Творчество городского архитектора Нахичевани-На-Дону Н. Н. Дурбаха

City architect N.N. Durbah worked at the turn of the 19-20 centuries in Nakhichevan on Don. His creations are an example of contribution of the graduates of Imperial Academy of Arts to architectural and urban development of provincial cities of the Russian Empire. He was a native of Nakhichevan-on-Don and he clearly understood wishes and preferences of customers, urban needs. He has formed holistic appearance of Nakhichevan-on-Don. Market buildings and city theatre, Mariinsky City Hospital, few educational institutions, mansions of wealthy citizens have been built at this period. N.N. Durbah formed central squares, laid Alexandr’s the Second square.The article considers contribution of N.N. Durbah to architecture of Nakhichevan-on-Don and analysis of his creative method.

What Difference Gender Makes: Obstetricians in Nineteenth-Century Brazil

Like in most places around the world, childbirth assistance in Brazil was traditionally performed by women. In 1832, however, a law was passed requiring a license for the exercise of medicine, pharmacy, and midwifery. That event marked the differentiation between the traditional and the modern kind of childbirth assistants, leading to an increasing process of medicalization of birth. Hence, the historiography on the subject has pointed out the appropriation by men of a traditional women’s world. This article seeks to understand the gender dynamics in the birthing room by focusing on the new kind of professional that emerged in Brazil in the early nineteenth century: the “graduated midwife.” To what extent was there cooperation or competition between physicians and graduated midwives? How different were their obstetrical practices? After examining the Annaes Brasiliensis de Medicina—the official publication of the Imperial Academy of Medicine—I argue that the graduated midwife was the historical intermediate in transitioning from traditional midwifery to scientific obstetrics. Finally, I conclude that, as a woman of science, the graduated midwife filled the gap that isolated the female sphere of care from the male sphere of science, paving the road for the entrance of women in medicine in 1879.

Anatomical constructions in the making of the nude moldovan sculpture. Approaches in the realm of realism

In Moldovan sculpture, there are two types of the introduction of anatomical structures in the creation of sculptural nudity: based on realism and stylized ones. The pioneer in the study of sculptural nudity was Alexander Plamadeala. Although his studies at the Imperial Academy of Art, Sculpture and Architecture allowed him to comprehensively approach the depiction of sculptural nude, the sculptor still continued to experiment and seek new ways in the description of nude. “Nude” in Yuri Kanashin’s interpretation is an integral part of thematic compositions and has a separate logic, subordinated to the author’s sensitivity. Anatomical interpretation in Ion Zderciuk’s works is the starting point for realistic forms which transform into stylized ones, where metaphor takes the leading place and the solutions are innovative. Interpretations of sculptural nudity involve long-term training, knowledge of the anatomy of the skeleton and musculature, the proportions of the human body. Based on this, the sculptors practiced stylization, always different in artistic manners, but which represented a new vision of the interpretation of sculptural nudity in Moldovan plastic art.

Russian Polar expedition and geopolitical interests at the turn of the XIXth and XXth centuries. Part 2. E.V. Toll’s expeditions and their geopolitical significance

Русская Полярная экспедиция (РПЭ) была важна с точки зрения геополитических интересов России: она имела широкий научный и общественный резонанс, находилась под Высочайшим покровительством президента Императорской Академии наук Великого князя Константина Константиновича. Оставшиеся в живых участники РПЭ и их последователи преодолели все сложности для того, чтобы спасти и сохранить геологические коллекции, собранные Э.В. Толлем на Таймыре и Новосибирских островах. Научные данные, полученные в ходе экспедиции, были столь значительны, что их обработка продолжалась вплоть до «дела Академии наук» (1929–1931 гг.) и ее реорганизации. Геологические образцы и некоторые документы Русской Полярной и других экспедиций с участием Э.В. Толля хранятся ныне в Рудно-петрографическом музее ИГЕМ РАН и доступны для дальнейших исследований. The Russian Polar Expedition (RPE) was important for Russian geopolitical interests: it had a broad social and academic resonance and was under the auspices of Grand Duke Konstantin Konstantinovich, the President of the Russian Imperial Academy of Sciences. The survived personnel of RPE and their followers managed to overcome the diffi culties to preserve the geological collections gathered by E.V. Toll at the Taimyr Peninsula and New Siberian Islands. The scientifi c results of the expedition were of paramount importance and were continuously studied and processes until the lawsuit of «The Plot at the Academy of Sciences of the USSR» was launched in 1929–1931, after which the Academy of Sciences of the USSR was reorganized. Geological samples and some documents of the Russian Arctic and other expeditions with the participation of E.V. Toll are now housed at the Ore and Petrographic Museum at IGEM RAS and are available for further studies.

Admiral Mordvinov: «Where the government itself distorts the good morals of the people, it cannot succeed in anything». Dissenting opinions

The article continues the series of publications devoted to the academicians-economists of the Russian Academy of Sciences, who actively worked with the Free Economic Society of Russia — the VEO of Russia. Telling about the life milestones and stages of state and public activity of a member of the Imperial Academy of Sciences, Admiral Nikolai Semyonovich Mordvinov, the article reveals the essence and meaning of the admiral's special opinions on key aspects of the socio-economic policy of the Russian Empire in the first half of the XIX century. N.S. Mordvinov's reflections on property, serfdom, industry, trade, and tariffs are summarized; about finance, banks, and insurance. The role of N.S. Mordvinov in the practical activities of the Imperial Free Economic Society of Russia is emphasized. N.S. Mordvinov's vision of the goals and objectives of the VEO as an important institution of Russian civil society is revealed.

Russian Polar expedition and geopolitical interests at the turn of the XIXth and XXth centuries Part 1. Russian Polar expedition: target - Bering Strait

Русская Полярная экспедиция (РПЭ) в художественной и исторической литера- туре обычно рассматривается как экспедиция по поиску легендарной Земли Санникова. Но РПЭ была не менее важна с точки зрения геополитических интересов России: она имела ши- рокий научный и общественный резонанс, находилась под Высочайшим покровительством президента Императорской Академии наук Великого князя Константина Константиновича. На северо-восточном и восточном рубежах России в конце XIX и начале XX веков сложилась относительно напряженная общественно-политическая ситуация. В связи с этим перед РПЭ были поставлены задачи «содействовать занятию арктических островов и обеспече- нию их промысловых богатств за русскими промышленниками, а также показать возмож- ность утилизировать путь к Берингову проливу». В первой части статьи на документальной основе рассмотрены возможные причины раз- ногласий между начальником экспедиции геологом Э.В. Толлем и командиром яхты «Заря» лейтенантом Н.Н. Коломейцевым. Человеческий фактор (в первую очередь, конфликт двух руководителей РПЭ и языковой барьер), чрезвычайно неблагоприятные погодные условия и другие объективные причины привели к гибели людей и относительной неудаче экспедиции, не достигшей Берингова про- лива. Во второй части статьи основное внимание будет уделено геополитическому значению экспедиций с участием Э.В. Толля и его соратников по Русской Полярной экспедиции. The Russian Polar expedition (RPE) in fi ction and historical literature is usually regarded as an expedition in search of the legendary Sannikov Land. But the RPE was no less important from the point of view of Russia’s geopolitical interests: it had a wide scientifi c and public resonance, was under the supreme patronage of the President of the Imperial Academy of Sciences, Grand Duke Konstantin Konstantinovich. At the end of the 19th and the beginning of the 20th centuries, a tense internal and external socio-political situation developed on the northeastern and eastern borders of Russia. In this regard, the RPE was tasked with «promoting the occupation of the Arctic islands and ensuring their fi shing wealth for Russian industrialists, as well as showing the possibility of utilizing the path to the Bering Strait.» In the fi rst part of the article, on a documentary basis, possible reasons for the disagreements between the head of the expedition, geologist E.V. Toll and the commander of the yacht «Zarya» Lieutenant N.N. Kolomeytsev reviewed. The human factor (fi rst of all, the confl ict between the two RPE leaders and the language barrier), extremely unfavorable weather conditions and other objective reasons led to the death of people and the relative failure of the expedition that did not reach the Bering Strait. In the second part of the article the main attention will be paid to the geopolitical signifi cance of the expeditions with the participation of E.V. Toll and his associates in the Russian Polar expedition.

UDMURT NAMES OF GODS, GHOSTS AND HOLIDAYS IN J.G. GEORGI's 18th CENTURY ETHNOGRAPHICAL HANDBOOK

German origin natural scientist Johann Gottlieb Georgi participated in the Orenburg Expedition, organized by the Imperial Academy of St. Petersburg. Between 1770 and 1774 he travelled in the Middle and Lower Volga Region, the Orenburg area, Bashkiria, the neighbourhood of Lake Baikal and reached as far as the Russian-Chinese-Mongolian border. He summarized his experiences of the journey in his book titled Bemerkungen einer Reise im Russischen Reich im Jahre 1772-1774 . A few years later he published an extended version of the Bemerkungen , titled Beschreibung aller Nationen des Russischen Reichs , a richly illustrated volume describing in detail the customs and religious life of 80 peoples in Russia. One of these is the Udmurts. Georgi tells us about the living circumstances, clothing, wedding and burying customs of the Udmurts and describes very thoroughly their gods, ghosts, holidays, sacrifices, also providing us with the Udmurt names for them. He writes about the main gods (Inmar, Kildisin, Mu-Kildisin, Šundi mumi) , the evil god (Šajtan) , the guardian spirits and the evil spirits (Voršud, Vu murt, Palas murt, Ubir, Albaste) . He also describes the sacrificial places (keremet and lud, kuala, mudor) , writes about the sacrificial (vöś, vöśan) ceremony and about the mediators (tuno, uťis, vedin) between earth and heaven. He also mentions some special events like the spring sowing and the summertime and autumn harvests.

Friedrich Christoph Mayer and his theory of the aurora borealis

The eleventh volume in the series presents two articles on the aurora borealis by Friedrich Christoph Mayer (1697–1729), a mathematician at the Imperial Academy of Sciences in Saint Petersburg. The first paper, titled “De Luce Boreali” (On the Northern Light), was presented during a session at the newly founded Academy in October 1726. It was printed two years later (1728) in the very first volume of its official periodical, the Commentarii Academiae Scientiarum Imperialis Petropolitanae. The second paper, also bearing the title “De Luce Boreali”, constitutes the author’s ‘second thoughts’ on the matter. It was presented during a session in October 1728 but was not printed until after Mayer’s death, in the fifth volume of the Commentarii (1735). Both papers are included in facsimile in this issue of Aurorae Borealis Studia Classica. Eric Chassefière, member of the Histoire des sciences astronomiques team of the SYRTE laboratory at the Observatoire de Paris, has written an introduction to Mayer’s life and works with a special emphasis on his theory of the aurora borealis. In his introduction, Chassefière also recounts how Mayer’s theory was received by other eighteenth-century savants.

On the circumstances of the transfer of the Lepidoptera collection of Grand Duke Nikolai Mikhailovich to the Zoological Museum in St. Petersburg

The work examines the circumstances of the transfer of the largest collection of butterflies, collected by Grand Duke Nikolai Romanov for 26 years, to the Zoological Museum of the Imperial Academy of Sciences in St. Petersburg in 1899–1900. The gift was made on the condition that the collection would retain the name of the donor; that, because of its considerable size, there will be a special custodian; that it would remain untouchable and without resupply, except for the species that may come from the Russian Empire; that it will be available for the work of scientists and professionals interested in the field. Two requirements were added a little bit later. The collection should have been kept in the same cabinets as it was at the Grand Duke’s palace. Otto Hertz was to be left the custodian with the position of senior zoologist. The main sources of the article are the minutes of the meetings of the Physics and Mathematics Department of the Imperial Academy of Sciences, museum reports, books of receipts from the Scientific Archives of the Zoological Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences, materials of the St. Petersburg branch of the Archive of RAS and the Russian State Historical Archives.

Cpt. Robert Hofmann, Austrian Artillery Officer and Artist with the Ottomans in World War I

This article investigates the life, artwork, and experiences of Cpt. Robert Hofmann, an Austrian artillery officer and artist who fought with the Ottomans in the Levant from 1917 to 1919 during World War I and its immediate aftermath. His experiences and artwork provide powerful and vivid insight into the life, times, and situations of war in the Middle East. Unlike those of most of his European compatriots fighting with the Ottomans, his work and perspectives were from a distinctly non-Orientalist perspective as he sketched the flora and fauna, cityscapes, landscapes, and people he encountered while in the Ottoman Empire, particularly in the Levant. His attention to detail and captivation by the everyday and mundane without an imperialist or Orientalist gaze begs explanation, particularly since he was a classically trained artist from the Imperial Academy of Fine Arts in Vienna. This article asserts that the combination of his own marginalized identity as an assimilated Jewish soldier, his gifted artistic talent, attention to detail, and his direct and sustained experience in the Middle East enabled him to develop a deep sense of empathy and appreciation for the peoples, places, and environments of the Middle East. This enabled him to transcend the bigotry and dehumanizing views of non-Western peoples so prevalent among his compatriots and European powers of the time.