НИЖНЕЕ ПОВОЛЖЬЕ

The article deals with the activity of V.A. Gorodtsov, an outstanding Russian archaeologist, in terms of the history of archaeology of the Lower Volga Region. His papers are of fundamental importance for investigating the Bronze Age monuments and artifacts of the Gorodets culture. He used to cooperate with the amateur archaeologists from Saratov and was the first one to recognize availability of the monuments of the Bronze Age pit, timber and Khvalynskaya cultures in the region. Gorodtsov gave special attention to the Sosnovo-Mazinskij hoard.

The article deals with the features of the industrial development of the Lower Volga Region in the pre-war years. The completion of some facilities, the implementation of rapid structural changes, the development of many types of new products, and the provision of sufficiently high rates of development contributed to the transformation of the region into a major industrial center. A comparative analysis of the industrial development of the region in the pre-revolutionary and Soviet periods proves the effectiveness of the socialist model of industrial development. 

This article is devoted to the formation of the Kalmyk National District on the Don and the problem of determining its administrative center at the turn of the 1920–1930s. The author, noting the positive phenomena that occurred in the life of the Don Kalmyks as part of the national district (education, preservation of national identity), draws attention to the artificial nature of the creation of this national district in the absence of compact residence of the Don Kalmyks.

The activity of the G.M. Lowitz and P.B. Inokhodtsev’s scientific expedition of the 1769–1774 is analyzed in the article. The article gives the review of the preserved expedition’s materials that are of interest as the sources on the history of the Low Volga Region.

Substantiation is provided for a model of culture genesis in the Lower Volga Region during the Late Bronze Age (LBA). Three phases corresponding to the succeeding archaeological cultures are recognized in the LBA of the region. The first phase (LBA 1) – the Pokrovsk culture, the second one (LBA 2) – the timber-grave culture, the third one (LBA 3) – the Khvalynsk culture of beaded pottery. At the change of phases, monuments of mixed types occur, with combined elements of the preceding and of the subsequent archaeological cultures.

The paper deals with the history of studying and interpreting the monuments of the Late bronze Age in the Lower Volga region. Viewpoints of various archeologists are analyzed concerning the archeological objects of crucial importance for modeling the timber-grave cultural-historical area.

In this article author tries to review in all details the territorial, administrative and socio-economic position of mordva`s tribes in the structure of Golden Horde. 

The article gives the review of the manuscript heritage by the bishop of the Saratov and Tsaritsin eparchy Jacob (Vecherkov) which are kept in some Russian central and regional archives. The criticism of his scientific works and letters is undertaken. The future of investigations of his heritage, church, social and scientific activities is demonstrated.