Abstract: The paper suggests the evaluation of the reforms of Russian higher schools aimed at its gradual integration into the Bologna process that has been conducted in our country since 2003. Many experts notice the divorcement of Russian universities from the solution of practical tasks, visible weakness of Russian educational system compared to the Western one when it comes to the preparation of professionals in the field of applied sciences. The subject of the article is the question whether it is true and to which extent the students and teaching staff of Russian higher schools are ready for the new opportunities. The article analyses the results of an express survey conducted by the authors among the students and the teaching stuff. Among the factors that cause vigilance in Russian experts are the low level of knowledge regarding the aims of the reform and lack of information about the measures to improve the system of higher education. It is highlighted in the article that the main goal of studying according to the Bologna standards nowadays is the creation of united intellectual space. But as the conducted survey has shown, there are two factors that block the fulfilment of this goal: low level of foreign language skills by the students and insufficient income. These circumstances make it practically impossible for the majority of Russian students to study abroad and decreases the competitiveness of the graduates of Russian universities from the point of view of potential employers all over Europe. 

Abstract: The Balkan region has long been a key in Eurasia. To him over the centuries gaze riveted the world's leading powers. But it was the beginning of the XX century. a continuous succession of local wars and delimitation of borders coined the term "powder keg of Europe". Ultimately, the events of those years were the beginning of the change of the underlying foundations of not only European but also the entire world civilization. Sarajevo shot was the beginning of a new era. The article reconstructs the events of a century ago on the basis of journalistic materials at that time, archival documents, modern research. Balkan knot led to large-scale fighting in the struggle for the redivision of the world. Most dramatically affected the First World Slavs: the war became Golgotha for Russia, Serbia, Bulgaria. Russia, like a phoenix, reborn in the Soviet Union, Serbia has lost himself in Yugoslavia, and Bulgaria received a second consecutive humiliating. The revival of the Slavs occurred only at the end of World War II.

Abstract: The authors examine the events that took place in the Slavic world throughout the twentieth century, Important znacie for understanding these events are historical and philosophic concept, created by the national elites: Eurasianism, pan-Slavism, sleevenote, "czechoslovakism", national-Bolshevism. On the basis of them had various ideologies, some of which tried to justify the practice of integration of the Slavs into a single unit, and the other emphasizing the uniqueness of this or that ethnic group, contrasted it with the others. The success of Eastern European countries relied on cooperation with the Russian Empire and then the Soviet Union, and a phenomenon such as the Russian emigration.n the article the development of the Slavs is investigated based on the concept of V.I. Lamanskogo. Use comparative-historical and problem-chronological methods.During the XX century, our country several times lost, and then again earned its position among the Slavic countries: first, the crisis of the early XX century, as manifested in the distance after the revolution of 1917, then the authority of the victorious countries over gitlerizmom. Modern international processes related to the increasing influence of Russia and the collapse of a unipolar world again forced to speak about the importance of the unity of Slavic civilization before call time.

Abstract: The relevance of the proposed research is to impart a strictly necessary character to the conclusions of sociology. Claims of social sciences on scientific rigor will not be realized as long as the logical consistency requirement is unsatisfied, i.e., the requirement to establish a logical-conceptual apparatus, the methodological framework that would help overcome the one-sided empiricism of sociologists in their studies. According to the authors, Alfred Schutz's ideas should help to achieve this goal. The relevance of this study is also determined by the necessety to overcome the gap between general theoretical research and empirical level of knowledge, the latter is often being limited to the collection of individual data and conduction of surveys in social groups. The authors of this article associate the strengthening of the logical and methodological component in the sociological study with the name of Schutz. They believe that this is the methodology of Schutz that will facilitate objective consideration of phenomena of social reality. In terms of methodology this work is based on the idea of the fruitfulness of synthesis (the synthetic unity) of the objective and the intuitive and reflexive-empirical and formal logic methods in social cognition. Estimating Alfred Schutz' conclusions, the authors use the comparative historical approach, qualitative content analysis of sources (philosophical and sociological works of the researchers of the XIX-XX centuries including Tarde, Weber and Schutz himself). Additionally, the authors apply scientific methods of analogy, generalization, abstraction, deductive application recognized as the true position with reference to new scientific material, etc. The novelty of the proposed approach is caused by the fact that the authors apply Alfred Schutz's ideas to the determination of the degree of scientific rigor of findings in social sciences. The authors consider this social philosopher to be one of the few supporters of the creative synthesis of traditional positivist approach and phenomenological analysis of social reality. The authors of this article are based on the fact that the place of methodological and logical units in social cognition has been insufficiently studied. Application to fill such gaps, especially when it concerns the social and philosophical heritage of Alfred Schutz, is made in the present study. Noteworthy that the analysis of Schultz' ideas is presented in comparison to the problems raised by Tarde and Weber. Edmund Husserl is also used by the authors. Trying to uncover the meaning of the methodological innovations of a major Austro-American social philosophe is also a new approach in the study of his scientific legacy.

Abstract: In article the political project of the famous domestic religious philosopher and theologian P. A. Florensky "Predicted state system in the future" which still wasn't discussed in serious political and philosophical literature is considered. Global contradictions of the modern world do the similar analysis especially actual especially as at the heart of work of the father Pavel there is a concept of creation of the ideal state by means of stage-by-stage social reforming. The developed world order carries on the negative tradition which is sharply criticized at the beginning of a prolshy century.When writing work as authors the comparative-historical method allowing to shed light on the political circumstances promoting emergence of this brilliant historico-philosophical document is used. In particular, conclusions of P. A. Florensky and L. M. Lapshin, L. P. Karsavin and prominent hierarches of Russian Orthodox Church of the beginning of the last century are compared. In article the assessment of teoretiko-political conclusions of the uncommon thinker and theologian is given. The problem of a ratio of private and public interest, in the course of adoption of political decisions, a problem of the accounting of group and nation-wide needs for practice of the legislator is discussed. The analysis of work of the father Pavel is attached to the solution of the current problems of political and social construction in our country. 

Abstract: The challenges that Russia faces in the modern globalizing world present the issues of forming a long-standing social and demographic policy. Currently, our country's population constututes less than half of an optimal value for a territory as big as 17th of habitable land. At the same time, developing neighbouring countries like China, India and Pakistan experience a constant growth in poopulation. The experts suggest that Earth's population numbers area approaching critical values, which correlates with economic data. The authors use social and demographic projections by S.M. Shirokogorov, N.A. Vasilyev and P.A. Sorokin in their research. In order to solve Russia's demographic crisis, we must take into account the state of education and healthcare, not just raw population numbers. It is not possible to overcome this challenge in urban environment, and thus, we must focus our effort on developing and supporting the rural parts of Russia. Competent government policies for improving demographics must be long-term oriented, keeping in mind that depopulation problems cannot be solved in one swipe.

Abstract: In this article, the conflict of the controlled versus the spontaneous serves as a prism for analyzing modern urban studies trends, such as deindustrialization, deurbanization, environmentalization, comprehensive planning, legal regulation of the economy, conversion of urban industrial sites, migration flow control. The authors direct attention to the contradictory nature of processes that can be observed in the organization of architectural and planning areas of the modern megapolys, the crises that need to be overcome, for the sake of our civilization. Our civilization faces growing global challenges, the overcoming of which is key to preservation of humanity as a species, and thus, harnessing the elements of the city becomes a priority task. Scholars who research this field often miss the existence of two paradigms that emerged in architectonic studies. On one side, there's the "machine-city" paradigm, on the other, there's the "living city" that adheres to objective laws of nature. This article demonstrates contradictory elements in both approaches, as well as potential points of convergence, for mutual enrichment that could result in a general synthesis of urban development models. The result of city-planning processes is ambiguous to this day: problems with the environment, increasing social friction. In the modern world, the process of increasing complexity of urban development, the increase of demands towards housing and social environment give opportunities to professional integrators to unite the various urban segments, the architectonics, into one. The multivectoral nature of modern city development is largely dictated by the gradual replacement of the technocratic model with the biospheric approach. We need a city that can work with the input from all of its dwellers, for it to become comfortable for habitation and friendly to the environment.

Abstract: The antinomy of Russian history is a concrete example of the contradictory and paralogic nature of social phenomena as a whole. One such example is the continuous rivalry between the two Russian capitals - Moscow and St. Petersburg. Exploring this topic, the authors suggest taking into account the accomplishments of philosophers, historians and social activists of the Russian Silver century which took place just before the 1917 revolution. It is obvious that the presence of two centers of government and social life reflected a parallel existence of two cultural dominants - the modernist Westernism, that was embodied by the image of "North Palmira", and the conservative traditionalist Slavophilic, represented by the ancient capital of Moskovia. This bipolarity was reflected in the debates among intellectual elites who had different points of view on cultural development. For the methodological basis for their conclusions, the authors utilize the ideas of outstanding Russian logicians and philosophers. Russian culture has long noticed the rift between the capitals. The discourse of Russian revolutionary thinkers of the balance between the Moscow and St. Petersburg cultural paradigms finds itself precisely in the context of the search for national identity in literature and philosophy. The assessments of revolution occurred mostly from the patriotic Slavophile viewpoints, which couldn't have agreed with the opinions of Bolshevik leaders that rained destructive criticism on their accidental fellow's social and historic formations.

Abstract: This paper analyzes several separate aspects of the work of the outstanding Russian engineer and architect, Vladimir Grigoryevich Shukhov, and evaluates his projects of innovation. As the brightest examples of this, the author chose the main railroad project of the scholar - the débarcadère section of the Kiev railway terminal and the famous radio tower in Shabolovka. Shukhov was a virtuoso who managed to combine functional technological qualities (ease of use, technical simplicity) and aesthetics, the most important of which is the commensurability of the building and the surrounding landscape. The article focuses attention on the similarities in the approach to architecture between Schukhov and modern biotech, which suggests that the Russian architect employed the analogy method. The second part of the article explores the methodology of V.G. Shukhov's work. The biomorphic analogies, created by Shukhov's patents, are on-demand by world architecture's celebrities. Aesthetic tastes that developed with the contribution of the works by the Russian genius, continue to dominate modern engineering practices to this day.Methodological aspects of Shukhov's creativity are a good reason to return to the topic of "Shukhov and the social and cultural dynamic of the XX century", to address the issue of the synthesis of cultures - the technological and science culture, and the humanitarian culture that persisted in this period of time.

Abstract: This article examines the current state of affairs regarding transportation accessibility for the mobility-impaired urban dwellers. The author evaluates the solutions applied by Moscow, Moscow Region's cities and other major Russian cities. Proper ramps and sidewalks are a priority to ensure access by the disabled and parents with baby strollers. The author points out that the absense of a unified strategy in this area results in severe complications for those that need accessible environment. As an example for the authorities, the author points out the "Reminder for architects" paper that was devised by Urban planning authorities of Chita.
Issues of transportation for the mobility-impaired citizens, as the focus of this paper, are explored on the basis of media publications, surveys and urban planning documentation, focusing on three main topics: equipping public transport stops, commissioning new means of transportation that would accommodate mobility-impaired citizens, building roads and access points for the disabled. Analyzing the rich factual base and comparing the current state of affairs and project requirements in official documentation, the author concludes that, despite of all state standards of accessible environment planning, social infrastructure is still being built with little regard for the norms at large. It is possible to salvage the situation by implementing the «Tempus Project CENEAST: Reformation of the Curricula on Built Environment in the Eastern Neighbouring Area», developed by the political and social science department of Moscow State University of Civil Engineering into urban planning. The goal of the project is to reform the education of bachelors, specialists and magisters by introducing new modules, including environment modules aimed at the creation of biosphere-friendly space in cities, comfortable environment for the mobility-impaired.
 

Abstract: The task of integrated city space arrangement is a constant in the urban development line of thought. The various solutions for this problem were offered by both, ancient social philosophers and modern town-planners and architects. The XXth century is marked by a pronounced standoff between the industrial-type city and the "garden city". This paper deals with the historical opposition of the two concepts: the technopolis and the ecocity. The authors offer a retrospective analysis of research conducted on this issue, as well as conceptual schemes and examples of their realization in urban development practice. This article adopts a comparative and historical approach, the analogy method and inductive generalization of mass media on the topic at hand. At the present time, the technopolis vs ecocity dichotomy has lost its importance, because it defined the two vectors of urban civilization development in an industrial age. The theorists of architecture strive to avoid the mutual exclusion of environment-friendliness and high technology. The projects for the cities of the future, on one hand, satisfy the standards of biosphere compatibility, and on the other hand, meet the challenges of the high-tech era.