The article is devoted to the study of pottery of the Posol’sky-type ceramics from the archaeological sites of the upper reaches of the River Lena. The article presents a collection of Posol’sky type pottery delineated from the ceramic assemblages of the multilayered sites of Popovsky Lug (layer 2) and Makarovo I (upper complex). Based on the analysis of ceramic fragments of 28 vessels were identified. All the vessels have a "classical" shape with a thickened rim on the outside and are mostly covered with vertical line impressions. Based on the shape of the rims and the metric characteristics of the vessels four groups were distinguished. The presented groups of decoration of rims and their modifications allow us to speak about certain sets of operations used by ancient masters in the manufacture of Posol’sky type ceramics. It was possible to determine that the application of the ornament in the rim zone was used for practical and technological purposes to improve the connection of vessel parts when molding the most complex sections. The study of pottery of the Posol’sky type ceramics found in the upper reaches of the River Lena showed both regional differences in comparison with similar ceramics of the Baikal region and complete analogies (oval thickening on the outside, ornamentation, shape). The paper presents for the first time the obtained radiocarbon AMS dates for the Neolithic assemblages of the Posol’sky type ceramics of the Upper Lena within the limits of 6795-6405 cal. BP. In general, we see an earlier age of sites containing ceramics of the Posol’sky type in the west, on the Yenisei River (Elenev Cave) where most likely it appeared, after which it moves eastward along the south of Eastern Siberia to the Upper Vitim (Ust-Yumurchen).

The forest-steppe part of Eastern Transbaikalia despite its location on the periphery of the nomadic world has always been involved into the complex ethno-cultural processes taking place in the Central Asia region. They did not bypass it in the first half of the II millennium AD, during the period of strengthening of the Mongol tribes and the formation of the Great Mongolian state. The Mongol influence was in all spheres of life, both spiritual and material. The military influence certainly wasn’t exception. Here it becomes interesting to compare the level of development of armament of the population of forest-steppe Transbaikalia and steppe Mongolian tribes, which were the core of the state created by Genghis Khan. Items of weapons in the considered territory are found only in burials. Hence we have tried to cover as much of the studied site as possible, using both previously not previously published data. In total, materials from 87 burial sites of the XII-XIV centuries AD located in the forest-steppe part of Eastern Transbaikalia were analyzed. These burials belong to the Undugun archaeological culture delineated by I. I. Kirillov after studying the burial ground on the Lake Undugun in 1974. At the moment, burials belonging to the Undugun culture have been investigated in the basins of the Ingoda River, the Ivano-Arakhlei lakes, the upper reaches of the Shilka River and, as a result, a large amount of factual material has been accumulated. This work is devoted to the generalization of information on the most numerous categories of funeral equipment - weapons. The classification of weapons is given, and for a better perception of the typology the description of types and groups provided with a graphic drawings are presented.

The article publishes the materials of the Klimentovsky-6 excavation in 2017 in Pskov. During the archaeological research on the left bank of the Velikaya River a collection of 240 finds was assembled. A significant part of the finds from bone raw materials - 31 units are items which mark the presence of the manufacture of objects from bone - blanks of products and production waste from dense horn and animal bones. An analysis of the product blanks made it possible to establish that they are of the same type and are represented by the details of single-sided type-setting combs. The dating of the discovered production complex is the turn of the 11th-12th centuries, which changes the researchers' stable ideas about the use of such things before the 11th century. To date, 27 one-sided typesetting combs and their cases are known from the territory of medieval Pskov, but the bone carving workshop that made them was discovered for the first time. Working with excavation materials, it was possible to partially reconstruct the layout of this section of Pskov and link the work and life of the master bone carver with specific archaeological objects. It is important to note not only the dating of the identified production set, which goes beyond the established notions, but also its highly specialized focus, as well as the fact that the manufactured category of products is traditionally associated with the elite strata of the population. The production of such things is not a household processing of bone or horn, but a highly artistic work. Neatly and symmetrically made, often richly ornamented, such things were made especially for sale. The manufacture of single-sided type-setting combs is a complex and time-consuming process, most researchers of the bone-carving business of Northern Europe agree on the narrow specialization of such craftsmen.

Artificial defensive structures – “settlements” – are widely represented in the archeology of the Baikal region. Since the XIX century, finds of similar structures in the southwestern part of the Baikal region, including in the Tunka and Oka valleys, have been mentioned in the literature. The discovery of the “ancient city” in the foothills of the Tunka Alps dates back to 1809. As a result of the special attention shown by the Irkutsk governor Treskin to the find, a study of this site was organized. As a result, the presence of “ancient ruins” was confirmed, but their origin and purpose remained unclear. Later, the area where the ruins were discovered attracted the attention of geologists as unusual limestones were discovered there. Comparison of these messages showed that we are talking about the same objects. The famous geographer P.A. Kropotkin reported about an unusual hill in the valley of the Oka River similar to an artificial embankment in 1875. The expeditions conducted by the Children's Center “Lazurit” showed that these objects are not artificial structures, but are geological sites formed under the influence of a number of geological factors. The “ancient Mongolian city” actually turned out to be calcareous deposits (travertines) formed during the deposition of calcium carbonate from the water of the mineral spring Suburgyn-Arshan. The complex forms of travertines – terraces, barriers, walls – have created a landscape resembling ancient structures. The “Chinese embankment” in the valley of the Oka River turned out to be a fragment of the terminal moraine (glacial deposits) of one of the mountain glaciers of the Belsky chars of the Eastern Sayans. As a result of the erosive activity of the Oka and Gargan Rivers, one of the moraine hills acquired a shape similar to an artificial embankment.

The aim of this article is to show the problem in understanding spirituality. The semantic connection of such terms as spirit, soul, body and spirituality is shown. The task is to concretize the understanding of the idea of spirituality by identifying the specifics of the main aspects of the consideration of spirituality in religion, science, art and philosophy. Philosophy strives to take the semantic content of all these forms of vision and understanding of spirituality, while maintaining independence. Philosophy is the basis for considering spiritual existence due to the fact that, firstly, it deals only with the ultimate foundations of the forms of various manifestations of spirituality. Secondly, it relates these ultimate foundations to each other, thereby setting the integrity of the worldview. The philosophical approach to the study of the "spirit" was laid down in Antiquity in Plato's theory of ideas. Spirituality, as a result, appears in Plato as a person's desire to 1) rise above the earthly world and 2) join the world of ideas. In both cases, spirituality is connected with consciousness, since in general, the connection of wisdom and spirituality is characteristic of classical culture. Spirituality as the ability to establish a semantic connection of the inner world of a person with the integrity of being presupposes the involvement of rationality. However, the connection between spirituality and rationality is ambiguous, which is manifested by the loss of the influence of spirituality in modern science. As the fundamental basis of the idea of spirituality it is proposed: 1) spirituality is the ability of a person associated with his involvement into the unstable world of nature and the world of his mental activity; 2) spirituality is necessarily connected with the process of human self-identification; 3) spirituality is realized as a process of identification, which is associated with the disclosure of the rational principle of human consciousness; 4) spirituality is an ability not of an impersonal mass, but of a certain person.

The article is based on unpublished documents of Russian State Archive of Ancient Acts. It describes the recruitment of the first regiment under the command of the former Yeniseisk governor Afanasy Pashkov which was officially sent for accession of Transbaikalia and the Amur region (Dauria) territories to Russia in 1655. This study is focused on the procedure of selecting and providing warriors before sending to Dauria. War orders came to Siberian towns nonuniformly during June - September of 1655th. The recruitment of troops in 11 Siberian towns took from 4 to 20 days. The largest number of recruited warriors was in Tobolsk. First of all unmarried middle-aged men who had a high reputation were selected. They should form the “backbone” of regular forces of the fortress garrisons that control the new territory. However, some married warriors were recruited in locations when the candidates did not meet the requirements. The transfer of detachments to Yeniseisk and their preparation for the campaign took about 1 year from the moment the government order was sent. Pashkov repeatedly reported to Moscow that 300 warriors allocated by the government for the campaign were not enough as well as ammunition and weapons for such a long campaign. In addition, the article details the mechanism of how the government planned to provide the regiment with food on the way through the Ilimsk and Tugir fortresses. As part of this work, for the first time in historical literature, the article provides the warriors’ lists of names sent to Dauria.

Initially the authors using computer software verified data by parametric matching of very disparate data. This operation allowed them to radically expand the traditional idea of the general structure of the Albazin fortress completely destroyed by the Manchurians after its first short-term siege in the summer of 1685. Based on the experience and the developed methodology of factual processing of information data and the possibilities of computer reconstruction authors allow not only to restore the appearance of completely lost static buildings, but also to visualize the overall dynamics of hostilities. In other words, the authors have proposed a computer technology for retrospective of historical events. By integrating the generalized array of reference and control data used it becomes possible to obtain a sufficiently substantiated picture of the initial disposition of the units of the Manchurian army that took place at the initial stage of the second siege of Albazin fortress, which began in the summer of 1686. The research work carried out by the authors consisted in the actual comparison of documentary information borrowed from written archival and other sources with visual elements, both Russian and foreign graphic data. It allowed us to establish the objective location of Chinese siege batteries in firing positions, engineering structures, as well as the locations of field camps of the Manchurian expeditionary corps that arrived to Albazin. The use of computers for the complex integration of the total set of data makes it possible to get reliable historical reconstruction in terms of a synthetic scheme which has once again shown its sufficient effectiveness in the field of historical research.

The article discusses several aspects related to the agricultural development of vast territories in the United States (“Wild West”) and in Russia (Siberia and the Far East): the goals of colonization; issues of land ownership, government assistance in organizing resettlement, the composition of settlers, travel to sites and preparation of resettlement sites. Essentially the same tasks (strategic consolidation in the annexed territories and the introduction of new lands into agricultural circulation in order to increase state revenues) are solved by different systems in different ways. How to make the underdeveloped outskirts an integral part of the state? Such a task is solved not by the army, but by the people living on this land, and as the more of them the more productive their economy, the stronger in all respects the lands of the “frontier” are assigned to the state. The analysis makes it possible to comprehend and identify similarities and differences, as well as the role of states in resolving these issues and the results of the activities of the officials of US and Russian Empire. The agrarian development of the territories of the “Wild West” was carried out at the expense of poor farmers with the consolidation of private ownership of land, and the development of the territories of Siberia and the Far East at the expense of the state policy of supporting immigrants and state ownership of land. The scale of national efforts is impressive: in March 1917, the Russian Resettlement Administration reported on 98 soil expeditions for 1908-1914 and on the survey of one fifth of the territory of Siberia. The state policy to consolidate the border areas in both systems was successful, the territories remained in the composition of the states. The article reveals the methods and details the agricultural development of the “frontier” lands.

The article discusses the educational value of the monasteries of the Russian Orthodox Church on the example of the Altai Ecclesiastical Mission. The basis for the analysis of its activities was the reporting documents of the beginning of the 20th century, presented in the State Archives of the Tomsk Region. For the first time, an archival document is introduced into scientific circulation - the Report of the Altai Ecclesiastical Mission for 1914. It is important for identifying the role of monasteries in missions in the region during the period under study. The source data reveal the greater significance of the educational activity of the oldest monasteries of the region. They are the Chulyshman Annunciation Male Monastery and Ulalinsky Nikolaev Female Monastery. Particular attention is paid to the evangelism of zealots and missionaries whose efforts brought about the conversion of the Altai ethnoses to Orthodoxy. The authors consider the work on the creation of the Altai script, the translation of sacred texts into local languages, the construction of schools where the indigenous population was taught literacy and crafts. Attention is also drawn to the activities of the monasteries devoted to the introduction of Russian culture and the achievements of medicine. In conclusion the analysis of the document presented in the paper makes it possible to reconstruct the process of the formation of a new culture among the indigenous population of the region by spreading of literacy and transition to a settled way of life. The presented factual material shows that it was not by chance that the Altai Ecclesiastical Mission was recognized as the best among the missions and regained the status until the end of its existence. During the years of its activity, a network of missionary settlements, liturgical institutions, monasteries as well as a system of educational and charitable institutions were created, mechanisms for successful conversion to Christianity of the non-Russian population were developed.

In the context of the modern transformation of the Russian statehood, attention to the problems of countering criminal crime has naturally increased. Historical experience is of key importance. It is no coincidence that over the past decade the study of manifestations of various types of illegal acts and ways to counteract them has noticeably intensified. The object of the study is the peculiarities of the extraction and turnover of shlikh gold on the territory of Eastern Siberia in pre–Soviet times, the subject is the illegal acts accompanying this process. The purpose of the study is to determine the causes, content, trends and patterns of the spread of various forms of illegal acts carried out during the extraction of shlikh gold on the territory of the Eastern outskirts of the Russian Empire. The scientific novelty of the conducted research lies in the analysis of the dynamics and direction of the development of illegal acts in the field of gold mining in the specific conditions of Eastern Siberia. The history of the development of Siberia was inextricably linked with the search for gold deposits and their subsequent active exploitation. Industrial gold mining which played a crucial role in the economic development of the region, at the same time, gave rise to a powerful criminal trade. High profitability, compactness of the object of illegal activity and demand exceeding supply were the specific features of criminal activity based on illegal extraction, secret resale and smuggling of gold dressing. Illegal gold trafficking which brings stable profits served as an important source of capital accumulation. Depending on the category of the Siberian population its capabilities and social status, the methods of theft varied. At the same time, effective law enforcement was excluded due to the fact that the administrative and judicial authorities were actually corrupted by gold miners.

The article is devoted to a significant episode of the 1915 campaign on the Russian front of the First World War - the actions of the Russian and German cavalry during the Sventsyansky breakthrough. The Sventsyansky breakthrough became an important stage in the Vilna strategic operation in August-September 1915. From an operational point of view, the Vilna operation serves as a classic example of the correct use of cavalry by the German command. In fact, these events represent the climax in the development of German military doctrine on the use of cavalry. But the success remained operational, and did not develop into a strategic one. Strategic success went to the Russian command. And this is the fault of the command of the German Eastern Front, which failed to calculate the parameters of the operation and provide support for the cavalry that had broken through. The Russian cavalry, despite its significant numbers, did not give decisive successes. Despite its excellent quality, it could not correct the mistakes made by the high command, which failed to properly use their mobile forces. The main reasons for this should be sought in the inability to control the actions of the strategic cavalry. And at the heart of this is the lack of understanding by the high combined arms command of the characteristics of the cavalry, the lack of an assessment of its decisive moral and physical impact on the rear of the enemy, and clear rules for the use of large cavalry masses. The cavalry, receiving several tasks at once, sprayed their strength and attention. Having got involved in battles with infantry, the Russian cavalry was late for the pursuit. As a result, the moment when the rapid appearance of a strong Russian cavalry in the immediate rear of the retreating Germans could turn a relatively orderly withdrawal into a disaster was missed. All this was a consequence of the lack of a doctrine of the use of strategic cavalry, which significantly affected the results of the operation.

The article highlights the collection of a single agricultural tax in the campaigns of 1924/25, 1925/26 and 1926/27 on the territory of the Yenisei province or since the summer of 1925 - Krasnoyarsk, Achinsk, Kansk, Minusinsk and Khakass districts of the Siberian Kray. The purpose of the study is to study the relationship between the Soviet state and the peasantry in the “best years of the NEP” which were then largely embodied in the collection and payment of tax assignments. The author shows that the essence of the tax policy on the part of the state was the annual and constant transitions from economic measures to administration and repression, and then with the emergence of crisis phenomena - from hard pressure to a new world in the village and back. Based on the materials of a particular region, it is shown that local authorities tried to organize harvesting on a commercial basis, but each time they were not ready for this policy and broke down to the usual non-economic methods of alienating bread. Another task of the article was to highlight peasant behavior. These facts show that the rural population was not only a law-abiding executor of state policy. Along with well-to-do peasants, representatives of other strata of the rural population struggled with the increasing monopolization of the market and directive methods of its regulation by all means available to them, which were most likely not class-based. Faced with delays in paying the tax, the country's leadership refused to give up the planned programs and decided to attack the village. The materials of the article confirm that the further aggravation of relations between the Soviet state and the countryside was caused by tax difficulties, but they testify that they were not the only reason for the failure of the previous liberalization policy. Its failure was also due to the socio-political situation created in rural enclaves, fueled by a zealous attitude to rule by the Communists and their fear of a coup d'etat.

The article examines the organizational development of cavalry formations on the territory of Transbaikalia against the background of national processes. The development of cavalry as a branch of the armed forces at the regional level clearly reflected all the patterns of Soviet military construction. The cavalry acted as a forge of command personnel for tank and mechanized units, ensuring the development of the necessary outlook and psychology. An assessment of the historiographical situation is given, the achievements of individual authors are listed. The main milestones of the development of the military organization are listed. In 1924-1929 in the east of the USSR two corps directorates (the 18th and 19th Rifle Divisions), 7 rifle divisions and two cavalry brigades were stationed. On August 6, 1929, before the conflict on the China-Eastern Railway, the eastern grouping of troops of the Siberian District was allocated to the Special Far Eastern Army. On May 17, 1935, the Trans-Baikal Military District was formed with headquarters in Chita. It is shown as a district, and since September 15, 1941, the front has served as a reliable defense against the Japanese. The fate of cavalry formations is consistently considered: the transformation of the 5th Kuban Brigade into the 15th Cavalry Division, the 1st Collective Farm Cavalry Division into the 22nd Cavalry Division and their conversion in March 1941 to the formation of the 29th mechanized corps. The history of the Buryat-Mongolian cavalry formations for 1926-1938 is also briefly traced: squadron, division, regiment, brigade. It is noted that since 1938 there has been a radical reduction of the Soviet cavalry: from 7 corps and 32 divisions to 4 corps and 13 divisions by the spring of 1941. The defeat of tank formations in the border battles of the Great Patriotic War forced the formation of light cavalry divisions from the summer of 1941, including the 51st at the Dauria station. The material concludes with a detailed overview of the activities of the 59th Cavalry Division, formed in February-April 1943. Fragments of documents on the participation of cavalrymen in the construction of defensive structures are given as an appendix.

The review analyzes the monograph by O.M. Bobyleva “Organization of resettlement of peasants in Eastern Siberia. 1906-1916”. It considers the author's coverage of the resettlement of peasants to Eastern Siberia during the Stolypin Agrarian Reform, the activity of state administration bodies on settlement and agricultural development of the eastern outskirts of the Russian Empire. The review reveals the advantages and disadvantages of the monograph and its contribution to the study of the history of development of Eastern Siberia. It is indicated that the work is based on a representative source base, the materials are analyzed at a high level, the structure is justified. The book, of course, will be of interest not only to professional historians, but also to everyone who is not indifferent to the socio-economic development of Eastern Siberia.

This article presents a critical analysis of the monograph of the Candidate of Historical Sciences, head of the Center for the Study of the History of the Civil War of the Omsk region, teacher and archivist “The history of the Omsk family of the Batyushkin” Dmitrii Igorevich Petin. The relevance of the publication, and its wide source base are noted. The topics that can serve as a reason for further scientific discussions are identified. A positive assessment is given to Petin's author's approach to the presentation of historical material, which is presented as a combination of the results of parallel studies of two subjects - the family of the Batyushkin and their family mansion. This scientific work will certainly be of interest not only to historians, local historians, but also to a wide range of readers.

The review examines the monograph by A. Yu. Bezugol'nyi “The national composition of the Red Army, 1918-1945: A Historical and statistical study”, published in 2021 by the Publishing House “Tsentrpoligraf”. In this monograph, the author presents the national composition and its changes from the moment of the formation of the Workers' and Peasants' Red Army to the end of the Great Patriotic War. The structure of this work is logically correct and allows us to consider the issue under study in different time frames. This work is very voluminous (511 p., 7 chapters, conclusion, list of abbreviations and list of sources and literature). But the logic of presenting similar components at different time intervals does not cause difficulties in understanding this work. This review reveals its advantages and disadvantages and, of course, reflects the contribution of this work to the study of this issue.

January 6, 2023 Head of the Laboratory of Archeology, Paleoecology and Life Systems of the Peoples of North Asia, Professor of the Department of History and Philosophy of the Irkutsk National Research University, Doctor of Historical Sciences Artur Viktorovich Kharinskii turned 60 years old. Forty of them are devoted to the archeology of North and Central Asia. Artur Viktorovich graduated from the Faculty of History of ISU in 1988 and after graduate school in 1994 he defended his PhD thesis. Among his teachers were V.V. Svinin, M.A. Zaitsev, O.I. Goryunova. From the very beginning, A.V. Kharinskii chose in archeology the direction of studying the Iron Age and the Middle Ages, first in the Baikal region, and then, as his interests developed, also in Transbaikalia and Northern Mongolia. The first dissertation was devoted to the settlements-sanctuaries of the Baikal region. The second, doctoral dissertation, defended in 2001, is devoted to the cultural and historical concept of the development of the population of the Baikal region in the 2nd half of I millennium BC - mid. of II millennium AD. Among the scientific directions of A.V. Kharinskii we should point to the iron production in the early Iron Age, the ethnography of the Evenks of the Northern Baikal region, the archeology of the nomads of the Middle Ages in Transbaikalia and Northern Mongolia, the archeology of Russian traces in Alaska, the archeology of the Bronze Age of the Baikal region, actively developed already together with their students and colleagues, in close collaboration with the leader specialists from Siberia and the Far East, including N.N. Kradin, E.V. Kovychev, A.A. Tishkin, P.V. Mandryka, N.O. Kozhevnikov, S.V. Snopkov, Yu.A., Emelyanova, D.E. Kichigin, G.L. Ivanov, G.K. Rykov. The brainchild of A.V. Kharinskii is the Laboratory of Archeology, Paleoecology and Life Systems of the Peoples of North Asia, IRNITU, established in 2001.