The article is devoted to the study of the highest social stratum of the Koba archaeological culture (the end of the Bronze Age – the beginning of the Iron Age) – the military cavalry aristocracy (Group I) – based on the analysis of burial equipment from the burial grounds of Kabardino-Balkaria. Drawing on the works of predecessors (Krupnov, Dudarev, Belinsky, etc.) and critically evaluating the existing models of stratification, the article proposes its own five-level structure of society, where Group I occupies the top of the hierarchy.

The work establishes the key criteria for classification into Group I: the presence of horse tack (bit, псалии), horse burials (entire or skulls), various and numerous weapons (including dozens/hundreds of arrowheads), protective armaments (armour, helmets), and luxury items (jewellery, imported vessels).

The article analyzes the transformation of political behavior strategies and managerial mechanisms of interaction of nomadic and semi-nomadic peoples historically residing in Stavropol Province, and traces their fate during the Civil War and subsequent administrative-territorial transformations. The research is based on the principles of historical-systemic and institutional analysis. The source base consists of documents from central (the State Archive of the Russian Federation, the Russian State Archive of Socio-Political History) and regional (the State Archive of the Stavropol Krai) archives, including legislative acts, administrative records, reports and correspondence of governing bodies, as well as periodical press materials (the newspaper "Stavropolsky Inorodets" – The Stavropol Native). By 1917, the imperial model of governing nomads, based on a combination of indirect administration (the prikaznichestvo system) and elements of traditional self-government, had exhausted its stabilizing potential. Its collapse after the February Revolution did not bring democratization but instead exacerbated the key agrarian conflict with the Russian peasantry and exposed the weakness of the new authorities, who were unable to propose a legitimate mechanism for its resolution. Under conditions of multi-power (the Provisional Government administration, structures of the Union of United Mountaineers of the North Caucasus and Dagestan, and the White Movement), nomadic societies demonstrated a pragmatic search for allies to protect their land rights and resources, guided by a logic of survival rather than ideological allegiance. The Civil War led to the total economic ruin of the nomads: a catastrophic loss of livestock, mass famine, and a demographic crisis. This socio-economic catastrophe became the decisive factor that forced nomadic societies to seek salvation within the framework of the Soviet project. The establishment of Soviet power opened a stage of administrative self-determination, manifested in the creation of national districts and autonomies. Within their framework, the implementation of the korenizatsiia (indigenization) policy and programs of ethnocultural development began, while the task of restoring the national economy was addressed in parallel. This process, formally corresponding to the principle of self-determination, in practice became a forced compromise, associated with the transition to a settled way of life and the transformation of the traditional economic-cultural type.

The article is devoted to the activities of the Soviet historian and local historian Georgy Konstantinovich Martirosyan (1895–1938), known as Martirosian. Most of his short but very fruitful scientific life was spent in the city of Vladikavkaz, renamed Ordzhonikidze in 1931. Until 1926, he worked at the North Caucasus Institute of Local Lore, the Vladikavkaz State Scientific Museum, pedagogical and agricultural institutes, and in subsequent years, until his arrest in 1935, at the Ingush Research Institute of Local Lore as deputy director and researcher at the Ingush Museum of Local Lore. The article mainly examines Martirosyan's scientific and local history activities as deputy director and researcher at the Ingush Scientific Research Institute of Local History and the Ingush Museum of Local History in the 1920s and the first half of the 1930s. His scientific, social and pedagogical activities are so extensive that they need special research. The article pays special attention to the reasons for the arrest of the local historian on false charges. 

The article examines the migration processes that took place in Kabardino-Balkaria during the Great Patriotic War (1941-1945). The experience of local authorities, institutions, and public organizations in the placement, creation of material and living conditions and employment of forcibly evacuated citizens from other regions of the country is analyzed. The evacuation of part of the population of the KBR to the Transcaucasus, Central Asia and Siberia, associated with the threat of occupation of the region by German-Romanian troops, is also shown. The article examines the daily life of the evacuated population after the liberation of Kabardino-Balkaria in 1943. The number and order of placement of the evacuated population in the cities and districts of the republic are revealed. The features of migration processes in the republic during the Great Patriotic War are revealed: the involvement of specialists, teachers, doctors from other regions to restore the economy and social sphere. The procedure for re-evacuation of the population is analyzed. It is concluded that in the harsh conditions of wartime in the KBR, as well as in the country as a whole, complex evacuation and re-evacuation processes took place, leading to a deterioration in the material and everyday life of the population. Despite this, thanks to the social support of the state, enterprises, institutions and the public, the forced evacuation and re-evacuation of the population ensured its survival in the extreme conditions of war.

This article is dedicated to Nukh Aslancherievich Berzegov, a renowned state and party figure in the Adygea Autonomous Region, who headed the regional committee of the CPSU from 1960 to 1983. His organizational talent was reflected in the results achieved in the socioeconomic development of the region. It is noted how harmoniously his personal and professional qualities combined. Berzegov's activities as a regional leader were determined by the specific events in which he participated, the ideological influence of the Communist Party of the USSR, and the particular historical development of the Adygea Autonomous Region. As a regional historical figure, he was a characteristic representative of his era and the society in which he lived and created. Based on an analysis of archival materials and the memoirs of his colleagues, the authors examine significant events that occurred in the socioeconomic development of Adygea during this period. Implemented economic projects and their social consequences are examined.

This article examines existing traditions and emerging practices involving the use of elements of Ingush women’s wedding costume: the bride's dress (“chokhi”), chest decoration, belt and traditional hat, throughout the 20th and early 21st centuries. During this period, the tradition of passing on a wedding dress to an unmarried sister-in-law as part of a wedding gift exchange went from active implementation to complete disappearance due to the emergence of commercial dress rentals. The metal chest decoration, belt and hat were passed down from generation to generation and made a part of newly formed family traditions; these elements of traditional costume could also be loaned free of charge for weddings. The influence of economic factors on these processes is noted, leading to the emergence of commercial rentals of wedding costume elements in the post-deportation period. By the 2010s, due to the emergence of affordable and accessible alternatives to these costume elements, existing practices of interaction with these items ceased to exist. The article contains quotes from interviews conducted in Ingushetia and Moscow in 2020–2025.

The article is devoted to the study of materials transferred in 1828 by Ekaterina Mikhailovna Bukhgolts, the widow of the commandant of the Yeni-Kale fortress, to the Ministry of War after the death of her husband and deposited in the Department of the General Staff.

The documents reviewed are a valuable source for the history of the Anapa fortress and contain direct evidence from the Russo-Turkish Wars of the first third of the 19th century. Particular attention is given to a personal letter that demonstrates the multilayered identity of the author, Ekaterina Mikhailovna Bukhgolts, who was simultaneously the widow of a Russian general, a loyal subject of the Russian Empire, and an ethnic Circassian proud of her heritage and striving to help her people through integration with Russia.

An analysis of this source allows us to go beyond the simple fact of "receiving plans for the fortress" and explore information about the consequences of the 1812 Treaty of Bucharest and preparations for the Russo-Turkish War of 1828-1829. Through the prism of a private letter, one of the key stages in the history of the Anapa fortress is revealed, when it was permanently ceded to Russia by Article 4 of the Treaty of Adrianople; the complex world of relations with the peoples of Transkuban during this period is revealed.

This article is devoted to a source study review of published collections of documents on the history of agrarian relations in the Northwest and Central Caucasus in the 19th and early 20th centuries. Specifically, the authors examined materials edited by A.P. Berger, G.A. Kokiev, E.O. Krikunova, Kh.M. Dumanov, P.A. Kuzminov, E.I. Kobakhidze, Z.Zh. Glasheva, and other researchers. The documents they collected are represented in the collections of central and regional archives of Russia, such as the Russian State Historical Archives, the Russian State Military Historical Archives, the State Archives of the Krasnodar Territory, the Central State Archives of the Republic of North Ossetia-Alania, and the Central State Archives of the Kabardino-Balkarian Republic. The main types of documentation on this topic include regulatory legal acts, office documentation, and statistical data.

Most of the documents examine agrarian reforms in the Northwest and Central Caucasus in the second half of the 19th and early 20th centuries. These include projects, official materials on the work of estate-land committees, court records, and more. The published sources provide a comprehensive understanding of the socioeconomic policies of the Russian Empire in the region, the evolution of land relations, and the specifics of agrarian and peasant reforms in the Central and Northwest Caucasus.

The article, based on the historical-typological, chronological and systemic methods of historical science, provides a historiographic review of pre-revolutionary, Soviet and modern historical and ethnographic sources and literature on the orolatry of the peoples of Dagestan and the North Caucasus. Orolatry (mountain cult) is one of the earliest forms of religious belief, dating back to the nature cult of primitive society. In the Caucasus, orolatry was regional in nature and has always been a focus of research. According to the author, the reason why a single cult center of orolatry did not emerge in the Caucasus, but only regional centers, was its fragmented state in ethnopolitical terms into feudal holdings and unions of free societies.
If the pre-revolutionary historiography of the mountain cult was descriptive in nature, then the description of orolatry by Soviet and modern authors was conceptual in nature – they clarified the content of this category and defined the types of its manifestations. The study of the mountain cult in Dagestan and the North Caucasus was carried out by D.N. Anuchin, B.K. Dalgat, G.F. Chursin, M.A. Aglarov, B.A. Krylov, and others. A particularly significant contribution to the study of orolatry was made by Soviet and Russian ethnologists L.Ya. Sternberg, L.P. Potapov, I.L. Kyzlasov, V.N. Toporov, and S.A. Tokarev. The survival of this early form of religion in Soviet and modern times can be explained by its importance in the system of mental values ​​of the population of the North Caucasus within the framework of the confession of “folk Islam” and “folk Christianity” in this region. Considering the importance of studying the everyday functioning of religion in the era of globalization, further research into orolatry among the peoples of the North Caucasus has research prospects in Russian Caucasian studies.

In the article, for the first time in science, the problem of the correlation of styles of texts created by representatives of aristocratic and productive classes is posed and investigated. A new, original understanding of the plot and conceptually significant elements of the Damaley-Broad Shoulders song cycle is proposed. A new methodological feature is being introduced: a systematic appeal to recreational practices and social standards of the ethnic group for the interpretation of not only factology, but also the deep (apperceptive) component of texts. The article is relevant, as it makes up for the scientific gap in the study of the Adyghe song heritage caused by ideological distortions in the Soviet period. The study is relevant not only for Adyghe philology, but also for the study of folklore of all newly written peoples, whose cultural history was subjected to similar pressure. The purpose of the article is to analyze the class specifics of figurative representations in Kabardian poetry of the pre-author period. Identify and describe the ratio of styles of texts belonging to different social strata (aristocracy and productive classes). To offer an interpretation of the key elements of the cycle "Damaley-Broad Shoulders" and through it to reach the figurative features and class specifics of the aesthetic reflection of the works. It was concluded that there is class specificity in the figurative system and aesthetic reflection of Kabardian poetry, determined by the social status of the creators of the texts. Correct interpretation of folklore texts requires constant references to vital (life) practices and social standards of the ethnic community, and is not limited to a superficial plot level. The ideological pressure of the Soviet period distorted the history of the formation and development of verbal creativity of the Adyghe peoples, which requires revision and clarification. The work marks a promising direction for further research, setting the methodology of analysis through the prism of social stratification.

This article examines the work of contemporary Balkar writer Khyisa Leilunovich Osmanov (born 1954), a representative of a new generation of authors of the post-Soviet period. It introduces the writer's literary works into scientific circulation for the first time, revealing his artistic world, which determines the scientific novelty of the work. The article demonstrates that Kh. Osmanov successfully demonstrates his mastery in journalism, poetry, and short fiction. The author's journalistic works are dominated by the history of the Balkar people, famous families and their prominent representatives, as well as the geographical names of gorges, rivers, and mountain peaks (toponymy) in Balkaria. Osmanov Kh.'s poetry employs effective artistic devices, such as anaphora and refrain, which lend expressiveness and rhythm to the verses. A selective analysis of the writer's stories reveals compositional and artistic features (autobiographical, "story within a story," folklore stylization, comparative phrases, epithets, personification, and metaphor), and characterizes the author's idiostyle. The natural environment of his native land is an important component of the writer's artistic world. The inclusion of ethnographic details in the text is considered an effective way to create a national character and reveal the protagonist's mentality. Attention is focused on the key concept of love, which defines the leitmotif of the author's work. The conducted research allowed us to identify the originality and versatility of Kh. Osmanov's work, which meets the aesthetic needs of the modern reader.

This article attempts to analyze the unique portrayal of the mythological figure Albasly - an effeminate creature from Turkic mythology – in the short fiction of Nogai writers. The author first hypothesizes that the distinctive female characters in the stories of V. Kazakov (“The Star of Babai”), S. Batyrov (“The Legend of Albasly”), and I. Kapayev (“The Legend of Yansurat”) are explained not only by the writers' individual artistic pursuits but also by their shared mythological origins. A consistent set of traits, dubbed the “Albasly complex” in the article – captivating beauty, infernal quality, rejection, and unrealized love – suggests a close connection between the artistic worldview of Nogai literature and national mythology. Despite the limited number of examples, the observations presented in this article provide a deeper insight into the uniqueness of Nogai short fiction.

This article examines the poem “Thirty Tall Poplars” (1965) by the People's Poet of Kalmykia, Khasyr Syan-Belgin, which addresses the Civil War in Kalmykia. The relevance and novelty of this study stems from the lack of research on the work. The aim of this article is to explore the historical and functional aspects of this poem, which is associated with the defense of Soviet power in the republic. The objectives include the creative history of the work, its genre, thematic perspective, historical insight, contemporary perspective, the motif of historical memory, poetics, and Russian translation of the poem. This short lyrical poem, consisting of 102 lines, is written in the first person. The poetics of the title connects the historical past with the present: thirty poplars in the city serve as a monument to thirty fallen communists. The motif of historical memory stems from the need to identify the names of all thirty heroes who fell in the struggle for freedom, of whom, according to the poet, only two are known. The author compared them to the 26 Baku commissars who perished during the Civil War in 1918. In the Russian translation, the work was titled “Thirty Tall Poplars”, and its genre in the book publication was designated as a requiem poem.

The purpose of the study is to identify the features of the use or omission of certain personal verb affixes in the modern Kabardian-Circassian speech of the diaspora in Turkey. In the Kabardian-Circassian language, the personal paradigm of the verb performs an important semantic function. The article examines the diversity of preverbs in the Kabardian-Circassian literary language and how they have been preserved in the speech of the diaspora. A linguistic analysis of field materials and recordings from the phonological archive revealed some peculiarities in the vowelization and non-vowelization of verbs in the speech of the respondents. The scientific novelty of the study lies in the fact that, for the first time, it used the spoken Kabardian-Cherkessian speech of the diaspora in comparison with the literary Kabardian-Cherkessian language to identify the preservation or absence of personal verb affixes that perform a semantic function in the language. The study found that the speakers of Kabardian-Circassian in Turkey have incomplete realization of the personal paradigm of the verb - individual affixes are regularly omitted, despite their grammatical obligation in the literary Kabardian-Circassian language. Thus, in conditions of long-term isolation and the influence of a foreign language environment, the speakers of the language in the diaspora tend to simplify the vocabulary, which entails a change in the system of personal endings of verbs.

This article presents the results of an analysis of the Circassian language in comparison with the literary Kabardino-Circassian language. The article aims to explore the distinctive characteristics and identify the unique word-formation methods of the Circassian language. For this purpose, a review of the works of linguists who in one way or another touched upon this topic was carried out and, in connection with the fact that the existing works were prepared on the basis of materials collected several decades ago, we conducted a survey of native speakers living in the Karachay-Cherkess Republic to collect new field data. In preparing the article, the following linguistic research methods were used: field method, observation, descriptive-analytical method and comparative-contrastive method.
It has been established that in most cases the speech of the Circassians and the literary Kabardino-Circassian language coincide, but have some discrepancies that appeared as a result of alienated development from each other and close proximity and cooperation with various peoples. The work proves that, despite the fact that both variants represent a single language, the speech of the Circassians reveals some distinctive ways of using prefixes and suffixes in comparison with the literary language: the replacement of some word-formation forms with others, truncation, augmentation, etc.
The study uses new field data collected by the author in 2023 in Circassian-populated areas. Respondents were selected based on their place of residence, gender, age, and education. In addition, this text is written on the basis of the new linguistic terminology of the Kabardino-Circassian language, developed by Doctor of Philological Sciences B.Ch. Bizhoev.

The article analyzes the process of assimilation of borrowed socio-political words in the Kabardian-Cherkess language. It is argued that the penetration of the considered group of lexemes into the Kabardian-Cherkess language can be divided into two stages: the pre-written stage, when Arabo-Turkic borrowings had a significant influence, and the written stage, during which the Russian language became the main source of vocabulary. The relevance of this topic is due to the fact that the rules related to the principles of borrowing socio-political lexemes in the Kabardian-Cherkessian language remain unresolved to this day. Therefore, there is currently a discrepancy in the spelling of borrowed socio-political words in various publications. To solve this problem, the author proposes the creation of a modern dictionary of socio-political names in the Kabardian-Cherkessian language. As a result of the conducted research, the main ways of mastering socio-political names are established, and the main errors are identified.

The article is devoted to a diachronic linguistic study of the processes of formation, transformation and revitalization of the oikonymic system created by the Terek Cossacks on the territory of the Chechen Republic. The empirical base consisted of 62 homonyms extracted from the toponymic dictionaries of A.S. Suleymanov and A.V. Tverdoy, cartographic materials of the XIX-XXI centuries, as well as official documents, including the Decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the RSFSR dated 08/24/1977. It is shown how the pre-revolutionary model formed by the Cossack settlers fixed the foundations of their worldview, social structure, economic structure and sacred worldview in geographical names. The paper analyzes in detail the mechanism of ideological and administrative influence on oikonymy in the Soviet period, which led to its systemic deconstruction, as well as the complex and contradictory processes of its restoration and actualization in the post-Soviet period. The study has shown that the evolution of Cossack oikonymy is a complete cycle: from a motivated system that reflected the way of life of the Cossacks, through an ideologically driven deconstruction, to the modern phase of revitalization, in which oikonyms function as an object of symbolic restoration of historical memory. Oikonymy acts not only as historical evidence, but also as an active tool for constructing and preserving the ethno-cultural identity of the Terek Cossacks, and its evolution clearly demonstrates the mechanisms of interaction between language, power and historical memory.

This study discusses the features of the representation of concept «house» in karachay-balkarian language, in which the house is the oldest archetype that symbolizes sacred area. The concept under study is a multi-layered structure that consists of emotional (peace and protection from the outside world), ethical (a place for raising the younger generation), aesthetic (decorative elements of the house), magical (a place for rituals and ceremonies), and sacred (a place for preserving the connection between generations) components. The analysis of linguistic material allows us to decipher the system of meanings that embodies the cultural codes of an ethnic group. The article presents an explication of ethnographic vocabulary related to the construction of a house and its interior design, as well as the rituals and ceremonies that accompany all stages, from choosing a location to moving into a new house and welcoming guests (the tradition of «kunachestvo»). The material of paroemias reveals the core of the concept "yu" (dwelling, family) and its conceptual features (hospitality/guest, family, master, happiness, indoctrination, etc.).

This article presents the results of a free associative experiment aimed at identifying the features of the conceptualization of gender categories in the linguistic consciousness of Kabardino-Circassian language speakers. The research on the material of the Kabardino-Circassian language allows us to study the mechanism of categorization and conceptualization of fundamental social categories in the context of a specific linguistic cultural system. The analysis of responses to the stimulus words «цIыхубз» (woman) and «цIыхухъу» (man) allows for the reconstruction of the corresponding concepts' structure, the identification of their core and peripheral features, as well as the description of entrenched cultural ethnogender stereotypes. It is established that the analyzed gender concepts form an asymmetric binary opposition, where the intrafamilial and ethical-aesthetic sphere (дахэ, гъэса, анэ) is opposed to the sphere of social action and normative authority (лIыгъэ, къэру, адэ, пэж). This opposition verbalizes the axiological models of social role distribution entrenched in the Adyghe normative code « Адыгэ Хабзэ» («Adyghe Khabze»).

The article examines the phenomenon of artistic and creative contact and distant multilingualism in the linguacultural space of Chechen literature, which transmits the ethnocultural code through foreign-language inclusions in the communicative and discursive practices of national writers. The empirical material presented and analyzed includes excerpts from works of Chechen authors translated into foreign languages ​​(English, French, and German). The contrastive-typological analysis of foreign-language inclusions carried out by the authors of the article is aimed at “immersion” in the linguistic consciousness of the author, which made it possible to create a working typology of translation (professional) bilingualism in the modern Chechen linguistic space, which is the methodological basis for artistic and creative multilingualism. The comparative method and statistical analysis of empirical data allow for the synchronic translation of Chechen authors' creative tools, characterizing the versatility and authenticity of multilingual literary texts. The study reflects the complex process of integration of linguacultural components in the Chechen linguistic space, emphasizing the importance of dialogue between cultures through linguistic diversity.

This article examines the sociolinguistic mechanisms underlying the construction of Circassian (Adyghe) identity within overseas diaspora communities in the context of host country language dominance. The study draws on data from an online survey of 827 respondents, predominantly residing in Turkey, alongside open-ended responses analyzed through thematic coding. Circassian language proficiency was assessed across four communicative domains: listening comprehension, speaking, reading, and writing. The results indicate that, despite strong ethnic self-identification, there is a noticeable shift toward the majority language in domestic communication. Circassian language proficiency exhibits a polarized and asymmetrical pattern: receptive skills (comprehension) are generally better preserved than productive skills (speaking), while reading and, particularly, writing prove to be the most vulnerable domains. Respondents identify Adyghe Khabze as the fundamental basis of group membership, while community organizations, endogamous ties, and media practices also play a significant role. While digital platforms sustain cultural engagement, they rarely facilitate the reintegration of the Circassian language into everyday domestic discourse. The study demonstrates that although notions of an "authentic" Circassian identity remain closely associated with the language, actual preservation strategies more frequently rely on rituals, music, and collective memory. When asked about the primary threats to the preservation of Circassian culture in the diaspora, respondents most frequently cited assimilation, intermarriage, urbanization, and a lack of educational infrastructure. In conclusion, the article outlines the conditions necessary to enhance intergenerational language transmission and foster literacy development.

The article is devoted to the study of the linguistic and cultural concept "dzhigit" in the song discourse of Soviet and post-Soviet cinema. The relevance of the work is due to the need to study the mechanisms of ideological adaptation of ethnically marked concepts in mass culture, as well as the interest in analyzing the Soviet linguistic consciousness and its role in shaping stable ethno-cultural stereotypes. The material of the study was the corpus of film songs from the films "Avalanche from the Mountains" (1958), "The Hussar's Courtship" (1979), "Alan" (1997), and, for a detailed presentation of the proposed concept (going beyond the cinematic context), the pop song "The Jigit's Song" (1967) was analyzed. The methodological basis is a comprehensive approach that includes conceptual analysis, discourse analysis, component analysis, and contextual analysis. The theoretical basis of the study is based on the principles of linguoculturology, cognitive linguistics, and critical discourse analysis. The study revealed the structure of the concept "Dzhigit", which includes nuclear features and peripheral characteristics. The results contribute to the study of the mechanisms of interaction between language, ideology, and cultural memory within the Soviet cultural project.

The language of the Meskhetian Turks currently living in the Russian Federation remains one of the least studied Turkic languages. This is obviously due to the diasporic nature and compactness of the residence of representatives of the nation, the lack of activity and participation of native speakers of the Turkish-Meskhetian language in preserving and researching the peculiarities of their native language, the lack of systematic scientific work aimed at filling gaps in the lexicography of the Meskhetian Turks, and other inexplicable reasons. The present study, conducted on the basis of a sample from the texts of spontaneous oral discourse of native speakers of the Turkish-Meskhetian language (mainly 1st and 2nd generations) living in the Astrakhan region, aims to describe in the Turkish-Meskhetian language the basic semantic field "Family" for any language, which will allow us to present the peculiarities of the worldview of representatives of the Meskhetian Turks linguistic culture. In the course of the study, the content of the core, the near and far peripheries of the semantic field under study were established, and the meaningful features of the intermediate periphery were identified. Based on the semantic criterion, the sample is also classified into thematic groups that contribute to the holistic perception of the family in the modern Turkish-Meskhetian language. The study made it possible to identify and describe, within the framework of the field, ethnocultural information related to the perception of family as a value in the language under study. The work used a set of general scientific (interviewing, the method of directed sampling, analysis, synthesis, comparison, generalization) and linguistic methods (descriptive method, method of semantic analysis, quantitative method).

The purpose of the study is a comprehensive, multi-aspect description of the linguistic portrait of a modern student of the Kabardino-Balkarian State University named after H.M. Berbekov through the integration of methods of sociolinguistics, cognitive linguistics and discourse analysis. Material and methods – the empirical base was composed of data from direct (included) observation of students' speech practices in the university environment (2020-2025) and the results of a questionnaire survey. The methodology combines a sociolinguistic analysis of speech behavior in a multiethnic community with a cognitive-discursive study of the underlying mechanisms of conceptualization and strategies for constructing a common hypertext. Results – a detailed linguistic portrait has been compiled, its key parameters have been identified and systematized: 1) stable situational diglossia as a form of social and cognitive adaptation; 2) specific grammatical and lexical innovations; 3) creative word-formation strategies and language games; 4) the formation of a local hypertext; 5) strict taboo of obscene vocabulary with the regulated use of invective. Scientific novelty lies in a holistic description of the idiolect of the student body of a North Caucasian university, where social practices are considered in an inseparable connection with cognitive and discursive processes. Conclusions – the linguistic portrait of a KBSU student is a hybrid formation formed at the intersection of external sociolinguistic conditions of a multilingual environment and internal cognitive-pragmatic tasks of constructing a group identity and a common communicative space.

For many years, folklorists at the Kabardino-Balkarian Scientific Center of the Russian Academy of Sciences have been compiling and preparing for publication the Collection of Karachay-Balkar Folklore. The Collection of Karachay-Balkar Folklore is a serial scholarly publication of artistically outstanding folklore works that are of great importance for the preservation and revival of the oral folklore heritage of these peoples. The purpose of the Collection is to publish both previously known works and to widely introduce unpublished materials and folk songs into scholarly circulation, identifying their historical and cultural significance, artistic features, and the genre specifics of the published texts. Publications and scholarly support in the form of commentary on the volumes of the Collection are comprehensive in nature, with particular attention paid to combining historical, philological, folkloristic, and ethnographic aspects. The monograph under review is dedicated to the publication "Historical and Heroic Songs of the Karachays and Balkars," the sixth volume of the "Collection of Karachay-Balkar Folklore." The publication under review fits seamlessly into the context of similar all-Russian fundamental publications such as the Collection of Folklore of the Peoples of Dagestan, the Collection of Folklore of the Peoples of Siberia, the Collection of Kalmyk Folklore, and others. The researchers were faced with the task of preserving known song texts, parallel translation into Russian, and creating an extensive scientific apparatus.