DOI: 10.7256/2409-868X.2015.1.13803

Abstract: The subject of the research is the prospects of using modern digital technologies for solving theoretical, methodological and practical issues of studying Russian history of the late XXth - early XXIst centuries. The author of the article examines different challenges caused by the insufficient number of exploratory theories, contradictions in the databases, general crisis of theoretical grounds of history and etc. The author demonstrates opportunities of digital technologies to increase the quality of history researches of the recent past. Special attetion is paid to the questions of interpretability of results of quantitative researches. To achieve the research objectives, the author has applied the methods of the information theory, systems theory, analysis, synthesis, systematisation, comparative-historical, logical and other scientific methods. The main conclusion made by the author is that it would be certainly useful to create major information analytical platforms and digital research infrastructure in general to develop interdisciplinary researches in the field of history of modern Russia and improve scientific attitudes to that historical period. The author also defines the objective and subjective factors influencing the quality of researches in the field of Russian history of the late XXth - early XXIst centuries. For the first time in the academic literature the author points out the need for an 'impact-oriented' approach when developing and implementing resource intensive projects. 

DOI: 10.7256/2409-868X.2015.1.13750

Abstract: Researches of Russian history of the 'epoch of changes' are rather difficult as a result of insufficient theory and methodology as well as paradoxical features of the database which is insufficient, having many gaps and at the same time excessive. Taking into account that the breakdown of the USSR and development of a new Russian state were the key processes of that period, one of the most important sources of information about those events are official documents of state authorities. The subject of the present research is the analysis and evaluation of Russian and foreign official Internet archive resources as a source for studying history of the Russian statehood of the late XXth - early XXIst centuries. To achieve the research objectives the author has applied the systems, comparative-historical, comparative-legal, structural-functional approaches and methods of induction, formalisation, systematisation and other analytical methods. The author has analyzed the largest Russian Internet archives as well as a number of foreign resources containing original digital documents on history of the USSR and Russia of the late XXth - early XXIst centuries and concludes that these digital resources have a great potential and high scientific value as a source of original historical information. 

DOI: 10.7256/2409-868X.2015.1.13999

Abstract: The subject of the present article is the coat of arms and the flag of the Republic of Belarus, their history and geopolitical interpretation. The history of Belarus and domestic policy processes ongoing in the Republic of Belarus are reflected in the symbols of the contemporary coat of arms and flag of Belarus. According to the author of the article, Belarusian heraldry has managed to combine both the pre-revolutionary experience and the experience of the Soviet heraldic science. The author of the article examines the coat of arms of the Republic of Belarus in terms of the basics of heraldry and Soviet heritage of symbols. During the Soviet Union heraldry was forgotten as a science and that is why the coats of arms of the Soviet republics including Belarus were just signs but not actual coats of arms. In the post-Soviet times some CIS countries decided to create new coats of arms explaining that their coats of arms had no actual historical basis while other countries started to change Soviet coats of arms and make them to be symbols of independent states. In this research Zagoruyko has applied the historical approach that allows to describe geopolitical phenomena and political allies of the Republic of Belarus. The historical comparative method and the historical genetic method applied demonstrate that it is possible for a new state to  adopt the old symbols. The above mentioned methods have allowed to define the main points of the research. The main conclusion of the research is that the coat of arms of Belarus flows organically from the coat of arms of the Byelorussian Soviet Socialist Republic despite the fact that the Republic can actually create a new coat of arms based on the coats of arms of the pre-Soviet period. However, the author admits that it was right of the Republic to refuse from using the 'Pahonia' coat of arms that was the symbol of the the Grand Duchy of Lithuania and therefore had a different ideology. According to the author, the flag of Belarus is a interesting example of the country's identity. Even though the contemporary coat of arms does not correspond to a number of heraldry rules and needs to be improved, heraldry of Belarus has a quite structured and traditional nature. 

DOI: 10.7256/2409-868X.2015.1.13844

Abstract: The subject of the present research is the Tambov Regional Body of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union in 1985 - 1991. The object of the research is the social and political activity of Tambov regional strutures of the Communist Party during the above mentioned period. The author examines the social structure and changes in the number of communists of that region. Smoleev describes the main reasons of the crisis of the party and why its influence and positions were weakened at the final stage of perestroika. The author also provides an analysis of confrontations between the regional party government and local informal organizations and later - regional departments of opposing parties. The situation with the regional organization of the Communist Party is viewed in terms of the social and economic situation in the Tambov Region. The research is based on the principles of objectivity, historicism and critical interpreation of sources. The author tries to stay objective when studying the topic. Such a scientific analysis of the activity of Tambov Regional Body of the Communist Party is performed for the first time in the academic literature. The main conclusion of the research is that the crisis of the party was a result of many factors including difficult economic and social situation in the region, contradictions inside the party, growing political reforms eliminating the status of the Communist Party as a ruling party and movement towards parliamentary system and multiplicity of parties. Members of informal social organizations and opposing parties also made a great contribution to that. 

DOI: 10.7256/2409-868X.2015.1.13959

Abstract: The purpose of the present article is to define the place of protection of state religion in the domestic policy of different countries since ancient times till the early middle ages, in particular, in the Roman Empire, Ancient Judea and early medieval kingdoms: Frankish Kingship, Ostrogothic Kingdom, Kingdom of Burgundy, Kingdom of the Lombards, etc. The subject of the research is the religious crimes (violation of sacred places, violation of sacred times, idolatry, blasphemy, bewitchery, perjury, defiling of graves and dead bodies, heresy) and their dependence on and relation to different factors of social and political life of those times. In their research the authors have applied the following methods: dialectical method as a general philosophical method, general scientific methods such as systems analysis, synthesis, deduction and induction and particular legal methods such as methods of comparative law, historical law, legalistic method and others. The main conclusion of the research is that protection of state religion was an important function of government both in the early middle ages and ancient times. That policy allowed to ensure the domestic security and keep the ideological integration of the society. 

DOI: 10.7256/2409-868X.2015.1.13968

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. 

DOI: 10.7256/2409-868X.2015.1.13787

Abstract: The article is generally devoted to the guarantees of consistent execution of law by the representatives of the 'prosecutor's position' in the Governorate of the former Duke of Courland and the Governorate of the Princess Anna of Brunswick-Lüneburg. The subject of the research is the regular patterns of changing the government in the Russian Empire, determination of the places of the  'Governorate of the Former Duke of Courland' and the 'Governorate of the Princess Anna of Brunswick-Lüneburg' in the system of government of the Russian Empire, guarantees of consistent execution of legislation in the Russian Empire, the priority of prosecutor's position in guaranteeing consistent execution of law, the list of public offices and official positions there, the role of particular public offices and officials in guaranteeing consistent execution of law in the Russian Empire, prosecutor's relations to other officials (fiscals, master of requests, etc.). The historical-legal and comparative-legal methods of research used have allowed the author to descibe the legalization system of the Russian Empire and make conclusions based on this analysis. Taking into account that the 'Governorate of the Former Duke of Courland' and the 'Governorate of the Princess Anna of Brunswick-Lüneburg' were the elements of the system of governmet of the Russian Empire, it is possible to make an assumption that monarchy is the best form of government for Russia, i.e. the form of government when the government is controlled by one single person having so called 'supreme' power. If the governor has got the charisma and perfect moral standards, he or she can actually make Russia a powerful state. 

DOI: 10.7256/2409-868X.2015.1.13879

Abstract: This article is devoted to the activity of law enforcing authorities of the USSR before the war and their measures aimed at protection and promotion of socialist property. The author of the article analyzes the legal acts and rules of that period as well as archive materials (including the materials that have been first introduced by the author) in order to describe the main legal provisions forming the legal basis for the activity of NKVD of the USSR, Prosecution Office and the court. In this research the author raises questions whether particular methods of political repressions actually answered the realities of that period and whether the law enforcement activity grew more efficient in the 1930s. The methodological basis of the research involves the main principles of research, i.e. historicism and objectivity. The author tries to analyze as many historical and legal sources as possible and make particular conclusions based on that analysis as well as to stay away from his own ideological preferences and beliefs when analyzing the phenomena and processes under study. The scientific novelty of the research is caused by the fact that the author reveals a number of archive materials that have never been studied before and conducts a comparative legal analysis of legal acts and standards regulating one of the main directions of the activity of state security bodies, NKVD of the USSR, in the 1930s. 

DOI: 10.7256/2409-868X.2015.1.13891

Abstract: The subject of the present research is the prerequisites for creation of the authorities of Judicial Department under the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation and organizational support of court's activities of general jurisdiction. The author of the article also pays attention to the continuity of the Soviet experience in organizational support of the judicial system that had been performed by executive authorites represented by the Ministry of Justice and its local authorities in the Soviet Union and in modern Russia till 1998. The author of the article also shows the novelty of the system caused by the fact that the system of authorities of the Judicial Department is not absolutely independent but perform its functions in close interaction and under the control of the bodies of the community of judges. Development of the Judicial Department under the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation is viewed as a complex many-sided process happening under the influence of socio-economic peculiarities and particular political situation of the 1990s. The author of the article has chosen the methodological approaches that, in his opinion, allow to reveal the matter under study in the best way. All these approaches are used in their combination without giving a priority to a particular approach. These methods include dialectical and dialectical-materialistic approach, systems-structural approach, historical-situational approach and others. The scientific novelty of the article is caused by the problem statement and the fact that the goals and objectives set by the author in this research have not been solved by the Russian legal science yet. In addition to studying historical and legal aspects of the problem, the author also pays much attention to the theoretical concepts and framework relted to organizational support of the court's activities. The author also tries to examine the process of the development of agencies and bodies of the Judicial Department by applying the integrated methodological approah and classify the main directions of their activities. The author focuses on the historical and legal nature of the development of Judicial Department under the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation and arbitration courts as well as the way of their establishment, their structure, functions, competences and activity arrangement. 

DOI: 10.7256/2409-868X.2015.1.14032

Abstract: The article is devoted to Yu. V. Balakshin's book "The brotherhood of adherents of church renovation (group of "32" Petersburg priests, 1903–1907): Documentary history and cultural environment'. This book is devoted to history and activity of a so-called group of "32" St. Petersburg priests – a bright phenomenon of the Russian church and public life at the beginning of the XX century. The author of the article establishes the reasons of origin of renovationism as a movement at the beginning of the XX century, considers its organizational and ideological evolution till 1907. Correspondence of one of leaders of group of the 32 priests of K. M. Aggeev with professor of the Kiev spiritual academy P. P. Kudryavtsev which represents an important source for studying of the Russian religious social thought of the beginning of the XX century is for the first time published in the supplement to research. Unlike the predecessors addressing to this subject, Yu. V. Balakshina uses the contextual analysis which considers features and influence of the sociocultural environment in which renovationism was formed. At the same time she emphasizes importance of a combination of a descriptive method and theorizing which reflection has to be provided with reconsideration known and search of new historical sources. Thanks to such "integrated" approach of Yu. V. Balakshin it was succeeded to show that the renovation movement 1905 – 1907, this large phenomenon of religious and cultural life of Russia the beginnings of the XX century. It is one of the first attempts of overcoming of the split between the church and society caused by processes of the new European culture.

DOI: 10.7256/2409-868X.2015.1.13820

Abstract: The subject of the present research is the contemporary Russian and foreign experience in the development of the digital research infrastructure in the field of social studies and humanities including history. Internet Revolution and the transfer to the 'information society' have drastically changed not only the place and role of information and communication technologies in science and everyday life but even our image of possible forms of scientific researches. Special attention is paid to the encouragement of creation of sustainable scientific 'ecosystems' based on digital research infrastructures and deliberate support of the processes of self-organization of the research community. To achieve the objectives of the research the author has applied the methods of analysis, synthesis, data systematisation, comparative-historical, systems, structural and other scientific methods. The author makes a conclusion that the digital infrastructure of socio-humanitarian researches in the Russian Federation is quite behind such infrastructures of the global and European levels. One of the reasons for that is the opinion that the research infrastructure should be represented only by the centers of collectively used scientific equipment and unique researches in the field of natural sciences. In addition, a serious obstacle for the development of the digital research infrastructure in our country in social humanities is that digital technologies are usually excluded from the priorities of the state science advancement policy. The author provides a review of the Russian Internet resources (2000 - 2014) that can be important elements of the Russian digital infrastructure in the field of history. 

DOI: 10.7256/2409-868X.2015.1.14046

Abstract: Object of research is genesis and essence of state and legal ideology of conservative revolution in Western Europe of the first half of the XX century. As object of research development of conservative legal ideology of Western Europe acts. In work such aspects as essence of ideology of "conservative revolution", its main lines and features of political views of O. Spengler as representative of this ideology are affected. In research the issue of a ratio of conservatism and socialism, their mutual influence at each other is touched. Special attention is paid at O. Shpegler's views of the Russian civilization. As methodological installation the traditionalism assuming the analysis of modern political and legal institutes on the basis of immersion in traditional representations is used. and among methods - historical, a method of the analysis of primary sources, the genesis and essence of conservative revolution allowing to establish as currents of thought. The main conclusions of research is the following:1. Certainly, classical conservatism isn't identical revolutionary conservatism as never I called for radical restoration of old traditions and merge to socialist doctrines. The ideology of "conservative revolution" is absolutely special current within the European conservatism – the course of action, active opposition to a modernist style and reorganization of the European societies on a traditional harmony.2. the combination of achievements of conservatism to socialism meaning search of harmony between traditional outlook and anti-capitalist installations of socialism: planned and adjustable economy, solidarizm, cult of work and service, transformation of a private property into social function, apologia of officials and authoritative methods of management and elimination of market institutes, fight against bourgeois values (cult of a profit, money, capital) and culture of free trade. Scientific novelty of research consists in definition of the reasons, essence of ideology of conservative revolution through a prism of creativity of O. Spengler.