Cultural attributes of Russian rock: elitist or mass culture?

The article deals with identifying Russian rock culture as elitist or mass culture. The author characterizes the concepts of elitist and mass culture, explaining the difference between them, and examines the characteristics of Russian rock culture on the basis of this analysis. The author concludes that Russian rock culture is a kind of reconciliation of elite and mass culture: in the second half of the XX century the complexity of the Soviet political system and ideology determined the destiny and cultural attributes of Russian rock, making it a complex, multifaceted and eclectic phenomenon. Forced to survive, rock bands had to incorporate elements of popular music into their works and use mass media to attract the public. Having joined the ranks of commercial performances, rock 'n' roll gained more popularity, and gradually there appeared some signs of the rock culture decline. In the end, however, rock culture did not transform into mass culture, and Russian rock musicians and rock poets continued to play their music in search of a new cultural niche for themselves to express their critical attitude to reality, their denial and opposition to the processes of industrialization and urbanization, returning to the history and culture of the nation, paying attention to philosophical and religious issues and to the depth and completeness of poetic content, reconstructing Russian cultural memory, reflecting on the environmental situation in the modern world. Rock culture is still a culture of resistance, but as society continues to change, the form and content of resistance is also constantly changing, and it is because of this that rock culture has acquired a kind of humanistic foundation that is much deeper than that of popular culture, so ignoring the difference between rock culture and popular culture destroys the innate spirit and the essence of rock culture itself.

A. Socio-cultural relations of Ukraine and China: history, current situation and prospects

Socio-cultural ties between Ukraine and China began long before Ukraine's independence and long before the establishment of diplomatic relations between the PRC and Ukraine in 1992.The first Ukrainians came to the territory of the Qing Empireas part of the Russian Spiritual Mission back in the 18th century. Then, during the struggle against the Japanese invaders, Ukrainians demonstrated courage and bravery in battle and became national heroes of China. In the heyday of Chinese-Soviet relations, a large number of students and trainees were admitted to Ukrainian universities and enterprises, which gave an impetus both to the development of Chinese industry and agriculture and to the formation of science and education in the PRC. The current state of Ukrainian-Chinese relations is characterized by a sufficient degree of stability and development in the sphere of education, science and tourism. However, there remain a number of problems and contradictions that do not allow to say that social and cultural relations between the two countries are effective. Among the major problems are the following: the passivity of existing structures and organizations, the low level of support for the grassroots initiative on the part of authorities, the lack of a balanced and purposeful policy of the Ukrainian government in relation to solving the complex and controversial issues of Ukrainian-Chinese relations.

The image of the gloomy warrior in M. M. Kheraskov's poem “Vladimir” and in A. S. Pushkin's fairy tale “Ruslan and Lyudmila”

The article uses a comparative text analysis of the poem “Vladimir” and the fairy tale “Ruslan and Lyudmila” to reveal a number of parallels associated with the image of the warrior Rogdai. Previously, researchers have not considered this aspect of the works in detail. The character has a conventionally historical prototype – the epic hero Rogdai is mentioned in the “Core of Russian History” by A. I. Mankiev, and his laconic description in the source sets the type of character in Kheraskov’s and Pushkin’s poems. In both works Rogdai occupies a prominent position at the court of Prince Vladimir of Kiev, and is distinguished by his strength and violent temper. Kheraskov's poem emphasizes the immorality of the character, which is due to the didactic message of “Vladimir” and the need to discredit the warrior who is an opponent of Christianity, while Pushkin omits the ethical points. As the plot develops, the relatively neutral character becomes the antagonist of the main hero – Kheraskov's Vladimir and Pushkin's Ruslan – and at a certain point fights with them, which results in the warrior's dishonorable death. The comparison of “Vladimir” and “Ruslan and Lyudmila” shows that, in addition to the name, Rogdai has similar characteristics in the works of Kheraskov and Pushkin; the image is created according to the model of the epic hero, overshadowed by negative traits. The texts show common motifs - the anger, resentment and vindictiveness of the hero, the corrupting influence of the evil spirit and its helpers, Rogdai's wandering through the desert places, his death at the hands of the enemy. The similarity between Kheraskov's and Pushkin's characters of the same name leads to the conclusion that the image of the gloomy warrior from the poem “Vladimir” was borrowed into Ruslan and Lyudmila.

The theme of relations between the artist and power in Sergey Maximov's dilogy Denis Bushuyev and Denis Bushuyev's Rebellion

This article examines the unique solution to the problem of the relationship between the creative personality and the state in the dilogy of the émigré writer Sergei Maximov. The author believes that this question is axiological, as it is related to the moral choices of the artist.The relationship between the artist and the authorities is directly linked to the historical situation and the political regime. The novels show different characters through the dialogue between the authorities and the artist. The choice of heroes is largely due to the Stalinist era, which totally restricted the artist's freedom of personal expression. One variant of the characters' behaviour is toadapt to the regime, with the consequent loss of individuality, writing to social order, creating stereotyped socialist-realistic texts, participating in establishing the «Stalinist myth», but living comfortably in the material world and without state repression. Maksimov speaks about the degradation of the artistic level in socialist realistic works that follow an invariant model, which results in the unification of creative individuality. Another important issue to the novelist is the artist's ethical authority, the idea of the moral responsibility of the writer strengthening the position of the criminal regime through his works. Alternatively, one can choose to find freedom of expression, opposition to power, leading to the destruction of the artist by the system. What both choices have in common is that it is a relationship of initially unequal forces, so their dialogue is not constructive.

The motive of overcoming history and fate and the Buddhist worldview in A. L. Ivanchenko’s novel “Monogram” and Mo Yan’s “Tired of being Born and Dying”

The article analyzes the motives of overcoming history and fate in the novels by A. L. Ivanchenko “Monogram” and Mo Yan “Tired of Being Born and Dying” in the context of the Buddhist worldview of both authors. The images of the main characters, the chronotope, the themes and problems of the works are examined through the prism of the Buddhist attitudes presented in the books; and life strategies and escape strategies of the Russian and Chinese characters are compared. The reborn Ivanchenko and Mo Yan's characters overcome their karma and their family's karma by conquering affective conditions and coming to the end of the life cycle. They discover the conventional nature of a human's existence through the motif of mirroring (the Russian author) and proximity to the wildlife (the Chinese author). The protagonists in the Russian and Chinese novels are characterized by a complex structure of consciousness, which tends to multiply and reveal its illusory nature. Time in both novels is cyclical and virtually devoid of movement, despite the presence of the characters in the actual political history. The space of both books tends to turn into a myth, revealing images of eternity through the earthly specifics of the place: the heroine of “Monogram” is in the Buddhist “looking glass”, while the hero in “Tired of being born and dying” is in the manor, which is a model of mythological cosmos. The controversial history of China and Russia of the previous century, A. L. Ivanchenko and Mo Yan's political extremes become a starting point for unfolding the internal plot, the plot of the heroes' Buddhist transformation and finding their Buddhist peace.

«Kalechina-Malechina» cannot become a smart girl»: motive and plot parallels in the novels about teenage girls by Evgeniya Nekrasova and Huang Beijia

The article is devoted to comparative analysis of images and motifs in the novels KalechinaMalechina by Evgenia Nekrasova and I Will Be a Smart Girl by Huang Beijia, about teenage girls. These texts reveal similarities at the level of the image system, the archetypal motifs and the inner development of the mythological plot about the initiation of a child into adulthood. However, many similar motifs in the novels appear in contrasting functions: E. Nekrasova's novel shows the joyless world of an unloved child, while in Huang Beijia's novel we see the world of a wholesome and well-loved child, suffering from her own school failures. The artistic method of the novels is examined in relation to their mythological motifs. The Chinese text gravitates towards the traditions of socialist realism, performing one of its functions most characteristic of teenage literature – didacticism. Huang Beijia's novel can be described as a didactic auteur tale based on biographical material. The Russian text has been described by scholars as «magical» realism and is more than just an initiation novel or a didactic tale. It realises the eternal philosophical sense of the impact of love or its absence on human fate, the ontological abandonment of the human soul facing indifference or aggression from the world around it. It is not the protagonist's initiation but her ability to «survive» without losing herself that is central to the Russian novel.

The image of the Russian province in the travelogues of the XIX century foreign travelers (on the materials of the Yaroslavl province)

The article is devoted to the research of foreigners' perception of social and cultural realities of the 19th century Yaroslavl province, using travel notes of French writers and publicists Astolphe de Custine, Alexandre Dumas, Theophile Gautier as an example. The author studies specific construction and representation of the Russian provincial images, addressed to the European reader. Comparing the travelogues of foreign travellers with the Russian texts and historical sources, the author assesses the degree of influence of the author's personality on the narrative and the specifics of the perception of Russian reality by representatives of different cultures. The Yaroslavl province, which is a common location to the three texts, is a relevant example of presenting the image of Russia in the travelogue genre. The objects of the study are the descriptions by foreign authors of Yaroslavl, Rybinsk, Romanov-Borisoglebsk (Tutaev), Uglich, the countryside and the means of transportation. The study reflects the trends towards representing the features of everyday life of different Russian society strata (peasants, nobility), the specifics of the «Russian type» of appearance and Russian character, urban policy and the architectural styles of provincial towns, and the economic aspects of everyday life. The authors of the travesties under study pay attention to stories from Russian history and strive to give a coherent characteristic of the locations. The analysis of the texts reveals such features of the authors' narrative as subjectivity, imprecision, interest in ethnographic and anthropological aspects, and an emphasis on exotic aspects of Russian life for the European reader. The travelogues in question are marked by the desire to construct Russia's artistic image and create a fascinating plot, and by the influence of the author's position and personal image of the author

Post-Soviet new drama: macro- and microcosm of Konstantin Steshik

The authors focus on the phenomenon of drama written by Konstantin Steshik, a young Belarusian playwright who writes in Russian. Describing and analysing this phenomenon is the aim of the researchers. The lack of research into the playwright's work is the reason for the novelty of the study. The relevance is determined by the demand for Steshik's plays in contemporary Russian theatre. The playwright's creative competence is proved by his numerous victories in Russian and international drama contests. The authors consider Stesik's work in the unity of the playwright's macro- and microcosm: the inner world of the characters and the circumstances they find themselves in. One of the authors' important tasks is to determine the foundation for Steshik's work. A historical and theatrical overview from Soviet Belarusian drama to the works of the authors associated with the well-known Belarusian Free Theatre association reveals not exactly the foundation, but the soil on which the phenomenon involved mainly grows. The authors note the close connection of Steshik's work to the phenomenon of post-Soviet «new drama». With its appearance on the territory of the CIS countries, social problems come to the forefront in contemporary theatre, and there arises a theme of reflection on the past, both in a positive and a negative way. In the final part of the article, the authors analyse the peculiarities of Steshik's poetics. The analysis made it possible to register the striking artistic uniqueness of the playwright's creative style. Steshik's plays clearly expand the scope of the post-Soviet «new drama». His voice stands out against the sharp social discourse of contemporary playwrights. Vivid metaphors, close to the traditions of «magic realism» literature, are mixed with psychological naturalism in an original way

Medical and colonial discourses in A. P. Chekhov's book “Sakhalin Island”

The article presents an analysis of the conceptual and medical context of the book “Sakhalin Island”, examines Chekhov's attitude to medicine and literature, and analyzes various (including foreign) approaches to studying medicine and problems of colonization in literary texts. The topic is also relevant because, as we know, in the XIX century publicism was rather restricted by the government, both in the choice of topics and in the ways of their coverage. In many ways, literature took on the role of defender of ordinary people, including exiled convicts. The authors examine how, in addition to the lack of basic medical care, poor sanitation, and the specific local conditions causing various illnesses in people unaccustomed to Sakhalin climate, these people had feelings such as loneliness, melancholy, despondency, and unwillingness to live - in short, all the symptoms that are now commonly referred to as depression and psychopathology. Through a number of literary devices, A. P. Chekhov creates a satirical effect and disavows the authorities' allegations. The authors show that the focus of Chekhov's book is on the living conditions of the people and the serious mistakes made by the state during the exploration of Sakhalin. Comparing Chekhov's observations with statistics and factual data from other sources, the authors emphasize that government officials do not understand the importance of Sakhalin for Russia, the need to develop its natural resources, the inadmissibility of ignoring local ethnic and cultural conditions, the neglect of people, etc. The article concludes that Chekhov's observations are closely related to legal, economic, and historical records of the time.

The King in Shakespeare's artistic universe: a metaphysical aspect

The article shows the place of the sovereign's image in Shakespeare's artistic universe. The aim of this study is to analyse the place and role of the monarch in Shakespeare's artistic universe in the metaphysical context of the Renaissance worldview. The study is based on the texts of Shakespeare' s tragedies, comedies and «romantic» plays. The paper regards the figure of the ruler in comparison with his marginal antagonist, the fool, in terms of antinomianism of Christian culture. The narrative and motif-based analysis establishes the places of the sovereign and the fool (and his invariants) in the metaphysical space of Shakespeare's 'theatre of the world' and reveals the set of their specific external and internal characteristics. Cultural studies of Shakespeare's representations of this antinomian couple reveals the tragic guilt of the ruler who gives in to passions (ambition, lust, anger), as a result of which the monarch's ability to maintain order is lost. The disruption of world harmony in the space of Shakespeare's plays is considered in three aspects: spatial, family and existential. This, in turn, is reflected at the metaphysical level, causing natural anomalies and cataclysms. In accordance with this, the article highlights the specificity of the motifs related to this antinomic pair: harmony, sanity, honour (the king); disharmony, madness, sensuality and death (the fool). The authors identify how the king and the fool interact in the context of marginalisation of the ruler's persona. The metaphysical chaos of existence, the result of the power crisis, leads to the fact that the fool and the king swap places in Shakespeare's artistic universe following the game of elements, the game of costumes, the game of words. The paper concludes that the image of the king, occupies one of the key places in Shakespeare's artistic universe. In the gallery of sovereigns created by Shakespeare, the Renaissance image of the ideal ruler is presented in the context of the tendencies of the next historical and cultural epoch – the Baroque.