The article presents the multi-layered settlements of Southwestern Transbaikalia, among which the discovered by the Chikoi Archaeological Expedition of Chita Pedagogical Institute in 1980 Ust-Menza-2 site stands out. 34 cultural layers have been identified in this settlement. Of these, 32 layers (C.L. 3-27) belong to the Upper Paleolithic. The lowest C.L.s (25-27) reflect the final stage of the middle period of the Upper Paleolithic. Paleolithic layers 4-24 characterize the late time of the Upper Paleolithic. A variety of stone structures have been found in these cultural layers, most of them are interpreted as the remains of dwellings. The lithic inventory of the Paleolithic layers testifies to the origin and development of the microblade industry based on the use of terminal wedge-shaped microcores from single primitive microcores and curved microblades to variable-shaped microcores and numerous upright secondary forms. In the Paleolithic layers, fragments of bones and teeth of the Siberian mountain goat, mountain sheep, bull, red deer, horse, tarbagan, fox, and bird were found. Bone tools are rare (awls, needles). A special place is occupied by C.L. 3, attributed to the final Paleolithic. C.L.s 1 and 2 from the Holocene deposits date back to the Bronze Age. These layers contain hearths, fireplaces, stone implements, and traces of the use of metal. Stone inventory retains its relevance, while the assortment of tools is expanding, which is associated with the beginning of ore mining and the use of bronze. A special group of finds in C.L. 1 and 2 is occupied by pottery with a large number of ornamented fragments. The correlation of Ust-Menza 2 with other multi-layer sites of Menza and Chikoy makes it possible to create a reliable regional geoarchaeological scheme and present a vivid picture of the development of the material culture of the ancient population.

In the summer of 2023 the participants of the expedition «On the routes of Petr Kuzmich Kozlov» conducted archaeological exploration in the south-eastern part of the Mongolian Altai, on the border of Hovd and Gov-Altai Aimaks. At the north-western end of the mountains Ikh Uushig in Tsetzhag Somon found 8 different archaeological objects three Paleolithic sites (Ikh Uushig 2, 4, 6), four sites with petroglyphs (Ikh Uushig 1, 3, 5, 7) and one Turkic memorial fence (Ikh Uushig 8). In the middle part of the tract Uushigyin Baruun Kholoy, west part of the mountains Ikh Uushig, the funeral site Uushigyin Baruun Khool 1 and the Paleolithic site Uushigyin Baruun Kholoy 2 were revealed. In the south western extremities of the Shandatyn Nuru Mountain Range in Tonkhil Somone the funerary site Tonkhil Somone is examined. The main part of the collection of artifacts from the archaeological site Ikh Uushig 4 dates from the period of the Initial Upper Paleolithic 44-39 Kyr BP. It includes the core with the double-polar striking platforms, point, blades, end-scrapers and other stone artifacts. The finds from the Ikh Uushig 5 site are represented by flakes and wedge-shaped core. They relate to the late Upper Paleolithic Mesolithic 18-8 Kyr BP. Approximate archaeological age of the sites Ikh Uushig 2 and Uushigyin Baruun Kholoy 2 Late Paleolithic-Mesolithic 45-8 Kyr BP. Petroglyphs from Ikh Uushig 1, 3, 5, 7 date from the Bronze Age III-II thousands BC and include mainly images of mountain goats. Mound embanks Uushigyin Baruun Kholoy 1 and Shandatyn Nuruu 1, some of which can be described as kherexures, were constructed in 13-8 centuries BC. The time of construction of Turkic fences Ikh Uushig 8 correlates with the 6-8 centu ries AD.

The article presents the results of archaeobotanical analysis of seeds and fruits obtained in a test mode by the water flotation technique from the sites of the Paleometallic period in the Lower Amur River region Nizhnetambovskoye-2 (VIII-V cc. BC), Amurskiy Sanatoriy (III-I cc. BC), Petropavlovka-5 (II-I cc. BC), Golyy Mys-6 (the second half of the I millennium BC). Natural and climatic conditions of the sites’ location vary greatly. Amurskiy Sanatoriy and Petropavlovka-5 are located in the Middle Amur lowland, in its center part having the best agroclimatic conditions in the region. Nizhnetambovskoye-2 is located on lowland's northeastern periphery with less favorable conditions. Golyy Mys-6 is located in the northeast of the Amur valley with a rather harsh climate. Seven samples were obtained from deposits associated with Urilskaya (Nizhnetambovskoye-2, 1 sample), Bolshebukhtinskaya (Golyy Mys-6, 2 samples), Poltsevskaya (Amurskiy Sanatoriy, 3 samples and Petropavlovka-5, 1 sample) archaeological cultures. 1426 seeds of cultural, gathering, and weedy plants were found in 6 samples. 37 seeds have not been identified. Cultigen is represented by seeds of Setaria italica from three sites: Nizhnetambovskoe-2 (664 examples 70 % of all seeds), Amurskiy Sanatoriy (201 examples 77.9 %), Petropavlovka-5 (23 examples 67.6 %). This data shows the significance of foxtail millet for agriculture of the Poltsevskaya culture population in the Lower Amur region and confirm the results of previous research. The analysis of seeds from Nizhnetambovsky-2 settlement presents possible import of foxtail millet. Its growers lived upstream of the Amur, but it is not yet clear what archaeological culture they may be associated with. Remains of gathering plants’ in the sites demonstrate the significant role of gathering not only among the inhabitants of the north-eastern Amur region, where agriculture was impossible, but even among the agricultural population. Our research has shown high information potential of archaeobotanical methods for the reconstruction of agriculture and gathering among the Lower Amur Valley populations.

More than twenty Bohai cemeteries have been discovered in China, and almost a thousand of burials have been researched. A significant number of excavated burials allows us to consider in sufficient detail and comprehensively their general characteristics. They usually consist of a grave pit and a mound, based on building materials and forms, can be divided into 3 groups and 6 types, according to the research of Vei Tsun’chen; sometimes grave structures were built on the mounds, which differ in size and design. Most of the burials are in the valleys of four basins of large rivers (five districts), in which they are concentrated and have obvious regional characteristic, which show the process of development of Bohai burials and features of different stages. Funeral traditions of Bohai are also different. Different cultures influenced the development of forms and traditions of Bohai burials, at first the influence of Mohe cultural was prevailed, and the features of Goguryeo and other local cultures are also obvious, with the development of the state, the influence of Tang dynasty became stronger. The characteristics of burials of different ranks are different. The graves of members of the royal house and the aristocracy are important objects of Bohai studies in China, changes of their location, layout and shape show not only the development of culture, but also the political conjuncture of Bohai state. The distribution structure of the Bohai cemeteries and other sites help to consider the process of changes in the administrative division system and political circumstances of Bohai State.

In September 2022, as part of a joint Mongolian-Russian Expedition organized by the staff of the Mongolian National University and Altai State University, archaeological research was conducted near Mount Yashil (Orkhontuul Somon Selenge aimag of Mongolia). As a result, three burial mounds of Mongolian time were excavated. Mounds 1 and 3 contained unrobbed adult burials, while the skeleton of a child in mound 2 appeared to be disturbed. Sheep tibiae (?) were found in the graves, which was an important feature of the burial ritual. In addition to them, vertebrae and a shoulder blade of small horned cattle were found. A fragment of a small iron axe was found on the right side of the chest of a man buried in barrow No. 1. The remains of a birch bark quiver, a palm tip, armor plates and other objects were found in barrow No. 3. The appearance and internal structure of the burial mounds at Mount Yashil reflect the main features of Mongolian burials. At the same time, barrow No. 3 had different features. The article presents descriptions of the excavation results and analysis of the obtained materials, which allows comparison with other similar archaeological sites investigated in Northern Mongolia and nearby regions. It is noted that the items of armour found at the Mount Yashil site are mentioned in the famous work of Plano Carpini, who visited the Mongol Empire in the 1240s. The findings at Mount Yashil will become additional material in correlating the written and archaeological sources of the considered period. In addition to the results of the excavations, the history of the study of funerary sites in Northern Mongolia is summarised. To date, rock burials and burial mounds are known at 41 archaeological complexes.

The article refers to a very important and controversial page in the history of the Russian Orthodox Church, namely, the «Nikon Schism». A believing person, with his whole life and with his every deed, strives only for one goal to come to God again, to come to where he was expelled from and dissolve in his universal kindness and protection. However, the rites and actions of a person throughout the existence of Orthodoxy, and Christianity as a whole, were not always performed in the same form. What is it an apostasy, a distortion of the fundamental elements of faith or an attempt to introduce something of one's own? The consideration of such issues has always been not complex, but in a narrow form, so the Old Believers were mainly engaged in the practical component of understanding the Church. Disputes of researchers of the Old Believers do not subside even now. What is it the strength of the ideas of the Old Believers or its ignorance? Among other things, the researchers put the opposition of Orthodoxy to Catholicism as the reason for the split. They saw in this exclusively their own path in the history of Orthodoxy, where there was an element of a departure from an independent choice of path in theological approaches to Orthodoxy, and this vision also explained the essence of the split in the state the split between the ROC and the state. The study and understanding of the various components of the Old Believers by various domestic philosophers and historians makes it possible to form not only a complete picture of this phenomenon, but also to approach the causes of the emergence of the Old Believers. Patriarch Nikon had focused on Greek traditions, on correcting texts. Was there any sense in this, but this led to a split in the Russian Orthodox Church. The main component of this article lies in the position that the Church is one, and this is precisely the Orthodox Church. But the path she follows is far from easy.

The article deals with the emergency situation that arose in Verkhneudinsky and Selenginsky districts in 1888 as a result of climatic anomalous phenomena. As a result of the drought and the subsequent heavy rains and hail, grain crops in vast fields were completely destroyed. The Verkhneudinsky district was inhabited by local Old Believer communities, whose main occupation was agriculture. There were not so many Old Believers in the Selenginsky district, but they were also engaged in farming. At the same time, there was a loss of livestock in some settlements. Taiga resources and fish resources within the study area were not enough to solve the problem of hunger. The purpose of this work is to describe the crisis socio-economic situation in Verkhneudinsky and Selenginsky districts in 1888-1889 according to the State Archive of the Irkutsk region. This made it possible to consider the economic ties of the Old Believers with the residents of neighboring districts within the Trans-Baikal region. Special attention is paid to the role of state authorities in providing assistance to residents of Verkhneudinsky and Selenginsky districts. To assess and solve the problem, a special Commission was established to collect information about the victims, which was headed by an Official of Special Assignments, Baron A.N. Korf. Based on the results of the study and assessment of the situation, the Commission invited the authorities to provide assistance to the victims with money, bread and seeds. The article also reflects the strategic role of rural economic stores in the life of local communities engaged in agriculture. Rural economic stores in Old Believer villages and in settlements of neighboring districts of the Trans-Baikal region performed donor functions both to eliminate hunger and to restore arable farming in Verkhneudinsky and Selenginsky districts.

The article analyzes missionary activity in aboriginal (native) parishes of the Yenisei diocese in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. The conducted study is based on the materials of the Minusinsk and Achinsk districts of the Yenisei province. In late nineteenth early twentieth centuries mainly baptized aborigens lived here, and missionary activity was aimed primarily at establishing in them faith and the foundations of the Christian life. Activities of missionaries in foreign parishes of Minusinsk and Achinsk districts did not always give positive results. An obstacle to success was the lack of education and cultural level of local priests, ignorance of the language of the foreign flock.Considerable difficulties in missionary activity were caused by geographical and natural-climatic features of the parishes, their dispersion over large spaces, the paucity or absence of temples in places inhabited by aborigens, their commitment to pagan rituals and shamanism. However, the missionary activity of individual priests of aborigen native parishes in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries was pretty successful. Priests who graduated from special spiritual institutions and those who owned the methodology and methods of missionary activity, achieved success in spreading Orthodoxy among aborigens. A significant role in missionary activity was assigned to the development of primary school education among the indigenous population of the Minusinsk and Achinsk districts. Some students who graduated from the parochial school continued their studies at the Biysk catechetical and Krasnoyarsk religious schools. Diocesan missionary congresses were devoted to the problems of the institution of missionaries. It is concluded that missionary activity was the main component of the Christianization of the indigenous population of Minusinsk and Achinsk districts. At the end of the 19th beginning of the 20th centuries it was aimed mainly at affirming the faith and the foundations of Christian life among the non-native population. This was in line with the policy of the Russian Empire, aimed at the development and consolidation of the Siberian region on the basis of a single Orthodox faith.

The article analyzes Russian (pre-Revolutionary), Soviet and post-Soviet (modern) historical literature devoted to the history of the secret police of the Russian Empire in the late XIX early XX centuries. The article contains an extensive review of scientific and popular scientific research on the secret police of the Russian Empire. The authors examined various methodological approaches to the historical study of the secret police, assessing the achievements and shortcomings, and also analyzed the development of the historiography of the secret police. Having studied the existing scientific works in this field, the authors identify various approaches and interpretations, highlighting the main topics and arguments used by researchers. The key issues of concern to historians who study Russian law enforcement agencies are summarized. The authors share the opinion of the majority of experts who claim in their works that the importance of the secret police always increases many times at the “sharp turns of history”, during acute crises in the development of relations between power structures and democratic institutions, which was observed in imperial Russia in the late XIX early XX centuries. The article concludes that the historiography of the secret police of the Russian Empire of the late XIX early XX centuries is an important and versatile area of modern research. The authors emphasize the importance of studying the secret police as an important tool of political control in Russia in the late XIX early XX centuries and its influence on the development of relations between the state and society in this period. The article will be useful for historians, as well as for anyone interested in political repression and the history of the Russian Empire.

Irkutsk, the capital of Eastern Siberia, called by the press “Eastern Paris”, “Siberian Petersburg”, “Siberian Athens”, has its own characteristics of the development of musical culture and education. Russian settlers from Moscow, Ustyug, Yarensk, Pinega, Sol’ Vychegodskaya, Mezen, Pskov, Pereslavl-Zalessky, Novgorod land, Vologda and others brought their cultural characteristics to their new place of residence. Music was present in all spheres of life of Irkutsk residents: folk, spiritual and secular. In the 18th century Public education begins to develop. Theological education, namely the first Irkutsk School, played a special role in the emergence of systematic music education in our region. In 1738, the Latin language and church singing were introduced into school education; this event can be considered as the starting point of official music education in school institutions in Irkutsk. Later, when new parochial schools were opened in the Irkutsk province, church choral singing was included in the program. Choir directors were trained at the Irkutsk Seminary and the Znamensky Monastery. In the teacher's seminary they were taught notated singing and music, playing musical instruments (mainly the violin), and teaching music. The Girls' Institute of Emperor Nicholas I (1845-1920) was a center of musical education; for more than half of century it represented a music school for Irkutsk residents. The first music school in Irkutsk was private, it was opened by A.Yu. Ginita-Pilsudski, a graduate of the St. Petersburg Conservatory. The school of E.G. Gorodetskaya, R.A. Ivanov and M.N. Sinitsyn operated for a long time; it educated many good musicians who played a significant role in the musical life of Irkutsk.

The theme of banner trophies is of great importance. In all eras, the banner, which was the symbol and personification of a military unit, was the most valuable trophy, the visible embodiment of victory. The heroes who captured the banner were the most revered in the army, and the capture of the banner was a first-class feat and the basis for nomination for a high military award. And our article is devoted to an important discovery: saving the central part of the flag of the 142nd Zvenigorod Infantry Regiment. Previously, the fate of only fragments of this banner was known, which ended up in Tannenberg’s “cauldron” having experienced all the consequences of the tragic failure in the East Prussian operation of 1914. Of great importance for the course and outcome of the operation was the disdainful attitude on the part of the Russian command towards wired and (especially) wireless communications. The successful actions of German radio intelligence became an important prerequisite for the successful completion of the East Prussian operation for the enemy. Knowing not only the situation but also the operational plans of the Russian command, the leadership of the German 8th Army was able to implement a plan to encircle the nucleus of the Russian 2nd Army: the 13th, 15th Army Corps and part of the 23rd Army Corps were surrounded. The formations failed to break through as organized units from the encirclement and in the period of 16-18 August, after fierce fighting, their remnants died in the encirclement. At the same time, the surrounded Russian troops seriously battered the Germans (inflicting tangible defeats to several units and formations). As a result of our research, it was possible to restore the history of saving the central part of the banner of this regiment of the Russian Imperial Army and reveal the name of the main hero of this feat of the commander of the 4th Battalion, lieutenant colonel G.K. Sklobovsky. Soldiers and officers of the Russian army, saving the regimental shrine, provided the future of the native regiment. And feats of warriors who defended native flags are inscribed in golden letters on pages of glory of Russian weapons.

This article is the first published in Russian unique document of the commander of the 5th Polish Siberian Division, Colonel K. Rumša, speaking on the first person’s progress of evacuation of Polish units from Siberia during the Civil War. The documents of the 5th Division were captured by the Red Army at the Klyukvennaya station, many of them were destroyed. The central Military Archive in Warsaw holds a small part of the surviving written sources. Even less has been introduced into scientific circulation in Russian historical science. The submitted official document is an important historical evidence, previously not published in Russian, and is of undoubted value for researchers of the Civil War in Siberia. K. Rumsha in his report describes in detail the course of evacuation and surrender of the division units to the Soviet troops at the station Klyukvennaya. The document allows us to refute the memoirs of some officers of allied units and politicians of allied countries in which they deny the involvement of the Allied troops in terror against the population of Siberia, dissociating themselves in this regard from the actions of the Kolchak troops. In the submitted report, Colonel Rumsha clearly indicates that he received the order to put an end to the insurgent partisans directly from the Commander-in-Chief of the Allied forces in Siberia and the Far East, General Maurice Janin. The translation is accompanied by comments. The author of the translation presents brief biographies of the main actors mentioned in the report, and also describes some events about which the commander of the 5th Division preferred to keep silent.

The article attempts to identify, analyze and characterize the publications of the military-oriented magazine “Chasovoy”, containing data on the history of Russian emigration in China, in the first years of its publication. It is noted that this periodical, on the one hand, has become one of the most famous in the Russian military emigrant environment, on the other, it has probably become the most “long-lived”, being published from 1929 to 1988. A general brief description of the publication is given, it is noted that the journal is partly reflected on the pages of scientific and popular scientific publications. The research is based on the fundamental principles of historical science, objectivity and historicism. The first one is especially important when working with sources, which are the materials of the “Chasovoy” magazine. It allowed not focusing on the subjective assessments of the existing reality of the authors of articles and notes. The second made it possible to consider the publications of the journal taking into account the former historical situation, and the facts and phenomena reflected in the publication, in relation to their interdependence. Publications on the history of Russian military emigration in China in the XX century in the magazine “Chasovoy” in percentages were insignificant. At the same time, a significant part of them is devoted to that in Shanghai. Individual articles and notes provide information on Harbin. Russian military emigration in China, related, for example, to the history of a Separate Russian Detachment of the Shanghai Volunteer Corps, etc., is reflected in the pages of the magazine. The magazine is full of names and surnames of representatives of the Russian emigrant environment, including in China. The data provided on facts and phenomena allow us to answer the existing controversial issues. Far from a complete study of the materials of the magazine “Chasovoy” suggests the need for further research work with him.

After the Revolution in the first half of XX century there were fundamental changes in cultural and scientific life of Irkutsk. The article covers the main stages of museum's Antireligious Department which existed in 1930s and early 1940s as part of Irkutsk Museum. The goal of its creation was atheist propaganda. One approach employed by staff was to expose the fallacy of religious teaching through research into primitive cultures. In line with it anti-religious archaeological expeditions were organized to study region's antiquities and to replenish the museum collection, including the new department's exhibition. At that time, the museum’s collections also included icons and religious objects that were taken from closing churches as part of the campaign against religion. The unit was originally established in the former mansion of the merchant Feinberg. After the confiscation of the building of the Church of the Holy Cross from the community of believers, the Anti-religious Museum began working there. At the stage of preparation and in the first years of his work, the head of the Department was A.P. Okladnikov in the future famous Soviet archaeologist. After his departure from Irkutsk, the head of the Department was K.P. Korneev, and since 1936 his brother G.P. Korneev. The work of the Anti-religious Museum in that period was attended by the archaeologist V.I. Podgorbunsky, paleontologist and archaeologist I.V. Arembovsky, ethnographer G.V. Xenophontov. In the late 1930s, the activity of the Department was curtailed and resumed in 1940. Then the head became A.M. Steinberg. With the beginning of the Great Patriotic War, when the active persecution of the church and believers ceased in the country, the Anti-religious Department was closed.

An original and interesting monograph by M.S. Fedotova is built on a solid source base, the author has prepared an up-to-date and timely book. The book is based on a study devoted to the formation of the historical myth about the defense of Sevastopol in 1854-1855. The author managed to show that in the public consciousness the military defeat suffered by Russia in the Crimean War was transformed into a huge moral victory, comparable to the Patriotic War of 1812. M.S. Fedotova talks in detail about the heroes and anti-heroes of the defense of Sevastopol, comparing V.A. Kornilov, P.S. Nakhimov and A.S. Menshikov. The deep and informative book by M.S. Fedotova may be of interest not only to professional historians, but also to the general reader.

The article is a review of the book "The Great and Terrible 1918: An Illustrated Chronicle of the Beginning of Civil War in Russia". The researchers in the monograph used a wide range of photographs, posters, artistic images from domestic and foreign satirical magazines, which significantly enriched this publication, making it more interesting for a wide audience. While preparing the reference material for the chronicle, the scientists processed a variety of historical sources and literature of the Soviet and post-Soviet period. As the authors noted in the introduction, they did not set themselves the task of giving answers to questions that have not yet been resolved, on the contrary, they tried to get away from stereotypical value judgments, inviting readers to form their attitude to the fratricidal confrontation in Russia at the beginning of the XX century. The work of R.G. Gagkuev and A.V. Repnikov will be useful for anyone interested in the history of the USSR.