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PHJ № 2 (50) 2026 — E. V. Korunova. THE PROBLEM OF ESTABLISHING A NUCLEAR-WEAPONS-FREE ZONE IN NORTHERN EUROPE DURING THE COLD WAR: GEOPOLITICAL ASPECTS AND SECURITY DILEMMA

The article examines the attempts to establish a nuclear-weapons-free zone (NWFZ) in Northern Europe during the first decades of the Cold War. The text provides a comprehensive overview of the discourse within governmental circles, with a particular emphasis on initiatives undertaken by the USSR and Finland. It also offers a detailed analysis of the stance adopted by the Scandinavian states on this subject. This study will focus on the argumentation of the parties, the influence of the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT), and the factors that prevented an agreement from being reached.

PHJ № 1 (49) 2026 — I. N. Strekalov. THE EPIC FILM “LIBERATION”: A CONTINUATION OF THE EPIC POST-WAR TRADITIONSOR A NEW STAGE IN THE SOVIET WAR CINEMA?

The article deals with the significance and role of the epic film “Liberation” (directed by Yuri Ozerov, 1970–1971) in the development of the Soviet film epic genre. Learning the archival documents of the Committee for Cinematography under the USSR Council of Ministers, the USSR Union of Cinematography Workers, and the Mosfilm Studios, the researcher concludes that the Soviet filmmakers came to the conclusion it was impossible to return to the traditions of the late Stalinist epics (“The Third Strike”, “The Battle of Stalingrad”, and “The Fall of Berlin”) when creating a new epic film about the Great Patriotic War, and they found possible to retain the epic form created in these films only. The film “Liberation” became an independent stage in the development of the Soviet military-patriotic cinema.

PHJ № 1 (49) 2026 — B. N. Kovalev. SERGEY KAFTANOV: SUPERVISING FOR CULTURAL INTELLIGENCE DURING THE “THAW”

Sergey Kaftanov was one of the Soviet cultural leaders for almost 10 years — from 1953 to 1962.
While working in the sphere of culture, he introduced positive changes. The works of Sergey Prokofiev and Dmitri Shostakovich were popularized. Collected works of European and American writers, “Adventure Library”, were published. The magazine “Foreign Literature” was issued since 1955. In May 1957, the Ministry of Culture separated out the Department of radio and television broadcasting. Thus, the State Committee for Radio and Television Broadcasting was formed. At this time, the role of these media increased significantly. The TV set changed from being a technical miracle and a luxury item to an attribute of everyday life in Soviet families. In May 1959, Kaftanov was appointed Chairman of the State Committee for Radio and Television under the Council of Ministers of the USSR — the main broadcasting organization of the country. In this
position, he did a lot for the technical support of these media. New television and radio programs were produced, which became a symbol of the era. Such TV programs as “Film Travel Club” (since 1960), “Health” (since 1960), “Good morning!” (since 1960), “Club of the cheerful and sharp-witted” (since 1961) were broadcasted.

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PHJ № 4 (48) 2025 — V. A. Berdinskikh. PROBLEMS OF HISTORY IN THE STALIN ERA AS A SUBJECT OF SCIENTIFIC REFLECTION. BOOK REVIEW: TIKHONOV V. V. THE USEFUL PAST: HISTORY IN THE STALINIST USSR. MOSCOW: NOVOE LITERATURNOE OBOZRENIE, 2024. 367 P.

The article examines the main problems of the book of the Moscow historian V. V. Tikhonov, devoted to the problems of interaction between Soviet historians and the authorities in the era of Stalinism. The book is written in the genre of scientific essay. The transformation of the ideology of Stalinism and the complex of relations between the authorities and the scientific and historical community are the focus of the author’s attention. An attempt to understand how the “historiographic vertical of power” works is clearly a success for V. V. Tikhonov. He posed important and relevant questions of the place and role of historians in historical politics.

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PHJ № 4 (48) 2025 — N. V. Tikhomirov “THE WORK IN THE VILLAGE IS VERY, VERY WEAK”: THE SOVIET PEASANTRY IN THE REPORTS OF STUDENTS OF THE LENINGRAD POLYTECHNIC

Previously unknown to researchers, documents containing information about the life of the Russian countryside in the conditions of Soviet modernization of the first post-revolutionary decade are being introduced into scientific circulation. The publication presents the reports of students of the Leningrad Polytechnic of Railways, prepared by them based on the results of their work in practice in the villages of the North-Western region of Russia in 1924. The records reflect various aspects of everyday life, leisure, economic relations and the mentality of rural inhabitants. These materials help to understand better the general state of the Russian peasant world during this historical period and the problems faced by the leadership of the USSR in implementing the socialist restructuring of the country. The reports reflect the contradictions that have arisen in connection with the introduction of a new taxation system, cooperative construction, the implementation of the ideas of the cultural revolution, and the training of personnel for party and Komsomol work. The publication aims to expand the scientific understanding of the participation of Soviet students in the implementation of Soviet government activities in rural areas. These reports quantitatively and qualitatively complement the existing database of sources used by historians to study the Russian peasantry in the 20th century. Their involvement in research practice will make it possible to strengthen the anthropological component of modern peasant studies and will serve as information support for scientific research in the field of rural everyday life, the everyday thinking of rural inhabitants, and contradictions in the interaction of the city and the countryside. The published materials will also be useful for clarifying the specifics of understanding the problems of rural areas by party and Komsomol activists and their tasks in solving them.

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PHJ № 4 (48) 2025 — Yu. S. Nikiforov. “NOW WE’LL LIVE! BREZHNEV AND KOSYGIN ARE NOT KHRUSHCHEV”: THE DYNAMICS OF REGIONAL POWER IN THE UPPER VOLGA REGIONS ON THE EVE OF AND IN THE FIRST YEARS AFTER THE RESIGNATION OF KHRUSHCHEV

The article employs an analytical approach to examine the personnel changes that occurred in the corps of first secretaries of the regional committees of the Upper Volga regions on the eve of and in the initial years following Khrushchev’s resignation. It is important to note that the division of the regional apparatus of power in 1962 according to the production principle and the appearance of two first secretaries of the regional committee (industrial and rural) significantly affected the dynamics of regional power. It is noteworthy that the primary responsibility for communication with the center was assigned to the “senior secretary”. The material pertaining to the party power of the Upper Volga region discloses the practices of replacing key nomenclature The article employs an analytical approach to examine the personnel changes that occurred in the corps of first secretaries of the regional committees of the Upper Volga regions on the eve of and in the initial years following Khrushchev’s resignation. It is important to note that the division of the regional apparatus of power in 1962 according to the production principle and the appearance of two first secretaries of the regional committee (industrial and rural) significantly affected the dynamics of regional power. It is noteworthy that the primary responsibility for communication with the center was assigned to the “senior secretary”. The material pertaining to the party power of the Upper Volga region discloses the practices of replacing key nomenclature
posts in the regional government during the 1950s and 1960s. These include the transfer of experienced management personnel from region to region, the appointment of an ethnic Russian as a second secretary in the national (union) republics, and the consideration of the region’s production specialisation when appointing a regional leader. The publication presents a study of the personal characteristics of individual party leaders in the Upper Volga regions during the 1950s and 1960s. This study draws conclusions about two possible scenarios that may have occurred in the careers of the first secretaries of the Upper Volga regional committees in the period following Khrushchev’s resignation. The first scenario is the stabilisation of the power status in the region, and the second is the transfer of the first secretaries to Moscow to a higher post in the nomenclature hierarchy. The first option pertained to the case of Ponomarev and Loshchenkov, the respective party leaders of the Vladimir and Yaroslavl regions. The second variant was realised in the careers of the first secretaries of the Ivanovo and Kostroma regional committees — Kapitonov and Florentyev, respectively — who went to the capital for promotion. As was subsequently demonstrated, by the close of the 1960s, an emergent pattern of “regional political longevity” among the first secretaries of the regional committee had come to the fore, The article employs an analytical approach to examine the personnel changes that occurred in the corps of first secretaries of the regional committees of the Upper Volga regions on the eve of and in the initial years following Khrushchev’s resignation. It is important to note that the division of the regional apparatus of power in 1962 according to the production principle and the appearance of two first secretaries of the regional committee (industrial and rural) significantly affected the dynamics of regional power. It is noteworthy that the primary responsibility for communication with the center was assigned to the “senior secretary”. The material pertaining to the party power of the Upper Volga region discloses the practices of replacing key nomenclature posts in the regional government during the 1950s and 1960s. These include the transfer of experienced management personnel from region to region, the appointment of an ethnic Russian as a second secretary in the national (union) republics, and the consideration of the region’s production specialisation when appointing a regional leader. The publication presents a study of the personal characteristics of individual party leaders in the Upper Volga regions during the 1950s and 1960s. This study draws conclusions about two possible scenarios that may have occurred in the careers of the first secretaries of the Upper Volga regional committees in the period following Khrushchev’s resignation. The first scenario is the stabilisation of the power status in the region, and the second is the transfer of the first secretaries to Moscow to a higher post in the nomenclature hierarchy. The first option pertained to the case of Ponomarev and Loshchenkov, the respective party leaders of the Vladimir and Yaroslavl regions. The second variant was realised in the careers of the first secretaries of the Ivanovo and Kostroma regional committees — Kapitonov and Florentyev, respectively — who went to the capital for promotion. As was subsequently demonstrated, by the close of the 1960s, an emergent pattern of “regional political longevity” among the first secretaries of the regional committee had come to the fore, The article employs an analytical approach to examine the personnel changes that occurred in the corps of first secretaries of the regional committees of the Upper Volga regions on the eve of and in the initial years following Khrushchev’s resignation. It is important to note that the division of the regional apparatus of power in 1962 according to the production principle and the appearance of two first secretaries of the regional committee (industrial and rural) significantly affected the dynamics of regional power. It is noteworthy that the primary responsibility for communication with the center was assigned to the “senior secretary”. The material pertaining to the party power of the Upper Volga region discloses the practices of replacing key nomenclature posts in the regional government during the 1950s and 1960s. These include the transfer of experienced management personnel from region to region, the appointment of an ethnic Russian as a second secretary in the national (union) republics, and the consideration of the region’s production specialisation when appointing a regional leader. The publication presents a study of the personal characteristics of individual party leaders in the Upper Volga regions during the 1950s and 1960s. This study draws conclusions about two possible scenarios that may have occurred in the careers of the first secretaries of the Upper Volga regional committees in the period following Khrushchev’s resignation. The first scenario is the stabilisation of the power status in the region, and the second is the transfer of the first secretaries to Moscow to a higher post in the nomenclature hierarchy. The first option pertained to the case of Ponomarev and Loshchenkov, the respective party leaders of the Vladimir and Yaroslavl regions. The second variant was realised in the careers of the first secretaries of the Ivanovo and Kostroma regional committees — Kapitonov and Florentyev, respectively — who went to the capital for promotion. As was subsequently demonstrated, by the close of the 1960s, an emergent pattern of “regional political longevity” among the first secretaries of the regional committee had come to the fore, a phenomenon that can be attributed to the policy of “trust in personnel” espoused by Brezhnev. Following Khrushchev’s resignation, the center permitted the replacement of the post of first secretary of the regional committee with a representative of the local party organisation. This trend was manifestly evident in the Ivanovo region. a phenomenon that can be attributed to the policy of “trust in personnel” espoused by Brezhnev. Following Khrushchev’s resignation, the center permitted the replacement of the post of first secretary of the regional committee with a representative of the local party organisation. This trend was manifestly evident in the Ivanovo region. a phenomenon that can be attributed to the policy of “trust in personnel” espoused by Brezhnev. Following Khrushchev’s resignation, the center permitted the replacement of the post of first secretary of the regional committee with a representative of the local party organisation. This trend was manifestly evident in the Ivanovo region. posts in the regional government during the 1950s and 1960s. These include the transfer of experienced management personnel from region to region, the appointment of an ethnic Russian as a second secretary in the national (union) republics, and the consideration of the region’s production specialisation when appointing a regional leader. The publication presents a study of the personal characteristics of individual party leaders in the Upper Volga regions during the 1950s and 1960s. This study draws conclusions about two possible scenarios that may have occurred in the careers of the first secretaries of the Upper Volga regional committees in the period following Khrushchev’s resignation. The first scenario is the stabilisation of the power status in the region, and the second is the transfer of the first secretaries to Moscow to a higher post in the nomenclature hierarchy. The first option pertained to the case of Ponomarev and Loshchenkov, the respective party leaders of the Vladimir and Yaroslavl regions. The second variant was realised in the careers of the first secretaries of the Ivanovo and Kostroma regional committees — Kapitonov and Florentyev, respectively — who went to the capital for promotion. As was subsequently demonstrated, by the close of the 1960s, an emergent pattern of “regional political longevity” among the first secretaries of the regional committee had come to the fore, a phenomenon that can be attributed to the policy of “trust in personnel” espoused by Brezhnev. Following Khrushchev’s resignation, the center permitted the replacement of the post of first secretary of the regional committee with a representative of the local party organisation. This trend was manifestly evident in the Ivanovo region.

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PHJ № 4 (48) 2025 — K. A. Boldovskii. THE RECONSTRUCTION OF LENINGRAD DURING THE YEARS OF THE SIEGE — THE PRACTICE OF LABOR MOBILIZATIONS

The author conducts an analysis of the process of labour mobilisations of the Leningrad population during the Siege, with a view to restoring urban infrastructure and the economy. The population was engaged in activities contributing to the urban economy, thereby playing a pivotal role in ensuring the uninterrupted functioning of the Leningrad life support system during the Siege. The city’s leadership initiated the organisation of labour mobilisations at the onset of the war. The bureau of the City Party Committee, the Leningrad City Executive Committee and the Military Council of the Leningrad Front constituted the primary mobilisation management bodies. The resolution of the Leningrad City Executive Committee, adopted on June 27, 1941, defined the main categories of citizens who could be called up for labour mobilisation. The length of working hours and responsibility for evading labor mobilization were also determined. The administration of enterprises and institutions mobilised working residents of the city, while the management of educational institutions mobilised students. Household administrations at the place of residence mobilised non-working residents. During the initial phase of the war, extending until the spring of 1942, the majority of mobilised individuals were engaged in construction activities, including the erection of defensive structures, the execution of loading and unloading operations, the construction of bomb shelters, the remediation of the consequences of artillery shelling and bombing, the harvesting of firewood, and other associated tasks. In the initial period, there was a paucity of a clearly defined plan for mobilising the working population. By the onset of spring 1942, a functional management system for labour mobilisations had been formulated. This enabled the project to be expanded on a wide scale in 1942–1943.The most extensive measures involving the mobilisation of labour were implemented in the spring of 1942 (for the purpose of cleaning the city) and in the winter of 1942–1943 (for the purpose of clearing snow from the city and railway communications). Commencing in the autumn of 1943, the municipal administration established the primary objective of its operations as the organisation of work on the construction project. For its implementation, both mass labor mobilizations and mobilizations of certain categories of workers were widely used.

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PHJ № 3 (47) 2025 — A. N. Chistikov. ORDERS OF THE FILM REPERTOIRE CONTROL DEPARTMENT AS A HISTORICAL SOURCE

The article is devoted to the analysis of the orders of the Department for the Control of film Repertoire of the Main Directorate of Cinematography and Film Distribution as a historical source. These materials have not yet been subjected to a source assessment. The orders for 1954–1955 are used for the study. In the history of the country, these were the first years of the activity of the new political leadership, which led to noticeable changes in the domestic and foreign policy of the state. In the history of cinema, the period of low-quality has come to an end. The orders included an assessment of the movies’ readiness for rental or for continued display. According to the results of such an examination, they were divided into four groups: 1) allow, 2) extend, 3) remove, and 4) make corrections. The analysis of the orders leads the author to the conclusion that their use by historians will contribute to a more in-depth study of the history of Soviet cinema and film distribution, as well as state policy in the field of leisure. In some cases, orders can be considered as one of the tools for recording changes in the domestic and foreign policy of the Soviet country in the mid‑1950s and forming a new public opinion of Soviet viewers.

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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.