Abstract:   This article examines the questions of Anglo-Spanish maritime rivalry in the second half of the XVI century. The subject of the research is the English attempts to invade the East Indies and Pacific Ocean domains of the Spaniards during the ruling period of Elizabeth Tudor through the Strait of Magellan, which was scarcely used after the first circumnavigation expedition (1519-1522). The chronological framework of the research capture the period just before the Anglo-Spanish War of 1574-1585. The source base contains the journals of the participants of expedition, English and Spanish reports. Methodological base lies in the historical-genetic method that allows tracing the evolution of English projects of using the rout through the Strait of Magellan during the indicated period. Successful outcome of the expedition of Drake and incomprehensible response of the Spanish authorities, convinced the English government in possibility of using the “South route” independent from the Spaniards, for trading with the Eastern countries. Only the actual Spanish presence in the Strait could impede the trade and predatory English expeditions. Regular attempts of the Englishmen to repeat the expedition of Drake served as an additional destabilizing factor prior to the Anglo-Spanish War.  

Keywords: piracy, Sarmiento de Gamboa, Edward Fenton, Francis Drake, New World, Spain, England, Strait of Magellan, circumnavigation, Age of Discovery

Abstract:   The subject of this research is the processes of domestication of the leading cultivated plants of Far East such as rice and soybeans by Ancient Koreans. It is a known fact that since the beginning of Neolithic stage, in multiple regions of the planet has begun the transition from a lifestyle of hunting and gathering to one of agriculture and settlement. In the opinion of majority of the Russian and foreign researchers, the Korean Peninsula was not an exception, the Neolithic age has marked the formation of the local center of agriculture and animal farming. Despite the irrefutable facts that testify to the emergence of agriculture in primeval Korea, at least since the Middle Neolithic Age, the question regarding the bottom boundary of its inception, as well as the paths of how the far eastern agricultural crops found its way to the peninsula. The basic method of this study consists in the comparative analysis of archeological materials published in the Republic of Korea over the recent years. This article is the first research within the Russian literature that leans on the examination of original Southern Korean theories on domestication of rice and soybeans. Lately the South Korean archeologists have made a number of important discoveries that give grounds to assume that the Korean Peninsula can be justly considered one of the origins of agriculture in the Northeast Asia. The acquired data does not allow stating about the independent domestication of rice in the Korean Peninsula, although with regards to soybeans such conclusions are applicable.  

Keywords: agriculture, Archaeology, Neolithic Age, domestication, soybeans, rice, Korean Peninsula, farming, agricultural tools, Neolithic Revolution

Abstract:   The subject of this research is the initial stage of French colonization of the Antilles. The author examine the role of African captives in the economic development of Guadeloupe. Particular attention is given to the questions of specificity of purchasing slaves on the west coast of Dark Continent, the role of African tribal elites and French slave traders in seizing of black captives and their transporting through the Atlantic Ocean. The article explores the question regarding the scales and profitability of the so-called system of triangular trade, its role in the process of initial accumulation of capital in France. Using the method of historical reconstruction alongside attracting various historical sources (testimonies of the contemporaries, memoirs of French navigators, and statistical information), the authors were able to objectively assess the meaning of slave trade in economic development of the Antillean Colony and metropole in the XVII-XIX centuries. The role of transatlantic slave trade in development of the Antilles and the scales of using the slave labor on the Guadeloupian plantations are yet to be examines within the Russian historical science.  

Keywords: triangular trade, slavery, slave trade, Antilles, Africa, France, Guadeloupe, colony, metropole, captive

Abstract: The subject of this research is the process of transformation of education system in terms of the policy of the Ministry of Education. Universities of the Russian Empire were subjected to reform throughout the entire period of their existence that were associated with finding the path of development either in spirit of academic freedoms or state regulation, taking the German universities as a reference standard. All of the reforms were reflected in the system of education, which started with the freedom of choice and subject system, and later transformed into a course system with rigid framework of completing a course and passing annual tests. Based on the comparative-historical method and principles of historicism and objectivity, the article examines the questions regarding the organization of educational process in the universities of Russian Empire at different periods of their existence throughout over a century, as well as analyzes the implementation of the course and subject systems and their reform. The scientific  novelty consists in demonstrating how the reforms of liberal and conservative statutes affected the establishment of education system in the universities, having rejected the negative assessments of the so-called conservative statutes of 1835 and 1884. The center of research is the educational process and the impact of the state educational policy alongside initiatives of the representatives of university corporation upon it.

Keywords: tests, education, course system of education, subject system of education, Ministry of Public Education, reforms in education, trainig, history of universities, Russian Empire, University statute

Abstract: The subject of this research is the establishment and development of the policy of the Council of Ministers P. A. Stolypin in the area of state defense. The armed forces reform that took place in the Russian Empire after the severe defeat in the Far East played a substantial role during the World War I. The basic strategies that defined the army and navy development originated during the period of activities of P. A. Stolypin. The foreign and Russian historiography viewed the indicated problem in a peculiar way, mostly using the public utterings of P. A. Stolypin, while disregarding the published documentation. Thus, the position of P. A. Stolypin is extensively covered within the historiography that was offered for the Czar, news media, and society, although his true contribution into the army and navy reforms has not been studied until presently. The goal of this work consists in determination of Stolypin’s involvement in the reforms of the defense establishments, considering that his representations of the reforms and political influence varied under the influence of certain factors. The chronological method allowed examining the course of events of the indicated transformations. Guided by the principle of scientific objectivity, leaning on the works of the forerunners, the author rejected the dogmas of the “reputable” historians, and based his conclusions exceptionally on the sources, structuring the research in a way that the conclusion will be based on the facts will be adjusted to the previously made conclusion. The author underlines that the military reforms conducted in Russia in the early XX century were not a part of Stolypin’s reforms, and the heads of the military and navy establishments were exerting the non-reliance, deviating from the line set by the government. The scientific novelty is defined by the fact that this conclusion completely refutes the viewpoint in the Russian historiography.

Keywords: navy, army, Ministry of Navy, Ministry of War, State Duma, Council of Ministers, Stolypin, State Council, government, Prime Minister

Abstract: The subject of this research is the legal status of Armenian community in various cities located in the territories of modern Poland and Ukraine during the period of XV-XVIII centuries. The author examines the legal acts based on which was regulated the system of local self-governance and court system within the Armenian national community, as well as judicial-administrative books that contained the session protocols of the Kamianets-Podilskyi Armenian Court. The article analyzes the content of the indicated sources, their structure and role in life of the Armenian community. The scientific novelty lies in the facts that this work is first to systematically examine the status of Armenian community in Polish and Ukrainian cities from the historical-legal perspective. The work demonstrates the close correlation between the system of local self-governance and court system within the Armenian communities. A conclusion is made that within the examined territory the norms of Armenian law had been sanctioned by the government and became the part of particular international law.

Keywords: Proceedings, Armenian Statute, Inheritance, Civil law, Criminal law, Kamianets-Podilskyi Armenian Court, Armenian community, Self-governance, Armenian Law, History of law

Abstract: The object of this research is the legal relations in the Russian Empire associated with the recruitment and upbringing of officers of the special corps of frontier guards. The subject of this research is the axiological approach towards personal qualities of the Russian border guards, systematic formation of spiritual values of the officers and lower ranks in the course of education and service. The authors examine the cultivation of patriotism, diligent attitude to service, bravery and courage in service. Special attention is given to the concept of untrustworthiness and its characteristics. The scientific novelty of this work is defined by the subject of the research: for the first time, the value orientations of training and upbringing of individuals found to be useful in a specific type of service, are subject to scientific analysis. A conclusion is made on high relevancy of the methodology applied in the Russian Empire for establishment of the spiritual values of soldiers and possibility of its implementation under the modern circumstances.  

Keywords: religious values, professionally valuable qualities, placement of contraband, trustworthiness, border guards, History of the Russian Empire, moral education, oath, military training, border surveillance

Abstract: This article in chronological sequence examines the measures of preventing juvenile neglect and delinquency  over the period of 1917-1950 for the purpose of its implementation at the present stage, as well as determines the most prospect experience of organization of administrative activity of Socialist system aimed at prevention of juvenile delicts. The object of this research is the development trends of social relations of the bodies and institutions of the Socialist system of prevention of neglect and delinquency that form in the process of legal regulation and organization of human rights and law enforcement activities of the indicated system within the framework of 1917-1950. The subject of this research is the theoretical, organizational, administrative, and legal issues of the work of the bodies and institutions of Socialist system of prevention of juvenile neglect and delinquency over the period of 1917-1950; norms of administrative law, which establish the legal status and regulate procedures of realization of the human rights and law enforcement competences belonging to the indicated bodies and institutions. The main conclusion lies in substantiation of the revival of juvenile delinquency rooms in Russia established in 1941; they must be designed in accordance with the standards that require not less than three separate facilities (for inspector on juvenile division; lockable and equipped with vandal-proof soft wall panels for communication with juvenile delinquents; equipped with sleeping accommodations and toys for stray and neglected children).

Keywords: juvenile crimes, juvenile delinquency, homelessness of minors, neglect of minors, children's militia stations, prevention of delinquency, tprotection of rights of the minors, prevention of juvenile delinquency, orphanage, police inspector

Abstract: The subject of this research is one of the most interesting stages in the development of German legal education, characterized by an unprecedented experiment on testing a monophasic model of preparation of lawyers. The authors set a goal to examine the essence, causes and consequences of the reform undertaken in the system of German legal education over the period of 1971-1984, as well as reveal the advantages and disadvantages of the new educational pursuing correlation with the current Russian realities. The example of the federal state of Baden-Württemberg, which was actively engaged in the innovation activity and achieved measurable results, clearly demonstrates the implementation and organization of the educational process in accordance with the new monophasic model. The article introduces the works of the German authors and separate normative documents (federal and state laws) that have not been translated into the Russian language, and thus inaccessible to large audience. It is established that the realization of the experiment on testing the monophasic model of preparation of lawyers as an antipode to the entrenched classical diphasic model, was caused by the public dissatisfaction with the quality and protracted character of legal education. It was legitimized by the adoption of a so-called “experimental clause” in the § 5b of the German Act on the Legal Status of Judges of September 10, 1971. The result of this reform led to the reduction of term of legal education to six years due to intensification of the educational process, elimination of the dualism of theory and practice, increase of the research component in education, as well as focus on the individualization of education and orientation towards formation of the socially adjusted personality of a lawyer. The results of the experiment have received mostly positive evaluations from all the participants, however, due to sociopolitical motives, the implementation of the new model of preparation of lawyers has been declined. The very idea of the monophasic legal education alongside the active process of diversification in the area of rendering educational services is currently being implemented; and so are the principles proclaimed by the reformers of the 1970’s – 1980’s[WU1] , which are relevant for Russia due to joining to the Bologna Process.  [WU1]

Keywords: base models, moniphasic model, experimental clause, legislative innovations, legal education reform, preparation of lawyers, Germany, evolution of educational forms, theory and practice, final testing

Abstract: Based on the previously unknown documents of the archival documentation and pre-revolutionary legislation, this article examines the municipal and peasant self-governance in Siberia in the XVIII century. The growing interest to the history of local self-governance is associated not only with desire of the historians to look more thoroughly into the past, but also strictly practical needs. With reference to the forgotten traditions of public administration, it is important to extensively consider the historical experience that was acquired over the centuries. Special attention is given to the structure and organizational legal questions of the work of local self-governance and its cooperation with the local administrative-police bodies. The author concludes that the bodies of municipal and peasant public administration of Siberia in the XVIII century were incorporated into the system of local branches of government. Competences of the branches of local self-governance were quite limited,  for instance, they had no authority to solve many of the economic issues without sanction of the crown administration. Their effectiveness was reduced due to the extremely undemocratic system of class representation. The main differences between public administration bodies and state government bodies consisted in the forms of their organization, character and conditions of work, subordinate to oversight of the local administrative-police bodies, which at that time, was perceived by the Siberians as the fully justified conditions of their life.

Keywords: governor, administration, reform, self-governance, power, History of Siberia, cities, peasants, authorities, elections

Abstract: This article analyzes the formation of the system of public education of adults in Ural in the context of the nationwide modernization process. Basic attention is given to the structural-organizational aspect of the reform of public education of adult population, primarily during the period of 1936-1937, when took place the search for the new structure of secondary education along with the continuous efforts to battle illiteracy. The conditions that affected the establishment the education structure and system of adults are characterized, among which are emphasized the outbreak of famine in 1937 and food shortage that led to decrease of the working students and closing of adult schools. Analysis of the documents from regional archives allowed determining the local specificities of this process in the region that marked the establishment of a powerful industrial facility, population growth, rapid urbanization, as well as critical deficiency of literate people and competent specialists. The conclusion is made that the efforts aimed at achieving mass literacy progressed to a new level and delivered substantial results.

Keywords: Continuation school, School for illiterate adults, Secondary school, Junior secondary school, Sverdlovsk Region, Ural, Population literacy, Formation of education system, Eradication of literacy, Adult education

Abstract: The object of this research is the political legal though of the late XIX – early XX centuries; while the subject is the process of formation of the national methodological foundations of the dissertation development of state legal studies over the period of the XIX – early XX centuries in the Russian Empire. Particular attention is given to the mainstream, mental elements and development trends of the national political legal thought, “methodological preferences”, worldview orientations in examination of the political and legal phenomena and processes. The authors considered the master’s and doctoral theses on state law, defended in the law faculties of universities of the Russian Empire, which selected the issues and questions of the methodology of science as the subject of research; using the legal-hermeneutic and comparative-historical methods, were examined the goals, tasks, content, and results of the theses of the indicated timeframe. The work determines the general patterns of genesis and development of the methodological legal studies contained in the pre-revolutionary theses, which were justified by the specificity of evolution of the legal science in Russian in the late XIX – early XX centuries. A conclusion is formulated about the peculiarities of origination of the national methodological grounds of dissertation development of the legal studies in Russia over the indicated timeframe.

Keywords: university, state law, doctoral dissertations, legal consciousness, legal culture, legal mentality, law, methodology, Russian Empire, general-theoretical analysis

Abstract: This article examines the link between the business competition and disintegration processes in Yugoslavia over the period of 1953-1962 that indicates the two large waves of economic reforms conducted in the country. The subject of this research is the direct competitive relations between businesses and their associations, as well as relations mediated by the participation of the union and republican governing bodies. Particular attention is given to intervention of the republican governments. Methodology of the work leans on the materialistic understanding of history. The author systematically analyzes the economic foundation of the attenuation of the unity of Yugoslavian peoples and aggravation of interethnic tensions. The emerged in the early 1950’s business competition became the factor of this process just because of the existence of certain conditions, among which are the manifestation nationalistic moods within corporate management and protection by the republican government of business in their republics, considering the economic gain. This led to the weakening of economic relations between the republics and disruption of functionality of some economic sectors. At the regional level, it was most noticeable in Slovenia, as well as existed in Croatia and Serbia.

Keywords: interrepublican disputes, business associations, economic relations, centrifugal processes, competition, credits, Yugoslavia, businesses, nationalism, trade

Abstract: The subject of this research is the dynamics of performing Russian music on the stage of Metropolitan Opera in New York and development of public discourse viewed through the prism of socioeconomic history and dynamics of Russian-American and Soviet-American relations in the XX century. Throughout the entire existence of Metropolitan Opera (1883-2016), the article analyzes the history of premieres, format, frequency and distribution of the representatives of the Russian opera and ballet, as well as feedbacks of the leading critics that allow singling out the basic elements of comprehension of the Russian music and image of Russia among the educated audience of New York, as well as their transmission into the wider social strata (publications in newspapers, TV, radio, Internet broadcasting). Using the digitalized archive of Metropolitan Opera, the author conducts a quantitative analysis of the most prominent composers and operas of the “Russian” repertoire, as well as their conceptualization on the background of the general repertoire policy, sociopolitical and economic conditions of the key periods in American history of the XX century. Particularly, the author underlines the prewar period, especially the decade between the beginning of the Great Depression and World War II, Great Patriotic War and U.S.-Soviet alliance, Cold War, and contemporary period after 1991. The author also considers the selection of critical feedbacks from the leading journalists of the United Stated and Great Britain. The scientific novelty lies in the comprehensive repertoire and discursive analysis from the sociopolitical perspective. The main conclusion is defined by the clear distinction of leading composers – Tchaikovsky, Mussorgsky in classical music of the XIX century and Stravinsky in contemporary classical music. Along with the dominance of the limited number of classics, in which regards the Metropolitan Opera followed the trends of conservative reductionism inherent also to other opera theatres, there is an evident distancing from the contemporary Soviet school until the end of the Cold War. A brief alignment with the Soviet Union during the World War II, on the contrary, did not led to the expansion of Russian repertoire, while the economic conjuncture directly affected the frequency, diversity, and public response towards the compositions of Russian music. Anti-Communism did not result in the negative image of Russian culture, but affected the perception of the contemporary music, as well as aggravated cultural-political distancing with regards to Russia. Enriching the existing comprehension of the cultural transfers from Russia into the United States, this article realizes the cross-disciplinary integration of the issues of musicological character into social and political history, which represents interest to the U.S. historians, international relations in broad sense, nations and nationalism, as well as cultural and discursive processes.

Keywords: Stravinsky, Tchaikovsky, Metropolitan Opera, musical nationalism, history of discourses, cultural transfer, repertoir analysis, classical music, contemporary music, high culture

Abstract: The relevance of this topic consists in the need to examine the issues concerning the role of the working class of Kazakhstan in holding off the enemy, common to all peoples of USSR, degree of involvement of the military units formed in Kazakhstan in the battles of the World War II. The goal of this article is to demonstrate the contribution of the Kazakh military pilots in victory over the enemy. The subject of the research is the preparation stages and participation of the Kazakh military units in the battles of Leningrad during the Great Patriotic War. The scientific novelty lies in analysis of the role of Kazakh military pilots in crushing the enemy during the battles of Leningrad. The conclusion is made that the Kazakhs soldiers largely contributed into prevention of the enemy to Leningrad, which underlines the national character of the Great Patriotic War, unity of the nations that allowed to utterly destroy the Nazi Germany.

Keywords: Blockade, Blockade, Mass heroism , Flying school, Bomber, Leningrad defense, Great Patriotic War, Front, Strafing attack, Military unit