Abstract: The subject of this research is the "Diegesis", that is, the "Narration" of John Anagnostes, which concerns the siege and fall of Thessalonica in 1430. Despite the fact that the text of John Anagnostes has been known to Byzantinists for a long time, it has only been used in general works on the history of Byzantium under the Paleologoi and in studies on the policies of the Turks in the former territories of the empire. In this article, the author aims to analyze the attitude of John Anagnostes towards the Turks and Latins, as well as towards his fellow Romaioi who survived the siege of Thessalonica with him. The author undertakes to evaluate, through the prism of the “friend or foe” relationship, how strongly were subject to change the usual paradigm of self-identification in the Byzantine consciousness under the conditions of conflict and a transitional period. The author's main research method is the comparison of the criteria presented by John Anagnostes for the attitude towards the Turks and Latins with those of contemporary to him Greek authors, as well as with the Byzantine tradition in general. As a result of this analysis, the author comes to the conclusion that under the conditions of conflict, the level of uncertainty increased within the group to which Anagnostes referred himself to, and as a consequence the attitude towards an alien element, if manifested, is situational. At the same time, the religious affiliation of Anagnostes, which allows adaptation to the changing situation around Thessaloniki, having become the Turkish city of Selanic, comes to the foreground. In turn, the political and linguistic elements of the Byzantine identity appear unimportant to Anagnostes. On this basis, the author makes the assumption that the Byzantine identity had begun its transformation long before the fall of Constantinople.

Keywords: Symeon of Thessalonica, Christianity, Hellas, Romaios, Thessalonike, John Anagnostes, Byzantine identity, Mental history, Byzantium, Historical anthropology

Abstract: The article examines the question of adoption and incorporation of Western development models into Russian culture from the point of view of the adaptability of basic global national-cultural values. The author compares the values predominant in one or another area of the political map of the world and, based on that, analyzes the polysemantic perception of patriotism in modern Russian culture. The article separately studies the conflict and division of values that exist in contemporary Russian society and on the basis of that outlook comes to the conclusion of the impossibility of its forward development in the framework of ideological monism. The author analyzes the concepts of renowned Western scholars, who stated and developed the civilizational approach in their works. As well, the author gives a new interpretation of the old cultural-civilizational debate between the Slavophils and the Westernists in the light of the current state of civilization development. The author explains why this old debate has found today a new voice, construes its modern emphasis, and illustrates the complex and contradictory process of entailing this discussion with all the previous development of Russian history.

Keywords: national-cultural values, cultural dialogue, clash of civilizations, traditions, reforms, freedom, patriotism, Russia, values, the West.

Abstract: the article is based on the winning paper of the First All-Russian Competition for school students on the topic of “History, Culture, Maya Epigraphy”, as held by the Knorozov Center for Mesoamerican Studies of the Russian State University for the Humanities in 2011. The article considers the most complicated and controversial topics in Maya researches: the mystery of the Maya civilization collapse in the 10th century. The author critically analyses the hypotheses solving that problem, formulates his own position and substantiates the conclusion. In his point of view the collapse of the Classic Maya society did not mean the collapse of Maya civilization as such, rather the deepest foundations of the Maya civilization survived after the so-called collapse of the Classical period and during the era of Spanish conquest and in the subsequent period up to the present days.

Keywords: history, Mesoamerica, Mayan culture, Mayan ethnical groups, the Classic period, the era of conquest, civilization, civilization model, civilization dynamics.

Abstract: Latin America is not just a geographical term. It is a civilization of specific, borderline type, which is also the type that Russia belongs to. To recognize the status of a borderline for this regions is to come to the path of understanding their essence, their “special stand”, which is not by chance was noted both Russian and Latin American thinkers. Next comes the analysis of what, how and why. This article is a particular exercise in such analysis. Indeed, both Russia and Latin America are not actually live its’ own reality but attempt to build it.

Keywords: Latin America, Russia, borderline, civilization, imagination, self-making, the picture of the world, identity.

Abstract: the article analyzes the key problems of the methodology of the civilizational approach.The author argues that the semantic center of any civilization is to study the problem of the relation of universal and local dimensions of the historical process. This issue is at the same time a cognitive limit before which the human mind always and invariably stops and again and again returns to it, trying to overcome. The author believes that the greatest potential for solving difficult theoretical problems in this epistemological “frontier” is given by the theory of “frontier” of civilizations. The author’s opinion is based on the belief that the unity and diversity of the “peoples’ world”, the universal and local dimensions of human existence are “equal-dignity”, “unmerged” and “indivisible” ontological reality. Only with this understanding of their relationship the dialogue is really possible in the form in which it was understood by Bakhtin M.M.

Keywords: scientific method of Descartes, civilization, border civilization, universal, local, dual (binary) opposition, epistemological limit, semantic space, ontological dynamics, global context, dialogue, constructive tension vector.