Abstract: The subject of this research is the language of architectural forms brought out in the process of a traditional festival. The author examines the most important architectural elements from the point of view of their symbolic interpretation and 'involvement' into the commnication space of a festival, and compares them to verbalized ideas and values that a festival communicates. This emphasizes the importance of the language of architecture for the modelling of a festival's communication synergy. To illustrate her research, Mostitskaya provides the examples of interpretation of the architectural festival symbols such as Acropolis, Hagia Sophia and Grand Opera in Paris. The methodological basis of the research is B. Wipper's definition of the 'language of architecture', G. Potseptsov's description of the communication space structure, and S. Khoruzhy's theory of synergy that allows to describe essential grounds of festive communication. Mostiskaya also bases her research    culture, emotional experience, festival, values, higher meanings, synergy, semiotics, communicative space, the language of architecture, ideal

Keywords: culture, emotional experience, higher meanings, values, festival, synergy, semiotics, communicative space, the language of architecture, ideal

Abstract: The subject of the research is the image of England in the perception of English national cuisine by Russians. As special means of reproduction and understanding the reality, the image of an item or matter presents an integral reflection of all processes and phenomena happening in the cultural environment. National cuisine is a significant instrument that develops an image of a country. Creation of an image as a result of experiencing another socio-cultural environment is an important aspect of cross-cultural communication which provides  a better understanding of cultural processes and phenomena. Based on the socio-cultural analysis of letters and memoirs written by Russians at the end of the XXth - beginning of the XXIst centuries, Smirnova deffines the main peculiarities of eating traditions in modern England which gives a new insight into the culture of the region, mentality of people living there and, as a consequence, creates the image of the country and the ground for a successful dialogue of cultures. Introducing new sources for academic analysis that tell us about the understudied aspect of the history of Foggy Albion, Smirnova describes features of the image of this country, national character of Englishmen that has such typical features as traditionalism, tendency towards preservation of local traditions, substantiation, rationalism, adherence to the trends of the time, and ability to adopt values of other cultures. 

Keywords: intercultural communication, dialogue of cultures, cultural values, England in the vision of Russian people, cultural tool, image of country, national English cuisine, eating traditions, English culture, food and culture

Abstract: The subject of this research is the theatre of the Byzantium Empire era as an institutional and artistic phenomenon viewed as part of continuous Ancient artistic tradition. There is a belief that Byzantium did not have a theatre at all because the latter was destroyed by the Christians. However, this research proves right the opposite: there was the theatre in Byzantium but it changed a lot and thus did not recall the Ancient theatre at all. The theatre was changed as a result of new social concepts and perceptions that were changed under the influence of Christian religion. The theatre refused from the dramatical nature of a play and focused on entertainment, gesture, music, play and pantomime. The methods of historical and systems analysis used by the author to analyze the Byzantium culture demonstrate that traditional ancient theatre classification and dramatic structure remained unchanged and demanded by the cultural environment. The author gives the reasons that make the analysis of the Byzantium theatre complicated such as the absence of texts, new theatre terminology, little evidence and witness description, and the bias of polemic writings of Christian authors. The novelty of the research is caused by the fact that the author gives new prospects for understanding the Byzantium theatrical culture and proves the fact that there was ancient theatre in the Byzantium Empire and it actively developed and functioned, the theatre was never given to anathema or cursed by Christian canons, it is just that the church disaproved of immoral behavior on the stage. 

Keywords: byzantine theater, Christianity, performance, actor, dramaturgy, pantomime, mime, Constantinople, Byzantium, school education

Abstract: The subject of this research is the aesthetic conception of a French philosopher Gilbert Simondon. The author of the article makes the main emphasis on Simondon's genetic hypothesis that describes several stages of how the connection between human and the world developed, in particular, the author focuses on the four stages: magic, technical, religious and aesthetic. Svirskiy pays special attention to the place of aesthetics as an intermediate link in these relations. The author of the article also discusses what Simondon called 'techno-aesthetics'. He demonstrates that techno-aesthetics implies a special type of perceptive intuition that defines the primary selection and distinguishing between acceptable and unacceptable that sets forth intuitive criteria for adoption or refusal from particular technical and artistic solutions as well as the fact that a technical object is not beautiful as itself because it has privileged points (key points) of the world that it represents. The research methodology is based on the reconstruction of Gilbert Simondon's philosophical position that is made in order to demonstrate specific features of his attitude to the aesthetic experience. The novelty of the research is caused by the fact that the researcher describes the place of the aesthetic attitude to the world or aesthetic thinking in a wider sense of the word as these are represented by the theoretical strategy of a famous French philosopher Gilbert Simondon. The researcher focuses on the 'techno-aesthetics' concept that is supposed to substantiate the emergence of the aesthetic and technical components in all kinds of design-and-engineering and artistic activities.

Keywords: analogy, technical object, fond, figure, transduction, subjectivity, objectivity, key-point, aesthetics, intuition

Abstract: The mentality of each nation is an extremely interesting phenomenon in terms of the history and modern age. This is the reason the author of the article chose to study mentality of the Mongolian people. The researcher focuses on such features of the Mongolian ethnomentality as the world view, psychological, ideological, geographical, and linguistic factors. The aim of the research is to describe specific features of the Mongolian mentality as a combination of the world view, moral, psychic, sensual and intellectual aspects that transmit the historical individuality of ethnos. The methodology of the research has been chosen in accordance with the aim and objectives of the research as well as peculiarities of the material under study. The main research method used by the author is the analytical analysis of the sources that explain the logic and definition of the term 'the mentality of the Mongolian people'. The scientific novelty of the research is caused by the fact that the author systematizes information about the mentality of the Mongolian people and conducts an analysis based on the idea of the history universality and the concept of local cultures in philosophical and cultural studies. The theoretical importance of the research is caused by the fact that the author offers definitions of such terms as the mentality of the Mongolian people, local cultures, transformation of the mentality of the Mongolian people in terms of the history of culture and philosophy. The practical importance of the research is that the results allow to better understand the role of the term 'mentality', ideas of the universal history and the concept of local cultures in the development of modern philosophy. The other result of the research is the author's statement that in terms of history, the mentality of the Mongolian people is a unique socio-cultural phenomenon that demonstrates itself through the system of moral values and spiritual life of the nation as well as individual and collective behavior of the people, their everyday life, style of life, rituals, tastes, social and cultural traditions.   

Keywords: transformation, evolution, spirituality, culture, archetype, history, the mentality of the Mongolian people, Mongolia, socio-cultural space, local cultures

Abstract: In his article Rozin focuses on one single storyline in Roald Dobrovensky's novel that relates to a number of socio-cultural issues in the contemporary history of Latvia and Russia. These issues include how the development of the nation and the development of the statehood relate, the difference between two forms of the statehood (capitalist and socialist) and two kinds of socialism (bolshevist and democratic), contribution of capitalism and socialism to the development of a new state, and the role of personality and communities in the aforesaid social processes. These are the same issues Joseph Schumpeter in his work 'Capitalism, Socialism and Democracy' focuses on. Rozin appeals to this work in order to compare the problems raised by Dobrovensky and Schumpeter. The research is based on the following methodology: problem statement, case and comparative analysis, cultural-historical reconstruction, and scenario analysis. As a result of his research, Rozin demonstrates that both personalities like Rainis and socialistic and national ideas have made equal contribution to the development of the Latvian culture. In addition, Rozin has analyzed the consequences of socialistic ideas for the people and the country.   

Keywords: literature, language, fall, feat, personality, state, nation, sotsializm, history, culture

Abstract:  The rationale of the analysis of historical and cultural aspects of the creation, development and preservation of the Russian military memorial heritage during the pre-revolutionary period is caused by the fact that this is an understudied topic as well as the need to define the basic vectors of today's state policy in culture, education, patriotic education of youg people, and heritage preservation. The object of the research is the famous monuments and places. The subject of the research is the creation, development and preservation of the Russian military memorial heritage during the pe-revolutionary period. The authors focus on the temple construction, creation of the first monuments, adoption of the first legal acts, development of the military memorial environment after major military conflicts, and establishment of the Imperial Russian Military Historical Society. The conceptual grounds for cultural policy of the modern time and problems of transmitting Russian traditions of cultural heritage preservation were studied by O. Astafieva, O. Avanesova, S. Sinetsky, O. Galkova and other researchers. The scientific novelty of the research is caused by the fact that this is a rather understudied issue in the history of culture. The analysis of the military memorial heritage is of fundamental importance for science, society and state because many problems related to preservation of military memorial heritage can be solved only through scientific analysis and, without any doubts, will contribute to the development of the cultural sphere, achievement of state defense objectives and creation of the careful attitude to the historical memory objects. 

Keywords: monument, regimental temple, temple construction, pre-revolutionary period, military memorial heritage, monumental art, cultural policy, historical memory, Russian military history, obelisk

Abstract: The subject of the research is the love narration line what is being viewed by the author of the article from the point of view of its escapistic features. The researcher focuses on kinds of romance fiction (narrative) as a harlequin novel and best-selling novel that created the grounds for the generation of other popular cultural genres such as cinema or TV series. As a result, today's pop culture creates space for the reification of the love narrative in different kinds. The author pays special attention to the peculiarities of the love narrative when it is taken to cyber space which creates new opportunities for escapism. The methodological basis of the research includes modern researches of escapism (by Anthony Giddens, E. Orlova, John Fiske, J. Storey, etc.) and analysis of literary forms from the point of view of their escapistic attribution (Georges Bataille, Ayn Rand) as well as researches of virtual reality (M. Poster and J. Murrey). The novelty of the research is caused by the fact that the love narrative is viewed from the point of view of its development from the harlequin novel of the XIXth century till modern 'cyber-drama'. This creates an opportunity for understanding new forms of culture, in particular, romantic narrative which acquires new forms while retaining its escapistic orientation. The love narrative represents a love concept and a dream about true love in all artistic and cultural environments. The love narrative remains powerful even during the period of drastic transformations of cultural forms in the virtual space which allows to talk about escapism of the love narrative as an essential feature of human life. 

Keywords: everyday life, popular cultura, feminism, author, romance fiction, escapism, narrative, virtual world, postmodernity, cultural form

Abstract: The object of this research is one of the earlist palaces of the Nasrid dynasty in Granada (Generalife) of the late XIIIth - first quarter of the XIVth centuries. The author focuses on the architectural features that would influence the development of a typical 'Nasrid Art' style. The article deals with such issues as classification (private country palace 'munia') as well as the composition and symbols of the palace garden, the planning decision of the palace building and the features of its decoration (in particular, the use of epigraphic ornamentation) on the example of the central space of the complex, the courtyard of the Channel and the adjacent facilities. The research methodology involves an integrated approach including a typological, compositional, artistic, stylistic and semantic analysis of an architectural monument. The importance of the issues raised in the article is determined by the fact that the Generalife ensemble remains poorly understood in the context of the Nasrid palace architecture; the analysis shows the key role of this monument in the history of the development of Spanish-Muslim art. The research materials can serve as a starting point in studying the process of the addition of the Nasrid architectural language, its planning, decorative and symbolic features.

Keywords: munya, Patio de la Acequia, Generalife, Granada, Nasrid art, palace architecture, Islamic garden, Islamic architecture, Islamic art, epigraphical ornament

Abstract: The subject domain of the research is contemporary approaches to the analysis of possible application of traditional costume composition principles in modern fashion design. The author of the article describes systemic features of costume composition that provide many variants of elements combination and create opportunities for never-ending production of new costumes. The author focuses on the concepts that are put to practice by the designers who create fashionable clothes based on folk aesthetics (Russian, Buryat, Mari, Chinese, Japanese, etc.). The interdisciplinary nature of the research has made the author to apply the systems approach that involved art history, ethnographical, psychological and culturological approaches. The author has also applied the comparison method to analyze famous concepts of the structural functional analysis of traditional costume as a source of modern style in clothing. As a result, the author of the article describes the following consistent pattern: clothing design is based not only on visual means of traditional costume composition but mythoepic heritage of the people and ethnic picture of the world in general. This makes a fashionable costume understandable and popular outside the ethnic environment where it has been created. In conclusion, the author states that modern science and artistic practice offer several levels of understanding the problem of using the ethnic style in fashionable clothing coming from simple to complicated, from elementary to integral, from practical to philosophical. 

Keywords: art and design analysis, costume composition, reconstruction, stylization, ethnic style, shaping, fashion, traditional costume, design engineering, conceptualization