This article examines the phenomenon of the United States' participation in operations to eliminate foreign leaders, which has taken on new resonance in connection with the high-profile events of 2025–2026—the kidnapping of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and the death of Iran's Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei as a result of a U.S.–Israeli strike. Based on an analysis of historical documents, expert assessments, and international-law norms, the evolution of the United States' approaches to the use of force in regime change is reconstructed. Particular attention is paid to the contradiction between the official prohibition on political assassinations and the ongoing practice of their use under new legal justifications.

This article examines the complex question of whether Russia could successfully capture Latvia, a NATO member state since 2004. Based on analysis of current intelligence assessments, military simulations, and geopolitical dynamics as of February 2026, the article reconstructs the multifaceted nature of the threat, ranging from hybrid warfare to conventional invasion scenarios. Particular attention is devoted to the balance between Russian capabilities, NATO's defensive commitments, and the specific vulnerabilities of the Baltic region. The consensus among Western intelligence agencies indicates that while Russia poses significant hybrid and cyber threats, a conventional military invasion capable of capturing Latvia faces formidable obstacles, primarily Latvia's NATO membership and the alliance's collective defense guarantee under Article 5.

This article presents a comprehensive biography of Sir Isaac Newton, one of the most influential scientists in human history whose work fundamentally transformed humanity's understanding of the physical universe. Based on analysis of historical documents, scientific treatises, and biographical accounts, this article reconstructs Newton's trajectory from a solitary Cambridge scholar to President of the Royal Society and Master of the Mint. Particular attention is devoted to his groundbreaking contributions to physics, mathematics, optics, and astronomy, as well as his lesser-known pursuits in alchemy, theology, and chronology. The complex personality of Newton—secretive, intensely focused, and intellectually relentless—emerges as inseparable from the revolutionary ideas that laid the foundation for classical mechanics and dominated scientific thought for three centuries.

This article examines freestyle skiing as a dynamic winter sport that combines traditional skiing techniques with aerial acrobatics and high-speed maneuvers. Based on analysis of Olympic history, disciplinary specifications, and competitive developments, the article reconstructs the evolution of freestyle skiing from its countercultural origins in the 1960s to its current status as one of the most spectacular disciplines of the Winter Olympics. Particular attention is devoted to the seven distinct disciplines comprising the sport, their scoring methodologies, the technological evolution of equipment, and the star athletes who have shaped the sport's development. The upcoming Milan Cortina 2026 Winter Games, featuring the debut of dual moguls and the addition of a fifteenth medal event, serve as the focal point for examining contemporary freestyle skiing.

In this article, the question of the number of human casualties associated with the use of the Kalashnikov assault rifle throughout its history is examined. Based on an analysis of available statistical estimates, historical evidence, and expert conclusions, a range of probable figures is reconstructed, and the methodological difficulties of such counts are explored. Special attention is given to comparing different sources, annual lethality rates, and the Kalashnikov's place among other weapons according to the criterion of lethality.

Aesthetics of Monasticism

Aesthetics of ski jumping

Speed of solving mathematical problems by a primary school student

Statistics and work efficiency

Theme of justice in the theology of Christmas

Evenings at a Country Cottage Near Dikanka as a mysterious Christmas thriller

Winter Solstice in Culture, Art, Literature

Gnosticism in modern literature

Skeptics and Their Perception of Christmas and New Year