Abstract: The article is devoted to the problems of civil activism in terms of the socio-political transformations going on in the Russian society now. Civil activism is viewed as a complex social phenomenon that includes different behavior, values, forms and motives of participation of citizens and their groups in social and political life. Special attention is paid to the development of civil activism as a result of socio-cultural, social and political changes happening in the country and all over the world. The author views the growth of civil subjectivity of the society and appearance of new actors of civil actions as the main trigger. Analysis of the problem includes the analysis of the main provisions of the theory of social changes and the theory of civil activity allowing to defi ne the novelty and specifics of the sphere of civil activism in the Russian society. It is concluded that civil activism is a natural part of life of a modern society. It is not a response to dysfunctions or contradictions of the socio-political system but a sign and condition of its normal functioning and development. Social and political transformations receive a rational interpretation and social evaluation through collective actions of citizens which contributes to the determination of longterm targets of the social development.

Keywords: Civil activism, civil participation, democracy, social trust, institutional trust, socio-political development, Russia, social participation, political participation.

Abstract: The purpose of the article is to touch upon a very topical and timely issue at the present stage of the development of Sakhalin society. This is the need to analyze bipolar factors based on which we can form a position and defi ne the situational level of ethnic tolerance of the receiving society towards migrants. So called ‘migration hysteria’ fueled by mass media decreases the level of tolerance and political correctness of the local community towards migrant workers. This triggers the reverse mechanism of adaptation and assimilation of migrants and leads to their isolation. The fi eld stage of the sociological survey was carried out since May till July of 2014. 350 respondents participated in the survey based on the use of structured interviews. Respondents were chosen by random selection. Those were people living in the Sakhalin Region which includes the Kuril Islands and the Sakhalin Island. The analysis carried out within the framework of the present research has allowed to defi ne the most painful points of interaction between migrants and the Sakhalin society. The researcher has defi ned and described the most typical causes of xenophobia and migrantophobia of the local community. According to the researcher, discovery and adoption of scientifi c practical solutions based on the results of the present research will allow to stabilize interethnic relations, decrease the risk of confl icts and therefore develop friendly interethnic relations and the atmosphere of peace and mutual respect.

Keywords: The Sakhalin Region, local community, interethnic interaction, migrants, migration movements, social discomfort, tolerance, society, relations, attitudes, analysis.

Abstract: The author of the article analyzes the two main explanations of social communication and its role for the society. In order to understand the relation between communication and sociality and society the author analyzes several cases (explanations of the eclipse by ancient people, the ‘Donor’ project, act of terrorism on September 11 and the phenomenon of fashion). The results of the analysis demonstrate that communication and sociality are the two sides of one whole. Moreover, the author demonstrates that under current conditions communication does not only make an independent practice but also develops in very specifi c environments, in particular, technological and institutional environments. The conducted research is based on the methods of case analysis and comparative analysis as well as cultural and methodological reenactment of particular cases that have been selected especially for the present research. As a result, the researcher demonstrates that the current explanations of the relation between communication and sociality are not satisfactory. Cultural studies and methodology explain this relation much better. Within their framework, it is possible to make a hypothesis not only about the unity of communication and sociality but also about their technological and constitutional grounds in this day and age.

Keywords: Communication, society, society, schemes, reality, institution, technology, actor, publisher, audience.

Abstract: The article is devoted to the confl ictogenity of the systems transformation of Russia. This requires to develop and specify a new conceptual framework of modern confl ict resolution studies which would take into account specifi cs of Russian confl icts because usually the conceptual framework of confl ict resolution studies serve to describe and analyze a differently organized society. The author of the article tries to defi ne and analyze systems characteristics and the main elements of the confl ict dynamics, the basic models of the modern architecture of confl icts and peculiarities of applying the method of the ‘confl ictological key’ to the analysis of institutional schemes of description of modern interstate, socio-political and ideological situations in modern Russia. When analyzing the structure of the confl ict model of the Russian society, the researcher as used applicable socio-philosophical methodological approaches for the purpose of defi ning peculiarities of confl icts and actual behavioral practices of confl ict resolution in the modern Russian society. The researcher offers a classifi cation of invariant confl ict situations of a certain type, their structure, features and peculiarities as well as a combination of established and effective methods of confl ict resolution, stereotype scenarios of confl ict behavior and strategies of political design of reality creating the ‘confl ict-free world and stable life’ for citizens by using social constructs and the system of ideas and symbols.

Keywords: Russia, confl ict, confl ictogenity, confl ict model, stability, society, politics, government, confl ict dynamics, communication.

Abstract: The subject under research is the system of morals as a base characteristic of the society infl uencing the spiritual safety of the county and demographic processes. This characteristic is closely connected with the choice between values and anti-values. Attitudes to such values as labor, soul (spirituality), collectivism, non-material values, love (family and children), innovations, altruism, tolerance, human life, compassion, creativity and commitment to excellence defi ne the spirits of the Russian society. Morals, mental and psychological health are sociologically measured and analyzed based on the results of both surveys and the analysis of the infl uence of the Internet and TV on the system of morals of the Russian society. The research is based on sociological research methods such as surveys offered to the population, questionnaires fi lled in by the academic expert community and statistical methods, content and event analysis of the infl uence of TV and the Internet on the morals of the Russian society. The researcher measures the level of morality of the Russian society. The results of the research allow to describe the dynamics and directions of the system of morals in Russia as well as evolution of the level of commitment to the basic values. The article also contains the results of analyzing the infl uence of the Internet and TV on population that are, being beyond the control of the state government, forms anti-values of the Russian society.

Keywords: Morals, TV broadcast, Internet, values, state institution, labor, family, culture, value navigators, mass media.

Abstract: The article is devoted to the theoretical grounds and historical aspects of the Russian bicameralism at the beginning of the 20th century. The author describes the role of the State Duma and State Council in a two-chamber system of government and evaluation of bicameralism by Russian constitutionalists. In his research the author studies the principles of organization and interaction of the State Duma and State Council as the two chambers of the legislative system. The author takes into account historical and political conditions of reformation of the state structure in Russia that infl uenced the creation of the fi rst two-chamber system of the Russian government. The author also discusses opinions of state reformers expressed at the meeting in the Tsarskoye Selo held on February 14 and 16 in 1906 regarding the principle of equal rights of the chambers and the role and importance of bicameralism for the Russian state and institution of monarchy. Based on the comparative legal and particular historical methods of analysis the author describes the main methods of forming the parliament chambers (especially the upper chambers) in the constitutional states t the beginning of the 20th century and specifi cs of the Russian monarchic bicameralism. The author comes to the conclusions that the Russian monarchic bicameralism was infl uenced by the negative attitude of liberals and progressive community towards establishing the State Council as the upper chamber. Political views of Kadets on the upper chamber created the negative public opinion on the State Council in Russia. This is the reason why the representatives of the liberal and socialist parties saw the State Duma as the body of the representation of people and therefore refused to recognize the representative nature of the State Council. Political destiny of the monarchic bicameralism s the fi rst bicameralism in Russia was important both as the constitutional experience of interaction between legislative chambers at the overall national level but nevertheless failed to be demanded for improvement of the state structure.

Keywords: Parliament, bicameralism, political responsibility, State Duma, State Council, equal rights of chambers, constitutional monarchy, monarchic bicameralism, reformation of the state structure, law-making process.

Abstract: The subject under research is the economic relations between Turkey and Russia at the turn of the 20th and the 21st centuries. The author focuses on mutual energy projects and underlines that the main sphere of economic cooperation between these two states is gas even though tourist contacts are also well established because Turkey is one of the most popular holiday resorts for Russian tourists. Special attention is paid to the visit of the president of Russia Vladimir Putin to Ankara and the bilateral documents signed as a result of his visit. According to the author, these documents designate the beginning of a new stage in the bilateral relationship between Russia and Turkey and promise the improvement and further development of an effective cooperation between the countries. The main research methodology of the article is the analysis (the author carries out an integrated analysis of the Russian and Turkish economic relations), comparative studies (comparison of the positions of Turkey and Russia within the framework of their economic contacts) and the principle of historicism (the author traces back the appearance and development of the analyzed phenomena taking into account the current historical situation as well as analyzes prerequisites of the current conditions for cooperation). At the present day economic relations between Turkey and Russia are understudied scientifi cally. The author underlines that the economic sphere is the main aspect of relations between Russia and Turkey, analyzes the legal platform such this cooperation and provides an insight into the mutual projects of these two countries. It is underlined that at the beginning of the 19th century Russia and Turkey fi nally refused from competition for the benefi t of a mutually profi table partnership but despite the intense development of their economic relations, these two countries have reserved some kind of a confl ict potential between them. However, these diffi culties will not have a great infl uence on their relations and common interests will lead Russia and Turkey to integration.

Keywords: Russia, Turkey, the Blue Stream, the South Stream, Nabucco, relations between Russia and Turkey, contemporary history, gas, energy cooperation, tourism.

Abstract: The subject under research is the definition and content of public inspection of the activity of public authorities as a form of public control in the sphere of anti-corruption measures. The main purpose of the research is to reveal the content and provide the definition of public inspection of public authorities as a form of public control in the sphere of anti-corruption measures and to develop a new legal category of this form of public control. Tasks of the research include the following: a) to analyze legal acts and to describe the content of public inspection of public authorities as a form of public control in the sphere of anti-corruption measures, b) to develop a new legal category ‘public inspection as a form of public control in the sphere of anti-corruption measures’; c) to make recommendations on how to improve the efficiency of implementation of public inspections in the sphere of anti-corruption measures; d) to define promising directions of research in the sphere of anti-corruption measures related to public inspections. Methodological base of the research includes the dialectic materialism and universal scientific research methods based thereupon such as comparison, analysis, synthesis and others used in social sciences. The novelty of the research is caused by the fact that this the first research in Russian law to study public inspection as a form of public control in the sphere of anti-corruption measures, to provide a description of this procedure, to offer a new legal category and to define further directions of research of the given form of public control.

Keywords: Corruption, anti-corruption measures, anti-corruption policy, actors of public control, public control, public inspection, institutions of civil society, anti-corruption legislation, forms of public control, control.

Abstract: The article discusses the issues related to the application of the rules about relief from criminal responsibility set by Part 2 of Article 761 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation. Based on the established rules of the relief from criminal responsibility, the author analyzes grounds and conditions for application of these rules as well as problems that may arise as a result thereto. In particular, the author analyzes the questions about the list of crimes Part 2 of Article 761 of the Criminal Code of the RF is applicable to as well as the compensation of damage as a condition for relief from criminal responsibility. The author studies the reasons why Part 2 of Article 761 of the Criminal Code of the RF sometimes cannot be applied to particular practical causes including punishment for economic crime. The article is based on the technical method of analyzing the practice of the application of rules about relief from criminal responsibility set forth by Part 2 of Article 761 of the Criminal Code of the RF. The author also uses the statistical method for evaluating the effi ciency of the application of these rules. According to the author, the latest version of Article 761 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation fails to be effi cient which is caused by such factors as a super high measure of damages, one’s inability to contest this measure of damage before the court, low effi ciency of work performed by law enforcement agencies leading to frequent expirations of the statute of limitations, relatively soft sanctions of the criminal law which makes it more advantageous for a convict to undergo punishment rather than compensate the damage. Taking all these circumstances and factors into account, the author offers amendments to the existing criminal law to make these rules actually effective.

Keywords: Relief, criminal responsibility, crime, sphere of economic activity, harm, profi t, damage, large scale, active repentance, legal consequences.

Abstract: The article is devoted to the two main problems of hermeneutics of the Evangelic parable. The fi rst problem relates to the question whether it is actually admissible to have multiple interpretations of parables and to make particular moral and didactic conclusions based on the narrative. From this point of view, parable can be viewed as a multi-level structure including different aspects of symbolically refl ected reality which in its hermeneutic interpretation may have many meanings at the same time: literal or historical-grammatical meaning, spiritual or moralesthetical meaning or allegoric (symbolic-mystical), tropological and anagogic meanings. In late ancient and patristic periods in history Church was chosen as a universal system of interpreting parables based on a great number of hermeneutic and exegetic methods. Origen of Alexandria and Saint Augustine founded the Biblical hermeneutics which, as Paul Ricoeur said, was the fundament of modern philosophical hermeneutics. Patristic principles of interpreting Evangelic parables were almost completely denied at the epoch of Reformation which had confessional grounds. Modern hermeneutics is based on the assumption that each sign has many meanings and therefore recognizes the multiple meanings of parables. The second problem discussed by the author relates to the question whether the total interpretation of all elements of parables is reasonable. The author has used the following research methods: textual analysis, historical-cultural, historical-typological, comparative-historical, semiotic, philosophical and theological-patristic analysis. The author of the article also touches upon the history of the development of theoretical grounds for interpreting Evangelic parables at different ages: patristic period, the Reformation, liberal Protestantism and others up to the time when the semiotic model was created. The author also studies the grounds of the modern variety of different concepts and analyzes whether these are applicable to particular hermeneutic tasks.

Keywords: Parable, meaning, interpretation, New Testament, Christianity, hermeneutics, exegetics, new spiritual reality, interpretation of parables.

Abstract: The subject under research is the coverage of negotiations between Russia and Turkey regarding construction of the gas line ‘South Stream’ in Turkish print media. The author of the article analyzes different opinions of experts on construction of this gas line. The author also provides opinions expressed by the representatives of different political parties on the matter. It is demonstrated that there are those who approve and disapprove of the South Stream among experts of both Turkish print media and political parties. The author focuses on the antagonism of the two gas line projects, the South Stream and Nabucco. In his research the author uses the methods of analysis and comparison. He analyzes how the opinions expressed regarding construction of the gas line depended on the nature of a particular publishing house as well as the period of negotiations being analyzed. The author also uses the principle of historicism to analyze prerequisites for the current historical conditions and study the course of negotiations taking into account the current historical situation and general nature of the Russian-Turkish relations. The novelty of the article is in the following: despite the growing infl uence of mass media, their social role is still understudied by the Russian humanities. The author of the present article demonstrates the development of the opinion of Turkish mass media on construction of the South Stream gas line and describes what opinion different political parties and individual analysts expressed on the matter. The author emphasizes that the two projects of constructing gas lines to bring gas to Europe, the South Stream and Nabucco, meet interests of different groups and therefore compete with each other. This has put Turkey in the center of political attention because the European security of energy supply is now dependent on the decision of Turkey to construct the South Stream. Those who speak against Turkey joining this project say it is necessary for Europe to stop being depended on the Russian gas by participating in the Nabucco project aimed at delivering gas from the Central Asia to Europe by-passing Russia. On the contrary, those who approve of the South stream, believe it to be an advantageous project for Turkey taking into account the growing volumes of consumed gas and favorable terms offered by Russia to Turkey when signing the agreement on construction of the gas line.

Keywords: South Stream, Nabucco, Turkey, Russia, gas line, gas, energy resources, Russian – Turkish relations, mass media, print media.

Abstract: The article is devoted to the analysis of the discourse of external policy of Russia in 2008 – 2010. Such a period has been chosen on purpose. In 2008 a new head of Russia and the Russian government was elected. Based on the example of conceptual changes in the ‘language of power’ during the fi rst half of Dmitry Medvedev’s presidential term, the author describes discursive technologies of succession and transformation of the orientation of the country’s policy. The discursive approach to politics allows to reveal the semiotic potential of the political language in relation to construction of the socio-political reality. By interpreting the key concepts and using particular strategies in the discursive practice, the discourse creates a collective identity and has an impact on the global agenda. As the research methodology the author has used instruments of the critical discourse analysis and multi-parameter modeling of the political discourse offered by E. Kozhemyakin and E. Pereverzev. The results of the analysis allow to defi ne the key strategies of the orientation of the Russian external political discourse. These strategies are expressed in using techniques of the positive self-representation and a negative image of the Other as well as dominating stereotypes based on the ‘Us’/ ‘Them’ dichotomy. Based on his research the author makes a conclusion that the repeated articulation of the main concepts in the Russian external rhetoric of 2008 – 2010 allowed to guarantee the succession and continuity of the orientation of political policy.

Keywords: External policy of Russia, external political discourse, concept, Medvedev, Putin, Ukraine, points of intersection, stereotype, ‘language of power’, identity.