Abstract: by the example of “The Mirror” by A. Tarkovskiy, the article explores the mirror phenomenon. According to W. Bion, cinema has the property of an “odd object” to affect us in a way similar to a two-mirror system within the model of individual and collective unconscious. This occurs through the “intimization” mechanism (according to B. Shifrin) via an “I-I” (or self to self) model of communication.

Keywords: culturology, cinema, mirror, unconscious, strange, Tarkovskiy, intimization, Y. Lotman, time.

Abstract: the article examines the challenges that classic Opera faces in the “post-cultural ” era, in which postmodern cultural traits (fragmentation, cultural pluralism, loss of history sense) become dominant in artistic culture. The author draws attention to the temporal issue of Opera, which is viewed as a correlation of time of the plot and the time of the viewer/listener. On the example of the modern “director’s opera” practice, the author demonstrates that liberal treatment towards the temporal aspect of the plot is not always justified and thus calls for close attention to all aspects of the play, lest it destroys the Opera ’s stylistic integrity. The author formulates several types of temporal structures and their possible interpretations, accenting archetypical images, which were subject to research on numerous occasions. The author shows the correlation between the interpretation of classic images, urging to preserve the traditional cultural values and to reject modernization for the sake of modernization alone.

Keywords: culturology, art, classics, postculture, postmodernism, opera, interpretation, temporality, modernization, plot.

Abstract: a mere 15% of Russia’s cinema cash box is the evidence that Russian theater cinema lacks the social and cultural significance to be popular with the society. However, the tradition of Russian cinema, the defining mentality and culture of the potential audience in Russia gives hope to expand to broader horizons. “Rationalized directorship” of cinema as social and cultural drama must be established within the national cinema policies. Mass audience shows the cinematographers three possible ways of approach. The preferred path is supporting the faithful followers of the Russian cinema, its “loyal” audience. The dialogue between them and the interested cinematographers would seem to be the best way to find optimal middle ground between Hollywood and producer-oriented cinema, and the more traditional director’s cinema in developing of Russian cinema culture.

Keywords: culturology, relevance of Russian cinema, Hollywood, the “loyal” and the “lost” audience, influence of cinema, options in modern cinema, national cinema policy.

Abstract: the article raises a topical issue of preserving and developing a national culture in modern Siberia. The novelty of this research is in empathizing the four levels if national Ukrainian culture development: traditional domestic and family, education, social organization and the social elite’s spiritual/artistic. The author explores the correlation between national culture and the degree of dispersion of residence of the Ukrainian settlers and their descendants. The main substance of the article is focused on ethnical and cultural analysis: statistics, cultural identity, national self-awareness, degree of national culture preservation, general model of Ukrainian culture development. The author defines the model of Ukrainian national culture development and provides recommendations for its growth in Siberia.

Keywords: culturology, Ukrainian national culture, places of compact and dispersed residence, national culture development levels, settlers, sub-ethnos, rites, customs, regional interests, components of national culture

Abstract: the article explores one of the possibilities of textual presence in a genre new for the second half of XXth century – the instrumental composition with the word. Distinguishing types of polytext interaction in instrumental music, the author offers the following principles: 1) alternating conduct (the texts go one after another within the composition, in its different parts), 2) arching (a single text, or text by a single writer is repeated several times, performing a function of reminiscence), 3) free compilation (the texts by several authors, or text chaotically arranged across the composition as part of a literature reference). As an example, avant-garde compositions of F. Karaev, B. Fernihou, F. Rzhevski.

Keywords: history of art, intertextuality, music, text, word, typology, methodology, F. Karaev, B. Fernihou, F. Rzhevski.

Abstract: the article attempts to trace the ways of visualization of memory, performing a hermeneutical insight into the history of screen representations of “cinematographic memory”, “cinematic retentiveness” and “cinematographic postmemory ”. The goal of the article is to substantiate the concept of “cinematographic post-memory” on the basis of showing the correlations of the concepts of “memory”, “fire” and “sacrifice” in the cinematographic reminiscence of the 1812 fires in Moscow as a cultural trauma of sorts. The three ways of overcoming this “memory trauma” can be metaphorically called “the Letey waters” historical anesthesia (extrusion of traumatic experience), “the Wisdom of Mnemosine” (dealing with traumatic experience by rethinking it, “accepting” it as a given part of historical memory) and the “Paramnesia’s Smirk” (memory metamorphosis, reforming of memories via pseudoreminiscence, substitution of ersatz and fakes of the past. Cinematographic “post-memory” of the Moscow 1812 fires chose the third way, as illustrated by multiple screen versions of Tolstoy’s “War and Peace”: K. Vidor and M. Soldati’s in 1956, S. Bondarchuk’s Oscar-winning movie in 1956, and R. Dornhelm’s 2007 screen version. In the rich variety of ways to create the visual images of fire in “memory films”, three main rapidly interchanging approaches of cinematic illusion based on pulsating magnification seem dominant: the “point-blank view”, the “chiasm view” and the “distant view”. They do not just mark the distance play, or the change of scenes by changing magnification. They are three masks which hide the ironic smirk of Paramnesia, three ways to set up distorting filters for ocular and mental perception – the prisms of “mental optics”, filters of sight and thought, conscious screening of the trauma without the ability to actually erase it.

Keywords: history of art, culture and art, memory, visualization, cinematograph, Paramnesia, trauma, war, fire, sacrifice.

Abstract: the article traces the evolution of the image of St. Nicholas in the arts of Russian North. The author characterizes the works of iconography, copper casting, sewing, architecture, sculpture, easel painting of XII-XIX centuries and analyzes the potential for researching the Russian North iconography (both, painted and copper). The author consequently examines the genesis, the evolution of iconography of the Saint, stylistic changes, technical and technological traits of a number of works, paying close attention to their attribution and novelty in terms of iconography. The author also demonstrates the correlation of conservatism (tradition) and novelty in iconography and draws a conclusion that the image of St. Nicholas, which has great significance for Russian North, was very close to the people and became an inseparable part of peasant art (with broad variety of individual interpretations). The author points out the following tendencies: firm and timeless tradition, tracing all the way back to religious and philosophical teachings of the Byzantine, as well as the more demotic sources; the low significance of change in iconography with visible stylistic evolution; stability of the religious and philosophical image, preservation of the artistic calligraphy of the Saint’s image in folklore.

Keywords: history of arts, St. Nicholas, evolution, image, iconography, genesis, lead casting, architecture, sculpture.

Abstract: the article explores the experience of movie-making – both, theater cinema and television cinema which is dedicated to the Fatherland War of 1812, all the way from silent movies made in Europe and Russia (“Grenadier Rolan ” by L. Maggi, “1812” by V. Goncharov) to modern filming of “War and Peace” of L.N. Tolstoy and Russian commercial productions devoted to 200-th anniversary of the Fatherland War. The author analyzes the role of cinematographic arts in the War’s memorialization.

Keywords: history of arts, Fatherland War of 1812, historical movie, “Grenadier Rolan” by L. Maggi, screen version, memorialization, “War and Peace”, historic character, Alexander I, Napoleon I.

Abstract: the article examines the historiography of perception of West European art by Russian travelers in the second half of VXIII century (by the example of reports by retired members of Academy of Arts) simultaneously with defining the stages of Russian study of Art development since the second half of XIX century to modern day. The author distinguishes the XVIII-century Russian travelers by groups according to social stratum and knowledge about art. The author illuminates the main stages of West European art familiarization during the journey: extramural acquaintance at home, forming of an artistic consciousness, direct perception, comprehension, confirmation by confirmation or revisal of knowledge, using the acquired impressions. Comparative analysis of Art study works on the topic at hand, as well as track logs of the travelers gives an impression that the issue is covered, and directions for further research are designated.

Keywords: Study of Arts, culture, West European art, perception, traveler, retired, Academy of Arts, Europe, Russia, XVIII century.

Abstract: the article focuses on expressionism – an artistic direction which emerged in the first decades of XXth century. Retrospectives into the history of expressionism are linked to a conference which was devoted to one of the German expressionists, H. Walden, and which was held by the National History of Arts Institute. The article accents the fate of expressionism in the Soviet Union, in which the German expressionism had a significant impact and influenced numerous artists. However, it would not be correct to assert that it was as influential there as in Germany. The author attempts to determine the reasons why expressionism became a medium for mainly the expression of German spirit, and not the Russian one. This sort of view allows to point out the differences between the two unique cultures – the Russian and the German ones, which, however, have many common traits.

Keywords: culturology, culture, super-sensual, expressionism, positivism, romantism, avant-garde, archaic, mysticism, messianism.

Abstract: the article attempts to determine the degree of authenticity of the battlefield music in movies dedicated to the Fatherland War of 1812. The author analyzes the feature films by Russian and foreign cinematographers and concludes that the true Napoleon-era battlefield music is almost never used by both Russian and foreign cinematographers. The exception is the 1965 motion picture “War and Peace” by S. Bondarchuk, which uses authentic recordings of the French Republic Guard orchestra conducted by A.A. Skrya bin, an immigrant nephew of the famous Russian composer. The explanation for this is not only ignorance of modern composers and sound engineers, but also the lack of the sources of music itself (sheets, or descriptions in academic sources or memoires). The article is addressed towards moviemakers to assist them in achieving more authentic correspondence of historic facts and cinematography based on them.

Keywords: history of art, music culture, army, Napoleonika, Borodino, march, signal, Bagration, Napoleon I, 1812.

Abstract: In her book, “Family histories and the two eras”, N. Voshinnikova (Ì.: Íîâûé Õðîíîãðîô, 2012. Ñåðèÿ «Îò ïåðâîãî ëèöà») highlights the life of several generations of two families of a county town of Kineshma, basing her research on family archive materials. This article evaluates the book from the perspective of significance of its sources for mundane life research. The introduction of documents of this sort allows to present the everyday lives of the townsfolk as a social and cultural phenomenon more fully. It is important that the archive used by the writer belongs to the meshan environment of Kineshma. The pool of narrative sources that come from the townsfolk is limited, and each newly-discovered source allows for significant breakthroughs in social and cultural aspects of Russian town history. The archive documents not only allow us to draw a picture of the lives of the book’s author’s relatives, but also uncover alternative views on the numerous issues of native history on the brink of the two eras – the pre- Revolution era and the Soviet era (1880’s to 1950’s).

Keywords: culturology, Russian culture, history of culture, small town, townsfolk, the meshan class, the mundane, family archive, family history, intelligentsia.