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Copyright of Bylye Gody is the property of Cherkas Global University Press and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

The current study by Konstantinovskaia is a critical investigation of how such notions as "beauty" and "femininity" are constructed, communicated, and defied in Japanese and Russian societies. It adopts a cross-cultural and three-level approach to data evaluation wherein TV ads, interviews, and blog information are utilized to probe into gendered language through the lens of ideology, expectations, and practice. The monograph illustrates that the typology of desirable females in Russian and Japanese TV ads is somewhat diverse and that women have varying views of what is "feminine" and "non-feminine" conduct. It also reveals the complicated evolution of discourses and ideologies on women within these two highly mobile societies. The book is undoubtedly an informative and constructive resource for studies on sociolinguistics, gender, language, and media. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Journal of Oriental Studies (Al-Farabi Kazakh National University) / Kazahskij Nacional'nyj Universitet Imeni Al'-Farabi Vestnik Seriâ Vostokovedeniâ is the property of Al-Farabi Kazakh National University and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

The study investigates the factors related to Ukrainian nationals' engagement or disengagement with Russian culture amid Russian-Ukrainian war. It explores the predictors of both continued engagement and reasons for terminating interaction, considering demographic, emotional, and circumstantial factors. A cross-sectional correlational design was used, involving 935 participants (305 continuing and 630 ceasing interaction with Russian culture). Participants completed questionnaires and detailed their engagement with Russian culture across various cultural items. Multiple linear and logistic regressions were conducted for analysis. The study found that factors like spoken language and coping strategies play a significant role in the decision to cut cultural ties. For those continuing interaction, language and emotional attachment were influential, alongside practical necessities like work/study requirements and the absence of Ukrainian alternatives. The study highlights a complex interplay of emotion, language, and age in shaping Ukrainians' interaction with Russian culture during the war. It suggests future research should include additional sociopolitical and sociocultural factors, and a broader demographic representation to gain more nuanced perspectives. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article offers an analysis of publications from the popular French daily newspaper Le Monde, where journalists, notably Michel Tatu, Daniel Vernet, and Jacques Amalric, construct the image of the Soviet Union for the French public during the period of Yuri Andropov's leadership (1982-1984). One of the central themes is Andropov's personality, blending enthusiasm and hopes for reforms in the Soviet Union with critical assessments by French journalists of his overly strict and ineffective governance. Other key topics include human rights in the USSR, particularly the rights of Soviet Jews, and the perceived threat of Soviet espionage. The analysis reveals how the USSR is depicted as a complex, inefficient mechanism, resistant to reform even with leadership changes that imply a "new dynamic." The media emphasize the burdensome bureaucratic and administrative apparatus of the Soviet system, alongside the overuse of police and other methods to control the population. The conclusion highlights the persistence of stereotypes that do not always facilitate mutual understanding between the two countries. To a significant extent, French society and its elites distance themselves from an ambiguous and multifaceted perception of the USSR, seeing it, on one hand, as a symbol of totalitarianism, and on the other, as a guardian of socialism. The conviction is reinforced that the communist governance of the USSR, when compared to capitalism, cannot guarantee economic progress or safeguard democracy, freedom, and justice, a sentiment strongly reflected in Le Monde's portrayal of the country. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article analyzes Russian etiquette expressions (greetings, invitations, consents, apologies, thanks, etc.) used in Russian television series of recent decades. For the first time the factual material of three films is considered in detail: “Liquidation” (2007), “Alexander Garden” (2005) and “Black Wolves” (2017). It is shown that screenwriters and directors allow the use of modern (latest) lexical units in films showing the history of the Soviet Union in the 1920s–1950s. These are expressions like Проехали! and idioms like Интересное кино! Such an anachronism is explained, in particular, by the genre properties of films: they combine the features of action films, detective stories and melodramas. Although these facts are a violation of historical reality, they can be justified by the desire to bring the situations of recent history closer to the modern viewer. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Despite the 'infinite attraction' (Diaries, entry from 14 Feb. 1915) that Russia exerted on Franz Kafka and despite his undoubtedly deep attachment to Russian literature, to Gogol, Dostoevsky and Chekhov, in whose works the origins of his poetics can be found, the Bohemian writer was long ignored in the Soviet Union. The present article follows two streams of thought: it first traces the relationship between Kafka and Russian culture and later focuses on the troubled reception of his works in the Soviet Union until today. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This invited article is a tribute to Giovanni Maniscalco Basile, reflecting on his multifaceted contributions as a scholar, and cultural enthusiast. Darko Suvin highlights Basile's extensive work and interests spanning Russian politics and ideology, music, science fiction, and utopian studies. Suvin underscores Basile's unique intellectual presence, likening him to a Renaissance man with a profound ability to interweave diverse fields. The article delves into Basile's engagement with Russian utopian and dystopian literature, his polyglot abilities, and his critical approach to blending historical and futuristic narratives. Suvin discusses Basile's role in elevating science fiction as a legitimate field of academic inquiry and his efforts in integrating it with contemporary cultural and political critiques. Marina Ciccarini further explores Basile's life, and personal and professional background, emphasizing his broad interests, between literature, politics, music and physics, and eventually providing a selected bibliography of his works. In conclusion, the article portrays Giovanni Maniscalco Basile as a profound thinker whose interdisciplinary work continues to inspire discussions on creativity, freedom, and the intellectual's role in society. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Franc Grivec (1878–1963), a long-time professor at the Faculty of Theology in Ljubljana, is considered a pioneer in systematic research of Eastern Christianity among Slovenian authors. A significant part of Grivec’s published work is dedicated to the ideational analysis of the October Revolution of 1917, which presented a topical public issue of his time, conditioned by socio-economic change and the seeking of new collective identities. This is most thoroughly addressed in the monograph for a wider audience (National Consciousness and Bolshevism) originally written by Grivec based on his lectures to the primary- and high-school teachers of Ljubljana in 1944. According to Grivec, the extremism of the Bolsheviks represents a part of the wider mechanism of Russian cultural history, in which the concept of a messianic mission, starting with the idea of Moscow as the “Third Rome,” appeared several times. The mentioned author calls on Catholic intellectuals to assert Christian principles in public and foster a reflected national consciousness as opposed to the internationalist socialism, in order to prevent the success of the revolution on Slovenian soil. His views are organically complemented by France Dolinar (1915–1983), a representative of the younger generation of Catholic scholars of the time, who decided to live in emigration due to the political pressures in his homeland. Dolinar draws close to Grivec with the emphasis on the engagement for the common national cause against the “political partisan mindset”; on the other hand, Dolinar surpasses Grivec with his idea for the independent Slovenian state, which would be a real opposite to the socialist theory on the extinction of nations.

Одной из актуальных проблем отечественного искусствознания остается изучение явлений современной художественной жизни, многие из которых пребывают вне поля внимания авторов, пишущих об искусстве. В настоящее время художники нечасто организуют объединения, поскольку гораздо больше распространен индивидуализм, однако бывают и исключения. В 2022 году исполнилось двадцать лет петербургской Ассоциации художников — потомков дворянских родов, в составе которой более двадцати человек. Деятельность этой организации развивается по нескольким направлениям. Ассоциацию волнуют пересечения художественных направлений ленинградского-петербургского изобразительного искусства второй половины XX – XXI века. Поставив перед собой задачи расширения культурного пространства, она сотрудничает со многими современными авторами, продолжающими традиции ленинградского-петербургского искусства. Важной проблемой, требующей решения, становится и переосмысление русской истории. В статье оценивается деятельность ассоциации, ее вклад в художественную культуру, рассматривается творчество крупнейших ее представителей в контексте развития современного петербургского искусства, проанализированы основные произведения, представленные на выставках этого художественного объединения последних лет. Новизна исследования заключается в том, что впервые предпринята попытка комплексного изучения творчества представителей Ассоциации художников — потомков дворянских родов с целью определения их вклада в современное искусство.

This paper deals with the questions Dostoevsky's reception in Hungary in the last decades of the 19th and in the first two decades of the 20th centuries. The author investigates the growing interest towards Dostoevsky in the context of the new tendencies of the art and literature and gives a detailed survey of the most characteristic reactions (i.e. reviews, studies, introductions to the books) about the new translations and editions of Dostoevsky's works. Among the most relevant questions are treated the stereotypes about Russian culture and people, living in Hungary through the past centuries, the various interpretations of the Crime and Punishment and some comparative aspects in the analysis of this novel. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Over the last thirty years, Italian Russistics has been enriched by numerous publications on cultural topics, thus better defining the blurred boundaries and vast areas of a transversal research strand that identifies its disciplinary models with American Cultural Studies and Russian-Soviet Kul'turologija. Whereas Lotman's boundless scientific production has, at least in part, been the subject of translation and analysis, as well as some important studies by Lichačëv and Averincev, various scientific works were dedicated to the study of specific aspects and expressions of Russian, Soviet and post-Soviet culture - relating to literature, folklore, visual and performing arts, media, byt, national cultural symbols, mass culture and other topics - in various research areas: Cross-cultural studies, Comparative cultural studies, Cultural history, Cultural geography, Gender studies, Cultural heritage studies, Popular culture studies, Cultural semiotics, and many more. In Italian Russistics, the expression 'Russian culture' appears, presumably for the first time, in 1923 in the volume Saggi sulla cultura russa (Essays on Russian culture) by Ettore Lo Gatto and replicated by the author himself in the still unpublished typescript, Storia della cultura russa (History of Russian Culture) dating back to the very early 1980s. The Lo Gatto's project - a literary profile of Russia within a broadly cultural framework - was followed by a two-decade-long silence. Towards the end of the 1990s, Gian Piero Piretto would start a debate on Cultural studies methodological approaches and fields of investigation applied to the Russian world. This paper aims to outline an overview of the main orientations and research themes of Russian Cultural Studies in Italy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article is devoted to the artist of the Russian emigre artistic circle Eugene E. Klimoff (1901–1990). A committed realist, as a painter and graphic artist, Klimoff worked in the field of landscape and portrait. The artist’s creative heritage includes many portraits of representatives of Russian artistic emigre circles, cultural and scientific figures, as well as landscapes of those places in which he happened to live during his life. These landscapes are autobiographical and belong to the category of historical evidence, acquiring special value after a hundred of years. A significant part of the landscapes is executed in the technique of lithography, and the attention of this article is focused on them. At the same time, the landscapes by Klimoff are analysed not only from the point of view of a modern art critic but also from that of his contemporaries. This perspective became possible due to Klimoff’s extensive correspondence with many famous Russian artists in exile, including Alexandre Benois, Zinaida Serebryakova, Mstislav Dobuzhinsky, and others. Klimoff’s activities in various fields of art pursued a specific goal — the promotion of Russian art in its entirety in those cities and countries where he happened to stay. He became one of the founders of the cultural and educational society “Akropol” in Latvia, and in 1932 became its executive secretary; in 1940, he headed the Russian Department at the Riga Art Museum. In different countries of the world, Klimoff painted churches and restored church murals; he also gave public lectures on ancient Russian icon painting, subsequently expanding a variety of lecture topics and including Russian fine art of the 18th, 19th, and 20th centuries, including the work of his Russian contemporaries. At the same time, Klimoff’s activities as an educator began to spread in another direction — towards homeland, for which he carefully preserved not only his and his circle artists’ works but also memories of them in a form of correspondence with famous Russian culture and art personalities.

Copyright of Bogoslovni Vestnik is the property of University of Ljubljana, Faculty of Theology and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of RumeliDE Journal of Language & Literature Research / RumeliDE Dil ve Edebiyat Araştırmaları Dergisi is the property of RumeliDE Uluslararasi Hakemli Dil & Edebiyat Arastirmalari Dergisi and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Annals of Social Sciences / Roczniki Nauk Społecznych is the property of Towarzystwo Naukowe KUL & Katolicki Uniwersytet Lubelski Jana Pawla II and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

After 24 February 2022, anti-war songs emerged as a new phenomenon in Russian culture. They cover a variety of genres, from bardic song to rap, from travesty to tragedy. Songs containing clear anti-war stances reflect the shock of war, the tragic death of people, the destruction of culture and society in which the authors lived or with which they were spiritually connected before the attack on Ukraine, the end of an era in the existence of the Russian Federation. Anti-war songs mark a constantly expanding thematic field, and this article is only an early attempt to analyse and survey them. The presented text collection reveals the clear awareness among creative circles that after the war against Ukraine Russians will face the task of rebuilding their country on the wreckage of a failed state.

The article is based on the author’s hypothesis that the devalued “new time” Soviet novels of socialist realism actually contain valuable ethno-gender material. This position is theoretically substantiated and experimentally proved by the author as a result of the analysis of two historical and revolutionary novels “Murat” and “Northern Lights” by the Balkarian writer Minaldan Shavaeva. The main character Asiyat portrays the North Caucasian type of an emancipated woman who challenges patriarchal foundations and preaches the principle of “freedom of the heart”. Much attention is paid to related issues related to ethnocultural codes “kadar” (fate) “taukel” (soul is like a mountain), “cousin”, “leading woman”, “driven man”, “maiden braid”. In the context of gender transformation processes in the North Caucasus, the culture-forming role of the Russian language is also considered.

Terracotta tiles are a characteristic objects of Russian culture in the 17th century. These terracotta tiles are intended for facing stoves. The article deals with tiles and stamps for making tiles found during the archaeological study of the historical part of Tsaryovokokshaysk. A stove faced with tiles was a luxury item for the upper strata of the population. That is why the findings of tiles are more interesting in the territory of a small town, where wealthy people made up a small percentage of the population. The technology of manufacturing tiles speaks in favor of the presence of local production. Stamps found on the territory of the town for applying a pattern on tiles also indicate the presence of such production in Tsaryovokokshaysk of the 17th century. Stamps are quite rare finds on the territory of Russia, and those ones found far from the centers of tile production are of even greater value. Tsaryovokokshaysk stamps have a more complicated and varied pattern than those found in other regions earlier. The revealed tiles were described and grouped according to the composition of the drawing. In 2021 there was found a tile that had been made using a stamp found in 2015. This fact also proves the presence of local production in the town during the 17th century. The production of tiles in Tsaryovokokshaysk ceased in the 18th century due to socio-economic reasons.

В данной статье проводится исследование современного образа русской женщины в американском кинематографическом дискурсе на примере персонажа Наташи Романофф, известной как Черная вдова. Используя метод концептуального анализа, авторы рассматривают вербальные и невербальные характеристики этого персонажа, с целью выявить и описать особенности его представления в кинематографии. В ходе исследования выявлено, что образ русской женщины, представленный через персонаж Наташи Романофф, часто ассоциируется с характеристиками тяжелости, суровости, одиночества и потерей человеческой природы. Несмотря на это, персонаж все равно получает возможность взаимодействия и признания в американском обществе благодаря своей высокой профессиональности, интеллекту, таланту и жертвенности. Результаты исследования помогают понять, каким образом формируется и эволюционирует образ русской женщины в американском кинематографе и какие идеологические и культурные факторы влияют на восприятие данного образа.

Copyright of Proceedings of Matica Srpska for History / Zbornik Matice Srpske za Istoriju is the property of Matica srpska and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Chinese Journal of Slavic Studies is the property of De Gruyter and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

The article systematically descirbes the ideas of the historian of Russian literature Vasily Spiridonov about the work of Apollon Grigoriev for the first time. The name of this researcher is almost forgotten by those who study works by Ap. Grigoriev and A. N. Ostrovsky, with whom he was well acquainted and about whose work Apollon Grigoriev repeatedly wrote. The author of the article identified and presented the entire bibliographic list of works written by Spiridonov about Grigoriev and analyzes three most important works. The researcher highly appreciates his talent as a critic, differs articles by a perspective, reveals dynamics of his ideas of art. The article emphasizes that Spiridonov himself had a brilliant command of the word, kept a distance between his ideas about the critical works of Grigoriev and the author. This correct position allowed Spiridonov to disclose adequately specifics of critiques of the Grigoriev, to add them to a historical and cultural context of not only his time. As a result it is specified that Spiridonov’s works didn’t lose the relevance, have novelty, originality of approaches in understanding of creativity of the Grigoriev as a critic.

The issue of the history of the translation into Russian of the historical work of the German playwright August Kotzebue “Svitrigailo, the Grand Duke of Lithuania”, which was published in 1835, when the name of the famous German author had already become a sign of bad literary taste, and his works ceased to be published. For the first time, the study introduces into scientific circulation materials from several archives that store documents that allow us to draw conclusions about why Kotzebue’s essay on the history of Lithuania and Poland has been lying on the shelf of the censorship department for more than a decade. The results of the study showed that the manuscript could not be allowed for publication for a long time, not because of the scandal around the tragic death of its author, and not because of the new heroized interpretation of the image of Svitrigailo. The real reason for oblivion was the additions (documents from the Königsberg archive) with which Kotzebue supplied his work. The author of the article reports that, among various historical materials, three papal bulls were presented at the end of the manuscript, related to the project of a possible reunification of the Latin and Greek churches. It was these documents that delayed the publication of Kotzebue’s work in Russian. The archival materials involved show that the censorship of the first quarter of the 19th century considered the dissemination of materials related to the issue of unification of churches dangerous for Russian society.

The article examines the phenomenon of retrotopia in parts of modern Russian culture that refer directly or indirectly to the war in Ukraine, as well as the phenomenon of postmemory, which serves as a counterbalance to the construction of Russia as a katechon, liberator, and moral model for the rest of the world. The analysis of cultural texts revealed that retrotopia is a common denominator for those manifestations of culture that fuel the Russian dream of greatness and the myth of the Empire, while the appeal to postmemory connects authors attempting to work through Russia’s difficult past. Thus, the study shows that both retrotopia and postmemory hinder present-day Russia from finding its place in the modern world and contribute to the renewal of its cultural traumas. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Foreign languages have always occupied a prominent place in Russia and the Russian culture. The paper states that despite being seemingly isolated from the outside world, Russia has always been closely connected with it, and not only by trade and political relations, but also by spirit and culture. The research contributes to the discussion of the role of foreign languages in Russian culture and reviews the development of the foreign languages teaching system in Russia. Adoption of Christianity was the first significant reason for the spread of foreign languages in the society, and that brought not only a new religion, but also the Greek language along with the theological books. Over time, more and more foreign languages began to spread in the society, sometimes even entering into conflict with one another: Latin with Greek (in the theological field), German with French (in the sphere of politics), and French with English (in the literary field). In certain historical periods (for example, in the first half of the 19th century), foreign languages even displaced the Russian language in some social strata. The contribution underlines the importance of analysing such historical periods with special reference to the interconnection between language as a means of communication and national identity. The investigation also argues that at times, for example, like in Soviet times, foreign languages acquired the status of ‘dead’ languages and became an exclusive tribute to tradition and a means of reading. In conclusion, the paper declares that foreign languages have always retained their important role, opening up new horizons for the Russian people and connecting them with the outside world.

The Russian authorities have begun to show great interest in their diverse Russian-speaking diaspora in the world and have proposed an official “Russkiy Mir” political strategy integrated into Russian foreign policy and policies towards Russian compatriots. The purpose of the article is to analyze the need of young Russian compatriots abroad in various forms of state and non – state support from Russia based on the questionnaire survey data. The article considers the results of a questionnaire survey of young Russian compatriots living abroad. The survey was conducted in 54 foreign countries. 2042 respondents aged from 14 to 30 years inclusive were interviewed. Most young Russian compatriots have formed a dual identity – Russian and the country of residence. Empirical data describing the need of young compatriots abroad in various forms of state and non-state support are obtained. Most young compatriots did not use measures of state and non-state support, low coverage of young compatriots by the events was established. The potential for consolidation is highlighted - the Russian language, the common historical and cultural heritage of Russia, viewing Russian media and television shows, as well as the development of economic ties.

Copyright of Rivista di Politica is the property of Rubbettino Editore and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Kultura Slowian is the property of Jagiellonian University Press and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Iudaica Russica is the property of Wydawnictwo Uniwersytetu Slaskiego and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of School Chronicle / Šolska Kronika is the property of Slovenski Solski Muzej and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

The article analyzes modern trends in the civilizational transition and identifies its leaders. The role and importance of the middle class in Russia and in the West is determined, the author's understanding of their differences is given. The thesis is put forward describing the Russian possibilities for overcoming the complex crisis. The mechanism of accumulation of traditional socio-cultural values in the new post-industrial culture possesses such an opportunity. in the foreground is the intellectual resource that allows the transition to a fundamentally different type of economy based on knowledge. However, sustainable development today is driven not only by innovations that pave the way for the future, but also by traditions that maintain stability. The Russian cultural code and mentality are a successful algorithm for peoples living in critical areas for survival.

Problem. The problem of norms and norms violation has a long research history in scientific thinking. Lay thinking analysis rests in the shadow of this research line; although in the modern world people are actively involved in the construction of lay theories about various phenomena and they use this knowledge in daily life. Aim. Following the ideas of the social representations theory, the aim of the exploratory study was to analyse the lay theories developed by young Russian adults about norms and norms violation. Method. 134 young adults participated in the study, 26.12% males (aged 18 — 28 years, M=21.01years, SD =2.23). 71.6% participants were students of social sciences from Moscow Universities. A free-association technique was used. The data were analysed by using prototypical analysis. Results. The particularity of lay thinking about norms and norms violation was revealed. Conclusion: It is possible to conclude that norms are not equated with laws, while norms violation is identified with crimes (laws’ violation). The framework of the social representations theory allowed us to analyse the lay thinking about norms and norms violation as a matter of Russian cultural context.

Russian religious character, brought up by Orthodoxy, is vividly expressed in the article on the basis of various cultural material, an important visual aspect of Russian culture is considered. In the modern era of secularization, it is largely preserved and continues to determine the worldview. The article deals with the opinions of Metropolitan Anthony of Surozh about the differences between Orthodox and Western perceptions of death and the deceased. A special Russian experience of death and burial rites is shown in the examples of I. Bunin’s stories “Transfiguration” and G. Gazdanov’s “Panikhida”. Here death is understood as a beginning of resurrection – a new birth of a person into eternity, and not just the end of earthly life, which is more typical for Western consciousness. The Transfiguration of the hero’s soul, which occurs during the reading of the Psalter over the dead mother, turns into a cosmogonic process of transformation of all life and all being – a manifest prototype of the transformation that will take place after the end of this world. And it can be experienced as a real fact of a person’s spiritual life only in this situation of close proximity to the deceased. The memorial service as a “short-term invasion of eternity” is the “formula” of the Russian understanding of death. The rejection of the dead, the fear and loathing towards the dead are characteristics of the Western mentality, which led to the emergence of the vampire image as the personification of the dead. If the ultimate symbol of the deceased person in Orthodoxy is imperishable relics, then for the Western culture such an ultimate symbol was vampire. In addition, decorating the dead to make them look “like they are alive” is very typical for a Western person, because he does not want to see death, but only wants to preserve the memory of the person in this world. However, at the height of poetic inspiration and the deepest spiritual sorrow, the Western people awaken the experience of death, which is very close to the Orthodox experience-death as the Paschal sacrament of entering into eternal life and the expectation of a future bodily resurrection, professed in the “Symbol of Faith”. The understanding of death, which is embedded in the “code” of Russian culture, is also manifested when the author is far from certain national mentality and Orthodox faith – since this “code” is so strong that it subordinates the author through the language of the cultural tradition itself. В статье на разнообразном культурном материале рассматривается важный визуальный аспект русской культуры, в котором ярко выразился русский религиозный характер, воспитанный Православием. В современную эпоху секуляризации он во многом сохраняется и продолжает определять мироощущение людей. Рассмотрены суждения митрополита Антония Сурожского об отличиях православного и западного восприятия смерти и умерших людей. Особое русское переживание смерти и обряда погребения показано на примерах рассказов И. Бунина «Преображение» и Г. Газданова «Панихида». Смерть здесь понимается как начало воскресения – как новое рождение человека в вечность, а не как всего лишь конец земной жизни, что более характерно для западного сознания. Преображение души героя, случившееся при чтении Псалтыри над умершей матерью, превращается в космогонический процесс преображения всей жизни и всего бытия – явленный прообраз того преображения, которое будет после конца мира сего. Оно может переживаться как реальный факт душевной и духовной жизни человека только в этой ситуации непосредственной близости с умершим человеком. Панихида как «кратковременное вторжение вечности» – это «формула» русского понимания смерти. Отторжение мёртвых, страх и отвращение перед ними, характерные для западной ментальности, привели к появлению в культуре образа вампира – олицетворения мёртвого человека как такового. Если предельным символом умершего человека в Православии являются нетленные мощи, то для западной культуры таким предельным символом стал вампир. Кроме того, приукрашивание умерших, чтобы они выглядели «как живые», очень характерно для западного человека, поскольку он не хочет видеть смерть, а хочет лишь сохранить память о человеке в этом мире. Однако на высоте поэтического вдохновения и глубочайшей душевной скорби в западном человеке пробуждается переживание смерти, очень близкое человеку православному, – смерти как пасхального таинства вступления в вечную жизнь и чаяния будущего телесного воскресения, исповедуемого в «Символе веры». Понимание смерти, заложенное в «коде» русской культуры, проявляется и тогда, когда автор далёк и от национального менталитета, и от православной веры, – поскольку этот «код» столь силён, что подчиняет себе автора через язык самой культурной традиции.

This paper introduces a thematic cluster derived from the conference 'A Culture of (Dis)Continuity? Russian Cultural Debates in Historical Perspective', held at the University of Central Lancashire, England, in May 2016. It maps the place of this vast, diverse, and increasingly relevant topic in current debates by situating it within the polemics of a broader nature – of the existing methodological approaches to studying cultures and their evolutions. It then elucidates the contribution of this '(dis)continuity' cluster to the existing research, with a focus on Russian literary discourse. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In some stories by Tatyana Tolstaya, published between 2004 and 2015, of Soviet and post-Soviet setting, the doorbell, in the representation of living contexts, seems to take on a non-secondary significance. Sometimes, it is its aesthetic value to be highlighted; while, in other moments, it is its function to be emphasised. This article aims to investigate the meaning the doorbell acquires in Tolstaya’s narratives, the way it relates, each single time, to the surrounding system of objects, as well as with the main characters of the stories. Although its being a product of modern technology, the doorbell, located on the front door, connects to the threshold, a place steeped in stratified mythical and ancestral values.

The article is an attempt to answer the question whether there is a cultural specificity of humour not in form and content, but in the context of pragmatics. Discussing humour from the point of view of its orientation to the addressee, we can distinguish three main options described by the Russian philosopher V. S. Solovyov in connection with humour, these are relations to the highest, to the equal, and to the lowest. Considering that such a simplified scheme exhausts all possible vectors of constructing a message according to the method of interpretation of the addressee (as higher, as lower, as equal), such a seemingly simple classification, however, determines not only the narrative position, but also the content and form of the message, as well as sets other restrictions. The scheme of relations (vectors) rooted in culture and reproduced by it determines not only how a humorous message is constructed, but also in many respects the readiness of the addressee for an adequate reaction in the form of laughter, and whether the author of the humorous message expects this reaction. Thus, one of the tasks of the article is an attempt to explain the specifics of the (unsuccessful) humorous interaction between the carriers of subjects and objects of power. Russian culture is the focus of the article, which is based on Russian sources.

Foreign languages have always occupied a prominent place in Russia and the Russian culture. The paper states that despite being seemingly isolated from the outside world, Russia has always been closely connected with it, and not only by trade and political relations, but also by spirit and culture. The research contributes to the discussion of the role of foreign languages in Russian culture and reviews the development of the foreign languages teaching system in Russia. Adoption of Christianity was the first significant reason for the spread of foreign languages in the society, and that brought not only a new religion, but also the Greek language along with the theological books. Over time, more and more foreign languages began to spread in the society, sometimes even entering into conflict with one another: Latin with Greek (in the theological field), German with French (in the sphere of politics), and French with English (in the literary field). In certain historical periods (for example, in the first half of the 19th century), foreign languages even displaced the Russian language in some social strata. The contribution underlines the importance of analysing such historical periods with special reference to the interconnection between language as a means of communication and national identity. The investigation also argues that at times, for example, like in Soviet times, foreign languages acquired the status of ‘dead’ languages and became an exclusive tribute to tradition and a means of reading. In conclusion, the paper declares that foreign languages have always retained their important role, opening up new horizons for the Russian people and connecting them with the outside world. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Language is not only a means of communication between people, but also the cultural memory of the speakers of this language. We believe that in linguistic units there is cultural information that indicates the existence of a category that correlates language and culture, and makes it possible to describe their interaction. A way of verbalizing a culture using linguistic signs is called cultural connotation. Cultural categories are a kind of stereotypes, symbols, standards, mythologemes, archetypes, rituals and other signs of both national and universal culture. The linguistic picture of the world is one of the key concepts that characterize the peculiarity of the relationship between people and the world around them, because “captures a certain image of the world, which is never a mirror image of the world”. The national specificity is revealed in phraseology most of all. It is the phraseological composition of the language that most fully reflects the features of speech behavior, the specificity of the national mentality, manifested through cultural codes. The phraseological image is essential in modeling the linguistic picture of the world of a particular people. In this article, the subject of research are Russian, French and Italian phraseological units with the word “bread” from the point of view of linguoculturology, which allows us to identify the national-cultural identity of the phraseological units under consideration. We believe that the internal form of the phraseological unit contains a certain cultural code, that is, with the help of phraseological units it is possible to characterize representatives of one or another nationality. The subject of this article is a comparative analysis of phraseological units that have the word “bread” as the main component. The object of research is the features of the use of this word as a fragment of the lexical and phraseological systems of the Russian, French and Italian languages. The article compares phraseological units with the “bread” component, which historically goes back to free phrases, analyzes the processes of rethinking both the whole expression and its components. Using the example of phraseological units, we will analize how the lexeme “bread” loses its literal meaning “food” and acquires a new content, introducing new meaning into the semantic structure of the phraseological phrase. The problem under study is very relevant, because it is caused by the growing interest in modern linguistics to study of the mechanisms of secondary nomination in different languages and the identification on the material of phraseological units of specific features of verbal thinking and perception of the surrounding reality by language groups.

The article focuses on the issues related to the specifics of teaching the Russian Culture via English course introduced as a part of Masters in Linguistics degree program at the Faculty of Foreign Languages and Area Studies of Lomonosov Moscow State University (MSU) in 2016. The need for the course stems from the fact that the era of pluricentric English calls for a new type of globally competent and competitive Russian linguists, teachers, and teacher trainers of English able to express their national identity as well as to transmit, promote, and teach national culture through English functioning as a lingua franca, specifically, through the national variety of English, that is Russian English. The course aims at fostering students’ national self-awareness and enhancing their ability to reflect upon their own culture, culture of others as well as culture in general. The article also tackles such aspects as the course syllabus and objectives, its teaching techniques, and materials, as well as challenges that students might face.

In this paper, we advance a set of correspondences of Russian realia words (i.e. culture-specific items) in Romanian. These historical words will be part of a dictionary, together with about 200 realia units, arranged by categories: ethnographic realia, sociopolitical and administrative realia, geographical realia, and onomastic realia, addressed to young translators from Russian to Romanian, as well as to those interested in Russian culture.

The article explores the reasons why the interaction between Russian and Chuvash culture became possible in the framework of Christian missionary work. Purpose of the study is to show that both cultures have positive complementarity. Methods. Comparative, analytical and descriptive methods were used by the authors. The study is based on the cultural and historical situation, i.e. adoption of Christianity in the Chuvash and Russian culture. Research results. In the process of research, the authors identified common features that bring the transition to the fold of Christianity in Ancient Russia and the Chuvash culture closer together, despite the thousand-year time distance. In their opinion, the deep assimilation of Christianity by the Chuvash culture is explained by the presence of a certain algorithm that regulated the penetration of the new religion into the pagan environment. The authors define Russian culture as donor culture and Chuvash culture as recipient culture. Christianity became the force thanks to which the Chuvash culture was revived. Before the adoption of Orthodoxy within the framework of its ethnoreligion, it was an immature education that needed to realize its creative potential. The Chuvash culture needed to realize the creative possibilities inherent in it, representing an entity striving to realize itself. Thanks to the Christian enlightenment, the Chuvash culture got this opportunity and successfully implemented it.

The paper discusses the place of patronymic in the Russian anthroponymicon and the evolution of its functions in modern society. The functional aspect is studied using examples from fiction and journalism, a significant part of the factual material being retrieved from the National Corpus of the Russian language and (for comparative purposes) from the Czech National Corpus. Apparently, the use or avoidance of patronymic in Russian language communication has important sociolinguistic and pragmatic implications. Using a patronymic, the speaker can manage group relationships and regulate the development of conversation. The article considers specific communicative situations such as wishing to hide an unpleasant or “dangerous” patronymic, omission of patronymic in creative circles (musicians, artists, actors, etc.), addressing “only by patronymic,” etc. A particular focus is made on the perception of the Russian patronymic name in a foreign language context (cases of adaptation, omission, transformation of a patronymic, etc). On the functional side, patronymics may denote nationality (seen as a particularly “Russian” trait) and patronymic relation per se (by referring to the father and patriarchal culture). They can be a sign of maturity (as a designation of a grown-up person), status (position in society), and respect. Likewise, they can be used for differentiation (distinguishing namesake people) or concealing (disguising the true family background). The authors also analyze the use of the patronymic-based word-formation pattern for creating nicknames, brand and product names (pragmatonyms), and company names (ergonyms). The latter cases (the Erofeich liqueur, Sam Samych dumplings, Semyonovna seeds, Petrovich building materials store, etc.) may attest to a positive connotation the patronymic has in the Russian worldview.