Introduction. The early 1930s saw a more active Russian-Mongolian interaction, including regular meetings and confidential conversations between the leaders of the USSR and the Mongolian People’s Republic. I. V. Stalin and the others of the top Soviet leadership started to pay more attention to the situation in Mongolia. This was largely justified by the sharp aggravation of the international situation in the Far East, with aggressive acts of imperialist Japan in the region and its further plans on the Asian continent, of which they made no secret. Under the circumstances, the USSR leaders sought to ensure the protection of its interests in the region. This article aims at examining and interpreting the significance of the Soviet-Mongolian summit that took place on November 24, 1934. Data and research methods. The author draws on a collection of documents on Russian-Mongolian military cooperation, which contains recordings of conversations between the top leadership of the two countries on military cooperation. Results. The main issue of the confidential conversation between Stalin, with the closest to him in the top Soviet leadership, and the Mongolian delegation, with Prime Minister Peljidiin Genden at the head, was a discussion of the urgent problem of how Mongolia would uphold its independence in the event of an attack from Japan: “what will you do if your situation worsens”? (Stalin) The materials of the meeting allow to understand the role of the USSR’s foreign policy in relation to Mongolia; to consider the course of discussions around the principal issues that interested both sides; and to shed light on the influence exerted by the Kremlin on the policy of the Mongolian government in terms of the ways of protecting the independence of the MPR. Stalin stressed the need to conclude a pact of mutual assistance; Genden agreed to start negotiations and was ready to elaborate practical steps. The Mongolian leadership was fully aware that the USSR was the only ally of the Mongolian People’s Republic in the Far East. Conclusions. The summit meeting of November 24, 1934 became an important milestone in the history of bilateral relations between the USSR and the MPR. The negotiations proved to be of key importance for promoting their further military cooperation. The pact of mutual assistance signed in 1936 provided for the presence of the Soviet armed forces in Mongolia and served as a guarantee of the country’s security.

Introduction. The chronological framework of the article includes the period of China’s development in the 1950–1970s, when the strategy of equalizing and balanced spatial development was being implemented; this had a significant impact on the formation of industrial complexes and main production sectors of the PRC. The aim and objectives of this study are to examine the characteristic features of the implementation of the strategy of equalizing and balanced spatial development of the PRC in the 1950–1970s, to identify the main trends in the dynamics of the Chinese regional industry; and to analyze key regional projects, concepts, ideas for the development of the mining and processing industry in China during the period under study. Data and research methods. The article draws on the main sources on the economic history of the PRC, including statistical collections, materials of five-year plans, and collected works of Mao Zedong. Special historical methods such as thematic chronological research method and retrospective method were applied to the study of the data. Results. Deformations in regional industrial transformations during the Great Leap Forward campaign in China (1958–1960); activities since 1964 in preparation to a war, which was being expected at the time; and the period of Cultural Revolution significantly influenced the formation of the system of regional industry in China.  In the period under study, the implementation of five-year plans for the socio-economic construction of the Chinese national economy (1953–1957, 1958–1962, 1966–1970, 1971–1975, 1976–1980); the formation of regional zones for economic cooperation;  the implementation of the objectives for regional «three lines» transformations; and an active scientific-technological and financial assistance of the Soviet Union laid the foundations, fostered further development and modernization of regional industries in China, such as electric power industry, metallurgy, production of building materials, mechanical engineering and metalworking, fuel and chemical industries. Conclusions. For the first time in the history of China, the period of equalizing and balanced regional development of the PRC saw the implementation of measures designed to narrow the gaps in the development of inland and coastal regions; these would help to solve the problems of the country’s reconstruction within the framework of industrialization of the PRC at large.

Introduction. The article concentrates on the religious policy of the Russian Empire in the Early Modern Time. For the first time in historiography, a study was carried out concerning the place of Catholic missionaries who settled on the southern outskirts of Russia, in the religious policy of Russian secular and spiritual authorities. Materials and methods. The base of the study was the correspondence of the Collegium of Foreign Affairs with the Holy Synod, as well as other institutions and officials, characterizing the scale of the presence and direction of activity of Catholic orders on the territory of Russia. The methodology of the study has been determined by the structural and functional approach to the system of state bodies of Russia. In combination with this approach, a historical-genetic method was used, which is optimal for understanding the evolution of the structure of power in the Russian Empire from the time of Peter the Greatto the middle of the reign of Empress Elizaveta Petrovna. The results of the research are presented in the section “Catholic missionaries in the south of Russia by the middle of the 18th century: political and diplomatic aspects”. In it, the Capuchin Order is designated as the most active force of Catholic missionary work in the Russian south, which managed to prevail over others Catholic orders in dispute for influencing on the ethno-confessional groups of the studied region. It has been determined that the Capuchins in Russia gained constant diplomatic support from the Austrian monarchy. The activity of missionaries in Astrakhan and Nizhyn was traced, the place of the Armenian communities in the missionary plans of the Capuchins on the territory of Russia is shown. The influence on the position of the Capuchins of Russian-Austrian relations is emphasized, in particular of the “Austrian system” — the orientation of Russian diplomacy towards the Austrian court. The idea is carried out that the attitude of the Russian authorities in the capital and in the localities towards the Capuchins in such conditions was indifferent or patronizing, while in fact the Russian secular authorities did not take into account the violation of the prerogatives of the ruling Orthodox (Greek-Russian) church. In order of discussion (part “Missionaries in the Russian Borderlands: source study andhistoriographical observations” of the abovementioned section of the article), the main interpretations of Catholic missionaryism, found in the literature on Catholicism in Russia, have been identified. Conclusion. The author states that the reasons for the interest of Catholic missionaries to the southern Russian outskirts and their population were objective.  The reaction of the Russian secular authorities to such an interest was little, and their awareness of the legal necessity of appropriate regulatory measures developed slowly.

Introduction. This article attempts a review of key trends in the transformation of Bashkir women’s social status within the family framework between 1917 and 1927. Goals. The study employs newly discovered data to show some specific features in the marital status of Bashkiria’s women in the 1920s. Materials and Methods. Relevant documents from the Russian State Archive of Social and Political History and the National Archive of the Republic of Bashkortostan served as the main sources for the research; published materials on the subject also proved as instrumental and efficient. The research methods employed include statistical, descriptive, and comparative historical ones. Results. The research indicates that the period under consideration was marked by the struggle of dedicated women to improve their positions in various spheres including that of the family. The struggle was long and painstaking. In Bashkiria, the old ways were changing slowly, and throughout those years traditional Bashkir customs and perceptions continued to play an important role in regulating family and marriage institutions. Such phenomena as polygamy, early marriages (including unwilled and unequal ones), kalym and others were still quite common. Nevertheless, the first decade of Soviet rule in the republic was also a period of serious success marked by advancing the de facto equality of women in the family, and the legislative measures did seek to improve the marital status of women. The analysis shows that in the period in question was witnessing a radical transformation in women’s positions in the family and everyday life contexts. The research allows for a conclusion that the image of a ‘new woman’ in the family sphere was being shaped during the first Soviet decade.  

Introduction. The article deals with the Crimean period (August 1941 – June 1942) in the life of Basan Badminovich Gorodovikov, Hero of the Soviet Union and a major military and political figure of Kalmykia. The present article aims at describing and analyzing this less-known period of his biography, which was significant and full of dramatic events. Data and research methods. For the purposes of this research, the author has used a wide range of archival materials, as well as memoirs of participants of the partisan movement in the Crimea (including unpublished papers). Results. The author describes the first battles in the north of the Crimea in which Gorodovikov’s regiment was engaged; then, its retreat into the mountains and transition to partisans, the creation of a partisan detachment and the actions behind enemy lines. The activities of Gorodovikov’s detachment are shown against the general background of the partisan movement in the Crimea; special attention given to the discussion of warfare under the specific conditions on the peninsula. The article focuses on the role of the military personnel, especially at the first stage of the partisan movement, revealing, among other things, the problems in the relationship between the command staff of the 48th cavalry division and the partisan leaders in the Crimea. For the first time, the article sheds light on the history of awarding Gorodovikov with the Order of the Red Banner, which was the first award of the Crimean partisans. The dramatic story of his evacuation from the partisan forest to the “Bol´shaia zemlia” is also documented in detail; with previously unknown documents and materials introduced in this paper. The undertaken research allows to conclude that the Crimean period in the life of Gorodovikov was one of the most dramatic in his biography. During a difficult period for the Crimea, he became the commander of one of the most successful partisan detachments, which after he left was officially named after him, its first commander. Notably, Gorodovikov was among the first Crimean partisans to be awarded a military order and to get a promotion in rank and in office.

Introduction. The late 1960s and the first half of the 1980s saw a significant growth of the tendency for mismanagement and misappropriation of socialist property in the kolkhozes (collective farms) of Bashkiria. Such forms of antisocial and criminal behavior of the citizens appears to be a relevant subject. The aim of the present article is to analyze the issues of mismanagement and theft of socialist property in the kolkhozes of Bashkiria in the late 1960s — the first half of the 1980s. In this aspect, several lines of research have been identified: i) to analyze the forms of illegal use of funds and of material values of the farms, examining the phenomena in their dynamics; ii) to examine the work of the control and auditing bodies in the farms; and iii) to analyze a complex of measures taken by the party, state, and other supervisory bodies to counter the growth of economic crimes in kolkhozes. Sources. The archival documents from the National Archive of the Republic of Bashkortostan help to draw a detailed picture of the dynamics in the growth of mismanagement and stealing of collective farm property in Bashkiria, as well as of measures taken to counter these negative phenomena. Methods. The thematic chronological research method proved to be relevant for the analysis and identification of the issues related to the preservation of social property in the farms of Bashkiria, as well as of measures taken by the authorities to stop the facts of misappropriation and mismanagement. The principles of objectivity and historicism applied to a concrete historical situation made it possible to draw a non-partisan picture of the period in question. Results. The research has shown that during the period under study criminal mismanagement in the region took place in many collective farms, accompanied by numerous thefts of socialist property and this happened despite measures taken by the authorities. These crimes were often committed by representatives of the economic nomenclature, who had unlimited access to resources. Conclusion. Between the late 1960s and mid-1980s, the thefts of socialist property and mismanagement events in the collective farms of Bashkiria acquired an intractable systemic character, fostering antisocial sentiments in the rural section and society at large.

Introduction. In the article, the author examines the history of archives in Kalmykia within the 1962-1980 chronological framework. In 1962, the Archive Department of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the KASSR and the State Archives of the Republic were transferred to the jurisdiction of the Council of Ministers of the KASSR; and in 1980, the Archive Department under the Council of Ministers of the Kalmyk ASSR was reorganized into the Archive Department of the Council of Ministers of the Kalmyk ASSR. The article aims at examining the history of archives and archiving in this period, focusing on the impact of changes in the administrative-territorial division of the Republic on the formation of a network of archival institutions in Kalmykia. This has involved the study of issues of archival acquisition in the state archives, methods of preservation of archival records at the stage of departmental storage and in the state archives, and the use of archival documents for the purposes of national economic and scientific research. Data and research methods. The sources for the research were archival records of the National Archives of the Republic of Kalmykia, many of which are introduced for the first time. Results. The study indicates that the period under consideration saw radical changes in the archival organization in Kalmykia. The archival institutions of the Republic organized their work in accordance with the adopted normative legal acts, the instructions of the higher organizations, and the state of local archiving. In general, during this period, the archivists of the Republic succeeded in reaching the standards required in their professional field in the country at large, and, also, in creating the foundation for further improvement in the field.

This article aims at discussing the time and the character (pragmatic or ritual) of disturbances in paired burials of Kozhumberdy cultural group of Late Bronze Alakul´ Culture in the Southern Urals and Western Kazakhstan. Data. The object of the study are Kozhumberdy paired burials, which were deliberately disturbed, including 19 simultaneous and 3 non-simultaneous graves. Results. The simultaneous burials are divided into two groups according to the degree of skeletal impairment. In the first group the remains of both deceased are equally broken; there are 10 of such burials. The skeletal impairment of pelvic and/or femur bones prevail. In the second group the remains of one of the deceased are broken to a greater degree; there are 9 such burials. As a rule, the female bones suffered more: the skull manipulation (removal, breaking) is their characteristic feature. The fact of the presence of vessels in situ in most graves and the accuracy with which the penetration was accomplished may serve as the evidence of the disturbances made by the contemporaries of the buried. There seems to be no pragmatic purpose for such disturbances: the absence of prestigious grave-goods in most undisturbed paired burials may serve as the indirect indication of this fact. This is supported by direct evidence as well because those who disturbed the graves were apparently not interested in the valuable jewelry; it was left in the disturbed part of the grave. Notably, the disturbance of non-simultaneous burials is like that of simultaneous graves: the skeletons are broken down to the pelvic and/or femur bones (1) and the skulls are removed (2). Conclusions. The disturbance of Kozhumberdy paired burials was carried out during post-burial rituals performed by the contemporaries of the deceased.

Introduction. This is a report on the results of archaeological excavations at Maksimovka I, the subterranean burial ground located in the forest-steppe Volga region. The site is unique because it contains burial complexes of different epochs. The purpose of the paper is to introduce the materials found during the 2018 excavations for the attention of the academic community. In particular, the paper focuses on the description and characterization of the archaeological complexes under investigation, and, also, on their cultural-chronological attribution. Data. The cultural layer was not particularly rich but contained fragments of Neolithic, Eneolithic, and Bronze Age ceramics, stone tools, and waste left after stone processing. Three burials were examined in the excavation area. The first burial comprised the skeleton of a deceased person in a supine position; the head oriented to the north-northeast; the grave goods included iron items (a fragment of a boiler and of a bit, rod-shaped items, and a firesteel), grindstones, and flints. The second buried person was found in the seated position, leg bones bent at the knee joint, head oriented to northeast; the finds included a nonferrous metal ring, a bone pendant, a silicon wafer, and tubular beads. The third buried person was also in a seated position, head oriented to the northeast; no grave goods were found in the third burial. Also, two other burial constructions recovered on the site were partially examined.  Results. The first burial was attributed to the Golden Horde period in the Middle Ages (the second half of the 13th or the 14th c.). The second burial has a number of parallels to burial complexes of mid-late Eneolithic era of the forest-steppe Volga region. The third burial was left unidentified in terms of its cultural-chronological attribution, granted the non-standard position of the skeletal remains in the grave and the absence of goods. Conclusions. The examination of the subterranean burial ground Maksimovka I has allowed to introduce the archaeological material of different periods, such as Neolithic, Eneolithic, Bronze, and Middle Ages.

Introduction. A critical situation in the agricultural sector of Kalmykia, largely destroyed infrastructure, unemployment, and low wages are the factors that contribute to the increase of migration of the population in the rural areas of the Republic. One of the destinations for migrants, besides Moscow and Saint-Petersburg, is Far North and territories equated to it. The present article’s aim is to examine the character of this migration and the migrants’ life in the northern lands. Data and research methods. The study employs the method of structured in-depth interview; the respondents found by way of ”snow-balling”. There are 20 interviews in all, recorded in March-April 2021. Results. The analysis of the interviews indicates that the people migrate to the Far North to solve their financial problems, to get jobs, to make careers, and to earn their ”northern” pensions. Most of them are quite successful: flats are bought, houses are being built, and there is money to help their relatives. They may adapt well to the new environments but very often at the expense of their health. The interviewees often have plans to go back to Kalmykia but only when they are retired or after their work in the Far North they may move to Moscow and Podmoskov´e to live and work there. Importantly, the migrants from Kalmykia are usually those who have a good command of their mother tongue. Their complaints are that they have no opportunity to realize their professional ambitions and be useful to their home villages and places. Notably, migrants have Kalmyk associations that organize besides holiday feasts some educational activities (teaching mother tongue and Kalmyk dances), and support the elderly and the young.

Goals. The article provides a codicological insight into Tibetan written heritage which gains certain relevance due to that extensive Tibetan collections are currently being introduced into scholarly circulation in Russia. The paper determines specific features of traditional Tibetan-Mongolian book production — the former being subject to codicological research — such as book types and formats, characteristics of paper, various design elements and marginalia, etc. Methods. Modern approaches to the study and attribution of Tibetan written monuments are examined through the analysis of most successful international initiatives advanced by the British Library, Harvard University, etc. Results. The work establishes main parameters of book description related to physical features, cultural and social contexts of its creation and existence. The obtained outcomes made it possible to enhance the digital codicological model for Tibetan book monuments at the Center of Oriental Manuscripts and Monuments. The accumulation of data collected during the codicological study of large Tibetan collections and their processing with digital methods (statistical, geoinformation ones, etc.) also yield some important quantitative indicators to determine key directions, intensity and features of cultural interaction between Russia’s East — and countries of East and Inner Asia largely influenced by Tibetan culture.

Introduction. Various collections of Mongolian xylographs and manuscripts may contain works on divination practice with eight khulils. What does the word khulil mean? Why does one use eight khulils? What are the texts devoted to the khulil divination? This article deals with the practice of khulil divination in Mongolia, while introducing a Mongolian text devoted to this form of divination.  Results. The divination practice goes back to the oldest Chinese source on divination Yijing (I Ching, Book of Changes, about the seventh century BC). Divination is carried out with the help of the trigram, or the three dashes, which are the result of casting coins or of some other method. A combination of trigrams means a particular future. These three lines are called khulil in Mongolian (gua in Chinese). Divination by 8 gua, or 8 khulils, and 64 (8 × 8) or 512 (8 × 8 × 8) combinations is the most common form of divination in China. Later, each trigram was represented by a year of the 12-year animal cycle so that the ninth year was the beginning of the next cycle. Thus, each of the 8 years symbolizes a certain trigram, or khulil, according to the ordinal number of the latter. Granted the number of Mongolian manuscripts on khulil divination in various collections, this divination form was widely practiced by Mongolians. By way of introducing the literature on the subject, the present article presents the Russian translation of the initial fragment of manuscript MN 1145 originating from Ts. Damdinsuren museum in Ulaanbaatar. This is a Mongolian translation from Chinese made relatively late that has few traces of Mongolization or efforts of adaptation to nomadic realia. Besides concerns for the illnesses of relatives or issues of choosing a son-in-law or a bride, which are of a universal character, the most popular topics are questions about farming, such as: should one expect rain? what will be the harvest of grain and raw silk? Also, there are many questions related to promotion and career, e.g., passing exams for the degree of an official. The text contains numerous Sinicisms, including idioms, expressions, and names of Chinese astrological signs; there is also a reference to buying a jins, which points to the Manchu period. Notably, neither Tibetan items nor Buddhist deities are mentioned in the text.

Introduction. This article deals with the analysis of a ritual text devoted to the Six-Armed Mahakala. Mahakala is one of the most powerful protectors of Tibetan Buddhism. The article gives a description of the Six-Armed Mahakala and his retinue and discusses the structure of the ritual text rendering its content and describing the rules and the sequence of acts in propitiating the deity. It is pointed out that the text is a compilation and some of the original authors are identified whose works were used in the ritual text signed by Khedrup Je. Also, the text is most voluminous and includes the discussions of a great number of other pertinent rituals. The aim of the present paper is the discussion and the interpretation of the image and attributes of the Six-Armed Mahakala based on a fragment of the text, translated and introduced for the academic community. Data and methods. The text “The Ritual of Propitiation ...” is used as the research material; the method employed is descriptive, complemented by methods of structural-semantic, conceptual, and contextual analysis. Results. The iconography of the deity contained in the text presents a description that includes a detailed explanation of some of the deity’s elements. This allows to reveal the wrathful character of the fierce Dharmapala and shows that all the elements, such as attributes, gowns, adornments, postures, and gestures have deep symbolic meanings associated with philosophical and religious ideas, as well as with the ethical norms of Buddhism. This preliminary research, including the structuring and the analysis of the text under study, indicates the relevance, as well as the urgency of further examination of the introduced material, granted that ritual texts are seen as helpful additional sources for the study of the Buddhist deities.

The aim of the article is to examine the process of constructing the images of Stalin and Mao Zedong in the material of Soviet central newspapers on the themes of the Peoples’ Republic of China (PRC) and Soviet-Chinese friendship. Our focus on the techniques of such constructions allow for dealing with a number of research issues, such as which conceptions of the political leaders were rendered to the Soviet audiences and in which way was this implemented; was there a potential for dynamics in treating the subjects and if this was the case what were the factors that played a role in such dynamics. Data and methods. For our database of primary sources we have chosen the ”Ogonyok” issues published in the period between October 1949 and March 1953. The authors of the present article were interested in references in the magazine texts but also in the images of Stalin and Mao. Hence, the research lens of historical imagology allowed us to examine the images under study as complex synthetical constructions, the constructions that were impacted by inner and outer factors in play in the Soviet society itself, including its political culture, the specific features of representations in the sphere of internationl relations, etc. The illustrative material was used for the sake of further verification and detailization. Results. The ”Ogonyok” material on the theme of Soviet-Chinese friendship included a considerable amount of texts and their visual supplements, with Stalin and Mao as their central personages. The thematical distribution of the database has shown that its main themes are Soviet-Chinese friendship described in hierarchical terms as the ”teacher-pupil” relationship, the achievements of socialist transformation in China, etc. Conclusions. The personification of the images of the leaders of the USSR and the PRC was designed to promote the positive attitudes towards the main Soviet ally, on the one hand, and, on the other hand, to contribute to the legitimization of the USSR’s leading position not only in the Soviet-Chinese interaction, but in the whole of the Socialist world as well. Mao’s leading role in the transformations of the Chinese society confirmed to the Soviet audiences the correctness of the development model in the Soviet Union itself. Numerous presentations of the good will with which the Chinese side was ready to follow the ”Stalin recipe” in building socialism served as a marker that the ”great friendship” was under Moscow’s control.

The article deals with the inventory of toponyms of the village of Bolshoe Aldarkino, Borskii district, Samara region, introduced and analyzed for the first time by the present author. The village was founded by the descendants of Virjal Chuvash in 1767. The research database has been formed by the evidence on the toponymics of the village and its surrounding area collected by the author from locals and local historians during his field trip in 2018. Also, for a comparative analysis of the toponyms under study, he has made use of the relevant material collected by him in other Chuvash villages of the Samara Volga region in the period between 2015 and 2019; these are first of all the villages in Borskii, Pokhvistnevskii, and Isaklinskii districts. As a result, it was possible to identify the principal elements of the toponymic items of the Chuvash idiolect of Bolshoe Aldarkino, their particular forms and semantics. To illustrate, such terms as var (ravine) or oshken´(street) have peculiarities in their structure, forms, and semantics, which make them distinctly characteristic of this particular Chuvash dialect in contrast to those spoken in the neighboring Chuvash villages. Most of the names presented in the article are etymologized from the Chuvash and Russian languages, a number of toponyms are currently de-etymologized, but there are no grounds to refer them to any other language. There is no substrate layer in the toponymic space under study. Some geographical names display the features of the Virjal dialect of the Chuvash language, including Odar, Vyras Oshken, Tikhon Oshken, etc. A few geographical items of the toponymic space of Bolshoe Aldarkino have convincing lexical and semantic parallels in the toponymic spaces of other Chuvash villages in the region, as well as of other settlements of Chuvash speakers.

Introduction. In 1802–1803, Benjamin Bergmann made a trip to the Kalmyk steppes to collect historical, literary, and folklore material on the Kalmyks and the Kalmyk culture. The result of this journey was the 1804–1805 publication of “Nomadische Streifereien unter den Kalmüken in den Jahren 1802 und 1803” (Nomadic wanderings among Kalmyks in 1802–1803) in Riga, which up to the present day has not lost its importance as a source of information on the culture and life of the Kalmyks in the 18th and 19th centuries. The four-volume work contains translations of various texts from Kalmyk into German, including the two songs of the “Geser” epos. This is in fact the earliest translation of “Geser” songs into a European language. Data. The German translation of the two “Geser” songs published by Bergmann in his work has been used as the material for the present research. The aim of the article. Bergmann’s translation of the songs is often mentioned in scholarly publications, but so far, no Russian translation of the songs in full has been made. To facilitate the research of the Oirat-Kalmyk “Geser” and especially of the songs in question, this article presents their scientific translation into Russian made by the present author. Also, the article discusses the character of the Kalmyk originals of the epic songs. So far it has been believed that an oral retelling was the source for the German translation of the songs. However, there is sufficient evidence for a new hypothesis because the analysis of the data undertaken in this study indicates that apparently there was a written Oirat source for the translation. Conclusions. Besides the complete Russian translation of the “Geser” sagas offered here, the article puts forward the hypothesis of the written nature of the original source, which served as the basis for Bergmann’s German translation.

Introduction. The language of the folk magic tale is characterized by a wide use of artistic means, including epithets; this may be explained by the worldview, aesthetic ideas, certain concepts that developed in the course of the people’s history, as well as with folk philosophy and the specific features of the language. So far there has been no special study devoted to imaginative-expressive means of Bashkir magic tales; hence, to fill in the gap, the present article undertakes the study of epithets of the stock of artistic means characteristic of the Bashkir folk magic tale that add to the expressiveness of the language in magic tales. Thus, the study aims at identifying and analyzing epithets that characterize the main character of the magic tale from different sides; A. I. Aliyeva’s method has proved useful for this part of the research, while the examination of their structural types draws on the method elaborated by the Altai researcher M. A. Demchinova. Data and research methods. The sources for the research data were the texts of magic tales published in the Bashkir language in the two books of the scholarly collection Bashkir Folk Art; the analysis of the data was carried out with the help of textual and analytical methods. Results. The texts of the tales were examined first to identify epithets; then, the analysis focused on the epithets that characterize the main character: their appearance, marital status, social status, clothing, housing, etc. It appears that the epithets that characterize the protagonists in Bashkir magic tales have a systemic character. There is a certain sequence in the complex portrayals of personages that help to create the image of an ideal hero who may be poor but, also, kind, generous, and always ready to help those in need. The second part of the article focuses on the structural types of the items, including simple and complex epithets. Each of the type is illustrated with examples.

Introduction. The riddle which reflects the world outlook of the people is a popular genre in the Karachay-Balkar folklore. However, the richest materials collected over decades have not been studied so far. The present study aims at examining the history and poetics of the Karachay-Balkar riddle drawing on the works of leading foreign and Russian theorists. This has involved i) the discussion of the socio-cultural factors that were conducive to the emergence of the genre, ii) the description of the five principal thematic circles, iii) the analysis of the key structural formulas of the Karachay-Balkar riddle, and iv) the description of the expressive language of the puzzle. Data and research methods. Academic collections, including pre-revolutionary sources, were used as the database for the research, which involved comparative-historical, system-structural, semiotic, textological, and analytical methods. Results. The Karachay-Balkar puzzle may be seen as a bilateral artistic subculture, with one side facing the archetypal invariant, and the other characterized by variability, granted the historical and geographical contexts, the landscape of the North Caucasus, the life, and the culture of the highlanders. The conceptualization of the world in riddles involves five main ontological conceptual spheres: anthropocentric, ethnocultural, natural, cosmogonic, mental, and ethical. The riddle images are most often associated with ethnically marked objects. The distinct character of the Karachay-Balkar riddle is due to frequent use of rhymed poetic forms, verse formulas, proper names, as well as to a wealth of their expressive devices (metaphor, comparison, alliteration, antithesis, sarcasm, and humor). Also, the riddles have a great pedagogical potentiality. Conclusions. The analysis of the Karachay-Balkar riddles resulted in identifying the distinct features in the conceptualizations of the world by the North Caucasian highlanders, as well as in drawing a picture of their values in the material and spiritual spheres.