Journal’s content № 5 2025

V.L. Danoyan. Reform of municipal public administration in Moscow and Odessa in the 1860.
The article examines the state activity aimed at reforming the public administration bodies of Moscow and Odessa. The reasons for its implementation and the main provisions of the new structure of public administration of Moscow and Odessa are analyzed.
Keywords: reforms, legislation, complete collection of laws of the Russian Empire, urban public administration, city council, Alexander II, Moscow, Odessa.

O.P. Okopnaya. Organisation of assistance to refugees during the First world war.
The author pays attention to the organisation of assistance to refugees on the territory of the Russian Empire during the First world war. The number of refugees, their national and age composition are given, attention is paid to the work of governmental and non-governmental organisations. The co-ordinated work of all institutions in the territory of the Don Army Region is demonstrated.
Keywords: refugees, migration, aid organisation, World War I, statistics, institutions.

V.A. Chernyshev. Petrograd and Moscow in the Early Decades of the 20th Century: The Socio-Demographic Profile of the Capitals and Prospects for Interpreting Revolutionary Events Through the Lens of Ego-Documents.
The article focuses on analyzing the social profile of the population in Moscow and Petrograd during the 1917 Russian Revolution. Drawing upon statistical data, the author identifies the socio-demographic characteristics of the inhabitants of the two capitals on the eve of and during the revolutionary events. Furthermore, the article raises the question of the prospects for studying the perception and assessment of the revolution by representatives of various social groups through the lens of egodocuments, such as diaries, letters, and memoirs.
Keywords: the Russian Revolution 1917, egodocuments, Petrograd 1917, Moscow 1917, Social structure, Demographic processes, Literacy rate, Confessional composition, Ethnic composition, birth rate and mortality rate.

V.D. Anisimov. Formation and development of sports and physical culture work in the Soviet village in 1935-1940.
The article analyzes the formation of sports and physical culture work in the Soviet village in the 1930s. The article considers the issues of personnel training, creation of physical culture collectives, organization of sports events, interaction of physical culture assets with local authorities.
Keywords: physical culture, sport, soviet village, sports infrastructure, physical education team.

A.O. Aksenichev. Historical aspect of institutionalization of the European Union and possible scenarios of its future.
The article is devoted to the analysis of the institutional development of one of the most significant integration associations in the world — the European Union. The vector of the study is aimed at the participation of France and Germany in these processes as the actual initiators of the creation of the EU. These states are still the «locomotives» of the Union, taking an active part in the development of both the regulatory framework and social issues. The Maastricht Treaty, signed in 1992, secured the basis for multilateral cooperation in Europe, which began decades earlier, creating a single economic and monetary structure that exists to this day. The Amsterdam Treaty of 1997 was the next step, expanding the provisions of Maastricht. However, despite this, many problems of pan-European scale remained unresolved, and the role of the German-French tandem in determining the future of the continent became even more significant. This was confirmed by the Treaty of Nice of 2001, which, despite serious contradictions between these countries, became another legislative initiative designed to strengthen the European Union. On the same time, Germany and France actively participated in the development of the draft European Constitution. Despite the fact that this project was not adopted due to public resistance in a number of countries, it was Germany that took the lead in overcoming the subsequent constitutional crisis, presiding over the Council of Europe in 2007. This led to the adoption of the Lisbon Treaty, which fixed the key directions of European policy at that time. Recent foreign policy events, such as the signing of the Aachen Treaty in 2019 and the adoption of a number of local acts designed to update the internal situation in the integration association, indicate that the EU will continue to develop, despite many of the obstacles discussed in this article. And the expected options for future development, compiled on the basis of an analysis of all available sources, allow us to give a political forecast for the coming years.
Keywords: European Union, foreign policy, European integration, Europe, Germany, France.