O. I. CHISTYAKOV. The Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic and the Development of National Statehood Among the Peoples of the Land of Soviets (1917 - 1922)

The article highlights the role played by the Russian Federation in establishing and developing national statehood among the peoples of the Land of Soviets on the eve of the formation of the U.S.S.R. Soviet Russia was the first Soviet state to pave the way for the formation of other socialist republics. Originally the concepts of "Russian Soviet Republic" and "Soviet state" practically coincided, but already in the period 1917 - 1921 several new Soviet Republics emerged on the territory of Soviet Russia and were granted recognition by the latter. They came into existence with the active support and all-round assistance of the R.S.F.S.R. which served as a model for the newly founded Soviet Republics. Just as important was the part played by the R.S.F.S.R. in establishing and promoting federal links between the Soviet Republics in 1917 - 1922. Soviet Russia played the leading role in integrating these republics.

Of no less significance was the activity carried on by the government bodies of Soviet Russia in promoting the development of national statehood within the R.S.F.S.R. itself. The Russian Soviet Republic, which came into being as a unitary state, was proclaimed a federation already in January 1918 and incorporated different autonomous formations as its members.

A. N. HEIFETZ. The Soviet Republics and the Peoples of the East (1918 - 1922)

The article examines the influence exerted on the Eastern countries by the national policy of the Communist Party and the Soviet government, by the first steps taken by Soviet Russia in the sphere of national-state development and above all by the diplomatic activity of the Soviet Transcaucasian and Central Asian Republics in the period preceding the formation of the U.S.S.R. Coordination of the Soviet Republics' diplomatic activity contributed to the success of Soviet foreign policy and helped to thwart the subversive actions of the imperialist powers aimed at isolating the Land of Soviets from the peoples of the East. The experience accumulated by the Soviet Republics in furthering a commonly agreed foreign policy helped to bring them closer together. This process of growing rapprochement was crowned with the formation of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics in December 1922.

M. A. DODOLEV. Russia and the Spanish People's War of Independence (1808 - 1814)

The article examines the response in Russia to the Spanish people's war of independence. The author's attention is focussed on the attitude shown by representatives of Russia's progressive social thought, including the Decembrists, to the Spanish people's struggle for independence. He shows the clash of opinions in Russia during the 1810's-1820's around the developments in Spain and the change in the position of the tsarist government towards Spain.

A. A. YAZKOVA. The Formation of the Little Entente

The article investigates the initial period in the activity of the Little Entente - the political union of Czechoslovakia, Rumania and Yugoslavia formalized by the conclusion of bilateral treaties between these countries in 1920 - 1921. Drawing on a number of hitherto unknown documentary materials, the author traces the process of formation of the Little Entente since the moment in 1918 when, as a result of the disintegration of the Austro-Hungarian empire, there emerged in Central and Southeastern Europe d number of independent states in which the bourgeoisie and the landlords continued to remain in the saddle. The article shows the negative role played by the ruling circles of the Little Entente countries in the struggle against the European revolutionary movement, primarily against

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Soviet Russia and Hungary. Special attention is devoted by the author to analyzing the policy of the Western imperialist powers which worked with all their might and main to use the Little Entente for erecting a "cordon sanitaire" around Soviet Russia. At the same time, the author makes a point of stressing the contradictions existing on this question among the Western allies, notably between Great Britain and France.

A. A. FURSENKO. A Comparative Analysis of the American and French 18th-Century Revolutions

The author makes an attempt to highlight the comparative history of the 18th-century bourgeois revolutions which broke out almost simultaneously on two different continents, his principal objective being to establish the basic points of similarity and distinction by analyzing the social, economic and political aspects of the developments in France and America. He subjects to criticism the apologetic conception of the American "neo-conservative" trend whose exponents are endeavouring to prove the "exclusive" character of the American revolution and play down the significance of the revolutionary events in France. The article graphically shows that the comparative study of the French and American revolutions is exploited by representatives of the apologetical trend for political purposes, primarily in order to prove that the U.S.A. has given the world a model of democratic development that can well be emulated by the developing countries in our time. The article is based on authentic documents and historical records from the French Foreign Ministry Archive which characterize the relations between the two countries in the era of 18th-century bourgeois revolutions.

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