Abstract: Based on the biographies of the prominent philologists V. S. Baevsky and M. L. Gasparov, this article examines the relationships of the Soviet scholars of humanities in the late XX century, and verifies the facts from the history of prosody. The archive of V. S. Baevsky with collection of 146 letters of M. L. Gasparov is deposited in Smolensk State University. It preserved handwritten and printed documents that tell about their shared scientific interests and sincere relationship. Gasparov’s dedicatory inscriptions on the books resembling the token reverence and friendship also serve as important and informative sources in studying this topic. The library of V. S. Baevsky accounts to 35 such books. There is also extensive memoir literature dedicated to V. S. Baevsky and M. L. Gasparov. The article analyzes peer reviews of V. S. Baevsky on the monographs of M. L. Gasparov, responses to the jubilees of the scholar, and obituary in his memory. The conclusion was made that mutual respectful dialogue established between V. S. Baevsky and M. L. Gasparov contributed to the synergy of efforts on the development of prosody as a research method, integration of university and academic science for the advancement of humanities in Russia. The study of various scientific contacts and relationships between the Soviet philologists allows having a new perspective upon the history of philology in Russia, examine the problem of opposition of Soviet science as a social institution, which was controlled by the government and its founding scholars, as well as clarify important facts in the establishment of prosody.

Abstract: The goal of this article consists in the analysis of the most representative anime movies of Hayao Miyazaki for determining a row of worldview matrixes that may clarify the role of Shinto semiotic concepts in his artistic practice. Relevance of studying Shinto motifs in Miyazaki’s works as one of the prominent and most popular filmmakers within the European cultural space is justified by the fact that the broadest semantic level formed by semiotic concepts of Shintoism slides by the European audience that assesses the works of film director only from the visual and narrative perspective and comprehend only the “surface” meanings, while the Japanese audience is able to read the semiotics of Shintoism along with ideas expressed through it at the level of worldview automaticity due to a tremendous role of Shintoism in the world outlook and everyday use. The article articulates the problem of ambivalence of the modern Japanese society formed after the World War II; analyzes the filmography of Hayao Miyazak and fundamental principles of his worldview, which allowed not only explaining the role of Shinto in his works, but also defining the three functional level of Shinto semiotic concepts applied by him: didactical-worldview, national-historical and social-instrumental. Examination of Shintoism and oriental religions within the national human science allows connecting with the foreign perception of the world, grasp the mentality that drastically differs from the European, and see new semantic meanings in the works of oriental culture. Such expansion of horizons is exactly what needs the modern culture and society within the framework of globalization and constantly changing world.