ИЗВЕСТИЯ СОИГСИ

Keywords: epigraphic monuments, Alans, historiography, Yass glossary, John Tzetzes, prophetologion

The problem of introduction of some epigraphic monuments into the context of Alan history is analyzed in the article. A special attention is given to the historiography questions.

Keywords: Edwin M. Yamauchi, Theology, Scythians, Ezekiel, Cimmerians, Herodotus

The article tells about the book of American theologian Edwin M. Yamauchi «Foes from the Northern Frontier». This book is particular for its author, who, describing the peoples and kingdoms of the ancient world, investigates them from the theological point of view. Yamauchi takes an interest in history of Assyria, Urartu, the Cimmerians and the Scythians to confirm the authenticity of the Biblical subjects first of all.

Keywords: North Caucasian civilization, Caucasian civilization, civilizational space of the North Caucasus, ethno-cultural identity, cultural symbiosis, military culture, mythic and epic heritage, mythic and religious heritage, polyethnicity

On the background of the ideological struggle, that became nowadays more intensive on the south frontiers of Russian Federation, the primary role in the ethnocultural identity process of population of North Caucasus is played by mythology, religion, epic, all spiritual tradition in general, in which the historical memory of the people is stored. The article describes the social and spiritual bases of the civilizational space of the North Caucasus and the necessity of their analysis in the context of the entire history of the Caucasian civilization.

Keywords: Anna Akhmatova, translation, Ossetian poetry, Kosta Khetagurov, anthology

The article acquaints with the history of translations of Ossetian poetry, which still is practically un-researched part of her heritage. The author attracts attention to the controversies in the published versions of Anna Akhmatova’s translation of the poem «Who are you?» by Kosta Khetagurov and publishes at first time the third version of the poem, which according to the author’s suggestion is a valuable source material. The first bibliography of Anna Akhmatova’s translations of Ossetian poetry compiled by the author is added to the article.

Keywords: myth, land cultivation, ritual, archetype

The article, proceeding from Ossetian ritual song «Bird of fertility», considers the motif of the heavenly origination of land cultivation and role of rituals in reproduction of archetypical actions. Based on comparative mythology, the typology of the Ossetian song «Bird of fertility» and the Georgian land cultivation poem «Built on Monday» is analyzed.

Keywords: Nartology, Abkhazian version, Abkhazian folklore studies

The article tells about the Caucasian Nartology, the Abkhazian one in particular. The main stages of studying the Nart epic tradition in Abkhazia are identified. The author takes an attention to the actual questions of the Nart epic touched upon in the works of the researchers.

Keywords: miraculous birth from stone, border of worlds, Sasryqua

The article is devoted to the well-known Nart subject about the birth of hero from stone. The space coordinates of the subject — the border of worlds — are specially marked. The semantics of this Nart subject is reconstructed in the context of encounter of mythological serpent from another world with heroine from the epic (Nartian) world.

Keywords: Nart epic of Ossetians, Hungarian folklore, mythology, ethnogonic legends, deer image, Christian motifs

The article offers a comparison of some motifs of the Ossetian «Nartiade» and Hungarian folklore based on analysis of miraculous deer image (osset. sag ‘deer’ — hung. enx ‘doe’). This research is interdisciplinary: there are the historical sources — Gesta Hunnorum by Kez Shimon, Chronica Hungarorum by Janos Turotsi (Augsburg, 1488), as well as the linguistic and folkloric data, including folk songs, epic texts and ethnogonic legends. The symbolic component of deer image in Hungarian folklore and its Christian origins are spotted.

The article actualizes necessity of studying of the history of repressions in North Ossetia took place in “the Great Terror” years. The question of repression of the party and soviet nomenklatura in Republic in the second half of 1930s is the least studied. There were many prominent members of the political elite of Ossetia, accused on trumped-up evidences of counterrevolutionary activity. Almost an entire generation of leaders – participants of the struggle for the Soviet power in the region was obliterated over this period. So it is important to publish new documents, enlightened the tragic pages of our history.

Published collection of archival documents and materials of the periodical press is indented to expend our understanding of unjustified repressions of the governing party and Soviet officials of the North Ossetian ASSR. It reviled tragic reality of mass terror in the small republic, victims of which became thousands of innocent people. At present all persons marked in the documents as “enemies of people” are rehabilitated.

In 1936 one of the British publishing house printed the storybook “Fifty Amazing Hairbreadth Escapes” containing the small novels in the main of biographic characters, united by the idea of miraculous escape. One of these stories is interested not only as literary but historical source concerning becoming of the Soviet power in Russia.

It is the story written by Moussa Bey Tuganoff – a representative of the aristocratic Circassian clan. There is a Russian translation of this text, added with the comments and references.

The article discusses issues of the personnel policies in North Ossetian high school system in the post-war period. The author analyzed various ways used by the party and Soviet leaderships for forming the contingent of pedagogical stuff. But simultaneously with liberalizing of spiritual life in the post-war country the progressive hardening of the political course in all spheres of the social life was fixed. It was mostly evident in intensification of ideal and political regulation in the scientific and educational branch.

In the review high estimation of the new book of T. Salbiev is done. Despite this book is to be the collection of articles it may be called as a monograph because of all materials concern one problem – cosmogony ideas in the traditional Ossetian culture.

The report of the NOIHSS’ research expedition in Turkey in 2013 is presented. The expedition purposes are indicated there, brief survey of history of the Ossetian Diaspora in Turkey is given, some main conclusions on the ethnography, folklore and linguistic peculiarities in Turkish Ossetian’s modern life were done.

This part focuses on the conferences organized by the Institute with cooperation of other scientific and educational organizations in autumn 2014 There is the St. George diocesan reading “Orthodoxy. Ethnos. Culture”, and the International Conference “Via Alanica” dedicated to the 20th anniversary of the scientific project and the first expedition to the Central and West Europe.

There is the final scientific report of the Institute, in which an information on the scientific activities of the Institute in 2012 (monographs, articles, conferences, grants and programs of the Russian Academy of science, etc.) is presented.