Contents and abstracts

Conceptions of History

Nikolay V. Poddubny, Anatoly А. Trunov. The Reformation and Chiliasm (ideological sources of Modernity) (рр. 5–20).

The article reveals the ideological link between Reformation, Chiliasm and the epoch of Modernity. The approaching “doomsday” or “millennial reign of the faithful” – such were the perspectives forecasted by numerous mystical thinkers and actors of Chiliastic views during the Age of Reformation. The Chiliastic notion of justice worked as the fermentation enzyme for many social and cultural transformations, which occurred in Europe in the 16^th – first half of the 17^th centuries.

Keywords: Martin Luther, Reformation, Protestantism, Chiliasm, John of Leiden, Anabaptism, utopia, eschatology, Modernity.

Tatiana E. Strokovskaya. The presentation of the World War II in the historical manuals of the European Union countries (рр. 21–32).

The author studies how the geopolitical transformations of the late 20^th century Europe have influenced the historical memory and how the new reconsideration of national identities has been reflected in the perception and presentation of the World War II in the historical manuals.

Keywords: national identity, historical memory, World War II, interpretation, presentation, manual.

Konstantin Chichinadze, Nodar Chichinadze, Liana Gachechiladze, Luke Nadiradze, David Nadareishvili, Marina Nikolaishvili. The topology of female body, the evolution of female clothings and sexual behavior (рр. 33–49).

Although the males of many animals (including mammals) are decorated brighter than females, such sexual differentiation is not observed among the humans. Yet, women much more intensively use various decorations (from make-up to perfume, etc.) and therefore, they look “brighter” than men. In the authors’ view, beside the genetic component this process is due to the humans’ comprehension of the relationship between coitus and pregnancy, as far as pregnancy and then the child-breeding have always entailed serious material problems. If a pregnant woman or the women already confined is left without man, this is a particularly difficult situation for her. Therefore, a woman tries to attract men by her bright outfit and decorations. Another outcome is that since the primitive communities, women have been covering up female breeding organs and some erogenous parts to avoid raping. So, on the one hand, women dress up to please men and on the other hand, cover up their bodies not to over-arouse them. The fact that the female body covering up is associated with these points (and is not exclusively the function of protection from cold, status function, etc.) is evidenced by the dynamics of their stage-by-stage public denudation in the course of civilization process.

Keywords: female body, sexual and reproductive behavior, evolution, clothes, fashion.

On the origin of clothes. Interview with the authors (рр. 50–51).

To what pre-historical époque do the authors refer the emergence of clothes? Who was the first to use it: males or females? Did the Paleolithic hunters-gatherers know about the casual link between coitus and child-bearing?

Social-Psychological Surveys of History

Lekha V. Zhukova. Feasts at the front (studying the materials of the Russian-Japanese war (1905–1906) (рр. 52–74).

The article describes what feasts were celebrated in the Russian army in the late 19^th – early 20^th centuries; some of them were celebrated at the front during the Russian-Japanese war. The paper analyzes the difficulties in organization of holidays in military conditions, the scenario of holidays and the attitude of their participants. The changes in military traditions during the war are considered, which partly preserved after it as well.

Keywords: military tradition, the regimental holiday, Easter, holiday of farewell, parade, captivity, the Russian-Japanese War, everyday life at the front, “tsar's feasts”.

Natalia N. Zarubina. The images of “normative body” as determinants in changing nutrition practices in Russia (рр. 75–91).

Everyday nutrition practices are determined by manifested or latent concepts of socially and culturally approved model body. In modern society, a normal body requires a unified functionality, which is achieved by means of rational practices of the transformation of natural human body. Accordingly, the rationalization of the food practices based on medical means is intended, which means the distribution of the scientific ideas about the physiological norm on the everyday practice. In the USSR, the standards of balanced diet were prevented by the chronic shortage of food and unequal access to it, which led to the conflict between samples of healthy body and healthy diet and the traditional everyday practices. In the context of the formation of mass consumption society, this contradiction is exacerbated by the weakening institutional control of normal body and values of consumer hedonism. The medicalization of everyday life provides an opportunity to reject a self-restraint and to correct the negative health effects via drugs. The contradiction between the proposed community standards of the body and the impossibility to achieve it leads to massive choice in favor of traditional food practices in modern Russia.

Keywords: sample body, alimentation, medicalization, daily feeding practices, disciplinary practices, health, lifestyle.

Alexander S. Khodunov. Demographic factors of political stability in Iran (the late 20^th – the early 21^st centuries) (рр. 92–108).

The factors of demographic structure are considered that have generally influenced the political stability in the late 20^th – early 21^st centuries in Iran and in some of its regions running the risk of political shock. The situation is compared to similar situations in Kosovo. A special consideration is given to the dynamics of the urban youth number and the share of 20–29 years old people in the total population.

Keywords: Iran, Kosovo, youth, demography, revolution, political shock, separatism, conflict, political regime, legitimacy.

Vladimir V. Tishin, Nikolai N. Seregin. The female status in ancient Turk community (рр. 109–127).

The authors try to reconstruct the women’s status in the ancient Turk societies. A review of studies in the field as well as the analysis of written sources and archeological data help to specify the observations referring the female status in the nomadic communities in the 6^th – 10^th centuries.

Keywords: Ancient Turks, Central Asia, women, status, written sources, archeological data.

Natalya A. Mytsiuk. The British and American historiography on the history of motherhood studies in Russia (рр. 128–146).

The American researchers were the first to study the history of motherhood in Russia. The motherhood studies proceeded in two directions: gender history and family history. In the 1980s, the Russian studies in America demonstrated a growing interest in the issues of the Russian motherhood. In the 1990s, due to higher availability of “oral history” sources, the scientists’ interest focused on the study of the Soviet motherhood. The author argues that a significant deficiency in the motherhood studies referring to pre-revolutionary period was the scarcity of new empirical data involved and an excessive idealization of conclusions.

Keywords: motherhood, Russian studies, parenthood, gender, deprivation, sexual culture.

Big History

Ekaterina V. Sazhienko. Control and self-organization: A Mega-history aspect(рр. 147–159).

Following the notion of self-organization and control as the basic evolutionary factors, the author brings them into correlation with morals and law in social sphere. The transformation of the controlling mechanisms is interpreted as a manifestation of the social evolution’s vectors, which include growing organization complexity, perfection of cultural and psychological means of behavior-regulation and development of social intelligence; integrally, complication of the planetary anthroposphere as a universal megatrend. The issue discussed in the article is whether mind’s control potential is limited by the Earth’s scope or it might potentially become a cosmically relevant factor.

Keywords: evolution, control, self-organization, structure, megatrends, complexity, techno-humanitarian balance, virtualization.

Stories of the Future

Akop P. Nazaretyan. “The agents of influence” in the context of global geopolitical perspective (рр. 160–171).

The evolution of anthroposphere is implacably approaching the point of a tremendous break beyond which either a “descending branch” in our planetary history or a transition to the cosmic stage of the Earth civilization’s development is expected. Deadly menaces are mostly due to the sharpening pathology in the global geopolitical system; the strengthening of Russia might play a stabilizing role if its leaders opportunely venture to shift the conceptual accents in their foreign-policy strategies. Shifting attention from the patriotic declarations like “defense of the Russian world” etc. to the tasks of the global geopolitics’ sanitation would attract the opinion leaders in the world and increase effectiveness of the Russian government’s international activities.

Keywords: geopolitics, system, sustainability, Russia, agents of influence, future, singularity, conflicts, Ukraine, catastrophophilia.

Leonid E. Grinin, Anton L. Grinin. The Cybernetic revolution and the sixth technological mode (рр. 172–197).

In the present paper, on the basis of the theory of production principles and production revolutions, we reveal the interrelation between K-waves and major technological breakthroughs in history and make forecasts about features of the sixth Kondratieff wave in the light of the Cybernetic Revolution that, from our point of view, started in the 1950s. We assume that the sixth K-wave in the 2030s and 2040s will merge with the final phase of the Cybernetic Revolution (which we call a phase of self-regulating systems). This period will be characterized by the breakthrough in medical technologies which will be capable to combine many other technologies into a single complex of MBNRIC-technologies (med-bio-nano-robo-info-cognitive technologies). The article offers some forecasts concerning the development of these technologies.

Keywords: production revolutions, production principle, Industrial Revolution, Cybernetic Revolution, self-regulating systems, Kondratieff waves, fourth K-wave, fifthK-wave, sixth K-wave, World System, center, periphery, medicine, biotechnologies, nanotechnologies, robotics, cognitive technologies.

Scientific Heritage

Vladic S. Nersesyants (1938–2005). The conceptions of morals by Socrates and Immanuel Kant (рр. 198–216).

This paper presents the drafts for a conceptual essay of the famous Russian jurist, specialist in philosophy and theory of law and history of political and legal doctrines.

Keywords: morals, law, history, Socrates, Immanuel Kant.

Scientific activities

A new annual collection of scientific papers “Historical Psychology of State Administration” started in Saratov. Its first issue was published in September 2014.(рр. 217–218).

Contents and abstracts (pp. 219–222)

Authors of the issue (p. 223)