The paper attempts to reassess the British politics in Europe and to formulate a new vision of Great Britain‘s role in the development of Versailles international order in the first half of the 1920s. This interdisciplinary research was performed by using the methods of multifactor and system-analysis of international relation along with historical and political methods. The author notes that the turning point of Great Britain‘s European policy emerged in 1921 and was connected with developing a complex foreign policy programme of ―European reconstruction‖. This policymaking process before and at the Genoa Conference of 1922 is researched in the paper. The study of the diplomatic aspects in the foreign policy implementation is based on the investigation of the personal political style and diplomacy of D. Lloyd George‘s, the British Prime-Minister at that time. Despite the British foreign policy aims were partly achieved at the Genoa Conference, the priorities of the British policy addressing European problems remained urgent in 1923 – 1925. The author concludes that the leadership of Great Britain in the Versailles order stabilization was provided by such basic features of British foreign policy as continuity and systematic political thinking.

The paper is devoted to financial cooperation of the Government of the Russian Empire with European capital markets in the early 20th century. This was one of the periods of the global crisis when Russian-European financial cooperation underwent a certain transformation. On the basis of archives analysis the author traces Russia‘s external debt dynamics (including the new loan, acquittals, changes in terms of loan), brings to light the causes of the process, makes a conclusion that it was not only economics but the foreign policy as well that conditioned the external debt of Russia. The results of this research can be used in teaching Russian History of the 20th century in secondary and higher educational institutions, as well as in external debt service of contemporary Russia.

The paper is devoted to the little-investigated issue connected with the development plans for the seizure of the Central Asia region by the leaders of the fascist Germany, in particular, of East Turkestan, better known as the Chinese province of Xinjiang. On the basis of the sources, which are revealed and put into scientific circulation for the first time, the author shows that the strategic errors of the fascist diplomacy turned out to be the reason for the collapse of these plans. The contradictions inside the German block, lack of support from the peoples of Central Asia and the success of the Soviet Army on the Eastern Front eliminated the possibility of practical realization of the plans of the fascist diplomacy.

Viewing global trends and changes that take place in security architecture of Asia-Pacific region, the careful attention is drawn by one of the world largest economic powers, the European Union (EU). The soft power policy of the EU is strongly associated with making economic and financial decisions. However, it is questionable whether the EU has enough potential to influence security policy, especially in such geographically distant regions as Asia and Pacific in which the USA and China are key actors in defence and security. The regional environment and ways of security issues decision-making are analyzed in the paper. The reasons that compound security policy-making for the EU in the region are outlined. Regional treaties and institutions of contemporary security structure are evaluated. The EU potential and major directions of the EU external policies in the region are illustrated. Some opportunities of collaboration in regional security are revealed for the EU and regional middle powers.

The paper provides a historical retrospective of the transformations which led Kosovo from being one of the historical regions in the north-west of the Balkan Peninsular to becoming an autonomous political entity within Yugoslavia and, finally, to obtaining its own statehood. The paper further discusses the international reaction to Kosovo‘s unilateral declaration of independence in 2008, revealing the two main principles of international law applicable to the Kosovo question: sovereignty and peoples‘ right to self-determination. A special focus is put on the ruling of the International Court of Justice regarding the 2008 Kosovo declaration of independence. It is demonstrated that such decision considers Kosovo‘s declaration to be a fact by no means setting a precedent and that this decision does not involve the two international law principles mentioned above. However, the reaction of international actors to this ruling shows that the wide recognition of Kosovo‘s statehood is actually considered as precedent-setting. The result of the Kosovo case is destruction of the universal character of sovereignty as a principle of international law, which will inevitably lead to growing chaos in the international relations.

The European Union has a variety of mechanisms to distribute its values and norms. The paper analyzes the method of modeling/imitation and similar mechanisms of ―contagion‖ and ―the power of example‖ that appeared as a result of the deep-seated image of the EU as a world standard and an example for others to follow. The rationale of the above mentioned foreign policy mechanisms is the social learning theory well-known in psychological science. The theory has been developing in EU studies and has facilitated the emergence of a "model power Europe" concept that best describes the role of imitation method in foreign policy of the European Union. The method suggests considering the EU as a model which attracts the attention of observers and becomes the source of imitation process for them. This mechanism is widely used in European foreign policy practice being one of the key factors of the EU global influence. The author addressed official documents, statements and speeches of European politicians, as well as theoretical and analytical works.

The paper examines the little-known event in the history of Poland – ―Black Bloody Palm Sunday‖ in Lodz, which took place on April 9, 1933. According to the German archives, the author analyzes the prerequisites, course and consequences of the ―Bloody Sunday‖ and its impact on inter-ethnic relations in Poland, specifically the relations of German and Jewish minorities. The findings reveal the provocative nature of the 1933events in Lodz.

In the middle of the 1950s the countries of Western Europe discussed the following options for further development of their regional economic cooperation: deepening of the European integration process via creation of customs union or widening of inter-governmental cooperation through the formation of free trade area. Existence of different approaches in Great Britain and the countries of continental Europe to that issue led to the establishment of two economic groupings: European Economic Community and European Free Trade Association. On the basis of analysis of American diplomatic documents, this paper examines the USA‘s attitude to the creation of both economic groupings. It defines the reasons why the US government had made preference to the establishment of customs union (EEC), but not to the creation of free trade area (EFTA). Because in that period in the American policy towards European integration the political motives connected with the strengthening of Western block and containment of Germany prevailed, the US administration supported the creation of EEC as a way to strengthen the political cohesion of the countries of Western Europe.

The notion of ―failed state‖ was introduced by the scientific society as long ago as in 1993, but it appeared in the official documents of the European Union only ten years after, in the European Security Strategy. This paper analyses the official documents of the European Commission and the European Council issued in the 1990s in order to trace the origins of the development of the EU‘s policy towards failed states. In particular the author looks at how this policy was crystalized from more general development policy, especially aimed toward ACP countries as the traditional recipients of the EU‘s aid and also as a group of countries many of which fall under the category of ―failed‖. It is also noted that security factor was important in the development of the policy toward failed states.

The paper is devoted to economical relations between Egypt and Italy in the 1920s – 1930s, after the declaration of Egyptian independence (1922). The special attention is given to the activity of Italian companies in Egypt, mainly in the spheres of architecture and building. An important part of the paper is devoted to the activity of the Italian company ―FIAT‖, whose Egyptian branch was created in 1928. The paper shows that Italy failed to implement its plans on wide participation of Italian companies in the economical development of Egypt, where companies from the United Kingdom prevailed.

Contemporary migration is a global phenomenon and only all the affected states together can direct it. The 1990s witnessed the beginning of using foreign policy instruments in migration governance which means the cooperation among the countries of origin, transit and destination of migrants. This paper covers regional consultative processes which have become a new tendency in global governance of migration. Having analyzed the European Union and the International Organization for Migration documents as well as foreign researchers‘ articles, the author concludes that regional consultative processes are rather effective and convenient for most participants. This paper is an overview of the successful EU experience in this sphere of world politics. Russia should explore it and become more active in this issue in order to take part in the global governance of migration.

The paper assesses the evolution of the EU – Russia relations, identifying the structural levels of analysis in them (first and foremost, the dialogue between Russia and the EU as a block and Russia and individual EU member states). Stressing the evolution in the development of two levels from synchrony to cacophony and back to synchrony, the author identified the factors which facilitated the synchrony of the EU‘s position towards Russia. Particular attention is paid to the fact that the factors which led to the synchrony of the EU national and community levels were different before and after the Ukrainian events of 2014, which led to a pronounced and deep crisis in the EU – Russia relations. The author also examines in detail the growing complexity of the structural levels of analysis in 2014 – 2015. The two processes led to the later: increased importance of international organisations, where both Russia and the EU are equal members, and strengthening of the institutions of Eurasian integration.

The collapse of the USSR led to a number of military and political conflicts emerging in the post-Soviet area. The conflict between Georgia, South Ossetia and Abkhazia triggered the factor of the EU, Russia and the USA influencing the international relations in the South Caucasus. Since August 2008, the EU has found itself directly involved in the Ossetia-Georgia, GeorgiaAbkhazia and RussiaGeorgia conflicts. The EU influence on Georgia allows, on the one hand, restricting the Georgian authorities from the military solution of the conflict, and on the other hand, creating the image of Georgia as a country seeking for political dialogue and opposing the Russian expansion plans in the South Caucasus. The creation and activities of the European Union Monitoring Mission provided Georgia with a foreign policy cover from the possible military and political pressure from the rebelling ―autonomies‖ and the Russian federation supporting them. Abkhazia‘s refusal to accept the EUMM for permanent work in the territory of the un-recognized republic was seen by the EU as Russia‘s and Abkhazia‘s authorities refusal to facilitate the solution of the conflict in the political way. Thus, the EU actions can be regarded not only as real peace-making activities, but rather an aspect of political struggle for authority in the South Caucasus and in the postSoviet area

The paper analyzes conceptual determinants as well as practical EU steps towards Common European Security and Defense Policy (CESDP) development. The purpose is to reveal the peculiarities of CESDP evolution with the example of the EU actions towards crisis regulation in the Caucasus region. The paper methodology includes the principles of historicism, objectivity, systemic, concreteness as well as the methods of historical and political research: synchronous, chronological, comparative benchmarking, source analysis techniques, event analysis, historical induction and deduction. The results of the paper include new scientific data on the dynamics of the EU actions towards crisis regulation in the Caucasus region. It is pointed out that despite the evident growth of the EU structural potential in the sphere of conflict resolution since the foundation of CESDP it is untimely to talk about the EU as an influential actor of international security system. The paper outcomes can be used by Russian state authorities when elaborating new technologies of effective complex use of military and civil tools towards constructing common European security architecture.

The paper analyzes latest crisis events in Ukraine within the context of contemporary German-Russian relations as well as European security problems. The purpose of the paper is to reveal the peculiarities of conceptual position as well as practical German steps towards Ukraine crisis taking into account continental security problems and RussianGerman dialogue dynamics. The paper methodology includes the principles of historicism, objectivity, systemic, concreteness as well as methods of historical and political research: synchronous, chronological, comparative benchmarking, source analysis techniques, event analysis, historical induction and deduction. The results of the paper include new scientific data on the specific German position towards latest Ukrainian events. It is pointed out that Berlin foreign policy, aimed at hard counteractions to Russian ideas and interests and formed well under external influence, needs to be reformatted otherwise such policy may weaken both internal and foreign positions of German Chancellor A. Merkel. The paper outcomes may be used by Russian state authorities when elaborating new technologies of effective use of bilateral diplomacy tools as well as taking part in constructing common European security architecture.

The paper is devoted to the settlement of the question of reparations in the context of the relations between Germany and Britain in the second half of the 1920s. The paper aims at describing the main milestones in the solution of the problem of reparations and designating the reasons for the revision of the Dawes Plan. The paper also pays attention to the evolution of British and German policy in the reparations question, the role of particular political figures in its regulation. A conclusion is made about the combination of economical and political reasons for the revision of the Dawes Plan. For almost two years the British Government opposed that revision, hoping to force its position. Due to the pressure of the Allies on London and the beginning of Germany‘s economic difficulties, eventually Britain met Berlin and the Allies halfway.

The paper is based on the documents stored in the Archive of the Russian Foreign Policy, the Russian Archive of Social and Political History and the Russian Archive of Economy. A considerable part of the documents is published and introduced into scientific use for the first time. We prove the defining role of one of the first Bolshevik diplomats V. L. Kopp (the partly empowered RSFSR representative in theWeimarRepublic) in the formation of many-sided Soviet-German scientific tights in 1919 – 1921. Special attention is paid to his participation in establishing good working conditions for the specialists fromRussia; the author also notes the activities of this diplomat devoted to the realization of orders for new general and special literature from abroad received fromMoscow. The paper emphasizes Kopp‘s involvement into the establishment of Berlin Bureau for foreign science and technology, which was significant for the Russian scientists to renew the regular contacts with foreign colleagues under the conditions of global isolation. It is for the first time in historiography that the paper, basing on the archive sources, marks the role of V. Kopp in the implementation of Kremlin‘s project of organizing mass migration of workers and engineers from Weimar Germany to the RSFSR. But for all that the author pays special attention to failures and even scandals that occured during the realization of this plan.

The paper is devoted to analyzing the development of the German nationalism in the days of the Weimar Republic. A comparison of conservative and national-socialist projects of nationalism is carried out. The author uses the methodological approaches of modern intellectual history. Nationalism is considered as an alternative to the democratic Weimar system. The paper notes the existence of several nationalist discourses in the Weimar Republic, which points to alternativeness of the development of the right movements in Germany. The nationalism, anti-democratism, antiparliamentarism, denial of conditions of the Versailles peace treaty and aspiration to its audit was the general element of the right German movements

The paper deals with the content and methods of vulgar Nazi anti-Semitic propaganda among children and youth in Germany in 1930 – 1940s. The analysis of Julius Streicher‘s public speeches, the literature for teachers and children‘s books published by ―Stürmer‖ and also German emigration periodicals leads to the conclusion about the great importance of anti-Semitic education of the rising generation for Hitler‘s state. Streicher enjoyed the patronage of the radical anti-Semite Hitler and therefore acted in a highly supportive environment. He succeeded in instilling hatred for Jews among German children and youth. This feeling was based both on medieval clichés and the latest racial-biological theories. German immigrants‘ attempts to draw attention of the foreign public to Streicher‘s activities had no success. The consequences of long-term propaganda of vulgar anti-Semitism were understood abroad only after World War II, when the victorious countries got some idea of the scale of the Holocaust.

The paper focuses on the everyday life of Maria Vasilchikova, a representative of the aristocratic society, in 1940 – 1945, when World War II made adjustments to the peaceful life changing it thoroughly. The author highlights the substantial impact of military actions on M. Vasilchikova‘s emotional state and, consequently, their impact on the described newsfeed and its display in the memoirs. The paper concludes that the psychological state of the author of the diary had significant influence on the choice of the expounded news, creating an emotional background for the narration.

The paper is devoted to analysing German historians‘ evaluations of economic and social policies in the period of Nazi Germany. The author traces the evolution of the scientists‘ views on the economy and social relations in the conditions of a totalitarian regime. Historiography provides more assessments of the link between economic and social development and the political objectives of Hitler‘s power. The historiographic trend towards finding the historical continuity of economic and social policies is identified, which is important for understanding the emergence of the welfare state in the twentieth-century Germany.

Basing on a wide range of published and unpublished sources the paper presents the current state of the source base and typology of the documents related to the process of recruiting, training, further professional activities, as well as the post-war prosecution of the SS overseers (SS-Aufseherin), female guards in the Nazi concentration camps (1938 – 1945). This paper is the result of the author‘s work in a number of foreign and national archives. In total, in elaborating the theme archival materials of the Russian Federation, Germany, Poland, the Czech Republic, and Austria were used. The author also had remote access to a number of documents stored in the National Archives of Great Britain and the United States, as well as the vast digitized collection of the University of Lund (Sweden)

The problem of migration in Europe is the most topical in our time. In recent years, the popularity of new radical rightwing parties with anti-immigrant platforms has increased across Europe. The results of the 2014 European Parliament elections point to a shift to the right in the political spectrum – in France, Denmark, and Great Britain in particular, but also in Austria, Sweden, and Finland, as well as Hungary and Greece, a number of political parties have gained seats in the European Parliament. The reasons of increasing popularity of radical right-wing parties and movements in Europe are analyzed in this paper basing on the example of Germany. In particular, the author pays much attention to the activity of the political movement "PEGIDA". The study identified the main forms and methods of activity used by «PEGIDA». «PEGIDA» supporters want Germany to curb immigration, accusing the authorities of failing to enforce existing laws.

The paper is devoted to O. Höfler (1901 – 1987), professor of Munich University, specialist in German History. Most late 19th – early 20th centuries German historians of the Middle Ages research the problem of continuity only as an issue of the Antique heritage influencing the Medieval culture. Höfler analyzed continuity as result of the development of the political and social institutions of the Pagan epoch, which have influence both on Medieval and on contemporary Germany. The genesis of this theory was possible in the conditions of the growing German nationalism after World War I.

The paper studies the major groups of foreigners in the German Democratic Republic and their relations with the native population. Until recently, the Russian researchers of the German social history have overlooked this subject. The study aims at identifying groups of foreigners by considering the differences in their legal and financial standing, and describing the relations between foreigners and East Germans subject to strict political control and official propaganda of the communist regime. With reference to scrutinized publications and foreign literature, as well as employed general and special methods (classification, comparison, determination of development factors etc.), our study identified the following groups of foreigners: Soviet soldiers and their families; political refugees; international students; international companies‘ experts; foreign workers complying with the GDR treaties with foreign countries; seasonal workers and illegal aliens. The author comes to a conclusion that despite the official propaganda claiming the internationalism of East Germans, the attitude of the GDR residents to foreigners could be described as greatly intolerant and hostile. To a significant extent it was caused by the immigration policy of the ―SED regime‖, which precluded from avowing the existence of conflicts between Germans and foreigners. The immigration policy was not publicly discussed in the GDR, as it was to the full extent under control of the SED, which was guided by the ideol ogy.

The paper deals with the alienation of the former wartime allies from each other in the early post-war period with the example of the first (and last) All-German Writers‘ Congress in Berlin in October 1947. When Soviet representatives at the Congress condemned the West as reactionary and militaristic and asked the German writers to take side with the Soviet ―Camp of Freedom‖, it was only Melvin Lasky who was ready to ―talk back‖. He criticized the Soviet government for harshly disciplining Soviet intellectuals who did not obey to Communist Party instructions under the auspices of the ―Zhdanovshchina‖. This dispute marked the growing distance between the former allies in public. Until then the allies had tried not to involve the Germans in their political differences and treat them as defeated and occupied enemies. Now both sides started to win the Germans over as future partners in the beginning Cold War.

The paper analyzes the selection of Reich Ministers of Foreign Affairs of the Weimar Republic and the peculiarities of its formation and evolution. It also makes a conclusion that during the period of the Weimar Republic the steps were taken to convert foreign ministry authorities from the closed to the open elite which sought to carry out the revision of the Versailles Treaty exclusively by peaceful means.

The paper is devoted to some aspects of the European Union cultural policy. The relevance of the research is determined by the aggravation of the relations between Russia and the European Union at the background of the Ukrainian crisis and by the influence of the strained relations on the sphere of culture. The paper considers the process of formation and the legal base of the cultural policy pursued by the European Union, as well as problems caused by implementation of those provisions. The EU cultural programmes are being analysed as a factor of forming the European identity. General approaches to the cultural policy are being stated. Preservation of self-sufficiency and independence of the Union members in matters of culture acquires an important role. Such approach results in multiple standards of rendering historical and cultural heritage of Europe. The conclusion made in the paper is as follows: a plenty of contradictions lie in the ideological and legal base of the European Union cultural policy that provoke conflict situations, both within the Union and with other countries, including Russia.

The revival of cultural and spiritual life in post-war Germany was an integral part of the policy of democratization which was pursued in the occupational zone by the American military government. The paper considers the main actions of the occupational authorities in the direction of ―re-education‖ of Germans in pro-American democratic traditions: renewal of theater and musical life, cinema, creation of information centers, work with the youth, church policy. As in the political sphere, the American administration aspired the revival of public and cultural life to be mainly a duty of Germans under the American supervision and control. However in general the intervention of military government into the development of cultural life was insignificant.

The paper presents the problem of evolution of German migration policy at the turn of the 20th – 21st centuries. The main aim of the paper is to analyze the regulatory framework of this policy, adaptation programmes and their influence on modern migration processes. The author pays attention to the Middle East and African migration and its impact on the formation of multicultural German society. The paper also describes the main institutions responsible for the elaboration and implementation of migration policy, makes an analysis of their main activity and evaluates the effectiveness of policy implementation.

The paper investigates the inner-relations and their influence on the transformation of modern political parties. The basic trends in the transformation of political parties in the EU are exposed: traditional big parties are losing their popularity and influence, and new parties emerging due to socio-political transformation of the contemporary society and changes in the forms and style of political communication. Particular attention is paid to the analysis of the functioning of the German political parties that use modern tools and strategies in their struggle for the conquest and retention of state power and, ultimately, are drawn into the process of cartelization. Few interactive methods to attract voters are used so far, but there is a tendency to expand social networking during election campaigns. Political activity becomes professional. The paper describes the features of intra-party and inter-party cooperation of German political parties at the present stage. The author shows the features of political communication among major political parties in Germany, where an important role is played by the ability to work in coalitions and to interact effectively with the business at all levels.

The paper is devoted to the questions of formation and institutionalization of the youth policy in the early Federal Republic of Germany. The significance of the youth policy, its main features and trends are shown. Particular attention is paid to the hierarchy and activities of the main executive authorities which were engaged in the implementation of the youth policy, as well as their interaction with public initiatives and youth organizations. A conclusion is drawn about the formation of the unity between the society and the state, aimed at successful practical realization of the youth policy.

The paper examines the plan of preparation and holding of elections to the People's Chamber in 1950. The author gives an estimate of their value in the context of US-Soviet confrontation. The paper substantiates the importance of studying the significance and character of elections in terms of social experiments, the role of elections in Germany while maintaining the authority and control of the occupying powers. The author emphasizes the need to study the impact of the co-existence of two German states on the security of the winner-states and the security sector. With regard to the German Democratic Republic, the Soviet leadership had two seemingly contradictory objectives: a) to strengthen pro-Soviet elements; b) to create more favorable conditions for further negotiations on the unification of the country, taking into account the security interests of the USSR. The paper uses archival sources: the conversations the President of the Soviet Control Commission in Germany with the leadership of the German Democratic Republic.

On the basis of the revealed British documents the author formulates the main challenges of the colonial policy of the United Kingdom after World War II. One of these challenges was the existence of racial discrimination in some areas of the British Empire and within the UK. The establishment of the United Nations (UN) in 1945 attracted the attention of the metropolis to the problem of racial discrimination, and the Labour government of C. Attlee was forced to revise the existing structure of relations inside multiracial societies in colonies. The flow of immigrants from underdeveloped colony of the British Empire was another challenge for the Labour leadership since the end of the War. Both challenges complicated the implementation of domestic and foreign policy of Great Britain. The paper shows the process of decision-making within the Labor cabinet of C. Attlee on these issues, including the reasons for the introduction of the British Nationality Act 1948. The author features thethe offers made by British officials to limit the number of immigrants from the colonies of the Caribbean and Africa, in fact, constituted a waiver for the future compliance of the adopted law. The author‘s conclusions contradict with some points of view established in the Russian and foreign historiography on the causes and the scale of the increasing number of immigrants, and give an idea about the origins of contemporary migration issues in the UK and the European Union as a whole.

The paper considers the question how the Ost-Akademie in Lüneburg, Federal Republic of Germany, tackled the problems of West-East-relations in Germany and in Europe between 1952 and 2004. As an institute for political and cultural education on basis of the carried out research, the Academy worked with adult and young participants. It dealt with problems deriving from the special position of Germany after the defeat of National Socialist Germany and from German and European partition. In the initial years it took up the challenges connected with the expulsion of millions of Germans from the Eastern Prussian provinces. Afterwards it picked up the splitting between the Western and the Eastern zone of Germany, between FRG and GDR, and investigated the socialist development of the GDR. In the last years of the German partition it succeeded in establishing immediate encounter with everyday life in the GDR. After the end of the German partition and the end of the Cold War it engaged in bringing together unified Germany and its Eastern neighbours, Poland, Russia, the Baltic states, and the new emerging republics of the CIS. In this way the Academy could make a contribution to the development of understanding between citizens in Germany and in Central and Eastern Europe. Exactly that was the intention of the victors over National Socialism and of the new founded Federal Republic of Germany.

The review evaluates the particularities of the author’s approach, theoretical framework, content and conclusions of the book. The monograph is based on the interdisciplinary approach and gives a complex vision of the elder generation in modernEurope. The monograph uses the established notion of “aging Europe” to analyse the demographic data, their impact on social security system and relations between generations. The author studies the problem of aging Europe through a comparative analysis of the world trends and draws conclusions on the future of elder people provision inEurope.

The paper considers the views of the leader of the pan-European movement of the 1920s – 1930s, R. N. von Coudenhove-Kalergi on the relations between Russia and Europe. In his design of ―pan-Europe‖, advanced in the interwar period, such aspects as arbitration, recognition of the inviolability of borders and the common economic space were supposed to become the basis of the integration. R. N. von Coudenhove-Kalergi considered the main cause of creating a common European space to be the resistantce to a possible invasion of Russian troops. According to Kalergi, after the Revolution of 1917 Russia stopped being a part of Europe politically, despite its belonging to the European culture. However, Kallergi notes the need for close economic cooperation between the ―two political conglome

The paper proposes a new interpretation of the traditional view on the Brothers Grimm as armchair scientists far removed from politics. The role and significance of the Brothers‘ participation in the major political events in Germany and Europe in the first half of the 19th century were analyzed on the basis of published personal sources and those of the people around them. On the one hand, the Brothers Grimm in their scientific work and social activities were supporters of the constitutional system and civil society, and on the other – of a strong monarchical state and national traditions development. This reflects the contradictory nature of the foundations of German political culture of the Modern epoch.

The paper analyzes the study of German history, the history of international relations and the historiography of the history of German colonialism in the late 19th to the early 20th centuries in the works of the famous Soviet scientist M. N. Mashkin. The study focuses on the reseracher‘s works and documents stored in the Institute of World History of the Russian Academy of Sciences. They reveal M. N. Mashkin‘s important contribution to the methodology of historiographic analysis. It was based on polemic with the author and profound knowledge of other historians‘ viewpoints. This highlights not only the expert character of the researcher‘s historiographical études, but also their significance for the formation of the scientific tradition in the Russian science. One of the researcher‘s important conceptions washis idea of the crisis and collapse of the Eurocentrism theory. He linked it to the processes of decolonization and rebuilding of international relations in the 20th century. The polemical approach the results of M. N. Mashkin‘s researches remain up-to date in the contemporary historical science, which highlights the importance of more detailed studies of the researcher‘s heritage.

The paper aims at giving a survey of the approaches practiced among specialists in social sciences who study ethnicity and nationalism at the contemporary stage of investigations. Further on, the author considers religious and political aspects of English nationalism at its moulding stage during the pre-revolutionary decades in the first half of the 17th century. The author believes that the extremes of primordialism and constructivism must be avoided in understanding ethnicity and nationalism when relying upon particular historical facts. Such an approach based on historical methodology gives the opportunity for deeper understanding of the peculiarities of formation of nationalism in Early Modern England as compared with purely sociological methods. The author shows that the rise of nationalist opinions in England during the first decades of the 17th century expressed itself in such a course of events when the Anglican Church created by the break with Rome in 1534 began to distance itself not only from the Catholic Church but also from the Protestant Churches on the continent of Europe thus acquiring its own identity.

The paper provides a characteristic of the stages and directions of scientific research on gender attitudes of the ruling elite of Germany and France in the Middle Ages and the first part of the Early Modern Age (10th – first half of the 16th centuries) on the basis of the analysis of German, French and Russian works. It refers to the publications of the second half of the 20th – early 21st centuries where the matrimonial practice of the ruling elite and the political role of women-governesses are under consideration. The study involved several research works of German and French historians, working in the field of female and gender history; and also supporters of the traditional approach who are actively addressing the questions of gender interrelations. The author concludes that the investigation of the ―history of women‖ from the ruling elite in the 10th – 15th in foreign and Russian science developed in the late 1970s – 1980s and it was then when plots connected with womengovernesses began to be actively discussed in general research of political and social history. In the 1990s the questions of the female history became the part of Court phenomenon research. At the same time scientists began to address to the later period – the first half of the 16th century, drawing their attention to the general problematics, as well as to the ―history of women‖ itself. It was the period when the first publications on gender history appeared.

The paper introduces the concept of integral conservatism, covering the spiritual heritage of the German philosopher Ernst Jünger (1895 – 1998) in the final period of his work. The author analyzes the impact of his ideas on the European conservatism and considers their relation to the ideological and political theory and practice throughout the whole political spectrum in the last third of the 20th century. As a result, the paper concludes that the final period of Ernst Jünger‘s work is characterized by special synthesis, giving reason to believe his conservative to be integral, that is, including all types of conservative ideological and political tradition, as well as to talk about the serious influence of the writer‘s ideas on the entire conservative camp without exception. The research results can be used for further analysis of the nature of the changes taking place in the modern Western conservatism.

The paper deals with the reception of Jean Bodin‘s political ideas in the works of Thomas Hobbes. The analysis of the relationship between the political traditions of France and England helps understand the presentation of the ideal political system of European thinkers of the Early Modern period. Bodin‘s theory of sovereignty is an essential part of Thomas Hobbes‘s doctrine. This may be verified in the theory of civil obedience, as it is reflected in both authors‘ works. The paper attempts to verify this hypothesis and other themes by comparing the subjects and issues raised in the works of Bodin and Hobbes that determined the development of modern legal and political thought. The paper suggests that the relationship between Bodin‘s and Hobbes‘s intellectual ideas may be stronger than it is assumed in the historiography.

The paper focuses on the activities of the European public communities in the elaboration and adoption of the Roerich‘s Pact ―For the protection of the artistic and scientific institutes and historical monuments‖. The author turned attention to the collaboration of the representatives of the Russian cultural emigration and of the European countries in the elaboration and adoption of the Pact as the international document. The author shows this document as a model convention for the protection of cultural monuments.

Events and circumstances of private life and friendship of Gershom Scholem and Walter Benjamin as the representatives of the intellectual generation of the interwar period are analyzed in the paper from the perspective of intellectual history. Relationship of Scholem and Benjamin is considered in the context of influence of ideological struggle and political problems of the Weimar Republic and Nazi Germany history on it. The sources reflecting the events of private life and friendship of the thinkers are diaries and letters of Scholem and Benjamin preserved at the moment in the personal archives. Along with the finished and unfinished scientific works they are the most important documentary base of the studied issue. In those personal sources philosophical and theological discussions between the thinkers and their opinions about humanitarian issues current at the time are provided. Picturesque assessments of the historical context complete the scenes of intellectual space. The analysis of the documents shows that the political events, economic and social problems influenced deeply the scientific ideas of the thinkers, but made their personal relations even closer

The purpose of the paper is to consider the ideological background of Oswald Spengler‘s cultural-historical theory in his work The Decline of the West, which influenced the formation of his political views as an ideologist of the German ―conservative revolution‖. The author analyzes the problem of Spengler‘s ideological transition from political and ideological traditionalism to the ideology of ―conservative revolution‖. In the context of the cultural-historical concepts of The Decline of the West the paper reveals the relations between Spengler‘s theoretical and methodological views on the historical process and his political ideas.

The paper analyzes the European absolute monarchy as a socio-political phenomenon. The trends in the development of European countries and the main directions of transformation of political structures are discussed, defining features of absolute monarchy are determined. The author examines various factors that influenced the formation and development of the absolute monarchy in Europe. It is shown that the absolute monarchy was a phenomenon of the transitional epoch, which was characterized by a combination of old and new principles of administration. Historiographical problems and main approaches to the interpretation of the absolute monarchy are described. Particular attention is paid to the transformation of the nature of social ties between the state and the society as a whole, as well as between the state and particular social groups.

The paper analyzes one of the major sources on Pan-Germanism history (not translated in Russian) – a political lampoon by Heinrich Class, the leader of the Pan-German Union. The author considers the structure, logics of statement, and also Class‘s essentially important conceptual approaches regarding the reorganization of the German state and society on the eve of World War I. Class's conception attracts research interest, first, as it reflects the views of the conservative nationalist block of the German elite, secondly, as it is the source testifying to a change of consciousness in a part of the German society that predetermined its loyalty to the national socialist regime. The fact of its numerous reprinting, including post-War (more than ten times) testifies to the popularity of Class‘s lampoon. The author critically considers Class‘s intention to keep the name of the lampoon even after the revolution and the crash of monarchy in Germany. The paper considers the researchers‘ points of view on the problem of Pan-Germanism and Pan-German published works (J. Leicht, R. Hering, H. Hagenlücke). The paper bases on the documents collected by the author in German archives and libraries.

The paper is devoted to the analysis of the royal public ceremonies in the Middle Ages and the Early Modern Period considered in the papers of British and American historians of the late 20th – early 21st centuries. The author analyses the ceremonial trips of French and British Monarchs, matrimonial ceremonies and the procedure of farewell with dead rulers in England and France. The scientists‘ views on the rituals are studied, their approaches to analysing the key elements of the ceremonies and their general interpretation of these public events are evaluated. The author marks the principal features of ceremonial processions from the point of view of the represented specialists and their significance for the power presentation and its sacralization. Research revealed that ceremonial events with participation of a monarch were one of main ways to establish a connection between a monarch and their homagers. The author marks the researchers addressing to the concept of social dialogue as a way to form the sacral image of power.