Abstract: This article analyzes the archival materials of France, which belonged to the Caucasian emigrants (after the October Revolution). Having immigrated to Europe, they took with them the archives, which contained the documents that covered various aspects of history of the Russian Empire. This is the first article in Russia that carries out an analysis of all the documents on the topic. The goal consists in examination of the documents from the archive of the prominent Azerbaijani figure Alimardan Topchubashov (Paris, France), which reflect life of the Russian Muslims prior to the 1917 Revolution. Before the Revolution, Topchubashov i (having a degree in Law) was one of the active supporters of modernization of Islamic life in the Caucasus; therefore, his archive contains the materials on this aspect of life of the citizens of the Russian Empire (deputy to the State Duma in 1906, initiator of creation of the Muslim faction in State Duma, initiator of the Muslim congresses in Russia). The aforementioned documents are analyzed in the Islamic context of the Russian history for the first time. The conclusion is made that the Muslim part of the archive of Alimardan Topchubashov is a unique compilation of primary sources, which give an general outlook on life of the Muslims in the Russian Empire, including Caucasus over the period from 1890 to 1917. The author unites these documents into three groups. The developed by Alimardan Topchubashov program of the fundamental changes in life of the Muslims is described in these documents.

Abstract: The research subject of this study is the fate of a priest in Russia: Fr. Dmitry Vvedensky, who began his ministry before the Revolution, lived through Soviet camps, was convicted three times, managed to survive the difficult conditions of camp life and continued to serve after the death of Stalin.The research object of this study is the Vvedensky dynasty of priests.The author considers D. Vvedensky's life in the context of the priestly environment in which he found himself. At the microhistory level, the author describes the fate of one of the representatives of the Russian Orthodox clergy during a civilizational breakdown. The study was prepared on the basis of two kinds of sources: firstly, archival materials from the state archives (the State Archive of the Russian Federation and the Central State Historical Archive of Moscow) and private collections (the Vvedensky family archive, which was donated to the Church and History Museum of the Men's Stavropegalny Danilov Monastery of the Russian Orthodox Church ); secondly, interviews with the descendants of the Vvedensky family: the granddaughter of Fr. Dmitry - Lyubov', the grandson of Fr. Dmitry's brother - Rostislav, the niece of Fr. Dmitry's wife - I. K. Miloslavina, the granddaughter of the second priest serving in the same "Life-Giving Spring" Church with Fr. Dmitry, - E. P. Thebes.The scientific novelty of this research is its introduction into scientific circulation of new archival materials concerning the life of Russian priests, including from new archives, in particular, the Vvedensky archive stored in the Danilov Monastery.The study of priestly fates on the example of the Vvedensky family has made it possible for the author to identify the main trends in the life of the priesthood at the turn of the Russian-imperial and Soviet periods in the history of Russia.

Abstract: The subject of this research is the character of relationship between Chekhov family and the Orthodox male monastery “Voznesenskaya Davidova Pustyn”. The object of this research is the religious life of Chekhov family. The goal consists in analysis of the religious and secular contacts between the Chekhov family and the abode, clarification of the question of religiosity of the prominent Russian writer Anton Pavlovich Chekhov, as well as answering the question regarding the impact of spiritual crisis of the late XIX upon him. The article explores the life of Chekhov family in their estate in Melikhovo from 1892 to 1899. Chekhov’s parents, especially his father, was a deeply religious person. The article also discusses the relationship between the writer and monks of the monastery, his visits of worship services in the abode. Russian Chekhoviana is quite extensive; the period from 1990 to 2010’s marks the emergence of works dedicated to religious views of the writer. The article is prepared on the basis of archival and unpublished materials (particularly Chekhov’s correspondence and the diary of his father Pavel Egorovich). The modern publications usually underline the presence of staunch atheistic creeds. Sometimes his life in Melikhovo is described without mentioning contacts with the monastery. This article is first to determine the problem of relationship of Chekhov family and one of the male monasteries of Moscow Region.

Abstract: The article's research subject is the life of the Orthodox community around the Life-Giving Spring Church in Tsaritsyno at the end of the 19th - early 20th centuries. The research object is the dachniki (summer residents) who became members of this Orthodox community.The Central State Archive of Moscow has preserved the metric books of this church. Based on this type of source, the author has compiled a list of the dachniki in Tsaritsyno who became parishioners of the Life-Giving Spring Church. The dachniki becoming part of the Tsaritsyno community was identified by the author through the evidence that they turned to the church's priests to perform various religious celebrations: baptisms, weddings and funeral services. Obviously, these celebrations are not indicative of the active participation of a specific dachnik in the life of the church, but in the author's opinion, this can still be indirectly used to analyze the relationship between country life and church life in Tsaritsyno. The author applied the historical method to analyze the archival materials collected at the Central Historical Archive of Moscow and the structural method to create a comprehensive picture of Russian life in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.The choice of this topic for scientific research is based on the fact that in the 1990-2010s the process of an Orthodox revival had begun, which also turned out to be partially tied to the modern dacha movement. On the example of a number of monasteries near Moscow, one can trace the growth of Orthodox communities in the opened monasteries thanks to the dachniki living nearby. Due to this, the historical experience of this interaction can contribute to a comprehensive understanding of the processes taking place in modern Russia.

Abstract: This article examines the customary law of the North Caucasus peoples, which had emerged in the distant past and partially remains in the current legal consciousness and legal practice of highlanders of the region.  As the subject of research, customary law, includes studying the primary and secondary conflicts, bases of conciliatory procedures, practice of blood vengeance as one of the scenarios of evolution of the primary conflicts into secondary, etc. In the course of studying the highlanders' adat, the author answers the question on the role of legal heritage in the modern legal practice and theory of law. The article is prepared on the basis of the collected by the author field ethnographic materials in the number of North Caucasus republics – Kabardino-Balkaria, Karachay-Cherkessia, Adygea, North Ossetia; as well as the materials on Ingushetia, obtained by other researchers. Using the methods of historical reconstruction and historical analysis, the author examined the problem of the emergence and development of the highlanders’ adat. The conclusion is made that up until now, the legal culture of North Caucasus peoples is not anachronism. The norms of adat successful “work” in the cases when it is possible. Legal heritage of the highlanders, aimed at settlement of conflicts in the communities, is the ultimate achievement of North Caucasian culture, and may be viewed not only as an element of the past, but also a part of modern and even future cultural field of the region. With regards to Northern Caucasus, we can speak to application of certain legal pluralism.

Abstract: In the 19th century, Russia gradually developed a spiritual crisis, which was especially vividly felt in the second half of the 19th century. However, in the author's opinion, although this trend can be easily recognized, it should be noted that not all churches, neither all monasteries in their life and work and in their spiritual sphere experienced a similar crisis. Many Orthodox institutions in Russia, on the contrary, experienced growth throughout the 19th century and some even flourished.The research object of this study is the “Life-Giving Spring” church situated near Moscow, which is part of the unfinished Catherine Palace in Tsaritsyno. The research subject of this study is microhistory on the example of describing Orthodox life during the 19th century in one church near Moscow. The author used archival materials drawn from the Central Historical Archive of Moscow, as well as from the family archive of the descendants of Kazantsev, one of the priests of the examined church. The archive materials for the first time in historiography introduced into scientific circulation are analyzed through the method of historical reconstruction and are presented in chronological order - during the 19th century. Up to today, the history of this church was only once the research object in the scientific community: the article written by the staff members of the Museum "Tsaritsyno" A. A. Baranova and A. A. Galashevich was published over 25 years ago. The study of the formative origins of one of the most important churches in Moscow and the Moscow region (primarily due to its territorial position, namely, being part of the Catherine Palace complex) is a significant and valuable source for understanding the current process of the Orthodox Renaissance.

Abstract: The presented article proposes to consider the particularities behind the development of the men's Orthodox monastery Voznesenskaya Davidova Pustyn in the second half of the 19th century.The research object of this study is the men's Orthodox monastery Voznesenskaya Davidova Pustyn, while the research subject is the various areas of the monastery's life (activities of priors, material support, economy, building construction, etc.).The study is based on the archival material extracted from a number of Russian state archives: the Russian State Historical Archive, the Central State Archive of Moscow and the Russian State Archive of Ancient Acts, as well as one private archive: the monastic archive of the Voznesenskaya Davidova Pustyn. By applying the research method of historical reconstruction, the author analyzes the archival material, which is introduced into scientific circulation for the first time, that makes it possible to identify key aspects in the life of the monastery during the period under study. This monastery and its history during the second half of the 19th century have only once been the central object of research in a scholarly work, namely, in 1915 when the monastery turned 400 years old. The article puts forward the conclusion that in the second half of the 19th century, specifically, from 1854 to 1893, the monastery changed three superiors: father Varlaam, father Iosif and father Yoanikiy, who not only did not weaken the monastery (it continued to remain a self-governing monastery), but on the contrary, they managed to create such a spiritual and financial foundation that enabled the next abbot, archimandrite Valentin, to raise the status of the monastery in 1915 - in honor of the 400th anniversary of the monastery - by raising the rank of Voznesenskaya Davidova Pustyn to that of a second-class monastery.

Abstract: The subject of this research is the peculiarities of monastery construction in Russia over the period of the XVI – XVII centuries. The object is the history of one of monasteries outside of Moscow – the Ascension of David Desert. This period signified the change in ideological paradigms: the Russian Orthodox ideology, which takes its roots in the history of ancient Byzantium, shifts towards the Western influences and trends. This is also the beginning of monastery colonization of Russia, when in the overall monastery’s decline have emerged many medium-sized monasteries. The goal of this article lies in examination of the questions related to the Russian power (princely and imperial) and monastery construction, as well as the status of Monastery of the Ascension of David Desert, claustral rule, specificities of allodial possessions, establishment and church construction. The works is prepared on the basis of materials from the three archives: Russian State Archive of Ancient Acts, Central State Archive, and archive of documents preserved in the Monastery of the Ascension of David Desert; the method of historical reconstruction was applied for analyzing these materials. The beginning of monastic life in the David Desert along with its establishment during the first two centuries (XVI – XVII) yet remains a little-known part of history, which defines the relevance of this article.

Abstract: The subject of this article is the history of a church in the Moscow region: the Church of the Icon of the Theotokos of the "Life-giving Spring" in Tsaritsyno in the first half of the 20th century. The article's chronological framework starts from the pre-revolutionary period to the Soviet period in the history of this church. The object of this research is the activity of the church's priest, father Aleksey Fiveysky, the foundations of the financial and economic existence of the church near Moscow on the eve of the events of 1917, as well as the description of the church flock, the reasons for its increase on the eve of the revolution and the increase in the number of request to the church. The article was prepared on the basis of two types of sources: archival materials (from the Central State Archive of Moscow and the family archive kept by the descendants of Fiveysky, as well as the archive of the Leninsky district of the Moscow region (Vidnoye), and oral history materials (an interview with a descendant of father Aleksey - the grandson of his brother, Nikolay Fiveysky, who became a priest in the village of Klobukovo of the Bogorodsky uyezd - Yuri Dmitrievich Fiveysky and his wife Elena Pavlovna.) Archival materials and information obtained during the author's oral surveys were analyzed by the method of historical reconstruction and presented in the article in the form of a historical description. Up to today, the history of this church, which is located on the territory of the famous Catherine Palace in Tsaritsyno, has had no scientific works devoted to the historical period chosen in this article. The study of the church's history prior to and after the October Revolution is of great scientific and practical interest since it shows the spiritual state of Russian society, which committed or supported the Bolshevik uprising.

Abstract: The purpose of this article is to analyze the main components of the institution of blood vengeance in Chechen and Ingush communities over the period of time since 1870 till 1960 and compare it to other nations of the North Caucasus in order to discover differences and similarities. According to the author, this approach will allow to define a number of associated legal tendencies. The object of the research is the institution of blood vengeance and how it had been developing over 100 years in the North Caucasus. The subject of the research is the main components of the aforesaid institution such as causes of conflicts, forms of revenge, subjects and objects of revenge, rules of behavior, etc. The research is based on the historical ethnographical research method that allowed the author to carry out a field research and collect ethnographical material about the existence of the institution of blood vengeance since 1870 till 1960. The field research involved interviews of old people (90 - 100 years old) who either witnessed such conflicts themselves or heard stories about them in their family. In addition, the author also used archives of the North Caucasus as the material to compare those stories to. Even though there are researches on blood vengeance in the North Caucasus, so far there have been no researches devoted to the institution of blood vengeance of the Chechens and Ingush and how it had been developing since 1870 till 1960 that would imply ethnographical data and archives of the Supreme Courts of a number of North Caucasian republics. Analysis of that institution of previous times allows to better understand modern legal processes in the North Caucasus. 

Abstract: This article leans on the new archival materials alongside the oral history – interviews with the successors of the priests and congregation of the Church in Tsaritsyno. Examination of the life of clergy at micro-level – using the example of single temple – helps the researchers to structure the holistic image of the fate of Orthodoxy in the 1920’s – 1930’s in Soviet Union. Until present, there was not a single scientific article on the history of the indicated church of this period. The author has already published several article about the life of the temple during other historical periods. Currently in Russia, are gathered all materials on the history of clergy repression during the Soviet time. This article allows filling such gap. This work conducts a historical reconstruction of the life of the temple during 1920’s – 1930’s. The scientific novelty lies in introduction of the archive materials (investigation cases of the priests and congregation members, State Archive of the Russian Federation), (archives of the Vvedensky and Kazantsevy families), as well as compilation of the oral history materials – the successors. This allowed providing the description of life of the Church Of Our Lady Life Giving Spring In Tsaritsyno in the 1920’s – 1930’s.

Abstract: The Voznesenskaya Davidova Poustinia is one of the monasteries situated near Moscow, founded in 1515 by the monk David of the Pafnutievsky Monastery. The research subject of this article is the particularities of the monastery's development in the 18th century. The main key events were: the church reform of 1764 and the introduction of a new monastic cenobitic charter (end of the 18th century). Up to now, there have been no studies in scientific literature describing the history of the monastery Voznesenskaya Davidova Poustinia in the 18th century. To date, only one book by N. P. Vinogradov has been published (in 1915), in which a description of the history of the monastery for 400 years is given. The article was prepared on the basis of the historical method. The author, analyzing the archival materials he collected, extracted from two archives (the Russian State Archive of Ancient Documents and the Central State Archives of the City of Moscow), undertakes a historical reconstruction of the life of the monastery of the Voznesenskaya Davidova Poustinia in the 18th century. The novelty of this article lies is that, with the example of a scrupulous analysis of all aspects of the life of a monastery, one can see the key stages of monastic history in Russia in the 18th century. The study of the history of the above-named monastery presents both scientific and practical interest. Above of all, the author points out that in 2015 the monastery turned 500 years old. The monastery managed to preserve its functions for the duration of many centuries. In addition to this, the fate of the monastery during one of the most difficult historical periods is of particular interest: 1764 is the period when church reform and the secularization of church lands was carried out - an important source of life for the monasteries.

Abstract: The subject of this research is the ecclesiastical Orthodox dynasties of the XIX century in Russia. The object of this article is the evolution of spiritual life of the hereditary priests Kazantsevs, who served in the Church of the Life-Giving Spring Icon of the Mother of God in Tsaritsyno (presently Moscow) that was a part of the unfinished by Bazhenov and Kazakov Catherine Palace. Ecclesiastical ministry of the Kazantsevs was suppressed in the end of 1903, when the next successor refused to accept the ministry. The goal of this work consists in demonstrating the causes for spiritual crisis in the prerevolutionary Russian, as well as its impact upon the events of 1917. The research is prepared based on the archive materials from the Central State Historical Archives of Moscow and Moscow Region, archive of the Kazantsevs family, and verbal discussions with the descendants of the family. Leaning on the collected materials, the article portrays the history of ecclesiastical Orthodox dynasty of the XIX using the method of historical reconstruction. The scientific novelty is defined by the fact that based on the example of church ministry of several generations of the Kazantsev family, the author was able to trace the trend established in Russian in the late XIX – early XX century, namely the beginning of spiritual crises and infiltration of the revolutionary ideas into the families of priests. As a result, people with theological education refused from the ministry, preferring the various secular professions but remaining Orthodox in their soul. It is worth noting that the spiritual life of several generation of the ancestors could not “confront” the strength and pressure of the new ideology of the late XIX century. The author believes that the description of history of a single Orthodox dynasty helps understanding the inevitability of the following events in 1917.  

Abstract: The subject of this research is the noble, ducal, large industrial and foreign last names, who settled in Tsaritsyno as the countrymen over the period of 1880’s – 1910’s. The objects is the peculiarities of development of the countrymen movement in the late XIX – early XX centuries. The goal of this article is to trace the interconnection between the members of the Orthodox congregation that resided in the large architectural complex of the times of Catherine the Great Tsaritsyno and the process of establishment of the country life around it, using the materials from the Moscow Central State Archive. This article is prepared based on introduction into the scientific discourse of the new archive information, accumulated by the author in the Moscow Central State Archive, which preserved the documents on the history of the Life-Giving Spring Church, and particularly, metrical books of the temple. The author pursued correlation of the data about the countrymen and the congregation, who referred to the church for realization of various Orthodox rituals. The work also applied the materials of a so-called “verbal history” – the interview with descendants of the priests of the Life-Giving Spring Church in Tsaritsyno. The author is first to examine the intersection of the live of Orthodox parishes and the countrymen movements of the late XIX – early XX centuries from such perspective. This approach allowed determining the interconnection of the organization of suburban settlements in places with the active spiritual life under. The new social slice of the Orthodox congregation, when the single organization united the people of various social classes, gradually led to establishment of the other structures in Russian society. 

Abstract: The subject of this research is the monastic economy. The article examines on a micro level, on the example of one monastery in the Moscow region – the Voznesenskaya Davidova Poustinia, the development of the monastic economy during more than four centuries. The research object of this article is the description of the key aspects of the economic activity of the named monastery, more precisely: agriculture, cattle breeding, as well as those spheres that were dictated by the new economic conditions, for example, obtaining income from capital, such as through investments in Russian banks and renting out houses belonging to the monastery, and others. This study is based on archival material, found by the author in two archives, which concern the economic activity of the monastery: in the Russian State Archive of Ancient Acts and in the Central State Archives of Moscow. Through the method of historical reconstruction, the article examines the economic activity of the monks and priors of the Voznesenskaya Davidova Poustinia from 1515 to 1917, that is, for more than four centuries. Today there are scientific studies on the activity of Russian monasteries that describe the economy in general. In this article, however, the author turns to the micro level and on the example of one monastery in the Moscow region, the Voznesenskaya Davidova Poustinia, analyzed the development of the monastic economy, specifically, its formation. The main conclusions of this study are: having investigated the example of one monastery in the Moscow region (the Voznesenskaya Davidova Poustinia) the history of the formation of the monastic economy, and having traced the economic, trade and financial activity of the monastery from the 16th century to the beginning of the 20th century, the author shows that beginning with state grants the monastery became a rich, self-sufficient religious structure, where they competently combined monastic toil with the work of hired workers and where existed the right balance between various forms of economy and economic possibilities of the Russian Empire (placing capital in Russian banks, renting out their property, etc.). These forms of monastic income are considered by the author to be directly tied to the entrepreneurial activity of the Russian Orthodox churches.

Abstract: The subject of this research is the activity of Archimandrite Valentine (Yegorov) – the last before the Revolution of 1917 abbot of the Moscow region male monastery of Ascension of David Desert. He has brought his convent to dawn, both spiritual and financial. The article thoroughly examines the key methods of chairing the monastery, construction plans of the abbot, as well as the basis of the monastic life and economic activity of the convent. Archimandrite Valentine was able to achieve the financial state support for his monastery. The provided in the article material testifies to the fact that right before the October Revolution, the Orthodox monasteries of the Russian Federation were in different state: some of them experienced financial issues, some prospered; and only the Revolution and further policy of the Soviet authorities lead to depredation in the late 1920’s.

Abstract: The subject of this research is the Soviet history of one of the male monasteries – Ascension of David Desert during the first two decades after the establishment of Soviet government (1920-1930’s). The author demonstrates the relationship between monastery and Soviet authorities in the 1920’s – the time of depletion of the monastery, when Soviet government started to limit the monastic life. A noticeable place in history of David’s Desert of the 1920-1930’s hold the repressions towards the monks of the monastery: many of them suffered for their beliefs, and some were executed by a firing squad. Only some of them have lived to old age. The article is prepared based on the collected by the author and introduced for the first time archive material; using the method of historical reconstruction, the author reviewed the Soviet history of one of the male monasteries of Moscow Region – Ascension of David Desert. As an additional source, the work attracts the data from the conducted field ethnographic surveys of the native residents of local villages of Chekhov District. The scientific novelty first and foremost is defined by the application of new archive material on the history of Orthodox monkhood in Russia during the first decade of the Soviet government, including investigation cases of the period of clergy repressions in the 1930’s. The author meticulously describes the previously unknown period of the history of the Ascension of David Desert monastery, as well as concludes that the monks were able to preserve the monastic life until the late 1920’s.

Abstract: The article's research subject is the chapel in Moscow which housed for several centuries the miraculous icon of the Savior (the Merciful) Mandylion. The chapel is part of the Moscow-region monastery of Voznesenskaya Davidova Pustyn' (today Chehovskiy region). The research object is the history of this chapel from the 18th century to the 1920s. During the Soviet years, at the time of the nationalization of church properties, began the ownership fight over the miraculous icon in which took part several sides: the Soviet authorities, the monastic authorities, the congregation and the Gregorians. The chapel changed several times its status during the 1920s. The icon went missing at the end of the 1920s. This article traces, on the basis of the introduction of new archival material extracted by the author from the Central State Archive in Moscow, the history of the chapel and the icon, in which it was housed from the second half of the 18th century to the end of the 1920s. This is the first article dedicated to the history of the chapel by the Moskvoretsky Bridge and to the search of the holy object. The author collected all of the existing archival material at the disposal of scientists on this subject and through the method of historical reconstruction presented the history of the life of the named chapel. On the basis of archival material for the first time introduced into scientific study, the author describes the history of the chapel by the Moskvoretsky Bridge from the end of the 18th century to the 1920s and the fate of the venerated icon of the Savior Mandylion housed in it.

Abstract: The subject of this research is the history of a house in Arbat square. The once-famous house was built by a well-known architect S. M Kalugin, who was the creator of Sandunovsky Bani and other buildings in Moscow. The house was a part of a near-Moscow monastery – Voznesenki Davidov Hermitage. The article contains plans and drawings, the timeline of house’s reconstruction, stories of Muscovites who lived in the house, as well as the functioning of the “Keller and Co” pharmaceutical company, which occupied the house before the Revolution. The house was demolished in the early 1930s, during the reconstruction of Arbat square. This article is written on the basis of archive sources of the Moscow Central Archive, which were discovered and used for the first time. The article’s greatest value is the publication of drawings and building plans from the 19th–20th centuries. This article presents the first ever study on history of the House in Arbat square. The house belonged to a monastery and was little known of. The author has found valuable sources on history of the house and presented its complete history that started in the late 17th century and ended in the 1930s.

Abstract: The article addresses the topic of the life of Caucasus emigrants in France in general and of one of its key aspects in particular: the preservation of the previous (Russian) and the reception of new (French) citizenship (1919—1939). Obtaining the French citizenship and preserving ties with their homeland during the period between the First and the Second World Wars posed for many emigrants a difficult choice. The article presents an analysis of the interrelations between the socio-political outlooks and the attitudes towards Russia, and gives a description of the fates of people from the North Caucasus and the South of Russia in emigration to France in 1919—1939. The article is based on sources chosen by the author and for the first time introduced into Russian scientific use materials from two archives: the Archive of the Police Prefecture of France (Paris, France) and the Archive of Alimardan bey Topchubashov (Paris, France). The article raises a new in Russian historiography topic: the description of the various aspects of life organisation of the North Caucasus emigrants in France, including those connected to the question of citizenship (1919—1939). Due to the author’s analysis of the collected archival material the article carries out a systematisation of the data regarding the topic of migrants’ citizenship, concerning a particular region – the Northern Caucasus and the South of Russia,

Abstract: This article is dedicated to the socio-cultural and political-legal aspects of modernization of the monasticism in the beginning of the XX century. In the late XVIII-early XIX century Synod introduced to several monasteries in Russia a new type of monastic life – a so-called coenobitic monasticism. Before, many of the Russian monasteries were following another principle of monastic living – “anchoritic” Charter. The author demonstrates the process of transition from one lifestyle to another based on the example of Moscow Oblast monastery the Ascension Desert of St. David. This work contains the archive materials from the Central State Archive of Moscow and the Russian State Archive of Ancient Acts. The main conclusion consists in the following: the process of implementation of coenobitic Charter in the Ascension Desert of St. David monastery was taking place gradually, many monks were not able to endure a more difficult and tough regime of the monastic life within the coenobium, however, by the middle of the XIX century this process was successfully completed.

Abstract: This article examines the activity of one of the prominent hegumen of the Russian monastery – Ascension Desert of St. David – Archimandrite Paisios (Sokolov). Being an educated nobleman he decided to dedicate his life to the Orthodox monasticism. He was influenced by the reputable Russian elder Makary Optinsky. Paisios contributed a lot into the prosperity of the monastery (increase the number of monks, improved their living conditions, level of ethics, financial situation of the monastery, as well as construction of the new buildings, particularly the bell tower). The research is based on the historical method, with attraction of the new archive materials extracted from the Moscow archives, and the important written sources such as the letters by Paisios Sokolov. Since his appearance in the Ascension Desert of St. David monastery in 1843, he conducted a number of reforms that allowed the monastery to reach prosperity; it is marked as a long period of modernization of the community, which has started back in the end of the XVII-beginning of the XIX centuries.

Abstract: On the base of the archive and field materials the author of the study demonstrates the evolution of the tradition of blood feud as a part of the mountain adat in the life of Adygs, one of the large peoples of the North Caucasus. The author describes the factors which influence the changes of their life. The research covers the period from the 18th century till the 2010s, including three historical periods: the period of the Russian Empire, the period of the USSR and the period of post-Soviet Russia. The research is based on the archive materials of the Central State Archive of the republic of Kabardino-Balkaria and others, and on the field ethnographical materials of some North-Caucasian republics. The author applies the narrative method to analyze the collected materials. The author comes to the conclusion about the significant development of blood feud as a legal institution of Agygs in the 19th century. Firstly, it hadn’t always been carried out according to the talion law, i.e. equal damage. Secondly, blood feud had often been limited to immediate relatives. Thirdly, the new factors had appeared in blood feud, which influenced its development, e.g. ties of relationship and class. Fourthly, the ideology of post-reform Adyg community had in many respects changed its guidelines. In the late 19th century the role of personality traits of the participants of the conflict significantly rose. The author supposes that blood feud as a form of social control transformed into one of the forms of relationships between the community members. In the Soviet period blood feud became, on the one hand, more politicized, on the other hand, more personalized, and lost its group character, which had characterized it during the previous centuries. During the 1990s – the 2010s blood feud was again used as a response to the escalation of a conflict. It was conditioned by the new socio-economic and social and political circumstances, typical for post-Soviet Russia. 

Abstract: Socio-cultural and political-legal adaptation of migrans is becoming a nettlesome topic considering the ongoing transformations of such classical types of the countries of the Western Europe as France, Germany, Italy, etc. into polyethnic and multireligious states. Obviously, these transformations will involve the Russian Federation sooner or later. During the XXth - XXIst centuries there have been several migration flows from Caucaus to Europe. In this article Babich discusses the most recent migration flow from Russia to Europe in 1990s - 2000s. The main reasons were political (the Chechnya war) and socio-economic. The researcher analyzes the life of Caucasian people in the Western and Eastern Europe, defines tendencies and prospects for their adaptation to the European lifestyle. It should be also noted that the Caucasian factor allows to make a hypothesis concerning the Islamic factor as well. The research of North Caucasian communities from the point of view of their ability to integrate requires to take into account ethnic, age-related and gender peculiarities, to anlayze the history and political environment of interaction between each community and the receiving society. The researcher also believes that North Caucasian communities in Europe should be viewed as a single ethnic group. 

Abstract: Rerformations of the government and economy that took place in the Caucasian Region in 1860s involved religious reforms, too. The present article is devoted to the history of religious reformations in that region. The blossom of Orthodoxy in the Caucasus is mostly associated with a public and religious figure of Russia of the XIXth century, the bishop Ignatius Bryanchaninov. He had lived and worked in the Caucasus since 1858 till 1861. This is the period the present article is devoted to. The author of the article bases the research on the two types of sources, archive materials taken by the author from the two funds of the Russian state historical archive, Holy Synod and Caucasian Committee, and the published letters of Saint Ignatius to his brother Petr Alexandrovich, the Governor of Stavropol, and Nikolay Nikolaevich Muraviev-Karssky, an outstanding military and political figure. The article is also based on the chronological principle and covers the following points: consecration of the archimandrite Ignatius to the position of Bishop of the Caucasus, Ignatius Bryanchaninov's plan on what needed to be done in the Cauasus, the nature of Ignatius' communication with the civil authorities in the Caucasus, measures undertaken by Ignatius to change the borders of the Caucasian bishopric, retirement of Ignatius Bryanchaninov and, finally, consecration of a new bishop. 
The results of the research evidently show that even though Ignatius Bryanchaninov had been a Bishop of the Caucasus and Black Sea Region for not such a long period of time, he made a great contribution to the expansion and promotion of Orthodox beliefs and style of life in the North Caucasus.