No 3 (2023)

The article presents the modern concept of the history of the Battle of Stalingrad, as well as the totality of the most important strategic decisions of the warring parties, which led to the crushing defeat of the Wehrmacht, the elimination of its 6th german Army, which became one of the most important turning points in World War II.

This article provides an overview of recent German and international research on the history of the Battle of Stalingrad. The publication also lists research questions, the answers to which will contribute to gaining a more complete picture of this arguably most important battle of the Second World War. Therefore, further research on the work of the Red Army's military intelligence service before and during the battle, on the logistics and supply of the fighting troops, and on the German air raids on the city on the Volga will play a special role.

In the article, based on unique archival documents - transcripts of conversations with former militias who were promoted in subsequent years, as well as post-war memoirs, an attempt was made to reconstruct the survival strategies and behavior patterns of Moscow militias in extreme conditions of the environment, a breakthrough from it and living in the occupied territories of Smolensk and Moscow in the autumn-winter of 1941-1942.

Based on archival documents of the GKO, Central Committee of the All-Union Communist Party (b), the USSR Council of Ministers, structures of the USSR People's Commissariat of Defense, regional and district party and Soviet bodies, military units, military authorities, the Central Council of the USSR Osoaviakhim and its regional organizations, most of which are introduced into scientific circulation for the first time, the role of regional and district authorities in the organization and conduct of solid demining of the typical agrarian region of the central Russia - the Kaluga region is examined. The approaches to the solution of this problem of the Center and the regional authorities are investigated. The dominance of the approach promoted by the regional and district leadership was not only a consequence of its leading role in the organization of demining in the field, but also reflected the gradual winding down of the space of non-economic coercion in the Soviet economy.

The article describes the first anniversaries of the events of the Great Patriotic War (first of all, Victory Day) from the point of view of the Soviet policy of memory, which is interpreted by the authors as part of a symbolic policy representing the production and maintenance of certain social ideas about the past in order to achieve the stability of the ruling political regime. Special emphasis is placed on the comparative analysis of official programs of events related to the Victory Day in 1945-1965, the 20th anniversary of the beginning of the Great Patriotic War (1961), the first "round" anniversaries of the Battle of Moscow, the Stalingrad and Kursk battles, taking into account ideological, mobilization, status, geopolitical, organizational factors. Based on a significant number of archival and published sources, it is shown how, as we move away from military events for 10-20 years, the instrumental role of anniversaries of key events of the Great Patriotic War has increased, aimed at solving not only domestic political, but also foreign policy tasks. By the mid-1960s, such anniversaries were finally fixed in the memorial calendar and served to consolidate and mobilize Soviet society, contributed to the concentration of symbolic resources at the central and in some cases regional authorities (for example, the case of Stalingrad/Volgograd), and were also used to strengthen the positive image of the USSR abroad.

The paper dwells on analyzing the peculiarities of the mutual perception of Russian and French military sailors, as well as the directions, forms and results of interaction between the navies of the allied powers since the emergence of the Franco-Russian alliance at the end of the 19th century until the outbreak of the First World War. The main factors that determined Russian-French relations in the naval sphere are the creation of naval general staffs in France and Russia, the active military-diplomatic activities of naval agents (attaches) in Paris and St. Petersburg, as well as the conclusion in 1912 of the Naval Convention and subsequent regular contacts between the chiefs of naval staffs. The conclusion is made about the predominance of critical mutual perception of the naval corporations of the allied countries, as well as the low efficiency of their interaction on the eve of the world war.

The author analyzes the process of conquest of the Persian textile market by Russian producers in the context of acute rivalry with British competitors during the 19th - early 20th century. The author has determined the hindering factor of the Russian textile exports activation during the 19th century; the reasons for the beginning of the increase in the supply of textiles to the Persian market in the last decade of the century; the measures used to improve export conditions and the results that the Russian Empire managed to achieve by the end of the peaceful period of its existence at the beginning of the 20th century. The author comes to the conclusion that since the end of the 19th century the Russian merchants took an active position in the export issue and began to perceive it as a matter of national importance.

The successful completion of the Soviet nuclear project was due to the combination of internal and external factors. Of course, the privileges and guarantees provided by the government for the scientific research and production of nuclear weapons, as well as the arduous efforts made by scientists to overcome various difficulties, have played an important role. But equally important is the use of foreign experience, mainly known through intelligence. Intelligence activities helped the Soviet Union absorb and utilize foreign experience. Neither the emphasis on the decisive role of intelligence, nor the denial of its importance contributes to a systematic and scientific understanding of its purpose and role. The Soviet Union was able to complete all nuclear research independently, but this would require more resources and time.