The present article deals with the problem of economic and cultural relations between Egypt and the Aegean in 3 - first half of the 2nd millennium BC. Based on the analysis of written and archaeological data from Egypt and Crete, the author shows the development of trade and economic relations between the two regions. Trade routes and archaeological finds reflect the involvement of these regions into the system of international relations. Their contacts ranged from minor commercial operations between ceparate traders to major embassies of one state to another. Due to Bietak’s, Betancourt’s and other scientists’ research a wide variety of materials for the analysis is on hand for determining the nature of relations between the neighboring countries and regions. The data used will help to reconstruct the international trade and political relations between the Aegean, Egypt and the Near East.

This article deals with the relationship of Kent with the neighboring Anglo-Saxon kingdoms during the reign of King Ethelbert (end of 6th - early 7th centuries) in the context of the Gregorian mission. Considering these phenomena in their connection, the author notices the conflict between Kent and Wessex as a factor of Ethelbert’s decision to accept the Roman missionaries. Using the relationship between Kent and Essex as the example, the author also shows mission’s role as a new weapon of the Anglo-Saxon kings in their struggle for the domination on the island.

In 1918 on the initiative of the conservative trade-union center USA - American Federation of Labor (AFL) - inter-American continental union association - Pan-American Federation of Labor (PAFL) - was created. It was aimed at entering the Latin American labor movement into the mainstream of рго-American reformism, as well as at including the unions into the overall system of the expansionist policy of the USA. The course of the AFL in Latin America is clearly seen on the example of Panama, where the territorial area of the inter-oceanic canal became a colonial enclave of the United States.

In the present article the basic aspects of the ethnic and religious policy of Romanian occupants on the territory of Transnistria during the Great Patriotic War (1941-1944) are analyzed. The author concludes that the main objective of Romanian politics was the Romanization, deukrainization, and ‘Re-Christianization’ (in Romanian spirit) of the occupied territory of the USSR. Despite flirting with the population and connivance to the Russian cultural component (as opposed to the Ukrainian one), the true attitude of the Romanian authorities to the population of Transnistria was colonialist. The outcome of the Romanian occupation was the depopulation of this region.

The article investigates diplomatic struggle of Russia for the right to erect St. Elizabeth’s Fortress in the Northern Black Sea Coast in the 50-60th of the 18th century. The emergence of the first fortress on the territory of future Novorossiya Governorate caused counteraction of the Ottoman Empire and the Crimean Khanate. The Russian allies - Austrian Monarchy and Great Britain expressed the concern in this problem. The international complications caused court conflicts in the Russian capital. St. Petersburg, thanks to its confidence in its own powers and moderate policy in the Russian-Turkish relations, win the right to construct the fortress without anybody’s permission.

The article discusses the process of expanding the functions of the Ministry of Finance of the Russian Empire in the second half of the reign of Alexander the First. The author stresses that the process of concentration of financial management and economy in one ministry in those years was in conformity with natural laws. The changes in the position of the Ministry of Finance, which took place in those years, helped to create the foundation for the activities of E.F. Kankrin, one of the most outstanding in the history of Russia Ministers of Finance.

The article reviews such aspect of Russian craftsmanship in the second half of the XIX c. as way of life of various social groups of craftsmen. The author describes the food ration and expenses on it, as well as craftsmen’s places of living and work. On the basis of analyzing a wide range of sources and literature the author comes to the conclusion that the absence of homogeneous craftsmen class in post-reform Russia was reflected in the peculiarities of their way of life. Besides, life of practically all the craftsmen was extremely hard and poor.

The article discusses one of the turning points in the process of development of women’s higher education in Russia. Following the change of the ruler there was a shift to conservative politics in education. Studying the activities of the Prince M.S. Volkonsky’s Committee, the author proves the aim of the state to subordinate the high school. Having analised the sources, the author shows that the officials did not have the univocal attitude towards Moscow Higher Ladies’ Courses (MHLC), and finds out that the school mentioned was considered to be quite trustworthy unlike other similar institutions. However, the work of the Commission resulted in the elimination of MHLC in 1888.

The article deals with the problems of youth housing complexes. The author analyzes the reasons for the transition to this experiment, which was widespread in the Soviet Union. The author compares the youth residential communities with the other social experiments in housing policy taken place in the Soviet Union. The author examines the management structures of the YRCs (Youth Residential Communities), as well as the social basis for their creation. The article examines the positive effects of the transition to the YRCs, the advantages of this kind of housing.

The article is devoted to the Lithuanian population of Kaliningrad region, which is formed in this area as a result of migration during the Soviet period and the post-Soviet period. Since the 1970s, the number of Lithuanians gradually began to decline as a result of fertility decrease, the migration outflow and the assimilation. Nevertheless, Lithuanians continue to be one of the most numerous ethnic groups of the region. On the territory of Kaliningrad region there are Lithuanian national-cultural community, contributing to the study of the language and traditions of the people of Lithuania.

The experience of holding the electronic referendum in Russia at the regional and municipal level is highlighted, as well as its organizational and regulatory framework. Special attention is paid to the experience of holding electronic referenda in Moscow, Lipetsk and Yekaterinburg. It is noted that there is not any unified model of electronic referenda both in Russia and in the world. The similarity of the Russian system of electronic referenda with the Asian model is considered. It is concluded that there is a positive dynamics of electronic referenda both in Russia and abroad. Besides, it is advisable to hold e-referenda only at the local level in Russia.

The article presents the basic theory of R. Inglehart, L. Feuer, S. Freud, Ch. Reich, T. Roszak, N. Howe and W. Strauss, designed to explain the transformation of the role of youth in social and political processes of the second half of XX - early XXI centuries. The author concludes that most modern scientists connect the social-political activity of youth with their value benchmarks most of all. The benchmarks, which lead them in their drive to change the world, are the most significant. This “value shift” is reflected both in counterculture art and in the development of mass protest movements.

The article analyzes the current crisis in management and its transition into a permanent state. Jne of the reasons of the current situation is cultivation of the performers, but not the leaders who could eliminate crises. Thus the crisis in management is due to the deficit of the efficient and creative specialists in management.

The article analyzes the economic interests of England, France, Germany and Russia, as well as the contradictions between the countries, arose by the early XX century due to their interests’ realization. The arenas for the Great Powers’ economic confrontation were the Middle East, the Balkans and the Far East. The authors conclude that there were two tendencies: the international character of capitalism and the necessity to implement a certain country’s national interests, and the last one prevealed. The concurrence of certain countries’ economic interests predetermined the configuration of the political-military blocks of the late XIX - early XX centuries.

The article presents a brief overview of documentary collections on the history of the RSDLP stored in foreign archives. They are undoubtedly of some interest for domestic researchers of the history of the Russian social democracy. However, these materials are still rarely used by the native historians, including due to the lack of awareness about the location and composition of these collections.