In the Late Pleistocene extensive glaciers which were formed along the river valleys, are reconstructed for the territory of the Oka plateau located in the center of the Sayan mountain system. In this regard, the question was raised about the possibility of finding buried cultural layers of the Paleolithic era in this territory. Doubts about the prospects of such searches arise in connection with the activity of glaciers, which destroyed the covering deposits in the river valleys. Until the early 2000s, there was no any data on the Paleolithic of the Oka Plateau. As a result of the latest research over the past ten years, the data have been obtained that allow us to positively answer the question of human habitation here in the Pleistocene epoch. Some of this data is indirect, for example, the discovery of an almost complete skeleton of a cave hyena with the remains of mummified soft tissues, dated to the Late Pleistocene. The good preservation of the skeleton with soft tissues was facilitated by the preservation of a stable temperature situation in the cave over the past 30,000 years. The existence of large predators was ensured by a sufficient number of herbivores that could provide food resources for humans. Direct evidences of the presence of a man of the Pleistocene epoch on the territory of the Okinsky plateau are the finds of artifacts. One of the artifacts found beneath the solidified lava in the mouth of a small River Sailag. According to geologists’ investigations, the formation of the lava layer under which the stone tool is buried falls on the end of the Pleistocene. Also on the high bank of the Oka River, a stone scraper was found. The surfaces of both tools underwent severe deflation as a result of wind erosion, which suggests their close age within at least the Final Pleistocene. In the whole, the new data allows us to reasonably assert that the territory of the Oka plateau was settled by human in the Late Pleistocene. In addition, investigations have shown the prospects of searching for cultural layers dating back to the Paleolithic.

This article proposes reconstruction of fishing on multi-layer site Klerk-5 located in south of Primorsky Krai, in west part of Peter the Great Bay. One of main aspects in the article is research of adaptation ancient population to conditions of coastal ecosystems and characterize seasonality of fishing. Reconstruction was provided on basis of landscape-climatic characteristic of surrounding area, technological indicators, bone remains and ecological characteristics of identified species of fish. There were considered horizon of habitat of earlier cultivators, consisted of layer brown loam, and laying above lower part of Neolithic shell middens, dated 4585 b.p. This middens associated with one of first waves of settlement of early cultivators Zaisanovsky Cultural Tradition, began their migration to the sea coast from the interior of mainland about 4600 years ago at the phase of climate cooling and regression of Japanese Sea level. Analysis of the species had shown that ancient population of early wave of settlement of site Klerk-5 used the fishing in 3 types of water bodies: seacoast, river and lake/lagoon. There were identified 3371 fragments of fish bones, belonging to 11 species belong to 13 genera, 12 families and 10 orders. Based on Theory of Optimal Foraging annual circle of fishing was modeled. On the strength of seasonal behavior identified species it became possible to assume that fishing was during almost entire year. However, the most active fishery was in spring and summer periods. Also based on ecology of some species of fish it became possible to make a conclusion about using of range fishing tools.

There are several sites of rock art in the lower Amur region. The largest number of drawings has been preserved in the sites near to Nanai village Sikachi-Alyan, Russian village Malyshevo, and border settlement Sheremetyevo. Studying the sites of rock art in the lower reaches of the Amur was engaged by A. P. Okladnikov and his students. They performed the scientific database and cultural-historical approach to explain the semantics of drawings, and substantiated the need to attitude to petroglyphs as ancient objects of cultural heritage. Sites of petroglyphs have preserved more than a hundred images of masks. The author studies anthropomorphic and zoo-anthropomorphic masks of petroglyphs. The author is engaged in a systematic analysis of masks and the interpretation of signs on them. The article presents the results of the study of the paired faces of petroglyphs of Amur and Ussuri Rivers made by the cultures of sedentary fishers and hunters. The methods used in this research are iconographic and typological analyses of drawings made under the theoretical and practical knowledge from the field of anthropology. The dual structure ensures the sustainability of traditional culture. Finally authors come to conclusion that drawings on stones and rocks served as attributes of ritual and ceremonial holidays, during which there was a story about the birth of the world and the ancestors as well as the story about the norms of life of the community. The paired drawings are explained as the result of dual splitting of community and collective consciousness with the binary perception of the world. Such dualism as the structure of society reflected in collective consciousness and impressed by the mythology on the all aspects of the life including the art and petroglyphs, in particular. Masks represent binary mythology. Mythology and rituals reinforce the dual-clan structure in the collective consciousness. Disguises were used as illustrations of myths during rituals at the holidays. The theory of dualism was created by anthropologists E. Durkheim, A. M. Zolotarev, A. R. Radcliffe-Brown, A. M. Hockart, V. V. Ivanov. The article is devoted to the study of the symbolism of the faces of the Amur and Ussuri petroglyphs. It was created under the influence of the dual structure of society.

It is incorrect to translate 部落 bùluò , the nomadic society unit written in the Chinese sources as “род, племя” in Russian. Bùluò can be the word “bül” that names the relatives of the mother lineage who are the blood carriers. Bùluò existed for a long time being a common society form until the “obog/tribe formation”, the patrimony that appreciates father lineage as the bone carriers in the X-XI centuries. As the social relations of Uhuani people, real blood relatives of the mother lineage had existed for long time. In addition to it, genetic research on the burial ground in Burkhan Tolgoi in the Eg River valley confirms that establishing the “bul” according to the mother`s lineage was among the Hunnu people. Despite the common form of the patrimony being formed completely, Chinese authors of sources continued to use the word “bül” with its original meaning. Therefore, we have to consider that the first nomadic society structure had two main stages as a period of “bűl” and a period of “obog/tribe”. Nevertheless, Chinese authors named these fundamentally different units with a single word 部落 bùluò . The word 邑落 (yiluo) has meaning in Mongolian language (ayil), in Turkic languages as ‘summer camp’ (jaylа/yaylo) and these are the families that were moved away from the main family group depending on the pasture condition (yalic cattle breeding). Moreover, the descendants who stand out of their tribe in their influence and in number of livestock and property were called as 邑落 (yiluo). Khuree/khureni (circle) that has meaning of leaving the livestock in the center of the circled space by yurts built around it. The khuree began to be decreased in the period of establishing patrimony tribe structure. However, it has kept as “khot ail (neighbor)”. Therefore, the khuree that had been inherited until the latest period comes from the nomadic pastoralism being one of a special kind of the labor organization.

The article considers in chronological order the archaeological researches conducted on the territory of one of the Arctic regions of Sakha Republic (Yakutia) - Anabar ulus (district), located in the extreme north-west of the territory. The authors systematized and classified materials from 28 archeology sites of the Stone Age - early XIX century. Based on the conducted historical and cultural assessment of the area, it was established that this territory is included to the area of the Cis-Lena archaeological cultures. For the first time, mapping of all archaeological sites of the Anabar River basin was performed, an GIS database was created. The analysis of the material collected by the authors made it possible to develop the structure and content of the GIS "Archaeological sites of the Anabar national (Dolgan-Evenki) ulus (district)", consisting of 14 thematic layers: district (ulus) title; municipality (nasleg) title; the territory of the indigenous peoples of the North title; archaeological site; location of the site; type of site; legal document; cadastral document; category of the site (status); information about archaeological period; researcher name; year of expedition (description); description of archaeological materials; sources and publications. Based on the linked objects of archaeological heritage, maps of the spatial placement of archaeological sites of the Anabar River basin have been compiled. The possibilities of combining thematic layers provided by GIS made it possible to identify the interrelationships of archaeological locations. The authors propose to use these results to ensure continuous updating of geodata databases and monitoring the state of archaeological sites located on the territory of Sakha Republic (Yakutia).

The creation of the Barguzinsky sable reserve in 1916 caused the resettlement of the Tungus (Evenks) of the Shemagir clan. This fact includes the Barguzinsky Reserve in the global history of the creation of protected natural areas in the late 19th - early 20th centuries on the lands of resettled peoples. The author set herself the goal of studying the context of this resettlement on the basis of archival and literary materials in order to highlight the peculiarities of the historical relationship of the Evenks with the Barguzinsky Reserve and draw some parallels with today's times. The article describes the characteristics of the Tungus of the Shemagir genus of the Northeastern Baikal region. Their area of residence was exceptionally rich in renewable and non-renewable natural resources. In relation to the Tungus, the state pursued a paternalistic policy, while simultaneously creating conditions for the development of market relations. The article draws attention to the socio-economic aspect of the results of the expedition of G. Doppelmeier in 1914-1915, which developed practical recommendations on the organization of the Barguzinsky sable reserve. In fact, it was supposed to allocate several special territories: the reserve itself, the hunting area and the Tunguska territory, which meant a progressive vision of the reserve management for its time. Further, the article examines some aspects of the relationship of the Severobaikalye Evenks with the reserve and the authorities at the end of the 20th and beginning of the 21st centuries. The secondary resettlement of the Evenks took place in 1956 within the framework of the state policy of consolidation of settlements, but the Evenks did not lose their memory and spiritual connection with the land. The secondary resettlement of the Evenks took place in 1956 within the framework of the state policy of consolidation of settlements, but the Evenks did not lose their memory and spiritual connection with the land. Since the 1980s and 1990s, Russia has adopted a global model of national parks with different environmental management regimes, while maintaining the models of the Soviet era. The Barguzinsky Reserve, together with the Zabaikalsky National Park (1986) and the state Frolikhinsky Reserve, is managed by the Federal State Budgetary Institution “Zapovednoe Podlemorye”. Tourists have access to a limited visit to the reserve and a significant part of the national park. Thus, today nature itself is becoming a commercial resource in Russia, and the old problem of the relationship of the indigenous and local population with protected natural areas is acquiring a new meaning.

The origins and main directions of understanding the idea of matter are considered. The need to address the history of the idea and concept of matter is connected both with the fundamental nature of questions about the nature of matter, and with the need to update modern domestic educational material, which in many respects simply repeats the provisions of the dialectical materialism (diamat) of the Soviet period. The main attention in the consideration of the formation of the idea of matter and the development of the concept of matter is paid to Antiquity, especially to Aristotle, also to the New European philosophy and the well-known Leninist definition of matter. The difference between the idea of the original and the idea of matter is shown, the problematic use of the term “materialist” when evaluating ancient thinkers, in particular Democritus, is noted. The analysis of the main points of understanding of matter in Plato's “father of idealism” and in Aristotle is given. At the same time, the role of the creator of the concept of matter belongs to Aristotle, and it is noted that up to our time, the understanding of matter by Aristotle is “working” and largely determines the understanding of the world. In the legacy of Modern Times, the understanding of matter is radically developed by Descartes, who considers the problem of the dualism of two substances - the soul and the body. The Cartesian understanding of materiality as extension has become firmly established in science and is the basis for the modern scientific picture of the world. A brief analysis of Lenin's definition of matter is given, its positive and negative aspects are highlighted, various variants of the attitude to Lenin's heritage today are shown. In conclusion, based on an appeal to the history of the development of the idea of matter, four variants of understanding the materiality of things are distinguished. The conclusion is made about the importance of the idea of matter for the modern philosophical and scientific worldview.

The article examines the issue of Amur army formation in 1653-1658. During this period O. Stepanov under the general leadership of E. Khabarov received the control of military force of Russia, which arrived on Amur from Yakutsk district in 1649-1653. Various military corporations had been joining to this army: the regiment of D. Zinoviev, the detachments of P. Kislyi and V. Cherkashenin, the regiments of P. Beketov and F. Pushchin and others. The maximum stuff of Amur army reached 650 people. It was a significant force by Siberian standards. It was not inferior to the military contingent that controlled Yakutsk district, which occupied a larger area than Amur River basin. The main task of “Amur” warriors was to prepare Amur region for the arrival of three thousandth regiment of I. I. Lobanov-Rostovsky, build several fortresses at key points, establish food supplies. However, the presence of own leaders and interests in each of the military corporations made it difficult to implement these plans. As a result the regiment headed by O. Stepanov could not solidify in Amur region and was defeated by the Manchus in 1658. Less than half of the warriors from its last composition left the Amur for Yakutsk, Ilimsk and Yeniseisk. The rest were killed, disappeared, died of hunger and disease. The study also raises questions about the Russian troops operating on Amur in the period 1658-1662.

There’s no doubt, that the Nerchinsky fortress (ostrog), as a fortification structure, gained its fame in connection with the conclusion of the first Russian-Chinese peace treaty in 1689. It was immediately after the signing of the document that the fortress (ostrog) was rebuilt into a city. The history of the creation, as well as some aspects of the subsequent development of this fortress, are reflected in a number of scientific works and articles of V. G. Izgachev, L. S. Terentyev, A. V. Konstantinov, V. I. Kochedamov, N. P. Kradin, A. R. Artemyev and others. Despite the fact that the source base for studying the history of the construction of the Nerchinsk city in 1689 is large enough, so far not a single reconstruction of its appearance has been created. The reason for this has been the lack of complete reliable descriptions of this fortress. The remaining written sources reflect only the most general information about the stages of the construction of this fortress. Graphic and cartographic materials containing information about this sample of Russian wooden defense architecture have survived, but they belong to the first decades of the 18th century, which also complicates the solution of this problem. At the same time, a full-fledged reconstruction of the appearance of this fortress is possible, but it requires a targeted analysis of all available historical sources in order to identify the design features of all of its objects. It is the solution of this problem that the authors will deal with in this work. In addition, historical documents related to the creation of the Nerchinsk fortress (ostrog) built in 1658 are analyzed in this paper. This must be done, because the structures of the Nerchinsk fortress of 1689 were erected on the site of the fort (ostrog) of 1658, and a number of objects of the old fortress may have been preserved in the new one.

The contribution of the Old Believers (Semeiskie) to the social and economic development of the Trans-Baikal Territory and the Far East is emphasized in the scientific and popular literature by all researchers of the Old Believer culture. The authors have reviewed the documents of the Irkutsk Regional Archive, which can be used for a comprehensive study of the cultural and economic activities of the families of Transbaikalia in the XIX century. The purpose of the paper is to highlight the funds that contain historical documents about the settlement, social and economic development. As a result of the study and analysis of a number of sources from important statistical reports to documents describing minor everyday situations it seems possible to recreate the general picture of life in the 19th century. A review of 8 funds was carried out; more than 40 cases were examined. A significant part of the archive's documents contains general information. Anyone can find more information about resettlement, types of economic activities, level of welfare, relations with neighboring communities of other ethnoses and find many descriptions of facts and stories that allow imagining the life of the Semeiskie in detail. These documents made it possible to get an idea of agriculture, animal husbandry, and some auxiliary industries. The part of documents relates to the spatial location and organization of the economy; it contains data on land surveying and its distribution as well as cases on the resolution of disputes. The documents of a political and administrative character in which the attention of the regional authorities aimed at the religious and economic life is seen are quite common. The archive contains a significant amount of documents about gold mining in the valley of the Chikoy River, which at one time played a significant role in the life support. The Semeiskie were actively involved in this industry as a hired labor force. The conducted study shows that the State Archives of Irkutsk Region (SAIR) stores an important amount of information on the activities of the Semeiskie in the 19th century. Finds which are being introduced into scientific circulation for the first time were made at SAIR; many documents are also waiting for their researcher.

The article deals with the complex problem of interfaith relations on the territory of the Crimean peninsula in the 1860-1890s. After the end of the Crimean War of 1853-1856 which was unsuccessful for the Russian Empire the national and, hence, religious contradictions in this region had been exactly intensified. They were most noticeable in the plane of Muslim-Orthodox relations (including in the plane of the relationship between the Greeks and the Crimean Tatars); relations between Catholics and Orthodox Christians; as well as the notorious “Jewish” problem, which had set the teeth on edge by that time. The Tauride Diocese was managed during the indicated period by outstanding archpastors among whom were missionaries: Guriy (Karpov), Innokenty (Borisov), Martinian (Muratovsky) Germogen (Dobronravin). Each of them left a special mark on the life of the diocese and did a lot to multiply the role of the Orthodox Church on the peninsula. Despite the outstanding service to the Fatherland and to the Church, each of the bishops contributed to the strengthening of proselytizing tendencies on the peninsula. The main source for writing the article was the materials of the Crimean periodicals: “Tavricheskie eparchialnye vedomosti”, “Tavrida”, “Sevastopol leaf”, as well as the latest Russian and Ukrainian church and secular historiography. In the course of the research it became possible to recognize that with these bishops help were made the attempts to resolve the most acute conflicts as well as to adapt the Crimean Tatars to life in the Empire, and to show the attitude of the authorities towards this minority in the dynamics of changes, at the same time not hushing up the existing problems. The same can be seen when describing the issues of anti-Semitism, which they tried to overcome on the territory of the peninsula with the help of articles calling to understand the phenomenon of the existence of Judaism and explain the reasons for the need for a tolerant attitude towards it.

The article is the first attempt to study the role of Dmitry Ivanovich Pikhno as editor-publisher of one of the most popular periodicals in the South-West Krai of the second half of the 19th - early 20th centuries, the newspaper “Kievlyanin”. The chronological framework of the study (1879-1913) is due to the time of Pikhno's direct work as editor-in-chief. Grounding on archival data from the Russian State Historical Archives, the Russian State Archives of Literature and Art as well as the data from periodicals and magazines (“Kievlyanin”, “Moskovskie vedomosti”, “Russkoe slovo”, “Novoe russkoe slovo”, “Istoricheskij vestnik”, “Golos minuvshego”, “Severnyj vestnik”) the author consistently examines the prerequisites for the appointment of Pikhno as editor-in-chief, and the features of his journalistic and publishing work in this position. The characteristic of the editorial board itself is given, all Pikhno's temporary deputies in the post of editor during his departure are noted. It is shown that Pikhno was active in publicistic activity, personally wrote leading articles and gave directions to the newspaper publication. In addition, the author draws attention to the nature of Pikhno's relationship with the censorship department, which was due to the personal qualities of the self-willed editor of “Kievlyanin” influenced the complex relationship with this department. Pikhno did not harshly criticize government policies, and the censorship no less decisively prohibited articles and threatened with restrictions. Attention is drawn to the fact that from the first days of his work in the editorial office, Pikhno invariably defended the ideological principles that were laid by the founder of this newspaper, V. Ya. Shulgin. The Pikhno’s publicist and management talent of lead him to create this newspaper as the one of the most popular all-Russian media in pre-revolutionary Russia.

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 military-medical institution of Irkutsk province 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 about 4 years prior the Russo-Japanese War of 1904-1905, and less than 7 months before the Siberian Military District mobilization in response to the Boxer Rebellion in China. 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, data gathering to further develop defense plans and regional military reforms in Siberia. Traveling by Trans-Siberian Railway, Kuropatkin inspected troops of the largest Siberian garrisons in cities of Omsk, Tomsk, Krasnoyarsk, Irkutsk, including military-medical institutions (Irkutsk Military Hospital, Irkutsk Paramedic School, Irkutsk Pharmacy Depot). In this article is first published the most detailed descriptions of Irkutsk Military Hospital in the and of XIX century and educational process in Irkutsk Paramedic School. It has been estimated the condition of Irkutsk Pharmacy Depot, described the placement and life conditions of patients, noted the real situation with the medical process and also the opinion of War Minister about military-medical institution. It has been analyzed the failures in work of the military-medical institutions, which were been found by the high guests.

The article is devoted to a little-known episode of the 1915 campaign on the Russian Front of the First World War - the counterattacks at Opatov and Krasnik - and the participation of the 12th Grenadier Astrakhan Regiment in these events. The 12th Astrakhan Grenadier Regiment of Emperor Alexander III is one of the oldest and most honored regiments of the Russian Army. In 1914, as part of the 25th Army Corps, the regiment went to the Southwestern Front and fought in the Battle of Galicia on August 5 - September 13, 1914, and then participated in the Warsaw-Ivangorod, September 15 - October 26, and Lodz, October 29 - December 6, 1914, operations. The article begins with a detailed review of the regiment's actions during the positional war in the winter - spring of 1915 (when the fighting was purely local and had a local nature) and ends with an analysis of the May - June events at Opatov and Lublin - which became a model of active defense of Russian troops. The fighting in May - June 1915 was considered comprehensively - on the scale of the division and corps, and it would seem that the actions of the regiment are lost against the general background of large-scale events. But this troop played a significant role in them: when the German 47th Reserve Division sought to shoot down that shield (the left flank section of the 25th Corps represented by the 12th Grenadier Astrakhan Regiment), under the cover of which the corps reserve developed its flank attack, it was the resilience of the Astrakhan grenadiers that became an important prerequisite for the successful completion of the operation. And the squad of A. A. Veselovsky completes the defeat of the enemy.

During the military operations in the Urals, the army of Admiral A. V. Kolchak in the winter of 1918-1919 suffered high losses. The public came to the aid of the army, which created a Temporary Committee of the Russian Red Cross Society. In the spring of 1919, rear hospitals and a pharmacy warehouse were organized in Chelyabinsk. They acted under the leadership of the commissioner S. N. Postnikov. In July, as the army retreated, the hospitals were evacuated. During the evacuation it was possible to take out all the wounded and all medical equipment and medicines. The leadership of the Red Cross could not appoint a new location for the hospitals. Then the commissioner S. N. Postnikov took the initiative into his own hands and went with hospitals along the Trans-Siberian railway in search of free premises for the deployment of hospitals. Suitable conditions were found in Irkutsk, where hospitals were deployed in September 1919. The specialization of the institutions could not be defended, so the medical staff with surgical experience moved to work in other institutions. At the end of 1919, during the uprising in Irkutsk, power passed into the hands of the Political Center, to which all medical institutions, including the Red Cross, were subordinated. At the beginning of 1920, it was decided to liquidate the Red Cross institutions. Chelyabinsk hospitals were disbanded. Their property and personnel served as the basis for the formation of new medical institutions in Irkutsk and in the sanitary department of the Red Army.

The article reveals the Kuitun Agreement of February 7, 1920 between the authorities of Soviet Russia and the command of the Czechoslovak Corps on the broad background of previous events, and also takes into account the historiographical context. The First World War required extraordinary efforts and unprecedented tension from Russia. Therefore, any help was in demand, and allies gained exceptional importance. It is shown that the Czechoslovak Corps unit under consideration was initially created to fight against Austria-Hungary and Germany, but in 1918-1920 fought with the Red Guards, the Red Partisans and the Red Army in Siberia. Czechoslovak legionaries were allies of anti-Bolshevik (“White”) Russian forces, but pursued their own goals - to survive and return alive. The course of the Civil War in Russia in 1920 showed the unwillingness of the Bolsheviks to resist the national armies, revealing the falsity of the claims of the class approach to global universality. Personnel changes in the command of the 5th Red Army and the role of White military leaders are considered. Both the fightings near Krasnoyarsk, Nizhneudinsk, Zima and Irkutsk, as well as the final departure of the Whites behind Lake Baikal, are reviewed, and the behavior of the local population is also briefly characterized. February 7, 1920 at 9 o'clock Moscow time, a peace agreement was signed at Kuytun station between the government of the RSFSR and the Czechoslovak troops. A neutral zone was envisaged between the Czechoslovak rearguard and the Soviet vanguard at a distance from depot to depot. Fighting in the neutral zone was not allowed. All railway structures should have been handed over to the Soviet side in safety, and the rolling stock should have been returned. A joint commission was appointed for control. The agreement concluded in Kuitun was a positive step, many lives were saved. The Czechs were able to evacuate through Vladivostok to their homeland.

The article is devoted to the activities of the plant No. 172 in Irkutsk during the Great Patriotic War. The plant was organized from the research institute “Ginzoloto” in 1942 and was under the jurisdiction of the “Glavolovo” administration throughout the war. The Research Institute for Gold was able to quickly reorganize its work in a direction relevant to wartime. Irkutsk finishing station of plant No. 172 has become a leading non-ferrous metallurgy enterprise in this direction. The main sections of the production work of the new military plant were: production of lithium chloride and metallic lithium; adjustment to industrial conditions of tin, tungsten / wolframite and scheelite concentrates, lithium chloride salts; production of mass mineralogical, spectral and assay analyzes for PCNFM (People's Commissariat of Non-Ferrous Metallurgy) enterprises; research work on the profile; consulting and technical assistance to PCNFM enterprises; organization of specialized laboratories at PCNFM enterprises. In addition, at the request of the Communist Party organs, the institute organized the production of a drug for medical purposes - the main bismuth nitrate. It was used in the pharmacy network, as well as in Irkutsk hospitals to treat wounded soldiers as a hemostatic, externally disinfectant, and anti-burn agent. Employees of “Ginzoloto”, and then of plant No. 172 carried out comprehensive scientific research on the instructions of the trusts “Yakutzoloto”, “Zapsibzoloto”, “Yeniseizoloto”, “Baleizoloto”, “Lenzoloto”, “Barguzinzoloto”, “Amurzoloto”, “Bashzoloto”, “Kazzoloto”, “Altayzoloto”, “Verkhamurzoloto”, “Khakzoloto”, “Primorzoloto”, “Darasunzoloto” and many others. Despite all the difficulties of the war period, the achievements were obvious: the institute-plant increased its scientific potential, learned how to solve production problems, retained the personnel and the overall structure of Ginzoloto, provided substantial assistance to non-ferrous metallurgy enterprises in Central Asia, Siberia and the Far East.

The article provides a historical analysis of the development of combat sports in Irkutsk Oblast in 1945-1960. It gives a detailed overview of the post-war development of such sports as boxing, wresting, fencing amid insufficient funding and shortage of qualified trainers, and brings to light the factors which led to a change of perception of combat sports as health-promoting and competitive rather than military-oriented activities. It is told about the regulatory framework in the field of physical culture and sports, about its importance in the formation of the physical culture and sports movement in the USSR, and as a consequence about the role of decrees and resolutions in the development of martial arts in the Irkutsk region The article analyzes objective reasons for quantitative increase and decrease of participants in each sport and shows correlation between our entering the international sports arena and the growing significance of the Olympic combat sports, as well as underscores the positive influence of wrestler K. G. Vyrupaev’s and boxer V. K. Safronov’s successful performances in the 1956 Melbourne Olympic Games on further development of boxing and wrestling in Irkutsk Oblast. The article gives a comprehensive account of the role that voluntary sports societies and sport schools played in training highly-qualified athletes and expands on the personal contribution of trainers and sportsmen of Irkutsk Oblast to the promotion of combat sports and outlining trends in their development. The article presents the following methods of historical research: causal analysis of the links between historical events, historical-system analysis, statistical and retrospective methods. The data from the State Archive of the Irkutsk Region and the State Archive of the Modern History of the Irkutsk Region were analyzed and put into scientific circulation for the first time. Also, abstracts, scientific articles, popular science literature and periodicals related to the research topic were used.

The article is devoted to the history of the cultural mission of the creative intelligentsia of one of the national regions of Southern Siberia - Tuva in the late 1980s - early 1990s. On the basis of archival sources, newspaper illustrations and scientific publications, the role of the national intelligentsia of the Siberian province in the cultural transformation of society is revealed. The concept of “cultural mission” is revealed. This term is used by the authors in the meaning of “role”, “purpose”. There are three main stages in the process of the revival of Tuvan national culture. A brief analysis of each of them has been carried out. Using the historical-systemic, comparative-historical methods of scientific analysis, the authors focus on the moral significance of the intelligentsia, the emotional orientation of its behavior and activities in the field of cultural transformations. The leading role in these events was assigned to the intelligentsia as the most educated and active part of society. The authors show that during this period, on the wave of Perestroika and Glasnost, the socio-political activity of representatives of the national intelligentsia began to increase: public initiatives had been appeared, public and socio-political organizations and movements were created, cultural festivals were held, questions on the revival of traditional Tuvan holidays and rituals were raised. Initiatives to revive the musical traditions of Tuvans for the performance of throat singing, Khoomei, were among the first to appear. Not only Tuvans, but also Altaians and Khakass aspired to revive their traditional spiritual values. The study made it possible to conclude that the cultural mission consists in the decisive role of the intelligentsia of the regions of Southern Siberia in preserving the original culture of their people, transferring progressive traditions of cultural heritage in a multiethnic society, forming an integral system of historical and cultural values, fostering national identity, patriotism and civic consciousness of youth.

The article characterizes the recently published anthology devoted to the relationship between the Orthodox clergy and Russian nationalism. The work was carried out by a team of authors under the leadership of A. A. Ivanov. It is indicated that the issues raised until recently remained unexplored, despite the obvious relevance. The features of the selection of texts for the anthology are considered, their significance is noted. It is noted that the authors used materials from diocesan records and publications in the secular press, as well as archival documents. The anthology significantly expands the understanding of the place of Russian nationalism in the activities of the Orthodox clergy, destroying a number of existing myths and stereotypes.