History of Russia

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PHJ № 3 (47) 2025 — O. V. Tatarnikov. THE FORMATION AND DEVELOPMENT OF THE ORENBURG TELEVISION STUDIO DURING THE “THAW” (1961–1964)

The article examines the period of formation and development of the Orenburg Television Studio in 1961–1964. The main focus is on studying the structure of the TV studio, its repertoire and the everyday moments of its work. The article also describes various difficulties that plagued Orenburg television Broadcasting in the early years of its operation. The author emphasizes the influence of the “thaw” era on the active development of central and regional television in the USSR. Due to the fact that television staff have a certain creative freedom during this period, the Orenburg Television Studio was able to come from chaotic broadcasting to regular production of programs and films of its own production on central television in the 4 years that fell during this era. The author concludes that Orenburg television of the “thaw” era simultaneously combined an educational, entertaining and ideological repertoire. This feature has allowed local television broadcasting to become one of the main ways for Orenburg residents to spend their leisure time. The article is based on an extensive source base consisting of office records, periodical materials and sources of personal origin.

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PHJ № 3 (47) 2025 — A. V. Lomakin. FROM ILYICH TO KUMACH: THE POETIC DESIGN OF SOVIET HOLIDAYS ON THE AIR OF LENINGRAD RADIO IN THE 1950S AND 1970S

The article is devoted to specific works of fiction — poems written for the public holidays of May 1 and November 7 and played on holiday radio broadcasts in Leningrad in the 1950s and 1970s. Based on the documents of the Central State Archive of Literature and Art of St. Petersburg, the thematic diversity of festive poetry is studied, its functions in festive narratives and the Soviet holiday as a whole are revealed, special attention is paid to the motivation of writers and poets when fulfilling a state order to create poetic agitation. Poetry “on occasion”, written for the Leningrad radio committee by local poets, was most often dedicated to V. I. Lenin, the Great October Socialist Revolution, Leningrad, and the Communist Party. The poems not only complemented the announcers’ comments about the parades and demonstrations on the Palace Square, created a festive mood, but also carried a certain ideological load and performed an educational function. At the same time, these works were usually performed without specifying the authorship, and later the authors did not include them in their printed collections. The participation of poets and writers in the creation of artistic texts for radio broadcasts can be considered a kind of fulfillment of a state order, in which each individual author could have his own motivation, whether it was establishing relations with the authorities or making easy money.

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PHJ № 3 (47) 2025 — V. L. Piankevich. LIGHT AND DARKNESS IN BESIEGED LENINGRAD

As part of the study of the sensory experience of war and blockade, the article attempts to analyze sensory impressions, the experience of residents of besieged Leningrad staying in conditions of darkness for a long time, the perception and reflection of light and darkness in written and visual sources. Among them are testimonies from the war and blockade time: diaries, letters, regulatory documents of state authorities and administration, works of artists, architects, photographers, as well as transcripts of oral testimonies collected shortly after the blockade and the war, interviews and memories of city residents of a later time.

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PHJ № 3 (47) 2025 — S. V. Bondarev. THE ACTIVITIES OF THE GATCHINA AND PETERHOF PALACE ADMINISTRATIONS AT THE BEGINNING OF THE 20TH CENTURY

The famous suburbs of St. Petersburg — Peterhof and Gatchina — had the status of palace towns at the beginning of the 20th century and were under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of the Imperial Court. The purpose of this article is to study the management system and organization of the economy of two settlements in the 1900s as a separate type of urban settlements. The study is devoted to a little-known side of the activities of suburban Palace Administrations, which, along with servicing the royal palace complexes, were engaged in the development of urban infrastructure and were responsible for all aspects of the life of settlements that were part of the suburban imperial residences. An appeal to the history of the development of two cities of the Court Department provides for consideration of the features of construction development, communal and gardening, public safety and other aspects. The analysis of interaction of senior officials of various departments with ordinary employees, the mode of work of services in directions, the specifics of work of architects, police chiefs, custodians, fire chiefs, fountain attendants and representatives of other professions allows to present a picture of everyday life in suburbs with a special status. As a result of the work, the features of economic activity of Peterhof and Gatchina palace administrations as bodies engaged in provision of royal residences and towns near them are revealed. Scientific novelty lies in a comprehensive consideration of organizational and administrative work on management of economy of two palace towns and issues of organization of economy and urban economy of Peterhof and Gatchina at the beginning of the 20th century. The study will allow to supplement the picture of the national system of organization and management in the Russian Empire, to make a contribution to the study of history of cities of the Russian Empire. Also, the article contains new information for studying the history of palace and park ensembles in Peterhof and Gatchina.

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PHJ № 3 (47) 2025 — V. A. Veremenko, Ju. V. Sutula. “THE ART OF PERSUASION” — FOREIGN INFANT FORMULA ON THE RUSSIAN MARKET IN THE LATE 19TH — EARLY 20TH CENTURIES

The article, drawing upon a comprehensive array of sources including advertising materials, professional literature by hygienists and physicians, publications from the specialist and women’s press, as well as corporate records, undertakes a thorough analysis of the pivotal role of advertising agencies in the dissemination of foreign infant formula within the domestic market during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. During this period, more than 20 foreign companies offering breast milk surrogates were represented in Russia. The significant cost of these products meant that they were accessible only to the wealthy segment of the country’s population. The advertisement, which promised high-quality, useful and easy-to-use products, was aimed at this educated public. The position of doctors, some of whom participated in the formulas’ advertising, the presence of these companies’ products at all hygiene exhibitions, with the attribution of “proper nutrition”, as well as a well-thought-out advertising campaign, provided foreign manufacturers with an almost monopoly position in the artificial baby food market.

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PHJ № 3 (47) 2025 — V. V. Lapin. THE ALEXANDROPOLIS FORTRESS IS A EXPANSE OF IMPERIAL INTEGRATION. THE SYMBOLIC ASPECT

The military and political situation in the border regions of the Russian Empire required the construction of fortresses in strategically important points. These fortifications, together with a complex of buildings necessary for the life of the garrison, played a role not only in the defense system against external threats, but also in maintaining the “peace” of the local population. At the same time, the organization of the space of the fortress complexes, their architecture and even the names of the strongholds and their parts (bastions, fronts, gates, etc.) represented imperial messages and carried a significant symbolic load. Near them, suburbs and even cities of various sizes arose, populated mainly by indigenous residents of the national outskirts. The latter, being involuntary witnesses to the manifestations of army routine (housekeeping, military ceremonies, etc.), found themselves in a special cultural space. The significance of the latter was enhanced by the fact that Russian military personnel in peacetime constituted about a third of the population of the city and district, and during the war, the Armenians who settled there found themselves in the minority. The focus is on Alexandropol, which was the only fortress in Transcaucasia, built in the 1830–1850s in the border region of the Armenian region on the site of the Gumry fortification, founded in 1807. Various symbolic messages were addressed primarily “inward” to maintain imperial identity in a foreign cultural environment, but it is impossible to deny that they also influenced the local population and created conditions for imperial integration.

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PHJ № 3 (47) 2025 — T. V. Sazonova. “SHE WAS DOING THE OPPOSITE TO THE HOLY CHURCH”: PRINCESS ANNA KHILKOVA IN THE GORITSKY MONASTERY

The article contains and analyzes all available materials regarding one of the famous residents of the Goritsky nunnery, Anna Pavlovna Khilkova. An analysis of the news regarding her family ties and land ownership is conducted, with the documents concerning her exile to the nunnery and subsequent escape from it being meticulously examined. It is evident that A. P. Khilkova is a staunch supporter of the Old Belief, according to the sources cited. The exile of the subject to the Goritsky nunnery had no effect on her beliefs, nor did it compel her to observe the Nikonian rites, at least in public. It became evident to her that she would not be left unaccompanied, and consequently she absconded from the nunnery, a manoeuvre which was facilitated by the perpetual “unrest” therein. It is hypothesised that her subsequent fate was connected with the Old Believer communities of Romanov and Poshekhonye.

PHJ № 2 (46) 2025 — A. I. Rupasov. VOTERS’ WISHES AS A SOURCE FOR THE STUDY OF THE SOCIO-ECONOMIC SITUATION IN LENINGRAD (FIRST HALF OF THE 1960S)

The article analyses the wishes of Leningrad voters expressed at meetings with deputies of the Supreme Soviets of the USSR and the RSFCR, city and district councils in the first half of the 1960s. Attention to these documents is determined by two points. First, the blurring of the general picture of the socio-economic situation in Leningrad, which occurs when dealing with historical studies of the initial period, namely the stage of “transition to the stage of completion of the foundations of the construction of communism”. Secondly, the rare use of such documents in the analysis of the socio-economic situation. The study of the above-mentioned documents allows us to highlight both the full range of problems in Leningrad in 1960–1965, and the extremely limited possibilities of the city authorities to solve them, due to the lack of financial resources and the dynamics of the city’s growth.

PHJ № 2 (46) 2025 — A. Yu. Stefanenko. HARVESTING VEGETABLES IN BESIEGED LENINGRAD

After the end of the first winter of the blockade in 1941–1942, the Leningrad leadership was faced with the problem of finding new sources of food. One of the most important areas became the organisation of the harvest of agricultural products, especially vegetables and potatoes. The city’s leaders launched mass campaigns to create individual gardens and send Leningraders to plant, weed and harvest crops and vegetables on the subsidiary farms of enterprises and state farms in the Leningrad region. At the same time, the authorities had to solve a number of organisational and social problems. Throughout the blockade, there was an acute shortage of equipment and supplies. The irrational use of available human resources led to the loss of vegetables through spoilage and theft. Nevertheless, the mobilisation campaigns helped to supply Leningrad with food and to prevent a repetition of the tragedy of the “time of death”.

PHJ № 2 (46) 2025 — I. V. Zykin. THE CONSEQUENCES OF THE WINTER WAR OF 1939–1940 FOR THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE SOVIET PULP AND PAPER INDUSTRY

One of the tasks of industrialisation in the Soviet Union in the late 1920s and early 1940s was the development of the pulp and paper industry due to low production volumes and dependence on imported equipment and technologies. Despite the establishment of joint ventures, research institutes, and machine-building enterprises, it was not possible to overcome the quantitative and technological lag behind the countries of Europe and North America — the leaders of the pulp and paper industry. The article analyses the potential of pulp and paper enterprises on the Karelian isthmus at the turn of the 1930s and 1940s and the consequences of the Soviet-Finnish War for the pulp and paper industry of the USSR. At the end of the 19 th century — in the 1930s, a large complex for the deep processing of wood was built on the Karelian isthmus. Advanced technologies were used in the production of pulp and cardboard, which were not available in the Soviet Union. However, Soviet specialists paid little attention to Finland’s experience, preferring Germany, Sweden and the USA, where, in addition to technology, mechanical engineering was being developed. The accession of the Karelian isthmus to the Soviet Union after the Winter War of 1939–1940 became an important factor in the development of the pulp and paper industry. The work carried out between April 1940 and May 1941 showed the importance of coordinating the efforts of party-state, planning and economic bodies, concentrating human and technological potential in the restoration of enterprises and the development of their capacities, maintaining dependence on energy imports, control and measuring equipment for pulp cooking and the return of evacuated equipment. An advanced complex for deep processing of wood appeared in the Soviet Union, which significantly changed the spatial and technological development of the pulp and paper industry. The beginning of the Great Patriotic War, Finland’s attack on the side of Germany led to the evacuation of enterprises and the temporary loss of territories.