Сучасна ікона: візії та рефлексії. Рецензія на збірник Слово стало тілом. ХІІ міжнародного іконописного пленеру в Новиці

The album The Word Became the Body. XII International Icon Painting Plein Air in Nowica was published in Warsaw in 2020. It discusses works on the above topics. The texts of the Russian researcher of icon painting Irina Yazykova and Dr. Waldemar Linke present a broad context of the subject, both theological and artistic. The collection contains images of 50 modern iconographic works. The text is presented in four languages: Polish, Russian, Belarusian and Ukrainian.

Evgenij Anan'in and the Problem of the Italian Renaissance

Статья посвящена участию русского историка-медиевиста Евгения Аркадьевича Ананьина, проживавшего в Италии, в дебатах вокруг концепции итальянского Ренессанса в первой половине XX в., его попыткам очистить поле ренессансных исследований от укоренившихся клише (в первую очередь от постулируемой антитезы Сред-невековья и Возрождения и представления о Ренессансе как возвращении к античности). Значительная часть публикаций Ананьина в итальянских научных журналах – полемические статьи и рецензии, раскрывающие панораму ренессансных концепций в Европе 1920–1930-х гг. Русский исследователь выступал против зарубежных историков, обесценивающих оригинальность итальянского Возрождения, и в целом против попыток использовать понятие Ренессанса ad usum proprium. В настоящей статье речь пойдет о некоторых ренессансных концепциях и их авторах (Буркхард, Бурдах, Папини, Вальзер, Забугин, Нейман, Нордстрем), о которых говорит (или же, наоборот, умалчивает) Ананьин, и о его собственных взглядах, скрывающихся за критическими замечаниями. В статье затрагивается кампания против оккупации иностранцами поля ренессансных исследований, развернутая в Италии в середине 1930-х гг., и связанное с этой кампанией открытое противостояние Ананьина итальянскому мыслителю и литератору Джованни Папини, ставшему во главе открывшегося во Флоренции в 1937 г. Национального института ренессансных исследований. The reevaluation of the dogmas and canons rooted in the Renaissance historiography was а сommon direction of the studies in this field in the first half of the 20th century. At that time many original concepts emerged that corrected or completely refuted the previous ones. The present article is devoted to the participation of the Russian historian Evgenij Anan’in, who lived and worked in Italy, in the debates around the notion of the Italian Renaissance and to his attempts to contribute to the elimination of cliché from the field of Renaissance studies (primarily to abolish the postulated antithesis of the Middle Ages and Renaissance and the idea of the Renaissance as the revival of antiquity).A significant part of Anan’in's publications in Italian scientific journals consists of polemic articles and reviews, which reveal a panorama of Renaissance concepts in Europe of the 1920-1930s. The Russian researcher was strongly opposed to foreign historians who denied the originality of the Italian Renaissance; he also was against all the kind of attempts to use the concept of the Renaissance ad usum proprium (national, ideological etc.). The article focuses on the Renaissance concepts and their authors (Burkhard, Burdach, Papini, Walser, Zabughin, Neumann, Nordström), which Anan’in analyzed (or, conversely, clearly ignored) in his texts and on his own views that are hidden behind critical remarks. The publication also deals with a company deployed in Italy in the mid-1930s against the foreign «occupation» of the Renaissance field (the primacy in which was believed to belong to Italians) and the case of an open confrontation of Anan’in and Giovanni Papini, who became the head of the National Institute of Renaissance studies opened in Florence in 1937.

The Notion of Matter in Contra Proclum of John Philoponus: Modern Scientific Discussions

The purpose of this opening article is to give a brief overview of key foreign works, mainly monographs, concerning the account of matter in the treatise Contra Proclum John Philoponus, and thus to make evident the corresponding research situation to the Russian reader. John Philoponus is one of the last Greek commentators on Aristotle, both a neoplatonist and a Christian. In his work Contra Proclum (c. 529 AD) John Philoponus redefines the classical concept of matter, rejecting the universal qualityless prime matter of the Neoplatonists. At the beginning of the article, a brief historical introduction is given, which is necessary for the formulation of the problem. The author analyses several works relevant to the topic: an article by a Russian researcher M. N. Varlamova (2017) and foreign (German, English, Dutch, French) monographs by Michael Wolff (1971), Richard Sorabji (1988), Christian Wildberg (1988), Jeanne de Groot (1991), Frans de Haas (1997), Pantelis Golitzis (2008) and Pascal Mueller-Jourdan (2011). The overview covers the entire research history of John Philoponus’ account of matter. The author pays special attention to a detailed description of the current scientific discussions related to this issue: the positions of researchers, their approaches and perspectives. At the same time, the problem of Philoponic matter is also presented in close connection with many related research topics of the history of late-antique philosophy: the ontological status of species differences, the reception of the Aristotelian doctrine of categories, the separation of the Alexandrian and Athenian Neoplatonic traditions, etc. In conclusion, the article gives a general summary, identifying the most important discussions related to the topic of Philoponus’ matter, and finally proposes an author’s assessment of their current state.

Dr. Józef Brudziński - the true ‘Father of probiotics’

Until now it has been Professor Elie Metchnikoff, a Russian researcher and scientist, who has been considered the discoverer of probiotics. In the early 20th century he associated the longevity and good health of Caucasian peasants with their consumption of a type of yoghurt containing strains of Lactobacillus acidophilus which were supposed to destroy the harmful microbiota of the intestines. However, at least a dozen years prior to Metchnikoff, a Polish doctor and scientist Dr. Józef Brudziński planned, conducted and described a study in which he applied a Bacillus lactis aërogenes suspension in treatment of infants with acute infectious diarrhoea. Here, we briefly characterise this study. Undoubtedly, apart from his fame as the neurologist who described meningeal symptoms, he deserves to be regarded as the true ‘Father of probiotics’.

GENERAL PATTERNS AND PARTICULARITIES OF THE INTEGRATION IN THE EU AND THE EAEU. ASSESSMENTS OF RUSSIAN RESEARCHER RUSTAM KASYANOV

The article gives a detailed assessment of the contents of the monograph "Regulation of the financial services market under the EU and EAEU law" written by Rustam Kasyanov. The work is devoted to the analysis and comparison of the key features of financial integration in the EU and the EAEU, including creation of a single market for the EU financial services and a common financial market of the EAEU. The issue under study is of particular relevance, since both unions intend to reach the same level of financial integration. It is also planned to create a supranational body for regulation of the common financial market of the EAEU according tothe EU example. Kasyanov's monograph was highly appreciated in academic circles as long as it describes a set of legal mechanisms for creation and functioning of a single market for the EU financial services that can be used to provide legal support for financial integration in the EAEU.

How to Motivate the Russian Researcher to High Scientific Achievements?

The increasing competition in world markets, the development of high-tech industries based on the latest scientific achievements entail additional innovations to maintain a competitive level of goods, works and services, and to accelerate scientific and technological progress. To achieve results and economic growth in the context of sanctions, the state and large companies need to form new principles of personnel management and systematically stimulate scientific activity. The authors have proposed criteria for evaluating the results of scientific activities in order to stimulate the efforts of scientists financially by setting a premium for their scientific degree. Unlike university professors, scientists in industry do not receive guaranteed allowance. The mechanism of formation of the allowance is based on the fulfillment of a set of criteria and has not only a stimulating function, but also a strategic one - increasing the publication activity of employees and creating an innovative image of the organization through the accumulation of scientific potential. The mechanism is especially relevant for innovative enterprises of high-tech industries in Russia.

Evgenij Anan’in and the problem of the Italian Renaissance

A reevaluation of the dogmas and canons rooted in the Renaissance historiography was а сommon trend in the studies in this field in the first half of the 20th century. At that time, there appeared many original concepts that corrected or completely refuted the previous ones. The present article is devoted to the participation of the Russian historian Evgenij Anan’in, who lived and worked in Italy, in the debates around the notion of the Italian Re­naissance and to his attempts to contribute to the elimination of various cliché from the field of Renaissance studies (primarily to abolish the postulated opposition of the Middle Ages and the Renaissance and the idea of the Renaissance as the revival of antiquity). A signifi­cant part of Anan’in’s publications in Italian scientific journals consists of polemic articles and reviews that reveal a panorama of Renaissance concepts in Europe in 1920–1930s. The Russian researcher was strongly opposed to foreign historians who denied the originality of the Italian Renaissance. He was also against all kinds of attempts to use the concept of the Renaissance ad usum proprium (national, ideological, etc). The article focuses on the con­cepts of the Renaissance and their authors (Burkhard, Burdach, Papini, Walser, Zabughin, Neumann, Nordström), which Anan’in analized (or, conversely, сlearly ignored) in his texts as well as on his own views that are hidden inside his critical remarks. The publication also deals with a campaign that began in Italy in the mid-1930s against a foreign “occupation” of the Renaissance field (according to that campaign, the primacy in the Renaissance stud­ies belonged to Italians). Finally, the paper explores the case of an open confrontation be­tween Anan’in and Giovanni Papini, who became the head of the National Institute of the Renaissance studies established in Florence in 1937.

ETHNOGENESİS OF SMALL PEOPLES OR THE SEARCH FOR ETERNAL HİSTORY (PROBLEMS OF SOURCE STUDY)

The genesis of nations tends to grow and expand. Separated from an ethnic group, small groups are doomed to isolation, vulnerability and backwardness from integration and development. The character of "history" is similar to a human being, and when he goes beyond his natural development, he feels like a person with a "nonvalue complex". To determine the ethnogenesis of peoples, one can reconstruct the general picture of historical genesis by summarizing traditional historical knowledge, information provided by modern archaeological excavations, materials provided by linguistics, ethnogenetics, the theory of proto-languages and modern scientific knowledge. The general outlines of the great genesis and the landscape of ethnos are known in the historical reconstruction of the last 6-7 thousand years. Using this model, it is impossible to recreate the ethnogenesis of isolated peoples. From this point of view, attempts to synonymize such concepts as “Armenian”, “Armenia”, “Armeni”, “haik”, “Urartu” and so on are nothing more than manipulation of isolated small peoples in the “historical darkness”. The famous Russian researcher Alexander Anninsky, in his 1899 book “Ancient Armenian Historians as Historical Sources”, published in Odessa, analyzes several medieval Armenian books, exposes their systematic falsification and considers it wrong to use them as historical sources. One might think that this put an end to the deception of Armenian historians. However, this did not happen, and falsifications and references to exposed sources continue and continue to this day.

“‘The Left Turn’ in Mexico is a new phenomenon”

Interview with Anatoliy Nikitovich Borovkov, Doctor of Political Science, Leading Researcher of the Institute of Latin America of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Editor-in-Chief of the Iberoamérica journal. From 1969 to the present date, Dr. Borovkov works at the Institute of Latin America of the Russian Academy of Sciences. He is the author of more than 100 research publications. From 1984 to 1994, he was a representative of the Institute of Latin America and a regional correspondent for the Latin America magazine in Mexico and Central America. Dr. Borovkov is a prominent Russian researcher specializing on Mexico; his research interests include analysis of political parties, electoral legislation processes in Mexico, the socio-economic situation in this country and its relations with the United States.The interview was conducted by: A.A. Habarta.