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We analyze the history of oil discoveries of different sizes in two centers of the Volga-Ural petroleum province, the Republics of Bashkortostan and Tatarstan, and demonstrate the important role played by Academicians I.M. Gubkin and A.A. Trofimuk in these discoveries. Special focus is placed on the analysis of small and smallest oil fields and the sequence of their discovery. It was shown that all discoveries in Tatarstan and Bashkortostan were the result of the exploration filter. It was also shown that the establishment and support of small oil businesses in Bashkortostan and Tatarstan can be an importance means of the facilitating development of small and smallest fields. The study discusses the role of small independent oil companies in the regional oil production, considers priority areas of state and regional legal support of small and medium oil enterprises, and presents oil production forecast for Bashkortostan and Tatarstan.

A superlarge gold-ore stockwork of the Vasil’kovskoe deposit (with gold resources of more than 380 tons) is located at the contact of porphyroblastic granodiorites and diorites in northern Kazakhstan. The specifics of the Vasil’kovskoe deposit is a wide occurrence of gray (so-called ore) gold-bearing quartz, which, together with white quartz, composes quartz-sulfide veins and veinlets in the stockwork. Based on thermobarogeochemical and isotope-geochemical data, we have established that gray quartz and arsenopyrite of the deposit formed with the participation of K-Na-Mg-Cl-containing aqueous CO2-hydrocarbon fluids at 250-550 ºC, 0.1-2.5 kbar, and salinity of 7.0-22.5 wt.% NaCl equiv. (seldom, >30-40 wt.% NaCl equiv.). The cyclic recurrence of parameter fluctuations was accompanied by the deposition of gold, which led to the formation of gold-rich veinlet ores in the stockwork core. White quartz formed at lower temperatures, 120-310 ºC, and 0.2-1.0 kbar, with the participation of Ca-Na-Cl-containing fluids with salinity of 2.0-11.0 wt.% NaCl equiv. In addition to H2O and CO2, hydrocarbons and their derivates (paraffins, olefins, arenes, alcohols, ethers, aldehydes, ketones, and carboxylic acids) as well as nitrogen-containing (C2H3N, C3H9N, C7H5N, and C8H5NO2) and sulfur-containing (CS2, COS, SO2, C2H6S2, etc.) compounds (indicators of reducing conditions) were involved in the ore formation. The sulfur isotope composition of sulfides (δ34S = +5.7 to + 11.8‰) and the carbon isotope composition of CO2 in fluid inclusions in gray (δ13C = -2.1 to -4.6‰) and white (δ13C = -11.0 to -21.4‰) quartz as well as its positive and negative anomalies of Eu point to the crustal source of the fluids. The gray color of quartz is due to abundant CO2-hydrocarbon-containing inclusions, carbon particles, and sulfides. Crystallization of ore-hosting granodiorites proceeded in the period from 490 ± 4.4 to 443.5 ± 4.1 Ma. The age of the areal K-feldspathization of granodiorites, preceding the ore formation, is 375.2 ± 3.7 Ma. Formation of gold-including parageneses took place in the period from 311.7 ± 6.4 to 279.2 ± 2.5 Ma, i.e., lasted no less than 30 Myr.

The 18^th century Russia witnessed massive exile of political opponents and members of political elites to the empire’s remote areas following their power struggle and defeat in the court intrigues. In regard to the northern areas of Siberia until the early nineteenth century such exile was selective and preventative; for the majority of the repressed persons it ended in the exiles’ deaths (A.D. Menshikov, A.G. Dolgorukiy, M.G. Golovkin, K.A. Mengden et al.). The area under study had virtually never been used as a place of exile for the Decembrists and participants of the Polish uprising in 1830-1831. Since 1860s the exile to the North became relatively massive, although it had its limitations in terms of the number of exiles who were to serve the sentence. Exile was used for the Narodniks, participants of the 1863 Polish uprising, Social Democrats, Socialist Revolutionaries, anarchists, members of the radical ethnic organizations. In the Yakutsk Oblast deportation of “politicals” was punitive in character. The most radical means of the political exiles’ struggle against the political regime and custodial conditions were escapes and armed protests the last of which (Turukhansk revolt in late 1908 - early 1909) turned into a robbery and armed conflict. Exile to the Arctic zone was aimed at isolation of revolutionaries without burdening them with manual labor.

The aim of this article is to introduce into scientific circulation one of the unknown polemic writings dated from the turn of the 1890s. The work is written as an epistle, a style common among the Old Believers, and belongs to the Tomsk peasant writer G.A. Strakhov. Today, the only known copy of “ Appeal” is stored in the Scientific Library of the Tomsk State University. The author of the article used methods of historicism, hermeneutics and causal analysis. It seems logical that the polemic writings constitute a significant portion not only of the general Old Believers’ literary legacy, but of the Belokrinitskie Old Believers (“Austrians”) as well, because ideologists of the new community had to uphold their position from the first steps towards institutionalization taken in 1846-1847. In the case at hand, the aggravation of polemics between the Old Believers Chasovennyye and “Austrians” was caused by several factors connected particularly with the common past of Beglopopovtsy agreements whose routes of migrations had often overlapped within the Ural and Siberian Region. Inner contradictions took place both in the Chasovennyye and Belokrinitskie communities. In “The Appeal to the Old Believers Chasovennyye” these contradictions can be traced in regard to such issues as the rites of reception, adoption of common position towards the official Orthodox (“Nikonianskaya”) church and to always such a politically acute issue as the time of Antichrist’s advent. At the same time, re-establishment of its own Belokrinitskiy episcopate and the refusal to accept Orthodox clerics converting to Old Believers faith, according to a previous decision of the Tyumen convocation in 1840, resulted in the final organizational and ideological divergence between the two Old Believer communities. Analysis of sources used by G.A. Strakhov in his “Appeal” shows that the Belokrinitskiy apologist quite extensively used not only the literature that was authoritative for all Old Believers, but the synodal and civil publications as well. At the same time, ideological conceptions of the opponents, in G.A.Strakhov’s opinion, are directly affected by the radical Old Believers groups.

The purpose of the article is to give an overview of works written by the contemporary English- and German-language researchers of the pre-revolutionary history of Siberia on the problems of mental representation of geographical space, development of “regional consciousness” and “Siberian regional identity”. Most of scholars consider the “Siberian identity” as being formed on the people’s common territorial base, therefore, they define it as “territorial” or “regional” identity. In this respect much attention is paid to the problems of development of “regional consciousness” and regionalism as a form of territorial communities’ self-identification. Western scholars addressed the phenomenon of “Siberian regionalism” in the 1970s-1980s (G.Hanson, S.Watrous, A.Wood, D.Mohrenschildt, W.Faust et al.) based mostly on the analysis of numerous publications of the Siberian oblastniks (N.M.Yadrintsev, G.N.Potanin et al.). In the early XX century theoretical and terminology aspects of the topic have been elaborated by the German historian St.Stuch who analyzes the meaning of such terms as “region”, “regional consciousness”, “regional movement”, “Siberian culture” etc. He believes that in Siberia the regional consciousness was formed mostly due to the common desire of the Siberian intelligentsia to treat the Siberian periphery on an equal footing as the regions of European Russia. German researcher E.-M.Stolberg, in her turn, argues that other factors - such as specific geographic and cultural conditions, the “frontier” character of Siberian territories - were even more critical for the formation of Siberian identity. However, the natural process of the Siberian identity’s development was deflected by the centralizing and unifying policy of the government. Unlike E.-M.Stolberg an American historian Ch.Steinwedel believes that governmental policy towards Siberia was based on the diferent criteria of identity taking into account the specific features of the region. Western historians rarely use the general term “Siberian identity” focusing on the identity of various groups of Siberian population (both indigenous and non-indigenous). However their research findings should be taken into consideration by those who study the topic of “Siberian regional identity” that became so relevant at the turn of the XX-XXI centuries.

The article studies the features of the Russian media preferences, the place and role of reading in their structure, causes of transformations of contemporary social practices over the past quarter of the century. The use of formal logic and comparative-historical methods of research helped to identify cause-and-effect chains in studying the changes in attitudes toward the book and reading in correlation with logic and specificity of processes of radical modification of the Russian media consumption at the turn of the XX-XXI centuries. Technological transformation of the means for transferring information contributed to forming digital communications’ segment of the expanding media space, influenced the media interactions of contemporaries. The article provides a brief categorial analysis of the concept “media consumption”, considers different interpretations of this definition as the use of information products, type of human activities, lifestyle, social and communication phenomenon. Based on the analysis of the results of all-Russian and local case studies as well as statistical data the author shows dynamics and peculiarities of media space changes, trends of media activity and contemporaries’ preferences; determines differences in media consumption of urban and rural residents; explains transformations of media preferences of contemporaries in the last quarter of the century. The article shows the role of media consumption in the life of a man and society, changes in its essential characteristics over the last quarter of the century (duration, intensity, dynamism); investigates the individual / group involvement in the process of selection and mastering media platforms and content. The author examines peculiarities of modifications of reading in the structure of media consumption of the Russians at the turn of the XX-XXI centuries; analyzes different viewpoints on the role of reading as a form of cultural activity of the population, its place in the modern media landscape. Reasons for decline of reading the traditional printed media and involvement of the population into electronic social practices are revealed. Forecasts of further development of traditional printed and audiovisual component of media space, reading and media consumption modifications are given on the basis of the assessment of recent trends in media consumption.

During the February revolution of 1917 Soviets of Workers’, Soldiers’ and Peasants’ Deputies were brought to the political forefront of Russia and became an alternative to the Provisional Government. Spontaneously arisen Soviets created associations at the level of districts, provinces and regions, forming a single system within the country. Creation of District Bureau of Soviets of Workers’, Soldiers’ and Peasants’ Deputies of Eastern Siberia was driven by an objective need. Separate Soviets could not independently resolve critical political affairs put forward by revolution; they needed a governing body. The paper endeavors to address the issues of creation of the District Bureau’s mechanism, its membership, structure, directions and results of work, relations with the subordinate Soviets and other elements of post-February political system. Under conditions of revolutionary time when the structure of old political system was destroyed, Bureau was forced to assume functions of both administrative authority and local government body. The Bureau’s work made it possible to arrange a stable living situation in the district. However the Bureau being overwhelmed with minor executive matters could not always be responsive to changes in political climate in the district. This led to strong disagreement with the Soviets on a number of essential problems. The Bureau’s political position was determined by its leadership where the leading role belonged to Mensheviks and Socialists Revolutionaries. On the eve of October Revolution of 1917 the Bureau considered the organization of elections to the Constituent Assembly as its main objective while the transfer of power to Soviets seemed unacceptable at that time. Being a governing body, the Bureau helped to ensure the viability of local Soviets, having allowed them to remain in the political arena and to retain the status of a power alternative. Creation of the District Bureau became an important step to consolidation of all Siberian Soviets.

The goal of the present article is to study and throw light upon the activities of industrial enterprises and trade organizations of Soviet foreign colony in Tuva. With this goal in mind, the author used a systematic method to analyze the scarce publications of predecessors along with the new documentary and other sources. This allowed tracing the origin of industrial enterprises and trade organizations of Soviet colonists in Tuva (in all their specific manifestations and in synthesis of the general and the particular) and to define the main result of their activities. At the beginning of 1922, the Soviet citizens in Tuva established a Russian Self-Administering Workers’ Colony (RSWC). Living in a foreign environment and suffering from the lack of financial support from the USSR, the executive committee of the colony began its economic activities with the development of gold mining and creation of simple production workshops. At the early stage, these activities had a limited economic benefit: revenues from gold mining did not go to the budget of the colony and were not used for its development; the workshops were also unprofitable due to the lack of skilled workers, funds and technical facilities. The establishment of joint Soviet-Tuvan organization-Mining Department of Tuvan Bank- helped to make the gold mining cost effective. Industrial enterprises became the first business organizations of the RSWS to be transferred into the jurisdiction of the Tuvan People’s Republic. The first and the following steps of handicraft and trading organizations were more successful and economically feasible. The study undertaken in this article showed that while addressing the economic issues the Soviet colonists strengthened Tuva’s economy. These processes could have been be more successful had they not been hampered by the priority of political sphere over the economy.

The article attempts to reconstruct the reasons of the militarization of Tomsk railway in 1933. The author analyzes the reconstitution of the railway management structure, caused by the militarization; studies criteria used by militarization commissions to sel ect railwaymen for paramilitary duties. The study revealed that hostile class elements were first to be disqualified and not all railwaymen became paramilitary. Political Department ensured militarization by conducting purges on the railroad and in the administration expelling all undesirable elements. The author considers impact of militarization on labor discipline trying to reveal the real extent of the units’ militarization. It is noted that the heads of production units were appointed commanders of divisions and units. Classes with personnel contained components of elementary military training. The article discusses the legal aspects of hiring and firing workers in connection with militarization. Workers, who left the service without the consent of direct supervisors were equated to deserters and were subject to a court martial. It is concluded that the trials of violators of discipline instead of strengthening the unity of command made the command staff less proactive. It is revealed that the influx of people fr om rural areas due to collectivization was one of the main reasons for deterioration of discipline among the railwaymen in the early 1930s. Adaptation of peasants to industrial work was slow; attempts to reduce the rate of accidents by methods could not give quick results.

Aerosol radiative characteristic variability stipulated by brown carbon and black carbon content variations in megacity smogs for Beijing, San-Paulu, Santiago, and Mexico have been analyzed by AERONET data. It is shown that the brown carbon contribution into the imaginary part of the refraction coefficient for a wavelength of 440 nm in smogs can exceed the black carbon contribution more than threefold. In megacity smogs the spectral dependencies of the aerosol optical depth absorption can be approximated by power function with satisfactory precision excluding some Beijing smogs at wavelength of 400 nm when relative concentration of the brown carbon is big. It is shown, that the coarse mode contribution into total aerosol optical depth extinction in smogs can constitute from 6 to 20% for wavelength of 440 and 1020 nm respectively and contribution into aerosol optical depth absorption - from 22% for wavelength of 440 nm to 38% for a wavelength of 1020 nm. The megacity smog aerosol distinguishes from the smoke aerosol formed during large-scale fires in the boreal forests of Russia by increased contribution of the coarse mode in total volume of the aerosol and high values of the imaginary part of the refraction coefficient and therefore by more greater values of aerosol absorbing ability.