This article analyzes the slippery slope argument and its application to the problem of legalizing euthanasia and physician-assisted suicide. The argument is often referred to in discussions of abortion, in vitro fertilization, etc., but it has been little developed in the Russian-language literature. This explains the relevance and novelty of this article. The focus is on the ways of representation of the argument in research. It distinguishes its main types: logical (disintegrating into no-principle distinction argument and the soritical argument), empirical (or psychological argument), and non-logical (metaphorical). Each of these types of argument is constructed according to a certain principle and has a number of features and critiques. A common place for criticism of an argument is its focus on the future so that it makes reasoning probabilistic. The logical type of argument is centered around denoting the transition between the original event and its adverse consequences and denotes the action of social factors to accelerate the transition. The no-principal distinction argument implies that there is no moral distinction between the events at the beginning and the end of the slope. The soritical argument involves intermediate steps between questionable and unacceptable practices. The conceptual slope is another variant of the logical kind of argument. The empirical argument illustrates a situation of changing societal values which results in an easier acceptance of morally disapproved practices. The metaphorical argument is used to illustrate the metaphor of slope and the situation of the accumulation of small problems that lead to serious undesirable results. The non-logical kind of argument centers around the routinization of practice, desensitization, and exploitation of unprotected groups in society. Exploitation can be called the victims' slope. It grounds its consideration on the abuse of the practice being administered. Application of the ethical methodology (theoretical-logical and empirical-historical) to the types of arguments and ways of their application allows us to highlight the value component of the argument, to determine its dilemma nature and to correlate it with bioethical principles. The application of bioethical principles to suppress the transition to undesirable consequences is critiqued on the basis of particularly difficult cases in which one is unable to articulate one's decision. The criticism of the argument is built on the probabilistic nature of the reasoning, the lack of reflection on the underlying premise and the lack of empirical evidence. It concludes that the slippery slope argument is incapable of being the only valid justification for rejecting the practices of physician-assisted suicide and euthanasia.

In this contribution we argue that cross-cultural competence (CCC or 3C) is being an indispensable proficiency in professional work of diplomats worldwide despite any changes that happened in professional interaction due to the recent COVID-19 pandemic. It is also suggested that deglobalizing processes significantly strengthened by COVID-19 have made the necessity for specialists professionally involved in international relations to acquire cross-cultural competence even greater than before. The current global situation shows that deglobalization — slowing down of globalization in all spheres of life — is a new reality and it is important to adjust to it as soon as possible. Cross-cultural competence is defined here as a complex of theoretical knowledge and key practical skills enabling to efficiently and successfully communicate with the representatives of different cultures and religious traditions as well as to feel psychologically comfortable in a foreign environment. A reduced number of personal business interactions lead to the urge for their higher efficiency that is supposed to be reflected in a better understanding of the interlocutor’s motivations, stands and reactions. At the same time cultural specifics remains the main factor shaping human communication whether it is conducted offline or online. Today as the tendency to conduct online conferences and meetings increases, we witness an increased need to learn to understand the attitudes of our virtual interlocutors, who are coming from various national cultures and traditions. In the course of online meetings, the necessity to correctly decipher their body language, for example, has decreased — one can hardly see a full figure on the PC screen. And consequently, verbal communication started to prevail over non-verbal one increasing the demand for proper interpretation of words, phrases, tone, mimics and gestures that are still very widely used during virtual communication. The next step would be using the most relevant arguments and approaches to deliver one’s own position and/or opinion. To successfully apply both mechanisms — of receiving messages and replying to them — during communication of people from different national cultures it would require the knowledge of cultural specifics that is provided by cross-cultural competence courses, training, seminars, or any other educational programmes. Programmes in cross-cultural competence are supposed to include at least three following components: 1) regional studies, 2) axiological orientations, 3) models and norms of behavior, while axiological orientations are seen as the most important one. Finally, the conclusion is made about a serious need to include cross-cultural competence programmes into the training of diplomats-to-be at the early stages of their professional education. At the same time, it is highly recommended for professional upgrade of the already serving diplomats worldwide. The methodological approach used in the present research combines content analysis of the post-COVID publications by the leading international experts in the diplomatic field as well as acting diplomats with the Developmental Model of Intercultural Sensitivity (DMIS) elaborated by the prominent American sociologist Milton Bennet. The latter is a six-level sсheme, according to which it is possible to figure the level of person’s skillfulness in cross-cultural communication.

The development of information and communication technologies and formation of the global information society actualizes the study of new directions in the evolution of diplomatic practice in the digital environment, including in the context of intercultural communication. The modern information revolution is characterized by the widespread and ever-growing use of social networks, blogs, wiki resources and other media platforms (labelled under the common term of Web 2.0 technologies). At the same time, the widespread use of Web 2.0 technologies and the increasing amount of time people all over the world spend there has a wide and profound impact on political and intercultural communication and diplomatic practice. A new phenomenon of digital diplomacy is gaining prominence among foreign policy tools of states and international organizations. Digital diplomacy can be defined as the use of social networks and Web 2.0 technologies in public diplomacy and international interaction by states and international organizations to achieve foreign policy goals and reach foreign audiences. According to the traditional view of digital diplomacy, which has developed in the academic literature, and is reflected in the works of authors such as M. Castells and J. Nye, it helps to strengthen network ties at the level of civil societies in different countries and thus reduces international conflicts. However, cultural differences and digital polarization can impede the potential of digital diplomacy. Today, almost all states and international organizations in the global arena are involved in the practice of digital diplomacy, and Russia is no exception. Russia actively participates in the digital diplomacy practice, by using social media and Web 2.0 tools as soft power instruments to introduce and explain foreign policy initiatives and reach foreign and domestic audiences, as stated in the Doctrine of the Information Security of Russian Federation of 2016. For Russia's foreign policy, relations with the EU countries and EU institutions are of particular importance, including in the digital sphere. However, even though both Russia and the EU countries make extensive use of digital diplomacy tools, the practice of horizontal network interaction mediated by digital technologies does not contribute to strengthening trust between countries and reducing conflicts. The authors consider incidents and allegations in the sphere of digital interaction and, based on the theory of digital polarization, conclude that the use of digital tools in horizontal interactions within digital diplomacy exacerbates intercultural differences between countries and increases conflict instead of improving mutual understanding.

Using little-known correspondence of the Ober-Procurator of the Holy Synod Konstantin Pobedonostsev with the bishop Nickolay (Ziorov) — head of Russian Orthodox Church in the United States in 1892–1898 — the article explores the everyday life of Russian clergy in America. This correspondence is deposited at the Russian State Historical Archive in St. Petersburg and has not been published or studied before. The author analyzes Pobedonostsev’s role in the diocese affairs. This examination is new both in the Church’s history and recently published literature on Pobedonostsev. Yet the Ober-Procurator’s supervision was of utmost importance for the Russian mission in the United States, faced with the crucial challenge of adapting itself to the alien cultural environment. Pobedonostsev was well informed about the situation with the Russian mission, helped to solve many personnel, financial and organizational problems, was a chief promoter of its interests before the Russian imperial government — Foreign Ministry, Ministry of Finance, the State Council, and the Tzar’s court. Pobedonostsev also stayed in touch with the US diplomatic mission in Russia and Russian diplomats in the United States. He was very close with bishop Nickolay who regarded the Ober-Procurator as his main benefactor and constantly turned to him for advice and assistance. Pobedonostsev strongly supported the bishop’s reforms of missionary activities in education, parish life, and propagation of Orthodoxy, as well as his efforts to defend the Russian Orthodox mission’s interests before American authorities. No wonder their extensive correspondence richly reflected the diocese’s life with all its problems and needs. The article highlights their close cooperation in recruiting qualified clergymen for American service, which was the key task for the mission that suffered from a shortage of reliable professional personnel. Pobedonostsev-Nickolay cooperation greatly contributed to the diocese progress, which later reached its peak under Nickolay’s successor bishop Tikhon (Bellavin). Their correspondence sheds new light on the personalities of both men united by their fervent devotion to the Orthodox Church and highly conservative views. It also presents a revealing case study of the interaction between Russian ecclesiastic and state authorities as well as their perception of American culture. The author’s main methodological approach consisted in text analysis of the archival documents juxtaposed against the context of Russian-American relations and the realities of American life.

This paper studies Erich Fromm’s critical theory of religion and looks into the evolution of the philosopher’s views. We analyze key concepts of Fromm’s humanistic psychology, including biophilia, rejection of idolatry, X-experience, classification of religions as humanistic or authoritarian, plea for sustainable coexistence with the environment, and some others. The author demonstrates close connection of these concepts with Judaic tradition, especially the messianism and negative theology of Maimonides. The paper is divided into chapters tracing the evolution of Fromm’s views on religion — from Hasidic Judaism, through following Freud and Marx, to the concept of humanistic religion. The analysis shows that starting from his early works and up to the radical, socialistic humanism as the pinnacle of his thought, Fromm as a philosopher and a strong Israelite draws inspiration from the religious tradition. Notably, his PhD thesis was devoted to the sociology of Hebrew diaspora, Der Sabbath, The Dogma of Christ. However, Fromm’s theory of religion, accordant with the Frankfurt School, combines aspects of Hegel, Marx and Freud’s teachings. Fromm’s views on religion are an original, self-consistent synthesis of diverse ideas, and result in the concept of radical humanism. The paper specifically considers Fromm’s view on idolatry as a form of alienation. Fromm urges to fight against idolatry in a bro.ader sense, finding it in various social phenomena, ranging from consumerism to religious fundamentalism. The paper also reviews the concept of X-experience that Fromm gives in You Shall Be as Gods. The X-experience is a special transcendental experience, separated from its multiple theistic or non-theistic conceptualizations. X-experience is psychological in its nature and leads to diminishing or eliminating narcissism. It constitutes a certain opposition to the alienation caused by idolatry. The work also considers Fromm’s idea of humanistic religion as related to his other concepts. The author supposes that the distinction between authoritarian and humanistic religions is tied to the earlier separation into authoritarian and humanistic ethics that Fromm presents in Man for himself. The impact of Marx and Freud on Fromm’s philosophy of religion is highlighted. While drawing from both, Fromm considered Marx’s theory to be deeper and more significant.

The transformation of the university system in Latin America, initiated by the reform in Argentina in 1918, marked the beginning of a period of democratization and modernization of society. The university reform was the result of a stubborn and dramatic struggle of students against the clerical-aristocratic order in the universities of Argentina. Ideologically, the movement was based on radical anti-clericalism, on the ideas of the conflict of generations, the special role of the young, on the Kulturtraegerism, on the concept of Arielism — a term coined by Enrique Rodo. The student movement, supported by progressive intellectuals and left-wing political parties, almost from the point of its inception, created a network of contacts and solidarity with other countries of the continent, which showed its high efficiency in disseminating ideas, political programs, and forms of struggle. This ability of the intellectual movements to create cross-border networks of influence and activism is relevant today and not only in Latin America. Thanks to this, the reform spread throughout the continent with various and sometimes contrary results, somewhere very successfully, and somewhere met with fierce resistance. The further ideological evolution of the movement and its leaders led to the emergence of new ideological and political currents, such as revolutionary nationalism, which became the dominant political trend in Latin America in the 20th century world. The spread of revolutionary nationalism, the main ideologist of which was the student leader in Peru, Victor Raul Haya de la Torre, relied on the same network of youth structures that led to the spread of the movement for university reform. The reform movement also resulted in the emergence of powerful left-wing movements of the intellectuals, such as the Latin American Union, closely associated not only with the student movement, but also with the labor movement. University reform was not only a political, but also a cultural phenomenon that marked a profound change in Latin American society, which chose the path of modernization of all spheres of life. This work is devoted to the study of this process.

The article is devoted to the study of the phenomenon of public memory about the civil war of 1936 – 1939 and the Francoist dictatorship in Spain. Another focus of the research is an analysis of the difficulties and contradictions associated with the transformations of the Spanish state historical policy, including the problems resulting from the adoption of a new law on democratic memory in the country. For twenty years, issues of memory have invariably been present in the Spanish political discourse and affect the daily life of Spaniards. This situation has been accompanied by significant media attention and wide media coverage. Numerous references to the themes of memory and the difficult past are often superficial and do not reveal the essence of the problem, forming a horizontal informational reflection that gives the illusion of saturation. The authors, analyzing the relationship of the Spaniards with their past, apply the comparative method in the context of four historical stages — the period of the Francoist dictatorship, the stage of democratic transition, democratic Spain in the 1980s – 1990s, and Spain of the 21st century. The conducted research allows us to assert that one important characteristic of the Spanish case is the lack of social consolidation and acceptance of the policy of public memory on a democratic basis. This reveals the difficulty of building a social and political consensus around the policy of memory. Turning to the history of the issue of the return of memory and noting the desire of the left political forces for a historical revenge, the authors of the article conclude that it is impossible to present a single correct presentation of democratic memory. Using the example of the denial of both the Francoist memory and the revolutionary memory of the anarchist movement, the article argues the specific character of democratic memory as a cultural phenomenon: democratic memory is multiple, it reflects and presents various interests of many social actors and does not have an exclusively liberal-democratic character.

The article presents the study of national symbols of Catalonia: their emergence and visual representation in the art of the 19th century. National symbolic system of Catalonia date back to the Renaixença movement in literature that initiated the formation of the Catalan language and literature. The scope and purpose of the article included an investigation of the works of the most prominent representatives of the Catalan national renaissance in order to identify the origins of the symbols they deploy. Consideration of symbols serves the purpose of defining the way national aspects get their visual representation. The method of historical typology was used to systematize the sources. Memoirs and publications in the press were analyzed with the textual method, and visual materials – with stylistic and iconic methods. Detailed research of the works of Renaixença has shown that Catalan cultural code initially emerged in poetry. In the second half of the 19th century, the symbols acquired visuality in fine art, namely paintings and visual design of the front pages of Catalan newspapers and magazines. The article provides a detailed account of selected examples of such visuals. At that time, Catalan intellectuals created works devoted to the history of Catalan-speaking lands, seeking to find roots that would picture the ancient nature of their motherland. They searched the archives and looked into medieval literature and folklore to prove the continuity of prosperous medieval Catalonia, part of the Kingdom of Aragon, and nineteenth-century Catalonia. Thinking over national history gave birth to national identity. At the same time history acquired a visual dimension. Churches, monasteries, memorable dates, leaders and thinkers that bore distinct national identity were visualized. Medieval plots penetrated art that tapped into heroic deeds of the past for inspiration. The spread of visual images helped bridge the gap between past and present. The newly acquired continuity of tradition strengthened the national narrative. The process enabled the national unity of the Catalan people with the central idea of an imaginary community of a nation-state.

The culture of wine as a traditional drink in the countries of Southern Europe is determined by the geographical, ethnographic, and historical context, at the same time it is associated with national identification. In the case of Spain, wine plays the role of a friendly union, an element of active communication, is a sociocultural behavioral norm. Through the history of wine-making, the key stages of the country’s development can be traced: from ancient settlements to the European Union, variety of backgrounds, traditions and religions, etc. adding to the long history of wine on the territory of today’s Spain. The theme of wine is reflected in the works of famous Spanish philosophers, writers and artists as a stable tradition, a symbol of community, celebration, creativity, at the same time melancholy and sadness, as a typical Spanish dualism of attitude to life. It is noted that wine was not only viewed as a means of recreation, but also a powerful double-edged social factor, both pacifying and disorganizing. Taverns became people’s universities, and cafes with their tertulias became the center of intellectual life. Wine is an important economic component, the vineyard zones cover the whole country, with its main wine-making regions — from Rioja to Jerez — renowned around the world. Hundreds of varieties of wines are produced, which differ in denomination, aging, reputation, and popularity on the world market and with tourists. Spain has a leading position in this area. At present, bars, restaurants, and taverns, as public spaces suitable for big parties and family gatherings alike, have become not only a place of spending one’s pastime, but also a platform for political discussions, a place where certain political forces manipulate their influence, where polar views on the current and future agenda are in confrontation: the globalization of the society and cultural unification, or the preservation of unique customs and traditions. Wine culture is dynamic, it manifests itself in a new form in the younger generation, the latest gender and progressive norms appear, the simple, down-to-earth consumption characteristic of the bar culture displaces the spiritual component. The loss of traditions, including the wine culture, is dangerous for the society. It will have negative consequences for the country, will cause damage to its attractiveness for investors and tourists, and hurt the very image of their motherland the Spanish hold dear. Wine remains an important part of the national heritage, material, and spiritual culture of Spain.

The article introduces and reconstructs the main ideas of the book Experience and Thought by Mori Arimasa. Released in the form of journal publications in 1970–1972, it has never been translated into European languages. The Japanese philosopher who spent a large part of his life in France undertakes a comparative analysis of the socio-cultural and linguistic foundations of the experience of the Japanese and Europeans. The article examines the main aspects of Mori’s concept of experience: understanding experience as a reality and as a subject, separation of two forms of experience — universal and personal, the relationship between experience and language and between experience and thought, the theory of binary connections and second person world, designed to identify and explain the underlying prerequisites that determine the specific character of the experience of the Japanese. The author of the article shows that Mori confirms his own thesis that the primary experience of a person is conditioned by original cultural deep predisposition and linguistic affiliation. Notwithstanding his life abroad and passion for Western philosophy, Mori thinks in about the same way as his fellow philosophers who lived in Japan, sharing their empiricism, understanding the subject as a relatum, perceiving an individual subjective experience as a segment of the universal experience, interpreting a subject as a sum total of relations. In conclusion, Mori’s ideas are assessed in terms of ethno-epistemological approaches. Undoubtedly, Mori’s analysis of the experience provides arguments for epistemological pluralism. It allows us to talk about the variability of the perception of reality in different cultural and historical contexts and about the possibility of different ways and perspectives of its comprehension, the spatial and temporal dynamics of epistemological terminology, despite the apparent commonality. Mori Arimasa taking experience as the starting point and the main task of his analysis, by his own example, demonstrated the importance of the empirical form of acquiring knowledge for Japanese epistemic culture, along with its inherent specificity of understanding experience. His linguistic studies of the structures of the native language resulted in the creation of a memorable image of the second person world and outlined the field of joint collective experience without a clearly expressed single autonomous subject of cognitive activity. Mori demonstrated an approach to cognition, in which the knower feels oneself a part of the cognized reality, and is not alienated from it, as a result the cognition turns into self-cognition of reality.

The study of particularities of regional cross-country images of confession and intercultural communication as well as the semantic image surrounding these concepts is vital in today’s social life. The article analyzes denotations and connotations of the terms confession and intercultural communication in the Russian and Japanese sociocultural contexts from the point of view of a new research discourse — glocal religious studies with the focus on vernacular specifics of religiosity in Russia and Japan. The case study methodology includes description and analysis of how various views on certain aspects of religiosity correlate. It makes possible to adjust the theoretical understanding of the problem and weigh it against the variety of real-life communicational practices. The article investigates the complexity and dramatism of communication between members of the ingroup and others. The study bases on the materials from the history, media and academic discourses where in the internal and external of particular communities in the given historic circumstances may not only vary significantly, but also be intentionally marked to divide one from the other. Sometimes this demarcation takes a form of stigmatization that label one’s perspective as not-true or lawless. The paper describes two major types of culture: the first one (ethnocentrism in terms suggested by M. Bennet) derives from the idea that other’s statements are sealed and cannot be translated thus must be destroyed. The second type — ethnorelativism — comes from the idea of affinity and openness. It is presumed that taking one a different perspective and accepting diversity is empowering and gives start to an intercultural dialogue. Common and particular are the two basic viewpoints on any identity, when both positive and negative promotes understanding. The phenomenon of unity as similarity of indistinguishable (like grains of sand) on the one hand, and systemic unity of the different (like people) on the other hand, are considered within the framework of distancing extralinguistic social facts from the term that stand for them. The latter shown as special imaginary unities and descriptions of autopoietic systems.

The article studies the construction of the state image of Mongolia and its peculiarities. Mongolia is a country undergoing social and cultural transformation that includes reevaluation of image strategies. State image is an international statement based on highlighting one’s original characteristics that make a country attractive to investors and international partners. At the same time, it should reflect real cultural practices and allow for advancing national interests. The present study deploys the methodology of case study, SWOT analysis, thematic analysis of connotations that form the external and internal image of Mongolia. The purpose of this article is to investigate the strategies of image construction in today’s Mongolia. The article is aimed to give a semantic vision of the external image of Mongolia by identifying the most common words and expressions that are used in media to describe modern Mongolia. The second objective was to lay out the problematic aspects of creating an image of Mongolia as a promising and growing country despite the fact that now it goes through a challenging period of its history. The third objective is to investigate the ways Mongolia attempts to address these problems. For this purpose, the authors analyze government programs set to form and establish a modern image of Mongolia. These programs include a variety of documents, such as the National Program for the Promotion of Mongolia Abroad and others. Another line of research included the analysis of the work on the inclusion of Mongolian natural and cultural heritage on the list of UNESCO World Heritage Sites. The novelty of the research comes from a unique perspective on the construction of state image of Mongolia as an ethnic and cultural brand from the point of view of marketing strategies. The authors conclude that building brand and image of Mongolia is based on the civilizational approach. This approach to re-evaluating and re-creating Mongolia’s image leads to combining opposite characteristics. The country is presented as both ancient and modern, traditional and responsive to change. Such combination of controversial aspects makes allows for implementing archaic elements into the discourse of the catch-up modernization resulting in a positive state image. Mongolia’s experience in making a new image shows the potential of equating national and ethnocultural identity.

The essay reflects on the creativity of Parvin Etesami (1907 – 1941), a distinguished Persian poet, little known abroad. We highlight anthropological teaching based on the religious worldview as one of the aspects of her mystical poetry. Created in the era when Persian literature and its classical tradition were breaking, Parvin’s poems affirm loyalty to the mystical tradition and the ways of self-creation of an individual laid down in it. The article shows that the Muslim science of behavior guides a person striving for wisdom and determines their path. The preaching of morality in Parvin’s poems, coupled with her mystical enlightenment, attempts to return her contemporaries to the classical world of their tradition. This research investigates the concept of man and is based on the only collection of 60 poems published in Russian (Journey of Tears, 1984), as well as on the new poetic translations. Two of the poems translated by M. Yahyapour and M. L. Reysner are introduced to the readers for the first time. The paper describes different facets of personality and fate, found in poetic self-reflection, the most significant of which is Parvin’s Auto-Epitaph. The values corresponding to Parvin’s spiritual personality are revealed: purity of soul, strictness, restraint, intellectualism, moral seriousness. Following the Sufi teachings about men, Parvin criticizes deviations from the true path —such as susceptibility to passions and pride. The poet considers them the destroyers and believes that they occur because of the evil forces distorting the human soul. The poet proposes a way out for the soul captured by the world — the knowledge of the Truth and the appeal to the experience of the righteous. The essay demonstrates that in Parvin’s poetry, fidelity to a thousand-year-old spiritual tradition and individual creativity appear as an organic unity. In the era that leads a person of the West and the East away from the spiritual roots of culture, the poet becomes a gnostic and a mystic in his individual creative life and, abandoning modern trends, consciously takes the path of mystical enlightenment and brings to her readers the wisdom found on these paths.

Apophatic Literary Criticism. Notes of a Non-philologist’ by Marianna Dudareva demonstrates Russian spirit and reflects the immense variety of characters and plots that influence people and manifest the creative power of literature. The author introduces a number of writers, from Sergei Yesenin to Vladimir Korolenko, with unique literary styles and a common apophatic approach to reality. The term apophatic comes from the Greek word to deny and initially referred to religious studies where it served both as a concept and a method. Apophatic theology attempted to approach God by negations rather than affirmations of what God is. M. Dudareva’s work showcases how literature studies instrumentalize the apophatic method of philosophy. This review complements the study with a reflection on the topic of death and its inextricable connection with life. Literature speaks of life and dwells on the struggle for life, that is also key to philosophical thinking. Enough to mention Arthur Schopenhauer and his idea of the will to live. In contrast to philosophy, literature uses a vivid, colorful, and copious language, while philosophy is concerned with universal principles. Some distinguished authors managed to bridge this gap. For instance, Dostoevsky, Nietzsche, and Sartre created works of both literary and philosophical nature. The same can be traced in the short stories by B. Zaytsev and A. Grin, analyzed in the book. B. Zaytsev writes about death approaching us first through others, this idea is also found in V. Jankélévitch’s work Death. Death is never ours for it is always we or our death, but when we see it around it causes anxiety and fear. In Avdot’ya-smert’ (Avdot’ya-Death) the main character says a prayer to be relieved of her mother and son, whom she considers a burden. Once death enters their home it never stops, it gets closer, and at the end of the story it takes Avdot’ya too. In Grin’s Fighting Death, death struck Lorkh falls asleep and herein dreaming is not a harbinger of the darkness of eternal sleep. On the contrary, Lorkh wakes up willful and hopeful, he fights for his life and succeeds. These stories vibrantly illustrate the victory of life over death and death over life as the result of exercising one’s free will. Color in literature is another topic touched upon by the author. M. Dudareva refers to Goethe’s Zur Farbenlehre to speak about contrasts, and R. Steiner to underline the importance of black in creating an image where color range matches the emotional range.

Cultural Excavations by Nadezhda Venediktova were published in late autumn 2021, at the time most suitable for philosophical speculations. This way of thinking brings us close to a collapse that might equally turn out productive or catastrophic. Its anaemic academic manner stands out among full-blooded well-crafted literature of saturated and inspiring reality. Pandemic or not, we seek to know whether there is a need to distinguish between various cultures if at the end of the day people are still people. The author does not provide the answer but rather invites us to join a sophisticated mental game in fine textual decorations. And readers will walk away a little confused about simplicity of binary oppositions, and straightforwardness of the logic that a bored visitor so happily lays their hands on, eager and happy to get down to work. The book evolves around the topic of meeting thyself in different cultural surroundings. Sunlit essays bear the imprint of the bitter rationalism of the French enlightenment coupled with a weathered love of personal presence in the world. In her latest work, Nadezhda Venediktova ‘ambitiously comments on life’s creative abilities’. Vivid sketches entitled Passions for Europe may take place by a nameless lake in Zurich but remind readers of Michel Houellebecq’s concrete jungle, of Spengler’s mathematics. But nothing here speaks of The Decline of the West, under the author’s thoughtful gaze Europe comes to life fresh and real — a proverbial sphynx with its intriguing riddles. The author’s underworld meetings with the world literature alternate with colorful Italian landscapes. Vibrant images of friends are so true to life that remind of the immortality of soul. The soul of Europe is truly immortal and found across the continent — Italy, Britain, Austria, Germany, France, Greece, Switzerland, Spain — gave their name to the chapters but cannot be reduced to a dusty catalogue. Nadezhda Venediktova presents European countries through effortless florid metaphors. This what happens when Europe looks into the author’s soul, though it might look otherwise from an outside perspective.

On October 15–16 the 13th Russian International Studies Association Convention took place in MGIMO, Moscow. The Department of Philosophy named after A. F. Shishkin and the editorial board of the journal Concept: Philosophy, Religion, Culture hosted the Intercultural Communication section with the great support of the organizers of the Convention. Researchers that took part in the Section represented many countries such as Abkhazia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Egypt, Spain, Iran, Moldova, Serbia and the USA, and many Russian cities — Moscow, Saint Petersburg, Chita, Rostov-on-Don, Vladimir, Nizhny Novgorod, and Irkutsk. Online streaming gathered a wide audience from all over the world from Russia to Uruguay and Japan. Specialists from various academic backgrounds in social and cultural studies discussed intercultural communication in several sessions. Philosophers, linguists, political and cultural reseactors, specialists in arts, media, and regional studies were engaged in active debates on the presented reports and talks. The exchange of viewpoints and perspectives is beneficial for both experts in their field and interdisciplinary research: it introduces inspiring ideas, impressive results, and new visions. Moreover, the dialogue itself was an example of intercultural communication with the academic community involved in a fruitful and engaging conversation on the most exciting topics in the field.

On October 22, 2021, MGIMO University hosted the international scientific conference Risks to the Human Capital of the Scientific Community in the Context of the COVID-19 Pandemic, organized by the Department of Sociology. The agenda of the conference included a wide variety of topics and issues related to self-identification of the scientific community in times of the COVID-19 pandemic. Its relevance and importance of the topic attracted participants from Russia, the Czech Republic, Italy, Belarus, Vietnam, Lebanon, Armenia, Brazil, Austria, China, Finland and Israel making it diverse and international. During the plenary session possibilities and boundaries of the use of the terms capital and risks in the sociological discourse were considered. The participants discussed global dilemmas of the civilization of the future, philosophical education in conditions of social turbulence, psychological factors in inflating risks and social instability as well as the demand for longterm humanistic trends to minimize risks for human academic capital in times of the pandemic. There were three sessions. The first one concentrated on the issue of human academic capital transformation in times of the pandemic. Its focus was on the effects of COVID on the sociological research agenda, new risks for social sciences (such as pseudoscientific arguments) and many others. The second session as devoted to digitalization with its influence, paradoxes, challenges, and risks. The speakers made it clear that digitalization today is not only a new research area, but a factor of producing social knowledge. This idea was illustrated by the analyses of advantages and disadvantages of scientometrics. The third session discussed the risks associated with digitalization of education and overall implications of the pandemic for the learning process. Both explicit and implicit, these implications of distant learning need to be considered. The participants spoke about digital competences and digital capital of university lecturers and professors, students’ academic mobility, etc. The sociological academic community welcome new perspectives and ideas, thus graduate students and masters were invited to participate in the conference together with experts. The conference bridged two main sociological trends: structural knowledge and comprehension. The former studies social institutions and structures and their functioning, while the latter investigates social actions and interactions, coupled with the meanings and intentions behind them. The current situation made it necessary to combine both approaches so that qualitative and quantitative methods would help study social structures, nuanced contexts, and values alike.

This paper is an interview with Vladimir M. Alpatov, Doctor of Philology, full member of the Russian Academy of Sciences, distinguished linguist, and expert on Japanese studies. The focus of the interview is intercultural communication and the problems associated with translating languages and cultural realities. The difference between cultures makes it necessary to provide extensive commentaries to make the text comprehensive to foreign readers. Though, Vladimir M. Alpatov notes, the comments depend on the purposes and types of translation, such as academic or literary translation. Symbols are part of a greater symbolic and cultural system. Often it is not the symbol but one’s attitude towards the object that causes misunderstanding and requires clarification. Vladimir A. Alpatov gives many examples of how the Japanese view and treat life differently from Russian people. Many discrepancies come from domestic life and economic practices: the Japanese are less knowledgeable about cattle than many other nations. At the same time, insects that are found all around the world receive special treatment and admiration. Vladimir A. Alpatov makes a critical point on the absence of a proper method of studying cultural differences. We observe and list numerous cultural differences, but explanations and theories we come up with have no solid methodological basis. Another topic discussed is machine translation and AI Linguistics used to be considered exact science that implied the possibility of machine translation not assisted by humans. However, it did not happen yet, and the need for human-to-human translation or post-editing is obvious. With literary translation and translation from unrelated languages, the case against AI is stronger — human intuition in translating cultural specifics is indispensable, and various translations rather than a single canonic one should be welcome. Differentiation of sciences brought about cultural studies and linguistic-cultural studies that finally embraced the study of language as one of the vital elements of culture. Today many students study foreign languages and are interested in intercultural communication. They need to learn that we can overcome bias and prejudices through personal contact. One more way to promote a different vision of one’s culture and country — is to speak about it in an understandable language, for example, on the Internet.