The paper analyzes the conception of the history
of ancient Indian religion of Rigvedic epoch by pre-revolutionary
Russian theologian Chrisanf (V.N. Retivtzev). The scholar
thought that the authors of Rigveda were objective naturalists,
i.e. they worshiped divinized physical phenomena, and
not subjective naturalists, i.e. they did not deify psychic phenomena.
In accordance with Biblical historiosophic tradition
Chrisanf traced the passing from monotheism to polytheism
in the Rigvedic religion. The theologian was an advocate of
Aryan Invasion Theory and racial and professional understanding
of Varna social division.

The article examines the waterfowl and horse
cults which are common to all Finno-Ugric tribes. The totemic
worship to these animals is traced in Finno-Ugric culture of the
Kostroma Volga region where the tribe Merya had lived up to
the 10th century before assimilating with Slavic settlers. The
elements of totemic beliefs have been revealed expressed
in zoomorphic figurines of waterfowl and horse discovered
during archaeological excavations. The proofs are based on
mythological information. The reflection of worship in folklore,
ethnography, and artifacts of different cultures is traced. The
author provides a comparison with other Finno-Ugric tribe
cultures such as Mordovians and Komi. The analysis of numerous
and diverse sources suggests that the images of waterfowl
and horse dominated the mythological world picture of
Finno-Ugric tribes. The fact that these images are also found
in the rituals of modern Finno-Ugric tribes is an indirect confirmation
of the hypothesis.

The article considers the features of such
sources of substantive and procedural law as Babylonian
sale contracts and judicial documents of the first half of the
second millennium BC. The structure of the contracts dating
back to the beginning of this period is fully-formed. However,
the study of documents on real estates as objects of rights
does not always reveal a significant difference between full
and partial alienation of property. Most of judicial documents
are similar in structure and content to the replevins of classical
Roman Law.

The author examines the interaction between
the Кuban-Terek culture and the final stage of the Kuro-Araks
culture in the Northern Caucasus and comes to a conclusion
about simultaneous existence of such monuments as Novosvobodnaya
dolmens, the burials of the Kuban-Terek culture
(Dzuarikau 1/19, Dzuarikau 1/15 in the Northern Ossetia) and
Sachkhere kurgan burials in Imeretia (Georgia) on the base
of similarity of the lances, the axes which were found in these
monuments. The horizon of these burials dates from 22-21
BC.

The article studies the process of establishing
the first diplomatic contacts between the Soviet Russia and
the Kingdom of Hijaz. The Soviet Diplomacy balanced political
line under complicated political circumstances on the Arabian
Peninsula provided a solid basis for the future Soviet-Saudi
relations. The Soviet Union was the first country that officially
recognized Ibn Saud State - the Kingdom of Hijaz, Sultanate
of Najd and allied territories in 1926, officially named the
Kingdom of Saudi Arabia in September 1932.

The defeat of Germany in World War II resulted
in its reconsidering the foreign policy concepts and transforming
national self-consciousness. The attempts to achieve the
hegemony on the continent were replaced by a culture of
restraint and aspiration to integrate into the Western states
community, while the European identity ousted the national
idea. However after the reunification Germany has anew
taken the leading place in Europe and started to conduct an
independent foreign policy lead by the national interests. This
paper considers the evolution of the German foreign policy
and public consciousness in the period from the second half
of the 20th century to the early 21st century. A special focus is
made on Germanys role in the European Union, the problem
of EU expansion and German eastward strategy.

The article considers the features of mass media
of NATO`s military intervention in Libyas internal affairs.
The author attempts at revealing the characteristic features
of western mass-media behavior in reporting the events and
gives concrete examples of ways and mechanisms used by
western reporters to manipulate public consciousness during
NATO`s military intervention into this North African state.

Analysing the testimony of witnesses of the
Novgorod metropolitans patriarchal enthronement, the author
of the paper comes to the conclusion that his nomination
was carried out by the inner circle headed by Tsar Aleksey
Mikhailovich, and it had alternatives. The attitude of different
representatives of the ruling elite to the personality of the new
head of the Russian Church is also defined in the article.

The article considers the reasons that influenced
the emergence of the Shtundist sect in the Russian Empire.
Among them were the problems of national religious life and
internal church confusions. At the same time a significant influence
of German settlers and foreign preachers is observed
on the formation of the new doctrine. The Shtundist preaching
was not purely spiritual, but often contained political and economic
ideas that were popular among the population.

The article reveals the tendency of Russian scientific
intelligentsias overcoming radical nihilist moods at the
turn of the 20th century. The authors of the periodicals The
Problems of Idealism and Vekhi (Milestones) long before
the revolutionary collapse of the Russian Empire exposed
the revolutions destructive ideals establishing the tradition of
positive socio-cultural analysis of civilization and laying the
ideological foundations of unifying the society on a liberally
conservative basis. That was the beginning of the awareness
of the leading role of the cultural layer of the nation. The
Vekhi socio-philosophical analysis of Russian civilization is
still topical nowadays and treasured by modern Russian scientists.

From historical perspective the article considers
the process of creating a legal framework for petty industrys
activity. Influenced by the metamorphoses related to the societys
transition from traditional to industrial stage conventional
forms of the national economy changed their quality, became
either obsolete or transformed, thus escalating social contradictions.
By example of artel charter adoption the author
shows how at the turn of the 20th century the legal norms and
economic institutions were formed to respond adequately to
the needs of the Russian modernization process.

The article reveals the process of state regulation
of resort system development in Soviet Russia based on
the materials of the 1920s. The author shows the possibilities
of orienting therapeutic and recreational facilities to peasantry
needs. The responses of individual holiday-makers are provided
on their stay at specified resorts. The author reveals
cause-effect relationships of the situation and explains why
farmers had difficulties at obtaining a stay at the resort though
it was especially designed for them.

With the maturing of the military conflict between
the USSR and Britain in 1927 rural inhabitants of Southern
Russia in their own way interpreted how and why the confrontation
between the two countries emerged and developed. On
the basis of archival material the article reveals the problem
of peasantrys perception of the conflict with the leading European
power

This article discusses the main directions of
social policy by local authorities in the Lower Volga region
during the war period. The author shows the features of solving
food problem, organizing medical services, protecting
motherhood and childhood and other policies aimed at certain
categories of the Lower Volga region population: military servants
families, the evacuated and disabled veterans. Despite
shortcomings in the local authorities work, caused by wartime
conditions, the major social problems of the regions population
were generally solved.

The article is devoted to the peculiarities of card
system introduction in Moscow in the period from June 22,
1941 to March 1942. The conducted research has allowed
the author to reveal that gradual transition to a supply rationing
system had also certain negative result. In the period of
free sale a large amount of food was bought or stolen by black
marketers. The food supply problems in Moscow were caused
not only by a complicated situation at the front, but also because
of low qualification of some officials responsible for the
food supply of the capital, criminal activities of a number of
shop managing directors and profiteering of products.

This article deals with the general and specific
terms of the interaction between Soviet builders with the citizens
of the Peoples Republic of Bulgaria and Finland at international
building sites of industrial cities in the European
North of Russia. The author is interested in the motives of
partnership in signing international contracts, reveals the impact
of international building on demographic and city-making
processes and the way of life, as well as ideological confrontation
of international partners in the areas under consideration.

Based on diverse sources the paper analyzes
the general patterns and regional peculiarities of cultural
space development of the Ural cities in 1990 - 2000-s. Museum
and theater occupy a special place as spiritual, moral,
artistic and even topographic center of the Russian city. The
article focuses on the development of museums, theaters and
citizens organized activities to transform citys recreational
zones giving a detailed characteristic of social and cultural
development of the industrialized regions of the Urals

The article deals with the problem of dependence
of socio-economic development on the citizens cultural
attitudes. The author considers some characteristics of Russian
ideologies which were largely formed due to historical
changes in the second half of the 20th century. In particular,
the impact of orthodoxy on the cultural development of Russia
is analysed. The authors theory is supported by the Perm
region resident survey data.

The author proves that in the 18th century cultural
heritage began to be used as an instrument of making
up the Russian state history. The main steps of the state in
this direction were accounting of archival records, historical
documents and manuscripts; collecting and recording valuable
artifacts; controlling the restoration processes. However
the system of state legal protection of cultural heritage was
formed afterwards.

Based on the historical political experience the
author reveals the tendencies and contradictions of young
peoples military patriotic training development in the Smolensk
region. The nature of conscripts and pre-conscripts military
patriotic training is analyzed as well as the propaganda
of military-technical knowledge, the quality of citizens training
in the fundamentals of military service. Using archive materials
the author examines the system of young peoples physical
and sports training to get them ready for military service

The article is devoted to the communication
aspect of one of the most topical tendencies of the Russian
policy. The author studies the role of mass media in political
consumerism, i.e. occurrence of market behaviour models in
political life. The research shows that modern press transforms
from public intermediary into one of the most active players
in political market by using marketing approach to information
supply. The prognostic analysis of the media activity allows
the author to forecast the strengthening of this trend.