No 1 (2014)

The article analyses Russian conservatives’ various assessments of the mid-XIX th century foreign policy during the reign of Nicholas I. The author also examines the problem of the perception of Nicholas I’s personality and work in the views of conservative thinkers in Russia due to the changes in the foreign policy of the country caused by the transformation of Russia’s role in the international arena.

The article considers the significance of the historical education and upbringing in the establishment of the historical consciousness of Russian young people. The authors show the most effective trends of its formation in the Russian Federation. There are analysed the key principles of the historical education in schools and institutes of the country and the prospects of the historical consciousness formation of young people at the present stage of our society.

The article analyses the peculiarities and problems of Kazakhstan people’s migration in the context of the post-Soviet space. Great attention is paid to the insufficiently studied aspects and controversial issues of the migration processes during the Soviet Union period (the case of Kazakhstan).

The article analyses main stages in the development of Russian national encyclopedias. The way to first Russian encyclopedias coincided with the development of Russian intellectual elite and struggle with foreign influence and spirit within Russian academia. First Russian encyclopedias tried to copy the structure and the content of the famous foreign encyclopedias such as British Britannica, German Brockhaus and French Encyclopedie. First Russian national Brockhaus-Efron encyclopedia was published at the end of the 19 th century and immediately became the national bestseller.

The article analyzes the substance of the notions “competence” and “competency”. The authors draw the conclusion that professional competence is a multifactorial phenomenon. Great role in its formation is played by value guidelines, personal characteristics as well as integrative factors of culture. The article gives the assessment of the place, role and significance of the course of History of Russia in the development of students’ general cultural competences. The authors reveal the problems that arise in the process of teaching students of non-humanitarian faculties of Peoples’ Friendship University of Russia.

The article is devoted to the history of the Guinean-Soviet relations in the period of Ahmed Secou Toure’s presidency. Guinea and the USSR fought for Africa’s liberation from colonialism and imperialism, and the Guinean leader was an initiator of the integration processes in Africa. The author proves that the character of the bilateral relations was under strong influence of the Guinean leader’s controversial personality as well as the attempts to balance between the capitalist and socialist poles in the Cold War. As a result Guinea became estranged from the Soviet Union and restored the relationships with its former parent state, France, and other Western countries.

The article is devoted to the issue of establishing the honorary titles “Hero-city” in the USSR and “City of military glory” in the Russian Federation. The author analyzes the experience of holding the lyceum “Cities of military glory report” in the course of teaching History of Russia at non-humanitarian faculties of Peoples’ Friendship University of Russia. There are given the author’s methodological recommendations and students’ opinions.