Section I ventures deed into the History of Siberia. D. Belyanin studied archival reports made by Orthodox eparchs, or bishops, who had to visit distant dioceses to audit church documents, examine the state of church buildings, morally support the parish clergy, oppose schismatic heresy, convert Siberian tribes, etc. In the decade before the Revolution, they remarked upon the growing religious ignorance of rural parishioners, who could not recite a basic prayer and failed to formulate the canons of Christianity. From pre-Revolutionary religious issues, we then move on to industrial matters. A. Chupin examined the historiography of coal mining in Kuzbass during World War II. While the historians of the 1940s chose a more practical approach, publications made in the 1950s–1980s focused on the role of the Communist Party and Soviet government in that process. Post-Soviet historians, however, enjoyed unlimited access to declassified archival materials and started to develop a much wider range of topics, e.g., interaction between regional and central authorities, logistical support for Kuzbass mines, restructuring of the mining management, etc.

In this issue of SibScript, we are happy to publish some reports made at the International Conference on the Development of the Productive Forces of Kuzbass: History, Modernity, and Strategy (Kemerovo, November 17–23, 2023). For instance, A. Konov’s article describes the Soviet modernization of Siberian railways and introduces its definition as a fundamental technical and economic renewal of railway transport based on electrification, diesel locomotive traction, and new lines.

Section II describes various Sociocultural, Political, and Religious Practices in the Soviet and modern Russia. A. Ivanov traced the early history of Soviet philately, which could not maintain the high standards of communist idealism: the more the authorities tried to turn collecting stamps into a tool of ideology and socialization, the more economic markers of bourgeois values it demonstrated. Some authors study various historical narratives of Russian Far East. N. Potapova studied the work of the history department at Sakhalin State University in 1949–2024 against the background of turbulent social changes and daring reforms. The Bologna system had particularly negative effects on the historical and pedagogical university education on Russia’s Eastern frontier. However, it seems to be gaining its prestige back. O. Fedirko and S. Dudarenok periodized the activities of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints in the Far East: 1) from the earliest Mormon associations to the Federal Law on Freedom of Conscience and Religious Associations adopted in 1997; 2) the peak of Mormon faith popularity in 1997–2004 as a result of such policies as urbanism, openness, charity, and education.

Others choose to study the impact of Communism on daily life and the way Communism had to transform itself in the post-Soviet environment. G. Mayorov attempted at explaining the ideological transformations of the Communist party after the collapse of the USSR. The deep ideological crisis of the post-Perestroika brought about the national-patriotic ideas as communist leaders turned from internationalism to statehood and from atheism to religion, which inevitably eroded the Communist identity.

Section III of General History covers a wide range of historical issues, from the Middle Ages to the present day. V. Martynenko investigates the concept of Vikings, which started to associate with seafarers, violent attacks, and looting as late as in the VII–XI centuries, and only in the XIX century did it become an umbrella term for all Medieval Scandinavian nations. O. Kim reviewed the social development of Western Europe from the perspective of the early modernism with its concepts of transitional society, modernization, proto-industrialization, and world-system analysis. M. Kirchanov focused on Galician nationalism of the early XX century as a social, intellectual, political, and cultural movement. Galician intellectuals had a strong impact on the ideology of Galician nationalism, ethnic identity, language, and culture. E. Zharonkina and V. Krovyakov described the democratization of German society after World War II on the territories of Soviet influence. The anti-fascist Union of Free German Youth facilitated the ideological re-education of young Germans and catalyzed the national economic recovery. T. Cherkashina reported the relations between Great Britain and the European Union in the context of the so-called Global Britain policy conducted by the K. Starmer’s Labor government.

Section IV featured the International Relations in the Post-Bipolar World. D. Belashchenko, I. Shodzhonov, and E. Gudkova outlined Ukraine’s foreign policy in the Caspian region in the post-Soviet period: Ukraine could have become a link between the Caspian states and the rest of the world. However, it missed the opportunity due to the poor foreign policy as its government substituted the real state interests with ephemeral slogans about the European choice, allowing political expediency to prevail over long-term prospects. L. Igumnova examines the ideas that European leaders express about the current world order and the role of the European Union, with its failure to adapt to the changing conditions in 2023–2024. A. Tsymbalova and V. Sikirazh studied the indices that record national socio-economic and political resource potential: the neoliberal paradigm makes these ratings biased and lopsided.

SibScript thanks the authors who contributed to this issue and welcomes new authors who would like to report their achievements in the fields of archeology, national and world history, international relations, and historiography.