History and Modern Perspectives

In the article the objective process of Stalin's coming to power first in the party and then in the state is considered. The author shows what goals the leaders were guided by, relying on this man. He points out that objectively many were attributed to subjective factors, such as the sudden death of Sverdlov, the unexpected illness of Lenin, etc. The objective and subjective factors of this process, which led Stalin to unlimited power, are considered.

The purpose of the research. The article examines some little-studied aspects of the beginning and further service to the Russian state of Count B.H. Minich. The conditions («conditions») and circumstances of Peter I's admission of the «foreigner» Minich to the service, and his further activities under the closest successors of Peter the Great, are analyzed. The purpose of the study is to introduce new archival and other little-studied sources into scientific circulation and, based on their analysis, to establish and identify the features of existing assessments by domestic historians and researchers of the personality of B.H. Minikh, the motives for his admission to the Russian service and its continuation in the post-Peter time. According to the author, despite the fact that there is currently a fairly extensive historiography of Minich's twenty-year service in the Russian Empire, there is a need to expand, supplement and clarify the available information on some issues of this problem. Conclusions. As a result of the conducted research, the author comes to the conclusion that the Russian historiography of various periods, including and modern, they contain controversial and debatable, and in some cases contradictory conclusions, and judgments about Minich's personal qualities and the motivation for his admission to the Russian service and its continuation in the future. Russian Russian Defense Ministry's analysis of the content of contracts concluded with the Russian government in 1721 and 1727 suggests that he was a «temporary worker» in the Russian military service, who was worried, first of all, about his benefits and privileges.

In the article the author researches the national participation in the creation and building of the mausoleum. She explores letters written by workers with the request to preserve Lenin's body and don’t bury him. Moreover, she engages competitive projects of mausoleum created by citizens, and memoirs of construction participants. The article is devoted to the role of the «little» man in global political events and the formation of an ideological cult. Objective of the research is to explore the participation of Soviet citizens in commemorative events dedicated to V. I. Lenin. The research materials used were archival documents from the RGASPI foundation, periodical press materials, published reports and memoirs of participants, as well as research documents of the history and existence of the mausoleum. Results. For the first time, the article analyzes amateur architectural projects sent by workers to a competition for the construction of a mausoleum. Many of them are similar and have the same images-symbols, subconsciously borrowed by the authors from propaganda rhetoric. Memoirs and documents revealing the «national» participation in construction are given, unpublished archival documents are introduced into scientific circulation.

The article examines political and ideological activities in evacuation hospitals in the early years of the war on the territory of the Mordovian ASSR. This aspect of the multifaceted work of political agitators and political departments requires further study, as it remains insufficiently explored at the regional level. Particular attention is given to issues of party-political work among wounded Red Army soldiers and the forms and themes of disseminating key decisions of the country's leadership within the republic’s evacuation hospitals. The directives issued by the Main Political Directorate of the Red Army during the war period obligated both regular political workers and freelance agitators to adhere to the recommendations of the political department strictly.

The purpose of the study is to analyze the current problems of the non-governmental sector of Russian higher education and to search for possible solutions. The first private higher education institutions (Moscow Practical Academy of Commercial Sciences and Lazarev Institute of Oriental Languages) appeared in the early 19th century. The abolition of serfdom and the great reforms of the 1860s and 1870s ensured a powerful growth of industrial production, which required personnel. By 1914, 46% of Russian universities were private, and 42% of the student body studied there. The development trajectory of private higher education was deformed by the First World War and interrupted by the revolutionary events of 1917. It resulted in the dominance of the state at all levels of the educational sphere. Private higher education received a new impetus for development in the context of the transition to a market economy. Russian private universities lag behind similar educational institutions in developed countries in their positions both in the global and domestic educational space. The private higher school has real development prospects due to the deepening of inter-university cooperation, the formation of regional educational clusters, the creation of «digital branches» in small towns, and the attraction of highly qualified teachers aged 60+ who were forced to end their careers in state universities during the implementation of the «Priority-2020» program.

The article analyzes the establishment and development of beekeeping in Northern Kyrgyzstan, covering the Przhevalsk and Pishpek districts of the Semirechye region in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Two periods are identified: from the annexation of the region to 1895 and from 1895 to 1912, with a focus on their differences. The first period highlights the importance of natural and geographical factors and the efforts of the regional administration in establishing the industry. The second period examines the influence of resettlement policies, the region’s integration into the agrarian market, the introduction of frame hives, and the adaptation of the local population to beekeeping.

The article characterizes the situation in the Russian nickel industry in the late 1990s and early 2000s, and against its background, the enterprises of this branch of non-ferrous metallurgy in the Urals. An industry that plays a big role, including in the supply of essential products for the country's industry, is lying around as export goods. It indicates the main causes of difficulties and ways out of the current situation. The great social significance of the industry for the region is shown. This is another page in the economic history of our country.

Purpose of the research. The article examines the transformation of the personnel policy of electrical engineering enterprises in Russia at the turn of the 19th and 20^th centuries. The purpose of the study is to examine the experience of «Siemens and Halske» in forming the personnel structure of enterprises and the system of motivation of skilled workers.

Results. The author comes to the conclusion that the history of the solution of the personnel issue at electrical engineering enterprises at the turn of the 19^th and 20^th centuries can be divided into two qualitatively different periods. At the first stage (1886–1898), the personnel of the management and production links was formed by inviting foreign specialists. At the second stage (1898–1917), a tendency towards «Russification» of both the management and production links appeared in the practice of forming the personnel. The German model served as a model for creating a system of motivation for workers at some enterprises in Russia. It was innovative for its time and demonstrated high efficiency. The social policy of the «Siemens and Halske» company in the 19^th — early 20^th centuries, although built on hierarchical principles, demonstrated a desire for targeted improvement of the professional level of personnel and improvement of working conditions, but never achieved complete social justice for all categories of workers.

The paper analyzes the advertising discourse of the Uralsky Rabochy newspaper during the «thaw» period. Conclusions. Soviet advertising was one of the tools of state propaganda, demonstrating the achievements of the socialist system and encouraging citizens to actively participate in public life. The advertising content in Uralsky Rabochy served as an important channel for informing the public about new products and services, which contributed to the development of consumer culture. Announcements about the sale of goods, provision of services, holding actions and events allow us to identify trends in the formation of consumer demand, dynamics in changes in the needs of citizens in the context of creating a «socialist version» of consumer society in the country. Advertising contributed to the creation of a festive mood, the pre-holiday advertising discourse contained slogans and appeals that actualize the consumer's attention to upcoming festive events, increasing the likelihood of purchasing products, goods and services.

The historiography of the problem of the evolution of international relations in the Middle East during interwar era as well as the impact of the oil factor on this particular matter consists an extensive number of studies. The scientific researches of the Soviet period, written with accordance to the principles of historical materialism and political economy, substantiated the paramount importance of the economic factor role towards the international situation, as well as the specificity of the socio-political model of development of the states in the region. Modern Russian historical science is attempting to reconsider Marxist tradition by applying the systematic approach and new methods of historical analysis. They are who made an important contribution to the study of the development of the oil industry in the Middle East, as well as to the theoretical explanation of the regional and international policy factors of the leading states in this period. Within the problem presented for consideration in this study, an attempt was made to highlight the main stages of the international dialogue around the issue of organizing oil extraction and redistribution of the oil products market in the territory of Mandate Iraq during the specified time period. The relations between two key subjects of the world politics of the interwar period, the USA and Great Britain, which became the leitmotif of the negotiation process on the issue of Iraqi oil, had a significant impact on the formation of the world political and economic conjuncture in the foreseeable time perspective. The scientific significance of the theme is derived from the need for a multilateral, complex study of the Anglo-American aspect of the Versailles-Washington system of international relations. Theoretical comprehension of these circumstances, in turn, seems promising in the field of identifying the underlying factors and reassessing the already known ones determined the evolution of Anglo-American relations in the period between the two world wars. In turn, the analysis of the diplomatic сooperation of the US and UK in the Middle East allows us to determine this region’s specific role in the overall structure of international affairs.

The article highlights the question of how the military actions in 1942-1943 on the Soviet-German front and in North Africa were perceived in the countries of the Middle East, which were objects of the aggressive aspirations of the powers of the fascist Axis — Germany and Italy. This topic is poorly studied in Russian historiography. Meanwhile, the study of how the victories won by the Red Army at Stalingrad and the armed forces of the British Empire at El Alamein were perceived in Turkey, Iran and the Arab countries of the Middle East is not only an interesting and important, but also an urgent scientific task, since at that time the countries of this region were not considered on the world stage. as much as they are independent entities (Turkey to a lesser extent, Iran and the Arab countries to a greater extent), as they are objects of the policy of the great powers. Based on the analysis of the sources used, in particular, documents from the Political Intelligence Department of the British Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the reaction of the ruling circles, representatives of various political forces, the public, the press of Turkey, Iran, Egypt, Iraq, Palestine, Syria, Lebanon, Transjordan, Saudi Arabia to the course of military operations in North Africa, on the Soviet-German border is shown. at the front and their result in the period under review. It is concluded that the content of the studied British documents proves that the political forces, the public, and most residents of Middle Eastern countries understand the leading importance and determining role of events on the Soviet-German front and the victories of the Red Army for their future fate after the war.

The article examines the role of the long-term work of the English engineer and businessman L. Urquhart in Russia at the beginning of the 20^th century and his role in the creation of a modern non-ferrous metallurgy at that time and the introduction of advanced world technical, technological and organizational experience in this industry, the massive construction of modern enterprises. It tells about his energy and creative approach to the development of production. The article presents a new approach for historical literature — an engineering approach to the role of the personality of one of the most controversial representatives of English business on Russian soil.

The review contains an analysis of the monograph by ethnographer and cultural critic T. A. Shigurova, devoted to the analysis of the costume of the Mordovian people in their customs and rituals. The research is based on an extensive set of historical, ethnographic and folklore sources, including, to a large extent, the author's field materials, which she collected over the years in the Mordovian villages of the Republic of Mordovia and neighboring regions (Nizhny Novgorod, Penza), archival data, and museum collections. The book will be very useful and informative not only for specialists from among ethnographers, historians, cultural scientists, art historians, but also for a wider range of interested readers. I would like to note that interest in this topic is not fading, but on the contrary, it is increasing. This is partly due to the fact that the traditional Mordovian costume is an integral part not only of the history and culture of the Mordovian people, but also of the world community.

The directions of archaeological research at Yanka Kupala Grodno State University in the late twentieth and early twenty-first centuries reveals in the article. The role of the Department of History of Belarus, Archeology and special historical disciplines in the study, preservation and popularization of the archaeological heritage of Belarus, as well as the training of qualified specialists are analyz in the article. The authors identify four stages in the history of archaeological research at Grodno State University and describe them. The prospects for the development of archaeological science in connection with the implementation of investment projects in the Grodno region are noted.

The article studies the structure and information potential of Guidebooks about the railways and rivers of the Urals. A feature of publications of this format was a clear structure of presentation of information: from station to station, from pier to pier in the direction of the route. In many of them, the section on the Urals was not the most significant: The region connected European Russia with Siberia and Central Asia and was a transit region. The combination of water and railway communications in the text of the tourist guide, on the contrary, increased the coverage of the territory of the region. The growth and ramification of the railway network increased the density of transport infrastructure. The reflection of these changes in the text of the guidebooks (taking into account navigation on the Kama and Belaya) brought them closer to the all-Ural tourist guides.

The article attempts to find out the reasons for the marked interest of French and Russian researchers at the turn of the XX — XXI centuries in the problem of reception of ancient heritage during the era of the First Empire in France. Based on the analysis of key studies of recent decades, the nature of the impact of the images of antiquity on the political and cultural life of France in the late XVIII — early XIX centuries has been revealed. It has been established that the interest of historical science in recent decades in this problem is due, firstly, to the general interest of our days in the problems of power representation and, secondly, to the modern era of global changes associated with the collapse of the USSR, the crisis of the United Europe project, of which France is an important subject, and the emergence of China as a superpower in the future. Over the past thirty years, the problem of reception of the past has become an important research area of historical science, which continues to be updated with new research, including on the era of Napoleon.

The publication was written by a prominent Soviet and Russian astrophysicist Oleg Leonidovich about his father, the famous Soviet metallurgist L.E. Vaisberg, based on his memoirs, his father's diary entries and a large amount of documentary material preserved in his family archive. It represents a living and concrete cross-section of the life of a Soviet engineer of the pre-war period. In many ways, it reveals the path of the formation of the engineering school of that time, when proactive and knowledgeable people who did their job well quickly moved up the career ladder, doing a great job — carrying out industrialization in the USSR.