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The article is devoted to the image of the USSR, which is formed in the fiction of Finland in the XX-XXI centuries. Attention is paid to both prose and poetic works. Each of the selected authors presents the reader a special view of the history of the Soviet Union and adjacent countries, makes an attempt to see well-known events in a new way, show them from the point of view of the Finnish Swedes, Finns, Estonians, pay attention to new details of history. The article compares the positions of writers of different generations: the group of «flame-bearers» of the early XX century («Tulenkantajat»), who reflected the interest of the world community in the emergence of a young Soviet state, and our contemporaries for the same era. The problems that exist in Soviet society are becoming noticeable. Writers try to find a balance between the positive and negative aspects of Soviet history, to show the fate of a particular person. Authors are also interested in outstanding representatives of Russian culture and history (for example, Dostoevsky and Gogol). Memories of writers about their stay in the USSR influence the formation of the figurative system of their works. The object of the image is not only specific people, but also cities: Leningrad, Murmansk, Moscow, the impression of them is extrapolated to the country as a whole. The personality of the writer, reflected in the choice of the historical period, the main character and the point of view on the history of the USSR, gives special value and uniqueness to each of the selected novels and poems.

The article provides proof that the concept of time articulated in Russian philosophy of the nineteenth century was very close to the understanding of time in the philosophy of Henri Bergson. This explains the close attention of Russian culture to the philosophical system of the French thinker at the beginning of the twentieth century. It also allows us to hypothesize about the possible influence of the ideas of Russian philosophers of the late nineteenth century on Bergson (more specifically, the influence of the ideas of Leo Tolstoy is justified). Bergson’s most original idea is the recognition of the metaphysical primacy of the subjective, inner time of the human in relation to physical time. In physical time, only the moment of the present has real existence; in internal time, designated by Bergson as duration, all moments of the past are preserved as real, and this is expressed by memory. Internal time turns out to be the spiritual Absolute from which the entire material world originates. A very similar metaphysical concept is presented in Pyotr Chaadaev’s Philosophical Letters. According to Chaadaev, each person is directly involved in the spiritual Absolute (God), which has the characteristic of integral time. In this time, all moments are in unity, and there is no division into the past, present, and future; this division arises only in the time intrinsic to the material reality that originates from the spiritual Absolute. In the religious teaching of Leo Tolstoy, personality is defined as the appearance of God within the limits of material existence, so a person is simultaneously involved in the earthly physical time and absolute time, which manifests itself through memory. The article concludes that Bergson’s ideas determined the most important features of Russian avant-garde culture of the twentieth century; in particular, thanks to them, the opposite trends of Russian thought were brought to unity: metaphysics of pan-unity and personalism.

Jeffrey Brooks’ new book, The Firebird and the Fox, draws on an unsurpassed knowledge of Russian literature and culture of all levels, from the folk and popular to the canonical and avant-garde. It divides the “age of genius” (1855–1953) into three periods: the emancipation of the arts (1850–1889), politics and the arts (1890–1916), the Bolshevik Revolution and the arts (1917–1950), each with its own configurations of popular and high culture and construction of creative artists, media, and readers. But three core themes overarch the periods and the exceptionally broad range of phenomena the book discusses: freedom and order, boundaries, art and reality. Throughout Brooks analyzes crossovers and intersections between cultural institutions, between genres and media, and – especially for the Soviet period – between the lines. His categories are at times sociological, historical, and literary. The book implies a theory of cultural production that gives unusual weight to the agency of creative artists. In conclusion readings of three works Brooks does not analyze (Dostoevsky’s Demons, Bely’s Petersburg, and Eisenstein’s Alexander Nevsky) illustrate the productivity of Brooks’ broad and humane approach to Russian artistic culture.

From the plethora of big and small achievements that the author celebrates in the book, my essay addresses such subjects as the continuity of cultural creativity in the 19th and 20th centuries, children’s literature, the sociology of reading, and the place of goodness in literature and life under Stalinism – all within the span of the 20th century. Sharing with the author my admiration of accomplishments of Russian and Soviet culture, I try here to historicize the themes and expand slightly on some of them, like perceptions of the cultural products.

The author of The Firebird and the Fox: Russian Culture under Tsars and Bolsheviks (Cambridge University Press, 2019) responds to comments of Michael David-Fox, Muireann Maguire, Kevin Platt, William Mills Todd, and Olga Velikanova. He expresses appreciation for the reflections provided and elaborates on several points raised by the commentators individually and collectively: the theoretical framing of the work and the importance of agency; continuity of culture over episodes of political disjuncture; the applicability of the term “cultural ecosystem;” an alternative treatment of the topic that would have accorded greater emphasis to political power and the life cycle of revolutions; and the relationship of the work to analysis of institutional history and cultural theory. He finds the five commentaries to be valuable companion pieces for readers of The Firebird and the Fox and stimulants to further scholarship.

This article discusses Jeffrey Brooks’ metaphor of an integrated ecosystem to describe Russian cultural history in the late imperial and early Soviet periods. Brooks’s Firebird and the Fox describes an interlocking cultural system marked by high-low interactions, as a rich Russian folkloric tradition based on fable and popular tales was reworked with remarkable creativity in what he calls an “age of genius.” In response, this article argues that this period of Russian cultural creativity can be seen as coinciding with the extended life-cycle of the Russian Revolution. The subversive, satirical humor and irony running through Brooks’s cultural “play-sphere” was complemented by another tradition: a didactic, instructional, enlightening “teach-sphere” that animated a wide range of intelligentsia and cultural forces shaping cultural evolution and cultural revolution. If the play-sphere highlights the rebellious distance between culture and power, the teach-sphere’s project of transforming the masses reveals their many commonalities. The essay reflects on how the intersections of culture and power shaped early Soviet culture, the avant-garde, and successive phases of Stalinist culture. While Socialist Realism promoted the theoretical declaration of a unified socialist culture, the persistence of differing elements of the cultural system raises the question of Soviet cultural syncretism.

This essay responds to Jeffrey Brooks’ 2020 monograph The Firebird and the Fox, drawing attention to Brooks’ emphasis on a set of cultural symbols persistent during the historical period he surveys, and on the social activism which he identifies with leading Russian cultural figures such as Tolstoi and Chekhov. In support of Brooks’ argument, I present the example of Aleksandr Chaianov (1888–1937), a specialist in agronomy and amateur writer whose reputation as a driver of early Soviet agricultural policy was overshadowed by his arrest in 1930 and subsequent exile and execution. Chaianov’s social activism, as expressed in his short fiction and historical essays, took the form of reminding his readers about the cultural continuities between Russia’s past, present, and future.

Novoye Vremya (The New Time) newspaper was considered as the leading daily periodical of the pre-revolutionary Russia. In 1876, Aleksey Suvorin, an outstanding Russian publisher and literary figure, became its owner and chief editor. He turned the newspaper into a source of information, which seriously influenced the public opinion in Russia. Novoye Vremya provoked constant interest among readers of all social levels. It was popular both among high-ranking government officials and people without any ranks, conservatives and liberals, people with higher education and those who did not even graduate a gymnasium. Newspaper stories were apprehensible not only for educated people but for any common person. Young and old, men and women liked Novoye Vremya. It had never forced its opinion and suggested the readers to make personal judgement through its reports. Suvorin managed to form the audience that valued the newspaper and believed in it. Not only Novoye Vremya stood out for its excellent materials on politics, economy, and non-fiction. In its reviews the newspaper gave a fair evaluation of the Russian authors’ works. Moreover, it became famous with the literary works of the top writers, the classics of Russian literature. Therefore, it is not by accident that the author of this article pays special attention to the cooperation between Novoye Vremya and the most known Russian writers of the second half of the 19th century and early 20th century. Thanks to Suvorin, the talent of Anton Chekhov, who started publishing his works in the newspaper under a different name, opened up. Novoye Vremya published the stories which were later included into his collection In the Twilight. Here he also published his famous novella The Duel. Despite the fact that Novoye Vremya was considered to be a newspaper rather than a literary magazine, it worked together with such writers as Leo Tolstoy, Nikolay Nekrasov, Nikolay Leskov, Mikhail Saltykov-Shchedrin, for whom the newspaper was not only a serious periodical but also a source of education and knowledge. In Soviet times the directive was to forget about Suvorin. And when they did remember, they certainly wrote about him as a reactionary, chauvinist, notorious monarchist. And if another major pre-revolutionary publisher I.D. Sytin was recognized by the Soviet government, although he lost his printing house and real estate, then Suvorin was in disgrace.

The article discusses the issues of preserving the genre of Russian folk oral musical creativity in the village of the Argun and the city of Hulunbuir, Inner Mongolia, located in the northern part of China. The issue is viewed in the context of intercultural communication between descendants of Russian immigrants and Chinese locals. The article considers the factors in the formation of the ethnic group of Chinese Russians in Hulunbuir, an area of Russian immigrants’ compact settlement, and the markers of their distinct ethnic identity. Chinese Russians are a specific ethnic group since over several generations they fused with the local ethnicities yet preserved their unique cultural background. One of the peculiar aspects of Russian culture observed within the community of Chinese Russians is chastushka, or ditty, a short witty song expressing an individual’s attitude to any happening. The authors give records of the texts of ditties on various subjects, such as love, daily life, politics, etc. The folk genre of chastushka indicates intercultural communication between China and Russia and the integration of ethnic Russians into Chinese society. The article reveals the problems of protection of the Russian chastushka in the region and possible measures of state provision of its protection as intangible cultural heritage. Both national and local authorities take steps to ensure the continuity of various identities within the national identity of China. Several proposals have been put forward for the protection of the local heritage of this genre of the city of Hulunbuir. Such measures may include further research of cultural materials, enhancing tourism in the region, and incorporating ditties into local festivities Based on the historical and cultural significance, the research points to the real impact of Russian folk oral musical creativity in the processes of Russian-Chinese intercultural communication. The authors underline the significance of the ditty as intangible cultural heritage and the need to include the ditty in the list of the cultural heritage of Chinese Russians. The need to create conditions and state-organizational support for various forms of popularization of this genre, especially for those studying the Russian language, to preserve the oral folk musical creativity of Chinese ethnic Russians is substantiated.

The article examines the moralizing of Leo Tolstoy on the example of his theoretical ideas. The authors, examining their genesis, come to the conclusion that the writer formed his ideas under the influence of French enlighteners and sentimentalists, on the one hand, and absorbed the ethical dominant of Russian culture, on the other hand. The article analyzes the idea of absolutizing good, which runs through Tolstoy's entire aesthetic theory as a leitmotif. As a result of the study of the aesthetic views of the writer, it is concluded that Tolstoy understood the role of art solely as a translation of feelings and a means of communication. The writer deprives art of its aura of mystery and does not recognize the latter as a source of aesthetic pleasure and spiritual enrichment. The article analyzes the worldview of the writer, reveals the influence on him of the experience acquired by Tolstoy in childhood and adolescence. Tolstoy's works of art and theoretical views are another example of the fact that the artist's worldview does not always coincide with his work.

Vladimir Kantor’s new book Demythologisation of Russian culture is concerned with interaction of world cultures and the turning points in the world history — the fall of the Roman Empire, World War I, Russian Revolution of 1917, etc. What drives the masses in times of war and revolutions; how mob mentality takes over society, and how the truth known to an individual defies widespread delusion; what is the nature of the myth and of the two principal events of world history — ‘the life and death of a living being’ — each of these questions receives an answer in seventeen essays on key figures of Russian culture: Peter I, A. Pushkin, I. Turgenev, F. Dostoevsky, A. Chernyshevsky, M. Katkov, A. Kerensky, M. Gorky et al. Published as an addendum to the book is Kantor’s short story ‘The death of a retiree’ [‘Smert pensionera’], supplied with a dedicated article ‘On the event of death’ by K. Barsht.

The project presents an original perception of human history, based on Christian values as vital coordinates system. I hope this project will revive the interest to the Russian school of thoughts and to humanism in general.

The development of postcolonial studies as a research discipline to a large extent depends on their representatives’ ability to overcome their own post-colonial conditions. This particularly applies to researchers representing imperial cultures. Russian post-colonial studies develop their own cognitive categories in relation to the issue of Russian and Soviet imperialism, while avoiding many potential inspirations contained in the book by Ewa Thompson “Imperial Knowledge: Russian Literature and Colonialism”, which became an important reference for postcolonial research in Poland and Ukraine. The author of the article outlines the shaping of Russian literaturocentrism, and then, tries to answer the question of whether and to what extent it can be a useful issue for research on the imperial determinants of Russian culture.

The paper presents the author’s vision of the meaning behind the terms: “ethnos”, “ethnicity”, “nation”, “nationality” and the links between them. It is argued that the concepts of “nation” and “nationality” have a sociopolitical connotation, while the notions of “ethnos” and “ethnicity” have a sociocultural one. It is determined that the contemporary native population of St. Petersburg is multinational, but not multiethnic, as the culture it perpetuates on a daily basis is not of their cultural origin, but is built on the traditional Russian culture, including its language, historical and cultural heritage of the ethnic groups of Russia. The authentic multi-ethnicity in St. Petersburg exists due to the current of ethnic migrants from the neighboring countries. A content analysis of the modern media sources indicates that the topic of migration is rarely discussed both in professional and amateur environments. The published materials are scarce, uninformative and are not done for the purpose of creating a multi-ethnic identity of St. Petersburg.

Russian culture developed under the burden of a series of totalitarian governments, a circumstance that, oddly, supported mathematics education. The Soviet period in particular saw a flowering of mathematical culture, the seeds of which have, since the collapse of the Soviet Union, been carried to the rest of Europe and America. A trickle of ideas, materials—and emigres—has swollen to a powerful stream. Some of the heaviest influences have occurred in the field of extra-curricular education. We explore some of the ways that Russian and Soviet mathematical culture has fertilized this field. In particular, we look closely at the pivotal role of the professional mathematical communities, both in Russia and in America.

The idea of Holy Russia is one of those most significant spiritual phenomena of Russian culture which are difficult to define. The issues addressed in the article are of particular relevance due to the growing scholarly interest in the identification of the concept of Holy Russia and its place in the national cultural identity. The study aims to reveal the content of the concept in the first half of the 19th century in different discourses of the Russian culture and to define the specific features of two early stages of its perception in the English literature. The methodology chosen by the author corresponds to the complexity of the research objectives: interdisciplinary in nature, it combines the method of comparative conceptology with the methods of comparative literary criticism and theoretical concepts of imagology.The article demonstrates that the concept of Holy Russia receives new impulses for development within the framework of Russian culture in the 19th century. That was a period of intensive search for a national idea and ideology, a unique "Russian spirit" and the national character of the Russian people — search that was oriented in the direction set by the concept of Holy Russia. Reflections on Holy Russia for the first time became an integral part of Russian historical, political and philosophical discourses; in literary texts, they not only correlated with new motives of personal responsibility, prayer aspiration and the national ideal, but also partly lost their axiological uniqueness.The article proves that the content of the Russian concept of Holy Russia was in stark contrast to the content of the concept of Holy Russia emerging in the British culture around the 1870s. Initial interpretation of the latter was largely determined by the nature of British-Russian political relations. In the context of Russophobic sentiments in Britain, the term "Holy Russia" was originally interpreted in English journalism and literature (Swinburne, 1884) as a smokescreen, hiding the murderous tyranny of the tsarist regime.The article describes the significant changes that the concept of Holy Russia was undergoing by the end of the 19th century, which was partly due to the ideological pressure of the Russian political emigration on the English intellectual elite. Thus, for example, F. Adams in his poem ‘Holy Russia’ portrays the Russian people very sympathetically, in the allegorical image of a woman tormented by a powerful snake and, at the same time, illuminated with spiritual light and belief in the possibility of liberation from terrible bonds. Each of the main versions of the Holy Russia concept, formed in the English culture by the 1910s, finds its reflection in the novel "Joan and Peter" by H.G. Wells.The materials analysed in the article can have practical implications for historical, literary and cultural research on the Russian culture and the Anglo-Russian cultural and literary ties.

The article is devoted to the phenomenon of interethnic marriages between Russians and indigenous peoples of the North in the Krasnoyarsk territory in the 1950s. The research is based on the materials of censuses and surveys conducted by local authorities in the late 1950s. The focus of researchers was made by the Enets, the Nganasans, the Selkups, the Evenks and the Kets. Since the second half of the 20th century, contacts between the Russian population and the peoples of the far North of the Krasnoyarsk territory have become more frequent. In the context of construction projects in the region, there is an increase in marriages between Russians and representatives of local indigenous peoples. These marriages had an ambiguous impact, on the one hand they were an expression of the principle of "friendship of peoples", one of the basic principles of the Soviet state and contributed to the integration of the Northern territories into the Krasnoyarsk territory. On the other hand, mixed marriages accelerated the assimilation of these peoples and contributed to the cease and extinction of their culture. Their parents positioned most of the children in such marriages as Russian. In everyday speech these families, as well as a rule, was dominated by the Russian language, Russian culture., Статья посвящена феномену межнациональных браков между представителями коренных народов севера Красноярского края и русскими в 1950-х гг. Исследование осуществлено на материалах переписей и опросов, проводимых местными властями в конце 1950-х гг. В центре внимания исследователей находились следующие народности: энцы, нганасаны, селькупы, эвенки и кеты. Со второй половины XX в. учащаются контакты между русским населением и народами крайнего севера Красноярского края. В условиях строек в регионе происходит рост браков, заключаемых между русскими и представителями местных коренных народов. Данные браки оказали неоднозначное влияние, с одной стороны, они были выражением принципа «дружбы народов», одного из базовых принципов советского государства, и способствовали интеграции северных территорий в Красноярский край. С другой стороны, смешанные браки ускоряли процессы ассимиляции этих народов и способствовали исчезновению и угасанию их культуры. Большинство детей в подобных браках позиционировались родителями как русские. В обиходной речи подобных семей, как правило, доминировали русский язык и русская культура.

The article raises the question why Dostoevsky entered European literature as the first among equals, despite his constant rejection of the West. The author bases his research on the fact of “borrowing” and processing plots in the history of literature as a methodological basis for his analysis, citing well-known examples from the works of Shakespeare, who took other people’s plots and created his masterpieces on their basis. Dostoevsky, in his great Pentateuch, also relied on various plots of European literature, rethinking them. The research focuses on a comparison of the texts of Schiller (“The Robbers”) and Dostoevsky (“The Landlady” and “The Karamazov Brothers”), not only in literary and intellectual contexts, but also in connection with significant changes in Russian culture in the second half of 19th century. The author draws attention to the reader’s perception of the images of Schiller and Dostoevsky and shows that Schiller’s hero — the ataman of robbers Karl Moor — was endowed with the qualities of a strong personality, like Robin Hood, which attracted the reading youth to imitate this hero. In “The Landlady”, old Murinis a robber, but also an old believer who reads books. His terrible past does not show nobility and cannot cause positive emotions in the reader. The article examines the internal connection between the actions of old man Murin and the future image and idea of the Grand Inquisitor. The author believes that the writer’s real convict experience allowed him to depict Murin and other characters as carrying the evil: Fedka the Convict in “Demons” does not distinguish between good and evil, has no conscience, easily kills and easily forgets about the death of the person he killed. The new emphasis in the article is the comparison of the idea of “returning the ticket” to the Lord by Schiller and Dostoevsky. In Schiller’s famous poem “Resignatio n”, the words about “returning the ticket” to the entrance to paradise express the poet’s lyrical alter ego. Dostoevsky gives these words to Ivan Karamazov, who is not the spokesman for the ideas of the writer, for whom faith in God was the center of his world outlook.

M.N. Kolesnikova’s monograph “Ahead of Time. To the 100th Anniversary of the Institute of Book Studies (Petrograd-Leningrad, 1920—1933)”, published in 2020, is a valuable contribution to the history of book science, library science, bibliography science, the general history of Russian culture and a fascinating textbook for students of library, information and media cultural school. The history of the Institute of Book Studies is a vivid illustration of the relationship between the totalitarian power and the creative intelligentsia. The monograph, which contains detailed biographical information about the employees of the Institute of Book Studies, can be called a reference book of library science and book science elite of Leningrad in the 1920s. All the classic problems of bibliography science, library science and book science were in the field of view of the staff of the Institute of Book Studies. Considering the constructive program of activities and the strong team of enthusiasts, the Institute could have grown into a truly research institution if the overall development of the country had gone differently.Based on the analysis of the scientific-research and educational activities of the Institute, it is concluded that it can be considered the birthplace of the Russian Bibliologos. Bibliologos is interpreted in two ways: first, as a social group of intellectuals-book lovers who ensure the functioning of the national bibliosphere; second, as a universe of bibliological knowledge embodied in book form as a result of scientific, pedagogical and practical activities of intellectuals-book lovers. The author highlights that it is necessary to preserve the memory of the Leningrad Institute of Book Studies, which served as the “cradle of the Russian Bibliologos” in the history of book culture.

Введение. Прецедентность представляет собой весьма значимое явление для современной лингвистической науки. Прецедентность и прецедентные феномены изучаются лингвистами в различных аспектах и сферах. Исследуется прецедентность в политическом дискурсе. Целью является сопоставительное исследование национально-прецедентных феноменов, функционирующих в русскоязычном политическом дискурсе, а также в переводе на английский язык. Задачи исследования состоят в определении методологии, осуществлении отбора материала и определении наиболее адекватных способов перевода прецедентных феноменов русскоязычной культуры на английский язык. Материал и методы. Методология исследования основывается на теории когнитивной лингвистики с применением методов когнитивного моделирования, дискурсивного анализа, сопоставительного анализа. Для отбора материала исследования использовался метод сплошной выборки. При обобщении, систематизации и анализе материала применялся также описательный метод. Материалом исследования послужили тексты выступлений В. В. Путина, опубликованные на официальном сетевом ресурсе Президента РФ. Результаты и обсуждение. В результате проведенного исследования было обнаружено, что политический дискурс является весьма продуктивным для создания национально-прецедентных феноменов в силу своей специфики. Прецедентные феномены в политическом дискурсе обладают своей спецификой, как правило, источником прецедентности служит сфера политики либо исторические события конкретной национально-культурной общности. Прецедентные феномены в политической лингвистике сравнительно недолговечны. Наиболее часто они представлены прецедентными текстами, именами и высказываниями. При переводе национально-прецедентных феноменов для создания эквивалентного перевода применяются конкретизация, поиск фразеологических эквивалентов и аналогов. В некоторых случаях прецедентность при переводе полностью утрачивается, но в любом случае для интерпретации национально-прецедентных феноменов необходимы знания о национально-специфичных культурных источниках прецедентности. Заключение. Таким образом, национально-прецедентные феномены представляют собой значимую характеристику политического дискурса, служат связующим звеном между адресатом и адресантом, придают живость и образность речи в политическом дискурсе. С другой стороны, их национальная специфика служит дополнительной сложностью при переводе и часто требует наличия некоторых экстралингвистических знаний для их дешифровки и адекватного восприятия. Introduction. The study of precedential phenomena is extremely important for modern linguistics. They can be explored in different spheres and aspects, which depends on the aims of research. This article deals with precedential phenomena in political discourse. Aim and objectives. The aim is a comparative research of national precedential phenomena which function in Russian political discourse and of their translation into the English language. The objectives of this paper are to define methodology of the research, to select the necessary language material and to find the ways of translation of precedential phenomena taken from Russian culture into English. Material and methods. The methodology of the research is based on the cognitive linguistics theory. The methods are cognitive modelling, discourse analysis, comparative analysis. The selection of the material was carried out with the solid sampling method. To analyze and systematize the material a method of description was used. The material for the study were sampled out from the official website of the Russian president Vladimir Putin. Results and discussion. The results of the research showed that political discourse is a very productive sphere for the creation of national precedential phenomena. As a rule, precedential phenomena in political discourse are very specific. Their source can be found either in the sphere of politics or historic events of the nation. Precedential phenomena in political discourse usually have a short life span. There types are precedential texts, names and expressions. While translating national precedential phenomena, interpreters prefer to use concrete definition, equivalents or analogues of phraseological units. Sometimes precedential phenomena are lost in translation. Conclusion. So national precedential phenomena represent an important characteristic of political discourse. They serve as a link between the author and the recipient, make the speech more vivid and emotional and influence the audience in a specific way. But their national peculiarities often impede the translation process. Anyway some knowledge of cultural sources is necessary for correct interpretation and understanding of precedential phenomena.

The article proposes a philosophical interpretation of the poetic heritage of O.E. Mandelstam. The approach to characterizing the artistic experience of the Russian poet, through the prism of the philosophy of creativity and the philosophy of culture, seems to be significant and productive. This position is substantiated by the fact that in modern scientific literature there are still few works in which Mandelstam’s poetry would be elucidated within the framework of the philosophy of Russian culture and the ontology of creativity. In the article, Mandelstam’s creative phenomenon is shown in connection with the aesthetic program of artistic modernism. The philosophical foundations of Russian modernism are rooted in theissue of the spiritual self-awareness of Russian culture. Since Russian modernism reflects the transformation of artistic and spiritual culture that took place in Russia in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, the author tries to highlight and analyze the leading philosophical and aesthetic principles of Symbolism and Acmeism, discussed by poets of the Russian Silver Age. Special attention is given to Mandelstam’s theoretical works. The cultural-philosophical analysis makes it possible to trace the internal relationships between aesthetic attitudes and the artistic imagination of Russian Symbolists and Acmeists, to determine the specifics of the aesthetic self-awareness of Russian culture, its practices in selecting ideas, symbols, images of national and world artistic culture in the early 20th century. The author describes the logic of the continuity of the artistic ideas of Russian and world literature in the aesthetic concept of Mandelstam. In order to demonstrate the close connection of the philosophical and aesthetic ideas of classical culture with postclassics, the research brings together literary, philosophical and memoir sources in the context of the heritage of Mandelstam and the poets of his circle.

The article focuses not so much the poetic and stylistic features of Osip Mandelstam’s work, which are of interest to philologists (these have largely been researched), as its cultural aspects. To fill this gap, it is important to compare Mandelstam’s lyric with his prose, theory, criticism, and journalism. We believe that the poet’s statements in these genres provide many answers to the question of his attitude to culture. In general, a cultural analysis of Mandelstam’s poetry has not yet been undertaken. Meanwhile, a lot of whimsical and rather obscure associations in his lyric can be understood only with the help of his implied statements about a specific culture, with parallels to other cultures. In particular, we investigate the poet’s interest in philosophy and natural sciences, which is expressed both in his poems and in his assessments of modern processes. The theoretical works also shed light on Mandelstam’s poetic experiments. The article is based on an attempt to unravel the meaning contained in his poem Lamarck. This circumstance generated the analysis of the poet’s special interest in natural sciences, in the ideas of Lamarck and other researchers. The references to natural sciences allowed Mandelstam to get around the insolubility of the problem of the fate of culture, if we proceed from the state of the social and humanitarian sciences, characteristic of the post-revolutionary period in the development of science in Russia. The statement is substantiated by the fact that these sciences did not discuss the problems of culture, and if they did, the discussion was subordinate to Bolshevist ideology. At the same time, the poet’s thoughts are consonant with the concept of O. Spengler. Mandelstam also inclines to biologism in his vision of culture. The interest in Spengler’s morphology also explains O. Mandelstam’s attraction to the natural sciences. The article concludes that the poet’s judgments lie outside the methodological disputes that exist in academic science. Mandelstam was more interested in the fate of European and, accordingly, Russian culture, especially the fate of humanism, whose values were challenged in the 20th century.

Scholars in various fields have started to embrace the digital humanities, but there has been a delay in involving undergraduates. Challenges such as unfamiliarity with applications, lack of understanding about the overall purpose of projects, and insufficient resources all contribute to creating a barrier between the digital humanities and students. However, collaboration between scholars and library staff can create new learning opportunities for students that allow them to see the value in digital approaches to pedagogy and view the humanities through new perspectives. This article outlines a collaborative effort between the University of Virginia’s Slavic Department and Library’s Scholars’ Lab to implement a digital humanities project in a pre-existing semester-long undergraduate culture course. In this project, students were asked to print and present to one another 3D objects representing Russia and then curate an exhibition of these objects. At the semester’s end, the students reflected on the appropriateness of their objects as symbols of Russia, given their increased knowledge of Russian culture. We draw on research in cultural pedagogy and digital scholarship to offer a new way of interpreting and teaching cultural understanding.

This article explores the reception of the Decadent artist Aubrey Beardsley (1872–1898) in Russia concentrating on new gendered meanings acquired by ‘Beardsleyism’ in modernist Russian culture. While the so-called ‘Beardsley Woman’ became a widely discussed literary construct and journalistic trope in Britain, the imagination of Russian artists and literati was captured by a ‘Beardsley Man’. Due to the circulation of the artist's portraits and descriptions by modernist periodicals such as Sergei Diaghilev's Mir iskusstva (1899–1904), a specific form of male (self-)representation emerged in the homophile art circles of St Petersburg and Moscow. Exploring this new urban Russian masculinity, I use the case studies of four men who were compared to Beardsley or used Beardsley as a model in their work and self-fashioning: artist Nikolai Feofilaktov, poet Georgii Ivanov, writers Mikhail Kuzmin and Iurii Iurkun.