Abstract: The subject of this research is the origins of Russian Opera and its evolution. The grounds of Russian Opera can be observed in folk and Church rites of the Ancient Rus’. The origins of Russian Opera stem from the Middle Ages, when the cantatory tradition formed under the impact of Byzantine and Russian folk traditions. The folk-Church events of the XVI – XVII centuries contained the theatrical elements, which later on were incorporated by the professional musical theater. Until the XVIII century, theatrical performances were open only to royalty and upper class society. The first theatre in Russia was built in 1672 for the Tsar and received a name “The Comedy Mansion”. It staged operas on the Biblical themes. The first secular operas appeared in the second half of the XVIII century. In 1756, the Empress Elizabeth of Russia turned the theater into a state and public institution. Russian operas of that time mirrored the Western models to a large extent. The emergence of truly national operas is related to the name of M. I. Glinka (1804-1857). The conclusion is made that modern Opera borrowed the principles of nationalism and humanism from its precursors. The author draws parallels between the first operas, classical Russian Opera on the one hand, and modern Russian Opera on the other. Analysis is carried out on the origin of the plots and libretto of the operas. P. I. Tchaikovsky, M. P. Mussorgsky, A. P. Borodin, N. A. Rimsky-Korsakov, S. V. S. V. Rachmaninoff, S. S. Prokofiev, D. D. Shostakovich and others, same as the inventors of the opera, wrote their operas based on literary and historical storylines.

Abstract: This article explores the problems of Ukraine's integration into the European security system. Special attention is given to the questions of cooperation with the European Union, NATO and the OSCE that play an important role in promotion of security in the European continent. Emphasis is made on the analysis of the Ukrainian normative legal framework responsible for inclusion of Ukraine into the core structures of European security. Since 1991 to the present, all presidents of post-Soviet Ukraine from L. Kravchuk to V. Zelensky contributed considerably to the country’s integration into the European security system. With the development of relations with NATO, EU and OSCE, Ukraine sought to cooperate with the Eastern European countries within the framework of the key institutions of European security. Ukraine’s relations with certain Balkan states have experienced intense contradictions, for example dispute over the plan to liquidate Bolhradsky district in Odessa Region that was predominantly populated by ethnic Bulgarians. Since 2004, the territorial dispute between Ukraine and Romania pertaining to delimitation of continental shelf around the Snake Island has not been fully settled. The conflict between the two countries also aggravated due to the policy of reducing the Romanian-language educational establishments in Ukraine. Ukraine’s inclusion into the key structures of the European security is also impeded by Donbass armed conflict, the fact that the government of Ukraine does not recognize the Republic of Crimea's claim to sovereignty, as well as regularization of relations with the Russian Federation. The acquired results allow determining the motives underlying the foreign policy course of Ukraine that is aimed at its accession to the European Union and NATO, as well as the attempts to take its place within the European security system.