This article analyzes the inaugural speech (discours de réception) delivered in 1981 by Marguerite Yourcenar, the first female writer elected as a member of the French Academy. Since the 17th century, such speeches have been mandatory for newly elected academicians, serving as a communicative product of academic speech practice. The study notes that commemorative speeches in honor of deceased members of the academy typically involve the use of praise as an evaluative strategy. Following the genre’s requirements, Marguerite Yourcenar addresses the conceptual space of “the value of literary heritage” of Roger Caillois, whose “academic chair” she was about to occupy as a new academician. In his work, she identifies authorial conceptual metaphors (such as “life is a game”: vie — jeu) that align with her own value system, confirming this alignment with examples from her own books or life experience. The article highlights authorial conceptual oppositions, including men — women (homes / femmes), friendship — hatred (amitié / haine), and life — death (vie / mort). As a newly elected academician, Marguerite Yourcenar perceives the French Academy as a scientific institution with both merits (Académie — science, littérature, connaissance) and shortcomings (Académie — préjugés, archaїsme), reflecting her personal position as well as her gender and social identity.

The study examines the realization of the addressee category in Protestant — New Apostolic prayers. The object of analysis is prayer as a genre of religious functional style, and the subject is the addressee category. The aim of the work is to describe the ways of explication of the addressee category in a corpus of 220 public prayers of New Apostolic Christians. The textual material was collected through participant observation and consists of transcribed audio recordings of prayers — non-reproducible texts spontaneously created by both churchgoers and clergy in various communicative situations, both religious and non-religious. The methodology of constructing thematic nomination chains is applied on a categorical-textual basis to describe the addressee category. It has been revealed that the addressee is denoted using personal pronouns ‘we’, possessive pronoun ‘our’, and nouns ‘community’, ‘brothers and sisters’, ‘children’, ‘sinners’. The results of the analysis show that these nominations are included in positively colored contexts, including the nomination ‘sinners’, which is conditioned by the specificity of the doctrine: the praying individuals are focused not on repentance but on gratitude for forgiveness. The listed ways of nominating the addressee and the description of evaluative contexts allow us to conclude about the reflection of ‘we axiological’ in the texts of New Apostolic Christians.

The article is devoted to the issue of cross-cultural communication and difficult cases of translation into Serbian and Croatian languages of lexical and phraseological units from Ivan Turgenev’s novel “On the Eve”. The relevance of this issue lies in the analysis of translation as an act of communication, during which the linguistic worldview of the people is represented. The material for the study was translations of the novel “On the Eve” into Serbian and Croatian languages from different years, which are close to Russian. As a tertium comparationis, we considered the translation of this work into English. The authors analyzed forms of address and non-equivalent vocabulary, as well as idioms, which translators represented differently in their translation options. As a result of the study, it was found that difficulties arise in translating words that denote concepts related to the cultural-historical Russian context. It is shown that Serbian translators often try to take historical facts into account and give comments when there are no equivalents in their native language. It is noted that there is currently a need for a Russian-Serbian linguistic and cultural dictionary that will help a specialist create an adequate translation variant close to the original. 

The article examines bisubstantive sentences, whose grammatical subject is represented by a concrete-nominal noun, while the prepositional-case combinations of the noun in the copulative-substantive predicate represent the meanings of external characteristics and object state. The means of expressing the characteristics of color and shape of an object, the size of an object (dimensional meaning), the material from which an object is made (fabricative meaning), distinctive details of an object (their presence or absence), structural features of an object, patterns on the surface of an object, and external coating of an object are identified, systematized, and described. Two varieties of object state meaning are analyzed: external state and existential-functional state. It is emphasized that these meanings often turn out to be syncretic, indicating a change in the semantics of prepositional-case forms when they perform a predicative function and confirming the tendency to separate some of them from the system of grammatical forms of a noun. 

This study offers an analysis of the methods of punctuation marking for stable comparisons in the punctuation practice of the 20th and 21st centuries. The research material comprises a micro-corpus, which includes more than 200 contexts of usage for stable comparisons, semantically similar free comparative constructions, as well as occasional transformations of stable comparisons. Punctuation actions involving stable comparisons are conceptualized as a distinct punctuation experiment, wherein diverse punctuation responses are formulated contingent upon the intrinsic nature of the stable comparisons themselves and the conditions governing their use. It is demonstrated that the punctuation practice of the 20th and 21st centuries reflects a trend towards punctuation differentiation not only between stable comparisons and free comparative constructions but also within stable comparisons themselves. The analysis of punctuation facts leads to the conclusion that the punctuation marking of stable comparisons is determined by derivational, pragmatic, and context-syntactic factors, which are taken into account by writers in their punctuation actions. It is shown that while derivational and context-syntactic factors prompt punctuation marking of stable comparisons, pragmatic factors merely render the use of delimiting commas more preferable. It is emphasized that adequate punctuation codification in the realm of stable comparisons cannot be achieved without reference to the evidence of punctuation practice.

The functioning of the French-origin preposition à la in the modern journalistic corpus of the German language is analyzed. The relevance of the study is due to the lack of linguistic description of this preposition in domestic and foreign German studies, despite its productivity in the German language. Combinations including the preposition à la were identified through a comprehensive sampling method in the DWDS corpus. The authors consider the preposition as synonymous with German derived prepositions that denote “similarity, likeness”: nach Art von, im Stile von, in der Art von, nach dem Prinzip von. It is noted that proper names (à la Agatha Christie) and predicative units (à la “Klinsmann liebt Leipzig”) serve as the main carriers of the preposition, with fewer examples involving concrete, abstract, and animate nouns. A paradigm of variable government for this preposition is proposed. The authors conclude that the choice of case government for the preposition is influenced by the structural characteristics of prepositional constructions, namely the presence / absence of an article or accompanying word after the preposition, as well as the gender and number of the governed noun.

The article examines the features of the comic objectification of the aesthetic concept of UGLINESS from the perspective of axiological linguistics. The author applies an algorithm of axiological analysis, which includes the following stages: evaluating the audience’s reaction to relevant comic statements; identifying the ridiculed characteristics of the analyzed concept; analyzing remarks aimed at evaluating these characteristics; studying the linguistic features of concept actualization. As practical material, over 70 stand-up comedy shows and 700 episodes of various sitcoms were used. It is proposed to divide physical flaws into two groups: acquired and congenital. The main ridiculed acquired physical flaws of a person include excess weight, poor memory, and missing / deforming body parts / organs. Common ridiculed congenital physical flaws include non-standard shapes and sizes of human organs, short or tall stature, and speech defects. The main linguistic means of actualizing the concept of UGLINESS include direct designation, euphemisms, comparison, and hyperbole. It has been established that in English-language stand-up comedies and sitcoms, the gender characteristics of the comic object are primarily subjected to ridicule when actualizing the concept of UGLINESS. 

The article presents the results of a survey of respondents, one of the tasks of which was to propose a response to a conflict-provoking message in such a way as to avoid escalation of the conflict and continue communication with the aggressor. The survey participants were 115 respondents (22% male and 78% female) aged 20 to 35, with incomplete higher or higher education. The respondents were presented with 15 texts, which were real comments on posts in LiveJournal, containing markers of conflict-provoking intention by the sender and published during the COVID-19 pandemic. The study of the respondents’ responses was conducted using methods of linguostylistic, contextual, and statistical analysis. Data analysis identified four speech strategies used by the respondents to prevent conflictual interaction, as well as tactics through which these strategies were implemented: self-defense strategy (distancing tactic, pluralism accentuation tactic, topic change tactic), politeness strategy (gratitude tactic, advice tactic, apology tactic, offer of help tactic), submission strategy (concession tactic, reinforcement of aggressor’s authority tactic), persuasion strategy (reasoning tactic, argumentation tactic).

This article explores argumentation in the genre of editorials. The objective was to determine the frequency of different types of argumentation used in this genre, which can shed light on the balance between objective and subjective elements. It was found that editorials exhibit a balance between strong and weak argumentation, with 41% and 55.6% respectively (3.4% accounted for insufficient argumentation). The dominance of weak argumentation can be attributed to the specific nature of editorials, which aim to present the editorial board’s opinion and influence readers. The genre under study is a powerful tool in media warfare and shaping societal beliefs and values. The minimal percentage of insufficient argumentation indicates a desire to refrain from overt manipulation. The relatively high percentage of strong argumentation in a genre categorized as ‘opinion’ is also explained by the functional aspect of editorials: since the genre transmits institutional opinions with the intention of influencing public views, it is necessary to maintain authority and a high level of credibility in the information provided. Strong arguments in this genre include references to facts, data from authoritative sources including statistics, experimental results, references to public opinion, and common sense. Weak arguments include personal opinions, speculations, predictions, intuition, references to sources that are not definitive authorities in the field, conclusions based on incomplete statistical data and facts with no obvious connection.

This study examines the socio-psychological phenomenon of rumors during the global pandemic of 2020-2022, focusing on the case of Bulgaria. Messages from a closed online group (254 participants) with a thematic profile related to traditional remedies were analyzed. Content analysis revealed the most prevalent beliefs about the COVID-19 pandemic, such as “10% of vaccinated individuals will die within 5 years” and “the pandemic is aimed at destroying small businesses,” among others. It is argued that rumors and conspiracy theories thrive during times of social crisis and uncertainty. Moreover, it is highlighted that individuals often tend to hold onto false beliefs even when presented with evidence that contradicts them. The study concludes that four factors play a significant role in maintaining misconceptions: (1) the need to reduce stress, (2) low levels of education, (3) cultural memory and traumatic past experiences that shape present judgments, and (4) the phenomenon of mental schemas, making it harder for individuals to change their established beliefs and opinions. These four factors contribute to people’s resistance to accepting new information that contradicts their familiar mental schemas. By providing accurate information and facilitating open discussions about existing misconceptions, communication specialists can help counter conspiracy theories that undermine the efforts of governments and public institutions.

The article presents the results of an analysis of D. I. Stakheev’s essays from the book “Beyond Baikal and on the Amur” (1869). The author focuses on the study of the essays “Kyakhta”, “Maimachen”, “From Kyakhta to Blagoveshchensk”, and “From Blagoveshchensk to the Sungari River”. Attention is given to the peculiarities of artistic recreation of the “frontier” space. The article discusses the problematic and thematic content of the essays, including the portrayal of Russian and Chinese cultures, issues of population migration to the Amur region, and depictions of nature, among others. The author argues that the character of Stakheev’s reflection is shaped by a frontier vision and a sense of borderland. The novelty of the research lies in the exploration of Stakheev’s lesser-known essays and the application of the frontier paradigm as a research tool. The article proposes a structure for the frontier image in Stakheev’s works, which includes geographical spatial images, ethno-poetics of Russian and Chinese cultures, and the image of the “frontier man”. It is shown that the writer employs a system of folk-poetic evaluations, draws on elements of folklore, and utilizes imagery and motifs from folk creativity. The study reveals the characteristics of the Far Eastern frontier as depicted by Stakheev and demonstrates that the essays serve as a unique literary material about the folk culture of Transbaikalia and the Amur region in the mid-19th century.

The article proposes an interpretation of the well-known, but rarely analyzed elegy by I. Brodsky, “In the village, God does not live in corners...” (1964). While traditional analyses of Brodsky’s text focus on its “dark places,” “difficulties,” and “inconsistencies,” and note its “eclecticism of worldview,” the authors suggest a different perspective — the need to view the text as the realization of a verbal metaphor, which allows us to abandon notions of “secret writing” and “encryption” in the text. This approach removes critics’ claims regarding the “chaotic” and “overloaded” nature of the verse, and instead demonstrates the coherence and clarity of the lyrical subject’s reflections. According to Brodsky, in villages, God lives in the hearts of ordinary people, participating in all the most mundane events of life (construction, plowing, cooking, weddings, etc.), sharing their joy, helping them in times of trouble, and comforting them in grief. Brodsky creates a unique image not of the canonized biblical God, but of a “folk” house spirit, a host God, a friendly and companionable God who accompanies the Russian person in all their endeavors. It is argued that the poem “In the village, God does not live in corners...” was not an attempt at “seeking God,” but rather an awareness of a “sense of community” with the common people and an understanding of important “foundations of life” for the young poet.

The creative path of B. L. Pasternak has been a popular subject of research in China for many years. All works on the topic can be roughly divided into three stages: 1) the first stage (1980s) — the formation of mass interest among literary scholars in the works of B. L. Pasternak; 2) the second stage (1990s) — the expansion and deepening of research; 3) the third stage (after the 2000s) – the systematization of research and the emergence of new directions in the study of B. L. Pasternak’s works. This article provides an overview of the main trends in Pasternak studies in China. It is noted that research on the legacy of B. L. Pasternak conducted in China covers key areas such as biography, poetry, prose (with special attention from Chinese scholars focused on the novel “Doctor Zhivago”). The research conducted by Chinese scholars also explores topics such as the fate of the intelligentsia, ideological aspirations, cultural, religious, and spiritual components, the art of language, literary techniques, and devices. It is reported that in November 2020, Zhejiang University held an international scientific conference “Celebrating the 130th Anniversary of B. L. Pasternak’s Birth.” The authors of the article conclude that research on the legacy of B. L. Pasternak in China is systematic and diverse, and Pasternak studies as a discipline have broad prospects for development. 

The problem of this study lies in evaluating the methodological approach of Yuli Eichenwald (1872—1928) as a theatrical critic and theorist, specifically his writings on Shakespearean productions both in Russia and abroad. Known primarily as a literary critic, Eichenwald also wrote about theater, but his works in this area have been largely unexplored. The aim of this study is to shed light on Eichenwald's principles of theatrical criticism. The material used consists of little-known articles by Eichenwald on theater theory and Shakespearean productions from 1903 to 1927. The research employs hermeneutic and comparative methods. The findings reveal that Eichenwald demonstrates a literature-centric position in his articles on theater, according to which theater is merely an illustration of literary works. He increasingly uses productions as a pretext to discuss Shakespeare, often without mentioning the actors or directors. Eichenwald’s perception of theater as a mediator, as an auxiliary device between the play and the reader, leads to his rejection of the concept of directorial theater and the denial of the director as the author of the production. The authors conclude that Eichenwald’s theatrical criticism is a logical outcome of literature-centric judgments about theater, from Aristotle to Hegel, where theater is considered as part of literature.

The article examines the development of views on the reform of Russian Orthodoxy in the early 20th century by one of the prominent and unconventional religious thinkers of that time, Father Mikhail (Pavel Vasilievich Semenov, 1873-1916). It traces his journey from official Orthodoxy to the movement for religious renewal, and then to the Belokrinitskaya (or Austrian) Old Believer hierarchy, after which he becomes the main ideologist of “Golgotha Christianity” — a unique religious-reformist movement advocating for the revival of social and moral ideals of the early Christian community. As contemporaries noted, these “oscillations” of Father Mikhail (Semenov) became a natural expression of his intense quest for the kerygma of Christianity, capable of overturning the social ontology of the Orthodox Church — finding an Orthodox formula for individualizing faith and making the world the goal of salvation. The author concludes that the life path and ideological quests of Father Mikhail (Semenov) reflect an important regularity of the Russian reformation process. This regularity lies in the fact that the search for “foundations” of faith, theological foundations of doctrine, or religious foundations of culture and society is simultaneously associated with the actualization of a fundamentalist impulse in religion and to some extent with the modernization of the religious complex (this is a kind of religious swing: “fundamentalism — modernism,” “Old Believers — religious renewal,” etc.).

The article provides a comprehensive overview of the main approaches developed in historiography to understand the process of collectivization in the USSR, which determined several specific features of the transition of the domestic society from an agrarian phase to an industrial one. Arguing for the viability of the New Economic Policy’s rural economy and the deadlock of Stalin’s version of its collectivization, the author relies on the inherent “sympractical” type of peasant culture. The historically developed worldview of rural community members formed the basis for high labor motivation. The destruction of this worldview during the process of collectivization became the cause of tragedy. The article presents the results of a comparative analysis of two stages of socialist transformation in the village. It examines the destructive impact of the expropriation of peasants on the economy in the first stage and explores the issues of crisis resolution in the second stage through the removal of certain restrictions on private farming. The article analyzes the factors of social degradation in the Soviet countryside in the 1930s and identifies their manifestation in interethnic relations. The novelty of the research lies in the author’s examination, based on the materials from the declassified “special file” of the Leningrad Regional Committee of the CPSU(B) in the 2000s, of peculiar manifestations of collectivization contradictions in the fate of the Finnish population in the Leningrad region.

The article is dedicated to the study of the image of the “Other” colonizer, the British, who were rivals of France in the colonial race. The methodology proposed by Edward Said is used. For the first time in the history of the study of colonial empires, research is based on the construction and analysis of the image of the rival in colonial expansion, based on materials from the French press. One of the most popular newspapers of the Third Republic of the late 19^th century, “Le Petit Journal”, served as material for the study. Notes devoted to British presence in India, the Anglo-Egyptian War of 1882, the Fashoda Crisis, the Anglo-Boer Wars, the “Great Game”, influence in China, and others are considered. The  concepts that formed the image of the “Other” colonizer for France are analyzed. The article describes the notions of “exploitation” and “cruelty of colonization”, the image of the “noble savage”, opposition “civilization — barbarism”, subjectivity, as well as personal qualities of the “Other” colonizer, such as British rejection of human rights and private property, which formed the construct of the “Other” colonizer. In conclusion, it is concluded that creating this image of the “Other” colonizer contributed to promoting France’s own ideas of colonization. 

The article examines the events that unfolded in Italy between 1919 and 1923. Based on a large number of documents, archival sources, and literature, it explores the fierce struggle between socialists, communists, on one side, and fascists on the other, which culminated in Benito Mussolini’s victory in 1922. The article analyzes the theoretical understanding of fascism as a phenomenon by the communists, as well as the development of methods to combat it, which were reflected in the congresses of the Communist International and the plenums of its Executive Committee from 1919 to 1923. The novelty of the research lies in addressing the issue of confrontation between left and far-right parties after World War I, during the formation of a new world order. The author concludes that the intensification of the struggle between the Communist Party of Italy, the Socialist Party of Italy, and fascism reflected a political crisis in Italian society and an attempt by radical forces to find a way out of it. Fascism, with its idea of a third way representing something between capitalism and socialism, came to power in Italy. The realization of their mistakes ultimately allowed the left parties to unite with all anti-fascist forces in the Resistance movement and defeat Nazism during World War II.

The article examines the Portuguese Revolution of 1974 from 1974 to 1976, focusing on the influence of external forces. The analysis extensively utilizes documentary materials published by the U.S. State Department during the period under consideration, as well as memoirs by Portuguese and foreign authors. The study explores the process of shaping the United States' new foreign policy towards Portugal after the revolution, comparing American and European approaches to the events in Portugal. The role of the USSR and other socialist countries is also examined. The research findings indicate that the revolution caught the American leadership off guard. Initially, the U.S. response was restrained, but their attitude changed after members of the Communist Party joined the government. The U.S. adopted a policy of exerting political and economic pressure on the Portuguese leadership to exclude communists from the government, supporting all opposition left-wing parties, and exploiting divisions within left-wing forces. The Soviet Union provided relatively modest support to Portuguese communists, while socialist bloc countries showed significantly greater involvement and enthusiasm. U.S. allies in Europe took more moderate positions. European diplomacy made significant efforts to avoid direct confrontation between the U.S. and the USSR, with the greatest challenge being to prevent the U.S. from demonstrating its power on the European continent. 

The article examines the issue of Russian automobile transport’s dependence on foreign purchases during the First World War and the absence of a developed domestic automotive industry. For the first time, this question is explored through the prism of discussions held at public organization meetings, in the State Duma, and in the pages of periodicals. Special attention is paid to the importance of automobiles during the war, criticism of the existing situation in the automotive transport sector, the inadmissibility of its complete dependence on foreign states, and the necessity of import substitution through the creation of domestic automobile plants and related enterprises. New sources are introduced into the scholarly discourse, allowing for a more comprehensive understanding of both the problems that have arisen in the field of automobile transport and their perception by Russian society. It is noted that, despite differences in approaches to organizing the domestic automotive industry, participants in the public discussion unanimously agreed on the need to overcome the situation that existed before the war, the inadmissibility of total dependence on foreign supplies in a matter of great importance to military affairs, and the urgency of developing national production of automobile transport on a state scale. 

The aim of this study is to present and discuss the formation and development of one of the popular sports in the Soviet Union in the 1920s-1930s, namely, artistic gymnastics, which includes competitions on various gymnastic apparatuses as well as in free exercises and balance jumps. The authors trace the historical path of this sport within the context of the Soviet government’s policy on organizing the Soviet physical culture movement. The study examines the activities of public gymnastics organizations and the issues surrounding their closure. Special attention is given to the challenges faced by the development of artistic gymnastics during this period, including the state of the material and technical base, organization of systematic training sessions, and the availability of qualified coaching staff. The research materials demonstrate that the development of this sport took place under difficult conditions, from restrictions in the 1920s to a mass gymnastics movement in the 1930s. Based on documentary sources and central periodicals, the authors reconstruct the methods and forms of the formation and development of Soviet artistic gymnastics as a mass sport. It is argued that systematic competitions for the USSR championship stimulated the growth of gymnasts’ sporting and technical achievements

The need to restore lost data on the last major war of the Russian Empire implies a comprehensive coverage of events during those years, including their non-combat component. Based on the study of the “Journals of Military Actions” of combat units, which reflect little-researched stories of non-combat realities of front-line life, the authors offer a new perspective on the military everyday life of the Russian Imperial Army. The article focuses on the “pleasant” and unexpected nuances of the daily lives of soldiers and officers during the difficult years of war. Researchers have turned to such facts of military reality during the specified period as the organization of the award procedure for the command staff and lower ranks, the organization of prayers as integral components of festive events, the conduct of state (imperial) and religious holidays, as well as recreational activities. This work provides an opportunity to obtain an objective understanding of the multifaceted life and everyday life of people in wartime conditions: when circumstances allowed, performances, games, and sports events were organized and held. Without theoretical knowledge in the field of psychology and stress management techniques, the command of the Russian army organized and encouraged activities aimed at alleviating the negative consequences of combat stress.

The article is dedicated to the unrealized project of the Omsk Hydroelectric Power Station, developed in the 1930s, then postponed and subsequently reintroduced for discussion in the 1980s. The sources used for this research include materials from the Historical Archive of the Omsk Region and the Russian State Archive of Economy. Both domestic and foreign historiography on the economic development of Western Siberia do not mention this project, hence this article aims to fill this historiographical gap. It is demonstrated that the project was considered by regional authorities solely as an agricultural facility, which would have allowed for the use of the reservoir for irrigation in the southern districts of the region and improvement of navigational conditions around the city of Omsk. Emphasis is placed on the fact that its implementation could have boosted the industrial development of the Omsk Region. The abandonment of the project in the 1930s largely determined the subsequent development of the region, particularly from an ecological perspective. To meet the energy needs of the city and the region, construction of thermal power plants began, fueled by Ekibastuz coal, which contains a large amount of ash. This, in turn, led to serious air pollution in the Omsk region, which continues to persist to this day.

Representation of the Stalingrad Battle in the British Press is examined in this study, with a focus on the coverage of events on the Volga in the regional British press. The specific portrayal of the Stalingrad Battle in the Western Post newspaper is analyzed, particularly during the defensive battles and the Soviet counteroffensive known as “Operation Uranus.” A review of all issues of the newspaper from 1942-1943 dedicated to the Stalingrad Battle is conducted. The novelty of this research lies in the introduction of a new historical source that is virtually unknown to both Russian and global readers. Typically, historiography examines materials from the central press. The relevance of this study is justified by the need to reveal a new perspective in the examination of the British press during wartime. The authors focus on how the Western Post portrayed the courage of Soviet soldiers, the professionalism of command, and the heroism of civilians in Stalingrad. It is proven that the local British press during World War II provided an overall objective picture of the battle on the Volga but paid less attention to events on the Eastern Front compared to operations in North Africa and the Mediterranean.

The article analyzes the reasons for the growing interest in holy places, primarily Palestine, associated with Russia’s state policy, based on published sources. It also examines the forms and methods of educational work. In 1894, the Vyatka department of the Imperial Orthodox Palestinian Society was established in the Vyatka province to disseminate information about the Holy Land and support Russia’s activities in the Middle East. The department raised funds for the society’s work in the Holy Land and organized lectures on the history and activities of the society. Significant results were achieved through this educational work, including an increase in the number of members in the Vyatka department, particularly at the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries, and a growing interest in the Holy Land. Additionally, in the second half of the 19th century, some representatives of secular and spiritual society in the Vyatka province visited Orthodox holy sites, primarily the Holy Land and Mount Athos, and left memoirs about their pilgrimage experiences. Thus, the remote Vyatka province became spiritually closer to the Holy Land in the second half of the 19th century.

The historical-biographical sketch explores several episodes in the life and activities of a prominent Russian military leader, one of the founders of the intelligence service in the pre-revolutionary Russian army, Major General P. F. Ryabikov (1875-1932). Serving in the White Movement as the 2nd Chief of Staff Quartermaster of A. V. Kolchak’s staff, General P. F. Ryabikov acquired competencies as a curator of military propaganda and organizer of periodical publications, which he later successfully utilized as a leader in these areas of military-political activity within the White emigration in Japan and China. From July 1920 to September 1921, P. F. Ryabikov served in the mission of the Commander-in-Chief of all armed forces of the Russian Far Eastern Territory, Ataman G. M. Semenov, in Yokohama, where he was involved in establishing a network of correspondent-informants for this mission in European countries and the United States, receiving reports and messages about the state of these countries, as well as informing representatives of foreign states in line with the ideology of the Semenovites and publishing anti-Bolshevik literature. In October 1921, at the request of Ataman G. M. Semenov, P. F. Ryabikov transferred his activities to Shanghai, where he continued his assigned work with agent-informants and cooperation in the Russian emigrant press. Having no material and organizational support from G. M. Semenov, Ryabikov severed ties with him in February 1922 and embarked on a path of independent political and journalistic activities.

The article provides a first-time examination of the evaluations of the urban election system in the Russian Empire during the period of 1890-1892, when the preparation and implementation of the new City Regulations were taking place. The study is based on materials from private provincial periodicals. The author highlights the essence and content of the criticism of the provincial press towards the institution of urban elections. The article presents the attitudes towards the issue of social composition of urban self-government bodies as revealed in the periodical press. Positions on the issue of suffrage and proposals for its expansion through tax and educational qualifications are identified. The analysis includes assessments of the national composition of city councils and urban administrations on the outskirts and within Jewish settlements. It demonstrates how the formation of parties based on national identity in urban self-government bodies was covered in the periodicals. Discussions on the merger of powers between the heads of administrative and executive bodies of urban self-government are examined. Satirical poems, which characterize the recorded attitude towards council members and provincial assemblies in pre-revolutionary Russia, who dishonestly perform their duties and disrupt city council meetings, are introduced into scholarly circulation. Satire targeting corrupt intentions of council members is also discussed.