The Nature of Chinese and Russian Subcultures in Urban Discourse

The paper seeks to examine the communicative aspect of modern Chinese and Russian urban subcultures. The nominations of urban social groups representing young people in Russia and China and their connection to modern communication practices are viewed from the perspective of urban communication studies, which provides an opportunity for a new comprehension of issues connected with verbal and nonverbal constituents of urban discourse. The indicates that the subcultures in the Russian urban landscape are reflected in such nominations as фрики (freaki), мажоры (majory), хипстеры (hipstery), брейк-дансеры (break-dancery), байкеры (bikery), etc. The Chinese subcultures are known under such names as shamate, xiaoqingxin, tuyayawenhua, erciyuanyawenhua, egaoyawenhua and many others. We argue that in both countries the unity of social subgroups is based not so much on ideological preferences, but rather on lifestyles, hobbies and interests, many of them formed under the Western influence. The subcultures discussed in the research represent a broad panorama of Chinese and Russian social life. They reflect the sociocultural dynamics of attitudes, values and lifestyles influenced by globalization but acquiring nationally specific features, which transform them into unique sociocultural phenomena.

Komunikacja w przestrzeni miejskiej zmieniająca standardy zachowania w dobie pandemii SARS-CoV-2

Urban Communication and Its Influence on Standards of Behaviour in the Sars-Cov-2 Pandemic The SARS-Cov-2 virus pandemic made it necessary to implement new standards of behaviour in public spaces. As instruments of communication, brief messages in a generally accessible public space aimed at limiting infections by changing social behaviour. This way, such messages contributed to modifying public space in its physical, social and communicative aspects. The article attempts to capture the communicative and linguistic practices used for this purpose.

The communication capital of the digital age

The collection presents the materials of the scientific online conference with international participation «Communication Capital in the Digital Age» (February 12, 2021), organized by the Department of Sociology of Communication Systems, Faculty of Sociology, Lomonosov Moscow State University. The conference, which has become a tradition, brought together a number of domestic and foreign scientific platforms to discuss new social and communicative realities. The conference was aimed at organizing and maintaining scientific contacts of scientists who study the modern urban communication space in a digital context. The texts are published in the author's edition, the opinion of the Organizing Committee may not coincide with the position of the authors. Illustrative materials are taken from open sources. It is intended for the audience exploring modern problems of culture and communication in the urban space of the digital society.

Communication Platforms for Cities: Critical Analysis of Management Technology

Development of digital technologies creates opportunities for the implementation of new forms and innovative methods into the state management system. For a long time, public administration specialists have discussed vividly the idea of an electronic state (e-government), as well as have de bated the advantages and disadvantages of specific digital technologies. Recently, urban communication platforms have become very popular, which indicates that the involvement of citizens into the public administration processes. In recent years, there has been a transition from a model of simple informing and providing public services with digital format to a model of active involvement of citizens through the so-called state platforms. The idea of “the state as a platform” involves the creation of digital platforms to attract business and civil society to receive services, organize discussions and votes on various issues, as well as exchange goods created by both state and non-state producers. The article provides an overview and analysis of existing urban communication platforms in Russia and abroad. To this end, the article used the method of comparative analysis of urban communication platforms based on the criterion of functional features. It was found that today in Russia there are four types of urban communication platforms, which differ in their goals and functionality. The article substantiates the following typology: (1) platforms (sections of sites, pages) of citizens’ appeals; (2) portals of urban (regional) problems; (3) portals for evaluating initiatives; (4) public participation portals / platforms. Communication platforms have been created in all constituent entities of the Russian Federation, but the level of citizen participation in their activities varies greatly. The article analyzes the obstacles to the development of urban communication platforms.

“Third Places” in the Communicative Space of China’s Megapolis

In recent years, the communication space of Chinese cities is actively transforming, new forms of human interaction emerge and develop. This transformation is accompanied by the expansion of the variety of “third places”. The article examines the popular “third places” of China's megalopolises, describes new communicative practices, gives an overview of modern tendencies in the development of urban discourse in China. The investigation shows that urban communication is displaying the growth of face-to-face rather than computer-mediated communication. However, it is not yet possible to predict what impact the COVID‐19 epidemic will have on the further development of urban communication in China and what transformations the “third places” of China's megalopolises will undergo after the epidemic end.