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The first part of the new issue of the “ISTORIYA” is dedicated to the memory of Yury Bessmertny (1923—2000), a famous Russian historian, professor, doctor of historical sciences, whose centenary was celebrated by the Department of Historical Anthropology and the History of Everyday Life of the Institute of World history in autumn 2023.
One can talk endlessly about the contribution of Yury Bessmertny to the national historical science. He initiated the Russian studies of historical demography and the studies of private life and everyday life. He was the first to see the potential of microhistoric research — of “the unique and individual in history” instead of historical “patterns”. He founded the almanacs “Odyssey” and “Casus”, and published many world-class collective monographs. Possessing the highest authority, he taught not only his students, but also his colleagues to communicate with historical texts — “to grope for a paradox, to get away from the well-known”. The seminars he conducted at the Institute of World history attracted invariably a lot of researchers eager for a fruitful and fascinating discussion. Unfortunately, his “second wind” was not allowed to be fully realized. But Yury Bessmertny left us landmarks and plots that are still relevant and significant not only for medieval studies, but for the history of the past as a whole. The articles of this part are devoted to the scientific problems that interested him at the last and, perhaps, the brightest stage of his scientific activity.
Another one thematic block is devoted to materials on the history of the Mediterranean macroregion, which became the cradle of European civilization in the era of antiquity and has remained the arena of almost incessant wars for more than a millennium. Not only different countries and peoples border each other here, but also areas of different cultures and religions come into contact with each other, which has always given a special, unique specificity to the military conflicts that took place here. The authors of the articles in this thematic block analyze this specificity using the example of a number of wars that took place in the Greater Mediterranean during the Middle Ages and Modern Times.