The article examines the dynamics of electoral volatility in the post-communist countries of Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) in the early 21st century. Based on the statistical data of elections and the results of sociological researches the article focuses on the influence of economic and politico-cultural factors upon the electoral mobility of population. It is noted that the effect of economic situation on the changing party preferences of voters was lessened as the process of adaption of people to market economy progressed. It is believed that the society political culture in post-communist countries of CEE marked by a low-level party identification of citizens can be considered a more stable factor influencing the dynamics of electoral volatility. Weak party adherence induces voters who are disappointed by current government policy to change party preferencesrather quickly whatin itsturn contributesto maintenance of the high-level electoral volatility. In those circumstances parties are formed and they act purely on the current political situation rather than the existing social and group demands. In case of coming into power party leaders do not consider themselves bound to fulfill the promises which they ladled out during the election campaign, and as a result that can be the cause of a new rise in social disappointment The author concludes that the high level of electoral volatility in the post-communist countries of Central and Eastern Europe considerably weakens the mechanism of responsible party management and so impedes consolidation of new democracies

The article analyzes a process of the ‘hybrid war’ constructing as a political discourse in Western media space at the initial stages of its formation and promotion in 2014. Using the discourse analysis and process-tracing methods, the author detects principal actors involved in the process, reconstructs the sequence of events in the course of establishing and elaborating the ‘hybrid war’ discourse and analyzes transformation of meanings of that discourse proceeding from interests of actors involved into its elaboration. The analysis presented in the article led to the following conclusions: 1) discourse about Russia’s ‘hybrid war’ against the West was formulated in the spring of 2014 for substantiation of Ukrainian narrative on ‘Russian aggression in Ukraine’ and consolidation of the confrontational nature of relations between the West and Russia; 2) at the initial stage of discourse elaboration and dissemination the key role in this process was performed by representatives of non-governmental analytical institutions of the Baltic States, Poland, Ukraine and Great Britain, and in its formalization at the international level – the NATO official representatives and institutions; 3) in conceptual respect the ‘hybrid war’ discourse, combining into a single whole the conventional, irregular and information warfare, facilitated ‘étatisation’ of non-traditional security threats, “militarizing” the “soft power” and criminalizing the conventional ways of inter-state competition.

The intensification in Japanese-Indian cooperation has been seen for the last few years. If earlier the parties declared more interest in expanding bilateral contacts, but did not take serious practical steps to achieve that, now the list of cooperation areas grows and such a trend is likely to continue in the long term. For Japan, relations with India, which is one of the largest markets for Japanese cars, high-tech products and equipment, are mainly economic in nature, but one should not discount the efforts of the Land of the Rising Sun aimed at curbing Chinese trade and economic expansion in South Asia. On the other hand in partnership with Japan, India sees opportunities for attracting the advanced industrial and energy technologies, as well as diversifying its foreign policy in order to strengthen its leading position in the South Asian region. Studying the international cooperation institutions of the two countries has an obvious relevance, particularly given the increasing role of India as one of the world’s major economies, and will allow to identify the key trends in the development of that cooperation on the basis of which it will be possible to make predictions on the future structure of regional foreign policy cooperation.

The article attempts to trace some features of the China diplomatic strategy in the context of the global confrontation between the United States and the PRC. Diplomacy is an essential foreign policy tool of any state. In the era of mass media and communication, diplomatic agents face new realities, while their role in implementing the foreign policy strategy is increasing due to the relevance of a new type of confrontation – the information and hybrid wars. Traditionally, the United States remained the leader in the number of diplomatic missions abroad; however, in 2019 China was ahead of its main competitor in that respect. The geographical choice in opening new diplomatic missionsis an indicator ofthe country’sforeign policy priorities. Thus,the work of the new Chinese embassies helped to reduce the number of countries recognizing the Republic of Taiwan down to 15. An analysis of the personnel policy regarding the heads of the diplomatic missions of the PRC in the “key” areas has revealed some features that affect the working style of the ambassadors. The factor of strengthening the influence of the PRC in reputable international organizations through its diplomatic agents, which has traditionally been the prerogative of the United States, also demonstrates the offensive ambitions of China’s foreign policy strategy.

The article presents Russian-Syrian cooperation after termination of the main phase of the counterterrorism operation, switching to political process and economic recovery of the country. The article considers Russian regional policy that is based on formation of “flexible” tactic unions. Economic interests of Turkey, Iran and China are analyzed as well. Those countries consider Syria to be an important element in the emerging oil and gas and logistic trans-border structure. At the same time, Syria itself is looking for a new model of building bilateral and multilateral relations not only in the Middle Eastern region but with countries of Eurasia.

This article examines the commemoration practices in marking 5th anniversary of the Patriotic war of 1812. Those celebrations became actually the first commemorative event dedicated to that war. A historical analysis is based on the material of mass media and memoirs of contemporaries. The focal point of the article is the collective memory formation process: what ceremonies were carried out and what goals were pursued by the state, what were the narratives of historical memory that existed in the press. The study of historical memory and its formation means, and specifically with regard to the anniversaries of the Patriotic war of 1812, has become widely prevalent in modern Russian historiography. However, historians rarely focus their attention on the 5th jubilee of the war. The study of that event from the point of view of the memorial history problematic will reveal not only the emerging of the narratives of historical memory, but also will be the starting point in the further study of their evolution and changes. The study of that dynamics is extremely important, because using the memory of the Patriotic war of 1812 has contributed to forming the national identity and self-consciousness of the Russian population over the past two centuries.

In the Austro-Hungarian monarchy, numerous Slavic peoples, including Czechs and Slovaks, for a long time possessed little to no political and even national-cultural autonomy. It was the First World War that gave them a chance for a national liberation. Prague gained political fame not only as the capital of a new independent state, but also as a center of attraction for Russian “white” emigration even earlier than Belgrade, Paris and other famous cities. It all began, however, not in these European capitals, but in distant Siberia. The activities of the Czechoslovak Legion during the Civil War from May 1918 to March 1920 had a huge impact on the political and military situation in Soviet Russia. The rebellion of the Belochekhs affected more than half of the country’s territory and a number of cities along the Trans-Siberian Railway. The Czech Legion was perceived as the first phenomenon of a new, unknown state. A representation of “Czechoslovaks” and Czechoslovakia was formed through the Legion. It was intended to become the face of the First Republic. Therefore, it is important to understand what opinion on the Czech Legion as a representative of a young Eastern European state various political forces of the new Russia formed and why, and how it influenced the establishment of allied relations with it in the future.

The article describes the personnel filling of the Soviet atomic project at various stages of its implementation. The focus is on the scientists, technologists, engineers, technicians and workers of the research and industrial «atomic» objects. The special contingent and military  builders  used in construction have been taken out of the framework of the analysis: their involvement was based on other principles and should be studied separately. The study is based on declassified archival materials, published documents and memoirs. For the first time in historiography, the author shows the dynamics of the project’s personnel recruitment – from unsuccessful efforts to catch some necessary specialists to the mass replenishment of highly qualified personnel. It is established that such a process (especially at the stages of the project formation) was difficult and ambiguous. The solution of the personnel issue depended on the degree of state interest in the project and its status. Systematic and largescale personnel filling of the project became feasible only in connection with its activation in 1945 and the emergence of special (non-governmental and inter-ministerial) administrative bodies. Contrary to the opinions prevailing in the literature about the illimitable possibilities of “atomic” mobilization, its limits are shown both in cases of personified and collective recruitment.

The article is devoted to the problem of social orphanage registered in Mexico, its importance for the state. Social orphanage is a phenomenon, which is commonly found in countries characterized by social and political lack of stability caused by different reasons. In the paper the concept of social orphanage in Mexico is revealed, causes of the scale of the problem are given, the role of the country and international organizations in the children rights protection and their cooperation. The directions are questioned for getting out of the current situation.

The article examines the perception of biographies and heritage of the brothers Wilhelm and Alexander von Humboldt in National Socialist Germany. In the historical memory of modern Germany, their images have become one of the bases of German national identity, and the Humboldt-Forum – a platform for the connection of science and culture. In collective memory of the Third Reich, the brothers held unequal positions. The 100^th anniversary of the death of W. von Humboldt caused a surge of interest in him, but his image was reformatted and inscribed in the racial parameters of Nazism: his interest in the issues of the German nation was emphasized, his commitment to liberal ideas was explained by criticism of absolutism, attempts were made to attract his image to Nazi anti-Semitic paradigm. However, there were some researchers of his heritage who retained scientific objectivity. Alexander von Humboldt was paid much less attention: the ideologists of the Third Reich hated his cosmopolitanism. But as he was the brother of W. von Humboldt and a world-famous scientist, it was impossible to forget about his merits. The collective memory kept an image of a traveler naturalist whose greatness the Third Reich did not deny. Commemoration is closely associated to the identity formation. For the construction of national identity in National Socialist Germany their images were practically not required.

The review considers the monograph by E.V. Barysheva on the role of the Soviet holiday culture in construction of a new type of society. It analyzes how the researcher reflected the ideological, social, psychological and cultural aspects of the state holiday, traced a retrospective of its development in the 1920s – 1930s, and also reveal the attitude of the authorities to cultural events of that time. The elaboration degree of the issue posed by the researcher is thoroughly investigated. This review analyzes the content of the archival and published data taken by E.V. Barysheva to study the issue. Moreover, it studies the goals and objectives that, according to the scientist, pursued the Soviet government during large-scale public holidays. It is revealed to what extent the monograph traces the formation of traditions in holding Soviet holiday processions, rallies and parades in 1920–1930, as well as the process of institutionalization of state regulation of holidays. The author reviews a separate place in the work of E.V. Barysheva related to studying the festive topography of the Soviet city in the 20s – 30s. of the 20th century and the population attitude to the Soviet holidays. The review shows how profoundly the scientist disclosed the reaction of society of a specified period to the public holidays hold.

The review considers the book by N.A. Medushevskii the doctor of political sciences, associate professor in the department of the peace and democracy culture with RSUH. The monograph combines six works of authorship devoted to the problematic of historical memory and its political interpretation.