The author examines the image of Odessa in representations of American and Russian travelers, who visited the city in the first third of the 19^th century. On the mental map of Russia, the largest port of the newly formed Novorossiya appears as a younger sister of the imperial capital - St. Petersburg - that opens a second window to Europe in the South. Such a representation, depending on the political and historiosophical beliefs of Russian and foreign contemporaries, forms a dual nature of the image of the city. The vision of Odessa by American travelers, just starting to “invent” the image of Russian “Other” in the beginning of the 19^th century, is a matter of particular interest.

The article focuses on the role of the “Knights of the Golden Circle” in the formation of historical memory about the US South during the American Civil War (1861-1865). The study traces the creation of the myth of the secret order as an ideological tool in terms of the regional conflict between the North and the South as well as party opposition Democrats vs. Republicans. In a broad theoretical sense, the author considers the construction of national historical memory by means of conspiracy theories.

The article considers main parameters of European influence on the modern Russian political parties. The analysis is based on the following criteria: institutionalization, problem orientation, social support character, organization, autonomy, coherence, involvement, strategy and tactics, government status. The author examines the factors influencing the formation of political parties and their types.

This article is devoted to the UK policy on building military-political Alliance of the Entente. The author identifies main stages in the process of block construction, covering the period of 1904-1923. He discusses the mechanisms of ensuring British leadership in this military-political Alliance. Special attention is paid to responsibilities of the parties within the framework of the Entente. In the conclusion the influence of the Entente building experience on the subsequent foreign policy of Great Britain is examined.

The article analyzes the views of researches and memoirists of Russian abroad in the 1920-1930-ies of the reasons for the defeat of the White Guard movement in the Civil War. Particular attention is paid to the discussion of the nature of relations between the leaders of the White Guard movement and representatives of the allied military forces, as well as to the degree of the allied factor’s influence on the results of the armed struggle against the Bolsheviks.

The article is devoted to an image of the USA as an ally in consciousness of the Soviet people during the Great Patriotic War. It is based both on diaries and memoirs and on press publications and information materials of the Soviet government and party bodies, including the People’s Commissariat of State Security and the People’s Commissariat of Internal Affairs.

The article is devoted to the human aspects of cooperation among the “Big Three” allied powers - the USSR, the United States and Great Britain - in 1941-1945. The archival documents opened in the last 15-20 years provide an opportunity to shed new light on split-level personal contacts of the allies - between and among the leaders of countries, diplomatic representatives, military men, industrialists, politicians, which were traveling to the Soviet Union, as well as on the activities of the Soviet Procurement Commission in the United States.

An analysis of electoral programs of the leading Ukrainian political parties in 2012 and 2014 is presented in this article. Special attention is paid to the comparison of positions regarding the civilization choice of Ukraine. Main tendencies related to the evolution of the Ukrainian’s perception of the foreign policy, were also revealed.

Since the beginning of the policy of “reform and opennes” as well as progressive increase in China’s economic power its foreign policy has been in the melting pot. Leaders of the country are taking serious steps in order to increase the role of their country in the world. This article traces the dynamics of the Chinese leaders’ foreign policy rhetoric during the past two decades that gives us opportunity, on the one hand, to determine the characteristics of their strategic thinking, and on the other, to demonstrate the differences between Chinese political rhetoric and the common Anglo-Saxon one.

The author examines the new realities of Russian foreign policy after the Arab Spring and the prospects of Russian influence in the Maghreb and the Mediterranean region, citing bilateral relations with the Republic of Tunisia as an instance. The impact and implications of recent political upheavals in North Africa on domestic and foreign policy of Tunisia are analyzed. Tunisia is considered to be a positive symbol of Arab democratic change in the region and the potential builder of the first modern democracy in the Arab world. At the same time the situation is rather ambiguous as a result of unresolved internal problems and serious external threats. The Russian Federation supports the democratic choice of the Tunisian people and is ready to help its Arab partner in economic development and in the struggle against international terrorism.

The article is dedicated to the development of the Egyptian army in the period from gaining political independence in 1922 till the end of 1940 when military career became more prestigious among the middle class and the intellectuals.