The article describes the relations between Russia and Denmark, as well as Peter the Great’s visit to Denmark in 1716. The author studies the features of the Russian tsar’s trip to Denmark, the development of Russian-Danish relations during the Great Northern War, and the reasons of Peter the Great’s visit to Denmark. The study is based on relations between the two countries during the Great Northern War and the ways to resolve this issue. The comparative analysis of the historical component of the sources on this trip allowed the author to come to the conclusion that the Russian-Danish relations were ambiguous: Denmark was Russia’s ally but did not lend any assistance in battles, considering the alliance with Russia as a temporary one.

The article is devoted to the consideration of the events of the Second Silesian war and other issues related to the continuation of the struggle for the “Austrian succession” in Europe in 1744-45 years. The author comes to the conclusion that during that period there were several events which were very essential for the further development of the diplomatic relations in Europe. They were: election of Emperor Francis I, Austria’s forced recognition of the loss of Silesia, defining by Russia its foreign policy course, and the preconditions for the “diplomatic revolution” of 1756.

Late in the XIX - early XX centuries Tolstoy's ideas of peaceful Christian anarchism spread widely in the Russian Empire. One of the ways to fight for the implementation of these ideas was the release of appeals to the government and society. The analysis of the appeals of Tolstoy’s followers helps to determine the main features of Tolstoyism as a social and political movement. This paper studies the circumstances of creation and dissemination of these appeals, as well as to outline their features and results.

Social changes and their influence on public institutions are essential aspects of the study of interaction between government and society. Main department of the Ministry of Finance in the provinces was the Treasury. Its main objectives were superintendence of receipts and expenditure accounts of jurisdictional ministries, auditing, management of personnel, matters of organizing the haggling, imposition of penalties for violation of treasury regulations, granting of pensions. This article discusses the changes of the social structure of Moscow Treasury civil servants in the early XX century.

In this article the author analyzes the formation of the liberal ideology and liberal political organizations in the political life of Russia in the early twentieth century. The article discusses the role of liberals in the revolutionary processes in 1905. The author shows that it is difficult to overestimate the contribution of the liberal movement in the struggle for the concessions that were made by the monarchy. It is stated that Russian liberals were not confined by the western concepts and values, they made attempts to find their own way in conditions of confrontation between Westernism and Slavophilism.

The article is to discuss the problem of Emperor Nicholas II relationship with the branch of the Nikolayeviches Grand Princes in 1895-1914. The head of the branch was Nikolai Nikolayevich (the Younger), who occupied important positions: Chairman of the Council of State, Commander-in-Chief of the Guards Defense Forces and Commander-in-Chief of St. Petersburg Military District. Basing on archival documents, sources and literature, it was concluded that the Grand Prince Nicholai played a prominent role during the reign of Nicholas II, especially in adoption of a number of crucial decisions in 1905-1914. It is the Nikolayeviches Grand Princes who played a tremendous role in introducing Emperor Nicholas II and his wife to various occultists, and “holy elders”, including the famous G.E. Rasputin.

The paper analyzes the impact of World War I on the situation in North Caucasus. The contradictory trends, developing in the region in 1914-1918, are revealed. The author explores the features of the effect of war on the social and political life in the region. The article actualizes the following issues: the role of Turkey's geopolitical interests in the Caucasus, the interest of North Caucasus entrepreneurs and the German capital in maintaining relationships; problematic situation during the war for the residents of the region - immigrants from Europe: Germans, Czechs, Hungarians, the complexity of the involvement of the Highlanders into the war.

The article reveals very important ceremonial aspects of the existence of the Red Banner of Combat during the great Patriotic war. The author investigates the ceremonial procedure of awarding military units the banner, starting with carrying out the banner to carrying it away. The study bases on the analysis and systematization of the data from the Central Archive of the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation, as well as of special historiographical works. Having analyzed the archival sources and historiography, the author comes to the conclusion that the order of presentation of the banner is clearly defined: from the number of steps to the procedure of kneeling down to the banner. But there were certain deviations, the nature of which the author has not yet disclosed.

The subject of the analysis is the resignation of N.S. Khrushchev, First Secretary of the CPSU Central Committee and Chairman of the Council of Ministers of the USSR. The author reconstructs the main events of 1964. N.S. Khrushchev’s resignation from all his positions is interpreted through the prism of the Soviet practice to solve economic problems by political methods. According to the author, the result of such transformations of the party leader was weakening of the party nomenclature’s power, which led to a sharp dissatisfaction on the part of the party and state elite. Being deprived of peace and stability, and feeling a threat to its interests, the Soviet political elite organized a conspiracyt and dismissed N.S. Khrushchev from all his positions.

The article discusses the model of ideal states and cities of the future, proposed by scientists and thinkers of the nineteenth century as an alternative to modern European society, which faced the negative consequences of the industrial revolution. The industrial revolution led to a sharp increase the number of cities and their population. The nineteenth century is marked by the raise of the interest to "utopia" as a model of an ideal society, which became for many a reflection of the aspirations of returning to the past, and to the traditional way of life.

The article discusses the history of the emergence and functioning of the political field of modern Russia the two parties of the left spectrum - the Communist Party of the Russian Federation and the “Spravedlivaja Russia”, their place and role in the political process and the political system in Russia. Analyzes programs of both parties, party strategy and tactics, the reasons of the appeal of the left/communist ideas for different social groups, as well as the causes of the communist ideology of reformism. Shows the number of parties, their organizational structures.

The article analyzes young people’s political rights in post-Soviet Russia. The category “young people” is defined with taking into account all the basic rights, duties and privileges, this group has in modern Russia. Russian young people’s rights and freedoms, declared in Russian legislation and social programs, correlate with the political reality of modern Russia.

The article is an attempt to analyze sports as a tool for political manipulation. The author hypothesizes that sports and politics are closely interrelated. Active use of political technologies in sports began during the "Cold War" when the broadcasting of international competitions started. The confirmation of how productively sports influence politics may be found on the pages of sports periodicals, websites and blogs. In today's world the politicization of sports is most evident in football, as well as in the Olympic Games. Sports are used for political propaganda, become a means of creating politicians’ image and one of the political election technologies. Sports elite become a part of the political environment. Mass media actively contribute to the fact that sports and politics (mainly big-time policy)were closely related and still are.

The article is discusses the features of politicization of religion in modernizing postSoviet States. The use by the political elite of the integration potential of religion while constructing a unitary state leads to the politicization of religion, and has an ambivalent nature. The implementation of a constructive / destructive potential of politicization of religion depends both on the political elite’s idea about the role of religion in modernization reforms in the society, and on social institute of religion participating in a specific political situation, which can support the current regime/opposition, and contribute to the consolidation /destabilization of the society.

The article studies the problem of creating a centralized system of governing a Muslim community (ummah). Historical, regional and religious factors, specific to the construction of this system in Russia, are identified. The author examines traditional construction of religious governing an ummah, based rather on a regional than on a central system of governing, established in the late XVIII century. The process of creating a system of governing is investigated in an evolutionary way. The analysis is performed on the example of the transformation of religious institutions in different periods of the history of Russia: from the time of the Russian Empire and up to the present time.

The article analyzes the contradictions between Russia and NATO over the status of such territories as Kosovo, Abkhazia, South Ossetia and the Crimea. These territories are related to three major crises in the history of relations between Russia and NATO. The author makes a conclusion about the fundamental differences between the parties in the assessment of the legal framework of international relations and the existing system of European security.

The article considers weapons described in old Germanic sources from the point of its social and religious function, its influence on people's life and decisions. From this point of view the problem of social interactions and development of feudalism through sagas material and cultural heroes’ behavior gives an opportunity to have a look at an ideal ancient society in Germany the way it was understood in the first millennium AD in Germanic and Norse sources. Weapons appear in sagas as a regulator of social relations, a conductor of divine will and a sign of its bearer’s special status.

The article describes the results of the archaeological research conducted in the second half of the twentieth and early twenty-first centuries on the territory of the Romanian’s region “Dobrudja”. Due to this research it has become possible to establish general configuration of the fortress of Callatis, in IV BC-III AD located not far from the modern port of Mangalia. Besides, new parts of the fortress walls, elements of the urban water supply and the entrance to the city were discovered. The necropolises of the Hellenistic, Roman and Byzantine periods were studied, as well as the residential buildings, located both within the fortress, and in the "extra muros" zone. Romanian archeologists from Mangalia and Constanta made made it possible to determine in general the boundaries of the Chora of Callatis. On this territory three fortified settlements were discovered, one of which "Albestii" has been studied for three decades. In the same years important epigraphic monuments were discovered that shed light on the history of the city and the Chora of Callatis.

In the early twentieth century the reassessment of traditional values and moral norms affected the ideological reorganization of the church institution. Within the Christian church the processes of «reformation» arose. Fascism tried to adapt Christianity to its goals and objectives by imposing racial theory, Messianizm of Germans, as well as the anti-Semitism to the religious traditions of the Catholic and Protestant churches. The church was to cultivate in people moral values necessary for fascism. The «reform» of Christianity was important for fascism, as well as to change its «form», and to make Christianity the basis of the Aryan religious traditions, and the religious basis of the idea of the «new world order».

The article is devoted to the issues of foreign policy of Nazi Germany in the South-Western Mediterranean region. Italy is also examined, though it was partially included into the South-Western Mediterranean region. It is proved that Germany pursued purely economic interests in the region, except Italy. Portugal had paramount importance for Nazi Germany economy, as it was a supplier of very important strategic raw materials. The article is partially based on previously unpublished archival materials.

The article analyzes the basic concepts of worker’s and people’s fronts against fascism and war, developed by the VIIth World Congress of the Comintern in 1935. The author gives characteristics of the practical experience of creation, activities, achievements and causes of the collapse of the people’s fronts which were in power in France and Spain in the second half of the 30s of the XX century, and in Chile during 1938-1941. The significance of this experience for the anti-fascist struggle in Europe during World War II is revealed.

The article considers one of the important problems of the international relations in the history of the second half of XX-th century - the problem of reasons and the circumstances of beginning of the "Cold War". The author reveals close connection between the two factors: the aggravation of the international relations in the middle and the second half of the 1940s and strengthening of the oil market significance in the world economy. The interest of the USSR to expansion of oil extracting and oil export is specified. Special role of Britain and W. Churchill in the initiation of the "Cold War" is marked.

This article considers main reactions of the Soviet public opinion to signing the Moscow Treaty between the USSR and FRG on August 12th, 1970. Top leaders of the Communist party paid a lot of attention to making its content known to party members and ordinary people. The particular character of the relations between the USSR and West Germany, impacted by confrontation with Germany during the Great Patriotic War, affected Soviet citizens’ perception of the starting process of rapprochement between the two countries. Fear of the possibility of a new war, as well as the desire for peace and development of economic collaboration intertwined in public consciousness with apprehension of being deceived and being used in foreign interests. As a result of the analysis of new and previously unpublished archive documents, the author of this article identifies six points of view on the Moscow Treaty. They confirm the fact that Soviet citizens, being well-informed of international events, associated the Moscow Treaty not only with the hope for peace in Europe but also with the hope for progress in Soviet-American relations.

The article considers the characteristics and specifics of legal migration from Russia and the countries of Central Asia to South Korea in the late XX - early XXI centuries. The author shows the dynamics of the migration flows from several countries of the region into the Republic of Korea which belong to temporary (though long-term) kind of labor migration. These flows are regulated through intergovernmental agreements to meet shortfalls of cheap unskilled labor in the Republic of Korea. This paper analyzes the features of labor migration from Russia, which also includes the category of highly qualified scientists and IT experts. The author notes that, despite the stable development of labor migration from Central Asia into the Republic of Korea, Russia remains its priority-driven direction.

The article deals with the historical background and implementation of the main activities of the Customs Union of Russia, Kazakhstan and Belarus to ensure their economic security. In this regard, the author emphasizes the fact that the initial phase of the establishment of the Union was the formation and activities of the Eurasian Economic Community (EurAsEC). Particular attention is paid to the analysis of the stages of formation of the Customs Union of the three leading nations of the CIS - Russia, Kazakhstan and Balarus, as well as to the implementation mechanism, achieved on the basis of the regulatory framework, arrangements for further expansion and deepening of further cooperation in the field of their economic security.