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Two major migrations of Mongols outside the territory of Mongolia are known. The first was in the process of the Mongol conquests of the XIII century. The second is the transition of the Oirat Mongols from Western Mongolia to Xinjiang, Semirechye and the Northern Caspian region in the first half of the XVII century, with the formation of the Dzungarian and Kalmyk khanates. There was also migration of Kalmaks (Dzungars) from the territory of the Dzungarian Khanate to other regions after its defeat by China in 1755-59. Within the framework of population genetics, two subpopulations are distinguished among the Mongols: the Oirat Mongols and the Khalkha Mongols (western and eastern Mongols). Both subpopulations participated in the first migration, and only the OiratMongols participated in the second and third. In terms of frequencies, different subclades of the Y-chromosome C haplogroup dominate in subpopulations. Based on this, it is possible to set the task of separately searching for genetic traces of Mughal migration in the XIII century, as well as Oirat migrations in the XVII and XVIII centuries in the gene pool of populations of Eastern Europe and Asian regions. The subclades of haplogroup C are allocated in the YTree Tree: C-Y11591 «Sungir», C-K281 «Kostenki», C-M8574 «Unidentified», C-Y10418 «Avars», C-M48 «Kalmyks», C-M504 «Khazarians» and C-F1067 «Mongols-Khalkha (?)». Their ethnogeography is considered. The subclades «Kalmyks» and «Khazarians» are Oirat. The subclade «Mongols-Khalkha (?)» presumably refers to the Khalkha Mongols. Genetic traces of the migration of the Oirat Mongols in the XVII and XVIII centuries have been revealed the Tatars of Tatarstan, Tomsk, Nizhny Novgorod and Ryazan regions. Tatars, carriers of haplogroup C, are their descendants.

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The genetic structure of the population of Northern Europe of the Mesolithic-Neolithic period currently remains poorly investigated due to the small number of materials available for research. For the first time, the complete genome of an individual from the multilayer Meso-Neolithic site Ivanovskoe VII, located in the Upper Volga region in Yaroslavl Oblast, was studied. According to stratigraphic data, an isolated skull of an adult male without a lower jaw was found in layer II containing ceramics of the Upper Volga Early Neolithic Culture. AMS date obtained from the scull bone. The calibrated age of the collagen sample was determined with a probability of 1σ (68 %) in the interval 6588–6498 cal.y.b. (UGAMS-67431 OxCal v4.4), wich corresponds to the Late Mesolithic. The dates of the peat containing layer II of the culture lie between 6000 and 7000 radiocarbon years ago. The main aim of the study is to elucidate the position of this individual in the context of the genomic landscape of Mesolithic and Neolithic Europe. It is shown that the genetic profile of the studied individual (DM5) fully coincides with the genetic diversity profile of the Eastern Hunter-Gatherers (EHG). Haplogroups of mitochondrial DNA (U5a2+16294) and Y-chromosome (R1b1a1) testify to its genetic connection with ancient Mesolithic populations of Europe. The DM5 sample has an additional substitution at position 54 of mtDNA in common with the most ancient samples of this mitochondrial haplogroup from the territory of Western Europe (England and France), which suggests the existence of a probable ancestor belonging to an even earlier period (Late Paleolithic), possibly on the territory of Western Europe. Specimen DM5 is clustered together with several ancient territorially and chronologically separated groups. First, with representatives of Mesolithic hunter-gatherers of northern Eastern Europe (South Oleniy Island, Karelia; Minino I and II, Vologda region; Peschanitsa, and Popovo, Arkhangelsk region). Second, DM5 is similar to Early Mesolithic materials from the Middle Volga region — the oldest representative of Mesolithic hunter-gatherers from Sidelkino and an Eneolithic specimen from Lebyazhinka, Samara region. Third, in the cluster of individuals close to DM5 there are representatives of later groups — from the Early Neolithic Yazykovo I, Tver region, Middle Neolithic Karavaikha, Vologda region and Eneolithic layers of the Murzikhinsky II burial ground, which is located near the village of Alekseevskoye (Tatarstan) in the mouth of the Kama River. The data we obtained do not exclude that the Early Eneolithic Upper Volga Culture has local Mesolithic roots, which indicates the long-term preservation of the oldest gene pool of Europe in the central part of the Russian Plain.

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Copyright of Stratum Plus Journal is the property of P.P. Stratum plus and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Türkler göçebe hayatın getirdiği hareketlilik sayesinde dünyanın pek çok bölgesi ve o bölgelerde yaşayan halklar ile sürekli bir temas halinde olmuşlardır. Bunun neticesi olarak çoğu kereler diğer dillerden pek çok kelime almışlar ve öte yandan temas kurdukları pek çok lisana da kendi kelimelerini ödünç vermişlerdir. Bununla birlikte, Türkçe’de kullanılan ve de daha ziyade yerleşik hayata dair bir uğraş sahası gibi gözüken arıcılık ile ilgili terimler vardır ki, bunların başında bal için verilmiş Türkçe adlandırma yahut adlandırmalar göze çarpmaktadır. Arıcılık daha ziyade yerleşik yaşama özgüdür ancak Türklerin ise ekseri itibariyle göçebe bir yaşam biçimini benimsemiş oldukları kabul edildiğinden ötürü arıcılık ile ilintili kelimeler Türkçe dışı unsurlar olarak göze çarpar ve böylesi bir peşinen kabul edilmiş önyargı temelinde Türkçe konuşan topluluklar arasında halihazırda kullanılmakta olan tüm bal ile ilgili terimler Türkçe’ye dışarıdan gelmiş yabancı ödünçlemeler olarak kabul edilir. Özellikle de bilim dünyası içerisinde halihazırda mevcut olan fikre göre Türkçe’ye bu sözcük Çince üzerinden girmiş Hint-Avrupa kökenli bir ödünçlemedir. Bu türden bir fikrin en büyük dayanaklarından biri hiç şüphe yoktur ki, Hint-Avrupa dilleri içerisinde bal için kullanılan ortak adlandırmanın yaygın oluşu ve de Türkçe’de -m harfi ile ilgili başlayan kelimelerin Türkçe’de hali hazırda mevcut olmayışıdır. Bir diğer önemli husus ise tarihsel olarak Türk lehçeleri içerisinde bal için kullanılan en eski adlandırmanın bilinmeyişidir. Bu sebepten ötürüdür ki, Türkler bu sözcüğü Hint-Avrupalılardan aldıkları iddia edilir. Bu çalışmada ilk kez de olsa bugüne değin tüm dilbilimcilerin gözünden kaçan ve de fark edilmemiş ve de Türkçe bal kelimesinin kökeniymiş gibi duran bir sözcük paylaşılacak ve bu sözcüğün Hint-Avrupalıların diline ait değil gerçekte Sakaların diline ait bir dilsel miras olduğu gösterilecektir.

The paper make an attempt to consider the cultural and historical events marking the final stage of the Sarmatian epoch from the point of view of climate dynamics in Eastern Europe. It has been confirmed that the Late Sarmatian period in the Lower Volga region coincided with increasing climate humidity and was characterized by high precipitation during the cold season. This occurred in conditions of the Siberian High weakening, resulted to penetration of the Atlantic and Mediterranean cyclones into the inland regions of Eastern Europe and the western areas of Western Siberia. This led to high snow cover formation and provoked a series of other unfavorable factors that triggered migrations and population decline in nomadic or semi-nomadic societies whose economic basis was cattle herding. We suppose that this climate change scenario was not limited to the Lower Volga region. In the article we analyze paleoclimatic, cultural and historical events of the 3rd – 4th centuries AD which occured in the adjacent regions. We found that during this period the Sargat culture, whose economy was based on semi-nomadic cattle breeding, was declining in most of the forest-steppe east of the Urals. The population in the Southern Urals almost completely disappeared by the last decades 3rd century AD. The area of the Late Sarmatian culture from the Lower Volga region is reduced to the Astrakhan Right Bank of the Volga. Only the Lower Don and the Sal-Manych steppes remained inhabited, which is probably due to the regional resource base specifics. Therefore, in most part of Eastern Europe and the western regions of Western Siberia, the population was declining or disappearing long before the Huns invasion, and increase in climate humidity was among the contributing factors. At the same time, the humid climate of the 3rd – 4th centuries AD had a beneficial impact on the crop production. A high winter precipitation provided the flourish of agricultural societies.

The article compares the lives of the Evangelical Pentecostals in Eastern Europe and Western Siberia in the XX century. The study relied on archival sources, as well as foreign and domestic publications on history and religious studies. The analysis covered such aspects as genesis, developmental stages, religious policy, population, and the role of charismatic leaders, e.g., Ivan E. Voronaev, who initiated the migration from Ukraine to Western Siberia. All Pentecostal communities shared the same expansion strategy, i.e., proselytism: they gained new members by converting Evangelical Christians and Baptists. The followers of the Voronaev movement lived in Western Siberia and were reluctant to unite with the local Evangelical Christians and Baptists. They avoided official registrations and made no compromises with the authorities. The Pentecostals contradicted the official policy of Soviet states and the Polish People’s Republic. Pentecostal communities sought independence from the state, glossolalia, active missionary work, and other denomination canons.

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The article analyzes the dynamics of Czech-Moldovan relations in the period from 1993 to 2021. The general chronological analysis is put into the context of regional trends in Central Europe and Eastern Europe, as well as the distinctive features of the Czech Republic’s foreign policy and their changes over time. The article is divided into three parts corresponding to the phases of the Czech-Moldovan political interaction: passivity in the 1990s, sharp activation in the period 2004–2014 and stagnation in the second half of the 2010s. The article pays special attention to the humanitarian aspects of political interaction, which became the key area of cooperation in the analyzed period. The author considers the influence of various factors on the changing nature of interaction, identifies general trends that illustrate the specifics of Czech-Moldovan relations.

The paper considers the red deer teeth and their replicas with through holes, according to the presence of which these items can be classified as adornments in burial complexes and hoards. Geographically applied sources cover the territories from the Dnieper–Dniester interfluve to the Volga region within the boundaries of the steppe and forest-steppe zones and the Caucasus. The chronological interval includes the Neolithic and the Eneolithic periods (VI–IV millennium BC). Deer teeth appeared as a "hunting" decoration detail of the burial costume in the burials of the Neolithic. During the Eneolithic these finds began to accompany buried individuals with prestigious sets of burial goods, emphasizing the special social status of their owner. The presence of deer teeth with holes and their replicas in the hoards from the agricultural area to the west of the Dnieper also indicates the special role of these findings. There is a tendency of spreading bone replicas – copies of adornments from the original deer teeth in the Eneolithic. This can be connected with the development of the producing economy, weakening of the role of hunting, shortage of raw materials, and also with the change of value orientations realized in burial practice. In the Bronze Age adornments, made of deer teeth, almost completely disappear throughout the territory under consideration.

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Written sources and archaeological data indicate that the vast territory from the Great Wall of China in the east to the Carpathian Mountains in the west in the first millennium BC was inhabited by the Sak and Sauromat–Sarmatian tribes, who formed a "nomadic culture". Warlike nomads, skilled horsemen, accurate archers and courageous warriors are known in history as "nomadic horsemen tribes". The settlement of nomadic tribes from the steppes of Central Asia to Eastern Europe and Asia Minor in the first half of the first millennium went down in history as the first wave of the "Great Migration" of the peoples from the East to the West. Today this fact is confirmed by written sources and archaeological evidences. As the result of these resettlements, various cultural conflicts have occurred throughout the history of mankind, and nomadic tribes have become recognized by the ancient peoples of Eastern Europe and Asia Minor. The issue of resettlement is the subject of research of foreign and local scientists. However, as it is one of the most important topics that needs to be studied the authors decided conduct scientific research on this topic, study the reasons and ways of migration of the nomadic horsemen tribes to Eastern Europe and Asia Minor, systematize old and new data, conduct a scientific analysis based on the experience of foreign and local researchers. Moreover, scientific conclusions have been done as well as the periods and directions of the conquering campaigns of nomadic horsemen in Asia Minor have been studied.

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In the course of its historical evolution, Russophobia has undergone many changes and manifested itself in many varieties from the early British tradition and fascism/Nazism up to modern forms of „democratic" Russophobia existing in the western center of the world system. In this area, national peculiarities in the Eastern European region have led to the emergence of a special variety of forms of modern Russophobia in various fields from political struggle to memory politics. All these forms are connected by a common motive in historically changing ways and means -- geopolitical competition and rivalry of states in the hierarchical structure of the world system, specifically manifested in the struggle that the great powers and their allies are waging for control over markets, trade routes, energy and raw materials sources, and zones of interest, in a word, over accumulation structures of capital. In fact, Russophobia is an ideological justification for the geopolitical expansion of the „collective West", which, under the banner of democracy, has served as a trigger for the renaissance of wild, authoritarian ethno-nationalism and/or pro-Nazism in Ukraine and throughout Eastern Europe and at the same time was supposed to ensure national cohesion in large and small states of the region, primarily in opposition to Russia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper publishes information about finds of Cypraea moneta (cowry) shells in archaeological sites of Eastern Europe of the VIII century BC – 7th century AD. There are 4 time periods during which cowry shells were distributed in Eastern European territories: 1. 8th – 6th centuries BC; 2. 5th – 1st centuries BC; 3. 11st– 5th centuries AD; 4. 6th – 7th centuries AD. Later the territorial (from Dniester region to the Kama region) and quantitative diversity of archaeological sites on which Cypraea moneta shells were found increased. They were of great value in the life of ancient Eurasian tribes. The proof of this is the variability of their use by local tribes. Cowry shells had both sacred and utilitarian uses. In the first case, they were used as amulets against the evil eye and maleficium. In everyday life cowries used as jewelry. They were sewn on women's dresses and headdresses, on the burial curtains, and were used as pendants for necklaces, bracelets and knives.

The paper represents an analysis of metal complexes of the Late Middle – Early Late Bronze Age of the steppe and forest-steppe zones of Eastern Europe within the framework of the three-stage periodization. In the system of radiocarbon dating, this period covers 2300/2200 –1800/1700 cal BC and a number of the Post-Catacomb, the Post-Corded ware, the Chariot and the Srubnaya cultures. The source base of the study is the metal objects of the burial complexes. The most variable widespread numerous and chronologically significant categories of objects in the alterability of which new trends in shaping (fashion) are clearly traced (bladed tools, temple rings, string of beads, bracelets) were subjected to a detailed comparative morphological analysis. The analysis is carried out at the levels “territory – chronology – culture” in the context of data for metal production standards of the previous and subsequent periods. The author comes to conclusion that the metal complex of Post-Catacomb cultures is based on the traditions of the Middle Bronze Age with innovations of the Central European origin, mainly in the west, in the Babino cultural circle, and of the Caucasian origin, mainly in the southeast, in the Lola cultural circle. Metal inventory appearance in the chariot cultures was determined by innovations that spread from the north and east, while maintaining a number of archaic stereotypes of the Caucasian-steppe. At the early stage of the Srubnaya culture, metalworking continues this path of development taking into account actual trends of forming.

Introduction. The paper discusses glazed pottery of the pre-Mongol era discovered within excavation section 44 of Bilär hillfort between 2015 and 2018. Earliest explorations of the archaeological site date back to the beginning of the 18th century but the first archaeological survey proper — that included a few shovel test pits — was conducted by A. Bashkirov in 1929. However, it was only in 1967 that A. Khalikov as head of the Bilär Archaeological Expedition arranged systematic investigation of the site. Studies of glazed ceramics from the pre-Mongol era became a priority area but its classification was never developed. Goals. So, the work attempts a description and systematization of the unique archaeological materials. Materials and methods. The work analyzes glazed pottery items discovered within excavation section 44 at the site of Bilär. The research methods employed for systematization are as follows: visual/descriptive, statistical, technological ones, those of comparative analysis and analogies. Results. The extensive glazed pottery collection examined attests to Volga Bulgaria had developed widest trade relations in the pre-Mongol period. The key directions included the Near and Middle East, Asia Minor, Rus, Byzantium, and the historical region of Shirvan (group of imports). Conclusions. The article yields a classification of glazed pottery items (both locally produced and imported ones), determines main trade directions and chronological frames for the latter to have arrived in the site. Insights into proportions between groups of imported ceramics and quantitative analysis make it possible to outline three chronological stages that essentially correspond to the heyday, apogee and decline of trade relations.

Research objectives: The aim of the study is to trace the evolution of political relations in Eastern Europe in the late Middle Ages. It is intended to highlight the main stages of this process and the factors that influenced such relations’ speed and direction with their subsequent characterization in the course of the study. Research materials: Chronicles, statement materials, diplomatic documents, correspondence, literary traditions, historical research materials. Results and novelty of the research: For almost two hundred years, the Golden Horde dominated interstate relations in Eastern Europe. It played a role there similar to that played by the Holy Roman Empire in Western Europe. The Khan of the Horde acted as a “universal” regulator of society, the supreme overlord and arbiter within the “Horde world.” The dominance of the Horde in the region was determined by its military, financial, and economic superiority over neighboring states, as well as the “luck” of the khan. But the deep crisis that began in the middle of the 14th century undermined the Horde’s omnipotence, cast doubt on the Khan’s “luck,” and predetermined the collapse of the “Horde world” and its “monopolar” political system. By the end of the 14th century. this process had become irreversible. The “point of no return,” according to the authors, was Khan Tokhtamysh’s granting of a jarlyk to the Grand Duke of Lithuania Vitovt in 1397/1398. According to the jarlyk, Lithuania’s ruler became the “brother” of the khan and received control of most of the Russian lands that were part of the Horde, pledging in return to restore Tokhtamysh to power in the Horde and pay a “way out” from the transferred possessions. The jarlyk of 1397/1398 predetermined the general tenor of Lithuanian-Tatar relations and laid the foundations of Lithuania’s status as a great power. By the 1430s, Lithuania became de facto the dominant force in the region, subordinating both the Horde and Russia to its influence. However, this era did not last long, followed by the troubles of the same decade of 15th century that drew in the Horde, Lithuania and Russia, changing the alignment of political forces in Eastern Europe. The Horde in the 1450s broke up into semi-independent yurts which began a struggle for the Horde’s inheritance. The Grand Duchy of Lithuania held out but abandoned large-scale expansion. Moscow came out of the crisis stronger from the end of the 1440s, steadily pursuing a policy of collecting land and gaining sovereignty. In this situation, the process of reformatting the monopolar “Horde world” into the bipolar “post-Horde world” began.

The authors discuss the chronological positions of eight-shaped clasps originating from 17 burials of the Pyany Bor culture. Clasps were found in both male and female burials. There are 10 skeletons identifed as male burials, and six ones as female. It is not possible to determine the sex of person in one burial. All clasps are made of bronze. The length of the clasps varies from 1.9 to 7.6 cm. The frames of the clasps are decorated in the form of round or oval rings directly adjacent to each other. On a number of clasps there are protrusions-"pins", some of which are decorated in the form of a stylized animal head (bear?). The largest number of clasps was found in the Kipchakovo I burial mound. The authors come to the conclusion that the eight-shaped Pyany Bor clasps by themselves cannot act as chronological markers of the initial stage of the Pyany Bor culture. However, it is impossible to completely deny the dating capabilities of eight-shaped fasteners. The authors suggested that clasps have a dating value when combined with quivers containing bronze arrowheads and, possibly, with epaulet-shaped clasps of simple shapes.

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The article is dedicated to the memory of M.L. Shvetsov, a Donetsk archaeologist, expert in the field of the funeral rite of the Khazar Khaganate peoples and the late nomads. It provides biographical data and describes the main stages of his formation as a scientist. The relevance of the results of M.L. Shvetsovs field explorations and his significant contribution to the study of the early medieval history of Eastern Europe is noted.

The article presents Systemic Geopolitical Analysis, which as a scientific method can be an important tool for studying the distribution of power in Eastern Europe, supporting the assumptions of structural realism with an element of quantitative research. This region, as a place where spheres of influence and the ensuing economic and potentially military conflicts meet, is an area where the knowledge of the most precise distribution of power may be a crucial element in the analysis of the genesis of conflicts, the shifts in power distribution during their course, as well as in the prediction of future flashpoints. Being the first attempt to correlate Systemic Geopolitical Analysis with the issue of conflicts in Eastern Europe, the paper contains a hypothesis that Systemic Geopolitical Analysis is a research method that enables an effective analysis of the geopolitical reality in the region because of: 1) the conflicts occurring in the system due to differences in power distribution; 2) the nature of the components of power, measurable by the means of Systemic Geopolitical Analysis. Confirming the above hypothesis, the article points to the economic aspect, linked to the Russian natural gas exports, and the military aspect, by taking into account the characteristics of contemporary tensions in the region, which reduce the role of supra-systemic reserves.

This article features the special position that Poland and Hungary demonstrate towards the national government institutions and civil rights. The research objective was to describe the internal transformation and adaptation processes of Hungarian and Polish societies to the European concept of acquis communautaire, as well as the tensions between these two countries and the older EU members. This special position can be explained by the growing sentiments of national pride and identity. The social and economic achievements that happened aſter the 1990s allowed these states to increase the quality of life, and their citizens are not willing to give up on their identity to accommodate the demands of the European Union. For instance, people of Poland and Hungary saw a certain threat to their identity in the pressure from Brussels to welcome migrants from the Middle East, whom they could not accept on the mental and religious levels. Another threat was the Brussels’ pursuit to make Poland and Hungary accept sexual minorities in a very short timeframe, despite the fact that this process took Western Europe several centuries. Considering that the church had a very negative attitude to both issues, certain political parties managed to seize the power. They suppressed the freedom of speech, denied the independence of the judicial power, and challenged Brussels.

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Th e purpose of the research is an attempt to generalize the military-political and civil life of Volyn in 1914--1916. Th e research methodology is based on the use of general scientifi c and special historical research methods, including problem-chronological, synchronous, diachronic, comparative-historical, and others. Th e scientifi c novelty is that the authors try to rethink the events of the Great War on the territory of Volyn, considering the military-political events and civilian life in the region not separately but in the complex. Conclusions. Th e historiography of the history of Volyn in 1914--1918 is considerable; historians have accumulated a lot of factual material. However, a deeper conceptualization and generalization are currently lacking. In some places, the infl uence of Soviet (Russian) historiography can be traced. Civilian life remains less studied compared to military life. Prolonged military operations in Volyn during 1914--1916 and the establishing of front lines in the region caused signifi cant damage to the region. Th e economy of the region collapsed. All kinds of state and ethnic aid organizations were active. Th e political and economic situation looked somewhat better in the territories occupied by the Austrians. Th e occupation authorities tried to sway the local population to their side and therefore did a lot to improve the socio-political and economic situation of Volyn residents. During the war, the national self-awareness of all population groups of Volyn was actualized, which oft en led to confl ict situations. In the following years, it already transformed into an open armed confrontation for the state borders in the context of the creation of a new map of Central-Eastern Europe. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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Bracelets with “projections”, “knobs”, “bulges”, etc. are quite often terms used in the literature. Moreover, the items called in this way have different decor and different dates. Researchers often cite completely different types of things as analogies. There is a need for a more detailed study of these bracelets. This paper deals with the selection of bracelets with projections from the territory of Eastern Europe. It is proposed to divide these items into types corresponding to the period of their existence: Hallstatt, La Tène and late Classical.

By the middle of 1930s, largely due to the efforts of Russian emigrant scholars, Prague became a major center of the studies in Slavic history, in particular in the history of Czech cultural ties with other major centers of Slavic culture in the East. Russian historian A. V. Florovsky in the mid – second half of the 1930s worked on a number of studies on the history of Slavic culture. To a large extent, his research efforts were aimed at reconstructing the biography of the Belarusian enlightener F. Skoryna. There are some important materials in the Archive of the Russian Academy of Sciences that allow reconstructing the course of A. V. Florovsky’s research on the history of cultural contacts of several centers of Slavic culture – Vilna, Prague, Moscow – letters to him from Belarusian Slavists A. I. Lutskevich, V. I. Samoilo, F. Ilyashevich and V. Tolochko. The corpus of these sources on the history of Belarusian Slavic studies was supplemented by attribution of a previously unknown letter by A. I. Lutskevich. The complex of these materials made it possible to clarify the date of compilation and identify the manuscript of one of the articles by A. V. Florovsky «Initial stages of the development of printing among the Eastern Slavs». Letters from Belarusian Slavists to A. V. Florovsky show the mechanism of work of historians in conditions of strict political separation of Europe, separation from libraries and archival collections, discussion of important scientific hypothesis. The end of these contacts was put by a sharp change in the political situation in Eastern Europe in 1939–1940.

This publication introduces into scientific discourse a fragment of a bronze anthropomorphic figurine from the archaeological collections of the Samara Museum for History and Regional Studies named after P.V. Alabin. For similar items, named in A.A. Spitsin's paper "copper ugly figurines", the definition of "bronze freaks" is currently fixed. This name is explained by the fact that the objects had deliberate flaws in the image of individual elements of the figure. The figurine in question was discovered by chance on the territory of Samarskaya Luka. It consists of two fragments of the front part of the head of a man. The face is elongated, the nose is wide. A scrap passes through the right side of the figure's face. Judging by the condition of the fracture edge, it probably originally represented a defective product. Typologically, it can be defined as a component of a hollow, two-faced anthropomorphic bronze figurine. It fits into the range of similar finds in Eastern Europe: in the Middle Volga and Kama regions, as well as in the basin of the river Seversky Donets. Comparing our product with similar Eastern European finds, it should be assumed that it existed in the Khazar era as a cult object associated with the rituals of the Turkic-speaking population of the Samara Volga region.

This autobiographic (and thus highly subjective) text asks what motived a non-Eastern European, born in 1955 in West Germany, to become a historian of Eastern Europe. The answers are, on the one hand, an interest in (Slavic) languages and (Cold War) politics, and, to a lesser extent, family background, and, on the other, coincidence and the opportunities for fellowship. Part 1 of the article traced the author’s biography from his high-school years to his first modest academic achievements. Part 2 covers his professional path till retirement in 2021 – leading not only to universities like Uppsala, Hamburg, and finally Leipzig, but also into international institutions outside academia, such as the Slavic Unit of the British Military Government of Berlin, the CSCE / OSCE missions of long-duration in Macedonia and Moldova (in particular in the Dnestr region and Gagauzia), and – as founding director – to the Danish-German European Centre for Minority Issues (ECMI) in Flensburg.

This article reports on the results of a study of a sample from the collection of the Shtukenberg Geological Museum of Kazan Federal University. The sample is the preorbital part of the skull of a large temnospondyl amphibian previously identified as Wetlugasaurus sp. and known from the Triassic of the Volga region. On the basis of the morphology of the palatal surface, it was concluded that the sample belongs to the genus Parotosuchus of the Late Olenekian. The analysis of the host rock helped to determine more precisely its locality (Akhtubinsk district of the Astrakhan region, Bolshoye Bogdo II locality). The specimen under study most likely belongs to P. bogdoanus (Woodward, 1932), first described from this locality, thus making it possible to complete the diagnosis of the species.

The article analyzes the intergation processes in the post-Soviet space and shows that their direction is determined by the competition of states in a specific organizational field of political values. The effectiveness of the governments in this field depends directly on their ability to switch between the political values of the country and universal aggregations. This ability is becoming a key attribute of the empirical sovereignty of the state today. It is shown that in the conditions of asymmetric integration into the EU space in post-socialist countries and insufficient integration in the former Soviet republics, the accomplishment of this function requires specific institutional adaptations: differentiation between buffer mechanisms responsible for communication with external value systems, and the core that holds the deep value complexes of the community. The stability of the organizational bundle of state sovereignty and identity, the specifics of its functionaries in the post-Soviet space are described as giving the Russian Federation an opportunity of value action, focused on the population of post-Soviet and post-socialist countries and bypassing communications with pro-European-oriented and subordinated power apparatuses.

Submitted on the monuments of the early Iron Age of the forest-steppe and south of the forest zone of Eastern Europe, triangular bronze pendants (elements of necklaces, female set of jewelry) are subjected to typological analysis. There are four types of elements constituting panel decor (rings with through holes, pseudozer, hemispheres, «shells», bispiral S-visible volitions). The map analysis showed that for each type its special range is characterized, despite the fact that all the ranges are partly overlapped. It is likely that this indicates related ethnic groups of the population (forest balts), relevant to the Yukhnovo archaeological culture and traditionally considered a single Milograd-Podgortsevo archaeological culture. At the same time, typical forest-steep Podgortsevо antiquities and forest Milograd antiquities are clearly geographically divided. Another part of the findings most characteristic of the Yukhnovo antiquities of Seim and Desnas indicates indicates the existence of an enclave of the Yukhnovo or a similar population in the Oskol River basin. However, given the fact that it is proposed about the female jewelry, finds can reflect regular intergovernmental marriages.

Initially, in the first half of the 1990s, Russia’s plans to include the countries of the former Eastern bloc within the EU were not seen as a threat to its interests. Furthermore, in the context of NATO’s enlargement, some Russians regarded them as an advantageous alternative. Russia is aware that the EU enlargement with the Central and Eastern European states resulted in a present increase in the number of EU members supporting close trans-Atlantic relations. Moscow’s fears of further EU enlargement were softened due to a dispute that continues to grow within the Union, regarding the rationale and limits of further enlargement, primarily for the Balkan states, Turkey, and the CIS states. Moscow expects that the reluctance of European societies towards further enlargement will inhibit this process. The external relations dimension of the European Union's enlargement to Central and Eastern Europe has received surprisingly little attention despite the fact that in the long‐term the issues it raises may be far more important than those currently dominating the debate. Nowhere is this more likely to be correct than about Russia, for which the EU's enlargement poses a risk of increasing isolation from the rest of Europe. The danger of creating a new dividing line across Europe is widely recognised, and the challenge, therefore, is to find ways of ensuring that Russia can be fully integrated with Europe while almost certainly remaining outside the EU Itself. This article focuses on relations between the EU and Russia and addresses three fundamental questions: how Russia has responded to the prospect of the EU's eastern enlargement; the specific issues arising from expansion, and the kind of long‐term relationship that could develop between Russia and an enlarged EU.

Copyright of Stratum Plus Journal is the property of P.P. Stratum plus and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Stratum Plus Journal is the property of P.P. Stratum plus and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

The process of transition from the unipolar world order, with the centre of power in Washington, to the multipolar one – with several centres of power, was determined by the emergence of some states, which assert themselves as new geopolitical poles in the architecture of world security. They are China, which is the main economic challenge to the USA, Russia, which, although it fails to assert itself as an economic power, is a military power, due to the potential of nuclear weapons that it still has since the Cold War, but also due to developments in the field of other modern weapons. In the future, we can expect the assertion of other states as poles of power: India, Iran, Brazil, the The Republic of South Africa, etc. The evolution of Turkey is interesting: although it is a member of NATO (an organization in which the USA has a hard word in the decision-making structure), it tries to assert itself as a pole of power in the Islamic space (concerning the Arab world) and in the Turkish world (from Azerbaijan to Middle Asia).

This autobiographic (and thus highly subjective) text asks what motived a non-East European, born in 1955 in West Germany, to become a historian of Eastern Europe. The answers are, on the one hand, an interest in (Slavic) languages and (Cold War) politics, and, to a lesser extent, family background, and on the other, coincidence and, not the least, fellowship opportunities. Part 1 of the article traces the author’s biography from his high-school years in Baden-Württemberg to universities and research institutions in Tübingen, West Berlin, Sofija, Skopje, and Bloomington, Indiana, from 1969 to 1981 – including his first modest academic achievements. Part 2 covers his professional path till retirement in 2021.

The biostratigraphic analysis of conchostracans from the territory of Eastern Europe was based on the study of sections of the Middle–Upper Permian and Lower Triassic deposits of the Upper Volga, Middle Volga–Kama, Dvina–Mezen, and Pechora districts, all, except for the last one, belonging to the Euramerian paleozoogeographic region. The biostratigraphy of conchostracans from the territory of Siberia was performed by investigating the territories of the Angara paleozoogeographic region: Upper Permian and Lower Triassic sections of the Kuznetsk Basin, the Siberian Platform, and the Southern Verkhoyansk Region. The conchostracan samples were collected during the field expeditions. To reconstruct their distribution in the sections of the Euramerian and Angara paleozoogeographic regions, the literature data were also used. The quantity and quality of the studied material determined the degree of detail achieved. Beds containing conchostracans were identified in the Severodvinian, Vyatkian, Induan, and Olenekian deposits of different territories of the Euramerian and Angara paleozoogeographic regions. Beds with Estheria elongata were revealed in the Putyatino Horizon of the Severodvinian Stage of the Upper Volga, Middle Volga–Kama, and Dvina–Mezen basins. Beds with Megasitum volgaense were found in the Zhukov Horizon of the Vyatkian Stage of the Upper Volga and Middle Volga–Kama basins, as well as in the Gagarjeostrov and Ivakin Horizons of Upper Permian deposits of the Siberian Platform. Beds with Euestheria gutta were discovered in the Induan and Olenekian deposits of different territories of Eastern Europe and Siberia.

At the beginning of 2021, the Usmanov Center for Research of the Golden Horde and Tatar Khanates (Marjani Institute of History of Tatarstan Academy of Sciences) planned an international research conference: “Transformation of the Political and Ethnic Map of Eas­tern Europe”. The main issues of the conference turned out to be very popular and relevant, and extremely numerous specialists expressed a desire to take part in it. Therefore, the organizers of the conference decided to hold the planned conference in the form of a triptych. The general picture of medieval political-ethnic transformations was successfully divided into three main formations: the Great Hungarians, Volga Bulghars, and Tatars of the Golden Horde. Quarantine and preventive measures to counter the new coronavirus infection Covid-19 have resulted in the proliferation of online conferences. Thus, the three planned meetings were held in an extended face-to-face format with partial online participation. Thanks to this, a significantly larger number of specialists were able to take part in meetings with presentations on the history of political and ethnic transformations in the territory of medieval Eastern Europe under the influence of the migration factor. The staff of the Center discussed a number of very significant issues of the history of the Great Hungarians, Volga Bulghars, and Tatars of the Golden Horde with colleagues from other research centers of the Russian Federation and foreign countries. As a result, the academic meeting led to ambiguous results on seemingly resolved problems.

Copyright of Stratum Plus Journal is the property of P.P. Stratum plus and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

The date of accession of Devlet Girey I to the throne in the Crimea as a result of the coup d’état , inspired by the Ottoman government, is specified in the article. As a review of domestic and foreign studies on this issue shows, the generally accepted dating of this event as in 1551 was largely formed due to the uncritical perception of Turkish chronicle`s narrative. A more careful analysis, considering data from the Russian chronicles and ambassadorial books, allows us to date the arrival of Devlet Girey I to power as in autumn of 1550. Aditionally, the connection of this event with the fall of Kazan and its impact on the geopolitical situation in Eastern Europe is discussed.

This Special Issue seeks to address these dilemmas by examining the implications that China’s presence and activities have had in in Eastern Europe and the South Caucasus.

This article analyzes Poland’s policy towards the former Soviet space (Poland’s Eastern policy) through the assumptions of the realist theory of international relations. The fi rst part of the article examines the realist theory in international relations (IR). The second – deals with the existing literature on Poland’s foreign policy. The third part analyses the determinants and the goals of Poland’s policy towards the post-Soviet states (history of its relations with the region, ideological determinants, security concerns, etc.). The last part inquires about the evolution of Poland’s policy till current times. The Russian Federation is perceived as a signifi cant threat by Poland. In that context, since the early 1990s, Poland has been seeking solutions to strengthen its security. It aimed to join the North Atlantic Alliance and establish a close partnership with the United States (bandwagoning). This strategy brought substantial eff ects – in 1999, Poland joined NATO, and since it has hosted allied troops. Poland also wanted to develop cooperation with Ukraine (to a lesser degree also with its other post-Soviet neighbors) and bring them closer to the Euro-Atlantic structures. This policy was, in particular, at weakening Russia’s infl uence in the region (balancing). The results of this strategy have been somewhat ambiguous, though. Ukraine has rejected Russia’s sponsored reintegration projects in the post-Soviet space. The process of reforms in that country, however, is slow and uncertain. As for other post-Soviet states, Poland has largely proven unable to infl uence the desired changes.

Copyright of Stratum Plus Journal is the property of P.P. Stratum plus and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Stratum Plus Journal is the property of P.P. Stratum plus and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Stratum Plus Journal is the property of P.P. Stratum plus and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Stratum Plus Journal is the property of P.P. Stratum plus and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Oecobius rhodiensis Kritscher, 1966 was previously known only from Greece (including Crete) and Turkey. The record of this species in Donetsk (Donetsk People’s Republic) represents the northernmost locality of its range. Despite the high degree of knowledge of the araneofauna of the region, the family Oecobiidae has not yet been recorded here. One male, one female, and 12 immature specimens were found between window frames in the Faculty of Biology of Donetsk National University in May 2021. In Turkey this species has been found exclusively in buildings, but in Crete it has been found in natural conditions: on the rocky coastline, under stones in olive groves and in meadows, in building ruins. In Donetsk, the species has so far only been found in synanthropic conditions. The article contains photographs of the male habitus, palpus, and epigyne. The male and female body and legs measurements are also given.