Abstract: The article includes a project of a research program. The main goal of the project is to study a socio-cultural mechanism, which guarantees the implementation of certain values and ideas, as accepted by a community, into various social and mental practices. The authors base their research on the concept of “away-and-back” by A.J. Toinbee, they aim to develop it at the current level of humanitarian knowledge, to make it more specific and clarified.

Keywords: leave-and-return, socio-cultural strategy, humanitarian knowledge, civilization, “classic” civilization, “borderline” civilization, value, ascetic practices, sub-systems of civilization system, syncretic type of creative person

Abstract: The article covers the views of British historians on the development of the protecting and offensive weapons in England and Scotland during the reign of the King Henry VIII.

Keywords: history, historiography, dating, the Middle Ages, knights, armor, knights armament, the “ram’s helmet”, a suit of armor, era of Henry VIII

Abstract: This article provides a cultural and ethnographic description of the Druze ethnic group. The author analyzes the demographic aspects, the present distribution of the Druze in the Middle East, cultural and religious grounds of Druzes’ ethnic identity, grounds of social cohesion between community members.

Keywords: cultural studies, the Druze, ethnic and cultural identity, ethno-confessional group, religion, the Druze religion, the Middle East, Israel, Lebanon, Syria, Jordan

Abstract: The article is devoted to the lives of the cavalry officers of the Russian army after the fall of the Russian statehood in 1917. The author views the history of the revival of the cavalry regiments in the White Armies during the Civil War, lives of the cavalry officers at the time of emigration, organizational and publishing activity of the foreign regiments of cavalry sabres. The article includes an attempt to evaluate the number of cavalry officers, who died at the time of the Civil War, as well as of the emigrant officers and the officers who stayed in Russia.

Keywords: history, cavalry, officers, the Civil War, emigration, revolution, regiment unions, hussars, dragoons, uhlans

Abstract: The article is devoted to the history of enaction of constitutional acts in Serbia during the time from the moment when its autonomy was recognized within the borders of the Ottoman Empire (1835) until the formation of the Kingdom of Serbs, Croatians and Slovenians (1918)/ During that time 5 constitutions were passed, and some of them were in force twice. The study, which was implemented within the framework of modernization and socio-cultural approaches, shows that the lack of constitutional stability was caused by the immaturity of the political culture and the weakness of social and economic basis of the young state. The ambitions of the political elite, aimed at the formation of an European constitutional order in a patriarchal Serbia, coupled with the acute inner political struggle, shaken the system of government, that is why the issue of enaction of a Constitution throughout the period.

Keywords: history, Serbia, Constitution, traditionalism, patriarchy, law, parliamentarism, democratization, modernization, liberalism

Abstract: The author of the article analyzes the issue on the formation of historical cognition (whether it is formed under the influence of history or persons’ idea of it), then she studies the factors, that influenced the formation of the “Polish” historical conscience of the author herself.

Keywords: history, cognition, narrative, culture, Poland, Russia, usual conscience, scientific conscience, over-individual memory, unique memory, mentality, markers of the Polish

Abstract: The article characterizes the interaction of rank-official and title-vicegerent characteristics of social and service positions of the boyar-and-prince aristocracy and nobility during the last decades of existence of the parochialism at the time of post-parochial structure of the Russian state and the state service. The analysis of title-vicegerent system shows a new facet of the position of the ruling elite at the time of the formation of the Russian absolutism. The conclusions are based on the analysis of books of vicegerent titles (Russian State Archives of Ancient Acts: Works and writings on the titles)

Keywords: history, the parochiality, position, title, rank, aristocracy, nobility, court, elite, power, service

Abstract: The article is devoted to the role of the extremist mass media in the orchestration and starting of the Rwanda genocide of 1994. The author analyzes the contents of the publication in the journal “Kanguru” and the radio programs of the “Evolution of title-vicegeral system in the second half of the XVII – early XVIII century”. The author shows the main topics and skills of the extremist propaganda, shows the main objects of information discrediting (tutsi, Rwanda patriotic front, moderate opposition, the UN peace-keepers). The author shows the links of the “Kanguru” and the OTHFRT with the organizations and the groupings of the leading regime of the president Habyarimana (militarily intelligence, the parties of the National Republican Movement for Democracy and Development and the Coalition for the Protection of the Republic, “Akazu”, AMASASU), the level of their influence on the Rwandan society. The author then comes to the conclusion that the extremist mass media controlled a considerable share of information space of the state and they actively facilitated the growth of inter-ethnical tensity, he also considers that the ideological preparations for the genocide took place in 1991–1994, it was conscious, consistent, aimed and large-scaled with growing intensity.

Keywords: history, genocide, Rwanda, mass media, “Kanguru”, “One Thousand Hills Free Radio and Television”, Tutsi, Hutu, Hutu 10 Commandments, Habyarimana

Abstract: The article includes the review of the speeches of Italian and Russian historians, who participated in the international conference, as organized by the Institute of Russian History of the Russian Academy of Sciences within the framework of the Year of Italian Language and Culture in Russia. The authors showed a wide specter of problems, which were discussed at the conference, paid special attention to the speeches, which were devoted to the insufficiently studied aspects of Russian-Italian relations in XV— XX centuries.

Keywords: history, Russian-Italian social, political and cultural ties, history of diplomacy, the Third Rome, the religious teachings, Empire, Decembrists, artists, Soviet cartoon, the 2nd World War

Abstract: this article deals with question of military innovations and mechanisms of military elites adaptation to technical changes. Based on the new for the Russian historiography sources and a wide range of literature, on example of France in 1920th the author reveals base factors that influenced the adaptation of military to a new means of war – a tank, offers a basic scheme of how military adapts to new technical realities, compares French tank doctrine of 1920th to the German “blitzkrieg”.

Keywords: history, history of mechanism, military doctrine, tank, mechanized war, strategic mobility, factor of military organization, “blitzkrieg”, adaptation to technical changes, sociocultural factor

Abstract: the article gives a comparative correlation of development problems of non-western societies of Indian writer and philosopher Rabindranath Tagore and Russian philosopher Semyon Ludvigovich Frank. Common vector that unites thoughts of both philosophers on the ways of development is denoted by author as a path to freedom. The values of compassion for people and the responsibility for social problems in realistic social and philosophical discourse of Tagore and Frank are found as indispensable imperative of work on improvement of social life. Both Indian and Russian philosophers in original form formulate modern thoughts of human and social development based on the human rights and freedoms, coordination of interests in social and economic sphere and solidarity in the acceptance of common social and cultural values.

Keywords: history, philosophy, India, Russia, Rabindranath Tagore, Semyon Frank, development, humanism, realism, utopianism

Abstract: the article views the employment relationship in the Soviet industry at the eve of the Great Patriotic War, that is in the situation, when the military mobilization problems had to be solved. The article analyzes the building of controlling system, based on repressions (including subjective aspects associated with the personality of I.V. Stalin and his confidants), notes that the power management model supplemented with appeals to duty and Soviet patriotism, played the role in military preparations of the USSR, and during the war turned into a powerful factor in resistance to aggressions.

Keywords: history, Russian history, social and economical history, employment relationships in industry, military industry, mobilization in industry, employment history, state labor reserves, socialist competition, labor and technological discipline

Abstract: The article contains detailed analysis of the monograph by I.G. Kovalev “The House of Lords in the XX century. The hundred years of reforms.”, which is a first monograph in the Russian science, which is devoted to the political struggle among the parties on the issue of modernization of the first chamber of the British Parliament. It is noted how topical this study is, and how the British experience may be used for the modernization of the Russian parliamentarism. The peculiarities of preparation and discussion of plans of reforms, their advantages and disadvantages. Much attention is paid to the parliamentary debates and political campaigns, which were organized by the leading political forces in Great Britain. It is also noted for which set of people this article may be of interest.

Keywords: history, Russian studies of England, Russian historiography, inter-disciplinary approach, reforms, parliamentarism, constitutional changes, party and political struggle, the House of Lords, XX century