The problem has been first identified by A. W. Weber in 1995. According to the most recent account, formal cemeteries were used in the Late Mesolithic and Early Neolithic, they were absent in the Middle Neolithic, appeared again in the Late Neolithic, and continued through the Early Bronze Age. Explanation of this break has been the main goal the Baikal Archaeology Project (BAP). Over the last 10–15 years several papers appeared in Siberian archaeology, all quite critical of the “hiatus” concept itself and of the ideas and attempts by the BAP to explain this pattern. This paper is a response mainly to the publication “On the problem of hiatus – a discontinuity in the burial traditions of the Cis-Baikal Neolithic population” by I.M. Berdnikov et al., 2020 – the most explicit critique of BAP research. In response, we present archaeological foundations, the origins of the problem, and views of BAP researchers on the matter. We summarize the history of radiocarbon dating of human skeletal remains from Neolithic graves in Cis-Baikal – the empirical foundation for the “hiatus” concept and emphasize that there are already ~720 AMS radiocarbon dates, all corrected for the freshwater reservoir effect, and “filling-in” of the “hiatus” is not observed. Only 3–4 burials can be tentatively considered as belonging to the Middle Neolithic. We expose the lack of logic in the attempts to “fill-in” the Middle Neolithic “hiatus” in Cis-Baikal with the materials from Northern Angara and other neighboring territories. In sum, the critique by Berdnikov et al. shows many misunderstandings, errors, selective, and far from complete knowledge of publications, as well as of the theoretical, methodological, and analytical approach of BAP research, and insufficient knowledge of the modern methodology and theory of research on prehistoric hunter-gatherers in general.

   This article presents an analysis of the data of “Olga. 87 km”, the new site of the Mohe archeological culture, located on the eastern coast of Primorsky Krai. This region is archaeologically underexplored and the addition of the source base for the reconstruction of its ancient history is a crucial task. As a result of a scrupulous approach to the analysis of a small collection of artifacts, the main characteristics of the ceramic complex were revealed, plant seed imprints on the surface of vessels were identified, the type of iron armor plates and the method of production of ancient textiles preserved on several fragments of the armor were determined. As a result, not only the site’s chronology and cultural background was determined, but it has also been suggested that this object of cultural heritage is a cemetery. The site’s cultural background is determined by ceramics, which have analogies in the residential and burial complexes of the Mohe archaeological culture located in the eastern and northeastern Primorye. Broomcorn millet seeds imprints found on the vessel walls does not contradict this either, since this grain played a significant role in the economy of some groups of the Mohe population. The site’s chronology is indicated both by the defining characteristics of vessels peculiar to the ceramics of sites of the VII-VIII centuries AD, and the type of armor plates that became widespread no earlier than the VII century. A limited set of finds specific to burials (ceramics and armor plates) and a small volume of vessels, which is a defining characteristic of the funerary complexes’ ceramics, allow us to quite convincingly characterize the new site as a cemetery. Thus, “Olga.87 km” archaeological site is a new cemetery of the Mohe culture, which functioned at the beginning of the Bohai period (VII-VIII centuries AD).

   The article discusses the results of a study of archaeozoological materials from a section of the city of Yekaterinburg related to its central part and the earliest period of city development. The materials of the work characterize the period from the second half of the 18^th to the end of the 19^th century. To study of the bones of livestock which form the basis of the collection the traditional archaeozoological methods were applied to determine the age and biological characteristics of livestock. In addition, new approaches were used in the form of the use of X-rays for mass bone series and pathological analysis based on the study of age and pathological changes in modern livestock. The results of the study demonstrate that the meat diet of the inhabitants of the stable settlement of Yekaterinburg was based mainly on the consumption of beef. Meat from cows and bulls of several age and size groups fell on the table of the inhabitants. The meat of other types of livestock played a much smaller role in the nutrition system of the inhabitants of the settlement. The bones of livestock were actively used by the townspeople to make dice, toys and musical instruments. Dice from the first phalanxes of cattle are the most massive category of bone products. The results of pathological analysis revealed a large number of age-related changes and a number of pathologies. The most numerous categories of pathological changes are osteochondrotic defects of the articular surface on the bones of all species of livestock. Some changes on the bones of the bulls allow for the reconstruction of the working use of cattle. During the processing of the osteological material a relatively large number of modificational changes in the bones were revealed which were not previously recorded in the study of materials from the New Age of Russian cities.

   The article is based on unpublished documents of Russian State Archive of Ancient Acts united in Stlb. 508 of Fund 214 (Siberian Order). The article describes the initial stage of territories’ annexation of Transbaikalia and Amur Region (Dauria) to Russia by “Daurian regiment” under the command of former Yenisei governor Afanasy Filippovich Pashkov. The study focuses on the events associated with the activities of the regiment in Dauria in 1657-1662. The article describes the events from the moment of the entrance of Daurian regiment to Transbaikalia until the arrival of L. Tolbuzin, who replaced the governor A.F. Pashkov later, in Nerchinsk district. The following issues are considered: the first military operations in Transbaikalia and the subordination of Tungus princes; construction of the Irgensky and Upper Shilksky fortresses; arrangement of arable lands and search for places for salt production; reconnaissance of the situation in Amur region and recruitment of Yenisei warriors and the remnants of Amur army to Daursky regiment; problems with provision of the regiment; combat and non-combat losses. Much attention is paid to the history of construction of two Orthodox churches in Transbaikalia. The study concluded that Daurian regiment fulfilled its main mission, securing the power of Russia in Transbaikalia, despite the fact that over 5 years of service in Dauria, most of it died during the fighting, as well as due to hunger and disease. The article is intended for historians, local historians and a wide range of readers interested in the history of Transbaikalia.

   The article is devoted to the history of the formation and development of the “Siberian fortified area”. Based on a wide range of sources, the place of the “Siberian fortified area” in the system of ensuring the military security of Russia in the south of Western Siberia is shown. The organizational structure, the strength of the “Siberian fortified area” and their changes depending on the spectrum of external military threats are analyzed in such details as an arrangement of defensive fortifications of the Siberian border line and providing army regiments with provisions and various types of military equipment. Much attention is paid by the authors to the recruitment of Siberian regiments with officers and lower military ranks, the peculiarities of combat training of Siberians, the use of field regimental camps in military training, the preparation and withdrawal of Siberian regiments to the European part of Russia in 1808-1810. A certain emphasis is placed by the authors on the peculiarities of military administration on the territory of Western Siberia in the second half of the 18^th - early 19^th centuries. On specific examples, the life and service of the Siberian dragoon, musketeer, chasseur regiments and Cossack teams, their activities in protecting state borders and economic development of the region, organizing mutually beneficial border trade and cultural exchange are considered. The contribution of Generals Anton Danilovich and Anton Antonovich Skalonov to the establishment of peaceful mutually beneficial relations with the local peoples and to the improvement of the combat capability of the Siberian regiments is shown. Here are given some examples of the courage and heroism of the Siberian regiments during the defense of the Smolensk fortress and the Battle of Borodino in the Patriotic War of 1812, and of the patriotism of the Siberians of the border lines of the “Siberian fortified area” and the Siberian provinces in collecting voluntary monetary and material donations for the needs of the Russian Army.

   This article based on a large body of unpublished documents from the Russian State Military Historical Archive (RSMHA). The author analyzes the current situation in Irkutsk Reserve Battalion and describe the level of combat readiness of the other reserve infantry troops, dislocated in Siberian Military District in 1899. In that year there was a visit of the War Minister of Russian Empire Aleksey N. Kuropatkin to Siberian Military District. That visit was of historic importance as it took place less than 7 months before the Siberian Military District mobilization in July 7^th 1900 in response to the Boxer Rebellion in China and about 4 years prior the Russo-Japanese War of 1904–1905. Its purpose was personal acquaintance of the War Minister with the recently created Siberian Military District; specifically, evaluation of the actual state and combat readiness of the dislocated troops, the current situation with military infrastructure, data gathering to further develop defense plans and regional military reforms in Siberia. Traveling by Trans-Siberian Railway, Kuropatkin inspected military objects in cities and the troops of the largest Siberian garrisons, including 4 of the 6 reserve infantry battalions, dislocated in Siberian Military District and Irkutsk Reserve Battalion among them. In this article is first published the most detailed descriptions of Irkutsk Reserve Battalion in the end of XIX century. It has presented the data about the service particularity of the reserve infantry troops in Siberia, their tasks and the difficulties of organization their military education. It has concluded that the necessity of use them for intended purpose in a wartime demand a serious changes in its service and military education.

   The beginning of Russia's special military operation in Ukraine, and the joining to Russia of the Donetsk and Lugansk People's Republics, as well as the Kherson and Zaporozhye regions in the fall of 2022 actualized the appeal to the history of these lands, which for a long time were part of the Russian state. It is determined that the collective name Novorossia is applicable to several regions: Kherson, Yekaterinoslav and Taurida provinces, Bessarabia region, Donskoy Army region, Kuban region and Black Sea province. Of these, the first three are of special scientific interest as territories either already part of Russia, or those where military operations are being conducted. In the pre - revolutionary period, these territories were part of the Russian Empire and were deeply integrated into its composition since the end of the XVIII century. The study of the historiography of the problem revealed in the Russian scientific space a limited number of authors and works devoted to the police of the Tauride province, and units of scientific papers covering the problems of police development in the Kherson and Yekaterinoslav provinces. Nevertheless, the field for the study of the history of the general police in these territories seems to be quite wide. The main types of sources for studying the problem and the degree of their accessibility for the modern Russian historian were outlined. A brief overview of the socio-economic structure of the region made it possible to identify the main factors that influenced the activities of police agencies. These include the coastal location of the provinces, their mixed agricultural and industrial specialization, the motley social composition of the population with the involvement of seasonal workers.

   Based on the study of obligatory ordinances and correspondence of military governors and Governors-general the article examines the specifics of regulating entrepreneurial activity in the firearms trade in the Russian Far East in the late XIX - early XX century. The restrictions on the import of this product into the region and its export to China and the difficulties in obtaining permits for this type of trade for entrepreneurs are investigated. Data on the volumes of firearms sold are given; the effectiveness of the measures of the local administration to control this trade is assessed. Regulation of the firearms trade in the region was carried out by senior officials of the local administration - governors and Governors-general - who approved legal acts regulating the circulation of weapons in the territories entrusted to them. The supervision of the firearms trade was strengthened after the declaration in July 1900 of a number of places of the Russian Far East on martial law because of the Boxer Rebellion in China. In this regard, by order of the Governor-general, information was collected on the amount of firearms from local traders. Also, all permits issued by the Governor-general to trading companies to import firearms for sale were reported to the police to establish proper oversight. The regulation of the trade in firearms in the Russian Far East had its own specificity, largely due to its border position with China: in fact, there was a ban on the sale of weapons to the Chinese and its export to Manchuria.

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   The article is devoted to the analysis of the ideological, conceptual and factual content of the memoirs of Father George Shavelsky, who was consistently the last protopresbyter of the military and naval clergy of the Russian Empire, and since the end of November 1918 protopresbyter of the military and naval clergy of the Volunteer Army, about the events of the Civil War in the South of Russia. The author was an extremely intelligent man, had an impeccable moral character, and personal charm and special piety gave his relationships with people a special confidence, which made the memoirs as informative as possible. Father George strives to be impartial, not hiding the various “ulcers” of White volunteerism. The attitude of various circles to the high command is highlighted in detail, the negative role of “rumors and gossip” is emphasized. “Everyone who had something to do and who had nothing to do discussed and criticized strategy and policy.” A separate chapter of Fr. George's memoirs is devoted to the “Ailments of the Volunteer Army”: the claims of the first-time income earners for advantages, intolerance to those forced to serve with the Bolsheviks, widespread robberies and drunkenness, etc. Before proceeding to the assessment in the memoirs of Fr. George the lighting of the problems of Church the degree of historiographical illumination of religious influence on the political processes of the Civil War period is characterized. It is show further how the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of the South of Russia, General A.I. Denikin, who himself repeatedly emphasized his deep religiosity, built a new system of state-church relations. The motives and circumstances of the organization of the supreme church authority are revealed. The chapter “The Decline of the Volunteer Army” describes the finale of Denikin's epic, including the fate of General I.P. Romanovsky.

   The history of the Basmach movement, whose members fought against the Soviet regime in Turkestan until the early 1930^s, still retains a great amount of little-studied plots and unexplored facts despite the great Soviet and post-Soviet historiography. The rough breaking of the established customs and traditions of the indigenous population undertaken by the Bolsheviks after the seizure of power, their ignoring the peculiarities of the spiritual life of these peoples, and miscalculations in the implementation of economic policy caused mass protests of Muslims, which grew into armed resistance and led to the formation of the first Basmach detachments. The Soviet authorities failed in their attempts by to suppress this movement with the help of military force. The history of the Basmach movement, whose members fought against the Soviet regime in Turkestan until the early 1930^s, still retains a great amount of little-studied plots and unexplored facts despite the great Soviet and post-Soviet historiography. The rough breaking of the established customs and traditions of the indigenous population undertaken by the Bolsheviks after the seizure of power, their ignoring the peculiarities of the spiritual life of these peoples, and miscalculations in the implementation of economic policy caused mass protests of Muslims, which grew into armed resistance and led to the formation of the first Basmach detachments. The Soviet authorities failed in their attempts by to suppress this movement with the help of military force.

   The article deals with the study of the social and economic restructuring of the Soviet agriculture in the first third of the XX^th century and influence of these changes on personal and professional lives of the most numerous social class of the country – the peasantry. In the beginning of the XX^th century the Soviet country lagged behind the rest of the western industrial countries in terms of development. To overcome such lagging the number of actions was made. The aim of these actions was to modernize the main branches of national economy. Among all the efforts, the reforming of the agriculture was put into practice. Reforming of agriculture resulted in creation of the system of collective farms or kolkhozes on the territory of the Soviet Union. Collectivization got controversial evaluation in the studies of both Soviet and Russian and foreign researches. This article deals with the point of view of an American researcher, professor of the Western Virginia University Mark B. Tauger concerning nature and character of social and economic changes, their influence on the Soviet agriculture and the Soviet peasantry. In his studies Mark. B. Tauger underlines that collectivization was of modernizing nature despite a number of negative effects and was aimed to improve the agricultural sector. Mark B. Tauger’s point of view individuates his works from the great quantity of works of foreign researches who mainly discuss the negative consequences of collectivization in the Soviet agriculture. While analyzing Mark B. Tauger’s works it is noticed how changes of the peasants’ business activity affected the relationships between the government and peasantry. The article also studies the opinion of Mark B. Tauger about the famine that happened in the USSR in the beginning of 30^th in the XX^th century. Mark B. Tauger underlines that among the reasons of it were also the external ones. In conclusion, the reforms of the 30^th in the XX^th century are summed up, noticed their controversial results. Also, on a final note, changes in personal and professional lives of peasants, highlighted by Mark B. Tauger, are noted. These changes were a result of social and economic reforms carried out in the agriculture. The opinion of Mark B. Tauger also provided concerning a necessity of balanced assessment of all historic events.

   The article is devoted to an interesting and important episode in the history of Siberia of Soviet-Chinese relations - the Siberian period of the life of the Chinese Shi Jae, who later became Mao Zedong’ personal translator of the Russian language. Nine years of experience in the Soviet secret services in Novosibirsk allowed him to become the chief expert on the Soviet Union in the leadership of the CPC. In recent years, Russian researchers have shown great interest in the personality of Shi Jae, but the Siberian period of his biography remains insufficiently studied. The study is based on office documents from the funds of the Russian State Archive of Socio-Political History (RGASPI) and the State Archive of the Novosibirsk Region (GANO), as well as the memoirs of Shi Jae himself published in China. This Chinese came to Novosibirsk to work for the OGPU in 1929 under the surname Karsky, already having experience of studying and working in different cities of the European part of the Soviet Union. After an unsuccessful attempt to return to China in 1931, he worked in Siberia until 1938, making a good career in the Soviet secret services. In Novosibirsk, Shi Jae married a girl from Achinsk, where his children were born. Working in Siberia, he kept in touch with the Chinese in Moscow and relatives in China, never abandoned his intentions to return to his homeland as soon as possible. Shi Jae was involved in the arbitrariness of the secret services and political repressions against local and interned Chinese, but did not take part in the so-called “Chinese operation” - organized in early 1938, repressions against immigrants from China. At this time, he was dismissed from the internal organs and left for Moscow, and in 1940 he returned to China. Thanks to the experience gained in Siberia, during the key period of the communist struggle for power in China and the construction of the People's Republic of China, Shi Jae became the main translator and expert on the Soviet Union in the CPC Central Committee.

   Since the Bolsheviks seized power until the collapse of the USSR, five anti-alcohol campaigns were conducted: in 1918-1925, in 1929, in 1958, in 1972 and in 1985-1987. The last campaign had a number of positive and negative aspects. On the one hand, in this short period of time, according to official statistics, there has been a decrease in the level of alcoholism among the population and, consequently, in the level of mortality. The birth rate, on the contrary, increased. On the other hand, the use of alcohol surrogates, which are even more harmful to health than state-standard alcoholic beverages, has not disappeared. Moonshine, which was prohibited by law in the Soviet Union, developed. In addition, the decline in alcohol production has adversely affected the State economy. The mass media took an active part in the fight against drunkenness. They presented it as an asocial phenomenon standing in the way of communism and promoted a healthy lifestyle. It was then that the slogans “Sobriety is the norm of life” and “Fight Drunkenness” appeared. This article reveals how often the problem of drunkenness was raised and how it was presented in the literary and artistic illustrated satirical magazine “Crocodile” before and during the anti-alcohol campaign of 1985-1987. The article also considers the following documents: the resolution of the CPSU Central Committee “On measures to overcome drunkenness and alcoholism”, the resolution of the USSR Council of Ministers “On measures to overcome drunkenness and alcoholism, the eradication of moonshining” and the decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR “On strengthening the fight against drunkenness and alcoholism, the eradication of moonshining”.

   The article provides an overview of the conduct of information and psychological warfare in various historical periods. The features of the terminological definition and the essential characteristics of the concept of “information and psychological warfare” are noted. Special attention is focused on the fact that in modern conditions of active confrontation of various powers with the Russian Federation, the role and importance of information and psychological impact is extremely high. It is indicated that in the historical context the success of military operations of various scales depends not only on the technical equipment and forces of the army, but also on the ability to conduct a propaganda campaign both within the state and abroad. The article shows that information and psychological warfare in various historical periods was conducted by a variety of methods, ranging from the distribution of printed materials to large-scale information campaigns supported by the media. In modern conditions, information and psychological wars are waged using all possible means: printed materials, advertising, television, the Internet. At the same time, the main goals and motives of conducting information and psychological warfare remain - destabilization and destruction of the enemy at the psychological level. The author points out that the study of the peculiarities of conducting information and psychological wars in a historical context is becoming relevant, since the principles of such actions are also applied in modern military operations. In this connection, there is a need to study information and psychological influences both from a theoretical point of view in the context of clarifying and supplementing scientific information, and from a practical point of view, in order to form skills and abilities in countering negative information and psychological influence.

   The article presents an analytical review of a scientific reference publication covering more than two centuries of the history of Russian notaphily. The author and compiler of this work, Moscow historian and antiquarian market specialist A. G. Baranov, has been accumulating a bibliographic heritage thematically related to the history of paper money currency for a quarter of a century. The review notes the general importance of the analyzed publication for academic science, lists its merits. In the form of private critical passages, ways of possible further improvement of the publication are indicated. The theoretical basis of the study was a combination of the anthropological approach, comparative-historical and historical-genetic methods. In conclusion, it is emphasized that this book refutes the established opinion about the narrow specialization of notaphily – knowledge with a very rich bibliography.

   Review of a monograph devoted to the regional policy of the Russian Empire in the period 1894-1917 is presented. The problem of economic management and the interaction of the Center and national suburbs, the specifics of these relations in the Far East, the Caucasus, Central Asia, the Baltic States are the objects of study of the authors of the monograph. The authors explore the economic course of the government, state regulation of economic relations with the regions: the solution of the issue in the government, debates in the State Duma and the formation of a legislative framework regulating this activity. A common aspect of the study of all regions was labor migration, it was considered how it was organized, what problems it generated. The mechanism of promoting regional interests in St. Petersburg is also in the focus of attention of researchers.

   Book review by A. M. Burovsky records numerous substitutions made by the author. They concern the opinion of N. A. Berdyaev, the definitions given by the American psychologist W. James, as well as the qualifications of the Chinese neo-Confucian philosopher Yang Wangming. The author repeatedly operates with unproven accusations against colleagues (to the greatest extent this concerns the late academician A.P. Okladnikov), descends to openly racist statements against the Russian and Mongolian peoples. The author's racism and the resulting rejection of Russia in practice lead him to a natural attempt to revive the separatist tradition of Siberian regionalism in the 19th century. The review discusses the motivation that prompted the author to write such an unconvincing work.