Aim. The article considers the Russian victory in the Great Patriotic War as a complex historical, axiological, moral and spiritual problem of the national historical consciousness. Methodology and Approach. The analysis primarily examines victory not only as a historical problem grounded in studying the events and processes of the Great Patriotic War, but also as a worldview problem with contemporary relevance: how does the victory relate to formation of a positive and adequate modern national consciousness of the Russian Federation and Russian civilization? The author raises the problem of correlating epistemology and axiology in historical research. Results. Based on the review, the author concludes that to protect the victory means projecting a comparable image of the future in terms of spiritual aspiration. Theoretical/ Practical Implications. This research allows us to supplement the historical understanding of victory by considering it as a complex axiological problem of modern society.

Aim. To analyze conflicting views on the wars of historical memory as a clash of the ideological matrices of the parties to the conflict. The operational task of the study is to identify the conceptual foundations of anti-Russian historical propaganda as related to the Second World War and propose ways to counter it in the framework of the historical policy of Russia. Methodology and Approach. Analysis of historical memory of war in relation to World War II is carried out using cognitive matrices. This technique is applied specifically to deconstruct the myth of Russian totalitarianism. Results. Based on the examination of historical narrative with different cognitive matrices, a conclusion is drawn about the decisive importance of matrical approaches in the formation of historical consciousness. The theory of totalitarianism is currently the dominant cognitive matrix supporting a globalist ideological vision of the history of World War II and serves as the foundational conceptual basis of anti-Soviet and anti-Russian propaganda. The author concludes that in order to protect historical memory of the victory, the formation of a parallel Russian historiosophy of World War II is necessary. Theoretical and/or Practical implications. The results of the study can be used to inform development of Russian historical policy. The article formulates practical proposals for formation of a Russian historiosophy of World War II, identifies key issues, and identifies key conceptual referents.

Aim. To study the key ways that approaches to coverage of the Second World War - and especially the emphasis of the Great Patriotic War as its most important part - have transformed over time in textbooks for domestic and foreign history students. Methodology and Approach. The research consists primarily of comparative analysis of school textbooks published from the 1970s to the present. The authors also use a quantitative analysis method to calculate the frequency of citations and references to key events of the Great Patriotic War. Results. The authors conclude that it is impossible to create a single textbook narrative of European history; they analyze and present differences in the interpretation of the events of the Second World War and the Great Patriotic War in domestic and foreign textbooks. Theoretical and/or Practical implications. The research materials can be used by teachers in developing courses on methods of teaching the history of the twentieth century, as well as by specialists in the field of historiography of school textbooks.

Aim. To consider the potential for reconstructing the formative experiences of a compatriot by studying personal documents. Methodology and Approach. The author analyzes the structure and contents of several personal funds and collections stored at the Central State Archives of the Moscow Region. The historical, logical, problem-chronological, and comparative-historical methods are used. Results. The study confirms the utility of personal documents as an independent historical source for review in analyzing the formation of the image of a compatriot. Theoretical and/or Practical Implications. This work introduces a possible solution to the topical problems of studying an individual’s patriotic education and formation of civil consciousness in the study of personal documents.

The present text is a translation of the second chapter from Frank Johnson Goodnow’s book Politics and Administration: A Study in Government. The author was the founder and first President (1903-1905) of the American Political Science Association. Goodnow is famous for having developed the functional theory in political science. The main issue addressed in the book is the functions of politics, in particular their differentiation from the functions of administration. According to Goodnow, the function of politics should resolve into establishing who is to express the will of the state, as well as, into defining a practical and the most rational way of such expression. Goodnow makes an insightful conclusion: although the sphere of politics tends to take its unlimited control over public administration, this unjustified intrusion can be prevented by encouraging a sound public opinion. The translation was performed by Y. Yu. Moiseenko, Junior Researcher, Institute of Philosophy and Law, Ural Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences, from the text of the first edition: Goodnow F. Politics and Administration: A Study in Government. N.Y.: The Macmillan Company, L Macmillan & CO., Ltd., 1900. P. 23-46.

Aim. To determine the theoretical and methodological significance of scientific discussions of the late 1930s to early 1950s for the problem of periodization of the centralized Russian state. Methodology and Approach. The author analyzed source materials (publications in periodicals, political speeches) and assessed the influence of their political and ideological content on the research work of historians. Results. The author establishes and summarizes the problem areas of scientific discussions of the periodization of the centralization process. The key factors that influenced the work of Marxist historians are identified. The conclusions of researchers about the criteria for and approaches to periodization are analyzed. In particular, the development of Marxist methodology is demonstrated in the period under consideration. Theoretical and/or Practical Implications. The author presents a holistic view of the problem of scientific periodization of the creation of a centralized state. The positions of leading researchers are systematized. The conclusions of the article contribute to a deeper understanding of the features of the formation of the Soviet monoconcept of domestic history.

Aim. To characterize how school textbooks apply ideology to interpret official state policy of the Russian Empire during the reign of Alexander III according to their publication in the Soviet and post-Soviet periods, respectively. Methodology and Approach. The authors make a comparative analysis of the content of Soviet and modern textbooks of Russian history, specifically their assessment of the reign of Alexander III. Results. The authors empirically verify the ideological correlation of school textbooks’ interpretation of state policy during the reign of Alexander III, as well as depth of presentation of historical material, with prevailing contemporary attitudes at publication in the Soviet versus post-Soviet period. Theoretical and/or Practical Implications. The ideological factors that influenced school textbooks’ assessment of the Russian Empire’s state policy during the reign of Alexander III during the Soviet versus post-Soviet periods are determined.

Aim. To study the theory of the origin and development of ethnic groups, as well as their role in teachings, in the writings of the church father Augustine, who lived in the period of late antiquity and whose views determined the doctrine of the Catholic Church (Augustinianism) from the fifth century to the era of the “high” Middle Ages. Methodology and Approach. Using systemic and terminological analysis, Augustine’s chief work, De Civitate Dei, as well as his treatises Enhiridion and On the Consent of the Evangelists, are studied for their ideas about ethnic groups and their role in society. Results. Ethnoses (gentes) in the teaching of Augustine are blood-related tribal collectives distinguished from one another by their origin with different biblical ancestors, their language differences and their settlement territories. In his work, ethnic groups differ from peoples understood as a collection of citizens, subjects of the state or a community ordered by laws: peoples constitute the states of the earthly city, whereas ethnic groups are elements of the City of God, connected to it through the institution of the Christian church. Relations between nations are considered by Augustine from the standpoint of the spread of Christianity and expansion of the church. The military campaign of the Germans against the Roman Empire, as well as his own concept of history, predetermined Augustine’s attitude to wars as an inevitable evil and his development of the principles and practice of the just war in international and interethnic interactions. Theoretical and Practical implications. Issues of ethnic community in Augustine’s theory, as well as his ideas about the role of ethnic groups in statehood and interstate and international interaction, seem important for understanding the content of the early Christian doctrine he promulgated, as well as the European worldview that developed in the early Middle Ages. These issues have not been specifically studied in either Russian or foreign literature, despite a significant amount of extant research on the theoretical legacy of Augustine.

Aim. To analyze the ascendance to power of Austria’s Dollfuss regime and the opposing struggle against the terrorist dictatorship (1933-1934). Methodology. Methods of historical research are used, primarily the historical-genetic method, allowing a consideration of the dynamics of the issues under study and a recreation of the cause-and-effect relationships among them. In presenting the material, the author also refers to the problem-chronological approach based on the principle of historicism. Results. The author concludes that the reactionary ruling circles in the country destroyed the remnants of democratic freedoms, seeking to transition to fascist methods of governance by encouraging the growth of fascist organizations. From 1931, the danger of national socialism increased markedly in Austria, due largely to the rise of the Heimwehr, the armed guard of large Austrian landowners, as well as the growth of fascism in neighboring Germany and pro-fascist sympathies in Austrian ruling circles. The danger intensified in late 1932 through early 1933, with the growing desire of reactionary elements of the Ausian ruling circles to institute openly fascist methods of government and eliminate parliamentarism. At this time the fascist movement took on significant scale and the country’s economic crisis reached its greatest depths. Theoretical and/or Practical Implications. Findings are relevant for the preparation of textbooks on the modern history of Europe and America, as well as special courses on the history of Austria.

Aim. To study the Soviet-American negotiation process in the Middle East settlement in 1969-1974. Methodology and Approach. The author examines documents from the USSR’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the US State Department concerning direct contacts between Soviet and American leaders, including the confidential Dobrynin-Kissinger channel. System and terminological analysis are used, as well as comparative-historical and concrete-historical analyses. Results. Factors that contributed to the beginning of the Soviet-American detente and bilateral negotiations on arms limitation and other international problems, including the Middle East settlement, are identified. The author verifies the importance for the American side of resolving its withdrawal from the war in Vietnam “without losing face,” which was then used as a “link” with the problem of Middle East settlement. Additionally, the interest of the USSR in first establishing and continuing the bilateral process of arms limitation before addressing the problem of the Arab-Israeli conflict is proved. The key role of the confidential channel in the Middle East settlement is analyzed. The factors that led to the United States’ assumption, after resolution of the Vietnam war, of its role as the sole lead in the Arab-Israeli settlement are determined. Theoretical and/or Practical Implications. A number of theoretical issues in the history of international relations, the foreign policies of the United States and the USSR, and Soviet-American relations during the period of detente are analyzed and summarized. The study of the Soviet-American negotiation process and the activities of the confidential channel is important for understanding modern international and Russian-American relations.

Aim. To analyze the current (2020) situation in the Kosovo conflict and examine the prospects for its resolution. Methodology and Approach. The authors use a systems approach to study the Kosovo conflict based on a set of complementary research methods: theoretical analysis of literature, official documentary sources, and mass media, as well as content analysis; initial general scientific methods of processing empirical material - observation, description, collection and grouping of facts, generalization, comparison and analogy; and forecasting and systems analysis. Results. The authors conclude that the world community has the understanding of the necessity for resolution of this conflict, which would reinforce security in the Balkans and relieve tensions in the region. However, there is no clear vision of how and under what conditions a peaceful settlement in Kosovo should be implemented. Theoretical and/or Practical Implications. The study captures the full picture of the current situation in the Kosovo conflict and determines three possible scenarios for future development of the situation.

Aim. To describe the status of the Russian-speaking and Polish populations in the modern Republic of Lithuania in conjunction with past state policy as practiced. Methodology and Approach. The author uses the principles of historicism, objectivity and systematic methods, as well as specialized historical techniques - chronology, periodization, retrospection and updating - to analyze relevant historical materials. Results. Newly identified historical sources in the Lithuanian language have been made availably for academic circulation, including legislative and clerical materials. In one scientific article, it was possible to discern cause-and-effect of relationships formed in the 1990s. The status of the Russian-speaking and Polish minorities in Lithuania, as well as their relationship with the actual state historical policy, are described. Theoretical and/or practical significance. This material can be used both in university teaching and in the practical activities of state and municipal bodies, public organizations and enterprises for helping establish and maintain relations with Lithuania.

Aim. To determine the level of provision of food capital in the Vologda province in the years 1834-1870 years and the extent of provision of the population with food capital as percentage of the legislatively established norm. Methodology and Approach. The author collects, systematizes, analyzes and synthesizes materials from various sources as well as historiography on food capital of the Vologda province in 1834-1870 using typological, comparative-historical, structural, quantitative and correlation methods. Results. An analysis of digital indicators of statistical sources and materials makes it possible to determine that the collection of food capital in the Vologda province during the study period amounted to 86.34 percent of the legislatively established norm. Theoretical and/or practical significance. The results of the study will be applied in the future when developing the issue of food security in the Russian Empire; the obtained data can be used in the education of students in university settings.

Aim. To study the historical experience of organizing the fight against banditry in the Far East in wartime conditions. Methdology and Approach. The author examines documentary sources and research materials to analyze the causes and conditions of banditry in the region, as well as methods of deterrence employed by the NKVD. The study uses the principles of historicism and systems theory, as well as general scientific-historical and logical methods. Results: The author concludes that by using a combination of organizational, operational-search, and verification strategies, as well as other measures, in 1941-1942 the far Eastern NKVD authorities created a more effective system of countering banditry, which made it possible to ensure the safety of the rear in a strategically important region of the country. Theoretical and/or practical significance: Scholarship on the history of the NKVD in the Far East is enhanced, providing useful data for researchers with a focus on the history of domestic law enforcement agencies.

Aim. To analyze the role and place of the exhibition of achievements of the national economy in the Soviet Union and the challenges faced in building the exhibition complex. Methodology and Approach. The author examines the history of the creation of the main exhibition of the Soviet Union, as well as the use of architecture and the built urban environment for social conditioning. Theoretical and/or Practical Implications. The exhibition was a unique Soviet experiment whose purpose was to illustrate to Soviet citizens the advantages of socialism. The exhibition has essentially now become a monument of the architecture of the Soviet period.

Aim. To identify and describe the basic theoretical provisions of the Islamic religion, which through a certain interpretation can form a specific system of views and practical attitudes that underlies the political actions and goals of a significant segment of Islamic radical movements. Methodology. The author analyzes the foundational religious sources of the Muslim faith - the Quran and the Sunnah - and the variants of their interpretation espoused by the supporters of different Islamic sects and groups. Results. The author concludes that the Salafists deny the traditional intepretation of Islamic norms based on the Quran and Sunnah, and call instead for immediate appeal to understanding the religious instructions of the first Muslim community. However, due to the nature of existing sources (the Quran and Sunnah) and the increasing complexity of the surrounding social environment, Salafists cannot do without these traditional tools. Theoretical and/or Practical Implications. The results of the study can be useful for further scientific understanding of the phenomenon of Islamic radicalism.