Vol 9, No 2 (2017)

In this article, the author proposes to consider how the theme of the Olympic games and Olympia as the center of Greek athletic sports was reflected in such unique monuments of ancient literature as a «Picture» of Philostratus the Elder and philostratus the Younger. They Olympia as the best place in Greece, but the Olympics are the best there is in Olympia. In the «Paintings» both Filostrato often referred to certain types of Greek athletics. Special attention is paid to them in equestrian competitions (ristani chariot and horse races) and martial arts (wrestling, pankration, pankration), rarely mentions the race and the pentathlon. Meet at the “Pictures” and the elements of the organization of the Olympic games, a sacred truce (ekecheiria), Olympic judge (hellanodikis), award of the Olympic wreaths, and also in the «Pictures» referred to the sports facilities of Olympia (the Hippodrome, arena, skamma, palestra).

The article discusses the main features of the development of the Arab Republic of Egypt policies, after the difficult political and social circumstances that was associated with what so-called “Arab Spring” (25th of January Revolution in Egyptian literature). Starting from the date of inauguration of President Abdel Fattah Egypt’s Al-Sisi, we can talk about a new stage in the Egyptian foreign policy priorities that can be characterized by the diversification of allies including strengthening the relations with the Russian Federation in different fields as a strategic priority. Russia was the first destination to President Abdelfattah Al-Sisi to a foreign country rather than the Arab world. The mutual interest of Russia and Egypt is reflected in the frequency of meetings between the two heads of state (4 Summit Meetings in 13 months), contributing to strengthening of bilateral cooperation in different fields, in particular the establishment of a Russian industrial zone in Egypt, the construction of a nuclear power plant, expansion of cooperation in the military-technical sphere. The author establishes the characteristics of diplomacy at the high and the highest level (Summit) in the Russian-Egyptian relations, and analyzes the outcomes of those meetings that reflect the foreign policy priorities of the two friendly countries in the way that serves the interests of the Arab Republic of Egypt as a regional power in the Middle and the interests of the Russian Federation as a global power.

Today we are facing numerous cases of increasing worsening the international relations. This gives a special role to the foreign politics propaganda. That’s why the successful experience of the propagandist work during the Second World War should not be ignored. This article describes the creation of the Spanish language radio broadcasting system of the Communist International at the beginning of the Great Patriotic War. The broadcasting was implementing via the Radio Espa-na Independiente radio station (also known as Pirenaica), which was illegal in Francoist Spain. This work is primarily based on the documents (that were published or not) of the Communist International fund, which is part of the Russian State Archive of Socio-Political History. Also, some memoirs in Russian and Spanish were used in the research. Today we don’t have a single work (in the Russian and foreign historiography, as well), devoted to the general history of the Soviet radio broadcasting in foreign languages. However, this article helps us to clarify the role of the Communist International in the Soviet foreign broadcasting activities during the war, starting from the middle of July 1941. The Communist International did not just assist to the All-Union Committee for Radiofication and Radio Broadcasting at the USSR Sovnarkom, but at the same time, its own foreign broadcasting was created. And this broadcasting, held on behalf of some illegal secret radio stations located in other countries, aimed at pursuing the interests of the Soviet Union within its information war with Hitler’s Germany and its allies. In general, the Comintern radio broadcasting was a serious Soviet weapon of external policy propaganda.

The article is dedicated to the mental conflict which became one of the characteristic features of The Mexican Enlightenment. The distribution in the Creole environment of new philosophical ideas, that came from Europe, in the initial phase led to a collision between two different types of thinking. This process was most pronounced in the works of the Mexican Jesuit thinkers whose member was Francisco Javier Clavijero. He grew up in a religious Creol family and chose the path of service to God. From early years Clavijero developed a thirst for knowledge. His first circle of interest was formed by philosophy, history and foreign languages. His meeting with new philosophical ideas led to collision between the rational and the religious in the Mexican thinker’s outlook. He tried to reconcile these two approaches. In his philosophical and historical works Clavijero carried on partially to stand by traditional religious views but also he used rational arguments. The outcome was a bizarre combination of old and new philosophical ideas which symbolized a decline of traditional scholastic in Spanish colonies. Clavijero and his Jesuit colleagues set up a new era o the Enlightenment in the New Spain.

The article examines the influence of the Golden Horde on various aspects of the life of Russian principalities. The author draws attention to the fact that one of the main principles of the construction of the Moscow state has become ethnic and religious tolerance. Khan Uzbek has a special role in promoting the rise of Moscow as the church capital of the emerging Russian state, which marked the beginning of the history of the Moscow Patriarchate. The khan’s label issued to Metropolitan Theognost in 1326 served as an impetus for the establishment in Moscow of an Orthodox spiritual tradition and the centuries-old activity of the high priests of the Russian Orthodox Church. After the Troubles in the Golden Horde in the middle of the fourteenth century, the intensity of the Ordyn migration to Moscow intensified. Among the Tatar aristocracy a special social stratum of serving Tatars was formed, which through the rite of baptism and gradually assimilated with the Russian ethnos merged with the Moscow population. The strong influence of the Horde principle is found in the organization of military affairs, the fiscal system, Yamsk (transport) service, production and diplomatic protocol, certain behavioral stereotypes, details of everyday life and clothing, royal regalia. In addition, the article points to the wealth of the Moscow toponymy, which has a Turkic or Arabic origin. In the post-Ordin period, Islam and the lifestyle associated with it for a long time directly and indirectly played a significant role in the life of the capital and the entire Moscow state, which, after the fall of Byzantium in 1453 and the formation of the Ottoman Empire, was surrounded by Muslim states. This factor largely predetermined the formation of foreign policy priorities of the state.