Vol 10, No 3 (2021)

The paper analyzes innovative models of the educational process organization based on distance technologies with the ICT application services, their features and didactic value. It’s about the main models of blended learning technology: station rotation, flipped classroom, lab rotation, individual rotation. The implementation of each model helps to achieve certain goals: differentiation and individualization of the educational process, development of students’ skills for individual work and self-organization, a more rational distribution of educational time in the classroom, ensuring the flexibility of the educational process, etc. The analysis of publications on this topic showed that researchers are interested in a wide range of issues related to the implementation of blended learning models at the lessons by different disciplines, such as: the usage of various tools, the analysis of models effectiveness, the usage of electronic resources, students’ motivation and evaluation, the role of the teacher, etc. However, little attention is paid to the organization of reflection. The paper analyzes the role of reflection in the learning process and its place at the lessons based on the models of flipped classroom and station rotation. The authors also give examples of methods and tools for organizing reflection at the lessons of humanities.

The paper presents a comparative analysis of the motives of students’ educational activities in the field of general professional training and in the study of a university mathematics course. The methodology of A.A. Rean and V.A. Yakunin considered in the work, containing sixteen motives, was used to study the opinion of cadets in its classical version in relation to the entire training at the chosen university, and the same motives were suggested for the cadets to consider in relation to the study of the course of higher mathematics. Mathematics plays an important role in the training of technical professionals; it is a basic discipline that ensures the success of training in general engineering and special disciplines. At the same time, mathematics studied at school differs significantly from mathematics taught at a university, the amount of mathematical information offered is much larger, the content level of the concepts introduced is much more complex. Cadets at civil aviation university who have started studying mathematics at the university have a definite opinion by the end of the first semester. The results of cadets’ opinions analyses may allow the teacher to have an adequate idea of the motives of cadets’ educational activities in relation to obtaining mathematical knowledge. The priority motives obtained are discussed from the standpoint of solving pedagogical problems of teaching mathematics.

The paper considers the concept of «professional formation» and its projection on the professional training and professional activity of the prospective teacher through the concepts of «formation» and «development». As a result of the analysis of existing views on the phases, stages and periods of professional formation, the main ones were identified, which are due to the time frame – the period before choosing the institution where professional training will be carried out, the actual professional education and the period of it. Having analyzed the set of competencies (subject, general pedagogical, professional-communicative, managerial, innovative, reflective) provided by the Federal State Educational Standard in relation to the teacher’s profession, as well as referring to the models of Hard-skills and Soft-skills, we identified indicators (skills) of the professional development of the prospective teacher and invited the 3rd-year students of the Institute of Russian Language and Literature of the Volgograd State Socio-Pedagogical University to evaluate these skills in the order of their significance. The assessment was carried out on a 5-point scale, where 1 point is an absolutely insignificant indicator, 2 – rather insignificant, 3 – rather significant, 4 – significant, 5 – very significant. As a result, we were able to build their gradation and divide them by areas, as well as allocate 3 levels in the process of professional development. Taking into account these levels, we considered how the educational environment can influence the professional development of future teachers through educational, extracurricular activities and through the environment.

The paper substantiates the importance of educating personal qualities of an employee of the penal system (PS) that meet universal and professional moral standards and outlines the role of a departmental university in educating a cadet’s personality. It is argued that the educational environment of a departmental university is one of the central means of shaping and developing a cadet’s personality – a prospective PS employee as a person and a professional. The analysis of the concept «environment» in the context of different levels of education (school, university) is carried out. The paper summarizes scientific ideas about the educational environment of the departmental university, which is a set of circumstances, conditions specific to the departmental higher education institution, which affect the cadet, contributing to the formation of his personality as a prospective specialist. The list of organizational and pedagogical conditions for development of the educational environment of a departmental higher educational institution in relation to the educational environment of higher educational institutions of the Federal Penitentiary Service of Russia is supplemented – filling the educational environment with values that, penetrating into the value sphere of cadets’ consciousness and becoming its integral part, create a value barrier that cannot be overcome by the anti-values of the criminal world. Approaches to formation, development, formation of the educational environment of a departmental university are indicated: molecular, factorial, synergetic, competence, culturological, axiological, ethnopedagogical, individually creative, dialogical, which are complemented by an environmental approach. The importance of the environmental approach in organizing the educational environment of a departmental university is substantiated. The content of the basic concepts of the environmental approach is revealed: niche; element; lifestyle; personality as an object and a subject of education; environment-forming action. The specificity of the implementation of the environmental approach to the organization of the educational environment of the departmental higher educational institution of the Federal Penitentiary Service of Russia is revealed.

Currently, some previously recognized ideas are being re-evaluated in biological education, which confirms the need to improve and further develop the methodology for studying and teaching the theory of evolution. Relevant in this regard are the selection of the content and the development of a methodology for studying Darwin’s theory of natural selection in the school biology course, which determined the purpose of the study. The purpose of the paper is to develop a methodology for studying some issues of Darwin’s theory of natural selection in the school biology course. The paper offers a variant of the program and a method for studying the most complex issues of the topic. Natural selection, which manifests itself as a consequence of the struggle for existence, should be described by formulating a definition, describing the mechanism and results of action. The study of natural selection should be accompanied by evidence of its leading role in evolution. Describing the struggle for existence as a factor of evolution, it is necessary to emphasize its ecological essence. The results of the action of natural selection should be described taking into account their cause-and-effect relationships, accompanying this with examples, using various manuals and tasks and carrying out practical work. The description of the methodology for studying the issues of the topic is of theoretical significance, and the given methodological recommendations for studying the prerequisites for the emergence of Darwinism, the doctrine of the variability of organisms, the struggle for existence, natural selection and other issues are of practical importance and will ensure a successful assimilation of this complex material by students.

The paper is devoted to the role of the state educational policy within the course of the Russian civil identity formation. The focus of the study is on the evolution of the aims of the authorities in matters of the historical education and historical memory, their norm-legal regulation and institutional support, as well as real educational practices. The introduction of the historical and cultural standard for teaching the school course of the history is considered as a collective attempt by the authorities and society to lead historical and educational policies to a common denominator in terms of the content and value. A special accent in the paper concerns the problems of the teacher professional training for the implementation of the state historical and educational policy of the Russian Federation within given framework, considering the specifics of the contemporary informational space. It attracts attention to the close ties between information wars and historical policy, in the context of the attempts to reconsider the results of the Second World War especially, keeping in mind its effects for the transformation of the civil identity and the changes of position the Russian Federation held on the international arena. Both methodological and organizational restrictions were identified in secondary and higher schools, which have a significant impact on the formation of civil identity through historical education, both at the stage of training pedagogical personnel and in the process of studying the school course of the history.

The paper actualizes the problem of a person’s formation as a moral person with virtues. The directions of moral education, contributing to the formation of a moral personality, are indicated, and the need to highlight the formation of the experience of moral interaction with other people among university students as an aspect of moral education is argued. It is substantiated that the experience of moral interaction of students with other people is the result of the implementation of a special type of relationship in which moral values are actualized, taking the form of motives of actions and actions of students in relation to other people, which in such an experience reflecting moral practice as a set of real actions of a student, the world of morality and its inherent values is being realized. The methodological grounds for identifying the structure of the experience of moral interaction of students with other people are revealed: scientific provisions on the reflection in the fundamental structure of experience of the fundamental structure of the world; scientific provisions on individual morality, mediating the relationship between external factors that determine the behavior of a person and its internal (social, moral) meaning. The structural components of the experience of moral interaction of students with other people are highlighted: cognitive, motivational-value, communicative and behavioral components and the possibilities of identifying these components are argued. It is substantiated that the allocation of the cognitive component is based on the idea of the correspondence of behavior to knowledge; the allocation of a motivational-value component – on the position of the guiding role in human activity of motives, the form of which values take; highlighting the communicative component – on the interpretation of communication as one of the types of interaction that has a moral component; the allocation of the behavioral component – on the provisions of moral practice.

The influence of extracurricular educational activities at the university on prospective teachers’ professional identity development has been grounded on the basis of literature on psychology and education analysis, as the influence reflects the professional identity related to axiological definition of life in profession and a semantic system uniting determination of oneself and one’s profession. The authors define «professional identity», «teacher’s professional identity», a complex of methods evaluating student’s professional identity development dynamics, and clarify the scientific concept of «extracurricular educational activities at the teacher training university». In this work it is understood as an interaction of teachers and students outside the learning process aimed at student’s personality formation as a subject of prospective professional teacher’s work, professional identity, self-perfection, self-education and self-development. Extracurricular educational activities at the teacher training university are regarded by the authors as a part of prospective teachers’ education and professional training. The empirical studies of the professional identity carried out by the authors reflect the role and place of extracurricular educational activities at the teacher training university, as well as their forms and methods for the development of the researched object. Forms, methods and ways of extracurricular educational activities at the teacher training university promoting prospective teacher’s professional identity development were identified and verified experimentally. The recent study makes it possible to assume that the prospective teacher’s professional identity results from extracurricular educational activities at the university.

The dominant direction in the development of online education, actively discussed by the pedagogical community, is training using massive open online courses (MOOCs). The key factor in the effectiveness of the implementation of MOOCs in the practice of educational organizations is primarily the availability of elite education. In modern conditions, which determine the priority of lifelong education (lifelong learning), it is particularly relevant to form schoolchildren’s readiness for self-education, which can be facilitated by training on MOOC platforms. The broad discussion of MOOC implementation in educational practice is more concerned with university education, additional education and the system of advanced training. The use of MOOCs in school education in the publications of teachers-researchers is not considered fully enough and is mostly related to natural sciences. The paper analyzes the MOOC on the example of humanities and the features of the implementation of mixed learning models («inverted learning», «autonomous group», «individual trajectory») based on the use of online courses. This analysis suggests that there should be a need for more in-depth research in this area and the need to introduce elements of learning into school practice through massive open online courses. This will resolve the contradiction between the need for differentiation and individualization of training and the potential of existing unused massive open online courses.

The paper considers the features of development and practical use of an electronic foreign language textbook at the technical university. This study is dictated by the need to resolve contradictions between the provisions declared by the higher education standards of the latest generation and the real level of students’ knowledge of a foreign language. The authors analyze and systematize the requirements for printed and electronic foreign language textbooks. Attention is paid to the advantages of electronic publications over printed ones. The key advantage of the electronic textbook is the presence of hypertext, which makes it possible to implement a nonlinear form of information organization. The paper formulates basic principles of an electronic textbook development, describes its structure and components and highlights the issues of filling the content with language material. The authors proposed the options for tasks aimed at stimulating students’ communicative and cognitive activity. It is shown that podcasts can be used as multimedia resources to intensify the development of students’ listening skills. It is emphasized that the availability of special programs for creating electronic textbooks allows the teacher to carry out its development without any special training in the field of programming. As a result of the analysis, the authors come to the conclusion about a high linguodidactic potential of the electronic textbook as a teaching tool.

Fruits and berries previously perceived as a pleasant addition to the main human meal are considered today as a leading component of a healthy diet, a source of various vitamins, minerals, biologically active secondary plant metabolites, which are components of functional food products. Until now, the per capita consumption of fresh fruits by the population of our country remains insufficient, the predominance of imported fruits in the diet has not stopped. In the Samara Region private gardens rather than industrial orchards (for which the unambiguous predominance of the apple tree is inherent) remain the main producers of fruits (cherries, plums, apricots, etc.) and raspberries. Further development of regional fruit growing in the Samara Region has undoubted prospects. In the presence of weather features that negatively affect the development of fruit crops, the climate of the region is characterized by a sufficient level of heat supply, localities suitable for fruit crops cultivation are presented in its soil cover, and their assortment recommended for the Middle Volga region is quite diverse and continues to expand. The authors of the paper using materials from foreign scientific publications demonstrated examples of the analysis of processes used in modern literature that combines ecological and economic approaches in relation to agroecosystems activities (ecological footprint EF, carbon footprint CF and water footprint WF). The use of approaches to assessing the water and carbon footprint of agroecosystems, which have not yet become widespread among specialists in our country, opens up prospects for analyzing the existing conditions and developing a strategy for ecological and economic extension of regional fruit growing.

In 2019–2020, as a part of the ecological and ornithological survey in Kyzyl airport and the aerodrome area, the birds of the municipal solid waste landfill located near the runway were studied in order to assess the impact of the landfill on the safety of aircraft flights. The observations carried out during the year revealed the species composition of the avifauna of the polygon, the background species of the polygon, and the annual population dynamics of each species. The black kite Milvus migrans Bodd., the mongolian gull Larus vegae mongolicus Sushk., the oriental carrion crow Corvus corone Eversm., and the common raven Corvus corax L. were classified as the most numerous aircraft-hazardous species of the landfill. daurian partridge Perdix dauurica Pall., Eurasian tree sparrow Passer montanus L. and house sparrow P. domesticus L., common starling Sturnus vulgaris L. and some other species of Passeriformes were also included in the background. Two periods of the maximum total number of birds at the landfill were identified: winter (January, February) and late summer (August). According to the conducted records of the number and characteristics of behavior the black kite is the greatest danger to flights; the most dangerous period is the end of August, when this species forms pre-flight clusters on the landfill. Such clusters can be up to 1500 birds in size. In the cold season, the most dangerous species are the common raven and the oriental carrion crow.

Species distribution is undergoing rapid changes in the face of habitat modification and climate change. This leads to concerns about the conservation of declining species and raises ecological questions about the processes that govern species ranges and niches. As a consequence, the predictive distribution models which match species records to patterns in abiotic environmental variables have become an established tool in ecology and conservation. Maximum entropy spatial distribution modelling (MaxEnt) solves this problem by inferring species distributions and environmental tolerance based on the occurrence data. The objectives of this research were the ecological niche and running the habitat suitability modelling on dung fungal species Cyathus stercoreus based on its bioclimatic and substrate features within Asia. We constructed a map of the current geographical distribution of the dung fungus Cyathus stercoreus using MaxEnt method. We included in the model 19 WorldClim bioclimatic variables with the corresponding altitude data, and seven spatially well-dispersed species occurrence records. Despite its narrow substrate specialization, Cyathus stercoreus is climatically quite plastic and is able to develop in a wide range of variations in mean annual temperatures and mean annual precipitation, which follows from the analysis of a two-dimensional niche based on two climatic variables using the Envelope method. Modeling the distribution of basidiomycete dung fungi using the Cyathus stercoreus as an example showed that the area of their potential distribution with a zone of favorable climate is very large. Most of the zone with a favorable climate is located in the area with the probability of the presence of species up to 70%. Cyathus stercoreus is not associated with any particular habitat type. On the territory of Russia, in the south of Siberia, the species is located on the northern border of its range in the area with the least favorable bioclimatic environmental factors.

The genus Alchemilla L. is represented by a significant number of apomictic species. This paper deals with the microspecies aggregations among Alchemilla coenopopulations from 5 nature districts on the territory of Mari El Republic. Alchemilla coenopopulations grow in meadow and forest margin communities, in disturbed habitats, while they have close estimates according to the ecological scales of L.G. Ramensky and D.N. Tsyganov. 25 Alchemilla microspecies have been identified. The number of generative rosette shoots on 1 m² area for different microspecies within the coenopopulation varies extremely widely. There are from 3 to 14 microspecies in coenopopulations, one or two from them clearly dominant in number. Dominant microspecies are: A. acutiloba Opiz, A. hirsuticaulis H. Lindb., A. micans Buser, A. monticola Opiz, A. schistophylla Juz., A. subcrenata Buser, A. substrigosa Juz. There is A. micans in all coenopopulations, A. acutiloba, A. glabricaulis H. Lindb., A. monticola, A. sarmatica Juz. and A. subcrenata often occur. Microspecies A. breviloba H. Lindb., A. dasycrater Juz., A. devestiens Juz., A. filicaulis Buser, A. heptagona Juz., A. leiophylla Juz., A. lindbergiana Juz., A. plicata Buser, A. semilunaris Alechin are represented by single generative rosette shoots.

An overview of the entomofauna of scarabaeoidea beetles in the Republic of Tatarstan is given according to the data of long-term observations in the Verkhneuslonsky, Kamsko-Ustinsky, Mamadyshsky, Eelabugsky, Tukaevsky, Nizhnekamsky, Cheremshansky districts. The location of the republic on the territory of the southern taiga and forest-steppe zones determines the diversity of the species composition of the scarabaeoidea beetles. In total, from 1993 to 2021 the author identified 63 species, belonging to 19 tribes, 13 subfamilies and 4 families. Of these, 7 species are included in the Red Data Book of the Republic of Tatarstan: Lucanus cervus (Linnaeus, 1758), Dorcus parallelipipedus (Linnaeus, 1758), Ceruchus chrysomelinus (Hochenwarth, 1785), Trypocopris vernalis (Linnaeus, 1758), Polyphylla fullo (Linnaeus, 1758), Protaetia speciosissima (Scopoli, 1786), Osmoderma barnabita Motschulsky, 1845. From this list, 5 species are included in the Red Data Book of the Russian Federation: Lucanus cervus (Linnaeus, 1758), Ceruchus chrysomelinus (Hochenwarth, 1785), Trypocopris vernalis (Linnaeus, 1785), Protaetia speciosissima (Scopoli, 1786), Osmoderma barnabita Motschulsky, 1845. The list of some taxa is far from complete, some of them require a special study of faunism. The list of species is not exhaustive, especially for Subfamily Aphodiinae, which requires special research to complete. Protaetia fieberi (Kraatz, 1880) may be found in the Republic of Tatarstan with a high probability, this species is indicated for the neighboring Chuvash Republic and the Udmurt Republic. Previously, the author indicated this species as Potosia incerta in the 1990s, identified in the Verkhneuslonsky District, therefore, it is necessary to confirm the presence of the species on the territory of the republic at the present time.

The halophytic vegetation of three salt marshes of the Maloserdobinsky district of the Penza Region was studied. 424 species of vascular plants were noted in the flora of these saline areas. One species of these is protected at the level of Russian Federation and 22 – at the regional level. Halophytic vegetation occupies 78,4% of the territory of the studied areas. Moreover, there are close shares of halophytic steppes (42,4%) and halophytic meadows (36%) everywhere. However, halophytic steppes predominate in Chunak solontsovaya Polyana (69,4%), and halophytic meadows predominate in Danilovskaya solontsovaya Polyana (39,4%) and Korzovaya Hollow (60,0%). Semi-shrubby halophytic steppes dominate the Chunak solontsovaya Polyana (43%), and perennial grass halophytic meadows dominate the Danilovskaya solontsovaya Polyana (39,4%) and Korzovaya Hollow (55,0%). The main stages of halophyte vegetation demutation are highlighted. They differ depending on the degree of moisture and salinity of the soil. The studied saline areas in the Maloserdobinsky district of the Penza Region have great scientific value, but only one of them (natural monument «Danilovskaya solontsovaya Polyana») is currently protected. Solonets which is located 2 km from the village Chunaki is also recommended to become a natural monument called «Chunak solontsovaya Polyana».

The paper deals with the biological features of the East Asian species of the genus Cotoneaster Medik. when introduced in the Komi Republic. The features of vegetation, the dynamics of shoot growth, as well as the specificity of growth processes in the North, the degree of winter hardiness of introduced species, flowering and fruiting of plants of three species of this genus have been studied. Long-term observations have established that the studied plants have a long seasonal rhythm of development, they are characterized by late terms of the end of the growing season. Some species in summer, due to their high ability to regenerate shoots, quickly restore the crown, which allows them to enter the flowering and fruiting phases annually under conditions of introduction. Of the seven species, three have entered the generation period, and only two differ in the regular fruit formation. Plants of C. allochrous, C. bullatus, C. roseus, and C. amoenus differ in the late start and late end of the growing season, which affect their winter hardiness. C. dammeri, C. horizontalis and C. ascendens are recommended as the most promising plants for growing in the northern region with an early start and late end of the growing season. The decorativeness of the studied dendrointroducents, which persists during the growing season, is noted.

The paper presents the results of a comprehensive analysis of the species composition of Cheboksary. The analysis of the dendroflora of the urban environment was carried out according to 3 indicators: the territory of woody plants, the occurrence of woody plant species in landscaping, the structure of the landscaping system. The arboreal vegetation of Cheboksary is represented by 73 species belonging to 43 genera and 20 families. The predominant part of the dendroflora is represented by the covered-seeded plants (86,3%), the gymnosperms – 13,7%. In the dendroflora of green areas of the city, the most widely represented families are Rosaceae, Pinaceae, Salicaceae (48%). The analysis of the species composition of woody plants showed that in the functional and economic zones of Cheboksary plantings of general use are represented by 65 species, plantings of limited use – 52 species, plantings along the streets and main roads – 50 species. The analysis of the species composition of woody plants depending on the share of their participation in landscaping revealed that the greatest number of woody plants is used with low (51 species) and medium (50 species) share. The analysis of the degree of participation of woody plants in landscaping in the four identified functional and economic zones of Cheboksary found that the greatest number of taxa prevail with an average participation in the central zone (37 species), the coastal and suburban zones (36 species). The largest number of species of woody plants grow in the green areas of the central functional and economic zone, where the landscaping involved 66 species, the smallest number grow in the green areas of the industrial area (36 species).

The paper describes the habitats of Vallisneria spiralis L., Impatiens glandulifera Royle, Pistia stratiotes L. discovered in recent years within the Samara Region. A brief review of the papers devoted to the migration activity of these plant species on the territory of the Russian Federation and the Volga basin is given. Impatiens glandulifera Royle is an annual hygrophyte. In the flora of the Samara Region it was first noted among local coastal plants in 2004 on one of the ponds of Samara on Mirnaya Street. The plant entered the reservoir from the adjacent garden plots of the private sector. Pistia stratiotes L. is an aquatic plant. In the flora of the Samara Region, a pistia was first found on September 17, 2006 in a city pond (near School № 154 of Samara) among thickets of Elodea canadensis Michx. and Typha latifolia L. growing at a depth of up to 50 cm. Vallisneria spiralis L. was first discovered within the Samara Region in September 2020. Long-term monitoring of the distribution of coastal-aquatic and aquatic macrophytes-migrants in the Middle Volga basin will allow us to more confidently attribute them to possible indicators of global and local climate warming and one of the examples when aquatic plant species move from south to north within the Volga basin.

Birds differ from larger representatives, for example: mammals from the point of studying the class of birds. The following things are considered: data on hair dryers of coloring, patterns of feather cover, structure and coloring of the beak, flapping of the legs. Representatives of the class of birds, in particular synanthropic blue pigeons, have signs: features of trophic behavior and polymorphism. The paper describes distribution and main morphs of blue pigeons on the territory of Orenburg. The blue pigeon (Columba livia) is one of the most widespread ancient representatives, which is prone to migrations and has an extensive habitat around the world, and in urban conditions is one of the most frequently observed objects. Pigeons on the territory of Orenburg are represented by different morphs: white, black, black-stamped, brown and blue. On the territory of the Central District, during two periods, 1650 individuals of birds (1040 in spring, 610 in autumn) of different color morphs were identified, with a large predominance of black-stamped and brown. During the spring period the maximum number of birds and morphemes was high and during the autumn period the population decreased in number, as well as the ratio of the number of color morphemes. The observations were carried out in the Central District of Orenburg on three streets: March 8th, Tereshkova, Pobedy Avenue. 35 morphemes were identified in the Central District: 21 in spring and 14 in autumn. Spring morphemes in groupings, as well as their increase, were explained by combinative variability (that is due to increased reproduction in the spring period) and manifestation of recessive traits in the phenotypes of plumage coloring. Autumn morphemes were few in number; as a result, the loss is explained by a weak stability of certain color morphemes to environmental factors.

The paper publishes the results of a study of complex B of Pezmogty 3 site. The author has studied traces and remains of a depressed small dwelling with an excavation area of 81 m². The spatial distribution of artefacts, faunal remains and their association with deposits of different genesis have been analysed. It is defined that the studied structure was rounded in the plan, 3,0–3,5 m in diameter, 7–9,5 m² in area, and, probably, a cone-shaped roof. The assemblage contains stone objects, fragments of ceramic ware and indeterminable items, fragments of calcified bones. The morphology of the flint arrowheads; the signs of secondary bifacial thinning technology; the ceramic pots, made of clay with an admixture of silt and decorated with a comb-pit ornament, allow us to attribute these materials to the Lyalovo culture in the European North-East and date them to the first half of the V millennium B.C. Until now, the most informative data for the study of this culture in north-eastern Europe were the remains of medium and large dwellings with an area of 26 to 100 m², so the published materials expand our understanding of the way of life and house-building traditions of the Middle Neolithic people of this region.

The paper is devoted to the introduction of a new radiocarbon date into scientific circulation and the analysis of the results of determining the metal composition of the items of the Starshy Nikitinsky burial ground of the Middle Volga Abashevo culture. The overwhelming majority of the burial ground’s decorations are made of «pure» copper. One pendant ornament is made of silver; in two other items the content of silver and arsenic was noted in small quantities. Products made of «pure» copper are usually associated with the Volga-Ural sources of metal, traditional for the Middle Volga Abashevo culture. The appearance of silver and arsenic in the metal composition of the Middle Volga Abashevo culture is associated with the South Ural ore sources and their development by the Volga-Ural Abashevites. Within the framework of traditional relative chronology, this corresponds to the time of the end of the developed stage of the Middle Volga Abashevo culture. The preservation of organic materials, which is rare for the sites of the Middle Volga Abashevo culture, makes it possible to compare the results obtained only with the materials of the Pepkino burial mound. Speaking of metal composition, both sites belong to a single stage of the Middle Volga Abashevo culture. The radiocarbon dates of the two burial grounds obtained at the Oxford Laboratory are close and indicate a somewhat later age of the burials of the Starshy Nikitinsky burial ground relative to the burials of the Pepkino kurgan.

The paper deals with archaeological findings on the territory of the Penza Governorate in the 19^th – beginning of 20^th centuries based on the materials of the State Archive of the Penza Region. To compare the information obtained with the published data, the study used published sources such as: the «Reports» of the Imperial Archaeological Commission, the description of antiquities of the Governorate (A.A. Spitsyn, 1925) and other sources. The process of archaeological study of the Penza Governorate in the pre-revolutionary period depended on the activities of the provincial statistical committee, the provincial scientific archival commission, independent researchers and the provincial administration. As a result a set of archaeological discoveries made on the territory of the Penza Governorate in the 19^th – beginning 20^th centuries was drawn up. The list of findings includes facts of the discovery revealed in the research of archaeological sites and individual artifacts with indication of detection time, place and composition of the find or treasure. According to the research, in the 19^th – early 20^th centuries, 148 evidence of found antiquities were revealed. Coins, Stone Age tools, jewelry and other items had different destinies: they remained in the hands of the finders, were sold, melted down, settled in scientific organizations and museums of St. Petersburg, Moscow, and Penza. In most cases, the treasures were returned to the finders, and less often they were transferred to the metropolitan museums and given a reward for them. The issues raised in the paper are inextricably linked with the problem of accounting and protection of archaeological monuments and preservation of cultural heritage.

The paper attempts to interpret the problem of Russian-British relations in Qajar Iran as a problem of mutual misunderstanding. It is postulated that the development of Russian-British relations in the 19^th century (as well as their interpretation) took place in a situation of confrontation, which directly influenced the prospects for their improvement after the conclusion of the 1907 agreement. The both parties’ own languages of discussion and interpretation of Russian-British relations in Persia, developed over the decades of the Great Game, hindered the building of a productive constructive dialogue, driving political actors into the trap of already formed meanings and ideologemes. Thus, the concept of the «Russian mission in Persia», which was significant for the Russian socio-political discourse, presupposed the «legitimacy» and «justification» of the widest Russian intervention in (Northern) Iran, the use of a wide variety of means of conducting its own policy. However, in the British society such approaches and interpretations did not find understanding, the language developed for discussing the Persian issue and Russian policy was invective in relation to Russia and did not allow adopting the meanings, organic for the latter. The understanding of this problem by the key actors did not lead to a fundamental change in the situation.

The researcher highlighted (in the format of a lapidary historiographic review) historiographic sources published in the 1920s – the first half of the 1930s, which dealt with the topic of cultural and educational work in the Workers’ and Peasants’ Red Army (RKKA) during the front-line Civil War (1918–1920). In the historiographic period, the chronological framework of which is indicated above, a relatively large number of historiographic sources appeared on the history of the Russian Civil War (at the front stage of its course). They reflected, among other things, many aspects of the historical phenomenon of party political work in the Armed Forces of the young Soviet state, that historical phenomenon, within the framework of which cultural and educational work in the Red Army was born and strengthened. Moreover, such studies were carried out immediately as the Civil War continued until the end of 1922 on the outskirts of the Soviet state, although it was not so large-scale. Such historiographic sources require understanding and rethinking from the standpoint of new theoretical and methodological approaches, established in modern Russian historical science. For a lapidary historiographic review the author has selected, first of all, a complex of historiographic sources that have both direct and indirect relation to the topic of cultural and educational work in the Red Army during the front-line Civil War, which were published in the chronological framework indicated above. Of course, there are no copyright claims in the work for the completeness of coverage of the topic under consideration. This, in fact, cannot be achieved in the format of a historiographic survey, especially lapidary.

The paper considers possibilities of geoinformation technology tools use for studying and updating the contribution of researchers-travelers to the formation of historical, cultural and scientific heritage of the Altai Krai and the Altai Republic in 18–19 centuries. Inevitably the heritage is a valuable resource for development of cultural, social and scientific component of the society. There is an urgent need to study and actualize historical heritage, find optimal ways of its adaptation to changing tendencies and demands of today. The theme of promoting heritage in the development of domestic educational tourism is a popular one. Recreation has long ceased to be seen only as passive, there is a growing interest in cognitive tourism. Each region seeks to preserve and present its historical and cultural peculiarities, connections with outstanding personalities, to assess their contribution to the development of the territory. Geographic information systems (GIS) are the main tool of this study. They have functions of displaying information in a visual form, as well as allow a comprehensive and systematic storage and processing of data in a spatial and temporal context. Geoinformation mapping in the study and actualization of personal contribution to the study of the region will allow to establish travel routes, research discoveries, collections, publications, which in the 18–19 centuries contributed to the study of the territory of the Altai Krai and the Altai Republic. These territories are united by a common rich past. A new look at the heritage will allow to develop research knowledge about the history and culture of the regions as well as undoubtedly contribute to the development and enrichment of tourist products.