EDITORIAL

This issue of the Historical Reporter dedicated to general historical topics is of a special significance for the journal, because it’s an anniversary one. Fifty issues is an important milestone in our publication’s journey, demonstrating its stability and promising future achievements to contribute to the Russian science development, the very purpose for which the journal was established and our team continues to work. Fifty issues represent more than just an impressive array of volumes on a bookshelf – they become history. We extend our gratitude to all who stood by us during the challenging times, believed in us, and worked with us. Thanks to the exceptional research and creative team that has been formed over years of joint effort, we look to the future with confidence and are planning new issues.

The anniversary issue opens with the Russian History section, comprising three articles. The study by Timofey A. Ilevtsev focuses on a topic that has not yet been the subject of a specialized research – student balls at the Imperial Moscow University timed to coincide with Tatiana’s Day. The article provides a detailed reconstruction of how various departments coordinated the first ball in 1872–1873 to identify and trace the trend towards simplifying the coordination process for subsequent balls held in 1874 through 1881. In addition, the study offers a cross-section of the educational bureaucracy represented by quite famous persons. Ian R. Dziubinskii’s article, exploring the little-studied aspects of Grand Duke Konstantin Aleksandrovich’s private life, providing insights into the history of everyday life and the imperial family. The Grand Duke’s biographical aspects are presented against the backdrop of significant changes in the dynasty’s lifestyle during the post-reform period. The article by Nikolai A. Zayats and Alexander S. Redkin continues our publication’s traditional focus on the Civil War. The article is particularly noteworthy as it presents the first historiographical study analyzing the course of the Red Army’s Krasnoufimsk operation (1919), emphasizing the involvement of the 5th Infantry Division of the 2nd Army of the Eastern Front.

The General History section also features three articles. Our foreign colleague Gul Şen’s work on the Ottoman Navy of the late 17th through early 18th centuries examines, among other things, the connection between crime in the capital and the punishment system used in the Ottoman Navy, shedding light on the Ottoman Empire’s legal culture. Special attention is given to the recruitment mechanism through which the Ottoman Navy secured its workforce. This aspect is illustrated using an important corpus of sources – the previously unpublished registers of Ottoman Navy convicts in the 18th century. Our Chinese colleague Sun Yizhi’s study focuses on the life of post-revolutionary Russian emigrants in China. It examines the development of the Shankhayskaya Zhizn (Shanghai Life), a major Russian-language publication in Shanghai from 1919 to 1922, which evolved from a typical emigrant publication to a mouthpiece for the pro-Soviet views. Ali Kh. Khizriev and Farida H. Bazaeva presented a study analyzing Anglo-French relations in the context of administrating their mandated territories in the Middle East between the two world wars. It’s particularly noteworthy that the mandated system of administering the former Ottoman Empire provinces became a key factor in destabilizing the Middle East region, which continues to suffer from conflicts stemming from both internal problems and external provocations.

This time, the Messages section, which doesn’t appear often in our publication, contains two pieces. The message by Daria A. Oksamitnaya addresses the specifics of developing and applying a prosopographic database in studying part of the elite during Catherine II’s reign, namely the court cavaliers of the imperial court. This method allows, among other things, the reconstruction of a «collective portrait» of a court cavalier and provides additional insight into the mechanisms of social mobility and career opportunities for the high aristocracy of that time. I the report by Svetlana E. Knyazeva, special attention is given to the issues of reproducing the imperial idea, including in the modern conditions.

The Historical Thought section features a Review of M. Janen’s Notes Publication by Ruslan G. Gagkuev prepared by Dmitriy I. Petin and Maksim M. Stelmak. The reviewers note that «the work conducted by Ruslan G. Gagkuev will serve as a valuable aid in studying the ambiguous dramatic events of Russian history».

In the Sources section, we return to the national history events during the Revolution and Civil War period. Vladimir V. Khutarev- Garnishevsky and Arseniy S. Zhdanov have prepared for publication an excerpt from the memoirs of V.V. Vladimirov, Gendarme Lieutenant Colonel, Chief of the Special Department at the Baltic Fleet. This source is being introduced into academic circulation for the first time, which lends special value to the publication. In the published excerpt, considerable attention is given to the course of the uprising and the tragic events in Kronstadt in 1917. Andrey N. Ganin has prepared for publication documents from the investigative case of General Mukhanov, a prominent figure in the anti-Bolshevik movement in the Fergana region. The materials from this case are also being introduced into academic circulation for the first time.

The journal’s editorial board hopes that the anniversary issue of the Historical Reporter will be as interesting to our readers and beneficial to national science as all the previous issues. Happy anniversary, dear friends and colleagues!

Alexey E. Titkov, Editor-in-Chief of the Historical Reporter.

CONTENTS

RUSSIAN HISTORY

Timofei A. Ilevtsev. «Wishing to Celebrate the University’s Founding Day With a Student Dance Evening...». The Scenario for Coordinating Moscow University Student Balls (1873–1881)

Ian R. Dziubinskii. Two Families of Grand Duke Konstantin Nikolaevich in the Formation of His Inner Circle

Nikolai A. Zayats, Alexander S. Redkin. The 5th Rifle Division of the Red Army and Its Role in the Krasnoufimsk Operation (June–July 1919)

GENERAL HISTORY

Gül Şen. Ottoman Naval Arsenal, Criminality, and Law Enforcement around 1700

Sun Yizhi. «The Shanghai Life» and Russian Emigre in Shanghai

Ali Kh. Khizriyev, Farida Kh. Bazayeva. British VS French Rivalry in the Middle East under the Mandate System Between the Two World Wars

REPORTS

Daria A. Oksamitnaya. Study of a Collective Portrait of Catherine’s the Great Courtiers by Means of a Prosopographical Database

Svetlana E. Knyazeva. The Imperial Idea in Geopolitics: the Clash of Privileged Interests of Powers in the Mediterranean at the Beginning of the 20th Century

HISTORICAL THOUGHT

Maksim M. Stelmak, Dmitriy I. Petin. On the Edition by Ruslan G. Gagkuev of Memoirs by Maurice Janin

SOURCES

Vladimir V. Khutarev-Garnishevsky, Arseniy S. Zhdanov. «A Night of Nightmarish Horrors». The February Revolution in Kronstadt as Reflected in the Memoirs of V.V. Vladimirov, Chief of the Special Department at the Baltic Fleet

Andrey V. Ganin. «The Only Way out for Me Was to Join the Rebel Movement…». General A.V. Mukhanov and the Anti-Bolshevik Movement in the Fergana Region