The Kuznetsk Basin has been a major source of coal and gold for many decades. The author studied the dynamic correlation between gold mining and coal mining throughout the history of Kuzbass to determine when coal mining became the leading industry in the local economy. The research relied on historical documents from the State Archives of the Tomsk Region, as well as on reports published by various mining companies.

The study traced the main forms of natural resource exploitation in the Kuznetsk Basin. In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, the mineral extraction sector was divided between individual miners, private companies, and the Cabinet of His Imperial Majesty (Imperial property management office). The latter leased Kuznetsk sites to private organizations. The author calculated the volumes of mined coal and gold, and established their cost during the specified period. Coal mining became the leading industry in the Kuznetsk Basin on the eve of the First World War, when the value of extracted coal exceeded that of gold several times over. 

The first settlers from the Caucasian region appeared in the Tomsk area in the early 19th century. This minor wave of migration remains understudied by researchers of Russian colonization in Siberia. Caucasian settlers altered the demographic landscape and played an important role in the development of the Tomsk Province. They increased the number of Russian villages in the region and significantly expanded the arable lands. This article highlights the resettlement of small-scale farmers from the Caucasus to the Tomsk Province in 1800–1808. It examines the causes behind the migration, its progress, the timeframe, and the new settlements founded by the newcomers. A comparative analysis of various sources made it possible to compile personal data for most migrant families, as well as to trace their routes from Caucasus Province to both newly founded and oldtimers’ Russian villages in the Kiya River valley. In addition, archival documents enabled the author to assess the role of central and local authorities in the resettlement process.

The Russian Medical Academy of Continuous Professional Education of the Ministry of Health of the Russian Federation started as the Central Institute for Advanced Medical Education. This article traces its history in the 1930s, when it was an All-Union flagship research and educational center. This historiographical study is the first to reveal the key scientific and pedagogical objectives the Institute pursued in the 1930s. It relies on documents from the Russian State Archive of Scientific and Technical Documentation and the Archive of the Russian Medical Academy of Continuous Professional Education. The Institute organized and delivered advanced training courses for physicians, including postgraduate programs, internships, and clinical residencies. Apart from pedagogical activities, the faculty conducted important scientific research in various fields of medicine. The combination of teaching and research with medical practice allowed the Institute to acquire invaluable experience, which proved crucial during the Great Patriotic War of 1941–1945 and the postwar period.

The legalists were liberal reformist jurists, legal scholars, and progressive bureaucrats in the Russian Empire. This historiographical research identifies their political role, drawing on extensive historical, philosophical, and legal literature. The movement emerged under the influence of the Great Reforms, primarily the Judicial Reform. It united legal professionals who supported the idea of a constitutional monarchy and liberal ideology. They advocated the theory of human rights, the rule of law, the legal order, and constitutionalism. While liberal theorists receive substantial scholarly attention, the legal dimension of their work is often overlooked. Contemporaries were aware of these "people of the legal order", as they called themselves, but the liberal legalists were largely forgotten after the Russian Revolution of 1917. Modern historians have been slow to recognize the legalist movement in Russia. First, they established the role of lawyers in the imperial liberation movement, and subsequently identified elements of their ideology and organization. In the early 21st century, the scholarly community finally came close to uncovering the legalist movement as a socio-political phenomenon that exerted a significant ideological influence on liberalism in Russia. This research utilizes a wide range of historical sources and contemporary studies to compare different perspectives on the essence and development of the legalist movement in the Russian Empire.

The analysis covered frontline letters written during the Great Patriotic War and preserved in Uzbekistan’s archives. The correspondence reflects the emotional and psychological state of soldiers while serving as vital evidence of the selfless support provided by the population of Uzbekistan to the war effort. The article focuses on the Uzbek contribution to the USSR Defense Fund. Established in August 1941, the fund was replenished through voluntary donations, including cash, bonds, material valuables, and personal savings. Labor collectives and trade unions donated wages and organized voluntary labor days, with railway workers being especially active participants in this movement. The analysis of frontline correspondence revealed a high level of patriotism, civic initiative, and social cohesion. Despite economic hardship aggravated by food and fuel shortages, the population demonstrated resilience, dedication, and humanity. In addition to capturing everyday life and emotional experiences, the letters also documented various forms of interaction between the military front and the home front, making them a valuable wartime information source. The article enriches national historiography by shedding light on the lesser-studied aspects of Uzbekistani participation in the war and highlights the importance of frontline letters as a source for reconstructing the social history of Uzbekistan during World War II.

Despite the trade and mutual assistance between the USSR and Mongolia during World War II, this topic remains understudied. However, Russian-Mongolian cooperation is a relevant issue against the background of current global challenges. The article describes the role of the city of Biysk as a strategic trade point and its branch of the All-Union State Office for Livestock Import (Skotoimport) in 1941–1945. It also focuses on the personality of Borondongiin Luvsan, a legendary Mongolian camel caravan leader. The study relied on the archive of the Biysk city administration and the archive of the Republic of Altai, as well as on various historiographical publications and monographs. Biysk, where the railway leading to the Chuya Highway began, played a crucial role in the partial processing and further transportation of goods from Mongolia. Its branch of the Skotoimport agency was essential to the cooperation between the USSR and Mongolia, providing assistance in transporting people and cargo to Biysk. The Biysk meat processing plant was an important stakeholder in this wartime cooperation. Mongolia was involved in the All-Union movement "Everything for the Front, Everything for Victory!" and expanded its cooperation throughout the war. The research revealed a lack of archival documents concerning the caravan of 1,200 camels that arrived in Biysk in the winter of 1943.

The article examines the fates of 109 Red Army soldiers and officers from the Kemerovo Region who fought in the Great Patriotic War of 1941–1945. Despite being nominated for the title of Hero of the Soviet Union or the Gold Star medal for their courage against Nazi invaders in Europe and Japanese militarists in the Far East, these individuals never received the awards. Dedicated to the 80th anniversary of the Victory over fascism, the study employs problem-chronological, analytical, and synthesis methods to uncover the reasons for withholding these honors.

Novorossiysk is among the ten cities in European Russia that suffered the most from military action during the Great Patriotic War of 1941–1945. The authors analyzed the scale of wartime architectural loss in Novorossiysk by using materials from central and regional archives, city plans, wartime aerial photographs, online auctions, and private collections dating from the pre-revolutionary to the post-war periods. These materials made it possible to evaluate the damage to the city during the Nazi occupation and subsequent liberation. The article describes the pre-war state of architectural monuments that were completely or partially destroyed, restored, or demolished, such as the Eagle House, the Theater, the Buffet, and the Public Assembly. Some surviving pre-war architectural heritage should be turned into museums to prevent its further deterioration, while other structures could be restored to their original architectural design. The authors also analyzed post-war attempts by city authorities to restore certain architectural monuments. Unfortunately, part of the cultural heritage was irretrievably lost as a result of poor management decisions by local and regional governments.

The financial aspect of Soviet film distribution remains understudied as most cinema studies focus primarily on art history and culture. This article examines the economics of film distribution in the city of Leningrad during the Great Patriotic War of 1941–1945. It focuses not only on the ideological and patriotic goals of film distribution policy, but also on its profit-driven economic objectives. By tracing the development of film distribution enterprises, the author identifies the quantitative and financial outcomes of their activities, the key economic processes of wartime Leningrad cinema, the financial trajectory of cinema operations, and the evolution of capital investment and taxation policies. The analysis reveals several distinct stages in the economic development of Leningrad film distribution from 1941 to 1945, as well as its shifting contribution to the city budget. The scale of Leningrad cinema operations directly correlated with their share of budget revenue. In 1944–1945, the role of film distribution in replenishing Leningrad’s budget revenues increased significantly; the nominal amount of the film tax and its share in the city budget exceeded pre-war levels.

The Anglo-Boer War (1899–1902) garnered significant sympathy in Russia for the Boers. Russia participated in the joint diplomatic pressure on Great Britain between late 1899 and early 1900, which failed because the European continental powers could not reach an agreement and Britain refused foreign mediation. Unlike other Great Powers that ceased their initiatives after initial setbacks, Russian diplomacy continued its peace efforts into the second year of the war, 1901. This article describes Russia’s peacekeeping policy aimed at ending the Anglo-Boer conflict during this period. Nicholas II was concerned about civilian casualties; in his opinion, the conflict had turned into a war of annihilation. In addition, he attempted to implement the principles of international law that had been defined at the Hague Conference of 1899, which was initiated by Russia. Nicholas II believed that the Great Powers were obliged to exert a "friendly influence" on Britain to make it comply with the laws and customs of organized warfare. Throughout 1901, Russian diplomacy made proposals for collective assistance to end the Anglo-Boer War. Nicholas II sent a personal message to the British King, Edward VII, and the Russian Foreign Ministry encouraged the other powers to jointly offer good offices or mediation, including supporting the Boers’ appeal to the Permanent Court of Arbitration. These efforts also failed due to British resolve and a lack of support from other powers. Newly discovered archival documents reveal that Russian diplomacy in 1901 was driven more by humanitarian concerns and Nicholas II’s personal conviction than by traditional foreign policy. This motivation distinguished Russia’s actions from those of other powers during the final phase of the Anglo-Boer War.

Interethnic relations and imperial nationalities policies within the Habsburg Empire remain a vibrant field of historical research. This is particularly true regarding the Slavic migration to Vienna and its subsequent integration into Austrian society during the late 19th and early 20th centuries, a period when Czechs constituted the city’s largest national minority. This article examines the Czech-directed policies of Karl Lueger during his tenure as mayor of Vienna from 1897 to 1910. Utilizing systematic, historical, analytical, and comparative methods to evaluate the contemporary press and municipal documents, the author delineates the relationship between Lueger and the Czech community within the framework of his agenda to preserve Vienna’s "German spirit". While Lueger, a consummate populist who masterfully capitalized on nationalist sentiment, sought to advance the capital’s prosperity while safeguarding its cultural identity, his approach to minorities was strictly transactional: as long as Czech residents acceded to his assimilationist vision and minimized their distinct ethnic identity, they received certain civic concessions, though never political patronage.

The religious and political reforms of the early Yamato period remain largely understudied in Russian historiography. This article examines the standardization of cults that took place during the reign of Emperor Mimaki, traditionally known as Emperor Sujin (r. 324–331 AD [corrected chronology]). The author correlates classical Japanese sources with recent archaeological findings. The final stage of Emperor Mimaki’s reforms involved the foundation of the Isonokami Shrine to house the Ten Sacred Treasures (mizu-takara): four mirrors (kagami), one sword, three jewels (tama), and two veils (hire). The article analyzes the origins of these treasures and the events preceding the establishment of the shrine, whose hereditary priests emerged from the Mononobe-no muraji clan. Emperor Mimaki’s reforms were a deliberate attempt to unify and institutionalize the cults of the nascent Yamato state (the religious system later known as Shinto) through a calculated compromise with the communal nobility on the Kamu-Asachi Plain. The members of this elite served as priests and secured revenues from the shrine estates. Furthermore, the death of the Yamato Princess Priestess, momoso-hime, facilitated Emperor Mimaki’s plans to establish a new national cult of the Sun Goddess. These foundational socio-religious reforms were subsequently continued by Mimaki’s sun, Emperor Ikume (Suinin).

Russia, China, and the USA maintain distinct national interests in the Arctic, directly shaping its governance system. The challenge of Arctic demarcation has gained a new developmental trajectory as nonArctic states emerge as regional actors. Within the shifting system of international relations, these emerging actors are primarily interested in Arctic resources and the Northern Sea Route as a strategically vital transport corridor. This article examines foreign policies in the Arctic aimed at expanding the zones of influence, as well as the instruments that alter the balance of power in the region under the multipolar conditions. The research relies on official documents from the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, expert analyses, and international legal sources. Applying the principles of historicism and objectivity to contemporary maritime law, the author demonstrates how the changing global politics impact the Arctic landscape. Grounded in national Arctic strategies and the theoretical principles of international Arctic governance, states view the region through the prism of geopolitical and geoeconomic interests. Consequently, China’s scientific diplomacy, US military diplomacy, and Russia’s legitimate maritime actions serve as the primary tools currently reshaping international relations in the Arctic. 

This article examines the US–Thai security relations from World War II to the Manila Pact of 1954. Russian historical studies tend to overlook the origins of Thai-American military and political cooperation as an element of the San Francisco system of international relations. However, these origins still determine the nature of contemporary bilateral security relations, with the Manila Pact serving as the foundation for the Southeast Asia Treaty Organization (SEATO). The research relies on foreign sources introduced into Russian scholarship for the first time. Employing historical-genetic and comparative-historical methods, the author identified the international, national, and regional factors behind the rapprochement between Washington and Bangkok. The national factors included the coup d'état in Thailand and Phibun Songkhram’s rise to power, which established a hardline anti-communist course that served military interests. The regional factors involved the formation of the People’s Republic of China and the rise of communism in Indochina. The international factors included the Sino-Soviet rapprochement, the Korean War, and the defeat of France in Indochina. The convergence of these factors laid the groundwork for the military-political alliance between the United States and Thailand, which culminated in the obligations under the Manila Pact and the Thanat-Rusk Communique that remain relevant to this day.

As the unipolar world gives way to a new multipolar order, several independent centers of influence have begun to compete for global prominence. In this changing landscape, post-Brexit Great Britain must reshape its foreign policy as an independent sovereign state, a shift highlighted by the March 2021 government review that introduced the concept of Global Britain. This article examines Britain’s pursuit of leadership within this multipolar framework. Grounded in the principles of historicism and objectivism, the study employs comparative historical and problem-chronological analyses to identify the historical prerequisites of the Global Britain vision as a justification for Brexit, alongside the shifting dynamics within the British-American Special Relationship. By deconstructing the core tenets of this concept, the article highlights Britain’s primary achievements on its global trajectory, including active geopolitics in the post-Soviet space, strategic economic partnerships with Kazakhstan, a reset of relations with the European Union amidst Donald Trump’s trade tariffs, and its role as a key coordinator of relief efforts in Ukraine. Ultimately, as a leading global economy, nuclear power, and a permanent member of the UN Security Council, G7, and G20, Great Britain continues to expand its global ambitions.