Editorial Policies

Aims and Scope

Modern and Contemporary History is a leading Russian historical periodical devoted to the examination of modern and contemporary history, the development of historical methodology, the analysis of historical sources, and the historiography of world history. Additionally, the journal addresses the history of international relations and foreign policy. The Journal brings together professional historians from across the globe who are engaged in the study of world history. It serves to introduce readers to the most recent developments in both Russian and international historical scholarship, and to inform them of significant events in the field of historical research. Its contents encompass the issues pertaining to international political, economic, and social history, the theoretical and methodological tenets of historical science, the history of international relations, and the principles of historiography. Considerable attention is paid to the publication of historical sources, including original archival documents and memoirs), coverage of events and developments in academic life, and scholarly criticism.

The Journal's mission is to inform its readers of significant academic events in Russia and internationally, introduce them to the most recent and up-to-date research in Russian and international historical science, and provide professional historians from around the globe with a forum for the free exchange and rigorous discussion of findings, ideas, and concepts. It encourages historians to adopt multidisciplinary and interdisciplinary approaches and methods in their research.

 
 

Peer Review Process

All articles submitted to the editorial board of the “Modern and Contemporary History” undergo a mandatory double-blind reviewing (the reviewer does not know the author of the manuscript, the author of the manuscript do not know the reviewer).

The articles are reviewed through the online review module built into the web site of the “Modern and Contemporary History”. Reviewing of articles is carried out by members of the editorial board, as well as non-member reviewers — leading experts in the relevant fields. The decision on the selection of a reviewer is made by editor-in-chief, deputy editor-in-chief or publishing editor. In case of a conflict of interest a reviewer has the right to refuse for the examination of the article.

The Journal systematically, and without exceptions, runs all submitted papers through plagiarism-detection software (“Antiplagiat”, https://www.antiplagiat.ru/en) to identify possible cases of plagiarism. Should the “red line” (>25%) be crossed, the article is to be withdrawn from publication.

The review period is 2—4 weeks, but it can be extended at the reviewer’s request. As a result, the reviewer makes recommendations:

  • the article is recommended for publication as currently presented
  • the article is recommended for publication after correction of flaws noted by the reviewer
  • the article needs additional review by another specialist
  • the article cannot be published in the journal

If the review contains recommendations for correcting and reworking the article, the editorial board sends the text of the review to the author with a proposal to take them into account in the preparation of a new version of the article or to argue them (partially or completely). The reworked article should be sent for review again.

The reworking of the article should not take more than 2 months from the moment of sending to the author about the need to make changes. After this time, the author is notified of the removal of the manuscript from the consideration. If the author refuses to correct the article, he or she should inform the editorial board about it in written form.

Articles not recommended for publication are not accepted for reconsideration.

The existence of a positive review is not a sufficient basis for the publication of the article. The final decision on publication is taken by the editorial board. In any conflict situations, the decision is made by the editor-in-chief.

After the editorial board accepts the decision to admit the article for publication, the editorial office informs the author about it and indicates the time frame within which the article may be published. For author, the publication of articles in the journal is free of charge.

In the case of reviewing through the online review module, the original reviews are kept for an unlimited period of time and are always available to members of the editorial board. In case of traditional reviewing, the originals are kept in the editorial office of the journal for 5 years. In case of corresponding request, the editorial board also send a copy of the review to the Ministry of Education and Science of the Russian Federation.

 

Publication Frequency

Periodicity: 6 issues a year.

 

Indexing

The Journal is included in the List of leading peer-reviewed scientific journals and publications recommended by the Higher Attestation Commission for the publication of doctoral theses.

07.00.00 - Historical Sciences and Archeology;

07.00.03 – World History;

07.00.09 – Historiography, Source Study and Methods of Historical Research;

07.00.10 – History of Science and Technology;

07.00.15 – History of International Relations and Foreign Policy,

The journal are indexed by Scopus, the Russian Scientific Citations Index and RSCI Web of Science.

 

Publishing Ethics

As a leading historical journal, ‘Modern and Contemporary History’ is committed to maintaining the highest standards of publication ethics. We adheres to the COPE Code of Conduct for Journal Publishers (http://publicationethics.org/). The phrase ‘publication ethics’ in this case refers to a set of ethical standards that are mandatory for the editorial staff, reviewers and authors of the journal. Allegations of misconduct will be investigated in accordance with the COPE Best Practice Guidelines as far as is practicable

Fair editing and peer review

All participants in the publishing process ought to adhere to established principles of ethical publishing. This extends from authors to journal editors, reviewers, journal administrators, and publishing staff.

Authorship

 «Modern and Contemporary History» expects all published articles to contain clear and accurate attribution of authorship. It is the responsibility of the author to ensure that all authors that contributed to the work are fairly acknowledged and that the published author list accurately reflects individual contributions. Our Journal considers all forms of ‘guest’ or ‘gift’ authorship, i.e. the practice of naming an individual that made little or no contribution to a study as an author on an article, to be unethical and takes a firm stance against it.

Authors submitting their manuscripts for review and publication in our journal are expected to observe the following principles:

  • The author bears responsibility for the quality of his/her work, the reliability of the research results, and the originality of the research’s conclusions.
  • Avoid falsification of sources.
  • The author ought to notify the Editorial Office of any defects or significant errors found in his/her text at any stage of the publication process (e.g. immediately after submission, during the review process, or after publication).

 «Modern and Contemporary History» evaluates submissions on the understanding that they have not been previously published in or simultaneously submitted to another journal. All allegations of redundant publication are to be investigated thoroughly and in accordance with COPE guidelines.

 «Modern and Contemporary History» evaluates submissions on the understanding that they are the original work of the author(s). We expect that references made in a manuscript or article to another person’s work or idea will be credited appropriately. Equally we expect authors to gain all appropriate permissions prior to publication.

Re-use of text, data, figures, or images without appropriate acknowledgment or permission is considered plagiarism, as is the paraphrasing of text, concepts, and ideas. All allegations of plagiarism are investigated thoroughly and in accordance with COPE guidelines. Our Journal systematically, and without exceptions, run all submitted papers through plagiarism-detection software (‘Antiplagiat’, https://www.antiplagiat.ru/en) to identify possible cases of plagiarism.

In proven cases of misconduct, submitted papers will be suspended at any stage of the review process. If plagiarism is detected after the publication of the article, a message about it is placed in the next issue of the Journal. The Editorial Office will apologize to the readers and the author of the original work and terminate any further cooperation with the plagiariser.

Editors

The decision to publish or reject a manuscript is made on the basis of an unbiased analysis of the manuscript, based on the reliability of the analyzed data and the significance of the submitted research. Authors may not be discriminated against because of their gender, race, nationality, religious or political preferences. The decision to publish or reject a manuscript is not influenced by business or political interests. Editorial staff treat authors impartially and respectfully.

The copyrights and intellectual property rights of every author submitting his/her manuscript for review and publication to our Journal are strictly observed. The Editorial Office strictly observes its confidentiality rule: it does not inform third parties about either the progress of undergoing reviews or the results of the concluded ones. Unpublished manuscripts are not transferred to third parties without the written consent of the author.

Before assigning reviewers to a manuscript the Editorial Office does its best to ensure that there is no potential conflict of interest between the author and potential reviewers. The reviewer must not be a relative or co-author of the author of a manuscript.

In cases when, before or after the publication of the article, there emerge any legal or ethical issues regarding the content of the research, the Editorial Office considers them carefully and, if need be, assigns additional reviews and/or conducts other legal actions. The final decision on every issues of this nature is made by the Editorial Board. The Editorial Board and Editorial Office strive to ensure that all necessary measures are taken to restore violated rights.

Editors have full editorial independence. The Administration of «Modern and Contemporary History» will never knowingly exert pressure on editors to accept manuscripts for commercial or political reasons. Our Journal have clearly defined processes and policies for the handling of contributions by the members of both the Editorial Office and Editorial Board to ensure that these submissions receive an equivalent level of peer review to any other submission.

Referees

 «Modern and Contemporary History» supports and refers its reviewers to the COPE Ethical Guidelines for Peer Reviewers. Our Journal operates a double-blind peer review process.

The reviewers must be unbiased. The reviewer must have sufficient qualifications to review manuscripts.

The reviewers must strictly observes the Editorial Office’s confidentiality rule: they do not inform third parties about either the progress of undergoing reviews or the results of the concluded ones.

Reviewers are expected to give an objective and reasoned assessment of the submitted manuscripts. They are expected to avoid any personal criticism of the authors.

Reviewers must not appropriate ideas from the manuscripts they handled for our Journal. Any allegation of misconduct will be thoroughly investigated in accordance with the relevant COPE guidelines.

Where a reviewer declares potential conflict of interest the editor should select alternative reviewers. Failure to declare conflict of interest may result in removal of the reviewer from the journal database.

 

Publication Fee

The journal Modern and Contemporary History charges no publication fees.