History magazine - researches - rubric Culture and cultures in historical context

Abstract: The article presents an analysis of the texts of Synodic-memorials. The author examined in detail the composition of the synodic preface and those parts of the text that contain common memory. The article places its focus on the insertion of a list of deaths, considering the oldest surviving lists. The correlation of the parts of the texts of these monuments allows us to talk about the formative stages of the tradition of compiling the Synodic-memorial form and about the practice of inserting into it textual inscriptions that indicate the particularities of the local practice of commemorating in the context of a single tradition. The study of this topic implies the study of the attitude in Old Russian society towards the deceases from an unnatural death as a complex socio-cultural phenomenon. In this article, the method of comparative analysis is applied to the research: to determine the origins of the formation and further development of the features of the memorial practice in Russian spiritual culture, from the adoption of Christianity to the beginning of the 16th century. As a result of the author's study of the Lyubezki Synodic and the Novgorod I chronicles, which mention those deceased from sudden death, the author confirmed the scientific viewpoint that there was a general commemoration starting from at least 13th century. The examination of the content of synodic prefaces' edits has allowed the author to agree with the viewpoint that the first edition of the so-called Trekhclovniy preface was composed earlier than the middle of the 15th century. The most ancient Synodics, containing lists of deaths, are currently those of Pavlo-Obnorsky Monastery and St. Nilus of Sora, compiled in 1479 and 1492 respectively. The beginning of the unfolding of the very practice of commemorating the deceased who died suddenly should be attributed to the 1220s. These monuments attest significant changes in the practice of composing texts with the commemoration of those who died suddenly, and also examples of a gradual elaboration of the synodic preface form.

Keywords: enumeration deaths, wrong death, three-word preface, synodik preface, common memory, Synodic, commemoration practice, Russian spiritual culture, funeral tradition, vain death

DOI: 10.7256/2454-0609.2019.4.30113

Abstract: The research subject of this article is the process of forming a community of Russian post-revolutionary emigration in the United States and the role of this migration flow in the local public life, as well as the structural evolution of the Russian diaspora in the 1920s – 1940s. The author focuses attention on the reasons behind the emigration of the representatives of the “first wave” Russian émigrés to the American continent, the attitudes towards American politics and culture among various sociopolitical and demographic groups of the Russian diaspora, the particularities of the Russian refugees' adaptation process in the United States and the degree of their involvement in the world abroad. The article's study is founded on the principles of scientific objectivity and systematics, using the subject-historical, problem-chronological, comparative and other special methods of historical research. The novelty of this work lies in the identification and description of the information contained in archival sources and rare periodical publication concerning the socio-mental and ideological motivations of migration from the centers of the Russian diaspora in Europe, China and other regions of the world to the United States and the aspects of the Russian émigrés' adaptation in America. The conducted study shows that the decision to move to the United States was made by socially active emigrants, who sought to start a new life abroad. This attitude was often perceived by some members of the Russian émigré communities in Europe as a rejection of the historic mission of the Russian emigration - of the hope of returning to the homeland. Epistolary and journalistic sources attest the rejection of American culture and lifestyle by many immigrants from Russia. At the same time, the democratic émigré press actively promoted the image of the United States as a great free country.

Keywords: American culture, immigration, international migrations, Russian America, adaptation, refugee, emigration, Russian diaspora, American lifestyle, Russian foreign press

Abstract: Russian teachers have seen the main task of raising children in exile in the prevention of denationalization, keeping the younger generation to work for the good of the motherland after returning to Russia. This task was mainly entrusted to a Russian school abroad. Experience of the High School in Shumen (Bulgaria) is unique: it simultaneously taught teenagers and adults who have passed through the hell of fratricidal war. Highly qualified teaching staff of the school was able to facilitate the socialization of the younger generation immigrants in the foreign culture environment. Setting the goal to preserve the “Russianness”, foster a sense of belonging to Russia, the school, on the one hand, facilitates adaptation, softened the cultural shock, on the other contributed to the growth of national consciousness, heightened sense of national identity and thereby hindered the entry of foreign cultural environment.

Keywords: history, emigration, Bulgaria, the Russian school, everyday life, upbringing, education, Shumen, cultural differences, denationalization.

Abstract: The article discusses the features of historical thinking of the Spanish conquistadors — people, who were born in the crossing of epochs, spaces and cultures, and who embodied the traits of a crucial era of the Middle Ages to the New Era. As heirs of the medieval way of thinking and culture, they verbally professed Christian fatalism, which was inseparable from the faith in God’s favor and miracle. In fact, by personal example they have asseverated the effectiveness of individual effort and goal setting, which opened a vast aria for personal initiative, and was embodied in the act that summed anthropocentric concepts and ideas that fed the spirit of the Renaissance. They understood the course of historical process, and themselves as its driving force, and they have become outstanding representatives of the Renaissance type of person.

Keywords: history, New world, conquistador, Conquista, fatalism, Voluntarism, the discovery, historicism, memory, glory

DOI: 10.7256/2454-0609.2018.6.28239

Abstract: The article is focused on the difficulties of studying the works of the outstanding Moscow icon painter of the early 15th century Andrei Rublev and the masters of his circle. In this article, the author considers above all the icon of the Trinity by the hand of Andrey Rublev, the icon of Deesis, known as the Zvenigorod Tier, as well as the murals of the Uspensky Cathedral in Vladimir and the ensembles of iconostases of the first quarter of the 15th century. The author examines the modern views on the attribution of these monuments as reflected in the concept of the exhibition “Andrey Rublev. The Feat of Icon Painting” (State Tretyakov Gallery, 2010–2011) and its accompanying catalog. The article presents a critical analysis of the structure and organization of the exhibition and draws historical parallels with the fundamental exhibition of 1960, which marked the beginning of the modern stage in the study of the works of Andrey Rublev. The presented article is based on the results of recent studies of the Zvenigorod Tier, the icon of the “Holy Trinity” by Andrey Rublev and other works conducted in the State Tretyakov Gallery. The author used information from Medieval written sources and the methods of formal and stylistic analysis of Medieval artworks. The article confirms the dating of the icon of the Holy Trinity to about 1425, when the iconostasis of the Trinity Cathedral at the Troitsa-Sergieva Lavra was made, gives a characteristic of the style of the artwork within the framework of Byzantine painting of the Late Palaeologian period and Moscow works from the first quarter of the 15th century. The author comes to the conclusion that the artistic style of the icons of the Zvenigorod Tier is significantly different from Rublev's Trinity, but he suggests that the master's handwriting could have changed over time.

Keywords: tier of Zvenigorod, Trinity of Andrey Rublev, icon painter Daniel, Andrey Rublev, Moscow icon-painting, icon, painting, Palaeologan period, ancient Russian art, attribution issues

Abstract: the article shows key milestones of the biography of a professional architect and amateur philologist Webb J., shows the feature of his world of thinking, which can be described as an exotic universalism — a search for the ideal culture not only in classical sources, but also in very unexpected spheres, as well as ways to solve on of the key questions of British architectural culture of the XVII century — the question of the primacy of the classical or natural ideal.

Keywords: history, history of British architecture, Jones I., Webb J., exotic universalism, Stonehenge, “Antiques of China” by Webb J., art “protolanguage”, “architectural” mentality, fatigue of the domination of the classical ancient origin.

DOI: 10.7256/2454-0609.2019.2.28717

Abstract: Based on evidence from the (quasi) private correspondence of American and Soviet artists, as well as from the internal documents of the Soviet cultural diplomacy bodies, the article reconstructs the specifics of the staged international communication during the period of the early Cold War. The involvement in this communication of creative artists included not only the participation in international events and public mass actions, but also in written correspondence with foreign colleagues (including personally unacquainted) organized by higher echelons. Foreign counterparts were guided by their own interests to support these initiatives: Soviet colleagues acted as a channel to popularize their works, to create the necessary ideas in the ranks of the Soviet party leadership, and to resolve specific issues about fees or medical consultations. The methodological basis of this research is an interdisciplinary approach that is at the crossroads of transnational history, cultural history, and intercultural communication. The use of official channels and mediating bodies was caused by the controlling functions of the Soviet Writers Union, the lack of knowledge of foreign languages, but above all the habit of self-censorship of creative figures educated by the Stalinist system. The necessary privacy and informality in correspondence were imparted by descriptions of family and leisure topics. The role of unofficial diplomats, familiar with the work of Soviet organizations abroad, the breath of thaw inspired Soviet writers to attempt to contribute to the improvement of international communication. At the same time, some of the statements were clearly discordant with the direction of the Stalinist cultural policy. However, if criticism by Soviet writers of system deficiencies in internal correspondence was already allowed by the regulatory authorities, its exit into public space was categorically suppressed and became possible only in the era of the Perestroika.

Keywords: Foreign Commission of SWU, Soviet Writers Union, Paul Robson, Howard Fast, Boris Polevoi, international communication, Cold war, cultural diplomacy, cultural policy, transnational history

Abstract: the focus of the article’s author is on the destruction of two grand imperial palaces (the Tsaritsyno and the Pella) at the end of the XVIII century soon after their construction. These dramatic “architectural event” considered in the context of the struggle for power in the Russian Empire at that time. Article analyzes the development of the artistic language of this type of constructions, from 1775, when Russian architecture began to gain unusual lineaments.

Keywords: history, cultural history, architecture, Catherine II, Paul I, the Tsaritsyno, the Pella, change in the artistic forms, the idea of sovereignty as a source of victories, the question of succession.

Abstract: the article is devoted to the topic of cultural losses in the Soviet Union during the World War II and the related problem of displaced cultural valuables. It shows the scope of losses incurred by the country; based on the archive sources and materials of 1940th the author tells about work of Research Institute of local history and museum work, related to the evaluation of the museum losses of the USSR (making price lists and lists of equivalents of museum values), about the selfless work of museum professionals of the Pushkin Museum on storage, restoration and scientific treatment of displaced as equivalents from German museum treasures, gives the evaluation of restitution process.

Keywords: history, museum, Research Institute of local history and museum work, cultural values, compensation, development of price lists, lists of equivalents, monuments, restoration, restitution.

DOI: 10.7256/2454-0609.2015.1.15619

Abstract: This article examines several aspects in the history of the office building construction of a foreign stock corporation, specialised in the production and sale of sewing machines, in 1900–1904 in the capital of the Russian empire. The article introduces for the first time in scientific studies unknown archival material pertaining to the construction in Saint Petersburg of the building for the American international corporation “Singer Company”. The new documents revealed the existing relationship between the architect and the commissioner, which, as was discovered, was acute. The reason for tensions was the clash of the two different approaches towards the development of the architectural style of the building, to be located in the capital’s historical centre. Pavel Suzor, an eminent architect and veteran public figure, had to overcome the American managers’ incomprehension of the particularities of urban construction regulations in Saint Petersburg and of the artistic taste of the Russian capital’s population. The period of confrontation lasted for about two years. In the end the architect’s viewpoint prevailed, who, on the one hand, took maximum consideration of the commissioner’s demands, which were both commercial and functional. On the other hand, he succeeded in naturally incorporating into the classical architectural environment a building constructed in the style of Art nouveau, without breaking the city’s stylistic ensemble.

Keywords: aesthetic taste, conflict of interests, business correspondence, architect and employer, history of entrepreneurship, “Singer company”, architectural planning, urban construction regulations, historical building, architectural styles

DOI: 10.7256/2454-0609.2015.1.66607

DOI: 10.7256/2454-0609.2018.3.25625

Abstract: The subject of this article is the architecture of the English country house in the late Victorian era. The author considers the work of major architects of the named era, such as J. Devey, W. Nesfield, R. N. Shaw. The object of this study is the transformation undergone by the idea regarding the national style in the architecture of this time. The author traces the changes in the notion of which monuments of national antiquity became most often a model for imitation and analyzes the method of understanding what constitutes a monument of national heritage in the works of the above-mentioned British architects. The author conducts a detailed art history analysis of the most significant monuments of the British suburban architecture of the studied period and reveals their particularities of style. The author's main conclusions are the constatation of a change in the aesthetic priorities in the British suburban architecture of the period under consideration. Finally, the author demonstrates the interrelation of these processes with the change of the social situation in general: at this time the composition of clients of country houses had significantly changed. It became increasingly made up of representatives of the banking and industrial capital, whose system of values differed significantly from that of the priorities of the old landed aristocracy.

Keywords: local tradition, George Devey, William Eden Nesfield, Richard Norman Shaw, national style, Victorian age, English architecture, country house, vernacular style, façade composition

DOI: 10.7256/2454-0609.2023.2.40582

Abstract: The author examines the theatrical life in a small town on the example of the city of Tara, Omsk region. The theatrical life of the second half of the XX century is studied in dynamics, the key creative associations, personalities, periods are identified. In this article, we rely on such concepts as "local history" (meaning the consideration of the theatrical life of a separate locus - the Tarsky Priirtyshie region through the influence of individuals, associations and processes on the cultural process, referring both to written sources and historical memory), "cultural nest", "cultural environment" (as a complex of social and cultural characteristics, preferences, connections in the territory under consideration, in the local space). Three main stages of the development of the theatrical life of the Tarsky Priirtyshie region are identified. The first stage of the 1940s - 1950s, the time of work in the Container of the theater under the direction of Evgeny Prosvetov. It is characterized by the appearance of a professional theater troupe in a small provincial town, involving residents of Tara in theatrical life; the second stage - the 1960s - 1990s – the time of the functioning of the people's theater in Tara, the wide involvement of city residents in the creative environment, the emergence of theatrical traditions and connections with professional theater figures from the regional center. The third stage - since the beginning of the 2000s - is the time of the appearance of a professional theater in Tara and its development, taking into account the theatrical traditions of the city. The cultural life of the Tarsky Priirtyshie region is considered through the study of the interaction of creative associations, cultural institutions and individual ascetics.

Keywords: music community, cultural space, amateur performance, musical group, small town, cultural life, cultural nest, Tarskoe Priirtyshye, local history, succession generations

DOI: 10.7256/2454-0609.2019.5.30446

Abstract: The research subject of this article is the distinctive features of the cultural policy conducted in Kabardino-Balkaria in the 1920s - 1930s. This was a period of cultural modernization for the peoples of Kabardino-Balkaria as well as for the country as a whole, which influenced its entire subsequent history. The aim of this article is to identify the general trends in the development of the education system, national languages, and artistic culture. A significant part of this work is dedicated to the attitude of the Soviet government towards religion, which predetermined the course of many cultural processes. The authors analyze the regulatory acts of the Soviet government, as well as documents characterizing cultural construction in Kabardino-Balkaria. The region's cultural policy is studied dynamically, which has permitted the authors to highlight the main periods and turning points in its development. The first of them (in the mid-1920s) was expressed in the authorities' refusal of partially tolerating Islam. From that time onwards, the cultural transformation of the peoples of Kabardino-Balkaria has been reduced mainly to the imposition of atheism and of modernization processes. The second turn took place in the mid-1930s. It is characterized, above of all, by the translation of the written language of the Kabardians and Balkars from the Latinized graphic base to the Cyrillic one, as well as by the strengthening of the role of the Russian language in education in general.

Keywords: theatre, literature, writing, education, madrassah, Islam, cultural policy, Kabardino-Balkaria, music, national culture

DOI: 10.7256/2454-0609.2020.1.32110

Abstract: The research subject of the article is the ideas that the peoples of the Middle Volga region had about the human life cycle in the 19th century - processes of birth, initiation, marriage and death. The aim of the article is to identify the general (typical) and particular (unique) in these perceptions as categories that unite and at the same time separate the inhabitants of the region. The general expresses the universal features inherent in all ethnic cultures of the Middle Volga region. The particular describe the local properties that act as markers of the identity of each ethnic group. The boundaries between the general and the particular in the Middle Volga region have a symbolic designation, since the region had for several centuries a complex synthesis of the interactions between Western, Russian and Eastern traditions. The article's research methods are based on the principle of historicism. The author uses structural and typological analysis to determine the general and particular in the Volga peoples' ideas about the life cycle, as well as the comparative-historical, logical and retrospective methods. The novelty of this study lies in the culturological comprehension of their ideas about the human life cycle in the regional culture, formed under the influence of paganism, Christianity and Islam. An important role in preserving the ethno-confessional values of the inhabitants of the Middle Volga region was played by the peasant community. The author concludes that the spread of Christianity and Islam in the region under the pressure of state power and as a result of intercultural interaction had made it possible to develop the universal requirements for human living. In this case, the particular was preserved at the level of individual rites. The source materials used in the article can be useful for scholars, culturologists, teachers, students and specialists developing programs in the field of preserving the cultural heritage of the region.

Keywords: the general, death, marriage, initiation, childhood, the Middle Volga region, life cycle, the special, Christianity, Islam

DOI: 10.7256/2454-0609.2016.2.17639

Abstract: The article is focused on analysing the role of the book-laureates of the Stalin Prize (prize named after J. V. Stalin) in the construction of a unified history of the peoples of the USSR. The author demonstrates the ideological context of the turn towards the ideology of "the Fraternity of Peoples" and the role of history in it. The author regards the Stalin Prize as a "soft" means of ideological control. The analysed laureate books include those by B. D. Grekov and A. Y. Yakubovskiy, J. J. Zutis, S. V. Kiselev, B. B. Piotrovskiy, L. P. Potapov, and S. P. Tolstoy. The article underlines that it was precisely the historical constituent that had played one of the leading roles in the formation of the Soviet national community. The author comes to the conclusion that Ancient periods in the histories of the peoples of the USSR were favoured for the benefit of constructing a unified historical past, since these periods were easier to present in the needed light. Demonstrations of the USSR peoples’ antiquity were particularly welcomed, as well as proof of their influence on world civilisation. Particular attention is paid to searches of examples of class solidarity in history. A common tragedy that unified the peoples of the USSR was also found: the Mongol-Tatar invasion.

Keywords: Stalin prize, Soviet historical sciences, ideology "Fraternity of Peoples", nation building, peoples of the USSR, ideology, propaganda, history policy, Stalinism, historians

DOI: 10.7256/2454-0609.2016.2.67680

Keywords: Stalin prize, Soviet historical sciences, ideology "Fraternity of Peoples", nation building, peoples of the USSR, ideology, propaganda, history policy, Stalinism, historians

DOI: 10.7256/2454-0609.2013.2.62600

Abstract: the article performs a comparative study on the social group of hereditary aristocracy in traditionalistic Far East societies, analyzing the composition and role of aristocracy in Chinese empires of different periods as well as in countries neighboring with China, which shared its political culture during different periods of history. The author attempts to evaluate the magnitude of monopolization of top government administration by aristocracy in Asian societies of different backgrounds.

Keywords: history, Far East, social group, aristocracy, bureaucracy, functionaries, Emperor, government administration, clan, family.

DOI: 10.7256/2454-0609.2013.3.62991

Abstract: This work studies the influence of the Chinese civilization on the processes of forming and development of the cultures of the peoples of Parthia, Bactria, Margu, Sogdiana and Ostrushana between II century B.C. and early XIII century A.D. In the interactions between China and the neighboring peoples, the former’s material and spiritual cultural aspects were absorbed simultaneously, but the material culture was more obvious, and attracted greater attention from its neighbors. This manifested in intense exchange, imitation and burrowing of cultural traits – arts, crafts, clothes, food, architecture, transport, etc.

Keywords: history, civilization, istoriya, tsivilizatsiya, China, Parthia, Bactria, Margu, Sogdiana, Ostrushana, material culture, pre-Mongolian period

DOI: 10.7256/2454-0609.2013.4.9174

DOI: 10.7256/2454-0609.2013.4.63006

Abstract: The paper attempts to examine the unique life of students of the Soviet school during the “thaw.” With help of the archival documents (most of which are being introduced into the scientific circulation for the first time), memoirs, newspaper and magazine articles and interviews, the author recreates a picture of the difficult and sometimes dramatic situation in VGIK, when for telling a joke or hosting a home concert party students could be arrested, expelled from the institute and their diploma film works exposed to harsh criticism or failure. In the country as a whole, and in the film industry in particular, there was a unique situation. On the one hand, since March 1953, and especially after the Twentieth Party Congress, there appeared a certain amount of freedom, on the other there remained tight control. Despite the ideological dictates, in the 1950-1960-ies there were films made that largely determined the creative direction of their creators: students and graduates of VGIK, who later created the “gold” fund of the national cinema.

Keywords: history, the “thaw” of the XX Congress, students, VGIK, ideology, party meeting, the Komsomol, the search for novelty, freedom of creativity.

DOI: 10.7256/2454-0609.2016.5.19793

Abstract: The article examines the musical culture of the Stalingrad region during the period of the Great Patriotic War as a provincial version of the Soviet musical and cultural system. The unique traits of this model include a sequential change in the types of military regions within the range from noncombatant to front-line types. Among the most notable processes – evacuation-reevacuation transfer of musical institutions, the organization of concerts, musical and theatrical, educational, compositional and musicological activities, amateur music playing, informational and production-technical components – which are all examples of social charitable initiatives. The methodological complex for studying this topic includes the systemic and comparative approaches, theoretical modeling on the basis of the material from central and local archives and periodical press. For the first time in historiography the author undertakes to analyze the structure of the musical and cultural model of the Stalingrad region, to distinguish and describe its main features. Among the predominant factors determining the dynamics of the model’s functioning in 1941–1945 the author identifies foreign political and administrative elements. It is revealed that in the frontline type of model amateur artistic activities become crucial, while having the most destructive effect on the material aspect of the development of musical culture.

Keywords: Stalingrad model, comparative approach, system approach, Soviet culture, musical culture, regional culture, musical and cultural system, Stalingrad region, battle of Stalingrad, Great Patriotic War

DOI: 10.7256/2454-0609.2016.5.68347

DOI: 10.7256/2454-0609.2014.6.14899

Abstract: The blossoming of Symbolism coincided with the formative period of mass culture in Russia. This article examines a series of instances when the elitist cultural movement and mass culture mutually influenced each other. The reaction of the Symbolists to mass modernism and to the market’s penetration into literature was severely negative, because for the poets it was obvious that their ideas were thus subjected to depreciation, while the public within Symbolism was interested only in the top stratum. Moreover, one of the periods of particularly dynamic development of mass entertainment culture came at the time of the 1905–1907 revolution and the subsequent response to it. In the Symbolist disapproval of the infiltration of the principle of “monetary barbarism” (an expression of D. S. Merezhkovsky) into the cultural sphere, in the opinion of the article’s author, can be traced the Symbolists inheritance of Vl. S. Soloviev’s idea. Despite the conceptual rejection of the market and the Symbolists’ attempts to overcome through the creative process the grip of material factors over human life, in practice the Symbolists, firstly, were interested in some demonstrations of mass entertainment culture, and, secondly, had worked on themes appealing to the urban public and hence gained its popularity. The artistic production of Russian Symbolism generated cultural products of a new kind – models of creative behaviour, – the success of which allows to conclude that Symbolism in practice experienced a significant influence from the cultural industry with which it had actively fought in theory.

Keywords: V. Bryusov, A. A. Blok, Andrei Bely, creative process, cultural industry, mass culture, Russian Symbolism, Vyach. I. Ivanov, D. S. Merezhkovsky, Z. N. Gippius

DOI: 10.7256/2454-0609.2014.6.66357