Abstract: In his research Muradov analyzes traditions of research devoted to films about the Great Patriotic War. The author demonstrates contradiction of two approaches offered by modern critics that were born at the crossing of different traditions, the concept of the epic narration and the principle of historical credibility. Images of the war in the 20th century including the image of the Great Patriotic War are developed by media - TV and cinema in the first place. TV serials about war (both feature motion films and documentaries) reflect both ideological and social needs of the time. Noteworthy that today, 70 years after, analysis of the image of war on TV is inextricably connected with the concept of epos as well as the relationship between epos and the problem of historical and human memory. These are visual mass media means that substitute our own memory with the 'collective' memory which creates the problem of mythologisation. The narration about war becomes some kind of an epos, sometimes heroic, sometimes folk, sometimes both, while it is not an epos as it is. The problem of historical credibility arises when epos is opposed to myth in modern films. Each serial film is critisized from the point of view of the epic and historical approaches which are opposite principles. The farther the events are in time, the deeper the conflict between historical credibility and the attemp to create a new epos is.

Keywords: contradictory approaches, criticism, mythologisation, media, historical credibility, image of the main character, heroic epic ballad, epos, serial films, Great Patriotic War

Abstract: Manuel del Pópulo Vicente García is well known as the outstanding tenor of the late XVIIIth — early XIXth century, however, his composer legacy is no less important. Despite the import role of Garcia in the history of musical art, his work is little known. His compositions include Spanish songs, Italian and French works of the theatrical genre. Particular compositions of Garcia were very popular at the beginning of the XIXth centuries and frequently quoted by both composers and writers. Such celebrities as Isabella Colbran, Maria Malibran, Adolphe Nourrit and Manuel Garcia himself participated in premiere productions of operas. The author of the article also examines his influence on the works of individual composers and writers of the romantic era. Garcia's works are little-known worldwide and in Russia, since most of them are stored in the archives of France, Spain, Italy and the United States of America. The methodological basis of this research is the comprehensive approach. On the one hand, the author studies the creative biography of the musician, on the other - his operas as well as monographs and articles devoted to Garcia's legacy by foreign authors. The novelty of the research is caused by the fact that the author describes the biography and creative legacy of Manuel del Pópulo Vicente García who is little-known in Russia. The author of the research reveals more than sixty works of the theatrical genre, many of which were staged during the life of the author. Garcia's compositions are eclectic and combine various national styles.

Keywords: Italian opera, Manuel Garcia, bel canto, Spanish songs, opera, romantic era, creativity as a composer, French opera, tonadilla, national style

Abstract: The article is devoted to analyzing ethnic beliefs of hillmen living in Czechia and Poland based on published folklore sources. Legends about the origin of mining and specific characters of folk demonology related to the underground world represent particularities of folk traditions followed by Czech and Polish miners. In his article Murzin carries out a detailed analysis of Czech and Polish legends about the origin of mining. Results of analysing legends demonstrate the mining was believed to be started by the characters who had features of cultural heroes in folk legends. Those characters discovered mineral deposits in the region and founded the most important mountain cities in Czechia and Poland. The research is based on the historical typological and comparative historical methods. These methods allow to get a better understanding of particularities of the legends about the origin of mining in Czechia and Poland as well as features of the characters of folk demonology that had a place in the folklore of miners. Folklore sources demonstrate prove that the culture of miners is rich with the images of demonological characters associated with miners, underground sources and underground treasures. These characters can be seen as little fellows, miners, beautiful girl or animals. These are contradictory characters who help only those people who really deserve it. The research has demonstrated that ethnic ideas about exploring regions and 'mountain spirits' are the key elements of the spiritual culture of Czech and Polish miners. These legends reflect regional specific features of their spiritual culture. 

Keywords: Silesia, folk demonology, legends, folklore, Poland, Czech Republic, mining history, mining, comparative analysis, traditions

Abstract: This article is devoted to the visual media of communication as technological progress in culture. The subject of research is the study of the developing of visual tools from the traditional "old" (printed and electronic) to digital "new" (Internet) forms of mass communication and their interaction with the culture. Particular attention is given to the main landmarks of the development of visual tools, and especially to the information age or digital age, because it gives individuals the maximum opportunity to freely communicate, transmit or receive information. The main methods of study are cultural and historical. By analyzing of vast amounts of materials devoted to visual communication, including both national and foreign sources, these methods allow to identify and interpret the main historical stages of development visual tools: the written era, the printing era (the printing press of Gutenberg), the electronic era (TV, movie) and the informational or the digital era (Internet, World Wide Web). The conclusion is that every form of visual mass communication, one way or another, affects society in fundamental areas. Books allow people to educate themselves, and not rely solely on teachers and clergy. Newspapers began to chronicle the everyday life of society with the presence of a public forum for the exchange of information and discussion. Magazines were the first visual mass communication, which began massively using photography to the advent of television. Television has brought the sound and motion in the picture and gave a view of cultural heritage as a movie. With the advent of the Internet, new digital forms, such as personal and social media communications. The result of the study is the conclusion that new media play an important role in the formation of modern culture, depicting a particular set of beliefs, values and traditions (whole life) as visualized reality. The novelty of research is determined by the new faces of ideas about the social and cultural reality, contributing to a more adequate understanding of its dynamics.

Keywords: social media, cultural dynamics, image, interpretation, media communication, visual communication, socio-cultural approach, personal media, digital era, printing era

Abstract: A specific feature and megatrend of modern Western civilization is a so-called 'radical hedonism' (Erich Fromm's term). One of the elements of this 'mainstream' is the BDSM subculture that proves a latent 'desire for pain' typical for modern civilization (the fact that is 'masked' with specific kind of pleasure experienced in the course of role-playing games and ritualized actions). There are very few articles devoted to this phenomenon and the majority of them have a narrow focus. There is still the need in a broader look at the BDSM subculture and its relation to the 'radical hedonism' as a dominating principle. In his research Boyko provides a general philosophical analysis of prerequisites, functions, meanings and prospects of the BDSM subculture and its close relation to the 'radical hedonism'. The author defines the key role of pain in the process of an individual developing his or her views on the real world, his or her place in the world, consciousness and the feeling of his or her own Self. The more successful an individual escapes from pain, the more powerful the outbursts of pain and invasion of hedonistic 'life consumers' are. Domination of the sensual pleasure as the highest value makes pain as the main alternative value which leads to the spread of sadomasochism practices and pathological excesses as well as the growth of violence, social tension, and threat to individual health and society's well-being in general. 

Keywords: pleasure, subculture, suffering, modernity, sadomasochism, megatrend, hedonism, pain, BDSM, philosophy of pain

Abstract: The subject of the research is the search for a definition of the concept 'historical reality' in the historical studies of the 19th - early 20th centuries. In his research Zuev analyzes such issues as the role of the historical identity in the history of the aforesaid period, parallel paths of history, history of art, and art studies. The author carries out a reconstruction of the history and historical reality in the art of mass holiday (based on the example of celebrating the French revolution). The author pays special attention to the art of mass holiday as the method of fixing the historical importance of the present. Zuev views the holiday as the way for the nation to understand its place and role in the stream of the historical time. In his research Zuev has also analyzed the history of applying phenomenological and ontological approaches to the search for 'historical reality' and the role of mass festive culture. The main conclusions of the research are the following: the author has discovered the relationship between the present and the past in terms of the historical reality. Zuev offers some kind of 'intention' for reconstruction and functioning of the historical 'past'. The author discovers a distinct relationship between the importance of historical events for contemporaries and development of the performance art as well as celebration of mass holidays. 

Keywords: bourgeois revolution, history phenomenology, present in the history, mass holiday, historical fact, historical time, historical reality, evolution of history, mass art, art history

Abstract: The subject of the study is the evolution of the museum's understanding of its audience and its key parameters, the development of scientific approaches and the methodology of sociological research of museum audience, conditioned by this process. The object of the study is the experience and methodology of studying the audience of museum visitors abroad - in Europe and the US, tracked by the publication of the results of sociological research. The main attention is paid to the current state of scientific knowledge of the relationship between art museums and the public, as well as a methodology that is adequate to modern tasks. The dialectical approach is used to study the experience of the audience of art. The study also involves materials from researches that have had the greatest impact on the evolution of the understanding of the audience of art museums and the methodology for their study. The author presents a wide range of interests, trends and scientific approaches that characterize the current state of museum sociology in the West and have, in the final analysis, the main goal to overcome communication barriers, attract the audience and increase attendance. An increasingly common tendency has been found for the steady drift of museums in the channel of society serving, understanding that museums should always remain a space for cultural growth, continuous education, and also a tool for maintaining positive health and well-being.

Keywords: audience segmentation, art, methodology, history of studies, audience of museum visitors, audience research, visitor studies, consumer behavior, attendance, econometrics in social studies

Abstract: The author of the article analyzes the impact of a critical feminist statement in the field of contemporary art on the social position of women in post-Soviet society. It is considering the confrontations that feminist art is faced in discursive and social fields and possible solutions of listed problems. The reasons and events that led the modern feminist discourse to the position in which this phenomenon exists today in Russian society and the dynamics and interference of feminist art with academic and public spheres are described and analyzed in the article. The investigation method can be designated as experimental. In the process of creating a work, there are applied tactics such as observations, simulations, comparisons. We can get an extensive view based on historical and scientific facts, comparing the achievements of the previous studies, in cooperation with the empirical experience. The main conclusion of the research is that for changing the perception of the phenomenon of feminism by the large society feminist artists and activists should popularize the gender theories and the feminist art. The important perspectives of feminist art are civil activism, the spreading of art through graffiti, stickers, social networks, video and zines (Self-publishing). Feminist art is intended not only for professionals in the art and gender studies field but also for the nonprofessional viewer, who wants to understand and sort out the phenomenon of feminist rhetoric. To win a non-professional audience and make art understandable and accessible to the masses, feasibly by attracting the attention of society to socially sensitive topics that rise in works and acts of feminist artists. That kind of art can become a powerful lever of influence on the formation of public consciousness. In addition very important to develop institutions which can receive a systematic education, to develop a verbal and visual language expressing the values of feminist discourse. As a result, more artists and activists will be able to attract attention to the social problems faced by millions of people each day, it will give an opportunity for correctly inspiring others, who afraid of openly expressing their views, it can afford a platform for the utterance of oppressed groups, to allow the subject to quest about correctness of the social norms grafted to him by default.

Keywords: Gender roles, contemporary art, russian feminism, gender studies, activism, gender, feminist art, feminism, critical art, Post-Soviet feminism

Abstract: Names of Kazakh kuis (onyms) are viewed by the author as the signs of culture that reflect typical mental views and values represented by a certain ethnic group. Kanatova offers her own classification of kui onyms consisting of the following three main groups: 1) anthroponyms, 2) zoonyms, and 3) toponyms. The author also defines the priority of anthroponyms which, in their turn, have the following classification: 1) nominative kuis, i.e. kuis related to names; 2) kuis that are used to describe emotions and feelings; and 3) kuis with possessive names that describe their creators. Zoonyms can be divided into two subgroups: 1) names of cloven-hoofed animals, and 2) names of birds. The third group (toponyms) can be also divided into two subgroups: 1) nature, and 2) landscape. The results of analyzing kui onyms prove that the latter is embedded into the cultural and language models of not only Kazakh traditon but also Turkic culture in general. The author of the article has used the interdisciplinary approach which involves application of philological terms and the method of constructing a classification model of kui onyms based on their homogeneous feature, i.e. the music actor (hero). The novelty of the research is caused by the fact that the author applies the interdisciplinary approach to analyzing the content of Kazakh kuis as well as recent discoveries of philology and philological terms to define and create a classification of kui onyms. The author develops a classification model of kui onyms consisting of teh main three groups, anthroponyms, zoonyms and toponyms. The author defines her model as traditional. She also states that the names of kuis of the 20th centuries were built on the traditional model that had developed in the culture of preceding epochs. Changes that are quite evident relate to kui devotions aimed at historical events. 

Keywords: toponyms, zoonyms, anthroponyms, kui onyms, tradition of Arka, shertpe, dombyra, kazakh kui, turkic culture, mentality

Abstract: In her article Vorontsova presents the results of analyzing a list of encyclopedia articles 'Literary museums in Russia' and provides statistical data depending on regions and main groups of literary museums in 2016. These museums are considered to be institutions of culture, system, information system, and institute of social memory. The author gives a regional dimension of statistical data. The author shows how literary museums represent national literature. Attention is paid to the importance of the personality, as well as museum exposition and shows the danger of actions that lead to the loss of memory and increase of entropy. The author has applied the interdisciplinary approach, methods of museology, cultural studies, literary studies, and comparative-historical method; she has also analyzed of the list of encyclopedia articles as a source of information. The author shows that Museum presents literature as a phenomenon of the relatively recent past, that the memory of it is fragmented and contains significantly fewer names, their set differs from a set in the history of literature, because it has almost no styles and genres.

Keywords: encyclopedia, memory, literary museum, literature, phenomenon of museum, cultural history, museology, cultural studies, list of articles encyclopedia, statistics on museums

Abstract: The subject of the research is Federico Fellini's creativity which is rather well-studied as in Russia, and abroad. The author pays attention to poorly studied aspects such as Federico Fellini's communication with the Italian cultural tradition, namely, with Dante Alighieri's creativity. Analyzing various sources, literary and cinematographic, the author confirms this continuity. Special attention is paid to the cinematographic work by Federico Fellini. The cinematographic space of Federico Fellini is considered as the "symbolical space" that opens new opportunities for the analysis of the film language. In her research Popova uses Yury Lotman's approach, that is the semiotics method, and also the psychoanalysis method, in particular, that of Karl Jung. The novelty of the research is caused by the fact that the author discovers the relationship between Federico Fellini and Dante Alighieri, applies the integrated approach to the analysis of the cinematographic work by Federico Fellini. The conclusion is drawn that application of the semiotics approach combined with psychoanalysis opens great opportunities for the analysis of the screen work. 

Keywords: Carl Gustav Jung, Christian Metts, Mikhail Bakhtin, Nikolay Hrenov, Yury Lotman, Gilles Deles, Dante Alighieri, Federico Fellini, cinema, symbolical space

Abstract: The aim of this research is to find out universal foundations of the archetypal plot interpreted in different cultural contexts and in different cultural forms. Having appealed to the medieval plot, the author of the article views modifications of the plot at different epochs, how it was conditioned by the environment and how the semantic core of the texs stayed unchanged. Based on the legend about Tristan and Isolde the author has traced changes in semantics of different cultural contexts. The author also analyzes interpretation strategies typical for different artistic presentations of the legend (opera, drama and artwork). In her research Shapinskaya uses the method of textual analysis, descriptive and comparative methods as well as elements of the semantic analysis. As a result of the research, Shapinaskaya demonstrates that the semantic core of the legend contains universal human values relevant for each historic cultural formation. The essence of this meaning has been shown in symbolism, with its negation of attachment to a time or a place. Comparing the Tristan and Isolde legend to the symbolist drama “Pelleas and Melisande” by Meterlinck and opera by Debussy allows to better understand human values contained in the legend which explains why interpretations of the legend have been so frequent in art.

Keywords: drama, symbolism, romanticism, legend, midaeval literature, corteous love, archetypal plot, opera, interpretation, semantics