Charity and coercion: Refugees in the Tula governorate during the First World War
Abstract. During the First World War refugees became a hallmark of the warring states’ home front. Refugees created an additional quandary for the Russian military effort as they required care and support from the government and society. Prolonged hostilities and a shortage of workers prompted regional authorities to use refugee labor, particularly in the agricultural sector. Despite local success of the project, the majority of the refugees were unemployable and relied on charity for the whole duration of the war.
Key words: refugees, charity, rationing, employability, agriculture, Tula governorate.

Timiryazev Academy Museum Cluster as a Source for Studying the History of Higher Agricultural Education in Russia in the Second Half of 19^th – Early 20^th Century
Abstract. Russian State Agrarian University – Moscow Timiryazev Agricultural Academy is the oldest institution for higher agricultural education with a substantial research base and a long tradition of training highly qualified experts in agricultural technology. These traditions are reflected through the exhibits of the university museum cluster of 12 museums. The collections of these museums allows us to better understand the history of higher agricultural education in Russia in the second half of the 19^th - early 20^th century.
Keywords: Russian State Agrarian University, Moscow Timiryazev Agricultural Academy, Timi, Goryachkin, Liskun, horse breeding, amelioration, edaphology.

Vessels of Eastern Embassies on the Moskva and the Oka Rivers in 17^th – Early 18^th Centuries

Abstract. The article focuses in the design of passenger vessels built in 17^th – early 18^th century for Persian ambassadors who traveled from Moscow to Astrakhan down the Moskva river, the Oka and the Volga. The purpose of the article is to show that already in the first half of the 17^th century Moscow had a shipbuilding tradition and a talent pool of shipbuilders.
Keywords: strug, boat, cabin, strug building, Persian ambassadors, embassy, rowers.

Small And Medium Business as a Source of Sustainable Economy

Abstract. Modern economic conditions create new opportunities for business entities. To aid small and middle business, Russian government introduced a range of national initiatives, including ‘Small and Medium Business Support Initiative 2030’, ‘International Cooperation and Export’ as well as ‘Small and Middle Business: Supporting Entrepreneurship’. Small and medium businesses are instrumental for both innovation and improvement of the sectoral composition of the economy, and sustaining employment and the level of social services on the national level. COVID-19 pandemic, lack of export competences and limited opportunities for finding reliable business partners are the key factors which hinder the development of small and middle business in Russia.
Keywords: Economic development, industry structure, small enterprise criteria, key performance indicators, taxation.

Business Processes Optimization Through Investment Attractiveness

Abstract. In a market economy all businesses seek to increase their investment appeal and thus increase productivity, be more competitive and eventually operate in a better investment climate. In the current economic climate, the ability to attract sufficient investment it the key factor that affect the company’s growth. The situation on the market makes the problem more acute, as the company that uses attracted investment has a relatively high financial potential and better business-processes optimization opportunities.
Keywords: Business processes, investment appeal, planning, profitability, discounting, efficiency.

Financial Planning as a Key Performance Indicator of a Company

Abstract. Literature defines financial planning as a management function or actions aimed at making financial plans, calculating the amount of financial resources required, as well as the evaluation of the company’s activities for future periods. This allows us to define ‘financial planning’ as a set of interrelated actions aimed at managing the process of formation, allocation and utilization of financial resources and making specific management decisions which are supposed to help you achieve the company’s strategic goals.
Keywords: Financial planning, efficiency, financial plan, financial planning methods, financial planning factors.

Complex Syntactic Whole as Transitive Structure

Abstract. Complex syntactic whole (CSW) has always been viewed from the structural perspective, i.e. how simple and complex sentences of various types interrelate in it. Advances in textual studies allowed us to look at it not only as language unit at the top of the language system hierarchy, but also as a component of of the text which defines its semantics, composition and the author’s individual style. A complex syntactic whole as the highest order unit of syntax and the text as a linguistic and literary term have different levels of cohesion and integrity. Linear cohesion at the formal level of CSW is transformed into more advanced forms of cohesion, i.e. impulse cohesion, which integrates multidimensional meanings of texts. The article shows how polycomponent sentence and complex syntactic whole form complex structures in prose and poetry, with detachment playing a special role in highlighting the author’s narrative intent. The article also outlines the perspectives for further studies of individual style within the framework of CSW, which is compared with the text as a whole.
Keywords: Multi-component complex clause, complex syntactic whole, text, transitions.

Comparisons in Nikolai Gogol’s Petersburg Tales

Abstract. The subject of analysis is the system of comparisons in Nikolai Gogol’s Petersburg Tales.The purpose of the article is to explore the specific features of Gogol’s comparative structures, namely the tendency to syntactic extending or ‘expansion’.This feature is studied as exemplified in (a) stable comparisons; b) transforms; c) free (author) phrases.The relevance of the problem posed in the article is determined, on the one hand, by the unrelenting interest of linguists in the language and style of Nikolai Gogol, and on the other hand, by the lack of publications on the linguistic mechanisms of the so-called ‘expanded comparison.’This mechanism is linked to such features of Gogol’s poetics as consistent hyperbolization which borders on grotesque, as well as the syncreticism of stylistic devices.Using the method of text and syntactic analysis, and, in case of idioms, the method of dictionary definition analysis and the reception of component (seminal) analysis, the author shows that in Gogol’s Petersburg Tales, syntactic expansion affects the base of comparison as well as the features which form this base.When turning to the general language units, i.e. set comparisons, Nikolai Gogol employs a series of base images and dependent components which expand the image. When Gogol transforms set comparisons, he primarily adds modifiers specific to him to the feature that belongs to the so-called common word stock.At the level of free comparisons, it is possible to observe the expansion of the second component by dependent and participial clauses and the so-called cascade of images for a single unit.Author’s observations and conclusions can be used in university courses of stylistics.
Keywords: comparative construction, expanded comparison, set comparison, authorial comparison, transformation, image of comparison, base of comparison, hyperbole.

Linguopoetic Analysis of Sergey Dovlatov’s Short Story An Old Rooster Baked In Clay

Abstract. The purpose of the article is to explore linguistic and poetic stratification as a method of text interpretation. The author gives an overview of different approaches to the concept of the author’s worldview and the ways of analyzing the author’s choice of linguistic means. The author analyzes the author’s worldview using the method of linguistic and poetic stratification, as it allows to make assumptions about the thematic heterogeneity of the text and the how the author uses stylistic devices. This method brings together both the linguistic and literary analysis of the text. Taking a case example the lexical and thematic stratum of ‘Nesvoboda (unfreedom)’ in Sergei Dovlatov’s short story An Old Rooster Baked in Clay, the author comes to the conclusion, that the choice of language means in the stratum in question is dominated by the common topic of unfreedom, expressed by irony, jargon and comparison, which are used expressively.The stratum in question contains topics of physical unfreedom (imprisonment) and mental unfreedom (experience of not accepting the ideology of the state).
Keywords: author’s world view, method of linguistic stratification, Sergey Dovlatov, An Old Rooster Baked in Clay, Sergei Dovlatov, stratum, jargon, comparison, irony.