This paper is a factual reconstitution of the relationship between the First Brazilian Republic and the Russian Empire (1889–1917), dealing with aspects such as the Russian recognition of the Brazilian Republic (1892), the trade and political relations, cultural and scientific exchange, immigration and the impact of the two 1917 Russian Revolutions on the bilateral relationship. Based on the primary sources (Brazilian diplomatic archives) and the relevant bibliography on the subject, the paper aims to analyze to what extent the ideological factor, expressed by the dynastic solidarity between the Romanovs and the Orléans e Bragança and by the opposition between the monarchical and republican conceptions of government, represented a determining factor for the bilateral relations between Brazil and Russia during the period. Besides, the research seeks to highlight other elements that have played a role (trade, cultural and scientific exchange, and immigration) in the dynamics of the interactions between Rio de Janeiro and St. Petersburg, notwithstanding the geographical distance between them.

The article examines the Russian–German relations at the time of active hostilities (from June to October 1900) during the Yihetuan uprising of 1900–1901. The nature of the interaction between Russia and Germany in the Far East is analyzed, the current problems of the bilateral dialogue are highlighted, and the unresolved contradictions between the states are traced, which have led to a political uncertainty in the bilateral relations. The source base for the study consists of the documents from the State Archives of the Russian Federation (GA RF), the Russian State Archives of the Navy (RGA Navy) and the Archives of Foreign Policy of the Russian Empire (AFPRI). The author comes to the conclusion that the declared Russian-German partnership was in fact a pragmatic cooperation based on a short-term intersection of interests of the two states.

The basic understanding of the Pan-German League in historical literature is,      as a rule, inextricably linked with the popular belief in the incitement of a military sentiment within the German society on the eve and during the First World War, as well as in the fact that Pan-Germans paved the way for the rooting of National Socialism during the Weimar Republic. If we limit ourselves to only studying the mass literature published by the Pan-German League in large editions, then, undoubtedly, this idea is true. The Pan-Germans really offered the Germans their vision of Germany’s military   goals,      persistently seeking their approval by the society and the ruling elite. However, outside the scope of the general research, there often remains an understanding of the reasons, motives and the conditions in which the Pan-German League carried out its agitation and propaganda work. The memoirs of its chairman, published in 1932 and 2022, significantly expand the knowledge of what was outside the Pan-German movement: the struggle for the resignation of the Chancellor, the establishment of a dictatorship, the widespread use of all types of weapons, German colonization. The purpose of the article is to show, on the basis of the previously unpublished memoirs of H. Claß, how the Pan-German League’s military objectives were prepared, how those objectives were justified; the paper also aims at revealing the internal contradictions and intentions that went beyond the scope of military plans. The conclusion is about the failed attempts of the Pan-Germans to establish a temporary dictatorship, pushing aside the civil administration, as well as about the failure of the project of military goals. However, despite the failures, the Pan-German agitation achieved its goal, causing a crisis of public confidence in the Chancellor’s personally, and their attempts to spread thoughts about dictatorship in society, inspired by H. Claß, allowed the future myth of the Fuhrer to crystallize.

Since the establishment of the diplomatic relations, the interaction between the PRC and India has developed unevenly: the periods of active cooperation were followed by confrontation, and a gradual normalization. Since the last change of the political leadership in China (in 2012 Xi Jinping came to power) and in India (in 2014 the N. Modi administration took office), a new path of their relations has begun from the so-called “peaceful coexistence to armed coexistence”. The previous hopes for effective political interaction (even while maintaining a high level of economic cooperation) are met with a fundamentally different understanding of each other by the two countries. The renewed border conflict between the two states has demonstrated that. And if the Indian political circles securitize the Chinese problem, the PRC’s position is mainly based on the perception of its neighbor through the prism of the relations between Delhi and Washington, as well as through the intensity of the anti-Chinese discourse of the Indian elites. In that situation, the asymmetrical nature of the relations between the two sides is considered by researchers within the frame of a status theory.

At the same time, considering the conflict potential, Chinese experts continue to seek the ways of interaction with India, focusing on their historical background and common destiny, the similar problems and views on the global economic and political systems.

After the dissolution of the Soviet Union, the US has always played the most important and influential role in the Iran-Russia relations. From the second half of the 1990s, one of the US foreign policy priorities has constantly been on the separation and divergence in the Iran-Russia relations, for which the US spared no efforts. Since the synergy of powers between the two countries and their anti-unipolar policies have always been a serious threat to the US hegemony at a global level, by the beginning of the Syria crisis in late 2010, following the Arab Spring, the US interests and goals were directly at odds with Iran’s and Russia’s political and security interests. The goals of Washington in the Syria crisis included: the decline of the Syrian government, the overthrow of Bashar al-Assad, and an effort to establish a pro-Western government to eliminate the sole ally of Russia after the dissolution of the Soviet Union, and also to prevent Iran’s regional penetration, particularly its proxy groups like Hezbollah. For achieving these goals, Washington has profited from its allied countries in the region, such as Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and Turkey, as a front line. The US strategy in Syria not only exacerbated the crisis but also provided a situation in which Iran and Russia achieved their highest level of military and security cooperation in the past three decades. And it was precisely the same incident that the US considered a serious threat to its national interests and policies. Although Iran and Russia have pursued specific and sometimes contradictory interests, in the end, focusing on common goals and threats – arising from the Syrian crisis – they were able to cooperate effectively and take a new step in building a strategic unity.

The relations between Pakistan and India have always been hostile. The disagreements between them had a significant impact on the formation of the images of these countries. Pakistani leaders’ perception of India is an example of the enemy image concept. The constant attribution to India of hostile intentions towards Pakistan is the evidence of it. In addition, the religious factor that was basic for the creation of Pakistan, contributed to the division of Muslims and Hindus into “friends” and “foes” and, as a result, added to the opposition between Pakistanis and Indians in the main. The generals who had ruled Pakistan directly for almost 30 years contributed to the creation of the enemy image of India. General Muhammad Ayub Khan was the first to start using the idea of an “aggressive neighbor” in order to unite the Pakistanis. The journals of the Pakistan army, as well as the political autobiographies of the military leaders, indicate that the development of the enemy image of the neighboring state was gradual: the generations of Pakistani officers perceived India differently. However, the tendency to demonize India can be seen as growing within every generation. The image of the neighboring country has a direct impact on the policy of Pakistan towards that country.

The paper presents a study of the UK’s vision of China’s place in the Indo-Pacific in the context of the Indo-Pacific tilt of London’s foreign policy. The analysis of the key documents for British foreign policy was carried out: a comprehensive review of the security, defense, development and foreign policy issues in the editions of 2021 and 2023, which made it possible to trace the dynamics of London’s approach to Beijing and identify the key threats declared by the British side in relation to the PRC. It was determined that China’s antagonistic image worsened after February 2022 due to the beginning of hostilities on the territory of Ukraine. At the same time, before the start of COVID-19, the parties actively cooperated in the research field, where the Chinese institutions occupied a dominant position.

It is noted that the actions of the government of R. Sunak in relation to Beijing cause discussions in the government structures. Despite building a negative image of Beijing and the CPC, London recognizes the impossibility of abandoning trade and economic ties with mainland China. There is a tendency for a shortage of specialists in the field of Sinology in Britain, which, according to the author, makes a negative contribution to the lack of consistency and integrity in the approach to the PRC.

In this article, the author tries to determine Brazil’s place and role in global politics and define which order model is acceptable for the current stage in the development of international relations. He studies the issue of Brazil’s willingness to take a place among the leading world powers and the country’s capability to become a leading regional integration center in Latin America. The author traces the evolution of the views of the Brazilian government on the country’s place in the emerging world order since the bipolar system collapse, and also ascertains the evaluation of Brazil’s current foreign policy agenda on the part of Latin American experts. Finally, the author addresses the issues of particular relevance in recent months – the further functioning of the BRICS track following the Johannesburg summit, where the parties’ leaders developed the criteria for candidates’ entry and defined the first new members to join the BRICS club starting with 2024. The author concludes that though Brazil is currently not yet ready to become a new great power, it still seeks to develop into a key player within the new international relations system, positioning itself not only as a regional center, but also as a fully-fledged actor.

This article investigates the role of the U.S. Congress in constructing American foreign policy on Iran by implementing the institutional theory. The author emphasizes the decreased role of the legislative power in U.S. foreign policy decision-making, although the legislative branch has retained such functions as shaping the policies regarding war and peace, oversight of the executive branch, ratification of treaties, and regulation of international trade, including economic sanctions. In particular, Congressional legislative acts on Iran reflect broad bipartisan consensus on the sanctions issue. At the same time, the analysis of Congressional hearings (2009–2023) on the Iran nuclear agreement indicates that the U.S. Democratic Party did not come to a coherent stance on Iran, while the Republican Party’s support for sanctions remained unwavering.

The events of the First World War affected millions of the civilians in the Western territories of the Russian Empire, who, unlike the residents of the interior of the country, had to leave their native lands, as it turned out, for many years to come, fleeing from the offensive of the enemy army. The whole drama of the mass exodus of the civilians unfolded in the summer and autumn of 1915 at the stage of a long and tedious horse-drawn movement of the refugees to railway stations. Reliability and completeness of coverage of the evacuation in 1915 of the multimillion cohorts of the refugees is impossible without using the memoirs of the refugees themselves, as well as of the events’ eyewitnesses directly involved in the evacuation and assistance to the refugees. The article examines the reminiscences of a native of the Grodno province, T.M. Trakhimyuk, who was born in 1899. In his memoirs, he describes in great detail the entire process of the evacuation to the remote regions of the Empire; he also depicts all other stages of his family’s 7-year displacement: the everyday life routine in a temporary accommodation in the Saratov province, the Bolsheviks’ rise to power and the bloody Civil War in which he took part on the side of the Reds, demobilization and return to his native village, his homeland, in August 1922. The special attention of the author of the article was drawn to that part of the memoirs, which contributed to the disclosure of the reason why T.M. Trakhimyuk had participated in the Civil War on the side of the Reds under the slogan “Death – to the bourgeoisie, all power – to the Soviets”. Because, the refugees, judging by their own reminiscences, tried in general and en masse to avoid participation in the Civil War, to say nothing of the voluntary participation. T.M. Trakhimyuk’s return to his homeland after demobilization is indicative in the sense that the land owned by a peasant has always been a supreme value.

The article examines the activities of the Mixed Commission for Repatriation in 1921–1924, highlights the main problems in its functioning. The work of the commission was in close connection with the existing state of the Soviet-Polish relations. The tension in establishing diplomatic ties between the parties greatly influenced the general course of repatriation. Attention is drawn to the fact that from the very beginning of the work of the Mixed Repatriation Commission, the reluctance of the Polish side to resolve controversial issues was revealed. Disagreements began when the parties started discussing the issue of personal exchange, which, in accordance with the additional protocol to the agreement of February 24, 1921, was to be carried out in the first place. The article shows the process of cooperation of the Mixed Commission for Repatriation with the bodies involved in improving the economic and sanitary conditions of the repatriates – with the branches of the Red Cross Society, the Central Directorate for the Evacuation of the Population (Tsentrevak) of the RSFSR.

The article, based on the “evidential paradigm” of K. Ginzburg, reconstructs the case of persecution of the Protestant pastor of proletarian origin, R.G. Raudmund, from the Leningrad region. The subject of the research is an individual case, which is considered on basis of the “traces and evidence” discovered by the author while working with the archival fund of the lawyer of German origin, M.K. Stackelberg, in OR RNL. The article deals with the court procedure stages of “the case of Pastor R.G. Raudmund”, reveals the peculiarities of his life and the main claims of the Soviet government against him. The paper focuses on the moral foundations of pastoral ministry as a phenomenon and shows the dramatic outcome of the pastoral work. This case has become recurrent in the late 20s – mid 30s of the 20th century in the conditions of the mass religious persecution in the USSR. These facts make it possible to contradict K. Ginzburg and recognize the value and potential of microhistory not only from the point of view of something “individual and unique”, but also due to much-recurring repetition, regularity and multiplicity. However, within the framework of this incident, the individual status in the general flow of religious persecution in the early USSR did exist: the one who became subjected to the repressions was the pastor of the most proletarian origin with great sympathy for the October Revolution of 1917 and the Soviet regime, but who refused to renounce his ministry, which is an important aspect of the Church life.