Abstract: This article is focused on the compatibility of materialism and speculativism. The dialectical-materialistic philosophy of V.I. Lenin, presented in his work «Materialism and Empiriocriticism», is taken as the starting point of the study. Lenin’s position is compared with the philosophy of speculative materialism, presented by modern French philosopher Quentin Meillassoux, presented in the work «After Finitude: An Essay on the necessity of contingency». The author emphasizes that the programs of Meillassoux and Lenin are united by a common task – the fight against fideism in philosophy and science. According to the Soviet and French philosopher, the only means of combating fideism in science can only be materialism. To solve this problem, they both focus on criticizing correlationism (coordination) in its «strong» and «weak» forms. Despite certain similarities in solving this problem, there are significant differences between the views of Lenin and Meillassoux. They consist, firstly, in a different understanding of the essence of matter (objective reality), secondly, in a different attitude to the cognitive status of «thing-in-itself», and finally, thirdly, in a different attitude to objective truth. These differences call into question the popular point of view expressed by the statement «Meillassoux is a modern Lenin». The study notes that the program of speculative materialism has much in common with the empiriocriticism of A. Bogdanov and A. Poincare. Meillassoux shares with the first the denial of the existence of objective truth, and with the second – the commitment to the so called «mathematical fideism». In conclusion, the author notes that, despite its failure, the project, presented by Meillassoux, is a clear evidence of the renaissance of materialism, currently happening in philosophy (albeit in a very «specific» form).

Abstract: Within the framework of this study, the transformation of anthropomorphic images in Medieval and Renaissance painting is analyzed. The visual art of this period is considered as a specific space of "conversation about man", which existed in parallel with discourses about God-man and Man-god. As a means of communication between man and God, the icon, using anthropomorphism in the image of the archetype, represented to the medieval man a certain path and a guide to his own salvation. Along with individual anthropomorphic and naturalistic features, areal ones were also used in iconography, for example, reverse perspective, halo, "twisting of figures" and a number of others that set the symbolic content of the religious image. В В  According to the author, the transformation of the icon into a painting in the XIII-XIV centuries was associated not only with the technical development of fine art (the widespread use of direct perspective, the use of camera obscura and oil paints), but also with significant changes that occurred in the intellectual space of Europe. The narcissistic turn in Renaissance art, expressed in the dissolution of the boundaries between the human and the divine, the maximum naturalization of religious content, as well as in the development of self-portraits, is, first of all, a turn from the discourse about God-man to the discourse about Man-God. Relying on philosophical sources, two independent positions (Ficino and da Vinci) on the nature of metamorphosis and the place of pictorial images in the description and definition of man are considered.

Abstract: The article analyzes the features of the formation of Marxist humanism in the Soviet Marxist-Leninist philosophy of the 50s and 60s. The prerequisites for the emergence of Marxist humanism in the USSR, in addition to the material of the "Manuscripts of 1844", should include the widespread spread of social democratic revisionism among representatives of Soviet social science thought. The article pays special attention to the influence of foreign tradition on the content and problems of domestic Marxist humanism (in particular, the French Communist Party and such theorists as R. Garodi and L. Sav). In addition, the study analyzes the conceptual positions of Soviet philosophers regarding the nature of humanism during the period of socialist construction (M. Petrosyan, P. Fedoseeva, G. Smirnova, I. Frolova). In particular, the issues of the correlation of socialist and bourgeois humanism, the correlation of personal and social under the socialist system, the concept of "comprehensive personality development" under communism, discussions about Marxist anthropology are considered. В  At the same time, it is emphasized that the solution of these (and some other) issues proposed within the framework of domestic Marxist humanism was idealistic and divorced from the real practice of socialist construction. In conclusion, the article concludes that Marxist humanism in the Soviet Union was not a creative development of the provisions of Marxist-Leninist philosophy, but was, for the most part, a reworked social-democratic and neo-Marxist revisionism. In our opinion, this conceptual and categorical "sabotage" led to the theoretical and ideological substitution of Marx's provisions instead of their development, which became one of the reasons for the "decomposition" of the party and its loss of the status of the "leading force of the proletariat" in the USSR.

Abstract: This article analyzes two most widespread approaches towards interpretation of the humanistic content of Marx’s doctrine, which have developed within the framework of Western Marxism in the 19550s – 1970s. The first approach – Marxist humanism – describes humanism as the “initial” form of Marx's doctrine of the early period. The second approach – theoretical antihumanism – views the concept of “humanism” as ideological, unscientific and incompatible with Marxism. The analysis of modern Russian and foreign bibliographies indicates the existing ambiguity in assessment of both, Western Marxism and humanistic content of the original ideas of Marx, which defines relevance of this research. The novelty lies in the proposal to view Marxist humanism and theoretical antihumanism in conjunction with the historical establishment of Marx's theory, rather than in contraposition to each other. The author suggest to forgo the interpretation of Marx’s ideas from the perspective of humanism or antihumanism. Such interpretation not only idealizes and mystifies the content of his works, but also creates a prerequisite for narcissistic view of the surrounding material objects and nature. The latter thought is reflected in undertaken at the margin of “Capital” Marx's criticism of the commodity fetishism as one of the central elements of the capitalist manner of production.

Abstract: This research is dedicated to examination of the main peculiarities of development of cross-border communication in the Southwest of Russia. Attention is focused on cross-border cooperation between Russia and Ukraine, which in recent times due to a number of political and cultural-civilizational factor has undergone significant transformations. The goal of this study consists in analysis and discussion of the key indicators of cross-border cooperation (migration, economy, communication) in the Southwest of Russia. The main vectors in relationship between the two countries include cross-border migration, cross-border economic cooperation, and cross-cultural communication. On each vector of development of cross-border communication, the author conduct comprehensive assessment of the dynamics of mutual movement of citizens, trade turnover, character of cross-cultural and information-educational communication, as well as analysis of cross-border policy of two countries regarding the determination of institutional barriers impeding its development. In the course of research, the author identifies the negative trends of cross-border communication of two countries, as well as proposes a number of strategies on transformation of the current state of affairs, namely the advancement of “soft power” technologies and mechanisms of “public diplomacy”. It is underlines that cross-border communication in the area of cultural and information cooperation between Russia and Ukraine should lean on the shared historical experience and cultural-civilizational commonness.

Abstract: The subject of this research is analysis of the impact of semantic information upon the decision-making process in the situation of uncertainty. The situation of uncertainty, in the context of which is analyzed the influence of endogenous and exogenous semantic information on the behavior of market player, is patterned on the basis of bimatrix game. The relevance of the selected topic is substantiated by the fact that despite the rapid development of information technologies, understanding of the nature and essence of information, namely its semantic aspect, as well as its impact upon decision-making remains insufficiently studied. The research methodology contains the analysis of the size of semantic information of the strategies of test subjects, solution of bimatrix game in the mixed strategies with imperfect information, as well as correlation and regression analysis of the experiment outcome. The analysis of obtained results of the three experiments testify to the following: 1) in the situation of uncertainty and imperfection of information, the great majority of test subjects adhered to the strategy of minimization of losses, rather than maximization of public good, despite the high level of trust and transparency; 2) seeking greater transparency in bimatrix games with imperfect information leads to a significant increase in the amount of test subjects who selected the risky strategies.