Abstract: The subject of the study is Russian political education in the context of modern challenges. Using systemic and structural-functional approaches as methodological grounds, the author analyzes the goals and content of political education as structural elements of a unified system, subject to certain patterns in their functioning. In addition, the connection between the system of political education and the external environment, which is the socio-political practice of Russian society and the activities of state institutions, is considered. Factors that contribute to increasing the importance of political education in modern conditions are identified. The works of domestic and foreign researchers devoted to political education, as well as social and humanitarian knowledge in general, were used. Their recommendations are compared with the concept of the new academic discipline “Fundamentals of Russian Statehood,” introduced in Russian universities on September 1, 2023. The importance of the educational component in the educational process of a modern university is revealed, since the content of education includes not only a scientific, but also a value component. Conclusions are drawn about the need to form in the political consciousness and culture of students the values of citizenship and patriotism, as well as the formation of historical memory, historical consciousness, the idea of connection with their country, its past, present and future. The principle of narrowly professional training of specialists is criticized, since it contradicts not only the education of a citizen, but also the humanization of education, its orientation towards creating conditions for the realization of freedom and self-development of the person.

Keywords: content of education, goals, values, education, philosophy of culture, political culture, political education, statehood, citizenship, patriotism

Abstract: The political culture of the modern youth of Russia in the context of current political events and real foreign policy challenges is one of the most important issues to study. It largely determines how the state will function and what it will be based on, as well as its future prospects. In modern conditions, in the era of post-truth and fake news, it is important to study the media competence of young people as a separate component of political culture and a means of protection from unverified information. The subject of our research is the problem of media competence, and the object is the political culture of youth. The purpose of the study was to describe the problem of media competence in the political culture of Russian youth. For this purpose, a series of expert interviews were conducted with experts in the field of real politics, as well as theorists in the field of education. The result of the study was a description of the modern political culture of youth, as well as the role of media competence in it. Expert assessments have largely helped to describe in more detail the political culture of young people and identify key trends in it, as well as to identify existing political risks for the state. It also revealed the fundamental differences in the formation of the political culture of generation Z from the political culture of other generations.

Keywords: political process, media education, media manipulation, media, media literacy, generation z, young people, political culture, mass communications, media competence

Abstract: This article is dedicated to analysis of the notion of “political culture”. The goal of the work consists in highlighting of new online and offline types of political culture. The task includes the examination of the existing definitions of political culture and comparison of the concepts of foreign and Russian scholars. Special attention is given to the analysis of typology of the political culture. The author carefully reviews the classical types of political culture of the classicists of the community of political science – G. Almond and M. Weber, classifications of W. Rosenbaum, J. Wiatr, and E. Batalov, as well as number of other authorial approaches. The article underlines the lack of research on the impact of Internet upon the political culture, and the need for examination of such factor, because the growth of the Russian Internet audience and launch of the project “Russian public initiative” strengthen the role of the virtual space within the political process. The results of this work can be applied in educational process, in lectures on political science, as well as by political actors, government authorities, and civil society.

Keywords: Russian public initiative, political behavior, political subject, political experience, political knowledge, political process, Internet, political culture, public authority, civil society

Abstract: This article examines the system if political enlightenment in the first half of the 1930’s, as well as the forms, methods, tasks, and results of the political education within the youth union. The author thoroughly reviews the flaws of the political education: weak propaganda campaign, “seasonal work”, insufficient material base, etc. The ways of work organization, their methodological provision, and the attitude of Komsomol members towards education is demonstrated. During the course of this research, the author used the materials from the State Archives of the Socio-Political History of Tambov Oblast and Voronezh Oblast; the article is prepared based on materials of the Central Black Earth Oblast. The theory of governmentalization of Komsomol, when the union is viewed as interlink between the government and the youth, became fundamental for the study of the historical Komsomol issues. Political enlightenment is studied as an imperative part of the system of party control over Komsomol. The author illustrates the reorientation of political education within Komsomol in favor of carrying out of predominantly educational functions. The conclusion is made that in the province, the effectiveness of political education remained low. The system of political education did not provide comprehensive knowledge, rather raised obedient executors of the party’s directives.  The political education encouraged further “dogmatization” of the young generation.

Keywords: the youth, Komsomol, political education, political control, political education, ideology, collectivization, Communist Party, politboi, Stalin

Abstract: The subject of this article is the research on the role of “megamachine” in the establishment of the modern technogenic civilization, as well as the analysis if the interrelation between the modern society and “megamachine”. The article also conducts analysis of the causes that substantiate the ecological crisis on the planet, which can be qualified as a manifestation of the cultural crisis, and the correlation between the “megamachine” and the emerged in the XX century based in its functioning “consumer society”, the main concept of which became a so-called “mass culture” – foundation the modern Western civilization. An expressive phenomenon here is the complicated dialectics of the contradictory process of the correlation between culture and socio-technical component of the modern civilization, which is often referred as “megamachine”. A special attention is given to the negative trends and their causes, associated with the existing contradiction between the fundamental grounds, which comprise the base for culture and civilization. The author’s main conclusion consists in the fact that the modern global society has come to a certain quality milestone, the meaning of which is yet not clear for many. The current socio-economic, political, and cultural challenges of the modern era require its theoretical reasoning and methodological reflection in order to deeper and better understand the essence of the modern era, as well as devise strategies for the future civilized development. Nevertheless, certain crises phenomena in the development of the society, allow us speaking of the factors that led to this milestone today. Among the major factors are the deep contradictions that emerged in the process of development of the technogenic civilization, within the framework of which the Western socio-cultural project is being realized.

Keywords: society, culture, civilization, technological civilization, West, consumer society, consumerism, managerialism, Mass culture, Megamachine

Abstract: The subject of this study is the Komsomol propaganda forming the image of an "enemy of the people" as well as the perception of the image in the ranks of the Young Communist League and non-union youth in 1937. In his study Yakimov has examined the constituents of the collective image of the "enemy of the people" in the Komsomol propaganda. On the basis of documents from the "Komsomol" funds of the State Archive of Socio-Political History of Tambov region (GASPITO), the researcher has described the mechanism of formation of the image of the "enemy of the people" among young people, analyzed the main reasons for the prosecution, revealed the effects of kinship and ideological ties with persons who were declared the "enemies of the people." The methods used in this historic study can be divided into the following two groups: the group of general scientific methods that includes description, analysis, synthesis, generalizatio and deduction; the group of specific historical methods that includes the concrete historical, comparative historical and retrospective methods. The scientific novelty of the work is caused by the fact that the study of the image of "the enemy of the people" was conducted on the resource-based archival documents of the Komsomol. It is shown that one of the key aspects of ideological propaganda in the Komsomol was the concept of the "enemy of the people". In that period that name was given to many of the former leaders of the Bolshevik Party as well as of the countries with fascist regimes. The Komsomol propaganda greatly contributed to the consolidation of the Soviet youth for the purpose of fighting against "enemies of the people" and to the strengthening of repressive policies in many Komsomol organizations.

Keywords: enemy of the people, exceptions to the Komsomol, youth, repression, young Communist League, popularization, enemy image, Trotskyite, fascist, Tambov region