text: The laboratory research aim is to hold a range of studies of the Old World western regions in antiquity and the Middle Ages using the material of ancient Egypt, Greece and countries of medieval Europe. The West of the Old World is the region of birth, expansion and development of monotheism comprised of but not limited to the two world monotheistic religions (Christianity, Islam), which are essential for the Russian history.
  The main research aim of the laboratory is to concentrate on the ideological side of the regional history. The philosophical assumptions and factors important for the spiritual formation of the West of the Old World, its evolution to the "monotheistic spirituality" are being studied as part of laboratory research focus.
  Head of Laboratory: PhD in History Valentin Portnykh