Abstract: The subject of the research is the views on the language and spelling presented by French scientists of the 16th - 17th centuries, in particular, Geoffroy Tory (1480-1533), Jacques Dubois (1478—1555), Pierre Ramée (1515-1572), Luis Maigret (1510-1558),  Antoine Arnauld  (1612-1694) and Claude Lancelot (1615-1695) who published The Port-Royal Grammar, and Bernard Lamy (1640-1715). The object of the research is the works of these authors written in the French language. In her research Schekochikhina focuses on the relationship between the philosophy of those times and linguistic concepts of these researchers. She analyzes works of French researchers of the 16th - 17th centures on the language and spelling and describes linguistic concepts of these researchers and how their views on the language have been changing in the 16th - 17th centuries. The concept of the language that was quite common for rational grammers of the 17th century appeared as a result of debates on the French spelling of the precedent century. By the 16th century the French spelling had a lot of contradictions between a graphic image of a word and a new way to pronounce a word. However, the researchers had to solve a number of theoretical issues before creating general principles of writing. The practical aim to improve the spelling made the researchers raise a question about ideal graphic images of words and spelling, and solve a number of theoretical issues (for example, the question about the relationship between the speech sound and grapheme. While the 16th century saw discussions about spelling rules of the French language, the 17th century gave a start to creation of principles of the graphic (written) language in general. 

Keywords: Latin, French language, language norm, the philosophy of rationalism, the grammar of port-Royal, French spelling, history of linguistic doctrines, phoneme, speech, history of language

Abstract: The subject of the research is the poetry from the piont of view of its dependence and independence from social factors. A poetical composition is a complex ideal system of meanings that exist in the minds of both a writer and reader. Yury Lotman already wrote about a poetical composition being a complex system. Morkina takes up the position that this is a complex ideal system of meanings that is formed in the mind of a writer writing poetry and that of a reader reading it. The way the system is perceived depends on two kinds of meanings: internal (aesthetical)and external social meanings predetermined by the society. In her article Morkina applies phenomenological methods of research. She uses the metaphor of stream of consciousness that was offered for the first time by William Jameson and Henri Bergson and later used by Edmund Husserl, the founder of the phenomenological branch of philosophy. Consciousness is viewed by the author as an authopoetical flow of meanings that create and transform intentional objects as complex ideal systems. For the first time in the academic literature the author analyzes poems of M. Tsvetaeva and A. Debabov from the phenomenological point of view. The author of the article demonstrates that at the moment of being written, poetical compositions assimilate a lot of meanings from the current political and social environment. Presenting 'models of the world', poems perform a cognitive function acting as models and giving a reader an insight into the social situation in the country and realities of one's internal life. As the social situation changes, the poem starts to bear a different meaning for the reader who is now able to understand 'eternal' messages of the poetic composition such as human existence at any time and in an society. 

Keywords: model of world, meaning, society, creativity, artwork, poetry, phenomenology, philosophy, reflection, system

Abstract: The subject of the study is the authentic works of Irmtraud Morgner, in particular the features of poetics, the style of her works and the ideological focus in the context of German gynocentrical prose of the second half of the twentieth century, as well as the historical subtext of the author's novel. The object of the study is the gynocentrical German prose by Irmtraud Morgner ("The Life and Adventures of Trobadora Beatrice as Chronicled by Her Minstrel Laura", "Amanda. A Witch's Tale") as a socio-cultural phenomenon. The author considers in detail such aspects of the topic as woman's emancipation, the protection of human rights and freedoms, military themes, which are reinterpreted and embodied in the text through author's mythologizing and the prism of female consciousness. The focus is on the ideas of the writer, Irmtraud Morgner concerning the consequences of the dominant patriarchal values, which, from her point of view, determined the course and development of history, systematically excluding women from history throughout its course, which led to the disharmonious development of society. Irmtraud Morgner offers her own, female, version of history, in which women are assigned the role of not a passive, homeless, disenfranchised observer, but a demiurge with an active life position and high moral values. A great attention is paid to the principle of historicism, which is directly related to authenticity and is its practical implementation in the works of Irmtraud Morgner. The rethinking of the tragic past, the awareness of German guilt, the confusion of a man in the post-war world, the search for support and love are reflected in the writer's works. The research is interdisciplinary in nature, synthesizing the historical-literary, comparative-typological method of linguistic and textual analysis, as well as psycholinguistics, philology, elements of international relations, political science, and is based on comparison and generalization of the obtained literary data and political and social thought. The novelty of the research consists, firstly, in opportunity to join the discussion about the existence of woman's prose as an independent literary phenomenon, as well as the genre of the gynocentrical novel and the terms of the poetics of the works of this trend of modern European, including German prose. Secondly, there are no studies in Russian literary criticism that would contain a comprehensive analysis of the work of Irmtraud Morgner in the context of German gynocentrical prose. One of the main conclusions of the study is the fact that the work of Irmtraud Morgner is a sample of gyinocentrical literature and a unique example of East German magical realism, whose task is to find reality in the magical. By reality the author means history and historical events. Thus, the novels of Irmtraud Morgner reflect the rejection of the existing reality along with the problems of the eternal confrontation between the gender and the social injustice of women who are brought to the forefront and received profound philosophical interpretation.

Keywords: woman's literature, authenticity, feminism, deconstructionism, gynocentrism, cultural identity, psycholinguistics, woman's prose, German literature, historicism

Abstract: The subject of the research is the personal names inscribed on everyday items discovered in the Ryazan land. A number of everyday items with inscriptions containing forenames on them have been excavated in the territory of the ancient Duchy of Ryazan. The names, such as Erem[a], Molodilo, Dobrilo and Bogunka, are inscribed on a fishing plummet, a spindle whorl and a large earthenware wine pot; all of the above are dating back to the 9th-10th, 12th-13th century. The antique signs help us discover composition of the names of those who are of humble origin as well as usage peculiarities of those names serving as a signature on everyday items. Despite obvious scientific value, inscriptions containing forenames found on excavated household items, toys and other everyday objects are still left out-of-sight of linguists and the aforesaid archeological discoveries have not been duly studied by onomatologists as sources of anthroponyms. In her research Gordova has used the structural and typological analysis methods. Anthroponyms are analyzed from the point of view of their regional (i.e. belonging to one region) and onomastic attribution (i.e. belonging to one onomastic class and field of anthroponyms, in particular, Old Russian names of people living in the ancient Duchy of Ryazan). The epigraphical findings confirm the fact that a forename played a defining role during the Old Russian period. Even before the Mongol conquest both native Russian and Christian names existed among the non-princely estates. The use of folk forms of forenames as inscriptions bears witness of the lack of such an anthroponymical quality as formulaicity. The presented items prove the fact that everyday objects, alongside with birchbark manuscripts and chronicles, can serve as an important source of the Old Russian anthroponyms.  

Keywords: anthroponymy, personal names/forenames, onomastics, archeological discoveries, Ryazan land, sources of anthroponyms, regional onomastics, old Russian onomastics, linguistics

Abstract: The aim of this article is to explicate the ontological characteristics of the monarch’s power represented in the historical novel of Ivan Lazhechnikov “The House of Ice”. In the article the author offers the interpretation of Lazhechnikov’s ideas and images in terms of contemporary political and philosophical doctrines. Involving the theoretical studies of Alexandre Kojève, Georges Bataille, Jean Baudrillard, Michel Foucault, Ernst Kantorowicz, Mikhail Iampolski and other researchers into the analysis, the author reveals a variety of forms and ways of power represented in the novel. Particular attention is paid to the phenomena of monarch’s body, discourse of power and ways of power transgression. Along with the general scientific methods of research the author uses the hermeneutic and poststructuralist methodology as well as elements of comparative literary studies. The most important result of the research is the explication by the author of four levels of power being represented in the novel "The House of Ice ". The crisis of the metaphysical foundation of the power expressed in the inability of Empress Anna Ivanovna to represent the transcendence is compounded by the crisis of representation of the collective body in public space. The special contribution of the author consists in explanation of the specific characteristics of the discourse of power as well as the interpretation of laughter as one of the elements of the discourse of power.

Keywords: Lazhechnikov, power, discourse, ontology, transcendence, transgression, body, jester, space, “The House of Ice”

Abstract: The article offers the analysis of Jean-Paul Sartre’s book ‘Saint Genet, Actor and Martyr’ constituting the first volume of the Complete Works of Genet. In his book Sartre does not only express his admiration for Genet’s prose works but also demonstrates his own style and method of philosophy connecting the phenomenological tradition from Descartes to Husserl and Heidegger completed with the liberal addition from Freud’s psychoanalysis and revisionist Marxism. Based on Sartre, genius is not a gift but a way to survive invented by human in critical situations.

Keywords: philology, Jean Genet, Sartre, existentialism, phenomenology, psychoanalysis, action, freedom, morals, ‘Self’ and the Other.

Abstract: This article contains a review of the book “Wanderers of War: Memories of the Writers’ Children. 1941–1944” written by Natalya Gromova and published in 2012. The book describes memories of children of the Soviet writers who were evacuated and lived at the hostel arranged by the Foundation for the Support of Writers in Chistopol. The first part of the book contains a story about the three young men who died: Marina Tsvetaeva’s son Georgy Efron, Vsevolod Bagritsky and Nikita Shklovsky. The second part of the book is devoted to detailed memories about childhood in the years of war and everyday life before the war and describes families of Soviet writers and their relations, performance of the local radio, school days and games played by children, personalities of Timur Gaidar, Stanislav Neuhaus and Aleksey Surkov and etc. The book also tells us about the teachers of the hostel such as Boris Pasternak, Faina Kogan, Anna Stonova, Nikolay Sychev, Flora Leytes, Elizaveta Loyter, Angelina Stepanova and others. Boris Pasternak used to read his translations of Shakespeare’s “Romeo and Juliette” to the kids. Tvardovsky’s “Vasili Tyorkin” was first performed in Chistopol. The book also describes how Aleksey Surkov’s “Strawberry” was created.

Keywords: memories about war, Soviet writers, evacuation, Chistopol, hostel, Pasternak, Tsvetaeva, Surkov, Gaidar, Neuhaus, Gromova, Efron.

Abstract: The article contains a review of social stereotypes related to death, reforms and their perception by different layers of the society during the Victorian epoch.

Keywords: philology, Victorian epoch, death, rituals, the poor and the rich, social organizations, public mourning, the law on burial ground disposal, private grave-yards, Duke of Wellington.

Abstract: The status and nature of Venice was completely changed when the hallows of St. Mark appeared there back in 828. St. Mark became the synonym of Venice and St. Mark’s hallows turned Venice into an independent city. St. Mark’s winged lion symbolizes Venice magnificence. From the very beginning Venice has been the shelter for outsiders and travelers. It has been an open city which readily assimilates everyone who enters it. German habitation was created for German traders, Armenian had their districts, too. A colony of Turkish merchants lived there and Jewish people also started to live in the city since XII. The first ghetto was created in 1516. Doves from St. Mark’s Square are the most cherished and spoiled birds in the world for they are protected by the old city tradition.

Keywords: philology, cult of St. Mark, open city, foreign traders, Jewish, ghetto, doves, Venice stones, hallows, habitation.

Abstract: The abstract describes religious life of London during Victorian age, religious tolerance and attitude of different social circles towards religious life. The abstract also contains the review of religious theory and experience back in those times.

Keywords: philology, Victorian age, English Catholics, Roman Catholic Church, Quakers, spiritualism, Judaism, Broad Church, Low Church, Dickens.

Abstract: The international exhibition was held in London in 1851. The Crystal Palace was especially built for it. The Palace became the prototype of a new constructivist architecture. More than 17 thousands exponents were exhibited there about 6 millions of people had visited the Crystal Palace over several years.

Keywords: philology, Queen Victoria, the Society of Crafts, Paxton’s project, glass panels, Koh-i-noor brilliant, excursions, pre-historic animals, Crystal Palace, fire of 1936.

Abstract: The author of the article describes a very important stage in development and expansion of Russian intelligentsia’s writings. The author reveals opposing views on life introduced by different generations of emigrants, analyzes the process of establishing of new canons and considers peculiarities of style of different writers.

Keywords: philology, emigration, dissidence, politics, literature, intelligentsia, journalism, intonation, history, language.