Aim. To evaluate the prognostic potential of V.I. Lenin’s legacy from the perspective of the modern development of Russia and the world. Methodology. Content analysis was a key research method. The author analyzed the content of V.I. Lenin’s works in relation to the data on the development of the world in the post-Leninist period of history, as well as modern challenges and trends. The classification of critical works of Lenin’s legacy in historiography was based on the ideological topology of the political opposition to Bolshevism. Results. A high level of Lenin's prognostic prediction of the development of Russia and the world in the long term was proved. The relevance and verifiability of a number of his predictions regarding the class and ideological struggle, as well as the challenges of building socialism, world military escalation, the growth of nationalism and xenophobia, the exacerbation of the contradiction between technological and social development, geostrategic reconfiguration of the world, and the spiritual crisis of mankind are substantiated. Research implications. The study reveals the prognostic potential of Lenin's legacy as applied to the current political situation and the determination of world development prospects, as well as revises a number of historiographic stereotypes regarding Lenin’s political activity and views.

Aim. To identify the specific features of the Russian state model in Lenin’s theoretical views on the post-revolutionary development of the country. Methodology. In order to determine the contradiction and consistency of the works of Lenin and Marx, the author analyzed the ideas of that era and examined the models of the economic and political development, both theoretically and in practical terms. Results. The analysis showed that Lenin created an original state model relying on the ideas of developing the economic and political sphere, which were popular in Europe at that time. Thanks to Lenin, the Russian revolution was the first revolution, which attempted to realize the ideas of modernization according to the Western model and to construct the most progressive system by jumping over the stages of development in order to catch up and overtake the advanced capitalist economies. At the same time, although being created according to the Western model, the Russian revolution was characterized by numerous national, cultural and historical features. These specific features made the Russian revolution a role model for most revolutions of the 20th century and a new modernization model. Research implications. The results of the study can be used in teaching national history courses.

Aim. To analyze the main sources of the concept pursued by individual domestic researchers about the mass destruction of the clergy in the first years of Soviet power. Methodology. The article considers three most frequently cited sources, presents the results of checking their authenticity and analyzes the historical context of their occurrence, as well as the events that followed. The findings are subsequently compared with other sources, and a conclusion is drawn about the position of the clergy and its relationship with V.I. Lenin in the period from 1917 to the middle of the 1920s. Results. The study shows the inconsistency of the point of view on the mass annihilation of the clergy in the first post-revolutionary years and provides illustrations of the quite benevolent attitude of V.I. Lenin to the clergy and the positive nature of the transformations that affected the religious life of the people. Research implications. The results of the study increase the rigor of the historical and political understanding and description of Church-state relations in the first post-revolutionary years.

Aim. To conduct a comparative analysis of the lives and views of V. I. Lenin and B. V. Savinkov in the context of the historical era and the revolutionary subculture. Methodology. The key research methods were the comparative analysis, manifested in a comparison of the figures of Lenin and Savinkov; the historical and biographical methods, allowing the authors to consider the biographies of the personalities of the revolutionaries in connection with the influence of the environment and life circumstances; and contextualization, which makes it possible to explore the views of the personalities in the context of historical time. Results. There was much in common in the life paths and the formation of the views of the two revolutionaries, though with fundamental differences. This allowed conclusions about the divergence of the strategy and tactics of the Bolsheviks and Socialist Revolutionaries as a whole to be drawn. Research implications. The research methods proposed in this paper can be applied as a general methodological principle for comparative historical biography studies of political figures.

This is the first Russian adapted translation of a work by the American politician Geo Yeaman’s “Revolutions. A Lecture”. This is one of pioneer theoretical works on revolutions as a socio-political phenomenon. A large number of statements advanced by Yeaman had an influence of the development of the theory of revolutions in the 19th-21st centuries. Consequently, this work is undoubtedly of great scientific importance for historians, sociologists and political scientists.

Aim. To determine the historiographical place and significance of O. Tarkhanov's monograph "Agrarian Question in Colonial Revolutions" (ed. 1932). Methodology. The monograph is considered as a generalizing study of colonial policy by one of the brightest representatives of the generation of Orientalists-Cominterners formed at the turn of 1930s. These researchers saw their scientific mission and social duty in identifying the specifics of revolutionary movements in colonies and semi-colonies. Accordingly, the analysis of Tarkhanov's work required distinguishing between the narrative, based on historical sources, and the biased impact of the political attitudes of the Comintern. Results. O. Tarkhanov belonged to the young generation of Soviet Orientalists (P. Myth. E. Yolk, L. Mad'yar and others), whose scientific and journalistic activity lasted only ten years and was interrupted in 1937. This was a generation of Orientalists-Cominternists who saw their task in identifying the specifics of revolutionary movements in colonies and semi-colonies. The ideological and political perspective of their research was combined with a scientific approach to the analysis of sources and their own experience in revolutionary China. Research implications. This article is the first historiographical research devoted to the monograph by O. Tarkhanov. It is shown that, despite its ideological and political bias, the monograph stands out due to the author's scientific approach to the analysis of sources and reliance on his own experience of living in revolutionary China.

Aim. To identify specific features of forming civic consciousness among the population of the district towns in the Moscow province in the specified period. Methodology. The author analyzed the materials of the Orders to the Stated Commission, as well as archival materials of municipal self-government bodies. Results. The author seeks to trace the becoming process of civic identity among the urban population of a district town of the late 18th - first half of the 19th century. Research implications. The findings of the present study can be used in the creation of tutorials dedicated to Russian social history in the late 18th - first half of the 19th century, as well in teaching local history and other related courses.

Aim. To present and generalize new data on the first gas-balloon attacks carried out by the Germans on the Eastern Front in May - June 1915 of the old style. Methodology. The author has studied a significant amount of unique archival documents previously unused by researchers, analyzed a large array of German memoirs, and performed a comparative summary analysis of the new data found during the research. Results. Based on the results of the study, the author identified and described several previously unknown gas-balloon attacks carried out by the Germans in May-June 1915 of the old style on the Ravka River. In addition, new data on the losses suffered by the Russian army during the gas-balloon attacks was obtained. Research implications. The article generalized new materials on the topic under study and presented new data that allow an objective picture of the first gas balloon attacks on the Russian-German front to be recreated.

Aim. To describe the process of establishing the town of Orekhovo-Zuevo from the settlements that became factory centers at the turn of the 20th century. Methodology. The authors analyzed official government documents, statistical reports and materials from periodicals, comparing the socio-economic level of the conglomerate development with the official criteria for obtaining the status of a town. Results. The conducted analysis of the documents allowed the authors to demonstrate the "aging" of the urban conglomerate as an example of the specific genesis of a town in pre-revolutionary Russia. The research proved the fact of asynchrony in the perception of Orekhovo-Zuyevo as a town and the obtaining of its legal status. Research implications. The paper introduces the research data which were not published earlier. These documents form a socio-economic and everyday “image” of a future town and reveal certain aspects of the regional history.

Aim. To distinguish the types of projects aimed at reforming the elected institutions of self-government and local courts, which were proposed in the Moscow province in the early twentieth century. Methodology. An analysis of the speeches and notes of Moscow public and political figures presented to local committees at a special meeting on the needs of the agriculture industry was carried out. Results. The author concludes that, for the Moscow Zemstvo, the question of self-government and local court reforms was one of the key problems. At the same time, an important point of the projects was to expand the circle of people who had electoral rights. The following types of the proposed projects of self-government were distinguished: on an all-estate and classless basis, as well as small Zemstvo units. Trends towards democratization of the elected institutions of self-government and local courts by expanding electoral rights were identified. Research implications. The identification of the main types of projects under study allowed the authors to present the key directions of Zemstvo projects in terms of organizing the Zemstvo and peasant self-government along with the local courts, which were formed at the beginning of the 20th century.

Aim. To identify the objective factors (political, economic, foreign policy, etc.) that affected the state and development of the Red Army on the eve of the Great Patriotic War. Methodology. The article considers established approaches to the goals of preparing the USSR for the upcoming war and making the most important political, economic, organizational and managerial decisions that affected the combat capability of the Red Army. The reasons for the complexity of strengthening the Red Army in this historical period as a result of the economic spurt and political repression are considered. When conducting the research, the dialectical method was used as the main scientific method. Among the special historical research methods, we used the comparative-historical method, the method of periodization, the chronological and problem-chronological methods, actualization, as well as the methods of specific and logical analysis, the historical-system method, and some others. Results. In the course of the work, the content of the main political, economic and foreign policy factors that influenced the state of the Red Army before the beginning of the Great Patriotic War was clarified. Research implications. The results of the study offer an objective assessment of the state of the Red Army on the eve of the Great Patriotic War and the role of various external factors. Conclusions are drawn about the need for creative use of the experience of the past in solving the tasks set today for society, as well as for Army and Navy personnel.

Aim. To study the activities of the NKVD of the USSR in the Krasnoyarsk Territory during the Great Patriotic War. Methodology. The functioning process of an important element of the law enforcement system in a particular Siberian region during the war period is considered. General scientific, special-historical, problem-chronological, and retrospective research methods were used for this study. Results. The consequences and implications of the transition to the military regime of the units of the NKVD of the USSR in the Krasnoyarsk Territory are revealed. Research implications. The results of the research can contribute to further research into the activity of domestic law enforcement agencies of the Soviet period.

Aim. To consider the role and place of architecture, as well as the social conditionality of architectural solutions, in the life of Soviet society. Methodology. The factors that determined the urban development concept of Moscow in the 60s under the social conditions of the Soviet period were identified using the methods of observation and generalization. Results. On the basis of historical experience, the current issues of architecture and construction as a means of integrated development of the socio-cultural sphere, as well as the formation of the humanitarian space, were discussed. Research implications. The impact of scientific and technological progress on the economic and aesthetic foundations of the Soviet architecture, including the subjective factor of making urban planning decisions, was analysed.

Aim. To identify the semantic content of the virtue concept of "hope" in the teachings of Augustine (354-430) - the father of the undivided Christian Church, the creation and development of which at an early stage of existence were facilitated by the international historical situation at the beginning of the German conquest of the Roman Empire. Methodology. The research methodology involved the methods of system analysis, terminological analysis and comparative-historical analysis. Results. The authors described the semantic content, subject and object of Christian hope, along with its place in the triad of theological virtues. The difference between the ancient understanding of hope and a Christian virtue was revealed, which consists in the hope for divine salvation. Research implications. The system of Christian virtues, formulated by Paul the Apostle and developed by Augustine, determined the spiritual values of the social development in the following centuries without losing relevance to the present time. The study of the triad of virtues has so far been extremely uneven: the main attention of experts is usually paid to the virtues of faith and love, while Christian hope in the teachings of Augustine has not yet been considered. The present paper is intended to fill this gap.

Aim. To analyze the events that took place in Spain and in the West Indies before the discovery of Florida. The collected new and existing materials were used to investigate the internal and external reasons that led to the need for Ponce de Leon's expedition in 1513. Methodology. The author analyzed the corpus of texts and found multiple causal relationships that had previously been either ignored or described partially without connection with other events in different parts of the world due to the fragmentation of informative sources in the past. Results. The study presents a new perspective on the events of the expedition of Ponce de Leon, who discovered Florida in 1513. Research implications. The author managed to upgrade the issue of the opening of Florida as one of the key moments in the history of the Conquest and to review the events of 1513 in a new light of the interplay of various factors occurring in the societies of Spanish colonists in the West Indies in the early 16th century, as well as in Europe and in the territories of the aborigines of South Florida.

Aim. To study the evolution of the significance of the Middle East region in Russian foreign policy concepts. Methodology. An analysis of the texts of ideological concepts, research articles on the question and economic statistical data was undertaken to determine the context and main factors affecting the priorities of Russia in the Middle East region. The research was conducted using the methods of comparative analysis and systems approach. Results. It is concluded that the significance of the Middle East region declared in the Russian foreign policy concepts did not always correspond to the real extent of Moscow’s involvement in the region’s affairs. Earlier three concepts emphasized the priority of the region in a defensive tone and mainly from the standpoint of economic pragmatism. However, the rhetoric of two most recent documents regarding Russia's pursuit of its foreign policy principles in the Middle East is quite offensive, which indicates Russia's determination to strengthen its geopolitical position in the region. Research implications. The results of the study contribute to further understanding of Russia's regional foreign policy, in the context of offering realistic scenarios of the conceptual and applied evolution of the priorities of Russian diplomacy in the Middle East.