Abstract: The author attempts to answer the question “Why Russians are so different?” form the sociopolitical and economic points of view. He advances the idea that the major role in formation of peculiarities of Russians’ identity was played by some cultural aspects of the pre-Communist era, but also the political institutions influence of the Soviet Union. The author compares distinctive traits of Russians’ identity with those of the people of developed countries. The author considers such topics of Russians’ cultural identity as: destruction of social capital under the Soviet Union and its influence upon the current social conditions; causes of the problems with establishment of democratic institutions, as well as protection of human rights; historical background of the economic development and influence of the legacy of the Communist regime upon current economic conditions.

Keywords: mentality, identity, Russia, Russian, features, policy, sociology, cultural studies, philosophy, history

Abstract: The subject of this research is the conception of the philosophy of transgression in the teachings of Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel and Friedrich Nietzsche. The author examines the fine concepts of Hegel’s philosophy such as spirit, otherness, sublation, and negation, and carries out the explication of transgression as the ontological content of these phenomena. The article presents a comparative analysis of the works of Hegel and teachings of Nietzsche in the area of establishment of the philosophical paradigm of transgression. A special attention is given to the issues of death of God in the philosophy of Hegel and Nietzsche. The research employs the methodological principles of deconstruction, comparative philosophy, as well as methods of ontology and history of philosophy. The scientific novelty of this work consists in the explication of transgression as the key aspect in the Hegel’s and Nietzsche’s teachings. Author’s special contribution consists in conducting a comparative analysis of transgression in Hegel’s philosophy with the main sections of Nietzsche’s teaching (such as Dionysian origin, overman (Übermensch), and death of God).

Keywords: superman, Death of God, withdrawal, spirit, Nietzsche, Hegel, transgression, dialectics, otherness, self

Abstract: The article deals with the apophatic interpretation of man that has taken shape in modern Western literature as negation of all known attributes and properties of Adam’s offspring. The main proposition of new apophaticism, according to the authors, is disappointment in man. He is no longer considered as a measure of all things, as a creature endowed with reason and morality, as an exponent of humanistic consciousness. Human characteristics acquire a negative arrangement. Man is the focus of sinful thoughts, cruel desires, nearly the whole anatomy of destructiveness. Man’s essence is found in his striving for death. In this context, there is a need for comprehension of this tradition, which, as appears, to a considerable extent is inherent in European philosophy in some form or another.The authors are guided by philosophical-anthropological approaches to interpretation of human nature. They use the methodology of classical and postmodernist philosophy.The novelty of the work is in description of the apophatic image of man that has taken shape in modern philosophical anthropology. Conceptions of F. Nietzsche, G. Bataille and other authors are analyzed. The notion of human nature and human integrity is discussed. Human integrity is not rejected by modern philosophical anthropology, neither is it postulated as a preset anthropological property. It is acquired through the incoherence, fragmentariness of human existence. As is shown, the failure of the enlightening model of the ideal man in European culture has caused an irresistible interest to negative, pathological traits in human nature.The authors come to the conclusion that the apophatic project of man has permitted to reveal many real problems of current human existence. At the same time, it turned out that man has an inherent secret desire to rid himself of the idea of his existence, of his essence. The very reproduction of man as a human being is being ousted by machines, clones, prostheses. J. Baudrillard in this context writes about the end of anthropology, which is surreptitiously withdrawn by machines and new technologies.

Keywords: philosophy, human, human nature, the integrity of the person, human project, atavism, apophatics, human being, the phenomena of life, divinity

Abstract: This article presents the results of the monitoring of public opinion of the Primorsky Krai related to the ongoing economic crisis. The results reveal that the economic crisis affects the social wellness of the population, and majority of the population experience a drop in quality of life, translating into social tension. The article presents the findings of the research on the Krai’s reaction to the changes in the structure of the selection of goods and services in the local market. The authors identify the categories of goods and services that demonstrated the drop in demand as a result of the sanctions against Russia, and conduct the analysis of the data from the monitoring of the social wellness of the population of Primorsky Krai, as well as various assessments of the consumer reactions to the changes in the market that have been gathered from two polls conducted in October of 2014 and October of 2015. A distinguishing factor of the conducted polls consists in the use of a vast number of open questions. A special computer program was used to summarize and categorize the responses. The authors conclude that the social wellness of the population is the key component of the success or failure of the reforms conducted by the government and branches of local authority.

Keywords: economic crisis, economic sanctions, ruble’s exchange rate, social wellness, purchasing power, monitoring, social polling, data analysis, information processing, computer technology

Abstract: The article is devoted to the study of historical, socio-cultural and national peculiarities conditioning the priorities and methods of American political science, its investigation paradigms. The major focus in the article is made on characteristic features of American political culture the most significant being the two-party system, the thesis of the exclusiveness of the American way that the nation lives by, the consensus political orientation in domestic life, which rests on the idea of self-reliance, a firm belief of the Americans in their mission of proliferating American values and the ensuing priorities in the international policy of the country. The questions of the Russian political science and prospects for its development are also being discussed. The research is based on methodological principles of the new institutionalism, political comparative study, historical analysis. No other science is so closely linked to actual politics, business and education as American political science, this fact securing its special place in the Western science. The most characteristic feature of this science is its pragmatism used to serve the tasks of political problem-solving and the ensuing bonds between the science and government organizations and funds of business structures. The singularity of the American political science comes from specific geopolitical, historical and cultural conditions. It is this science that has given rise to original theories and paradigms widely used in Europe. They could be useful for the Russian political science as well.

Keywords: political awareness, behaviorism, systemic functionalism, liberalism, consensus, two-party system,, political science, pragmatism, self-sufficiency, political culture

Abstract: This article focuses on the issue of the attitude of the population of the post-Soviet Russia towards its presidents in the context of the theory of “transitional democracy”. The research on the political development of the nations with the transitional type of democracy, with Russia being regarded as one of them, holds a special place in the world political science. The peculiarities of the public opinion of the forming Russian democracy also did not escape the attention of the foreign sociological research; as a result, on the example of the little-studied surveys of public opinion, conducted by foreign authors, the author reveals their view on how the population treats the office and the persona of the president, and what effect they had upon the development of the country’s political system. This article analyzes the foreign research conducted in cooperation with the Russian institute of sociology (Russian Academy of Science), surveys by Pew Research Center, and others. The main result of the research is the introduction into the scientific use of a number of little-studied foreign researches, which confirm the foreign idea that the transition of democracy in post-Soviet Russia has created a hybrid state (hybrid regime, authoritarian democracy, electoral authoritarianism). In addition to that, the presented opinions and results of the research can be considered in structuring long-term image strategies by the Russian government.

Keywords: Transitional democracy, hybrid state, authoritarianism, Vladimir Putin, post-Soviet Russia, president, politics, delegative democracy, strong persona, leader

Abstract: The manuscript assesses the role of impossible phenomena (entities and events) as psychological tools for enhancing cognitive functioning. In three studies, participants were exposed to films containing either impossible or contrasting possible phenomena, and then tested on creativity, the ability to distinguish fantasy from reality, and the ability to memorize commercial brands placed within films. In all of the studies, participants (British 4-, 6- and 8-year-old children, adolescents and adults) showed a significantly better improvement in the aforementioned abilities after watching the film with impossible phenomena than after watching the film with contrasting possible phenomena. For the first time the images of impossible (fantasy) phenomena is being viewed as the means to affect cognitive abilities (thoughts, perception, and memory) for the purpose of optimizing cognitive functionality. The results are discussed in terms of possible applications of impossible phenomena in a classroom.

Keywords: cognitive functioning, memory, perception, creative thinking, magical effects, impossible phenomena, training, alternative textbooks, impossible objects, advertising