Introduction. The article is devoted to the subject of the colonial history of Africa, little-discussed in Russian historiography, – the attempt of the Belgians in the Congo to use elephants in the development of hard-to-reach areas, following the example of the British in India. For this purpose, a special elephant domestication station was founded at the end of the 19th century.

Materials and Methods. The source base for the study was L. Rankin's report on the expedition to the Congo in 1879-80, materials published in the Bulletin Agricole du Congo Belge in the 1910s (including report of the first head of the station, J.-H. Laplume), publications of Belgian officials and eyewitnesses who visited the station in the first half of the 20th century. Analysis. King Leopold II decided to use elephants to develop the colony, primarily where other working animals could not work due to rugged conditions. However, inasmuch the secret of domesticating African elephants was thought to be lost since Antiquity, the Belgians initially tried to import elephants and specialists from India; this experiment was carried out in 1879-80 and turned out to be unsuccessful. Scientists who supported the idea of replacing Indian elephants with African ones at the end of the 19th century referred to ancient Carthaginian and Ptolemaic practice as one of main arguments. Catching and taming of elephants started in 1900 on the special station that was located firstly in Api, then in Gangala na Bodio in north-eastern Congo. The first head of this station, J.-H. Laplume, couldn’t engage Indian experts and relied only on Africans, who were previously considered unsuitable for such work. Laplume, for various reasons, had to catch and tame only young animals, suffering losses and spending additional time on training them. However, by 1914 the experiment had proven its success. Congolese elephants were used as “living tractors” until the late 1940s, when it was officially declared unpractical. After this, the station with about a hundred elephants by the middle of the 20th century was transformed into a research facility. In this new capacity, it continued working in the independent Congo.

Results. The Belgian original method of elephant training was recognized to be milder than the Indian one, although Indian instructors who visited Api in 1920 made some modifications. The role of the station in protecting elephants was also noted, while at the end of the 19th century the Belgians were interested primarily only in ivory. The station workers had demonstrated that they could cope with their new work rather well. Finally, a Belgian experiment revived interest to ancient history, proving that African elephants can indeed be tamed “centuries after Carthage”.

Introduction. There is a gap in the scientific literature in the description of the history of the city of Pyatigorsk, which was the center of the North Caucasus Region (NCR) in 1934 – May 1937. Based on the prospect of expanding the city towards the Lermontov junction area, the first secretary of the regional committee of the CPSU(b), who recently headed the state security agencies of the NCR, together with his former subordinates, facilitated the construction of a large sports complex “Dynamo”. However, information about this object, which did not exist after the end of the Great Patriotic War, is missing in the local history literature.

Materials and methods. The study is based on the analysis of materials from the collections of the Pyatigorsk Museum of Local Lore, the State Archive of the Stavropol Krai, primarily regional periodicals of the period under review (newspapers “Severo-Kavkazskiy Bolshevik”, “Ordzhonikidzevskaya Pravda”, etc.). The study uses a systematic integrated approach, specific historical and comparative historical methods. Analysis. The analysis showed that Yefim Evdokimov, even after his appointment as the first secretary of the regional committee of the CPSU(b), continued to remain the unspoken head of the “North Caucasian team” of OGPU–NKVD workers who were in leadership positions in the Center, in different regions of the country, and naturally in the North Caucasus Region. The Dynamo Sports Complex named after E. G. Evdokimov was directly supervised by the regional security authorities, who ensured the construction of the facility in the shortest possible time.

Results. According to the results of the study, it can be concluded that the transfer of the regional center to Voroshilovsk (Stavropol) did not allow the implementation of the construction project of the Belaya Romashka district, of which the Dynamo stadium could become an integral part. This area, as noted above, remained an urban suburb until the end of the 1950s. Due to the fact that the region and the city were led by Soviet and Party leaders (Evdokimov, Pivovarov, etc.), repressed in the second half of the 1930s, the Dynamo sports complex in Pyatigorsk ceased to exist, and the name of its founder was forgotten.

Introduction. The article reveals the features of charitable activities of the Orthodox congregation in favor of their churches. This part of religious North Caucasian everyday life allows us to understand the peculiarities of the worldview of religious people, for whom contribution to the common good was an important moral need.

Materials and Methods. Based on an analysis of the activities of the Stavropol Spiritual Consistory, events related to the private charity of the congregation of the Caucasian diocese are identified. The main body of documents is concentrated in the State Archive of the Stavropol Krai, fund 135 Stavropol Spiritual Consistory. The descriptive method used allows us to get an idea of the motivations of the donors and show what the values donated to the Church were used for.

Analysis. The Caucasian diocese, established in 1843, experienced difficulties in organizing the process of caring for its flock. To a large extent, concern for the improvement of the temple, where parishioners came to church services, became the concern of the laity themselves. Attention is paid to the analysis of the circumstances under which the donation was made. An important point can be considered the control on the part of the church leadership over the targeted expenditure of funds received. Results. It is concluded that gifts were most often brought to decorate the temple, which was a sacred space for believers. Donations were a way of repentance and atonement for sins, a way to increase one’s authority in the eyes of society, because they became “symbolic capital” characterizing the godly virtues of a particular person. The church carefully monitored the observance of voluntariness in the act of the donor, and to confirm such a step, witnesses were often brought in from among the parishioners associated with the temple to which the donation was made.

Introduction. The article examines and analyzes the influence of external aspects on the development of social processes in Chechen society in the second half of the 19th century. According to the author, the main and leading role in the galvanization of the changes that took place in Chechen societies was played by the Russian Empire, which, having come to the North Caucasus and offered the local peoples its own development paradigm, contributed to the acceleration of intra-system transformations that had roots in the distant past. The traditional patriarchal way of life began to be tested due to the impact of socio-cultural and socio-economic innovations associated with the capitalist relations introduced in the region.

Materials and Methods. The study is based on an analytical comprehension of the works of famous domestic historians of the Caucasus, ethnographers and political economists devoted to the socio-political conditions of the development of the North Caucasus in the 17th – second half of the 19th centuries and was based on the principles of historicism, scientific objectivity and reliability. The appeal to the scientific work of specific researchers was determined by both the depth and comprehensiveness of their penetration into the essence of the problem under consideration, the integral and panoramic vision of the historical processes under study, and, in part, by the proximity of their ethno-national origin to the ethno-cultural world of the Chechen people.

Analysis. According to M.A. Mamakaev’s point of view, the role that the taip played in Chechen societies for a long historical time is beyond doubt. This consanguineous structure had great plasticity and was able to effectively respond to the demands of local societies, to respond to internal and external challenges. Based on the opinions shared by M.O. Kosvena, K.S. A.-K. Kokurkhaeva, A.I. Robakidze and R.L. Kharadze, the author came to the conclusion that the strength of the taip organization of the social life of the mountain Chechens was due to the age-old experience of the struggle for survival. It forced them to adhere to intra-ethnic solidarity, which to a large extent leveled the social class stratification inevitable in new historical circumstances. It is the external factor (Russia) that seems to have contributed to the preservation of traditional patriarchal norms for regulating life among the Chechens. Results. With account of the results of the study and V.I. Lenin’s point of view on the unfolding socio-economic processes in the region after the arrival of Russia, along with which the meanings and practices of capitalism began to penetrate the North Caucasus, it canbe stated that the traditional socio-cultural and economic structure of local life underwent a significant reformatting and was tied to the same processes that took place within the Russian Empire itself. They largely contributed to the pace and depth of renovationism after the elimination of competition from the mountain statehood – the imamate.

Introduction. The article examines the activities of the Yevpatoria underground organization during the Great Patriotic War. In Russian historiography, the underground of the Crimea, especially the city of Yevpatoria, remains a little-studied topic so far.

Materials and Methods. The article, based on previously unpublished sources from the funds of the State Archive of the Republic of Crimea (GARK), the archive of Sevastopol (AGS), the archive of Yevpatoria (MBU AGE), the Yevpatoria Museum of Local Lore (MBU ECM), debunks the myth of the insignificant contribution of the Yevpatorian patriots to the defeat of the German-Romanian occupiers of Crimea. The research was carried out on the basis of general scientific and special scientific methods. Using the comparative historical method, the author examines the establishment and activities of the Yevpatoria underground organization in 1942–1944 in the context of the key events of the Great Patriotic War. The methods of systemic and diachronic analysis make it possible to identify patterns and features of the activities of underground workers in Yevpatoria. The static method helps to investigate the size and composition of the Yevpatoria underground organization, to assess the damage it caused to the occupiers. The biographies of the leaders of the Yevpatoria underground are reconstructed using the biographical method: F. A. Pavlov, Ya. Tsypkin, M. D. Glushko, etc. The comparative method makes it possible to identify common and distinctive features in the strategy and tactics of the Yevpatorian underground fighters and the Crimean partisans.

Analysis. The article examines the reasons for the creation of the Yevpatoria underground organization, analyzes its composition, forms and methods of anti-fascist struggle. Based on a wide range of documents introduced into scientific circulation for the first time, the author not only shows the selfless feat and assistance of the Yevpatoria underground workers of the Red Army in liberating the city from invaders, but also notes mistakes and miscalculations in the actions of the underground patriotic organization. Results. Based on the results of the study, a conclusion is drawn about militant activity of the Yevpatoria underground organization in 1942-1944. The role of F. A. Pavlov and the Crimean Regional Committee of the CPSU (b) in the creation and activities of this organization was analyzed, its structure was studied, which included eight groups, among which the divisions of F. A. Pavlov, E. P. Rusina and A. S. Chepurny stood out. The errors and miscalculations made by F. A. Pavlov, the coordinator of the Yevpatoria underground, are outlined, the contribution of the underground sabotage group “Explosion”, which together with the A. S. Chepurny division set a course for an anti-fascist uprising in Yevpatoria, is considered. The contacts of underground activists with the command of the 4th Ukrainian Front, the preparation and organization of the uprising on April 11-13, 1944 are analyzed.

Introduction. The history of the Dodon Oracle has always attracted the attention of foreign researchers. It is reasoned with the inaccessibility of the sanctuary for pilgrims, its antiquity and mystery, as well as the bizarre landscape of the area attracted the attention of both ancient authors and modern researchers to it. The country of Epirus itself, where the sanctuary was located, was the most remote point where the Greek world came into contact with the world of barbarians.

Materials and Methods. The study is based both on narrative sources, which are presented by ancient authors, and on monuments of material culture, which are terracotta and votive tablets. Their comparison and comprehensive study allows us to reach the necessary conclusions.

Analysis. The main deity of the Dodona sanctuary, one of the oldest in Ancient Greece and the oracle that existed with it, was the supreme god of the Greeks Zeus, which is confirmed by various sources. However, already in the time of Homer, the goddess Dione became Zeus’s mate, who can be recognized as the second most important deity not only in Dodona, but also throughout Epirus. Evidence of this is the presence of a temple located on the sacred territory, as well as numerous votive tablets mentioning the name of the goddess. Confirming the presence of cults of other gods on the territory of Dodona is very problematic due to the extreme scarcity of sources. On the territory of the sacred territory, temenos, figurines and other images of Hercules, Aphrodite, Apollo and Themis were discovered. The most likely is the presence of the cult of Aphrodite, who, according to mythology, was not only the daughter of Dione, but also shared the same temple with her. The presence of the cult of Apollo could be explained by the connection of the deity with prophetic activity in general, and the appearance of the cult of Hercules in the sanctuary could be associated with the creation of the heroic genealogy of the Molossian ruling dynasty.

Results. The emergence of new cults in Dodona was associated with an increase in the authority of the sanctuary, which over time acquired first regional and then interregional significance. Another reason for the emergence of new cults in the sanctuary could be the increase in the number of pilgrims in this difficult-to-visit region.

Introduction. The state of the sanitary and epidemiological situation in the occupied and front-line territories during the Great Patriotic War often influenced the plans of the warring parties and the course of hostilities. The massive spread of such an acute infectious disease as cholera among Soviet military personnel and the civilian population during the battle for the Caucasus could change the course of one of the main battles of the war. However, there is little information about its outbreak in open sources, and until now they have not been closely examined by specialists.

Materials and Methods. The study is based on the analysis of documents from the funds of the central state archives, previously published archival materials, the results of previous scientific works that examine the situation in the adjacent territories, as well as research on this issue by specialists in the field of medicine. Analysis. The spread of cholera in the south of our country in the summer and autumn of 1942 posed a great threat to the Soviet troops defending the North Caucasus and to the local population. Due to the failure to take a number of necessary measures, the outbreak could not be controlled for quite a long time.

Results. It was possible to localize and then eliminate the cholera outbreak in the first ten days of October 1942 thanks to the adoption of a wide range of measures, strict monitoring of their implementation and the dedicated work of medical specialists. Subsequent offensive actions taken by Soviet troops became possible, including due to the improvement of the sanitary and epidemiological situation in the troops of the Transcaucasian Front.

Introduction. The article studies the reflections on the Slavic idea in Russian émigré political journalism in the 1920s.

Materials and Methods. The source base for the article are the journalistic works of a number of representatives of various ideological and political movements of the Russian postrevolutionary emigration: A.S. Izgoev, P.B. Struve, P.N. Milyukov, N.A. Firks, E.V. Spectorsky, A.L. Pogodin, V.I. Lebedev.

Analysis. The author examines the features of views among different trends of Russian socio-political thought on the Slavic world and interSlavic relations in the new political conditions that formed after the First World War. In particular, the results of the war included the subsequent processes of national-political reorganization of CentralEastern and South-Eastern Europe, as well as the revolutions that took place in Russia (1917) and Austria-Hungary (1918). These events and processes facilitated the reconsideration of previously established views on the Slavic idea, as well as the prospects for its application in political projects in the region.

Results. The discussions about the Slavic idea that arose in the Russian émigré environment touched upon important issues: the future of the Slavic world, the place and role of Russia among the Slavs, the Bolshevik factor and Slavism, the correlation between the forms of the Slavic idea and the national political projects of the young multi-ethnic states, primarily Czechoslovakia and the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes / Yugoslavia.

Introduction. The topicality of the study is related to clarifying the degree of influence of the ideas and practices of Frederick II the Great on Paul I in public policy, in particular in carrying out a number of reforms. Such research contributes to rethinking of the history of the Russian autocracy not only in the XVIII century, but also in the general history of Russia.

Materials and Methods. The research was conducted on the basis of a systematic approach, objectivity and historicism principles, and. In addition, general scientific methods of information analysis and synthesis, methods of deduction and induction, as well as the historical and comparative method were used.

Analysis. The influence of the Prussian King Frederick II is commonly associated with the military reform of Paul I and the introduction of Prussian orders into the Russian army. However, it seems that the experience of Prussia during the time of Frederick the Great was used in other transformations of Paul I, including judicial and legal reforms, since the Russian emperor considered the Prussian model of government relevant for Russia. Building a Prussian-style state required innovations in various fields; the worldview and political discourse of the XVIII century played an important role in their implementation. To identify the ideas and practices of Frederick II of Prussia in the judicial and legal field, original works in German were used, demonstrating the key provisions of the reform of the Prussian king. The judicial and legal reform of Paul I are reflected in a number of works by Russian historians, but they do not provide a detailed comparison of the aspects of reform in Prussia and Russia. The facts demonstrating the similarity of the ongoing transformations include the abolition of torture and corporal punishment, the restructuring and centralization of judicial administration, unification and the creation of new legislation.

Results. According to the results of the conducted research, it can be concluded that judicial and legal reforms were conditioned by the influence of Enlightened absolutism and were aimed at overcoming judicial arbitrariness and the implementation of humanistic ideas.

Introduction. The article analyzes a retrospective of the economic relations between Great Britain the Union of South Africa (since 1961 the Republic of South Africa) taking into account their socio-economic and politic development. The historical preconditions for the formation of political and socio-demographic conditions affecting the nature and direction of economic relations between the countries were investigated. The article shows the strength of the position of Britain in the South African Union. It was largely determined by the presence of large British-born white settler communities, which had a significant impact on economic, investment and financial policies of the country. The author comes to the conclusion about the status of the South Africa as one of the largest «global storage» of mineral and strategic raw materials. The presence and specificity of elements of the resource potential of the Union of South Africa, that are most significant for investments of British capital, have been revealed. The mutual interest of the United Kingdom (strengthening the position of the British capital) and South Africa (growth of the volumes and concentration of investments primarily in the mining and gold mining industry) in the development of economic relationshas been substantiated.

Materials and Methods. The main sources of the article were materials from economic reviews, statistical reference books and analytical information about activities of British companies investing in the economy of the South Africa. The article uses general scientific methods – analysis, comparison, and special methods – problem-chronological and historical-comparative.

Analysis. The article assesses the main directions, absolute volumes and profitability of British investments in the South African economy using the example of large corporations. The downward trend in the positions of the United Kingdom was tracked as the penetration of US capital into the economy of the Union of South Africa intensified. Result. In the 1950s and 1960s, despite the penetration of American capital into South Africa, the British economic orientation of the Union of South Africa dominated.

Introduction. The article discusses the representation of Siberia in the work of the French author Pierre LeroyBeaulieu “The Renewal of Asia: Siberia, China, Japan” (1900).

Materials and Methods. “The Renewal of Asia: Siberia, China, Japan” has not been translated into Russian and is being introduced into scientific circulation for the first time. It presents a positive image of Russia. Pierre Leroy-Beaulieu's paper is a serious work based on statistics, scientific research and personal observations that he made during his trips in Siberia. The work uses the methodological principles of the interdisciplinary scientific direction of imagology, as well as research approaches of spatial imperial history, which involves not only the study of the practices of space development, but also its representation.

Analysis. With the reference to specific examples the article examines how Pierre Leroy-Beaulieu constructed the space of the “new” Siberia. He associated the renewal of Siberia with the construction of the Trans-Siberian Railway, which he considered “the masterpiece of the century”. The author focused the reader’s attention on evidence of progress and urbanization, wrote about the potential of Siberia, but did not forget about the problems and obstacles to development. He destroyed the markers of mystery and danger of this territory and the image of Siberia with ”bad reputation” that existed in French discourse. The article examines how the author helped his readers to “imagine” the great spaces of Siberia. Comparing the space of Siberia with the space of North America, the author sought to make Siberia understandable to Europeans and mentally bring the space of Siberia closer. The image of Siberian cities in the work of Pierre Leroy-Beaulieu is studied. Attention is paid to the author's idea of the tolerance of Russians and their relationships with the native population. The article will also present facts from the biography of the author, who came from the well-known Leroy-Beaulieu family.

Results. The analysis of the source showed that in place of the old image of Siberia with a «bad» reputation, which did not correspond to the new realities of the late 19th – early 20th centuries, the image of a “new” Siberia was constructed in French discourse.

Introduction. The article examines the background, causes and initial stage of the Georgian-Ossetian conflict, tied to the aggressive and nationalistic policy of the authorities of the Georgian Democratic Republic during the period of independence - 1918-1921.

Materials and Methods. The analysis was carried out on f Russian, Georgian and Ossetian sources of various formats, including those of administrative nature and personal origin. First of all, it is necessary to highlight the memoirs and speeches of major political and military figures of the era in question N. Zhordania, V. Dzhugeli, G. Kvinitadze, F. Makharadze. By applying historicalcomparative and retrospective methods of scientific research, it was possible to construct a complete picture of what happened during the period under review.

Analysis. The Georgian dictatorship quickly led to an increase in anti-Georgian sentiment among the residents of South Ossetia and subsequent protests against Georgian authorities. While the latter classified the Ossetians as traitors and organized a punitive expedition of unprecedented cruelty and scope in 1920. The article tracks in detail the progress of the operation, the battles with the Ossetian rebels, and lists the repressive actions of the Georgian armed forces on the territory of South Ossetia, in particular, the People's Guard units led by the notorious leader Valiko Dzhugeli, who did not even interfere with the demonstrative killings of local Ossetians. Therefore, this expedition can be clearly assessed as ethnic cleansing, during which almost the entire population of South Ossetia was forced to flee through the mountains to the territory of North Ossetia.

Results. It was the tragic events of 1920 that became the basic stage in the periodization of the Georgian-Ossetian conflict, echoes of which we can see in the 21st century.

Introduction. In the context of the outbreak of the First World War and the involvement of Russia in military conflicts, the authorities are looking for additional sources of solving the problems that have arisen. The government involved local governments in carrying out state activities. Why did they even expand the competence of the zemstvo? The authorities began to involve cooperation in solving socio-economic problems. The experience of interaction between zemstvo and cooperation is of interest.

Мaterials and Methods. The study was prepared on the basis of an integrated approach, which made it possible, based on a combination of information from various sources, to analyze the activities of zemstvos and cooperative associations during the First World War. The application of the principles of historicism, objectivity, and comprehensiveness made it possible to analyze the problem under study, including in the regional aspect. The sources involved in the analysis were both published sources and previously unstudied archival documents, statistical materials, periodicals on the problems and history of the activities of local governments and the history of cooperative associations.

Analysis. The article examines the activities of zemstvo selfgovernment and cooperation of the Stavropol province during the First World War. The directions of work of zemstvos and cooperative associations are described. The process of development of the cooperative movement in the period under study is examined, the possibilities of cooperation in solving the problems of introducing management methods, providing the population with consumer goods, and reducing the level of social tension are analyzed.

Results. The study made a reasonable conclusion that during the First World War, zemstvo institutions and cooperative associations of the Stavropol province carried out fruitful activities and contributed to solving the most difficult wartime problems. Cooperators and zemstvos contributed to solving the problems of providing the population with essential goods, supplying the army, and providing assistance to the families of front-line soldiers. During the war, cooperative associations in the region managed to strengthen their positions, significantly expanding the network of their organizations.

Introduction. The reforming of the state structure in the early 90s of the XX century affected all spheres of social life in Russia, which largely determined the vector of further development of artistic culture. Artistic culture is the area that reflects and rethinks the transformational and crisis phenomena in any state. The relevance of the study is conditioned by the recognition of the state cultural policy as an integral part of the national security strategy of the Russian Federation. Undoubtedly, artistic life requires careful study in order to analyze the state cultural policy and the implementation of historical reality in the ethno-cultural component. The novelty of the study is that for the first time the problem revealing regional features of artistic culture is covered with the involvement of an array of archival documents and periodical press materials of North Ossetia. The reference to the relatively past period allows us to identify and formulate key problems, as well as tasks that are relevant in modern society for timely solution.

Materials and Methods. The article, based on archival documents and periodicals, examines the artistic life of the Republic of North Ossetia-Alania from 1991 to 2001 through the prism of regional specifics of all-Russian processes. Using retrospective and historical-comparative methods, the author has identified the main directions of the artistic life in the republic, as well as the key problems that hindered its qualitative development in the region.

Analysis. Historically, in different periods, state authorities have used artistic culture to form priority value and moral orientations. Cultural policy and artistic life in the USSR were characterised by the predominant influence of the public sector. With the collapse of the USSR the former mechanisms of regulation of cultural and other spheres of life were destroyed. The new Russian state faced with the task of creating and shaping renewed cultural, moral and ethical values both in the country as a whole and in multi-ethnic and multi-confessional regions. North Ossetia-Alania is a multi-ethnic republic, so the priority task in the sphere of culture was the need to preserve and develop the foundations of traditional cultural values. Artistic life as the functioning of the system of artistic culture, which includes various types of activities for the production, dissemination, assimilation of artistic values, is one of the key components in the formation of the modern Russian state and society.

Results. As a result of the study, the author came to the conclusion that the development of culture in the studied period had a spontaneous and contradictory character, and the artistic life was vulnerable in the conditions of socio-economic and political changes in the country.

Introduction. In the IV century BC in ancient Italy there were large-scale changes associated with the displacement of «centres of power», that was leading to major military clashes in various regions. One such episode was the struggle for Apulia between two new centres of power in the person of the Samnites and Romans. However, despite the historical significance of their confrontation, the researchers did not pay special attention to this topic, and within the framework of general works they overlooked the latest archaeological discoveries.

Materials and Methods. The research uses an integrated approach aimed at studying the interests of all involved sides in the context of the hierarchy of centres of power in the Apennine Peninsula. To analyse various aspects of the Roman-Samnite struggle the author uses both longknown written and numismatic sources and new archaeological data, previously not widely involved for the study of militarydiplomatic relations in ancient Italy.

Analysis. The long-term military confrontation in Apulia began as a result of Rome invasion into the exclusive sphere of Samnite influence in the Daunian lands after the conclusion of an alliance with the rebellious Arpi in 326 BC. During the most active period of the struggle in 323-317 BC the Romans were able to establish control over majority of the large settlements, such as Teanum and Canusium, as well as the strategically important Lucería. The Romans skilfully took advantage of the diplomatic and military miscalculations of the Samnites that, together with the creation of spheres of responsibility and colonies in northern Apulia allowed them, to firmly establish themselves in new territories. In subsequent years, all attempts by the Samnites to regain lost positions, primarily in Luceria, failed to achieve any significant success. While Rome continued to expand its strategic foothold in Apulia, until it suppressed the last strongholds of Samnite power in the region after the capture of Silvium in 306 BC and Venusia in 291 BC.

Results. The Roman-Samnite struggle in its primary basis was a consequence of the changing conditions of international relations in ancient Italy in the IV century BC. Both sides sought to establish control over the local centres of power in Apulia, but Rome eventually won the confrontation that opened it the way for expansion in southern Italy and deprived the Samnites of the opportunity to influence affairs in the region.

Introduction. The article studies a topical issue of forming a model of the relationship between the Bolsheviks and the Russian peasantry in the conditions of the economic and military-political crisis of the early 1920s. The issue under consideration acquires not only theoretical, but also pronounced practical significance. In the context of modern permanent reforms, the development of an optimal strategy for interaction between the state and society becomes an important task. The opportunity to turn to historical experience makes it possible to avoid repetition of confrontational scenarios, and on the other hand, to use proven experience in overcoming the crisis of relationships. The historiography of the issue is very extensive and has passed through four main stages in its development: the first – 1920s – 1930s, the second – 1930s the first half of the 1950s; the third – mid-1950s – 1980s and the fourth – the second half of the 1980s – to the present time, which is characterized by the dependence of researchers on the political situation prevailing in the country.

Materials and Methods. The research is based on new documentary sources contained in federal and regional archives, which allow us to study the process of forming the internal policy of the Bolsheviks in the agrarian region. The research uses retrospective, problem-chronological methods, as well as comparative-historical and systemic-structural approaches.

Analysis. Soviet Russia experienced a military and political crisis in the early 1920s. The logic and content of the internal policy of the RCP(b) was reduced to retaining power and suppressing the resistance of a part of the rural population that actively expressed their disagreement.

Results. In the course of the study, we came to the following conclusions that during the NEP period, the evolution of the Bolsheviks domestic policy towards the rural population depended on the results of food, land policy and elections to the soviets, but at the same time, elements of war communism were present in all spheres of social and economic life.

Introduction. The actualization of the processes of improving constitutional prescriptions in modern Russia necessitates the search for the theoretical foundations of constitutional reforms. The reason for writing the article was the anniversary date – the 30th anniversary of the adoption of the Constitution of the Russian Federation. Any anniversary is always an occasion to reflect, analyze, return to the times when everything began. As the purpose of the analysis of the evolution of Russian constitutionalism, it is possible to define a rethinking of approaches to models, methods and tools for changing the legal reality.

Materials and Methods. The transformation of the constitutional model of the state as a subject of scientific research in this work is based on the analysis of the transformations of the Constitution over three decades, the study of domestic experience in the legal regulation of public relations, the interpretation of constitutional provisions and institutions.

Analysis. The Constitution of the Russian Federation defines the structure and principles of the organization of public power, the rights and obligations of citizens and much more. However, despite its importance, the Constitution of the Russian Federation, as well as the basic laws of other countries, does not always correspond to the realities of life and needs constant updating and improvement.

Results. The article is devoted to the study of constitutional transformations in the aspect of retrospective and comparative legal analysis of some constitutional and legal institutions – federalism, public power, special attention is paid to the evolution of constitutional guarantees of the realization of human rights and freedoms.

Introduction. The main development priorities of the Eurasian Economic Union (hereinafter referred to as the EAEU, the Union), established in 2015, include the completion of work aimed at eliminating existing restrictions, unification of customs rules, revision of certain norms, including taking into account the existing international environmental agenda and the specifics of each state. The cooperation expansion of Russia with other EAEU states in the exploitation of natural resources makes interstate cooperation in the environmental sphere increasingly relevant. In the context of activation of certain areas of economic development and the transition to the functioning of a single market for goods, works and services, there is a need to improve legal mechanisms for cooperation in the environmental sphere, the need for a coordinated policy at the EAEU level. The merging of national markets for goods, works, services, capital and labor is interconnected with the development and implementation of policies and mechanisms of the green economy, which will contribute to the stability of socioeconomic development, while at the same time guaranteeing environmental protection.

Materials and Methods. Logical, induction, deduction, comparative legal analysis and synthesis, analogy, statistical and other methods of scientific cognition were used to analyze the areas of convergence and institutions of environmental policy in the national legislation of the EAEU member states and overcome existing problems. The authors conducted a comparative analysis of the general provisions of supranational legislation and acts of the member states of the Eurasian Economic Union, mediating the implementation of state environmental policy.

Analysis. The convergence of national environmental policy should be considered a starting point for cooperation between the EAEU member states in the field of green economy and the formation of an appropriate agenda for integration cooperation. The overwhelming number of scientists and experts agree with the lag of the EAEU both in the development of a green economy and green energy, and in the implementation of a coordinated environmental policy and legislation.

Results. Based on the results of the study, it can be concluded that the convergence of the environmental policies of the EAEU member states will contribute to the further development of integration, the removal of barriers, exemptions and restrictions in the regulation of environmental management and environmental protection. In order to bring together the environmental policies pursued by the EAEU member states, it is necessary to develop and adopt common supranational legislation that enshrines strategic goals and directions for the development of environmental management and environmental protection. The current legislative acts at the national level are based on a similar set of goals, objectives and directions of development, which opens up opportunities for their harmonization and unification. At the same time, priority should be given to environmental safety issues.

Introduction. The article studies the issue of assessing the effectiveness of modern domestic doctoral studies through the prism of the legal status of doctoral students and scientific consultants. Taking into account the critical role of doctoral studies in the training of researchers of the highest level of qualifications who have an academic degree of Doctor of Science, as well as the current regulations and the specifics of training in doctoral studies, the totality of rights, responsibilities and guarantees provided to doctoral students and scientific consultants requires consideration and critical assessment.

Materials and Methods. The use of methods of formal legal analysis, coupled with consideration of the positions of researchers on the issues of improving the system of state scientific certification, made it possible to identify a number of positions that require clarification in regulatory legal acts, or are not regulated at all, despite their high importance in creating conditions for the preparation of research in doctoral studies.

Analysis. The current regulation of material guarantees ensuring the activities of doctoral students and scientific consultants is considered, and the insufficiency and uncertainty regarding certain regulations in this matter is identified. The issue of the responsibility of a scientific consultant for the dishonest performance of their duties is also touched upon, the scope of which is currently determined by the parties independently, which is subject to motivated criticism. A separate aspect of providing conditions for the implementation of research work by doctoral students is the issue of providing them with long-term leave, which is currently covered only by general regulations tied to the ten-year experience of the relevant specialist, which has been criticized in the context of the need to reduce the average age of scientific and scientific-pedagogical personnel.

Results. The set of measures proposed by the author is aimed at increasing the efficiency of the doctoral education institute, which is an important element of the state scientific certification system, the potential of which is currently not revealed and requires development.

Introduction. The article discusses issues of interdisciplinary regulation of centralized digital currencies issued by central banks. Attention is paid to the public legal and fair principles of digital currency of the Central Bank.

Materials and Methods. The theoretical basis was formed by scientific publications of domestic and foreign authors on research issues. The study is based on the analysis of legal provisions of financial and civil legislation that determine the legal regime of the digital ruble. The formal legal method, as the main method of the research, made it possible to reveal the content of the intersectoral legal nature of digital currency.

Analysis. The issues of the legal nature of the Central Bank digital currency are explored. Close attention is paid to the provisions “On the Digital Ruble”, concentrated in the norms of public and private law. It is noted that the lack of a clear conceptual apparatus causes difficulties in the interpretation of basic categories. The dual legal nature of the digital ruble is substantiated. This duality is manifested in the fact that the digital ruble is an object of financial law, as a national digital currency issued by the Bank of Russia, on the other hand, the obligatory nature of the digital ruble, reflected in the provisions of private law and the Federal Law “On the National Payment System”.

Results. Central bank digital currencies (CBDCs) are being considered or are in the process of being implemented by many central banks around the world. Despite the importance and potential consequences of such dramatic changes in national currencies, many uncertainties remain.

Introduction. The relevance of the study lies primarily in the fact that the increasingly active appeal of the widest circles of users to the generation of texts of different genres, properties and volumes using the so-called LLM (Large Language Model) creates the need to study the actual linguistic capabilities of these generative models, including the need for linguistic research of the texts they generate. It is also important that a large number of specialists from different fields actively use the generative capabilities of linguistic neural networks for purely professional purposes, which means that the quality of generated texts has acquired the status of a production factor and directly affects success in professional activities, which also indicates the relevance of our research.

Materials and Methods. The texts of short stories were chosen as the object of study, since in a certain respect, such texts can be considered as archetypal structures that underlie texts of certain functional types (scripts, advertising texts and stories).

Analysis. This state of affairs requires studying the generated stories, including in the aspect of the representation of frame structures in it, since this will allow us to get an idea of how texts of this type are structured from the point of view of standard linguistic semantics, including syntactic semantics.

Results. It has been established that, despite all grammatical, structural-semantic and compositional adequacy, the texts of short stories generated in GigaChatPro, created by the network on a certain topic or according to a certain frame, may contain violations in global semantic organization, generated by both presuppositional-pragmatic violations and violations in text reference. Violations in the general functional pragmatics of the generated stories were also noted: pronounced edification and the length of sentences up to 5-7 words are characteristic of stories for children of primary school age, despite the fact that the themes of these stories initially do not correspond to their age interests.

Introduction. The paper provides a complex system analysis of sociolinguistic projects of the "Language Unit of the Year" type in various linguistic cultures. There are several studies related to the topic of sociolinguistic "Word of the Year" projects, which focus on the activation of lexical and thematic groups within the calendar year. The relevance of this study is based on the lack of scientific papers that provide a comprehensive understanding of socio-cultural projects aimed at identifying the mechanisms and priorities of linguistic reflection through other semantic units. The purpose of the study is to record projects initiated by different countries in the period from 1971, the launch of the first project in Germany, to the present, to identify regularities and notable differences. The novelty of the research lies in the consideration of these sociolinguistic projects in a broader scope of linguistic cultures and the analysis of various semiotic units reflecting the influence of extralinguistic processes on linguistic consciousness.

Materials and Methods. A critical analysis of databases and official pages of project sites was carried out, scientific publications and news articles of online publications were studied. The research used the methods of observation, comparison, generalization, analysis, synthesis and interpretation of data.

Analysis. The regularities and distinguishing features of the development of the "Word of the Year" projects in the media discourse are studied. The projects under the study are systematized by languages, countries, and periods of implementation, the venues for posting information about the projects are identified and the organizations implementing the projects as well as their goals pursued are discovered.

Results. The study has allowed us to record 71 projects of the "Language Unit of the Year" type, which have been carried out since the second half of the XX till the first decades of the XXI century in 29 countries of Europe, Asia, North and South America, Africa and Australia in 21 languages of the world. A meaningful change in the interest vector of the public, media actors and researchers towards other semiotic units, like gestures, hieroglyphs, numbers, emoji, and memes, has been revealed.

Introduction. The article studies the markers of polycode objectification of precedent phenomena in semiotically complicated texts. The purpose of the study is to characterize polyprecedence in polycode texts and identify markers of precedent phenomena. A set of research tasks are solved to achieve the goal: 1) analysis of precedence and polyprecedence categories; 2) description of semiotic forms of encoding precedent phenomena in polycode texts; 3) identification of combinations of interaction between markers of precedent phenomena within the text; 4) compilation of a nomenclature of thematic groups of relevant precedent phenomena of the Soviet era based on identified markers of polycode objectification.

Materials and Methods. Two hundred modern polycode texts in the “Soviet pin-up” style served the research material. They were selected from the Russian-language segment of the Internet. Each text includes a verbal and / or non-verbal marker of a precedent phenomenon related to the Soviet era or the USSR. The research methodology was based on the provisions of the theory of precedent and multimodal analysis of semiotically complicated texts, individual procedures of semiotic, discursive and structuralsemantic methods of analysis.

Analysis. The lingvosemiotic approach to the study of precedent markers is integrative, since it allows one to interpret not only verbalized precedents, but also the phenomena encoded by other semiotic systems (visual, auditory and other perceptual modes). Polyprecedence is not only a correlation with different source areas, but also multiple encoding by different semiotic codes of culturally specific connotations and references to precedent phenomena related to different thematic groups and modes of perception in one text. Markers of precedent phenomena can be represented by verbal or visual codes. By providing an allusive reference to a precedent phenomenon of any type, the verbal code is universal. The degree of manifestation of the marker varies from maximum – quotation, to allusion – an obvious hint, and then to reminiscence – an implicit reference to a precedent phenomenon. The visual code conveys images and elements, among which the representatives of precedence are directly images (graphic images, photographs, images of stereotypical situations preserved in collective consciousness) and their individual elements (composition, form, color scheme, etc.), graphic means, font etc. By analogy with verbal markers, visual ones also have different degrees of manifestation: the use of a prototype image without modifications, an allusion to the image (modified image) and reminiscence. Verbal and visual markers encode variable modes of perception. Perceptual modes are mediated by verbal and visual codes, as they are objectified with the help of verbal or visual markers. Based on the identified markers of polycode objectification, fifteen thematic groups of precedent phenomena of the Soviet era were compiled.

Results. The analysis carried out allows us to draw a conclusion about the polycode variability of markers of precedent phenomena and the varying degrees of their manifestation in the text.

Introduction. In line with the anthropocentric approach, the desire to create a model of an individual linguistic worldview becomes possible thanks to concepts as basic structures for accumulating knowledge about the world. Such a result can be achieved by studying the children's language picture of the world, which will explain the structure of the language picture of the adult world, and not vice versa, as it seemed before.

Materials and Methods. The research is based on the analysis of texts of a junior schoolboy using methods of observation, comparison, generalization of analysis and synthesis, interpretation of the data obtained empirically.

Analysis. The works of Russian researchers describe fragments of the linguistic picture of the world of people of different professions who speak different languages. This article presents the author's point of view on the model of a fragment of the children's language picture of the world of a junior schoolboy. Predicates denoting mental activity as one of the numerous and leading groups of verbs in speech at this age are taken as a nuclear sphere of analysis. The principles of the dynamics of the image of the world, reflected in the language of the child, are revealed. The ontological principle is that the assimilation of the native language occurs through the assimilation of various models of structural schemes of sentences and their variants. The cognitive principle – proposition is a special stacked structure of knowledge storage, which is implemented and fixed by the structural scheme of the sentence. The communicative principle – speech acts expressed by the structural scheme of the sentence, implement the intentions of a native speaker. Thus, the structural schemes of sentences are the signifiers of syntactic concepts, and intentions and propositions are their signified. In a word, the syntactically represented concept controls the content of the sentence's structural scheme and the type of speech act, highlighting its individual cognitive features.

Results. We have studied the connections of the cognitive basis of the concept with semantics and pragmatics, cause-and-effect relationships of actualization of ideas about mental activity by a younger student. Thus, the principles of the dynamics of the linguistic picture of the world form an initial position of objective reality conceptualization.

Introduction. The dominant illocutionary goal of institutional advertising discourse is to exercise a suggestive (implicit) influence on a wide range of recipients. An urgent task of modern discourse is to determine a basic list of speech act alternations to ensure the perlocutionary effect necessary for the producer. Identifying their functional and pragmatic potential will make it possible to develop specific recommendations for achieving the initial operational goals of advertising.

Materials and Methods. The main techniques of discourse-modus analysis allow analyzing the correlation of the formal explication of the addressee’s voluntary space and, based on consideration of conventionalization markers as the focal mechanism for promoting the author’s intentions into the general space of relevance, to form a list of the most effective descriptive speech acts.

Analysis. There is a shortage of adequate terminological tools that allow precise nomination of the type and kind of speech act alternation in systemic analysis of the functional pragmatics of variable speech acts in advertising communication. Based on the contamination of various criteria features, the author’s classification was created, taking into account the illocutionary-semantic correlations of the utterance as a whole, the type and strength of the illocutionary function, the recipient’s focus and the initial prediction of the stimulus-reactive action in objective reality.

Results. Meta-realization of the illocutionary goal in advertising communication is carried out within the framework of verbal conventionalization based on the use of commissives, expositives, and permissives; with verbal representation in the phatic-regulatory aspect through satisfactives, regulatives; in the process of discursive dialogization with the help of requests, invitives, injunctives, instructions and suggestions; in discursive reflection in narratives, argumentatives, descriptives and constatives. Direct instructions, instructions and suggestions, which demonstrate low frequency in institutional advertising discourse, have the greatest potential for message performatization. The degree of suggestive influence corresponding to the dominant illocutionary goal demonstrates an inverse relationship with the intensity and frequency of speech act alternations in the text.