Russkii Arkhiv

4-18

Authors: Baatr A. Okonov

On the eve of the 75th anniversary of the Victory in the Great Patriotic War, the publication of new or little-studied sources is undoubtedly important. The article presents documents on the activities of the Kalmyk Komsomol organization during the Great Patriotic War, which are stored in the Fund P-22 “Kalmyk regional Committee of the Komsomol” of the National Archive of the Republic of Kalmykia. In our case, these are reports to the Central Committee of the Komsomol on the work of the Kalmyk Regional Committee of the Komsomol in 1942−1943. These documents reflect in detail the actions of representatives of the Komsomol and youth in 1942, when the German offensive on the southern front threatened to occupy the territory of Kalmykia. Despite the difficult situation, the threat of total loss of territory and the establishment of a temporary occupation regime, Komsomol members continued to fulfill their state obligations, assist in the formation and deployment of partisan detachments, in the construction of defense lines, and in providing food. After the liberation, Komsomol members and young people took an active part in the restoration of the national economy of the Republic. Despite this, the City and Ulus Committees of Komsomol treated with distrust the Komsomol members who remained in the occupied territory and carried out checks on their activities behind enemy lines.

34-45

Authors: Elena A. Fogel

Archival documents of the Taganrog administration during the occupation period are very important and interesting for researchers. Taganrog was occupied much longer than other cities and towns in the South of Russia. In addition, the invaders had no time to take out the archive due to the rapid advance of the Red Army in August 1943. The documents allow historians to study various directions of occupation politics from October 1941 to August 1943. Currently, only a part of the documents has been put into scientific circulation. The status of underage inhabitants of the town throughout the Nazi occupation is also an insufficiently studied issue. This publication presents documents of Taganrog administration aimed to regulate the status of minors during the occupation period. The most significant activities of the administration in this area were the organization of schools and pre-school institutions, vaccination of children, as well as the fight against neglect and homelessness. The most interesting is the information about the work of various social institutions in Taganrog on June 1, 1943, three months before the end of the Nazi occupation. They demonstrate the achievements in the social sphere, primarily in relation to children and adolescents.

54-74

Authors: Maxim V. Medvedev

The interview with Alexey Illarionovich Shapovalov was devoted to his military biography and frontline daily life during the Great Patriotic War. A.I. Shapovalov, a member of the 5th Guards Don Cossack Cavalry Red Banner Budapest Corps, participated in the liberation of Donbass, in the fights for Volnovakha, in the battles for Left and Right Bank Ukraine, in the liberation of Moldova, Romania and Hungary. The respondent details how his call to the front was carried out, how he had to adapt to the peculiarities of military service and endure all the hardships and deprivation of military life. The author of memories also shares moments from his personal life during the war and situations when he faced the enemy in combat conditions. The memories of A.I. Shapovalov are valuable evidence of how the war formed from an ordinary man the future professional of military affairs, in particular, the experienced armour-breaker, which he became during the Great Patriotic War.

84-103

Authors: Anastasia V. Gazdanova

The first stage of the existence of the Ethnographic Department of the Russian Museum of Emperor Alexander III (1902–1913) was marked by the acquisition of funds. A prominent role in the collection of ethnographic items of the Balkar and Kabardian people was played by a correspondent of the Ethnographic Department of the Russian Museum, a student of the Moscow Imperial Technical School, Zachary Petrovich Valaev. In 1907, he toured the Balkar, Bezengiev, Chegem, Khulam and Urusbi communities, as well as the villages of Great and Little Kabarda. The objects of culture and everyday life of these peoples acquired by him expanded the pre-revolutionary collection of the Museum. The correspondence shows how preparation for the expedition was made, as well as how field work was carried out in the conditions of the First Russian revolution in the North Caucasus.