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In January 1939, the first issue of the Italian magazine “Geopolitica” came out: it would go on monthly until 1942. Founded in the scientific circles of Trieste by two geographers, Giorgio Roletto (1885–1967) and Ernesto Massi (1909–1997), who went on to become editor and co-editor-in-chief, respectively, the magazine was inspired by the German periodical “Zeitschrift für Geopolitik” by Karl Haushofer. However, its approach to geopolitical issues used autonomous conceptional bases quite different from those of the German school. In the intentions of its founders, “Geopolitica” should have contributed to a re-evaluation of didactics of geography and to support the imperialistic politics of Mussolini’s regime, even though it never got to have a substantial role in Italy’s governing policies. It never even obtained full recognition by the academic geographical establishment that in fact denied geopolitics its own scientific autonomy. Frequent issues discussed in the magazine were the Mediterranean basin, the Balkans and Africa, close to the Italian geostrategic interests; but there was also cautious interest towards Poland, considered to be fully integrated into the German Lebensraum. Therefore, we could say there was some reticence in approaching this theme, along with a sort of reverence towards the German ally who was also “competition”, despite the fact that its territory saw strategic and political events of utmost importance during the entire four years of the magazine’s life. On the other hand, the attention towards the Baltic region was free of any conditioning. It was perceived as a sort of a “Nordic Mediterranean”, wanted both by Germans and Soviets, and an object of desire also of the states who wanted to defend their difficult neutrality in the war that was raging throughout Europe.

Among the cities of Russia and Europe, including the Baltic Sea region, it is possible to single out the category of cities (towns) with a population of 20 to 50 thousand inhabitants, which is of particular interest for study, since it is the borderline category between small and medium- sized towns. Semi-medium-sized towns perform various functions in regional settlement systems, especially as centers for the formation of socio-economic regions. Another important factor in regional development is the active participation of semi-medium-sized towns in international cooperation with municipalities of the EU border states. The study deals with semi-medium- sized towns and their functions in five regions of Russia’s Northwestern Federal District, and the socio-economic regions formed by semi-medium-sized towns are visually represented. As an example, five semi-medium-sized towns of the Kaliningrad region are considered, with emphasis on the role of each town in regional development. The author analyses the participation of semimedium- sized towns of the Kaliningrad region in cross-border cooperation projects, identifying tendencies in territorial interactions of semi-medium-sized towns in the region with municipalities of the EU countries undertaken as part of trans-border and cross-border cooperation and benefits this cooperation has for the region.

The article contains an analysis of archaeological and historical sources related to the Świna, one of three straits constituting the mouth of the Oder to the Baltic. By referring to the sources, an attempt was made to evaluate the ways of taking advantage of the strait and its significance in the early Middle Ages.

Forms of leather footwear shaped in the early Middle Ages were being developed over the course of the next centuries. It was related to the development of tanning technologies and manufacturing techniques. It also resulted from the need to adjust the footwear to a ceremonial dress, emphasizing the user's prestige. The large amount and diversity of archaeological sources provide information revealing the process of transforming footwear into an important element of dress. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]