Formation of the Ancient Chinese Eastern Han Empire in the Soviet historiography of 1920s – 1930s

This article provides an overview of the major works of the Soviet researchers of prewar period, who covered the emergence of the Eastern Han Empire (25 – 220). The period of its existence that falls on the I – II centuries AD is one of the poorly studied periods of the Ancient Chinese history. The representations on the establishment of this empire within Soviet historiography developed in the prewar period are important for further study of this state, since they have not undergone significant changes. The article employs the chronological principle with determination of the key peculiarities of historiography of 1920s – 1930s, as well as comparative-historical and typological methods. Soviet researchers of the prewar period who dealt with this topic relied on the concept of the existence of feudalism in Ancient China, and thus, the struggle between the class of feudal lords and serf peasants. The Red Eyebrows rebellion movement drew heightened attention of the scholars. The Russian researchers of prewar period, other than K. A. Harnsky (1884 – 1938), views the Red Eyebrows movement as a peasant rebellion relying on rather ideological reasons than the analysis of historical sources. The author of this article believes that the example of this rebellion movement could tell about the class struggle in Ancient China, which explains the interest of the researchers. However, the focus of researchers on the Red Eyebrows movement, which covers just the first years of the existence of Eastern Han Empire, is also the reason why the establishment of the empire is poorly studied. They also interpreted the topic from ideological perspective, omitting the inconvenient facts.

“Strokes to the portrait”: the senior member of the Moscow City Duma N. P. Vishnyakov (1844–1927) on his contemporaries and himself (based on the materials of the personal archive)

This article examines the informative capabilities of the body of materials from the personal archive of N. P. Vishnyakov for reconstructing the history of the senior member of the Moscow City Duma. Leaning on the historiography dedicated to the work with personal archive collections, as well as determining lacunas in the scientific literature, assessment is given to composition of the fund with emphasis on one of the varieties of sources stored therein – “Reminiscences of the Duma”, internal and external criticism of these materials. The example of N. P. Vishnyakov's “Reminiscences of the Duma” demonstrated the experience of development of the methods of archival studies, source studies, historiographical and specific-historical approaches towards examination of personal and family archives. Work with the body of materials from personal archive collections allows introducing the new historical sources into the scientific discourse. Based on the substantive analysis of the texts that comprise the source base of the article, the author attempts to reconstruct the everyday activity of the Moscow Duma, which draws interest of the historians in the context of sociopolitical history, as well as micro-historical analysis. The sources of N. P. Vishnyakov's personal archive bear the imprint of ego-documents, which allow reconstructing the actions “behind the scene” through the prism of personal relations and contracts of the founder, as well as direct participants of the historical process, including the figure of N. P. Vishnyakov.

Cooperation of the Amur Shipping Company and Heilongjiang Shipping Group on the development of Sino-Russian border relations in the Amur Region

River transportation along the Amur River has played a crucial role in the development of Sino-Russian relations since the middle of the XIX century. With the opening of Far Eastern borders and the improvement of Sino-Russian relations at the turn of the XX – XX centuries, they river transportation amplified its importance. The subject of this research is the cooperation of the Amur Shipping Company and Heilongjiang Shipping Group in the Far East. An overview is given to the activity of the two largest shipping companies of Russia and China in the Amur River Basin, as well as to the line of activity of the Chinese company aimed at the development of Sino-Russian border relations. The scientific novelty lies in the analysis of interaction between the Amur Shipping Company and Heilongjiang Shipping Group. The conclusion is made on the immensity of the accumulated historical experience of cooperation, all-round role of interaction between the the Amur Shipping Company and Heilongjiang Shipping Group in Sino-Russian relations, gradual development of the two corporations, and development potential of further cooperation in the conditions of COVID-19 pandemic. The article is relevant for studying the strategic development of Heilongjiang shipping companies and the role of Amur river transport in the context of Russia's economic integration into the Asia-Pacific Region.

Settlement dynamics and development of transport communications in Southern Yakutia in late the XX – early XXI centuries

This article examines the settlement dynamics in relation to the development of transport communications using the statistical, comparative geographical, and cartographic methods. A brief characteristics is given to the system of displacement of population of Southern Yakutia in the late XX – early XXI centuries. The analysis employs the materials of the population censuses of 1959, 1970, 1979, 1989, 2002, and 2010, which allows compiling the population maps that reveal the peculiarities of settlement network, their population density and structure. Spatial representation of the data is presented on the example of population displacement maps and development of transport communications in Southern Yakutia as of 1959 and 2010. Comparative analysis maps of different periods demonstrates a three-fold decrease in the number of settlements in Southern Yakutia during the intercensal period (1959–2010) due to liquidation of unpromising villages and change of nomadic lifestyle of the indigenous population to sedentary life in larger rural settlements during the period of Soviet administrative reforms of the late XX century. The emergence of new transport communications is associated with active industrial development of Southern Yakutia; however the territories were affected unevenly. It is established that spatial peculiarities of population displacement in Southern Yakutia in the late XX – early XXI centuries have remained, although the settlement areas of the indigenous small-numbered peoples of the North- the Evenks – have decreased. The study of transport communications on the maps of different periods revealed the dynamics of their development in different historical periods, determining the historical roads, abandoned transport routes, emergence of new types and categories of communication lines, including the network of technological roads of industrial companies used for infrastructure maintenance.

The establishment of Soviet cosmonautics through the prism of its founders: historiography and sources

History marks the events that can be truly called the scientific and technological breakthroughs. One of such achievements is the flight of the first man into space in 1961. However, the flight of the austranot in the spacecraft is just a small part of this event. Behind it are those who developed the spacecraft, launch vehicle, braking system, life support system, lodgment, spacesuit and many other systems. This reviews and systematizes the sources of personal origin, such as diaries, memoirs and correspondence of the scholars, who were the pioneers of the Soviet cosmonautics, as well as works on the history of space exploration. The object of this research is the circle of scholars and engineers, members of the Council of Chief Designers of 1946–1967. The article relies on the materials from the library of the Russian State Archive of Scientific and Technical Documentation, Russian State Historical Library, as well as the collections of the Russian State Archive of Scientific and Technical Documentation, collection of the Memorial Museum of Cosmonautics, and archive of the Academician S. P. Korolev Memorial House Museum. The analysis employs the sources of personal origin, such as correspondence, diaries and memoirs of the designers, which contain mentioning of their work, as well as give assessment of the activity and personality of their colleagues.

The problem of dissolution of the Soviet Union in the narratives of Russian political parties

The dissolution of the Soviet Union is one of the key events in the history of Russia. The USSR ceased to exist, which prompted the beginning of the history of modern Russia. The political parties of the Russian Federation have formed the own historical memory of the event, as well as offered the original approaches towards the collapse of the USSR. The author analyzes the perspective of modern parties on the crisis of the Soviet model, their attitude towards the dissolution of the USSR, as well as assessment of the historical figures of that period. The official documents of the most popular political parties, as well as speeches and publications of their leaders served as the sources for this research. Although all political parties perceive the collapse of the Soviet Union as a tragic event that could have been avoided, there are different opinions on the causes. The three groups of factors that contributed to the collapse of the Soviet Union are determined: economic problems; administrative crisis due to political errors of the government; and international conspiracy. The communist organizations mostly adhere to the latter one. The historical politics of the parties is dominated by an extremely critical attitude towards the central historical figures of the Soviet era. The members of the State Emergency Committee receive limited support in the historical narratives of the Communist Party, and such is given to the President of the USSR in liberal publications. The parties drew parallels between the present time and the period of Perestroika. The conclusion is made on the need to overcome (or prevent) the gap between the government and society, keep confidence of the citizens in the government in order to avoid the recurrence of devastating events.

Can the policy Francophonie be considered a manifestation of neocolonialism (on the example of foreign cultural strategy of France in the 1960s)

The subject of this research is the correlation between the policy of neocolonialism and Francophonie in the context of foreign cultural strategy of France in the 1960s. Decolonization forced France to relinquish direct colonial rule and shift towards the policy of “cooperation” on the basis of bilateral agreements with the developing countries, which regulated intergovernmental relations in various spheres. The idea of the universality of French language and cultural values underlied the Agency for Cultural and Technical Cooperation established in 1970. A crucial role in its establishment was played by the political leaders of African countries, who sought benefit from cooperation with France in terms of the development of young sovereign states. Despite this fact, the activity of Francophonie was the object of criticism, and by some researchers, considered a version of French post-colonialism. Analysis is conducted on different interpretations and approaches towards the terms “neo-colonialism” and “Francophonie”. The article employs the unpublished archival documents of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of France, which determines the scientific novelty. The authors conclude that the equality sign between neo-colonialism and Francophonie seems unreasoned, since the latter has improved the educational, cultural, scientific and technical standard of living in the young sovereign states, contributed to the establishment of their political and administrative and increase of authority on the world stage. The participation of the developing countries in the Agency for Cultural and Technical Cooperation and the leaders of the Western world – France and Canada – consolidated the authority and broadened the experience of the political elite of the third world countries. At the same time, there is no denying that de Gaulle sought to increase the international prestige of the Fifth Republic by strengthening the positions of France in the Francophone world.

Dynamics of the network of evacuation hospitals in Novosibirsk Region during the Great Patriotic War

The subject of this research is the dynamics of the network of evacuation hospitals that were formed and operated in Novosibirsk Region. The relevance of this topic is substantiated. Analysis is conducted on the available information on this topic in the scientific and local literature. Leaning on the archival materials, the author traces the formation, displacement, and dissolution of evacuation hospitals located on the territory of Novosibirsk Region in its modern borders. Description is given to the fundamental changes in the network of evacuation hospitals: dynamics in the number of hospital beds, and specialization of the evacuation hospitals. The dependence of changes in the network of evacuation hospitals in the region on the role and place assigned by the highest military sanitary administration to homefront hospitals overall. The novelty of this work lies in determination of the key stages in the dynamics of the network of evacuation hospitals based on the detailed tracking of changes. The first stage (July – October 1941) is characterized by expansion of the network of evacuation hospitals due to the local formations. The second stage (October 1941 – April 1942) is associated with violent fluctuations, substantiated by the rapidly changing situation at the front and, and thus, transformation of the views of the military medical administration upon on the role and place of the homefront hospitals, including Novosibirsk Region. The third stage covers the period from April 1942 up until Victory, marking gradual stabilization of the network of evacuation hospitals in Novosibirsk Region. They filled their niche by rendering medical aid to the wounded with long treatment periods, which justified the evacuation of the wounded from the front to remote Siberian hospitals.

Circumstances of accession to the throne of Philip II of Macedon: problems and discussions

The persona of the Macedonian King Philip II continues to stir controversy among researchers. The goal of this article is lies in examination of the problems and contradictions associated with the circumstances of accession to the throne of Philip II of Macedon (360/359-336 BC). Separate attention is given to the discussions on his captivity in Thebes and Illyria, as well as their impact upon Philip's future policy. The author considers the problem of regency and interrelated system of Macedonian succession to the throne. The scientific novelty lies in comprehensive analysis of the sources that describe the initial period of the reign of Philip II of Macedon. The conclusion is made that in his youth years, Philip was being held in captive not only in Thebes, but in Illyria as well. The authors believe that the beginning of the reign of Philip II of Macedon, which is traditionally considered in historiography as 359 BC, should be replaced with 360 BC. Moreover, the complicated international situation alongside domestic instability should have influenced the proclamation of Philip II as king without a regency period.

Establishment of the system of preparation of teaching staff in Buryat-Mongolian ASSR (1920–1930)

The subject of this research is the establishment of the system of preparation of teaching staff in the ethnic republic at the initial stage of the formation of the Soviet state. The relevance of this research is directly related to modernization of educational curriculum at the present time. Thus, numerous educational projects that require the preparation of professional teaching staff are carried out within the framework of the national project “Education”. The authors believe that similar situation developed during the years of the Cultural Revolution. The severe shortage of professional personnel was observed in Buryatia, while the public education was undergoing significant changes. The goal of this article lies in tracing the establishment of the system of preparation of teaching staff in Soviet Buryatia. The analysis of documentary materials of the republican archives allows assessing the results of efforts applied by the republican government to resolve the personnel problem. The scientific novelty consists in the attempt to compare the situation in the 1920s–1930s and 2020s for giving a more in-depth perspective upon the system of preparation of teaching staff. Although this topic is the subject of special research in the scientific literature, it requires further discussion. Methodological framework is comprised of the principles of historicism and systematicity, which view the process in its entirety and in accordance with a particular historical era. The conclusion is made that the results achieved were acceptable within the socioeconomic reality of the region. The regional government was able to create the necessary conditions for preparation of professional teaching staff and lay the groundwork for the subsequent development of the educational system. The creation of the republican system of preparation of teaching staff improved the level of education of the local population and led to the formation of the socialist culture in Soviet Buryatia. The acquired conclusions are valuable for studying regional history of the period of the Cultural Revolution.