Abstract. The paper presents the results of the analysis of the age composition and season of slaughter of livestock (cattle, small cattle, horses) from the materials of the Chiyalik culture settlement of Yabalakly-1 (excavation of 2023). The presented methodology allows us to determine the individual age and season of slaughter of animals used in ritual and memorial rites or as everyday food. These data, in turn, may indirectly indicate the time and seasonality (or lack thereof) of the functioning of the human settlement. The materials of the Yabalakly-1 settlement are dominated by teeth of adult cattle aged 2 years and older. Small cattle are also represented by adult individuals aged 2-3 and 7-8 years. Horses belong to the teeth of adults (3-8 years) and old individuals (12-13 years). The season of death of animals was determined based on the study of annual layers in the teeth (cement and dentin). A total of 12 cattle teeth, 2 small cattle teeth and 4 horse teeth were studied. It was established that all animals whose teeth were analyzed died in the warm season. Probably, the medieval population of the settlement used the site only from spring to the first half of autumn. The spring-autumn cycle may be due to migrations along large waterways (the Belaya, Dema, Ik, Urashak rivers, etc.). These migrations with herds were necessary to preserve the forage base for cattle in the cold season near permanent settlements.

This paper proposes to reconstruct the life support system and the annual cycle of economic activity of the Kraskinskoye walled town. The site is located in the Khasansky District of Primorsky Krai and dates back to the period of the Bohai State (698-926). Research on it has been conducted since 1980 and over 40 years a significant collection of artifacts and ecofacts has been collected, allowing us to reconstruct the life support system. The work uses a methodology based on the analysis of the species composition of animals and plants found on the monument, as well as an analysis of the potential economic zone around the settlement and the construction of the seasonality of life support. Food resources were obtained in the vicinity of the site - zones with a radius of 2 km are conventionally allocated for agriculture and 10 km for hunting, gathering, and fishing, respectively. The floodplain terrace of the Tsukanovka River was used to cultivate crops. The forests surrounding the site could have been a place of hunting and gathering, and the site is rich in marine resources, which could be collected from Expedicii Bay. Life support was cyclical and depended on the change of seasons. In the spring, the agricultural cycle, gathering and catching of some types of fish began. In the summer, agricultural work was carried out (weeding and harvesting of early-ripening crops) and the role of marine resources increased significantly due to their diversity. In the fall, the harvesting of the remaining crops and the collection of fruits of wild plants took place. In winter, the importance of hunting increased, as well as catching of some types of fish. Throughout the cycle, based on necessity, pigs and dogs kept on the settlement were slaughtered. In general, the life support system covered the needs of the population for food resources, as evidenced by the duration of settlement of the site.

The region of Northwestern Siberia has a long-term and very unique archaeological record of the relationships between Indigenous people and birds. The most important collection in regard to these relationships is from Ust’-Polui, a sacrifice center located in the city Salekhard of the Iamal-Nenets Autonomous district. Decades of archaeological excavations at this site, which was used approximately 2000 years ago, have produced multiple images of birds and bird-like beings made from wood, antler and metal, as well as a large bird bone assemblage, including some bird burials. This article explores the ways in which the bird imagery, bird bodies and their parts can provide new insights into how people perceived, identified, and related to birds in this region of Siberia. This is accomplished first by incorporating Nenets, Khanty, and Mansi knowledge about birds to demonstrate how their lives are entangled with those of birds through worldviews, identities, and spiritual well-being. We overview these peoples’ relationships with birds as relatives, gods and ancestors, and spirits and messengers. Second, we provide a description of over 70 avian images that were found at Ust’-Polui which are mainly structured around three groups, including waterfowl, diurnal raptors, and owls. We also integrate results of previously conducted taxonomic identifications of over 12,000 avian remains from the site that provide a compelling context that allows us to link the past and present human-avian relationships in this region.

In the middle of the XVII century, the active development of Eastern Siberia and the Far East by the Muscovite Kingdom began. The actions of the Russian expeditionary detachments of Cossacks and pioneers turned out to be quite successful and led to the emergence of an extensive system of fortified strongholds - prisons located on the coastal territories of river shipping routes. So, in 1665-1666, the Albazin fortress appeared - the first fortified settlement of Russian pioneers on the Amur River. The current situation could not but worry the Emperor of Qing China, in connection with which the Manchu military leaders paid serious attention to the repair and construction of military river vessels. The construction of warships, as well as the training of their crews, became an urgent need in solving problematic logistics issues related to the first attempt to redeploy Manchurian troops to the north for the upcoming siege of Albazin in the 80s of the XVII century. Continuing to study the composition of the Manchurian expeditionary force, the authors in the present work demonstrate the replacement of trivial classical methods of theoretical research of history by the method of systematic data analysis, which allows us to identify fairly new scientific facts without using any new and previously unknown information. Having clearly illustrated the obvious advantages of such a methodological transition using typical examples closest to the subject of the described study, namely, determining the actual number of artillery pieces and the total number of soldiers directly involved in the first siege of the Albazin fortress in the summer of 1685, the composition of the Qing river flotilla formed to conduct this siege was revealed.

The chapter ‘Slavian nations’ of the historiosophical treatise ‘Ideas on the Philosophy of the History of Mankind’ by the German philosopher Johann Gottfried Herder had a significant influence on the Slavic intelligentsia of the early 19th century. Despite the fact that there is a significant number of studies in historiography studying and analyzing this influence, there are practically no works devoted to the facts of the formation of Herder's views on the Slavic peoples: what sources he used and what he borrowed from them, what ideas of the Enlightenment were reflected in this chapter. The authors of the article set themselves the task of analyzing a wide range of sources and ideas that could have shaped Herder's ideas about the Slavs in the chapter ‘Slavian nations’: both the influence of the ideas of specific authors and the works that Herder encountered throughout his life, and the influence of general ideas that dominated at the time of the end of the 18th century. The analysis included little-known to the scientific community works by J.K. von Jordan, A. Schlözer, J.K.W. Moesen, K.G. von Anton. In the course of the study, the authors came to the conclusion that Herder, first of all, perceives and cites many stereotypes that developed about the Slavs in the 18th century. Secondly, Herder is under the direct influence of German and Czech Slavic historiography. Several authors can be especially singled out: A. Schlözer, J.K.W. Moesen and K.G. von Anton, as well as J.K.W. von Jordan. Thirdly, the German philosopher either borrows and interprets the material he received from the works he read, or confirms with information from them any of his ideas about the Slavic peoples that he could have developed throughout his life.

The article summarizes the experience of cooperation between the Deanery Council and various non-governmental organizations that have facilitated the coordination of both preventive and practical activities in fighting fires in a particular city, Irkutsk. It shows the emergence of a fire fighting system through the creation of professional fire and police teams, voluntary fire brigades, private and semi-public fire brigades, military formations, insurance companies, and civil society under the auspices of the Economic department of the Ministry of Internal Affairs. A historiographical overview of the main sections and directions of the article is given, and the contribution of the topic under consideration is noted by both local historians and researchers who have considered this problem from an all-Russian perspective. The socio-cultural experience of establishing a fire safety system in a Siberian city based on both state regulation and voluntary participation shows a clear example of its use at the present time in currently, both in the field of fire prevention and extinguishing, as well as legal support. An analysis of the reforms in the field of fire safety of the city during the period under review was carried out, namely: the number of quarters and parts of the city were determined taking into account local conditions; each fire station is equipped with the necessary number of fire tools, wagons, horses and cart. A fire station was built for each unit to house horses, a wagon train, and the apartment of the fire extinguishing supervisor. The contribution of the state, the Economic Department of the Ministry of Internal Affairs and the provincial leadership in organizing and helping to establish various types of fire protection was noted. It was revealed that the city and philanthropic merchants allocated funds for the placement of the fire brigade, and an annual subsidy from the treasury was allocated for the maintenance of the wagon train, horses and equipment repairs.

Belarusians of Bashkortostan are one of the most poorly studied and underestimated peoples of the republic, whose role in the formation of the migration movement was enormous, especially at the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries. At present, there are pockets of settlements with descendants of Belarusian settlers in Bashkortostan. The topic of the migration of Belarusians to the Ufa province is one of the most complex in modern historiography due to the lack of a full-fledged theoretical, methodological, factual and source study base. For this purpose, the redemption cases found in F. 592. L. 35 of the Russian State Historical Archive (St. Petersburg) are used. Of the 643 cases studied in the Ufa district, 49 cases were identified on the formation of partnerships by Belarusian settlers in the period from 1893 to 1910. The author believes that it was the Grodno province that gave the largest number of settlers to the Ufa district of all the Belarusian provinces: the intensification of the process of settling the Ufa district by Belarusians began in 1892-1893 thanks to the resettlement of Belarusians from the Pruzhany district of the Grodno province, who founded the Pochaev partnership in 1893, which was, apparently, one of the first Belarusian partnerships. Belarusians bought up land mainly in the Nagaevskaya, Arkhangelskaya, Novo-Troitskaya and Urman-Kudeyskaya volosts, and in the migration movement itself, there was a communal spirit and a desire for collective, “herd” living, regardless of the place of origin. However, one cannot ignore the factor of internal migration among Belarusians, who moved from one volost to another and even went to other counties.

The article is devoted to a general overview of the state of Russian aviation in the World War I, its organizational and technical state, and the specifics of combat use. At the beginning of the war, the technical capabilities (both of aircraft and their armament) severely limited the combat capabilities of the nascent branch of the armed forces. In many respects, therefore, aviation on the Russian front at this time was mainly used for reconnaissance and corrective tasks. However, after only 2 years, the most diverse combat tasks were solved. The most important functions of aviation were: 1) surveillance, reconnaissance and aerial photography; 2) providing assistance to artillery; 3) fight against enemy aircraft; 4) work on ground targets; 4) maintaining communication; 5) execution of special assignments. Russian military aviation, despite the exceptional difficulties that accompanied its life from its very birth, throughout the First World War, sacrificially and honorably carried its battle flag until the last days of participation in the war - facilitating the hard military work of ground troops and contributing to their victories. From a reconnaissance tool at the beginning of the war, aviation turned into a full-fledged weapon. Types of aviation appeared (reconnaissance, fighter bomber). A special type of attack aircraft did not appear during this war; existing types of aircraft were used for assault operations. Aviation prepared a breakthrough of positional defenses, adjusted artillery fire, bombed troops, supply bases and enemy headquarters - making a more than significant contribution to the effectiveness of the actions of ground forces during the World War I.

The topic of the history of the First World War in general, and the struggle of special intelligence services on the “shadow front” in particular, is quite well-known both in Russian and European historiography. At the same time, the picture of the confrontation between Russian and German intelligence services on the territory of neutral countries - in Sweden, Switzerland, and especially the United States and China (before these countries joined the Entente in early 1917) is still waiting for its researcher and writer. It should be noted that during the 2.5 years of the war, both diplomats and intelligence services of the Russian Empire actively opposed the activities of their German, Austrian and Turkish opponents in these major powers. And if, in general, the Russian statehood and its military apparatus began their movement towards collapse in February 1917, then in the activities of intelligence and diplomatic bodies we can record serious victories, expressed in the elimination of agents of influence on the territory of the Republic of China and the United States of America and the involvement of these powers in the circle of Russia's allies. As this article shows, this was not easy, since many representatives of the political elites of neutral countries spoke from pro-German positions. Their activities were paralyzed due to the “active agent measures” of the Russian law enforcement agencies. One of the forgotten members of Russian human intelligence will be discussed in this work. In 1915-1916, the Gendarmerie and Police Department (hereinafter referred to as the ZhPU) of the Chinese Eastern Railway, in cooperation with the Irkutsk Provincial Gendarmerie Department (under whose operational jurisdiction they were), managed to carry out a number of active counterintelligence measures aimed at eliminating organizations created by the military and diplomatic circles of the German Empire on the territory of China, an active role in them was carried out by an agent of the ZhPU of the Chinese Eastern Railway, a former French citizen Alexander Estrup.

The article analyzes the features and evolution of V.I. Lenin's journalistic language in the context of using the concept of “Civil War” in the period from April 1917 to April 1918. During this period of history, the Bolshevik leader was forced to abandon the calls for turning the “imperialist war into a civil war” that had become entrenched in his rhetoric since the beginning of World War I. Supporting the discourse on the further development of the revolution and the need to transfer all power to the Soviets, Lenin began to widely use the complexly structured technique of “emotional syllogism”. The essence of this technique was that the logically developing reasoning was repaced by emotionally developing contradictory feelings. This technique allowed for the effective combination of formally and logically contradictory theses: on the one hand, the denial of the Bolsheviks' desire for civil war, on the other hand, confirmation of the Bolsheviks' commitment to the idea of a civil war for socialism and world revolution. This technique remained relevant for Lenin until the beginning of spring 1918, when, in a situation of short-term political stabilization of Soviet power, the Bolshevik leader again adjusted the style of his suggestive journalistic statements and assessments, including on the topic of the civil war. During this period of time, Lenin began to use simpler and “unilinear” manipulative-journalistic techniques in his reasoning on this topic, addressing intra-party or pro-Bolshevik-minded Soviet audiences. One of these discursive tools was the technique of “violating logic”,”monological dictatorship” etc.

Of great importance for the development of state music education in Eastern Siberia was the creation of the first Irkutsk Music College, which combined the private music school of E.G. Gorodetskaya, music classes at the People's University and the University of Music into a cultural and historical space. Opened in September 1922, the Music College taught students in the Instructor-Pedagogical, Performing and Scientific-Theoretical Departments with specialties: piano, solo and choral singing, violin, cello and wind instruments. Tuition at the Music College was paid, with the exception of only the poorest students and children of teachers. From the very beginning, the college had music classes for children, which were transformed into a Music School in 1923. The concert activities of teachers and students aimed at democratizing musical culture were of great importance in the life of the Music College. In 1922-1931, vocalists G.V. Karpitskaya, P.G. Nezhinsky, opera singer O.S. Zhiteyskaya, owner of the extraordinary beauty of the coloratura soprano V.P. Tomilovskaya worked at the music college; pianists T.N. Sementsova, N.A. Nikolskaya, O.E. Sibbul, K.F. Glivinskaya-Trofimova, A.S. Gershkovich, E.K. Rusanova-Porotova, E.K. Larionova, M.P. Kleber, P.M. Berlinsky; violinists I.A. Kozhevnikov, E.P. Medvedev, K.S. Vyshinsky, V.A. Kursky, N.N. Tikhonov, A.S. Morgen; cellist P.P. Nikolsky; choirmasters M.I. Lifshits and N.N. Glagolev; M.I. Kalinovsky (wind instruments) and others. The Music College and the Children's Music School were consistently led by: A.I. Yanberg, N.G. Silakov, N.N. Tikhonov, A.S. Morgen. Due to financial problems, in 1930/1931, the Irkutsk Music College was transferred to Krasnoyarsk, where it became part of the local music college. Only on July 22, 1936, on the basis of a decision of the Presidium of the East Siberian Regional Committee of the CPSU(b), secondary music education was revived in Irkutsk. In 1937, the new music college became known as the Irkutsk Regional Music College, today it is the Irkutsk Regional Music College named after Frederic Chopin.

The paper raises the issue of a little-studied topic of the activities of the internal troops of the NKVD of the USSR for the protection of the Circum-Baikal Railway within the Baikal-Slyudyanka stations from 1939 to 1945. The strategically important facility, as extremely important but vulnerable, was closed and classified. As a result, there is an extremely limited amount of information about the protection of the KBZHD (Circum-Baikal Railway) by NKVD (People’s Commissariat of Internal Affairs) troops in the pre-war and war years, and scientific papers on the topic mention it casually, as a fact. The author states the importance of the task of studying the experience of protecting the site in wartime conditions with the risk of Japan entering the war. It has been established that the task of protecting the KBZHD from the port of Baikal to Slyudyanka in different periods was performed by three paramilitary units of the NKVD troops for the protection of the railway: the 86th Mountain Rifle Regiment of the NKVD troops for the protection of railways, the 67th Rifle Regiment of the 85th Division of the internal troops of the NKVD of the USSR and at the end of the war the 33rd Mountain Rifle Brigade of the NKVD of the USSR. The heroic 272nd Rifle Regiment of the 10th Division of the NKVD Internal Troops was then formed from the 67th Infantry Regiment, which was one of the first to fight at Stalingrad and almost completely died in 1942. An armored train was on duty at the combat post of the site, defensive structures with artillery guns were installed on the shore, and boats armed with machine guns served from the water. Two security zones of two and ten kilometers have been established along the road line.

The era of N.S. Khrushchev's regime became a transformation in many spheres of life in the USSR. They affected the entire national education of the country, including higher education. The head of state put forward this idea at the XX Congress of the CPSU in 1956. And already in 1958, under the slogan “For the close connection of the school with life,” this reform began to be implemented. And now the road to universities was directly related to professional training at enterprises, which, according to the developers of the reform, should have been of great educational importance. In 1959, students were entered at the Irkutsk Mining and Metallurgical Institute according to the new rules. This law expected the restructuring of the entire higher education system, which had been developing for decades. The solution of the immediate tasks in the field of educational work for the implementation of the law, mainly fell on the deans of faculties shoulders. They needed to establish a system for informing the elders of the student groups that were located at the enterprises of Irkutsk, Cheremkhovo, Baley, Bodaibo, Krasnoyarsk, Norilsk, Stalinsk and others, in order to more clearly carry out operational management. The Institute faced major problems related to a sharp increase in the number of students, the lack of methodological guidelines and control tasks in most special disciplines, and a lack of supply of textbooks. The reform of higher education has also led to serious problems in the development of research work at the Institute. The reform directly affected not only the students entered in the 1959/1960 academic year, but also the 2nd-5th year students. Their practical training time has increased significantly.

The article discusses measures to preserve and protect the archaeological heritage in the Irkutsk region. In the period from the 1960s to the 1980s, important events took place in the field of preservation and protection. Based on the resolutions adopted in the 1960s and 1970s, as well as the Law on the Protection and Use of Historical and Cultural Sites adopted in the late 1970s, a new system of preservation and protection of historical and cultural heritage is being formed. In the process of forming a new system, new state bodies for the protection of sites are being created. The main stages of the formation of the Center for the Preservation of Historical and Cultural Heritage are considered in chronological order. The protection measures taken by the executive branch to ensure the preservation of monuments are being studied. An important part of these events was the certification of historical and cultural sites, registration and state protection, and archaeological zoning. The article analyzes the activities of the first public organization for the protection of sites, as well as its interaction with representatives of the scientific sphere and the executive branch. The article examines the activities of the staff of the Laboratory of Archeology and Ethnography of Irkutsk State University named after Zhdanov (expeditions, participation in meetings of the Irkutsk branch of the All-Russian Society for the Protection of Sites and Culture, work on the Collection of Historical and Cultural Sites, the publication of issues devoted to archaeological research, etc.). This work focuses on the condition of three well-known archaeological sites - the Malta site, the Glazkovsky necropolis, and the Shishkinkaya pisanitsa (petroglyphs). It is noted that the most intensive survey of the sits took place in the 1980s. The Sites Protection Production Group (later transformed into the Center for the Preservation of Historical and Cultural Heritage), with the participation of Irkutsk State University, Irkutsk Polytechnic Institute and Irkutsk Pedagogical Institute, developed projects for the museification of these sites.

This article is dedicated to the 90th anniversary of the birth of famous Soviet-Russian archaeologist, associate professor of the Department of Archaeology and Ethnography of Irkutsk State University, Doctor of Historical Sciences Mikhail Petrovich Aksyonov (24.11.1934 - 7.03.2002). The article analyzes field and research materials obtained in recent years by Irkutsk archaeologists of various field structural units. The problems of regional Paleolithic studies in general and the Upper Lena in particular, at the origins of the archaeology of which stood M.P. Aksyonov, are considered. The main results of the archaeological study of the Upper Lena in 2002-2024 are presented in the form of publications of materials from archaeological sites Shishkino 8, Kistenevo 9, Balyshovo 3, Chaika 2, Veshniy Ruchey, Lyubavskaya, Ust-Kulenga 1, Kartukhai 1, Ust-Ilga, Shalino 1 and, based on this background, the main ideas and contribution to the construction of a cultural-chronological model of the Stone Age of Northern Lena are given. The main objective of the article is to show the role of M.P. Aksyonov as the one of the foundesr of the archaeology of the Upper Lena, who laid the methodological basis for the modern stage of study and educated a generation of students who continued the main work of the teacher. Mikhail Petrovich Aksyonov stood at the origins of scientific knowledge, both in field research and in scientific leadership, helping to solve scientific problems for the younger generation of archaeologists of the Irkutsk State University. Archaeological research was continued in different areas of the Lena River, first of all, within the Makarovo-Shishkinsky Geoarchaeological Region, which plays a keypoint role for the Western Baikal region and the upper reaches of the Lena as a whole. Among the students of M.P. Aksenov, who continued the archaeological study of the Upper Lena, are V.M. Vetrov, S.N. Perzhakov, M.Yu. Semin, V.V. Krasnoshchekov, S.A. Peskov, A.V. Tetenkin, D.L. Shergin, A.A. Chebotarev and others.