National identities, considered a guarantee of successful development, were among the priorities for the five newly independent states that emerged in the territory of what used to be the Soviet Central Asia and Kazakhstan-the Republic of Kazakhstan, the Kyrgyz Republic, the Republic of Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and the Republic of Uzbekistan. The process began when the Soviet Union still existed: the Soviet Central Asian republics and Kazakhstan adopted laws on language that allowed the Central Asian elites to pass decisions related to the languages used by titular nations. In the post-Soviet years the language policy moved to the fore as one of the key aspects of the gradually emerging national identities treated with special attention at the state level. No matter how similar the processes were, no matter how close the cultures and traditions, each of the Central Asian countries chose its own road, fine-tuned to the specifics of their domestic contexts and the interests of the elites in power. The processes unfolded in full compliance with social continuity, traditions, culture and national languages that survived under Soviet rule. The republics, however, had to take into account the national minorities, including the Russian-speaking populations, in all post-Soviet republics. Inherited from Soviet times, the Russian language was dominant in all of the Central Asian republics, and even preserved much of its influence in the newly independent post-Soviet Central Asian states. This means that they should have opted for a relatively balanced language policy up to and including the continual stage-by-stage contraction of the spheres in which Russian was predominantly used. For obvious reasons they could not push aside their trade and economic relations with Russia and ignore the role of the Soviet cultural and educational heritage. This cushioned the political effects of the Soviet Union's disintegration, partially limited the role of nationalist parties in the newly independent states and helped preserve their educational potential. Shaping national identities in the post-Soviet Central Asian countries was not a smooth, let alone easy, process: societies were far from homogenous, while the regions found it hard to agree to more or less reasonable compromises. This became especially apparent in Kyrgyzstan, which was divided into the southern and northern parts; in Kazakhstan, where the local society was divided into zhuzes; in Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan, where clans carried a lot of political weight. Thus the elites in power in all of the Central Asian states had no choice but to take into account very different or even clashing interests of informal groups and clans, and tune their policies accordingly. This means that the road towards national identities was far from simple: it meandered between contradictory trends and interests. This also explains the centuries-old mechanism of governance, namely, regional-clan approaches to various problems, which was in place in all of the Central Asian countries, functioning outside the party and state structures. While paying lip service to Communist ideology, leaders of the Central Asian republics invariably took the clan balance of power into account. From the very first days of independence, the Central Asian leaders remained loyal to the conceptual approach to national identities: they concentrated on historical heritage, culture, traditions and national language, the key element of national identity. Despite the fairly long history of their independence, the problem of national identity remains prominent in all of the Central Asian countries. It is intertwined with the problem of the emergence of statehood and development of political systems and the radical geopolitical shifts occurring against the background of mounting economic problems. This cannot but affect the situation in the Central Asian countries in which the process of shaping national identities has not yet been completed.
In: Mir nauki: sociologija, filologija, kul'turologija : naučnyj žurnal otkrytogo dostupa = World of science : sociology, philology, cultural studies, Band 13, Heft 3
Countries that are the most attractive for Russian medical tourists in peacetime and when political tensions arise are considered in this article. The availability of medical services for Russians currently abroad is assessed due to the sanctions policy applied by various countries, including Western ones, against Russia. One of the limiting factors in the access of outbound medical tourism for Russians is the situation with air traffic between Russia and countries where Russians prefer travelling to receive medical services. So, direct flights are currently carried out with limited number of countries; basically, Russian medical tourists can get there with transfers. At the same time, a number of countries have completely restricted the entry of Russians into their territories, including for tourism purposes. This inevitably leads to a shift in demand for outbound medical tourism for Russians across countries. The global market for medical tourism is actively developing now, and, in general, it is already quite capacious and competitive. This is due to different countries have a number of identical specializations in the field of medicine. Therefore, Russians have the opportunity to find alternative countries to receive medical services, including by turning to the domestic market, in particular for the treatment of cancer. As before, the Middle East (Israel) will be attractive for Russian medical tourists. Also, a shift in demand from Europe to the countries of South and Southeast Asia will be.
International audience ; The educational and methodological manual is devoted to the main issues of modern world politics and international relations. In particular, the main trends in the development of world politics are analyzed through the prism of the main theories of international relations, such as: political realism, liberalism, neorealism and neoliberalism, as well as constructivism and feminism. Along with this, the manual introduces the regional and global developments in the post-Soviet space, Europe, the Middle East, as well as in the Asia-Pacific, Latin American and African regions. Special emphasis is placed on the geopolitical priorities of Armenia and the South Caucasus. The course ends with lectures on the technological developments of our time, their impact on international relations, as well as models for the formation of a strategy for a secure Future. ; Учебно-методическое пособие посвящено основным проблемам современной мировой политики и международных от-ношений. В частности, главные тенденции развития мировой политики анализируются сквозь призму основных теорий между-народных отношений – таких, как: политический реализм, либерализм, неореализм и неолиберализм, а также конструктивизм и феминизм. Наряду с этим, пособие знакомит с региональными и глобальными развитиями на постсоветском пространстве, Европе, Ближнем Востоке, а также в Азиатско-Тихоокеанском, Латиноамериканском и Африканском регионах. Особый акцент ставится на геополитические приоритеты Армении и Южного Кавказа. Курс завершается лекциями, посвященными технологическим развитиям современности, их влиянию на международные отношения, а также моделям формирования стратегии безопасного Будущего.
The US has prolonged its stay in Afghanistan with the security situation remaining far from improving. The indefatigable demand for resources to maintain counter-insurgency operations was a major debate in 2016 US Presidential elections with a demand for an earlier withdrawal from America's trillion dollars plus war effort. Russians having sensed the weakening of the US infl uence warmed upto the idea of new Afghan situation involving Taliban and their masters, the Pakistan army. Russia had experienced vulnerabilities of Islamisation in Central Asia and Caucasus, and the ISIS brand radicalisation added to the fear of political destabilisation of Central Asian states. The Islamic State showed up in Afghanistan and Pakistan as ISIS-Khorasan branch. Russia needed Pakistan as an ally to fi ght Daesh's presence on its southern periphery. However, there remained many intertwined security challenges that complicate the South Asian geopolitics, especially, the Af-Pak region. Russia's Taliban policy might be the hitherto unused leverage that it might be using in order to strike balance all along the shatter belt. ; США приняли решение о продлении срока пребывания своего контингента в Афганистане, в то время как ситуация в сфере безопасности в стране не улучшается. Нескончаемый спрос на ресурсы, необходимые для поддержания военных операций против повстанцев, стал главным предметом дискуссий во время предвыборной гонки США в 2016 году, когда звучали призывы ко скорейшему выводу контингента США из Афганистана, чтобы сохранить более трех триллионов долларов. В России, в связи с осознанием ослабления роли США в регионе, возросли опасения относительно ситуации в Афганистане после вывода войск США, учитывая активность движения Талибан и его спонсоров в Пакистане. Россия уже ощутила на себе все тяжелые последствия исламизации в Центральной Азии и на Кавказе, деятельности ИГИЛ, всего, что ведет к дестабилизации ситуации в государствах центральноазиатского региона. Находящиеся в Афганистане и Пакистане боевики ИГИЛ относятся к ответвлению Хорасан. Пакистан же необходим России для оказания сопротивления присутствию ИГИЛ на южных рубежах страны. Однако геополитическая ситуация в регионе осложняется целым рядом взаимосвязанных проблем безопасности, одним из которых является так называемый «АфПак». До настоящего времени политика России в отношении движения Талибан могла представлять собой некий неиспользованный инструмент для установления баланса сил на протяжении всего «пояса нестабильности».
In this article, data of the Japanese, Korean and Chinese sources on domestic and foreign policy of Yamato state during 80s of 5th century in reign of emperor Shiraki (Seinei, 480-484) and emperor Woke (Kenzō, 484–487) are analyzed. Events of struggle for power and coming to power of a side branch of a monarchic family of Yamato, participation and a role of Japanese in military operations in South Korea are considered. In this regard, materials of sources about prince Hoshikawa's mutiny, enthronement of prince Shiraka, detection of princes Ōke and Woke, Japanese-Korean relations during early 80s of the 5th century, tax reform of emperor Seinei; temporary government of princess Ipidoyo, a circumstance of struggle for power and enthronement of prince Woke known under a posthumous name Kenzō, domestic policy of this sovereign and development of economy, and also the Korean policy of Kenzō in the mid-eighties of the 5th century are analyzed. Especially the origin and activity of Ki-no Ohiha-no sukune (ancient Jap. Ki-no Opipa-no sukune) in Imna (Jap. Mimana) is considered. ; В статье анализируются сведения японских, корейских и китайских источников о внутренней и внешней политике государства Ямато в 80-е годы V века в царствование государей Сирака (Сэйнэя, 480–484 гг.) и Вокэ (Кэндзō, 484–487 гг.). Рассматриваются события борьбы за власть и прихода к власти боковой ветви государева рода Ямато, участие и роль японцев в военных действиях в Южной Корее. В связи с этим проанализированы материалы источников о мятеже принца Хосикава (др.-яп. Посикапа), вступлении на трон принца Сирака, обнаружении принцев Ōкэ и Вокэ, японо-корейских отношений начала 80-х годов V века, налоговых преобразований государя Сэйнэя; временное правление принцессы Ипидоё, обстоятельства борьбы за власть и вступления на трон принца Вокэ, известного под посмертным именем Кэндзō, внутренняя политика данного государя и развитие хозяйства, а также корейская политика Кэндзō в середине 80-х годов V века. Особо рассматривается происхождение и деятельность Ки-но Охиха-но сукунэ (др.-яп. Ки-но Опипа-но сукунэ) в Имна (яп. Мимана).
In the article, the basic vocabulary of BRICS countries, its regional tendencies of business development, and its share taken in the foreign-economic activity are analyzed. Contribution of different foreign trade fields of regions into economic development is revealed. Indicators of development levels of external economic links are reviewed. Alternative options of the foreign trade development, expenses and benefits from its reorientation, and the reason of low indicators of development of foreign trade activity of the Ural regions with BRICS countries are evaluated, and measures for their improvement and development are offered. The mechanism and tools of stimulation of foreign economic relations development of regions with BRICS countries are investigated. The internal and external motives and incentives of expansion of these relations are examined. The factors influencing the regional markets development and revealing multidirectional tendencies in activities of business, government, society for development of foreign economic relations of the Ural regions with BRICS countries, and first of all with Brazil, India, China and the Republic of South Africa are investigated. The export-import features of the foreign trade operations with these countries, and also possible ways and the directions of expansion of the prognostics of foreign economic relations in the conditions of toughening and restriction of similar operations and financial sources from the developed countries, first of all the USA and EU countries are represented. Author examines the reasons and scenario, problems and difficulties for the country and the Ural regions in refocusing of international economic relation from Western Europe to the South-East Asia countries. Real opportunities of participation of regions of the country in the import substitution and development of own resource and production base are analyzed. The research is focused on analysis of international economic relations of the Middle-Ural enterprises with BRICS countries, on identification of causes and effects for enterprises of the old industrial region of reduction of export-import transactions on both developed, and emergent markets in the conditions of toughening and instability of environment in the national and world financial markets. ; Проанализированы терминологический аппарат БРИКС, региональные тенденции развития бизнеса и мера его участия во внешнеэкономической деятельности данной группы стран. Выявлены альтернативные варианты развития внешней торговли, издержки и выгоды от ее переориентации, а также причины низких показателей развития внешнеторговой деятельности регионов Урала со странами БРИКС. Предложены меры по их совершенствованию и развитию. Рассмотрено управление внешнеэкономической деятельностью региона. Представлены партнеры и конкуренты Среднего Урала.
The article describes the main parameters of Vietnam-China relations at the present stage. On the one hand, economic relations between these neighboring countries are developing dynamically, and, on the other, territorial disputes in the South China Sea have led Beijing and Hanoi to balancing on the brink of hostilities and to actively seeking allies. Currently, Beijing is winning economic cooperation with Hanoi, but so far it is clearly politically losing to Washington in pulling Hanoi to its side in the current geopolitical situation. Vietnam skillfully uses the current situation in its interests, increasing economic cooperation with both Beijing and Washington, to accelerate the modernization of its economy. ; Статья посвящена описанию основных параметров вьетнамско-китайских отношений на современном этапе. С одной стороны, экономические отношения между этими соседними странами динамично развиваются, а, с другой, территориальные споры в Южно-Китайском море привели Пекин и Ханой к балансированию на грани военных действий и активному поиску союзников. В настоящее время Пекин выигрывает в экономическом сотрудничестве с Ханоем, однако пока явно проигрывает Вашингтону политически в перетягивании Ханоя на свою сторону в текущем геополитическом раскладе. Вьетнам умело использует сложившуюся ситуацию в своих интересах, наращивая экономическое взаимодействие как с Пекином, так и Вашингтоном, для ускорения модернизации своей экономики.
The coins discovered in Altai and the South of the Upper Ob region during archaeological excavations of Early Medieval sites are important chronological indicators. They also reflect the results of ethno-cultural and military-political interaction between different groups of the population during this period. The article provides a detailed analysis of two Chinese coins stored in the Biysk Museum of local lore (Altai territory) and originating from the well-known burial mound Srostki-I. In addition to the history of their study, detailed descriptions and comprehensive illustrations are presented for the first time. Based on the current data on the Chinese coins and the results of x-ray fluorescence testing, new grounds for dating the considered products are given. This information is supplemented by a summary of other similar finds from the sites of the territory under consideration. This information indicates the need for further study of numismatic materials that are known in certain regions of North Asia. ; Монеты, обнаруженные на Алтае и юге Верхнего Приобья в ходе археологических раскопок памятников раннего Средневековья, являются важными хронологическими индикаторами. Они так-же отражают результаты этнокультурного и военно-политического взаимодействия разных групп населения в указанный период. В статье дается развернутый анализ двух китайских монет, хранящихся в Бийском краеведческом музее (Алтайский край) и происходящих из хорошо известного курганно- го могильника Сростки-I. Кроме истории их изучения впервые представлены подробные описания и всесторонние иллюстрации. На основе современных данных о китайских монетах и полученных результатов рентгенофлюоресцентного тестирования приводятся новые основания для датировки рассмотренных изделий. Эти сведения дополняет сводка других аналогичных находок из памятников рассматриваемой территории. Изложенная информация обозначает необходимость дальнейшего изучения нумизматических материалов, которые известны в отдельных регионах Северной Азии.
The subject. The article discusses the international legal positions of Russia and Japan that prevent the conclusion of a peace treaty between them and impede a radical improvement in relations, which is perceived as an urgent need for both sides.The purpose of the article is to show the fundamental differences in the official positions of the governments of Russia and Japan and suggest a fundamentally new diplomatic and legal solution to the long-standing territorial dispute among the states, which will result in finally breaking the deadlock.Methodology. The research is based on the methods such as historical research, formal logic, including analysis, synthesis, and modeling, as well as systematic, comparative and interpretation. Materials include national and international laws and scholarly articles, books relating to Russian-Japanese relations, as well as its international legal aspects.The main results, scope of application. The authors note that the end of the Cold War transformed Europe. Since that time there have been a reformatting of military alliances, the unification of Germany, reconciliation of the nations warring since ancient times. All these are based on the recognition of the inviolability of the outcome of the Second World War and established territorial structure. In comparison with Europe, it had smaller consequences in Asia. All previous dividing lines and lines of conflicts are preserved. Nothing was done to reunite the divided nations. Reconciliation by and large also did not happen. One of the burning problems has remained the territorial claims of Japan to Russia on the four islands of the Southern Kuril and the unresolved long-standing dispute over affiliation of the islands. The international legal position of Russia is that the legal status of the islands was determined by the results of the Second World War. Japan proceeds from the premise that the Islands historically belonged to it and the actual sovereignty of Russia over them does not change the case. Since the international ...
В статье рассмотрена специфика регионального партнерства в сфере развития и безопасности в Юго-Восточной Азии через призму внешней политики США и КНР на примере Сингапура и Таиланда. Исследована деятельность США по противодействию конкуренции, давлению и потенциальному господству Китайской Народной Республики в Юго-Восточной Азии. Проанализированы характерные особенности внешней политики Сингапура и Таиланда в отношении КНР и США. Выявлены особенности внешнеполитической стратегии Таиланда, которая направлена на поддержание тесных отношений как с США, так и с КНР и избежание ситуации геополитического выбора между этими странами. Показано, что Сингапур придерживается тактики укрепления национальной безопасности через формирование и развитие всесторонних отношений, в первую очередь с США. На основе проведенного исследования автор анализирует проблемы и противоречия, которые сложились во взаимоотношениях треугольника в вопросах региональной безопасности и развития. Подчеркивается важность углубления диалога между Соединенными Штатами Америки и Юго-Восточной Азией в вопросах поиска стратегий обеспечения региональной безопасности в военной, экономической, политической и культурной сферах, учитывая нарастающее влияние КНР. ; After the destruction of the bipolar system of the period of the cold war in northeast Asia in the 1990s – beginning of XXI century has clearly identified the formation of new regional bipolar system of international relations with two powerful centers of power – Chinese and American. With the advent of B. Obama in the US administration, the changes in the American strategy in the APR were manifested in the increased US participation in multilateral regional mechanisms. At the same time, it should be noted that the US interests in the subregion during this period were limited mainly to the anti-terrorist struggle, Washington"s goal was the gradual restoration of military-political ties with the states of the subregion on a bilateral basis. Lighted on the example of Singapore and Thailand some of the differences between strategies and expectations in connection with the alleged need to protect your-self from potential aggression from China by using a strong policy. Thailand is practicing a strong hedging behavior, maintaining close relation-ships with both US and China to maximize its benefits and room for maneuver. Thailand respects both countries without sacrificing national interests and diplomatic flexibility. The country manages its solid relations with the United States in such a way that facilitates closer ties with China without becoming overly dependent. Thailand usually opened in order to see that China contributes to regional security, although there remain questions about the hidden long-term ambitions of China and its transparency. Thailand controls the Chinese cooperation with non-traditional security issues as trafficking in drugs. The primary mission of Thai foreign policy is to position the Kingdom where he will not have to choose strategically between the US and China. In contrast, Singapore seems a little weaker, but it strengthens our security relation-ship with the United States, moving away from Beijing. The importance of deepening the dialogue between the United States of America and South – East Asia in the search for strategies for regional security in the military, economic, political and cultural spheres is underlined, taking into account the growing influence of China.
Former Soviet Union countries is of special interest for China. Russian influence in former republics has been declining since the Soviet Union collapsed. China used these changes to start developing of bilateral relations with Central Asia states, as a first priority, and continued with Ukraine, Belorussia, South Caucasus governments. Former Soviet countries' course to weaken Russian influence helped Chinese policy to be promoted. It has altered from bitty steps to concerted course in the region. China began to play a major role in the trade and economic development of Central Asia, supporting its policy with political mechanisms. To strengthen its positions, Beijing proposed its "One belt - one road" strategic initiative, which consists of two major projects : Silk Road Economic Belt and the 21st Century Maritime Silk Route Economic Belt. These projects involve almost all of the former soviet states, of which Central Asian countries play a major part. This world region is seen in China as a platform for invading European markets, and it also provides a way to avoid trespassing of the Russian borders. In the context of Chinese "One road — one belt" initiative, there is a great concern of the cooperation with EAEU project. EAEU is aimed to provide coordinated unified economic policy with state-members, to guarantee the free movement of goods, capital and labour. Moscow sees its initiative as an instrument for construction of economic and political structure in the region, same as Beijing does. Possibility of two global projects coexistence, which can be distinguished as competitive, is a problem to be solved. ; Страны постсоветского пространства представляют для Китая особый интерес. После распада Советского Союза российское влияние в бывших республиках стало снижаться. Меняющейся ситуацией воспользовался Китай, который стал развивать отношения со странами Центральной Азии, а затем с Украиной, Белоруссией, государствами Южного Кавказа. Политике Китая способствовал внешнеполитический курс стран постсоветского пространства, которые стремились уменьшить зависимость от России. За четверть века политика Китая на постсоветском пространстве прошла эволюцию от разрозненных шагов, до скоординированной политики. Китай стал играть ключевую роль в торгово-экономическом развитии Центральной Азии, дополняя свою политику политическими механизмами. С целью дальнейшего укрепления своих позиций Китай предложил проект «Один пояс - один путь», который включает в себя проекты «Экономического пояса Шёлкового пути» и «Морского Шёлкового пути XXI века». Данные инициативы охватывают практически все бывшие советские республики, среди которых наибольшее значение имеют государства Центральной Азии. Этот район мира рассматривается Китаем в качестве плацдарма для последующего выхода на европейские рынки, в том числе и в обход российских территорий. В контексте развития китайской инициативы «Один пояс - один путь» встает вопрос о возможности его сопряжения с российским интеграционным проектом Евразийского экономического союза (ЕАЭС). Он рассматривается Россией для координации и реализации согласованной политики в экономической сфере со странами постсоветского пространства, обеспечения зоны свободного движения товаров, услуг и рабочей силы. Москва, так же как и Пекин, видит свою инициативу в качестве инструмента экономико-политического структурирования региона. Наличие двух геополитических проектов, которые в значительной мере являются конкурентами, ставит вопрос о перспективах сопряжения ЕАЭС и инициативы «Один пояс — один путь».
International audience ; The collective work presents the study and publicationof excavated materials of an archaeologically known twoapsechurch from the first half of the 9th to the first half ofthe 10th century at the top of the Tuzluk Hill in the Yedi Evlerarea, Crimean Peninsula, near the village of Semidvorie(Alushta, Crimea, Ukraine). This sanctuary was linked tothe large agricultural and pottery producing settlement thatexisted in this economically developed and populous regionin the second half of the 8th/9th - first half of the 10th century.The settlement was situated 150-250 meters to the east andsoutheast from the church. Just 350 meters southeast fromthe church was a medieval cemetery of the "Suuksu" typeof the 7th – 8th / 9th (?) centuries existed which was left by thepopulation usually identified as Crimean Goths tribes.In 2007, an area of around 96 m2 was investigated andchurch ruins and surrounding cultural layer were studied.The stratigraphical analysis managed to identify here 44archaeological layers or contexts, one medieval grave withdouble burials, and a Bronze Age cultual place. The studyof ruins shows that the sanctuary was rebuilt multiple times.The church consisted of two communicating compartmentsof different sizes. As for characteristic features, the southernmain apse is bigger in size than the northern one, andthere was an entrance in the main part of the church throughthe northern compartment as well as two other doorwaysfrom the west and from the south. The western portal of thenorthern compartment was completely open and no traces ofwall masonry here were attested. In contrast to the southerncompartment, the foundation of the northern part was cutin natural. The three-layer masonry wall was made of localpoor faceted rectangular stones of various sizes. For buildingmortar, mud solutions with clay loam as a binder elementwere mostly used. The inside of the southern churchwalls was plastered with lime mortar, which in some placesis preserved in situ, and painted with red linear and geometricpatterns including letters or even inscriptions that aretoday illegible. The roof likely had two slopes covered bylocally made tiles of different types.The overall dimensions of the church were: width – 5.60-5.70 m, length - 8.50 m. The thickness of the wall was about0.7 m. Structure remains are preserved to a height of 0.80 m.Both apses have shoulders connecting apsidal semicirclesand walls. The external diameter of the southern apse is 2.13m. The internal dimension of the southern main compartmentis 2.34×4.15 м. The external diameter of the northernapse is 1.20 m, while the internal is 0.63 m. The width in thewestern part of the northern compartment is 1.34 m, and inthe eastern part it is reduced to 1.26 m. The church was orientedto the northeast. The azimuth of its central axis is 47°,which roughly corresponds to the azimuth point of sunriseduring the summer solstice for Crimean latitude.SUMMARYIn the first chapter, written by V. Kirilko, the buildinghistory of the church and its architectural peculiarities arepresented. The double apse sanctuary belongs to the relativelyrare type of churches of the Middle Byzantine periodthat could be described as a two-apse church with unequalapses of different sizes. G. Dimitrokallis (1976), the authorof the most representative corpus of double apse byzantinesanctuaries, classified them as "pseudobiconques." Thereare some examples of double apse churches in the Crimea(Sotera near Alushta, Sudak, Funa near Luchistoe settlement,Chembalo fortress in Balaklava). Yet, these sanctuariesmainly date back to the 14th century, with the one exceptionbeing the Sotera church that belonged to the periodof the 8th-10th century, and none of them provides an exactparallel to the church of Yedi Evler.During the short period of its history, the church wascompletely rebuilt at least once. The first building periodinvolved the creation of the main southern church with theapse and the three entrances from the west, south and north.It is highly likely that the church was intentionally conceivedby priests, ktitores or the Christian community as a doubleapse and two-part building. Immediately after the perfectionof the southern church, the additional northern compartmentwith open western portal and separate apse was added. Thispart of the church was connected to the main church via aspecial doorway in the wall dividing the compartment thatpreviously served as the northern entrance to the southernchurch. In fact, the second building period is distinguishedonly theoretically as a final step in the construction of thechurch. The chronology of the first two periods of the building'shistory, based mainly on the study of pottery and ceramicmaterials from the complex, dates back to the firsthalf of the 9th century, or more precisely the second-third tothe middle of the century.After a short period the church was completely destroyed,most likely due to inadequate construction worksor an earthquake. The third building period is determined as860-880s, when the sanctuary was rebuilt and reconstructed.After reconstruction, the northern compartment was buriedby earth and ruined stones and preserved according tocanon law practices for unused sacral Christian objects. Inthe third building period, the northern part was not active asa liturgical zone. The sanctuary became an ordinary ruralByzantine one-apse, one-nave church. A narthex was constructedin the eastern part of the sanctuary. The doorwaybetween the southern and northern parts was closed off bywall masonry. During the third building period, only twoentrances — the southern and western — were still active.The main entrance was the southern one, which was addedby a wooden apprentice. After the second deterioration ofthe church in the first half of the 10th century, no more renovations were carried out. The ruins were reused by the localpopulation for ordinary purposes no earlier than in the secondhalf of the 14th -15th century, as pottery fragments fromthe ruins show. Most probably, the narthex and apse wereused at this time as a temporary living structure in what isregarded in the chapter as the fourth building period. Theauthor proposes graphical reconstruction of the sanctuaryaccording to fourth building periods and shows architecturalparallels to this building among contemporary churches ofthe Northern Caucasus and Minor Asia.Chapter two, author I. Teslenko, deals with the stratigraphyof the site and description of archaeological layers.The analysis of excavated materials provided in the chapterallowed for the presentation of all steps of anthropogenicactivity on the Tuzluk Hill from the Bronze Age to moderntimes. The description of materials is organized by archaeologicallayers, with general characteristics of different findsincluded. Every layer inside and outside the church is attributedto a corresponding building period. A hypothesison the formation of each layer and its causes are also given.The most important layers are linked to two dilapidationsof the church, and some of them are attributed to regular liturgicallife and different rituals practiced in and around thesanctuary. Several layers may be left from construction andreconstruction works. A detailed description of the archaeologicalfinds and a cultural and liturgical interpretation ofstructures, layers and bones are given in the next chapters.In the third chapter, I. Teslenko provides an analysis ofceramic and pottery materials from the church. During theexcavation, 2,589 fragments of roof tiles and kalypters (55%of all ceramic materials), 637 fragments of kitchen and tablewares (13.5%) and 1,485 pieces of pithoi and amphora (31.5%) were recorded. Among them 9 intact rectangular rooftiles that were still preserved and 5 kalypters can be fragmentarilyreconstructed. Several tiles have a constructionsign or craftsmen marks as tridents and Greek letters «λ»,«ρ», «π» «В», «V». A theoretical estimation on the numberof tiles, including kalypters for covering the roof, has beendone. The amount is between 374 tiles / 376 kalypters and396 tiles / 397 kalypters in the second and third buildingperiod respectively. Accordingly, in the second period theweight of the roof was about 3893-3897 kg, for the thirdperiod – 4118-4122 kg.Nearly all excavated ceramic materials came from localproduction. The author lists the characteristics and providesa description of clay pottery and ceramic items, which showtwo craftsmen traditions. The first one emerged locally andis characteristic of primitive treatments, the use of a handpottery wheel and unsatisfactory baking. The second craftsmentradition reflects well-organized, high-technology commodityproduction oriented on the external wine trade. It ispresented specially by amphora. Today, there are more than40 known pottery workshops with high-technology kilns inthe southern part of the Crimean peninsula. Such a potterytradition was most likely brought here in the 8th-9th centuryfrom Minor Asia. The author discusses chronologies ofvarious types of local pottery, particularly amphora, and hemakes comparisons to groups of amphora known from differentregions of the Byzantine World. Local amphoras arepresented by so-called "Black Sea type" (second variant),which was produced until the mid-10th century, according tothe author. At the archaeological site, only two fragments ofimported pottery have been recorded: the bottom of a highneck brown clay jug with wide flat handles, no earlier thanthe mid-9th century, and a fragment of Glazed White Ware II,according to J.W. Hayes, from 10th century Constantinople.The kitchen pottery which were in use in Khazar kaganateis also absent. Ceramic finds in the church date back mainlyto the end of 8th-10th century; only several fragments of twored glazed sgraffito bowls and one fragment of a brown unglazedpot come from the 14th-15th century.The fourth chapter presented by I. Teslenko and A.Musin describes and studies the collection of glass lampfragments (342 items) that are partially not indentified.The bulk (91%) of the lamps comes from the third buildingperiod and is concentrated near the southern entrance tothe church, where the liturgy should start. Precisely withinthe same zone, micropieces of flint made by strike-a-lightfor making "liturgical fire" were recorded, and kitchen andbone remains from community meals were also attested.Glass lamps are presented by two main groups: polycandelonor beaker-shaped lamps with hollow stems, and singlelamps with handles on the rim. All lamps have close parallelsamong glass finds from other Middle Byzantine sanctuaries,for instance, Myra-Demre in Turkey, Thessaloniki inGreece, Chersoneses in Crimea, etc. The glass is mainly coloredlight green and blue. A slowly increased percentage ofpotassium oxide recorded by optical emission spectroscopymay point to glass production centers in the southeasternpart of Asia Minor or Levant.Chapter five, written by A. Musin, analyzes and classifiesmetal crosses found in the church. The excavation recordedat least 30 crosses and their fragments. Crosses wereused throughout the entire period of the church's existence.Crosses are regarded as an ex-voto offering. Most of themwere concentrated in the altar zone of the sanctuary andnear the southern entrance to the church. Two crosses wereput in wall masonry that closed the doorway between thenorthern compartment and the main church during the thirdbuilding period, evidently with apotropaic magic purposes.Presumably, crosses were suspended on the church wall oron elements of the church's interior, or inserted in them. Thecorpus of crosses is divided into five typological groups.The main group consists of iron crosses with an extendedlower branch made of two plates connected with a rivet thatderived from individual processional crosses and turned inex-voto. Some crosses with splayed arms were cut from thinsheet-metal, including copper alloy and probably silver,and decorated with punch ornamentation. Two crosses weremade of silver coins: Umayyad dirham (661 – 750 AD) andimitation of Arab-Sassanian half-drachma of the Sassanidking Kosrou II (590-629 AD).The two last groups of crosses can be compared to thecrosses of the type 1.2.2 according to J. Staecker found inEarly Rus' and Scandinavia in the 10th – 11th century, especiallyknown to be in graves in Birka (Sweden), Gnezdovonear Smolensk, Timerevo near Yaroslavl (Russia), Kiev,Iskorosten (Ukraine) and other political and economic centersof the formation of early medieval states in Russia andSweden. Several scholars have insisted that the crosses havean Anglo-Saxon origin and appeared in Sweden around930-940s AD with the mission of bishop Uni from BritishIslands. However, after the Yedi Evler excavation, the Byzantineorigin of these crosses is quite clear. Crosses fromEastern and Northern Europe may have been created usinga Byzantine example or brought directly from this regionin several cases. During the cultural transformation of theChristianization period, crosses that initially belonged to liturgicalpublic culture were turned in barbarian society intoprivate devotion objects and used as an element in burialcustoms.Nearly all crosses found in the Yedi Evler church haveparallels in other regions of the Byzantine Empire and theneighboring region in the Black Sea coastland, Mediterranean,Asia Minor, Northern Caucasus and Balkans. Suchex-voto crosses illustrate a special feature of post iconoclasticculture in the beginning of the Middle Byzantine period,as well as large distribution of personal reliquary-crossesof the end of the 9th – 11th century. However, prior to becomingan ex-voto offering in church interior, both types ofcrosses were generally used in private Christian devotion.It is largely accepted that the 9th -11th century was a periodof increasing individualism, social atomism and growingemphasis on personal piety. With that in mind, individualcrosses were evidence of the new post-iconoclasm Orthodoxyas a manifestation of personal activity in church lifeand a sign of the victory of polis community tradition overimperial tyranny.The process of donating personal crosses to churchesshould be regarded as a special way of reconciling personaldevotion with the liturgical needs of the local communityencouraged by Church hierarchy. The present hypothesisis confirmed by information in the Byzantine MonasticTypikons, especially that of Empress Irene Doukaina Komnenefor the Convent of the Mother of God Kecharitomenein Constantinople founded between 1100 and 1118, whichprescribed that each Saturday laymen would offer crosses-stauria in the sanctuary for the commemoration of thedeceased, and that other crosses must be brought similarlyeach Sunday on behalf of the living who are recorded on thediptychs. Crosses from the Yedi Evler church and in othercases should be regarded as an archaeological illustration ofsuch a ritual.Other small finds from the church like nails, chain linksfor the suspension of lamps, fragment of bronze wire, leadplates from a wick holder, buttons of bronze, small greenglass beads, and an iron arrow-head characteristic of EasternEurope military culture in the 10th/11th - 13th century aredescribed and analyzed in chapter six by I. Teslenko. Twoamulet-pendants found in the church that are made of clamshell of Cerithium vulgatum and tooth of deer of Cervuselaphus, which could also be offered in the sanctuary asex-voto, are presented in chapter seven by G. Gavris and I.Teslenko.Chapters eight to twelve compiled by G. Gavris, V.Logvinenko, and S. Leonov deal with bones and faunisticremains including birds, mammals, fishes, marine mollusks,and land snails recorded during the excavations. As a result,information is exhausted on the repertoire of animal sacrifices,a normal practice in rural parish Byzantine churches,and the composition of church festive meals has been determined.Among 139 identified bones of mammals, 64% belongto Ovis aries and Capra aegagrus hircus, 16% to Sus scrofadomesticus, 6% to Lepus europaeus and 2 % to Bos Taurus.Birds are presented with 148 individuals of 19 species,including 78% of Gallus domesticus and Gallus domesticussm. and an insignificant quantity of bones of Otis tarda,Cygnus olor, Perdix perdix etc.It is quite interesting to note that fishes are nearly absentfrom the collection, and consequently, on the table of parishmen who lived along the sea coast, only 13 bones ofAcipenser gueldenstaedtii and Perciformes were recorded.Evidently, bones from the excavation present the remainsof a festive meal and not an everyday diet. However, shellfishesare recorded here in 1900 fragments of Mytilus galloprovincialis(95% of mollusk) and a small number ofPatella ulyssiponensis and Ostrea lamellose. Eriphia spinifronspresented in 4-5 individuals should also be noted. Terrestrialgastropods mollusks are mainly presented by Helixalbescens (72.4%), Monacha fruticola (24.2%) Chondrulatridens (3.2%), and only one shell of Brephulopsis cylindrical.Some remarks on the distribution of animal bonesin the excavated complex will be provided in the followingchapters.In chapter thirteen, I. Teslenko proposed and arguedthe chronology of the site based mainly on pottery analysis.Coins from the 7th – mid-8th century that were used forthe manufacturing of crosses give only large terminus postquem for the church building. Amphora with small horizontalmultiple grooves on the surface well-known in Crimeanot later than the beginning - first half of the 9th century arenot recorded among the excavation materials; so the beginningof the church complex must date back to the secondthird-middle of the 9th century. The find of the fragment of ahigh neck jug with wide flat handles in layers of the secondbuilding period, and their absence later on, puts the date ofthe rebuilding of the church at 860-880 AD. The presence oflocal "Black Sea type" amphora of the second variant andthe absence of forms similar to amphora of types I and IIbaccording to N. Günsenin allow to propose the first half –mid of the 10th century as the final stage of the church's existenceand that of surrounding settlements. Another find isthe fragment of Glazed White Ware II, dated no earlier thanthe beginning of the 10th century. The history of the churchactually spans about 100 (± 20-25) years.Chapter fourteen by A. Musin discusses liturgical ritualspracticed in the sanctuary against the large background ofByzantine church culture and shows parallels from relatedterritories. To explain the meaning and origin of the two unequalapse church building in the Yedi Evler area, the authorprovides a thorough account of the phenomenon of doubleapse churches with unequal apses from Transcaucasia andthe Northern Caucasus through Asia Minor and the GreekIslands up until biapsidal churches were recorded in medievalItaly in the 9th-13th century. As a result, a conclusionhas been made that the Mediterranean World did not havea unique genesis of double apse churches. Late Antiquitychurches with two symmetrical naves and apses cannot beregarded as a direct prototype for the Yedi Evler church andrelated building. The architecture of Transcaucasia and theNorthern Caucasus sometimes gives similar features, forexample Mgvimevi, Georgia, the end of the 13th century,but all of them were built later than the monument underconsideration.The "pseudobiconques" churches with a reducednorthern apse are also known in medieval Italy and Corsicaof the 10th-12th century (see for example: San Venerio,La Spezia-Migliarina, Liguria; San Tommaso al Poggio,Rapallo, Liguria; Santa Maria della Chiappella, Rogliano,Haute-Corse; Santa Maria di Sibiola, Serdiana, Sardegna).However, they hardly could be a source of inspirationfor builders of the Yedi Evler church for cultural andchronological reasons. The Italian architecture of the "chiesebiabsidate" did, however, deeply influence the appearanceof two apse churches in Crimea and Muscovite Russia inthe end of the 14th-15th century. Nevertheless, early Italiantwo apse sanctuaries, especially with different apses and anadditional northern entrance, could initially reflect the sameprocess of the change of liturgical planning as in the YediEvler church.It should be acknowledged that "pseudobiconques"churches are not very characteristic for the Greek Island.Some indirect parallels can bee seen in the planning ofthe church of St Spyridon – Panagia Protothroni Halkia,Halki, Naxos Island; church of St Pantaleon, Kotraphi,Peloponnesus; church of St Athanasius, Phaturu, PatmosIsland; church of St Athanasius, Phaturu, Patmos Island. Inall cases, it is difficult to say whether the additional reducedcompartment was initially intended for this or that particularliturgical ritual. It is quite possible that both naves wereused for the Eucharist. However, in the Middle Byzantineperiod, the appearance of double churches of Sts John andGeorge, Sarakini, Samos, and the Monastery of St JohnChrysostomos at Koutsovendis, Cyprus can be attested.The double apse church was renewed in the 10th century inÜçayak, near Kirşehir, Central Anatolia, Turkey. The mostnotable fact is that the high density of two apse middlebyzantine churches, including the "pseudobiconques"sanctuary, is known to have existed in the ancient Pontprovince and near Trabzon, Turkey, for example in Koralla,Görele Burunu fortress or Gantopedin fortress (Matzouka,Zana Kale), Labra, Maçka Dere, near Köpruna Köy. Thisregion always had direct ties with the northern Black Seacoast and Crimea during Antiquity and Middle Ages.At the same time, the closest parallel to the Yedi Evlerchurch can be seen in the 10th-11th century double apsechurch in the Upper City of Middle Byzantine settlementin Boğazköy (Hattusa, Asia Minor), Turkey, excavated by P.Neve in the early 1980s. At the small northern compartmentthat served as the principle entrance in the southern mainchurch, obviously meant for the Eucharist, a considerablenumber of metal ex-voto crosses was recovered. Thecombination of such features attested both in Yedi Evlerand Boğazköy and the chronological coincidence cannot beaccidental.The author argued that different liturgical functions of twochurch compartments and the subsidiary role of the northernpart may be stressed by their sizes and architectural volumesand expressed in the exterior of churches in an architectonicway and by means of architecture. An additional means ofspecial organization of two parts of liturgical space involvedthe arrangement of a separate doorway to the main churchvia the northern compartment as a supposable place of initialworship rituals.Such a change in liturgical planning finds its possibleexplanation in the reform of Prothesis/Proskomedia,which took place in Middle Byzantium during and rightafter the iconoclasm period. The Euchologion Barberinigr. 336, the oldest Orthodox liturgical book of the end ofthe 8th century, reported the appearance of the first priest'sprayer for the preparation of bread and wine as gifts for theEucharist. There was a time when the clergy and monksestablished control over the expression of community andindividual piety within the bringing of liturgical gifts. Thechapter argues in support of a hypothesis on the Prothesisfunction established in the northern compartment in MiddleByzantine churches with two unequal apses such as YediEvler, Sotera, Boğazköy, several sanctuaries of Pont andTrabzon, etc. as a materialization of church reforms at thattime. It is quite possible that contemporary Italian churcheswith two unequal apses were also influenced by the samearchitectural and liturgical innovation in the beginning of theMiddle Byzantine period, especially since the EuchologionBarberini is a manuscript of southern Italian provenance,which reflects, however, practices of Constantinople.Architectural studies let us assume that initially, for anewly performed ritual, the northern annexes or nave ofchurch could be reserved, but later such liturgical planninginnovation did not catch on in church practice. Both preanaphoraand anaphoric rituals were concentrated in thealtar zone.The architectural implementation of the Prothesisreform could be reflected in another way, for example, in theconstruction of rectangular annexes to Middle Byzantinechurch as monastery Kisleçukuru, Antalia, and in İnişdibifortified settlement, Istlada, near Kekova – Myra/Demre,both in Turkey provide examples. In fact, the MiddleByzantine period is generally characterized by the risingof additional architectural volumes and a compartmentaround the main church building within the multiplicationof liturgical rituals and "Privatisation" of Liturgy.As proof for the given hypothesis, a find of liturgicalequipment in the church can be added. At the central partof the northern compartment just opposite the doorway tothe main church, an almost rhomboidal flat stone with dimensionsof 0.5 х 0.7 m (weight 75 kg) was attested. Itshorizontal position in situ was fixed by two roof tiles andfragments of amphora. A considerable number of potteryand glass fragments was concentrated around the stone, aswell as some animal bones. At the east end of the northernapse, the bottom of pithos and fragmentary sheep skullwere also recovered, which indicate some unknown ritual.It is quite possible that such flat stones laying directly on thechurch floor and serving as the Prtothesis table for offeringliturgical bread and wine were typical for rural Byzantinechurches, as the information of Pratum spirituale by JohnMoschus suggests.No remains of the altar table or distinct elements of thealtar screen were recorded during the excavations. This impliesthat the Holy table in the church could be made ofwood and the altar screen existed as a cloth curtain or katapetasma.However, the altar zone was separated from thenaos by a terrace cut in natural as a kind of bema. Near thebema, there was a pit, most likely for a water reservoir usedfor church needs and ritual purification purposes. Beside thispit within the altar zone, several roof tiles were stocked as aspecial construction associated with finds of metal crossesand glass lamp fragments that may be regarded as an elementof an unpreserved altar barrier.Such liturgical elements as the offering of ex-voto crossesand new arrangement of the Prothesis ritual may suggesta monastic influence in the area. Additionally, this possibilityis confirmed by some features of burial custom of thegrave excavated near the church to the southeast from themain apse, i.e. the fixation of the head of one buried senilisman with the help of small stones or a special head-supportknown in the practice of Mont Athos monasteries and in theTypikon of Studios monastery in Constantinople. This observationallows for a revision of the role of Byzantine monasticismin the development of Crimean Christian cultureof the iconoclasm and posticonoclasm period, especiallysince an erroneous hypothesis on the "mass migration" ofByzantine monks-iconodoules to the Crimean peninsulabased on an uncritical review of the information of the Lifeof Saint Stephen the Younger has been abandoned after newresearch.However, rituals practiced in the Yedi Evler church werelinked not only to monastic practices but also to popularChristianized rituals, as finds of animal bones in and aroundthe church suggest. Without a doubt, these kitchen remainstestify to animal sacrifice and parish community or familyfestive meals organized in the church. The finds of oxremains, an animal usually offered as a sacrifice in ruralGreek communities during sanctuary consecration, nearthe western and southern entrances to the church may referto rituals of dedication of the church after its constructionand reconstruction in the second and third building periods.Other bones and faunal remains are relatively proportionallyspread out in the church complex. It is difficult todeterminate where exactly the common meals took place.Most likely, during the first period of church life it was thenorthern part of the church; the joint offering of gifts forthe Eucharist and ordinary meal in the same place near theflat stone in the northern part of the church shows a kindof syncretism of liturgical and popular rituals. During thelast period, when the northern compartment was buried accordingto canon law postulates the main part of the kitchenremains was concentrated near the southern entrance to thesanctuary.The practice of animal sacrifices and parish meals waslargely in use in Byzantine popular religion, or so-called"parish Orthodoxy." In spite of prescriptions against suchpractices, which can be found in canon law, it was regardedas a norm in society, and even hagiographical texts, for example,the Life of Saint Nicolas of Sion in Asia Minor, tellabout such rituals without any fulmination. Rituals of animalsacrifices are also known in the North Caucasus, Transcaucasia,and the Balkans and are still preserved in ethnographicpractice until the beginning of the 20th century andon several territories up until the present age. For example,in the Farassa area, Cappadocia, modern Feke, Adana Province,Turkey, in the Greek parish the ritual of animal sacrificeswas recorded in the church opposite the main altar on abig stone. This parallel may suggest that the flat stone in thenorthern part of the Yedi Evler church, apart from its Prosthesisfunction, could have also served as archaic sacrifice.The remains of rituals of church consecration are alsoknown from the excavations. They have been attestedthanks to one-time concentrations of charcoals and fireplacesas well as kitchen remains opposite to the entrances of thesanctuary. For the first church consecration, three fireplaceswere recorded to the north, west and south of the church.The second consecration left one fireplace to the south fromthe church according to the position of the main doorwayduring the third building period.Within the last zone, micropieces of flint made by strikea-light were found. It is obvious that there was a specialplace here for making 'liturgical fire' before the beginningof office of vespers. Evidently, the celebration in the churchwas not conducted every day, but on special days includingFeast and Sunday Liturgies. Today the ritual of makingnew fire before offices is still preserved in Latin andGreek parish life, only on the eve of Easter Day when theliturgical light for the ceremony is normally lit from a bonfireburned outside the church. In Russian and UkrainianOrthodoxy, such practice has been abandoned. A specificderivate of such practices is the ritual of 'Holy Fire' in thechurch of Holy Sepulcher in Jerusalem on Great Saturday,the day before Orthodox Easter, presented in mass mentalityand church propaganda as a miracle. However, the practiceof making 'new' or 'holy' fire, especially at the beginningof spring, is well known thanks to ethnological research inWestern and Central Europe, and relations between churchrituals and folklore customs are difficult to establish. Multiplefragments of glass lamps in the same zone hardly referto any rituals, nor do presented remains of lamps accidentallybroken during manipulation. Only one church customthat involves the intentional breaking of wedding glass cupsof wine was first attested in the Euchologion Paris Coislin.213 in 1027 AD. However, until the 12th century, the churchblessing of wedding was practiced in the aristocratic milieuand was not very widespread in rural society.In sum, the local parish community had enough cultivatedlevel of religious life and combined innovations ofliturgical mainstream of Byzantine society issued from culturalcenters and archaic practices belonging to the provincialrural population.The conclusions presented by I. Teslenko and A. Musinsummaries research results and give future perspectives.For the first time in the history of excavations of Crimeanmedieval churches, thanks to careful digging and fieldfixation, architectural archaeology managed to record manyliturgical features and everyday life elements characteristicof Byzantine rural churches. It allowed for determining acharacteristic of the material culture of the local populationduring the "demographic boom" and establishing of themataadministrative division in Byzantine Empire in the 8th-9thcentury. Church planning kept the very important step inthe development of the initial part of East-Christian Liturgyas ritualisation of Prothesis. Archaeological contextspreserved intact bones of animal sacrifices and communitymeals appropriated to Byzantine popular religion, tracesof making of 'holy' or liturgical fire as micropieces of flintmade by a light-a-strike, and ex-voto offering in the formof metal crosses, and amulets pendants that at the sametime could serve as interior church decoration. Such findsallowed us to establish byzantine origin of several typesof Christian devotional crosses pendants from the 10th-11th century originated from the territories of Early Rus'and Scandinavia. The church in Yedi Evler is an examplemonument of the Middle Byzantine period for the study ofliturgical devotion, rural sacral architecture and everydaylife of provincial settlements, which should be useful forthe understanding of both Crimean medieval culture and thehistory of other parts of the Byzantine World.The study of the Yedi Evler church permits us todraw some conclusions about the historical developmentand cultural situation in the southern part of the Crimeanpeninsula at the end of the 8th – mid 10th century. The materialculture of the local population known from the result ofthe church excavation and investigation of surroundingsettlements and pottery workshops suggests importantinnovation, such as stone housebuilding using roof tiles,high-technology pottery production with very effectivekilns, winemaking oriented to local and long distancetrade, and ecclesiastical architecture of basilica-type parishchurches. All these improvements were previously unknownfor the autochthonic people, which may be indentified tothe Crimean Goths. The settlement archaeology in the areashows that the above-mentioned innovations were broughthere with the wave of mass migration, and newly-establishedresidences of the new population existed quietly side by sidewith previous habitations. This situation may demonstratethe process of mutual integration and even acculturation ofautochthonic people in higher organized society. Most likely,the main group of migrants came from Asia Minor andbrought the mentioned traditions of Byzantine-Rhômaioscivilization, including high technology in pottery andliturgical innovations reflected in ecclesiastical architectureand devotional practices.Undoubtedly, the colonization of the southern part of theCrimean peninsula was organized by the administration ofthe Byzantine Empire in the framework of the establishingof the themata system. The theme ta Klimata in this areawas constituted in 841 AD, and later in the 850s it wasreorganized in the theme of Chersoneses. In the same vein,the new church administration was established here. Theregion under question had probably been included in themetropolitan of Ghotia or Doros, whose eastern borderseparating it from another one new diocese of Sougdaia orSourozh, now Sudak, was exactly across from the Yedi Evlervalley. The Goths diocese is referred to as "a certain regionalong the coast there called Dory," mentioned by Procopiusof Caesarea in his panegyric on the building activity of theemperor Justinian De Aedificiis.The chronology of pottery materials suggests that thechurch in Yedi Evler and the local agglomeration, as wellas a considerable part of settlements in Southern and South-Western Crimea, ceased to exist at the same time in the firsthalf of the 10th century. Such a social collapse may be linkedto the politically unstable situation in the area caused by theconflict between the Byzantine Empire and Khazar kaganateand active military raids of the Rus' from the Middle Dnieperarea to the Black Sea and Caspian Sea regions, Asia Minorand Constantinople. The local population moved to moresecure regions or fled behind city walls for protection.This publication is supplemented by appendixes withcatalogues of finds of various categories including metals,glass, and faunal artifacts (I. Teslenko, N. Turova), pottery,ceramic and stone materials (O. Ignatenko, I. Teslenko),architectural elements (V. Kirilko), find of Bronze Ageperiod (I. Teslenko), description and results of opticalemission spectroscopy of glass finds (A. Egor'kov) andstudy of flint finds (V. Chabai).
From the very beginning of its existence the Orenburg province was an outpost of the Russian Empire on the southern borders. Special attention was paid to the safety of the agricultural population of Cossack villages and the protection of trade caravan routes from Central Asia. In the early 19th century, the question arises to strengthen the border, on the line from the fortress of Orsk fortress of fortress Troitskaya. In the 1830s-40s, on the initiative of the Governor-General of the new district, Perovsky, the construction of border fortifications begins. The remaining types of fortifications: Musagatsky and Switunsky redoubts, a large field fortification Imperatorskoe are models of fortification of the Russian army of the 19th century. An important feature is the fact that almost all the fortifications of the Novolineiny region are represented by earthen field fortifications. In the course of their examination, items of military ammunition and everyday life were found. Redoubts functioned until the abolition of the Orenburg border line in the 2nd half of the 19th century. Probably, for the second time a number of fortifications, such as the Svistunsky redoubt, were used in the battles of the Civil War, as indicated by a number of finds. ; Оренбургская губерния с самого начала своего существования являлась форпостом Российской империи на южных рубежах. Особое внимание уделялось безопасности земледельческого населения казачьих станиц и охране торговых караванных путей из Средней Азии. В начале XIX в. возникает вопрос по укреплению границы, по линии от крепости Орская до крепости Троицкая. В 30-40 гг. XIX в., по инициативе генерал-губернатора В.А. Перовского, начинается возведение пограничных укреплений Новолинейного района. Одним из сохранившихся типов, оборонительных сооружений, выступают Мусогатский и Свистунский редуты, Большое полевое укрепление Императорское, являющиеся образцом фортификационного дела русской армии XIX в. Важной особенностью является тот факт, что практически все фортификационные сооружения Новолинейного района представлены земляными полевыми укреплениями. В ходе их обследования были обнаружены предметы воинской амуниции и быта. Редуты функционировали до упразднения Оренбургской пограничной линии во второй половине XIX в. Вероятно вторично ряд фортификационных сооружений, например, редут Свистунский, использовались на Гражданской войны, на что указывают ряд находок.
