The article is devoted to the publication of the results of the archeological excavations of the medieval burial ground situated near the Balta village in the North Ossetia. The archaeological site was firstly investigated by V. I. Dolbezhev in 1897. There were discoverd 8 catacomb graves 8-9 A.D. related to the North- Caucasus Alanian archeological culture. Despite of the frequent mentions of the Balta catacomb graves, there are no publications of results of the Balta archeological site excavations. Moreover, the paper analyzes culture contacts of inhabitants of  the Upper Terek and inhabitants  of the Transcaucasian and of the European forest-steppe zone. 

The article contains analysis of the material of economic character published in unofficial part of «Terskije vedomosti» in 60-70-s of the 19^th century. Information potential of the official edition of Terski region; the importance of news paper material for investigation of join activity and unification of the efforts of the authorities and society towards modernization of the North-Caucasian region and formation of civil society are revealed. Regional peculiarities of economic modernization which found reflection in the newspaper material are defined. Information in the state of the main spheres of post-reform period regional economic (industry, agriculture, commerce, transport, finance) found reflection in several types of publications: articles, statistics, archive and reference material, notices, reports agroclimatic monitoring.  Abundance of material of economic-instructive character about the ways of improving of agricultural situation, popularization of new market forms of labour enables to speak about interested attitude of terskiy society to the problems of economic modernization and understanding of the ways of their solution. Post-reform changes made «Terskije vedomosti»  as a bearer of operative economic information a part of a new capitalist economic system. Subject and thematic analysis allows to overcome underestimation of the newspaper in the soviet period both as a historical source and as a factor of economic modernization in the region. 

The article analyzes the social ideals of the famous Kabardin enlightener D.S. Kodzokov, who devoted his life to the development of civilization in Kabarda, clearly understanding the role of education in changing of the traditional order of mountain society. The name of Kodzokov is associated with attempts to inculcate in Kabarda new forms of administration in the 1840s, to open a school for the residents of his native Abukov’s village, to carry out agrarian and social reforms, to promote the development of agriculture and horse breeding. In the foundation of his public stance lay the elements of Europeanism, which were formed in the everyday life of Moscow aristocracy, in the Moscow University where he learned, through the reading and analysis of European and Russian philosophical works. It is also remarkable that he was not the only «Don Quixote» of his time. Side by side with him Kabardin Kazi Atazhukin, Abazin Adil-Girey Keshev, Ossetians Inal Kanukov, Afanasy Gassiev, Ingush Chakh Akhriev, Chechen Umalat Laudaev and others worked for the benefit of the mountain peoples.

The article discusses the beginning of land reform in Balkaria in the context of Russian reforms of the second half of the nineteenth century. The aim is to evaluate the contribution of D.S. Kodzokov to the practical solution of the land issue in the mountain ethnic communities. In August 1863, under his leadership, negotiations were held with trustees of rural societies to determine the border between Kabarda and Balkarian societies. Such delimitation was necessary to begin land survey work. However, due to the complexity of the problem, this work did not achieve its logical conclusion. The results of land transformations in Balkaria ultimately were boiled down to the defining of various forms of land tenure and land use in the mountains; to the allocation of the in the foothills of the land areas for the settling of the new Balkar villages on the principles of communal land tenure; as well as to the legislative definition of the procedure for the use of pastures lands that were jointly owned by Kabarda and five Balkarian societies.

The article is devoted to the educational policy of the Russian Empire in Abkhazia since the second half of the 19^th century. The result of this policy was the opening of schools not only in cities but also in rural areas of Abkhazia. The first schools were parish schools, which were opened in all operating parishes. In the beginning of 20^th century along with them began to open rural and Ministerial school. In addition, special attention is paid to those who have made a great contribution to the spread of education in the province.

In article the various facts of the biography of the Russian official of the Kabardian origin D.S. Kodzokov whose activity is connected with implementation of transformations in the North Caucasus in the 19th century are generalized. Survey archival work on genealogy of Kodzokov led to detection of the considerable materials significantly specifying important events of public work and private life of Dmitry Stepanovich. Birth date and birth place and death, social status of the family, family relations of his father and the immediate family are specified. Data on the main stages of the state career and awards received for time of service are added. Little-known circumstances of private life of D.S. Kodzokov after retirement, its property status and many aspects of its financial and economic activity are revealed.

The publication is devoted to the correspondence of the famous Kabardian public figure D.S. Kodzokov with the adoptive family of Khomyakovs. Chronologically, they cover the time from the summer of 1839 to the beginning of 1840. The correspondence allows to reconstruct the social milieu and daily life in which D.C. Kodzokov found himself in the first years after returning from Russia. D.S. Kodzokov in his letters shares with Khomyakovs his plans for transforming the Caucasus region in various spheres of life (education, administrative and judicial administration, progressive forms of farming, the introduction of new crafts, etc.).

The article is devoted to the study of the specificity of semantization (interpretation and description) of lexemes in the explanatory dictionaries of the Adyghian languages. The author aims to identify the characteristic features of filiation (selection) of meanings and interpretation of words, the basic principles of their description. Special attention is paid to aspects such as completeness and accuracy in the interpretation of tokens. During the analysis of vocabulary articles presented in the Adyghian dictionaries, two principles of the semantization of words and concepts were identified. The results of the study can be applied in the field of linguistic research.

The article is devoted to the study of the sonnet in Kabardian poetry on the example of the sonetarium of one of the founders of the genre Adam Ogurlievich Shogentsukov. Here, for the first time, a comprehensive study of the sonnet creativity of this author is being conducted. The main attention of the authors is paid to both formal and informative features of Ad. Shogentsukov’s sonnets. As a result of the research, the characteristic features of one Kabardian author are revealed, whereby the evolution trends of the most difficult genre of the sonnet in national poetry are determined. In particular, the English form of the sonnet and the peculiarities of its development by Kabardian authors have been studied. Separately, the themes and problems of sonnets, the conformity of their architectonics with the canons of the genre are considered. Emphasis is placed on the technique of the works: rhyming methods, poetic dimensions, etc.

The paper discusses the features and problems of the development of land relations in Kabardino-Balkaria. Analysis of the different phases and local variances in the development of land conflicts allows elaborating of their typology. Depending on the object of social collisions, various types of conflicts can be distinguished: agrarian, resident-housing, recreational-rent, ethno-territorial. When looking at the problem in the aspect of the parties or subjects whose interests collide in the land issue, the lines of tension in the land relations lie between the mass of the rural population and the "oligarchic" bureaucratic-business clans; between Balkar villages and large commercial structures; between neighboring Kabardin and Balkar settlements; between organized and unorganized nationalist groups. All the points mentioned above are closely interrelated. In various situations they may either dominate, or sometimes serve as secondary to the others, or sometimes as equal to each other factors affecting the conflict.