FROM THE “NOTEBOOKS” OF PROFESSOR A.V. KARAVASHKIN

It is for the first time ever that the excerpts from the diary of A.V. Karavashkin (1964–2021), Professor, Doctor in Philology, are published. An outstanding researcher of Old Russian literature, Professor Karavashkin was an all rounded man of versatile personality, a truly major representative of the humanities, he was close to different fields of knowledge: philology, linguistics, cultural history, philosophy. Diary entries show an extraordinary personality in his time of life. Thoughts and judgments of the humanist were aimed at the most acute and deepest issues of life.

ON THE ISSUE OF THE “DUMMY OBJECT” IN VERB-OBJECT SEPARABLE WORDS LIHECI IN MODERN CHINESE

The article presents the results of the analysis of the combinatorial properties of verb-object separable compounds (liheci) in modern Chinese. A hypothesis about different levels of formal and semantic unity of the compounds was tested and the compounds were classified according to their semantics. Further, the combinatorial properties of verb-object separable compounds with “dummy object” are discussed taking into account the formal criterion of insertion of different elements before the nominal component of liheci. Two types of “dummy object” and, consequently, two subtypes of liheci with “dummy objects” are distinguished. The first subtype includes liheci in which the nominal component semantically duplicates the meaning of the verbal component. The second subtype is represented by liheci in which the nominal component is a generic object.

BOOK REVIEW: ALPATOV, V.M. (2018), SLOVO I CHASTI RECHI (WORD AND PARTS OF SPEECH), YASK, MOSCOW, RUSSIA

Vladimir M. Alpatov’s new monograph addresses typological and theoretical issues related to the basic morphological units – word and parts of speech. It elaborates on his previous work on morphological theory, typology, and historiography of linguistic traditions. The monograph consists of an introduction and three chapters. The first two chapters, “The Problem of Word” and “The Problem of Parts of Speech” address the differences in theoretical approaches, evidence from independent linguistic traditions with particular reference to the Japanese indigenous linguistics, and data from psycholinguistic research. In the third chapter, “Anthropocentric and systemocentric approaches to language”, the author claims that the morphological logocentric and non-logocentric approaches are instances of the two more general approaches to language, respectively. In spite of some criticism, the reviewer concludes that the monograph makes much progress in understanding the structure and typology of the morphological elements, and similarities and difference among national linguistic traditions and grammatical theories.

FROM “CALM CHAOS” TO “COLIBRI”. THE WORKS OF SANDRO VERONESI

The paper examines two key novels by Sandro Veronesi, the modern Italian writer, Calm Chaos (2006) and Colibri (2020). Both novels were awarded Italy’s main literary prize, the Premio Strega, which is a unique precedent. The relevance of the article comes from the high demand for research on contemporary Italian literature on the one hand and from the novelty of the proposed interpretation for the novel Calm Chaos on the other hand. For the first time, the protagonist of Calm Chaos, Pietro Palladini, is presented not as a preacher of eternal values, returning the reader to the theme of knowing oneself and the surrounding world, but as a mad visionary with clear signs of psychopathy and schizophrenia. The analysis of Veronesi’s latest novel Colibri reveals the character’s evolution and the writer’s narrative manner. The theme of psychiatry in the life of a modern person appears to be one of the key ones in Veronesi’s work.

WHERE THE PAST GOES. THE HISTORY OF THE TERM “WRECKING”

The article considers the history of the term “wrecking.” The study allows describing and analyzing political events which the chosen terms correlate with. The authors manage to trace the functions of the term “wrecking” at different historical times, as well as to establish a connection between the function of the term and the political tasks of the leadership.

THE HERO OF THE NOVEL BY I. MALYSHEV “NOMAKH” AND THE YEGOR LETOV’S POETICS

Contemporary literature is being formed in a difficult situation of polyphony of the modern consumer culture. Mainstream discourses are mixed with subcultural ones, the authors are influenced not only by the literary tradition itself, but also, for example, by rock culture. Thus, the countercultural, subcultural experience, which until recently was considered as peripheral, is actively being introduced into the socio-cultural discourse of modern Russia through the assimilation by authors claiming a place in the center of the country’s literary life. The novel by I. Malyshev “Nomakh” may be considered as an example of such influence. It became a finalist of the literary prize contest “Big Book” in 2017. The novel is clearly influenced by countercultural ideology, in particular by E. Letov, one of the most popular and reputable representatives of the West Siberian counterculture. At the same time, there are no direct references or quotations from the poetry of the Omsk musician in the novel. Rather, one can see some stylistic likenesses, similar figurative complexes. The reception of a historical character from the civil war era is based on the learned principles of poetics and Letov’s worldview. In addition, adopting the intellectual experience of the counterculture, I. Malyshev’s novel not only relays a certain ideology, but also, with the help of artistic means, recreates or completes the images of its hero, historical character, and cultural heroes, which he focuses on.

THE NATURE OF THE IMAGE WITHIN TECHNOLOGICAL ART IN THE MID – 20TH CENTURY. LUMINO KINETIC EXPERIMENTS BY FRANK MALINA

For the first time in the Russian-speaking academic environment the authors of the paper analyze the creative legacy of the scientist, aeronautical engineer and artist Frank Joseph Malina (1912–1981). His working practices reflected the most important ethic and aesthetic aspirations of the mid-twentieth century, what became an important contribution to the development of modern visual culture. The pioneer of Lumino Kinetic art F.Malina created several unique electromechanical systems for the production of an image, the media infrastructure and technological nature of which would later become the visual standard of the digital age. The discovery of electric light as a new artistic medium allowed him to focus on the production methods, control and processing algorithms for light that produces images. The Lumino Kinetic experiments of F. Malina are based on understanding the new nature of the image, born during the era of scientific discoveries. Several decades before the iconic turn was proclaimed by academic science, they presented the image as a system of relations that is formed in acts of perception and that is not based on visible, but felt, ideated, imagined reality. While creating his works F. Malina dreamed of modeling qualitatively new perceptual conditions for the existence of mankind aimed at further progress and traveling to the stars.

ON THE ISSUE OF THE “ROCK POETRY WORD” IN CONTEMPORARY RUSSIAN NOVEL. THE WORLD OF BORIS GREBENSHCHIKOV IN THE WORLD OF “DREAMS SWIMMER” BY LEV NAUMOV

The article deals with references to the work of Boris Grebenshchikov in the “Dreams Swimmer” by Lev Naumov “The swimmer of dreams” (2021). The common denominator of the system of these references is the aesthetic character of the hero’s understanding of himself in the world and the world in relation to himself, which, if not directly leads the hero to the idea of his own chosenness, then at least is a symptom of the emergence of this idea. As a result, the system of references to the songs of “Aquarium” in Naumov’s novel makes it possible to interpret the character’s worldview as a worldview based on the aesthetic concept of understanding reality. The example of the appeal of a modern Russian novel to the “word of rock” considered in the article allows us to make sure that such an inclusion contributes to the disclosure of the specifics of the character’s worldview, and the analysis of this appeal brings one closer to a deeper understanding of the text.

CONCERNING THE PECTORAL FROM THE BURIAL MOUND TOLSTAYA MOGILA. BASED ON THE STUDY OF SCYTHIAN RELICS OF GREEK WORK

The uniqueness and complexity of the composition on the pectoral examined here, a piece gold jewelry from the Scythian burial mound Tolstaya Mogila, С. 4 BC, encouraged researchers to assume it held exceptional significance in Scythian culture, and the idea emerged that the pectoral belonged to a Scythian cult role, and this view has been developed in most studies. However, we do not have any information confirming ritual its use. The pectoral was found in the mound, but outside the burial itself. The plot of the main narrative depicted can be correlated with an ancient legend about the origin of the dynasty of the Macedonian kings, the Argeades. Its style and technical features do not rule out identification of the place of manufacture as Macedonia or Northern Greece. The “Scythian tradition” in modern scholarship allows for the exchange of Royal gifts, as well as military trophies, between Scythian and Macedonian (Greek) rulers. Still, many things remain unclear. The pectoral has no analogues either in the Scythian world, or in the Greek. Despite the correspondence of its elements and techniques with those of other works, the pectoral remains an exceptional and individual work of art, still unsurpassed in the complexity of its design and the quality of its workmanship.

MOSAICS IN THE REGIONAL MUSEUM OF MESSINA, THEIR STYLISTIC FEATURES AND PLACE IN THE ART OF THE EARLY PALAEOLOGAN PERIOD

The Regional Museum of Messina possesses four fragments of monumental mosaics originating from local churches. Their dating, as suggested in research literature, varies between the second half of the 13th century and the first third of the 14th. А question remains open concerning the roles that the authentic Byzantine and/or local Sicilian masters played in their creation. Messinian mosaic fragments show familiarity with methods of rendering faces which were not crystallized in Byzantine art before the origin of the mosaics in Kariye Camii (1316–1321). In the opinion expressed here, they were all produced during the first third of the 14th century, by local craftsmen who were guided by Constantinople models, although a manner they worked in was more simplified in comparison with metropolitan one. An exception is a mosaic depicting the archangel Michael, which could have been created by a visiting Byzantine master who had metropolitan training.