Military anthropology in new historical context

The article examines the study of the “man at war” within the framework of military anthropology as a historical and interdisciplinary branch of science since its theoretical substantiation in 2000, highlights methodological approaches, main directions, key problems and their evolution in the context of the Special Military Operation of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation in Ukraine. The types of sources suitable for the analysis of this problem are shown by the example of foreign mercenaries’ participation in a military conflict. The paper raises the question of the need to use the experience of the Commission on the History of the Great Patriotic War in the conditions of the Special Military Operation to form a source base for future research. It also addresses the difficulties of searching, collecting, and preserving ego documents that have been transferred from paper to electronic or virtual format, as well as the place of military anthropology in the process of teaching the modern history of Russia in higher educational institutions.