying patterns. The use of the historical-comparative method revealed differences in the development of Kazakhstan historiography.

Regional Identity and Historical Memory Policy: Experience of the Altai Territory and the Altai Republic

The article presents the results of an empirical study including an expert survey conducted in July-August, 2021 with the purpose of identifying opinions on the subject of formation of the regional identity and the historical memory policy in the Altai Territory and the Altai Republic. In total, 50 experts were interviewed representing scientific circles of various specialties (history, political science, sociology, philosophy, economics, and medicine). It is noted that the majority of respondents principally identify the following as the objective factors influencing the identity of residents: «natural potential», «national and cultural heritage», and «historical events». Experts mention the following main accents of the regional authorities in the policy of memory: «honoring» the «symbolic» figures», «establishment of local holidays and memorable dates», «formation and preservation of sites of commemoration». Using the method of content analysis, the key historical events, personalities and symbols of the regions have been determined, which are the most important according to experts. Thus, for the Altai Territory, such a role is assigned to the V.M. Shukshin, and the Big Kolyvan Vase has become the symbol of the region. According to the survey, the painter G.I. Gurkin is considered a «symbolic figure» of the Altai Republic, and the Belukha Mountain is mentioned as the key «site of commemoration». As the main recommendations of the respondents, the following is noted: «improvement of the quality of school education (regional history) », «designing an information space concerning the memorable events», and «making the strategies and practices aimed at solving the socio-economic problems of the regions». The results obtained are correlated with the existing research on this topic.

The Reading Circle in the Tomsk Province in the Second Half of the 19th — Early 20th Centuries

The article is devoted to study of the reading circle of various population groups in the Tomsk Province in the second half of the 19th — early 20th centuries. The book, as an important attribute of the spiritual realization of society, took a leading place in the system of cultural values of the era, became the most important means of human communication. A great contribution to the development of the cultural life of the Altai district was made by the technical and scientific activities among the poor. The study of book collections of exiles, their activities in opening libraries, which were based on private collections, contribute to the expansion of ideas about the nature and scope of their versatile activities. The end of the 19th — early 20th centuries is characterized in Siberia by the social activity of various segments of the population, an increase in the need of society for a printed word. Thanks to the active work of the «Society for the Promotion of the Construction of Rural Free Libraries», in the Tomsk Province, free rural libraries began to open. They completed their main task in distributing the book in the remote settlements of the Tomsk Province. In Siberia, there is a change in the traditional way of peasants in connection with the heyday of the cooperative movement, the alleged dissemination of the theoretical and practical knowledge. The cooperatives began to organize libraries. The important qualitative changes in reading preferences are gradually taking place: classical literature, specialized books and periodicals are in increasing demand.

Development of the Land Transport System of the Rural Settlement Network in the Tomsk Uyezd (District-Union) in the Second Half of the 19th Century and the First Quarter of the 20th Century

The process of development of the land transport system — postal and zemstvo tracts, volost roads, railway communication is considered. The degree of influence of the transport component on the development of the rural settlement network of the Tomsk Uyezd (district-union) in the Tomsk Province in the second half of the 19th — first quarter of the 20th century is estimated. The author shows the role and significance of the Moscow-Siberian, Tomsk-Kuznetsk, Tomsk-Barnaul, Barnaul-Kolyvansky, Narymsky tracts, local volost roads, as well as the Trans-Siberian Railway on the process of formation of a group of rural settlements of peasant and “foreign” volosts of the Tomsk Uyezd. The work focused on cartographic materials of the corresponding period, as well as a schematic cartographic model of the key transport communications of the northern, central and southern groups of parishes. According to the author, the basis of the land transport network was formed at the turn of the 19th-20th centuries. In the 1920s, there was only a modernization of the already established lines of communication.

Patriotic Education in Post-Soviet De Facto States: Identities and Practices

The article considers specific features of official patriotism and patriotic education in post-Soviet de facto (unrecognized) stated. It discusses the question of how the official patriotic discourse reflects the issues of international recognition deficit and of scarcity of available resources. The author attempts to conceptualize patriotic upbringing in the light of de facto statehood, analyzes specific features of those identities that underlie the patriotic education in the context of de facto statehood as well as some aspects of implementation of patriotic education concepts in post-Soviet de facto states. The author concludes that the deficit of international recognition, scarcity of resources and uncertain prospects for future development make propagation of patriotic values more complicated while strong influence of a patron state and prevalence of double citizenships erode patriotic loyalties to some extent. Among specific features of patriotic education in post-Soviet de facto states are also the enhanced role of militarized practices and commemoration of “wars for independence”.

Northern Regions of Russia as Described by the Flemish Knight de Lannoy: "Non-Muscovite" Identity

The article deals with a unique work of Rossica, the first in Western Europe detailed description of the northern Russian regions of Novgorod and Pskov, written by an eyewitness. Memoirs of the Flemish knight, which contain this description, have been known for a long time and have been repeatedly researched. But in the context of the regional imagology of Russia they are considered for the first time. The relevance of the problem is also related to the importance of the study of francophone Rossica, which has not yet been sufficiently studied, for imagology and the history of intercultural interaction. The memoirs are valuable because they represent the only work describing these regions even before they were part of the Muscovite principality, and thus the "non-Muscovite" identity of their population is clearly visible. Despite considerable cultural and socio-political similarities between the regions, the observer knight notes well the specificity of each of them separately. The question is raised that the “muscovite identity” was secondary and by no means the only one in the descriptions of the “Russian character” and Russian state in European Rossica, and that the earliest sources describe just a different alternative identity, apparently especially relevant for the northern regions and closer to the European than to the “Muscovite” identity. It is also concluded that it is necessary to attract more attention to the historical experience of these regions in the teaching of history and in the formation of the historical memory of contemporary Russians.

History of the Technical Means Implementation to Extradepartmental Guards Units Activity for Facility Protection in the Altai Territory (1950s — 2016)

First attempts to use technical guard means were triggered by the need to prevent property encroachment. The easiest way to detect and locate lawbreakers was to place various objects in their way that would signal of their movements. With the advance of electronic technology special security breach devices appeared, as well as security alarm systems. Wide use of technical means allows to remove or minimize the adverse impact of a man — the most unreliable and invincible link in any security system. Since its formation in 1952, the Extradepartmental Guards has been employing technical means for facility protection based on such elements of electronic technology as diodes and transistors, followed by automated systems of central surveillance. Starting from the 2000s, microtechnology and cellular-based radio-communication guard systems have been used by the Extradepartmental Guards for facility protection. Extradepartmental Guards units run by the internal affairs authorities in the Altai Territory have been employing technical means since the end of the 1950s. Back then, when their use was launched, only some major departments had central surveillance systems operating. Later on technical means started to be used in all departments. Their use significantly increases the reliability of property protection and helps to reduce the number of thefts from facilities guarded by Extradepartmental Guards.

The Quest for Israeli Identity: the Rise and Decline of the Sabra Myth

This article analyzes an attempt to construct a new identity for Jews born on the territory of the Mandatory Palestine, the so-called Sabras, between the First and Second World Wars. The characteristic features of this identity included the deliberate brutality, the combination of peasant labor with the skills of armed self-defense, collectivism and a conscious break with the diaspora past. The external attributes of the sabras were the wearing of simple but comfortable clothes of the inhabitants of the kibbutzim and the cultivation of Hebrew. Sabras become a role model for Jewish youth who arrived in Israel and those who were already born here. The attractiveness of the sabra’s image was enhanced through advertising posters, cinematography, and literature. This model of identity is of interest as an attempt to return to the origins of Hebrew history, as well as to raise a generation of “new Jews” devoid of any shortcomings that complicated the life of Jews in exile. The artificiality of this model and its isolation from Israeli realities were among the main reasons that led to the collapse of the myth of the super-sabra. At the same time, this myth laid the foundations for a different perception of the Jews both by themselves and by the world community, contributing to the victory of Israel in the war of independence.

The Phenomenon of “Multiple Identity” in Modern Kyrgyz Society

The article considers political processes in the Kyrgyz Republic through the prism of complexly structured identity and historical memory of the Kyrgyz people. Manifestations of retraditionalization of the Kyrgyz social organization are considered as an inevitable consequence of disengagement from the Union center’s control. The author emphasizes multilayered and segmented character of the Kyrgyz political culture that integrates traditionalism and modernization. The formation of multiple identity is characterized as a consequence of objective processes of reformatting the social environment as a result of technological innovations, intensification of intercultural and intercivilizational contacts, increasing mobility of the population. The article shows the fundamental role of the folk epic Manas in formation of national identity with the dominant tendency to strengthen the position of Islam in the multi-layered and syncretic religious practice of the Kyrgyz. The influence of tribal and clan self-identification on the political processes in the country is considered. There are factors that led to differences in the self-identification of urban and rural strata, as well as the Kyrgyz "North" and "South" of the country. The processes of ethno-cultural sovereignization of the titular ethnos, as well as other national groups of Kyrgyzstan are considered. The evolution of the state policy regarding the formation of a common civil identity in Kyrgyzstan, which provided for the implementation of the local version of multiculturalism, involving the protection of the ethno-cultural identity of national minorities, is shown.