Zhurnal Belorusskogo Gosudarstvennogo Universiteta. Istoriya
Zhurnal Belorusskogo Gosudarstvennogo Universiteta. Istoriya (Журнал Белорусского государственного университета. История) Journal Overview and Metrics Description Zhurnal Belorusskogo Gosudarstvennogo Universiteta. Istoriya or Журнал Белорусского государственного университета. История (P-ISSN: 2520-6338; E-ISSN: 2617-4006) was established in 1969 under the title Веснік БДУ. Серыя 3, Гісторыя. Эканоміка. Права (ISSN 2308-9172) and retained that name until 2017. Zhurnal Belorusskogo Gosudarstvennogo Universiteta. Istoriya is recognized as Belarus’s leading scholarly journal devoted to theoretical and practical issues in Arts and Humanities, encompassing a wide range of disciplines that study human culture, society, and expression across time and space. Its areas of study include: Classics – the study of ancient Greek and Roman civilizations, encompassing their languages, literature, history, philosophy, art, and archaeology. History – national and world history, source studies, historiography, and the methodology of historical research, analyzing human experiences from antiquity to the present. Religious Studies – the exploration of beliefs, practices, and institutions of various religions, examining them as integral aspects of human culture, politics, and society. Archaeology – the study of past human societies through the material remains they left behind, including artifacts, structures, and landscapes, to understand human behavior, culture, and history. Art History and Museology – the study of visual arts, their development across cultures, and the preservation, curation, and interpretation of cultural heritage within museums. Special Historical Disciplines and Archival Studies – approaches to handling historical documents, archives, and specialized fields such as epigraphy, paleography, and diplomatics. Economy and Society – understanding the economic foundations of civilizations and their influence on cultural, political, and social development. This includes studying trade systems, economic thought, social classes, and how economic structures shaped human history and culture. The journal addresses the entire historical process from antiquity to modern times, supporting interdisciplinary perspectives and comparative studies. Its main focus lies in publishing original, unpublished works that introduce new sources to academic use and reflect contemporary Belarusian and international historiography. Special emphasis is also placed on critical engagement with new scientific publications, including monographs, collections, and source editions, through reviews and analytical essays, along with coverage and promotion of academic events in Belarus and abroad. The Editor-in-Chief is Prof. Aliaksandr G. All submissions undergo a double-blind peer review process. The journal is issued 4 times a year and published in English. Submit your manuscript today to Zhurnal Belorusskogo Gosudarstvennogo Universiteta. Istoriya
From Great Divergence debates to South–South divergence: Expanding comparative frameworks in global economic history
Over the last quarter-century, the Great Divergence has dominated debates in economic history. This review article maps out fresh directions for comparative work in global economic history. It contends that a focus on South–South Divergence is a timely and coherent next step in the Great Divergence research program. Asia’s economic resurgence not only halted a long period of expanding worldwide income inequality, it also initiated a new pattern of unequal growth within the global south. Understanding the historical character, drivers, and roots of this shift matters increasingly as the global south gains greater demographic significance and economic influence. Comparisons among southern economies can also challenge the field’s continuing reliance on western-centered and North–South frameworks. By shifting the comparative lens, South–South analysis encourages the construction of alternative concepts and explanations that are not confined to mainstream templates developed in development economics and political science. Such renewed approaches, the article argues, must confront what shapes the possibilities and limits of “late” development today. In particular, they need to account for a fourfold set of pressures: persistent technology disparities, restricted room for independent state action, intensified global competitive forces, and the fast narrowing of land and resource frontiers.
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Reimagining Iran: How “Iranianness” Became “Persianness”
The idea of an intellectual “invention of Iran” is a striking metaphor rooted in Orientalist archaeology and historical writing that developed from the mid-nineteenth century through the late twentieth. This scholarly project drew heavily on Aryan racial mythology, claims about Aryan movement into the Indian subcontinent, and the related framing of the Persian ethnie as the exclusive creator of Iran’s celebrated national heritage. Such a Eurocentric storyline helped produce “Persianness” as an ethnoracial hierarchy, comparable to how Whiteness has operated as a privileged norm in Europe and the United States. In this article, I investigate the knowledge claims that underpin Iranian nationalism and, crucially, trace how Orientalist readings of Iran’s past continue to shape the perspectives and practices of present-day Persian intellectuals and elites. I contend that the making of Persianness into a favored identity has normalized particular ways of seeing, reasoning, speaking, and knowing as distinctly “Persian,” presenting them as self-evident and universal. This raciolinguistic construction reproduces a habitus that filters non-Persian histories and collective memories through a Persian-centered frame, one that implicitly positions them as secondary and inherently inferior.
Ancient Philosophical Legacies in Modern Europe: Cultural Autonomy and Intercultural Coexistence
Ancient philosophical culture continues to matter for contemporary Western civilization because many core principles of social organization and the ways societies interpret and reproduce those principles took shape in Classical Greece and Rome. This article investigates how ancient philosophical traditions have shaped today’s national cultures and isolates key conceptual categories from antiquity that remain embedded in modern thought and that still inform social and political life. The study is based on a content analysis of recent scholarly literature, reviewing 50 academic sources. Methodologically, the analysis relies mainly on theoretical approaches, especially analytical and synthetic reasoning. A comparative method is also applied to reveal tensions and divergences in how researchers interpret the philosophical legacy of antiquity. The findings trace the emergence of ancient ethical theory and its later reinterpretations, showing how ethical reasoning continues to influence present-day debates. The article also examines cosmopolitanism by comparing its contemporary cultural meanings with its Greco-Roman philosophical foundations, and it discusses how references to the ancient heritage are used today in addressing intercultural tensions and conflict. Overall, the study argues that, under accelerating globalization, the salience of ethics, intercultural coexistence, and cosmopolitan orientations has increased, while the imprint of ancient cultural inheritance remains visible across many dimensions of modern life. The article’s contribution lies in offering an integrated account of how ancient culture supports the formation and continuity of European identity. It concludes that concepts developed in antiquity continue to shape later sociological and political thinking as well as philosophical reflection, and that these ideas were consequential in the historical construction of European civilization.
The Reflection of Historical Diamond Economic Pathway in c.900–1650: Asia Pacific, China, and Maritime Silk Roads
This article reinterprets the economic and cultural linkages between China, Southeast Asia, and the broader Asia–Pacific world during c.900–1650 through what may be termed a historical diamond economic pathway. At its core, the study situates Southeast Asia as the pivotal “axis” of the maritime silk roads that connected the Indian Ocean and the South China Sea. Drawing on textual, archaeological, and comparative historical sources, it reconstructs two principal phases of maritime development: the Song–Yuan commercial expansion (c.900–1350) and the Ming-era Age of Commerce (c.1400–1650). The findings highlight that, although overseas trade constituted a modest share of aggregate output, it played a transformative role in shaping coastal economies, technological diffusion, and cross-cultural exchange. Song liberalization of maritime policy, the Mongol maritime turn, and the Ming voyages under Zheng He each contributed to new circulation patterns of commodities such as ceramics, pepper, and cotton textiles. The paper also underscores the emergence of diasporic merchant networks as Arab, Indian, Malay, and Chinese that organized commerce through interlocking regional circuits. Methodologically, the study adopts a qualitative historical synthesis emphasizing multi-source triangulation and network interpretation. By re-envisioning the long-distance maritime economy as a “diamond” linking four vertices such as China, India, the Islamic world, and Southeast Asia the paper reframes the pre-modern global economy as a polycentric and interconnected system rather than a precursor to later European dominance.
Ancient Greek Conceptions of “Laws of Nature”: A Reassessment
This study challenges the long-standing claim that ancient Greek thinkers lacked a conception equivalent to “laws of nature.” By closely examining selected passages from Plato, Aristotle, Philo of Alexandria, Nicomachus of Gerasa, and Galen, the paper demonstrates that several Greek authors not only articulated such ideas but explicitly employed terminology corresponding to “laws of nature.” These occurrences appear within two major intellectual lineages: the Platonic tradition and the diverse currents of ancient Pythagoreanism. Texts featuring arithmetical doctrines, numerical cosmology, or medical explanations contain explicit references to laws of nature, revealing that Greek authors occasionally framed natural regularities in rule-like or law-like terms. Particularly significant are Nicomachus’ formulations, which ascribe mathematical, universal, and necessary characteristics to these laws features typically sought in modern histories tracing the emergence of the scientific concept of natural law. The analysis raises the possibility that these Greek formulations may have contributed, directly or indirectly, to medieval and early modern developments, including those influencing figures such as Kepler and Newton. Overall, the findings overturn the prevailing narrative by showing that the concept of “laws of nature” was not absent from Greek antiquity but emerged within philosophical contexts rooted in Platonic and Pythagorean thought.
Dutch Approaches to Pluralist and Engaged Historiography in Geography
This article examines the development of a distinctive Dutch contribution to the historiography of geography, focusing on the “encyclopaedic approach” formulated at the Free University of Amsterdam between 1961 and 1987 by Marcus Heslinga and Andries Kouwenhoven. The study situates this approach within broader disciplinary concerns about the fragmentation of geography and the appeal for an “engaged pluralism” capable of bridging conceptual, methodological, and institutional divides. To meet the journal’s structural format, the paper reconstructs the methodological foundations of the Dutch historiographical tradition by outlining its analytical principles, particularly its emphasis on formal and material objects of geography, conceptual mapping, and the role of scientific communication networks. The results highlight how the Dutch case shaped by long-standing rivalries between geographical schools, borderland intellectual influences, and post-war institutional expansion generated a pluralistic framework that accommodates diversity without disintegration. The discussion demonstrates that the encyclopaedic approach provides a model for contemporary historiography by promoting dialogue, shared intellectual genealogies, and the spatial contextualization of knowledge production. The article concludes that reassessing these Dutch contributions enriches ongoing efforts to cultivate a more connected and reflective geographical discipline. This reframed analysis underscores the relevance of historiographical methods for sustaining the discipline’s coherence and for informing renewed attempts to integrate its varied subfields.
From Impression to Structure: The Development of Historical Representation in Liang Sicheng’s Architectural Drawings
This study offers a comprehensive re-examination of one of the earliest systematic attempts to define and embed a coherent Chinese architectural tradition within modern design practice. Focusing on Liang Sicheng (1901–1972), a central figure in Chinese architectural history, the research situates his work within the broader cultural aspiration to reaffirm China’s historical identity during the early twentieth century. Using architectural drawings both as the primary object of study and as the analytical instrument, the paper investigates how Liang’s visual representations evolved across different phases of his career. Three key drawings from the 1920s and 1930s are juxtaposed and interpreted through an iconographic and iconological framework to trace shifts in his understanding and use of the architectural past. The findings reveal a gradual transformation in how Liang constructed tradition moving from atmospheric evocations of “Chineseness” to more deliberate efforts that aligned historical imagery with structural logic. These developments illuminate not only his maturing theoretical stance on the “correct” and “glorious” architectural past but also the ways his representational methods shaped a modern vision of Chinese architectural identity. The study ultimately argues that Liang’s drawings possess an autonomous evidentiary value, documenting the formation of a canonical architectural language that bridged historical reverence with modern design concerns. By reassessing these visual materials, the research contributes to a deeper understanding of how architectural representation mediated the creation of Chinese architectural modernity during a critical historical moment.
Reframing Italy’s Historical Geographies: Research Trends from 2020 to 2024
This article offers a comprehensive survey of Italian-language scholarship in historical geography published between 2020 and 2024, aiming to provide an updated overview of recent thematic directions and methodological developments. The review situates Italian contributions within ongoing disciplinary debates and identifies shifting research priorities by mapping academic production across multiple subfields. Methodologically, the study outlines the criteria used to collect relevant works ranging from journal articles and monographs to conference proceedings and highlights the analytical challenges associated with defining historical geography within the Italian academic system, where the field is not institutionally autonomous. The literature examined reveals four major areas of renewed interest: the history of cartography and geographical knowledge, the increasingly sophisticated use of Historical GIS as both a methodological and heuristic framework, the study of landscapes and territorial transformation within applied historical geography, and the diversification of sources and interdisciplinary approaches involving archaeology, environmental sciences, and digital humanities. In addition, growing attention has been given to extra-Italian contexts, particularly colonial spaces and global networks of exploration. The review concludes that Italian historical geography continues to expand in scope and methodological complexity, maintaining strong connections with international scholarship while preserving distinct historicist and structuralist tendencies. It also emphasizes the importance of historically informed perspectives for understanding and addressing contemporary territorial, environmental, and cultural challenges.
Reframing Persian Educational Thought Through a Historicist Lens: Philosophy, Identity, and Power Dynamics
This qualitative research applies a Historicist perspective to investigate how Persian intellectual traditions have been obscured within modern scholarship. Using materials drawn from Greek historical writings, Arab-Islamic accounts, and secondary analyses on Persian civilization, the study conducts a thematic exploration of the power structures embedded in dominant Greek and Arab-Islamic thought that have historically overshadowed Persian contributions. By tracing these narrative patterns, the study identifies and categorizes three foundational dimensions of Persian intellectual life, emphasizing religio-linguistic tolerance, the influence of elite figures and the concept of divine Khvarenah, and the civilizational idea of Iranshahr. Historicism serves as the organizing lens, demonstrating how ancient Persians conceptualized Kherad a form of ancestral wisdom as a guiding principle for governance, cultural endurance, and the transmission of knowledge to successive traditions, including those of the Hellenistic and Arab-Islamic worlds. Through this approach, the analysis underscores the utility of Historicism for reinterpreting inherited narratives and introduces a conceptual scaffold for renewed inquiry into Persian educational philosophy and broader socio-cultural traditions.
Banyumasan–Javanese Local Wisdom in Project-Based Learning: Indicators Development and Validation for Entrepreneurship Education
This study develops and validates an instrument to integrate Banyumasan–Javanese local wisdom into project-based entrepreneurship learning (PJBL) in higher education. Using a mixed-methods, exploratory design, we first elicited value constructs through an in-depth interview and oral history with a culturally authoritative key informant (Ahmad Tohari), followed by a focus group discussion and expert triangulation to refine candidate indicators. Qualitative data were analyzed in MAXQDA via open–axial–selective coding, supported by a codebook, analytic memos, and member-checking, yielding 12 values (e.g., cablaka, guyub rukun, prewira, ajur ajer) mapped to PJBL outcomes (cognitive, affective, behavioral, artifact performance). To establish structural relevance and prioritize items, we applied Fuzzy-DEMATEL to expert judgments. All indicators exceeded the decision cut-off confirming demonstrated importance at the set level. Behavioral outcomes emerged as the most influential dimension, followed by affective and cognitive. The highest-prominence indicators were leadership, perseverance, harmonious but candid collaboration, self-reliance, openness, and adaptiveness as key levers for PJBL. Content validity was then examined with five experts using Aiken’s V, with all items meeting or exceeding accepted thresholds. The refined instrument was administered to entrepreneurship and business students. Reliability showed good internal consistency. Collectively, the qualitative grounding, Fuzzy-DEMATEL structural validation, content validity ratio (CVR), and student-based reliability evidence support a culturally grounded, psychometrically sound instrument. The results guide instructors to emphasize behavior-centric scaffolds and assessment while leveraging adaptive cognitive strategies and a supportive affective climate, thereby advancing contextualized, character-rich entrepreneurship education rooted in local wisdom.
Reflection on Accounting Histography: From Double Entry to Ethics, Conservatism, and Sustainability
Economic historians argue that before 1800, double-entry bookkeeping was used primarily to manage debt and oversee distant agents, factors, and partners. Its role in measuring overall profit or wealth was limited, usually arising only when accountability to others was required. These conclusions, drawn from primary records interpreted within their broader business context, contrast sharply with traditional antiquarian narratives. The latter emphasized technical detail, relied on presentist and teleological assumptions, and neglected contextual or critical reflection. As a result, they focused on the “what” and “how” of bookkeeping while leaving the more fundamental question of “why” unexplored, thereby obscuring motivations and producing questionable assumptions that became accepted as fact. This narrow, Eurocentric framing shaped by influential figures such as Pacioli, Besta, and Yamey placed double-entry bookkeeping at the center of accounting progress while marginalizing earlier systems and overlooking social, political, and ethical dimensions. A broader review of the literature, however, reveals more complexity. Classical scholarship remains highly technical, critical approaches reinterpret accounting as both disciplinary and ethical, global studies demonstrate diverse and non-linear development paths, and Indonesian research emphasizes ethics, prudence, and sustainability, with scandals such as Jiwasraya and Garuda Indonesia underscoring the importance of governance and transparency.
How Did the Banking System in Greece Function During the Financial Crisis? A Historical View
This study examines the intricate dynamics of Greece’s banking sector during the financial crisis that severely affected both the country and the global economy. Guided by two main objectives, it explores the underlying causes that destabilized Greece’s financial institutions and evaluates the broader repercussions of the eurozone crisis on the international stage. The findings highlight how a combination of domestic weaknesses and global pressures triggered a sharp credit contraction and widespread disruption across the Greek banking system. In response, Greek banks engaged in a comprehensive, internationally focused review, drawing on data from major global financial hubs to reduce the crisis’s effects and strengthen resilience. The research also considers the cross-border interconnectedness of financial markets, showing how developments abroad intensified Greece’s economic turmoil. Moreover, the study underscores the humanitarian dimension of financial crises, drawing attention to the social and personal hardships endured, and argues for the importance of empathy in shaping economic recovery. Overall, it stresses the necessity of adopting a global outlook, implementing resilience strategies, and promoting compassionate policies to navigate and overcome financial crises effectively.
The Democratization of Work from an Intellectual History Perspective: A Transformational Leadership Theory
Amid rising calls for more democratic approaches to organizing, revisiting the intellectual roots of transformational leadership provides valuable insights. First articulated by American political scientist James MacGregor Burns in the late 1970s, transformational leadership quickly became one of the most influential frameworks in management and leadership studies. At its core, the theory emphasizes leaders as visionaries who connect with followers’ higher-order needs, motivating them to achieve exceptional outcomes that transcend routine organizational goals. Yet, an important element of Burns’ original conception is often neglected in contemporary management discourse, its democratic foundation. Burns envisioned leadership as a reciprocal, participatory process rooted in democracy, where citizens empowered leaders through electoral choice and removed them when they failed to uphold their commitments. In this view, leadership was inseparable from accountability, collective engagement, and the principles of democratic governance. However, when the theory was imported into business scholarship, the democratic dimension was largely stripped away. Instead, the focus shifted almost exclusively to leaders’ charisma, vision, and influence over followers, with less attention paid to the reciprocal, bottom-up dynamic that Burns considered essential. This reinterpretation has shaped decades of management practice, narrowing the scope of transformational leadership to organizational performance rather than democratic participation. By employing an intellectual history perspective, we highlight the gap between Burns’ original vision and its management adaptation. We examine how the democratic aspects were lost, why this omission matters for both theory and practice, and how recovering these roots could enrich contemporary understandings of leadership in more inclusive and participatory ways.
AMONG THE UMAYYAD, ABBASID, AND OTTOMAN EMPIRES: HOW DID THE ISLAMIC ECONOMY PERFORM? A HISTORICAL REVIEW FROM 600 AD
The development of Islamic economic thought has been closely intertwined with the trajectory of Islamic civilization since the era of Prophet Muhammad SAW and the Khulafaur Rasyidin. Following this formative period, the Umayyad, Abbasid, and Ottoman dynasties each contributed distinct approaches to managing economic affairs that reflected their political and social contexts. This study applies a historical-descriptive method to analyze the economic concepts and practices implemented by these three empires. The Umayyad dynasty, recognized as the first Islamic government to institutionalize hereditary leadership, emphasized administrative reforms such as the establishment of a structured bureaucracy, coinage system, and postal services, thereby creating stability conducive to economic growth. The Abbasid dynasty (750–1258 AD) marked the “Golden Age” of Islamic civilization, characterized by significant progress in trade, agriculture, and industry. State policies encouraged irrigation projects, mining, and agricultural expansion, while institutions like Baitul Mal played central roles in revenue management and redistribution. Under rulers such as Harun al-Rashid, economic prosperity supported advancements in science, education, and culture. Meanwhile, the Ottoman Empire (1300–1922 AD) reached its zenith under Sultan Sulaiman al-Qanuni, whose codification of Islamic law and territorial expansion enabled control of major trade routes and commercial centers. However, prolonged wars and intellectual stagnation ultimately weakened its economic base. This historical overview demonstrates that the integration of Islamic principles with practical governance significantly shaped economic systems across dynasties, leaving enduring legacies for contemporary Islamic economic thought.
TEACHER I. A. SERBAW AND ACADEMICIAN A. A. SHAKHMATOV: THE HISTORY OF COLLABORATION
The purpose of the article is to determine the main directions of cooperation between I. A. Serbaw and the authoritative linguist A. A. Shakhmatov. It is shown that the correspondence between them lasted from 1911 to 1917. Ten letters from the school teacher to the Saint Petersburg academician have survived to this day. A few messages discussed I. A. Serbaw’s official activities, while most of the letters were devoted to scientific issues. I. A. Serbaw shared with the head of the Department of Russian language and literature of the Imperial Academy of Sciences his thoughts about the peculiarities of the speech of the Poleshuks. He reported the results of the expeditions and planned further publications. A. A. Shakhmatov provided moral, material, and organisational assistance to his younger colleague. Due to the support of this authoritative linguist, I. A. Serbaw was able to implement several projects, including expeditions to Palesie in 1911 and 1913, as well as the publication of a monograph about the Belarusian sakuns.
THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE GELUG SCHOOL IN THE AMDO REGION IN THE SECOND HALF OF THE 16th CENTURY AND THE CONSTRUCTION OF THE YANGHUA TEMPLE
The meeting of Altan Khan, the head of the Tumet Khanate, and Sonam Gyatso, the future Dalai Lama III, which took place on 26 May 1578, is considered. It is noted that its results were a mutually beneficial and long-term alliance between Mongols and representatives of the gelug school, the spread of Tibetan Buddhism in the area of settlement of Mongolian tribes, as well as the establishment of close relations between Mongolia and the Ming Empire. It is pointed out that the symbol of this political and religious agreement was the Yanghua temple, specially built by the Mongols in the Amdo region near lake Kukunor and the first gelug monastery in the northern regions of Tibet. The crucial role of this monastery in the history of Tibetan Buddhism is emphasised.
FROM ANTI-ELITE TO ELITE: NEW SYRIA AMID GLOBAL TRANSFORMATIONS
An attempt is made to analyse the essence of the decisions of the new Syrian authorities after the overthrow of president Bashar Assad in December 2024. It presents the key actors of this situation who made up the country’s elite in the post-Assad period, and analyses the statements and actions of the new authorities led by the head of the military operations administration and leader of the terrorist organisation «Hayat Tahrir al-Sham» (is prohibited in Russia) Ahmad al-Sharaa. It is concluded that the new elite in Damascus is formed from among his proxies. It is pointed out that this situation may cause a negative reaction from other groups of the former Syrian opposition if organisation «Hayat Tahrir al-Sham» refuses to hold a political dialogue. The composition of the Syrian caretake government until March 2025 is described. Assessments of the regional and global implications of the Syrian events of December 2024 are considered.
SOME FEATURES OF THE DEVELOPMENT OF TRADE IN HANDICRAFTS IN TURKESTAN (ON THE EXAMPLE OF THE ZARAFSHAN VALLEY IN THE LATE 19th AND EARLY 20th CENTURIES)
This study focuses on certain aspects of the development of internal and external trade relations in Turkestan during the late 19th and early 20th centuries, using the example of the Zarafshan Valley. It examines the history of trade activities in the Zarafshan Valley, highlighting the role of internal and external trade in the socio-economic life of the region. The study analyses the state of trade during this period, identifying changes, unique characteristics, and general features of commercial activities. The expansion of local markets and the growth of trade indicate the advancement of small-scale commodity production. Manufactured goods began to be sold not only throughout Turkestan but also in foreign markets by the early 20th century. As a result of the development of market relations, a significant portion of the urban population shifted away from agriculture and adapted to earning a livelihood through commodity production and trade. The improvement of craftsmanship led to the emergence of simple forms of early manufactories, the establishment of capitalist production methods, and the development of craft industries and monetary relations, which created a solid foundation for the formation of an integrated market system in the region. New industrial sectors emerged, and the number of private industrial enterprises specialising in the production of various goods essential to daily life steadily increased. The establishment of capitalist relations in the local industries of the Zarafshan Valley, as well as the influx of factory-made products manufactured in the industrial facilities of the Russian Empire, resulted in the decline of many local craft industries. The study also discusses the administrative division of the Zarafshan Valley into two parts following the Russian Empire’s conquest in the second half of the 19th century and analyses both the positive and negative impacts of this process on the trade sector within the territories governed by the Turkestan General Governorship.
TRACKING THE RELIGIOUS TRANSFORMATION IN THE EARLY MEDIEVAL EASTERN CAUCASUS
The author of the article studies the religious transformation in the early Medieval Eastern Caucasus, mostly in the territories of contemporary Republic of Azerbaijan, by the thorough analysis of the historical chronicles and other written sources. Muslim historians and geographers works, Armenian and Georgian chronicles are interpretated and combined. The article embarks upon a comprehensive research, unraveling gradual religious transformation in the region.
CONSTRUCTING THE EASTERN GEOPOLITICAL SPACE BY HISTORIAN HETUM OF CORYCUS
The first part of the work of the state and political figure of Cilician Armenia, historian Hetum of Corycus «La flor des estoires de la terre d’Orient», written in 1307 by order of Pope Clement V, is considered. It is established that it describes 14 eastern countries, subject to the Mongol Empire or bordering it, and the peoples inhabiting them, in particular their confessional affiliation and ability to fight. It is noted that when selecting historical-geographical and cultural material, Hetum of Corycus was guided by the interests of Western European readers, so his sketch has features of Western European travelogues, such as alternation of factual data with entertaining stories. It is indicated that the first part of the work is imbued with the author’s idea of the necessity of Armenian-Mongol unity and liberation of the Eastern Christian world from the heathen.
«La flor des estoires de la terre d’Orient»
MANIFESTATION OF HISTORICAL EMPATHY BY UZBEK PEOPLE
The content of the concept «empathy» is revealed. The peculiarities of its manifestation by Uzbek people in different periods of history are considered. It is pointed out that the population of the Turkestan region showed empathy, kindness, tolerance, mercy and generosity towards the peoples who moved to this territory after its conquest by the Russian Empire. Much attention is paid to the period of the World War II when Uzbekistan became a second homeland for many people evacuated from front-line regions. The behaviour of the peoples of the USSR during the Tashkent earthquake is described.
A VIEW ON THE HISTORY OF ARMENIAN-RUSSIAN RELATIONS: LESSONS OF HISTORY AND REALITY
The article revises the history of relations between Armenia and Russia, stages of formation of Armenian- Russian historical ties. The history of Armenian-Russian military-political, economic, cultural and spiritual ties goes back centuries. At the beginning of 19th century, because of military and political events that had taken place in Transcaucasia, Eastern Armenia became a part of the Russian Empire. Since that time, Russia began to play a decisive role in the historical destiny of the Armenian people, a new stage in Armenian-Russian relations began. After Armenia’s accession to Russia, its economic, political and cultural life has significantly advanced, which had been impossible under the domination of Persia and Turkey. The authors of the article conclude that the turbulent events currently taking place in the Caucasus region and throughout the world show that the Armenian nation is again faced with problems that history have already posed. In this regard, the authors are convinced that the materials contained in the article will help readers to assess the political motives and goals of Armenia and Russia based on historical lessons and realities.
DISCUSSION BETWEEN I. L. GOREMYKIN AND S. Yu. WITTE ON THE ZEMSTVO REFORM IN THE WESTERN PROVINCES (LATE 1890s)
The discussion on the project of the Zemstvo reform in the western provinces of the Russian Empire which unfolded in the late 1890s between the minister of internal affairs I. L. Goremykin and the minister of finance S. Yu. Witte. Official records, their confidential notes, memoirs and diaries are analysed. The prehistory of the development of the project of the Zemstvo reform for the Western region (it was supposed that the system of zemstvo self-government would be implemented in nine provinces, including five Belarusian provinces) is covered, its main provisions are given, the discussion of this draft law with governors and governors-general is characterised. The main attention is paid to the position of I. L. Goremykin as the initiator of the reform and the views of S. Yu. Witte as his opponent. It is noted that during the consideration of the draft law the direction of the discussion changed. I. L. Goremykin considered the introduction of zemstvos in the western provinces as a tool for unifying the all-imperial space and strengthening Russian influence. S. Yu. Witte shifted the emphasis to the problem of the relationship between the zemstvo self-government and the autocracy, consistently defended the need to reform local provincial administration and refuse to establish zemstvos in the Western region. As a result, the draft law developed by the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Russian Empire was not approved, and I. L. Goremykin was sent into retirement. Discussions on the implementation of the Zemstvo reform in the western provinces continued and led to the establishment of the zemstvo economy departments in 1903 and the formation of the system of zemstvo self-government in 1911. These transformations were realised in three Belarusian (Viciebsk, Minsk and Magiliow) provinces and three Ukrainian (Kyiv, Volyn and Podolia) provinces.
THE NEW SITE OF THE KUDLAIVKA CULTURE LUBAN-9 (RESULTS OF ARCHAEOLOGICAL RESEARCH OF 2021–2022)
The article presents the first results of the archaeological research of the new Mesolithic site Luban-9. The settlement was discovered in 2020 by M. M. Kryvalcevich during a survey of the territory in the planned construction of a fire station in the city of Luban (Minsk Region). During the 2021–2022 field seasons the settlement was investigated on an area of 21 m2. The archaeological collection includes 820 artifacts, among which 803 are artifacts of various raw material types (flint, quartzite, quartz). Anoxic conditions of occurrence contributed to the possibility of preserving organic materials (wood, bone, etc.) on the territory of the settlement. The analysis of the stratigraphy shows the distinctiveness of the settlement among the Mesolithic antiquities of the region. The discovered materials find a wide range of analogies on the site of the Kudlaivka culture on the territory of Belarus (Aziarnoje-1, Aziarnoje-2Б, Luban-1, Luban-7, etc.). Based on the obtained radiocarbon dating, the settlement dates to the end of the 10th and the beginning of the 8th millennium BC, which corresponds to the first half of the Preboreal – the end of the second phase of the Boreal period and is chronologically related to the early Mesolithic. Thus, Luban-9 is the first settlement of the Kudlaivka culture on the territory of Belarus for which it was possible to determine the absolute age.
HISTORY OF EVERYDAY IN THE CONTEXT OF FOREIGN HISTORIOGRAPHY
The article examines the place of the history of everyday life in foreign historiography. It is noted that the first interest in the material culture and history of everyday life arose among positivist historians at the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries. The study emphasises that the history of everyday life has received great recognition from medievalists and specialists in the history of Modern and Contemporary history. The subject of studying the history of everyday life is the sphere of human everyday life. It is shown that the history of everyday life can be considered as one of the components of the historical-anthropological approach. The author comes to the conclusion that the history of everyday life is a new promising direction of foreign historiography.
REASONS FOR DEVELOPMENT OF CHINESE OPERA DURING THE WANLI EMPEROR PERIOD OF MING DYNASTY
From the enthronisation of Ming Dynasty (1368–1644) to the beginning of Wanli Emperor period (1573–1620), Chinese society has been undergoing tremendous changes in many aspects. Politically, the atmosphere became cruel and corrupt more and more, officials with no hope of career turn to Chinese opera for solace, and the binding power of Chinese opera policies lost its influence gradually, and thus it created a favourable environment for the development of Chinese opera. Ideologically, the trend of detachment and apathy turned out to be more and more intense. Socially, the trend of extravagance and the belief in ghosts and sacrifices got its arisen. Chinese opera became a way to show off wealth and was often used to entertain sacrificial ceremonies, which promoted the prosperity of Chinese opera performances. Culturally, watching Chinese operas made a trend. Chinese opera was mature, combining art and entertainment, and was loved by literati. Simultaneously, the trend of literary and artistic innovations, advocated an individual’s subjectivity and true emotions, composed the source, the object and the function of that literature. Driven with that variety of extensive and profound changes, Chinese opera of the Wanli Emperor period of the Ming Dynasty appeared to be an independent social cultural trend and thus achieved very high level and acquired its rapid development. At the same time, it gave birth to many outstanding Chinese opera writers and works, which improved the quality of Ming Dynasty Chinese operas and made the Ming Dynasty the second golden age in the history of classical Chinese opera.
FROM THE HISTORY OF THE FORMATION OF THE MULTINATIONAL POPULATION IN THE TURKESTAN REGION
The article examines the peculiarities of the national composition of the population of Turkestan in the Russian Empire in the second half of the 19th – early 20th century. It is noted that the multinational environment in the region was formed as a result of the implementation of the resettlement and Russification policy. The indigenous peoples in the region were Uzbeks, Tajiks, Kazakhs, ets. In imperial Turkestan, diasporas of various peoples of the East and West began to form – Eastern Slavs, Tatars, Armenians. This circumstance contributed to the creation of a multinational image of Turkestan. It is emphasised that the religious composition of the population of the Turkestan region was also diverse. The predominant religion was Muslims. Representatives of the Orthodox faith, Judaism, the Armenian-Gregorian Church, Lutheranism, Baptism, Old Believers, and Evangelism also lived here. The existence of a multiethnic and multi-confessional environment necessitated the establishment of solidarity relations between peoples. The Russian language and culture were widespread in certain areas. It is suggested that the multinational composition of the population contributed to the cultural and economic integration of the peoples living in the region.
ethnic composition of the population of Turkestan in the Russian Empire
POLAND’S PLACE IN RAPALLO POLITICS IN 1922–1926
The article aims to establish to what extent the Polish factor determined the nature of relations between Russia and Germany in the period from the Rapallo to the Berlin treaty, influenced the dynamics of Soviet-German cooperation within the framework of the Rapallo policy in the context of the Versailles system of international relations. Due to Poland’s role in the Versailles system, it acted as the most obvious element of the post-war international order, against which the anti-Versailles politics of Russia and Germany was directed. The anti-Polish elements of the policy of Moscow and Berlin strengthened Rapallo’s course in relations between them. But at the same time, the Polish factor was of tactical importance within the framework of the Rapallo policy. He was used, like Rapallo in general, as a tool in the policy of Moscow and Berlin in relation to the leading countries of the West. After all, it was on their position that the achievement of the strategic goal of the foreign policy of the USSR and Germany – the revision of the Treaty of Versailles – depended. The Rapallo policy was assigned the role of a factor that would facilitate concessions from Western countries in this direction, including at the expense of Poland.
Versailles system of international relations
ALMANACS AND THE BROADCASTING OF POWER DISCOURSE DURING THE FRENCH REVOLUTION
The article is devoted to the study of the discourse of power in the sources of everyday culture of France on the eve and during the French Revolution. French almanacs of the second half of the 18th century were used as materials for this study. Calendars, songs, anecdotes and documents contained in the almanacs are considered. For the first time, sources of everyday culture act as objects of study of the power discourse of France in 18th century. A comparative analysis of similar content moments in the anthologies published in different years is carried out. The functionality used by the authorities to promote certain narratives in the almanacs is established. The article examines the introduction of the revolutionary calendar and the development of the system of saints in it, the transmission of the qualities of a real French citizen through calendars, songs and anecdotes, as well as the reception of political events by the compilers of almanacs. It is concluded that during the transition to the state of the modern type, the transformation of power in France was associated with the processes of de-Christianisation and secularisation of consciousness, creation of the image of a new citizen discrediting of royal power and deconstruction of the figures of rulers. The study uses methods and approaches defined by R. Darnton.
WESTERN ARMENIA IN THE PLANS OF RUSSIAN AND ARMENIAN DIPLOMATS IN 1914–1915
The article examines the course of discussions about the future of Armenia in the Russian political and military elite in 1914–1915. It is noted that the policy of the Russian Empire during this period was very dynamic due to the development of military events and the ambitions of the allies. The formation of the empire’s policy was determined by the difference in positions of statesmen, as well as the specifics of public opinion. It is emphasised that the main goal of the state was the capture of Constantinople and the Bosphorus and Dardanelles Straits. Plans for Armenia were secondary. Until the middle of 1915, the Russian authorities did not rule out the creation of Armenian autonomy by uniting Western Armenia and Cilicia, and in some cases even considered that this decision corresponded to the interests of the empire. However, secret agreements and contradictions between the powers, especially after the almost complete extermination of Armenians in Western Armenia and Cilicia, removed the idea of creating an Armenian autonomy from the agenda.