Nº 7 (2025)
Articles
The Yurchenko super-rapid-fire machine gun and the development of automation in domestic weaponry during the 1930s and 1950s
Resumo
The subject of this article is the history of high-speed small arms development in the 1930s. In particular, the K.S. Yurchenko machine gun is discussed. Its structure and design features, including a rare type of automation with a crank mechanism for bolt actuation, are analyzed. This structural and layout solution allows for a high rate of fire without excessive stress on parts and mechanisms, as well as cartridges, compared to conventional shock automation systems. This leads to a high level of reliability for automatic weapons during firing. The article also considers the further history of this constructive solution's application in post-war aircraft weapons. When working on the article, we used the following research methods: processing archival materials from the funds of the Russian Academy of Sciences, the Central State Administration of Moscow, and the VIMAIViVS Scientific Archive. We also used the comparative historical method and historical and scientific analysis of specialized literature. In addition, we consulted the Information Center of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of St. Petersburg and the Leningrad Region. For the first time, new data on the development of ultra-fast-firing small arms in the USSR during the mid-1930s is being introduced into scientific circulation. Four Yurchenko machine guns in two modifications have been identified in various collections of weapons and documents in Russia: in the collection of technical weapons of the Central Design Bureau at the Tula Arms Plant, in the Technocenter collection of V.A. Degtyarov Plant in Kovrov, and in the collection of weapons at the Central Museum of the Russian Armed Forces. It has been concluded that the operating principle of the Yurchenko machine gun automation was used in the development of post-war aviation small arms and cannon guns, such as those designed by V.P. Gryazev and A.G. Shipunov for aircraft. Biographical information about engineers and their designs from the 1930s and 1950s has also been provided for the first time.
Genesis: Historical Research. 2025;(7):1-17
1-17
Vladimir Coat of Arms: a look in retrospect
Resumo
The object of the study is the question of the origin of the modern coat of arms of the city of Vladimir, which played one of the key roles in the formation of the city of Moscow as a political, cultural and national center of Russia. A similar question has been raised repeatedly in science over the past century, however, the main message has not changed much over the past time, and defines the Vladimir coat of arms as the hereditary emblem of the local branch of the Yurievichs, based on the abundance of lion symbols on the walls of the Vladimir-Suzdal cathedrals. At the same time, the limitations of heraldry and the coat of arms of the countries involved in the orbit of the Catholic Church in the XII-XIII centuries are not taken into account, and the existence of the princes of pre-Mongol Russia is not taken into account. The methodology of the Vladimir Coat of Arms research includes the study of its origin and symbolism. The method is based on a historical approach, the study and analysis of the works of scientists. The study of white stone architecture, church decoration and princely signs of the Vladimir-Suzdal land of the XII-XIII centuries. The analysis of heraldic sources, such as the work "Titular" of 1672, was carried out. The scientific novelty lies in the approach and collection of all available information on this issue. The coat of arms expresses the specific qualities of the lion leopard and is the bearer of an idea, an aspiration, a "retrospective imprint" of the future cultural and political capital, Moscow. The main conclusion of the conducted research is a separate sign system for marking property and documentation. Thus, studies of the official coat of arms of the city of Vladimir do not allow us to trace its existence earlier than the second half of the XVII century. The huge time gap between the years of construction of the Vladimir-Suzdal cathedrals and the moment of the first appearance of the lion leopard on the emblem of the city of Vladimir is completely ignored. Due to the great importance of this center for the history of Russia, modernity requires a new understanding of the fact of the origin of the Vladimir coat of arms with a broader view of the issue under study.
Genesis: Historical Research. 2025;(7):18-31
18-31
Scientific and technical activity of the aerodynamic laboratory of the St. Petersburg Polytechnic Institute in the 1910s and 1920s.
Resumo
The object of the study is the scientific and technical activity of the aerodynamic laboratory of the St. Petersburg Polytechnic Institute. The subject of the study is the organization and implementation of scientific and technical activities of the aerodynamic laboratory. The purpose of the work is to study the aerodynamic laboratory as a particularly significant research center in the country. The paper reflects the importance of the laboratory space in higher education and the role of the laboratory in the formation of a new scientific branch of knowledge. The rapid development of aviation in the early twentieth century. It is directly related to aerodynamic research. In 1911, an aerodynamic laboratory was opened at the shipbuilding department of the St. Petersburg Polytechnic Institute, where applied aerodynamic research was organized. The scientific article provides information about the equipment, devices purchased and created for the needs of the laboratory. The work indicates the research that was organized on the basis of the laboratory by polytechnic scientists. Comparative and descriptive methods were used when writing a scientific publication. The principles of historicism and objectivity made it possible to conduct a comprehensive analysis of organizational features and technical characteristics in the creation and operation of an aerodynamic laboratory. The scientific and technical activities of the aerodynamic laboratory, opened up new opportunities for applied research in the field of aviation and aerodynamics. The technical equipment of the laboratory, an impressive instrument range, constant updating and replenishment of the material base, as well as competent organizational work on the part of the staff of the Polytechnic Institute led to the fact that the aerodynamic laboratory of the Polytechnic University in the 1910s and 1920s was the leading scientific and technical center of this profile in the country.
Genesis: Historical Research. 2025;(7):32-39
32-39
Foreign languages in the education system of the Russian metropolitan nobility in the first half of the XVIII century.
Resumo
The subject of the study is the history of learning foreign languages in the context of the formation of the culture of the Russian metropolitan nobility in the first half of the XVIII century. German, French, Latin and Greek, which are the basis of socio-cultural knowledge, served as a tool for its differentiation into general education and specialized, technical and humanitarian. Nevertheless, the foreign language contributing to the formation of the culture of the Russian nobility was French, which in a number of educational institutions in St. Petersburg was of a voluntary nature of study. It is advisable to consider the involvement of the nobility in the educational process as an element of the formation of the culture of Russian society. This process proceeds synchronously with the study of foreign languages, which, in turn, have undergone a transformation within the framework of education from a means of communication with a foreign teacher to an academic discipline. The work is based on the principles of historicism and objectivity, which provide for the analysis of socio-cultural phenomena in relation to the specifics of the period under study. The research is based on the application of a set of general scientific methods: analysis, synthesis, analytical description, classification. The historical and comparative method made it possible to identify patterns, principles, and technologies of learning foreign languages. The axiological approach helped to determine the sociocultural significance of learning different languages. The novelty of the research lies in a comprehensive analysis of the history, principles, and methods of learning foreign languages in various types of educational institutions in St. Petersburg and Moscow in the first half of the XVIII century and their role in the educational process. The development of the norms of European traditions in various types of professional activities and their introduction into the cultural space of Russia was carried out in the interests of the state through foreign languages. Their study was initially spontaneous in the process of conversational practice of Russian nobles studying abroad with native speakers. The German language, which has sociocultural significance for the formation of general educational and technical knowledge, did not satisfy the interests of the state in introducing the Russian aristocracy to elite culture. Classical knowledge corresponding to these goals has revealed the need to teach representatives of the upper class "ancient" languages for reading and translating traditional Latin and Greek authors. Ultimately, the establishment of a classical university served as the basis for the education of a moral personality.
Genesis: Historical Research. 2025;(7):40-55
40-55
Farm lists and farm books of the 1920s-1940s as documents for the history of rural administration.
Resumo
The subject of this study is household lists and household books from the 1920s to 1940s. The object of the research is defined as the characteristics and technologies for developing and introducing document forms for accounting residents and farms at the level of rural territories into the administrative activities of rural councils. The main aspects of the study included the characteristics and conditions for the emergence of household lists and household books in the system of rural administration during the initial establishment of local authorities, collectivization, and war. The starting chronological date was set for 1927, when household lists appeared in the rural management system, which were officially replaced by household books in 1935 by the government. The final date of the study was the end of the war and the transition to administration in the conditions of establishing peace. The main sources used by the author included government materials and books from the Ust-Nitsin rural council in the Sverdlovsk region, as well as other territories of Russia. The author employed special methods of document science and source studies: the method of unification and standardization of documents; the method of form analysis; the method of document value appraisal; the chronological method; and the method of source analysis. A main limitation of the study was the lack of digitized materials at the official level, which complicated the search, acquisition, and processing of materials. The scientific novelty of the research lies in the first-time chronological analysis of the conditions and characteristics of the development, filling, use, and storage of such document forms as household lists and household books in the system of rural administration during the 1920s and 1940s in the territory of the USSR. Household lists and books were a unique and primary historical source for the history of villages, rural cooperatives, collective farms, state farms, rural schools, hospitals, and other institutions, as even indirect data provide us with a clear understanding of: residents and workers, family structures (kinship composition, guest composition, generational composition, numerical composition, age composition, children and adults, family leadership), the transformation of families over the years, including aspects of historical events; names of collective and rural farms, positions, and other related information, which became evident during the study of the household books of the Ust-Nitsin rural council.
Genesis: Historical Research. 2025;(7):56-68
56-68
The ethnocultural component of the British regular army in the western borderland of Virginia in the middle of the 18th century
Resumo
The article examines the ethnocultural aspect of the presence of British regular troops on the colonial border of Virginia in the mid-18th century. The subject of the study is the mentality of British soldiers. The object of the study is the economic, cultural and political processes that accompanied the stay of the British army in Virginia. Important attention is paid to the analysis of everyday ideas of British soldiers about the local specifics of showing loyalty to the king and the local colonial administration. A special role is given to the study of the formation of British soldiers’ ideas about their own identity. In the work, the author uses chronological and historical-comparative research methods, which make it possible to analyze the process of formation among soldiers of the British regular army of ideas about their own loyalty and identity, characteristic of the Virginia borderland of the mid – 18th century. Several theses can be formulated as conclusions of the study. Firstly, British ethnocultural stereotypes were historically understandable to France, but turned out to be alien to the indigenous population of North America After the end of the French and Indian War of 1754–1763 negative ethnocultural stereotypes towards tribes began to appear. Secondly, against the backdrop of Britain’s lack of need for an alliance with the Indians after 1763, their relations cooled. New ways of maintaining the defenses of the colonial frontier included cultivating among soldiers a worldview that saw Indians and whites as alien to each other. The reluctance to get used to the unfair conditions of relationships became the cause of border conflicts of 1763–1766. Thirdly, Pontiac's rebellion can be seen as an anti-colonialist protest of tribes who, having lost their ally in France, lost the opportunity to build equal relationships with Europeans.
Genesis: Historical Research. 2025;(7):69-79
69-79
Leisure Practices in the Urban Life of Port Arthur (1898–1904)
Resumo
This article explores the socio-cultural transformation of the city of Port Arthur (Lüshun) during the period of Russian lease from 1898 to 1904. The analysis is conducted through the lens of leisure practices of the urban population. The central subject of the study focuses on key aspects of urban everyday life and entertainment, including the following phenomena: alcohol consumption; the development of the restaurant business, particularly key establishments, their clientele, and their role in public life; the functioning of military clubs and the organization of social events; the development of theatrical life; as well as the active development and characteristics of the sex industry. The author examines how boredom, nostalgia for homeland, and the spiritual vacuum of garrison life in the context of an isolated colonial enclave stimulated the formation of the entertainment industry and specific consumption models, acting as a catalyst for urbanization processes and the transformation of urban space. The study is based on an analysis of the AVP RI archive, periodicals ("Novy Krai" as the key chronicle), and memoirs of contemporaries. To interpret the data and identify trends, a comparative-historical method and historical-scientific analysis were employed. The author also conducted fieldwork in Lüshun to gather local information. The introduction of new materials about Russian leisure in Port Arthur (1898-1904) enriches the content in the history of "Russian" Kwantung. This research comprehensively investigates the role of leisure as a factor in the urbanization of a colonial city for the first time. The main conclusions are that, firstly, the synthesis of Russian consumer culture with local elements created a unique urban environment. Secondly, leisure (particularly mass alcohol consumption), stimulated by the nostalgia and boredom of the garrison, became a catalyst for the development of the entertainment industry and the transformation of space. Thirdly, the development reflected the contradictions of colonial urbanization: social segregation determined the segmentation of leisure; attempts to replicate metropolitan models (theater) encountered isolation; the regulation of the sex industry exposed socio-economic contradictions. Port Arthur is a characteristic example of the complex trajectory of development of Far Eastern cities within the framework of Russian imperial policy.
Genesis: Historical Research. 2025;(7):80-91
80-91