The article is devoted to the possibility of social prognosis. Three types of prognosis (prophecy, prediction, scientific prognosis) are characterized and compared with each other, highlighting both similarities and dissimilarities between them. The article states that the question of predictive power of different divination methods does not have a satisfactory answer. Precise divinations and horoscopes are based on Convexity effect: successful predictions are well-remembered, while unsuccessful are forgotten. Society’s demand for divinations is caused by its complexity and high dynamism of changes. A man facing fundamental uncertainty tries to grasp Ariadne’s thread of certainty in a surrounding chaos. It doesn’t matter if an inquirer really receives knowledge about the future or it is just an illusion, in any way it provides him with necessary psychological assurance. Scientific prognostications are slightly different from unscientific divinations in terms of their predictive powers and quality. Those successful prognoses that we have are based on extrapolation and statistical regularity. At the same time science is unable to foresee accidental or unlikely, but highly important events, black swans. Extrapolation of historical tendencies and the usage of statistical regularities is the analytical limit of today’s scientific knowledge. Even though such turning points are vital for societies, nations and individuals, we are unable to predict them. At the same time scientific prognostication, not unlike different methods of divination, possesses an important psychotherapeutic effect, generating an illusion of control over one’s future.

The article examines the formulation and development of the role and significance of culture in international relations in the context of the Foreign Policy Concepts of the Russian Federation after the Soviet Union collapse. Based on the content of five of these concepts, a consistent growth of attention to this factor in international relations is demonstrated. The origins of this phenomenon are also analyzed. Firstly, the essence of modern international relations between the capitalist states in the aftermath of the “Cold War” remains an all-out competition, instead of a constructive cooperation, a partnership wished by the leadership of the new Russia after 1991. Secondly, the parity in weapons of mass destruction, achieved during the confrontation between the USA and the USSR and still holding back from a new global conflict, forced to transfer this competition into the cultural field, making information wars its priority. It was also promoted by scientific and technical achievements including electronic media and communications. The victory in such a war is not a capture of the hostile terrain, but it’s a cultural leadership resulting in the control over all of its resources through educational systems, values and culture. Therefore, in the Russian Foreign Policy Concepts appeared a theses that “a global competition for the first time in the modern history is acquiring a civilizational dimension which suggests competition between different value systems and development models”; that “The reaction to the prospect of the loss by the historic West of its monopoly on the globalization processes is reflected, in particular, in the inertia of the political and psychological attitude on the” containment “of Russia”, and that “The strategy of unilateral actions destabilize the international situation … (and) leads to increased tension in relations between civilizations; the onslaught of globalization, cultural identity is exposed to the vast majority of countries and peoples”.

The paper examines the phenomenon of the regionalist rhetoric in the Russian mass media space and the activation of regionalist groups and its supporters in Russia in 2012. The author explores the relationship between regionalism-supporters and the civil protests “For Fair Elections” of that period. The paper points out the main arguments and goals of regionalists in Russia. It notes that the regionalists transfer the idea of cultural and political autonomy even to the regions where ethnic Russians are in the majority. The reasons for the regionalist sentiment weakening after Crimea’s return to Russia and the beginning of the war in south-east Ukraine are also explored. The paper examines the phenomenon of regionalism from two different perspectives: on the one hand, it’s a political technique of constructing a new regional identity and a new regional image (in this case regionalism can be compared to the rebranding of regional sociocultural landscape); on the other - it’s an ideology, which launches this technique. The author reviews regionalism as the ideology of cultural, economic and political independence of a region in the modern global world, figuring as one of the forms of the ideology of globalism, levelled against the historic phenomenon of the nation state. In this case regionalism is compared to a new form of nationalism serving the idea of post-Westphalian world order. Additionally, the paper notes that regionalist ideologues in Russia make attempts to use this conception to strengthen domestic protest movements’ agenda.

The article is about Priest-Martyr Vasily (Bogoyavlensky), Archbishop of Chernigov and Nezhin, a Present Member of the Holy Synod, the famous figure of the Russian Orthodox Church of the early XX century. He was canonized for Church-wide praise in 2000. 150 years since his birthday is celebrated in 2017. Raised the issue of the phenomenon of Russian New Martyrs in general. Stages of Archbishop’ life are presented according to chronology and geography: Tambov and Kazan stages of life (years of study, service as a priest, widowhood); Kharkov and Chernigov stages of life (Seminary rector and a Bishpop); St. Petersburg stages of life (first monasticism, working as a member of Synod, months of being persecuted in 1917); Tver and Moscow stages of life (last year of life as an abbot, participation in the Council of ROC of 1917-1918); a trip to Pyerm as the head of the Conciliar Commission for the investigation of the murder of Archbishop Andronic (Nikolsky) and death on 27 August 1918. Analysing the Priest-Martyr’s activities, the author of the article used both published and unpublished archival materials, memoirs of contemporaries, scientific texts. Besides, writing the article Dr. Lyutova as a relative of V. D. Bogoyavlensky used some documents from her home archive and the information saved in oral family traditions.

The issue of national models of life and national interests is necessarily reduced to the question of culture and values. Today these concepts are the ones most applicable in scientific papers and journalistic speeches, which quantity is constantly and rapidly increasing. However, in most cases the authors either consider the question of the culture and values absolutely clear, and therefore do not focus on their nature and properties, or, for clarity, still list the most various ones comma separated, defining them as equal and interchangeable. Meanwhile, a policy based on such theoretical constructs leads neither to a positive intercultural interaction, nor to the development and greater happiness of the individual. On the contrary, such a policy is occasionally reduced to calls for the “tolerance” failing to explain for how long to endure and, most importantly, for the sake of what. Finally, this policy is declared a failure under the pressure of the facts. This is because such an approach to the culture contains typical problems; being unsolved or even neglected they lead to unfounded conclusions. Among basic problems are logical errors, the metaphysical approach to the culture instead of the historical, mixing of the processes of globalization and localization, attempts to replace the science by the policy. As the severity of intercultural problems grows, it becomes more difficult to circumvent this situation in silence, to find more or less acceptable explanations to continue the policy of tolerance.

The article considers the importance of axiological knowledge in the process of intercultural communication. In the globalized world communication with representatives of other cultures becomes an inevitable process, the success of which will be influencing the quality of life of both individual and society. At the same time, it is no longer enough for the actor of intercultural communication to have information about behavioral features in a foreign culture environment, but it is necessary to be aware of value orientations and attitudes prevailing in that particular society. The importance of using the empathy potential as a basic skill in intercultural communication is justified. Analyzing the two types of empathy - emotional and cognitive, a conclusion is made about the effectiveness of using cognitive empathy in the course of intercultural communication as long as it allows a person to expand his/her worldview and “see the world through the eyes of another”. No doubt humanity has a set of universal values; however its value priorities and hierarchy vary from culture to culture. Proceeding from this assumption it is obvious that comparative cross-cultural study of values would contribute to establishing successful dialogue between cultures. Naturally to define axiological priorities of various cultures it is necessary to conduct certain evaluations and studies. As a methodological ground the theory suggested by American anthropologists Francis Kluckhohn and Fred Strodtbeck was taken, which implies that the cultures are classified according to five parameters: time (past, present, future), activity (being, being-in-coming, achieving), relations (hierarchal, as equals, individualistic), attitude towards environment (mastery, harmonious, submissive), nature of human being (good, bad, mixed). Growth of religious factor in the modern world presupposes the increase of attention to the issue of religious axiology. Moreover, value framework of different cultures had been formed by religious systems. As long as Islam and Christianity are being the two main religions of the modern world, a humble attempt is made to analyze the values brought forward by the two religious systems: Sunni Islam and Orthodox Christianity.

In the literal sense, A. Manzoni and F.M. Dostoevsky, of course, can be called contemporaries, but with strict reference to specific art directions, Manzoni is known as the most prominent representative of Italian romanticism, while Dostoevsky went down in history as an innovator of the Russian realistic novel. Satisfying these formal attributions in our case would not be entirely true, since we are talking about Russia and Italy, the countries in which the development of the romantic and realistic trends in art had its own characteristics. When in Russia realism was approaching its crisis, in Italy its path had only just begun. If from the work of A. Manzoni the literary trails led to a social novel, then the novel by F. M. Dostoevsky became the gateway to the Silver Age of Russian culture. Until now, there is an open discussion about the theoretical possibility or impossibility of “tragedy” in the heritage of Manzoni. The reality of the presence of this tragedy is largely connected not with the unconditionally tragic fate of the novel heroes, but with the presence of antinomies in authorial poetics as such. It is known that the key opposition between Manzoni and Leopardi is the Catholicism of the first and atheism of the second, but several researchers note, on the contrary, the latent religiosity of Leopardi’s worldview, which manifests itself precisely through tragic consciousness. “Everyone can or can be satisfied with themselves, except for the Man,” writes the young J. Leopardi in the Diary of Reflections, “and this shows that his existence is not limited to this world, as, on the contrary, the existence of other beings”. “It seems that human nature irresistibly pushes us to evil for reasons beyond the authority of its arbitrator”, Manzoni writes in the work “At the Shameful Pillar” - <...> In this horror, a thought is born that is doomed to exist between two insane blasphemies: unbelief in Providence or accusations of him in all troubles”.

The current article presents the quintessence of Max Weber’s ideas regarding the state opportunity to take a leading position on the global stage. The classic of sociology was not only the cabinet scientist but the practice politician. He took part in the Versailles Conference on the results of the First World War and was one of the authors of the Constitution of the Weimar Republic. His ideas about Parliament and Reich President were reflected in the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Germany. All his life the scientist worked out a way of returning the former greatness to Germany that had just been joined by Otto von Bismarck. The author considers, that the writings of Max Weber afford an opportunity to answer the question crucial for the Russian Federation: «How to take the leading positions in the modern globalizing world»? The researcher, guided by the works of German classic, offers to pay attention to one of the aspects that plays a significant role in the strong state building: the formation of the unified national identity. The solid nation, built on the centuries-old ethnic communication, can be the reliable foreign policy tool if the interests of the nation and the state coincide. The current conception is being considered in the context of the experience of Great Britain as the center of the Commonwealth, the Federal Republic of Germany as the leader of the European Union and Russia. The research is theoretic using systematic, hermeneutic, comparative and historical genetic methods. The current article presents the stages of national identity formation in Great Britain, Germany and Russia taking into account the peculiar features of intercultural communication between the ethnos living in these countries. This paper presents a detailed analysis of the unified nation’s influence on the applicability of state leaders’ attractive and unattractive ideas in the foreign policy. The article refers to the materials from the author’s dissertation «The heuristic potential of Max Weber’s conception of political power», defended in 2012 in the faculty of sociology of St. Petersburg State University

The author studies metaphors used in the antiterrorist discourse. Metaphor is viewed upon not only as a means of nominating reality but is also analyzed from the perspective of having influence on the individual’s way of thinking. The assumption is made that metaphors can create new reality. Considering the fact that one of the most significant concepts of modern society is “terrorism” the author studies some metaphors used by mass media in the context of the war on terrorism. Operating on the premise, that metaphorical system of the language reflects those values that are characteristic of the culture, which uses this language for communication, the author divides metaphors into general (“war”, “common enemy”) and culturally-variable (“business”, “brand”,“sport” etc.). The author looks into the system of implications that develops with the representatives of some culture when a certain metaphor is used. The reasons for the cultural diversity of metaphors are connected with a wide range of factors: political, historical, climatic. For example, it is common knowledge that in the USA a lot of attention is paid to sports, which finds its reflection in the following metaphors: “Political leaders are dropping the ball on terrorism”; “…We are facing one of the most serious threats to our national security in the history of this country…and ... what did we do? We took our eyes off the ball”; “Tech giants team up against terrorism”. In the article the author gives examples of metaphors in the Russian, English and French languages.

Creative heritage of Wassily Kandinsky, one of the founders of modern abstract art, attracts various experts’ attention - historians, art experts, painters, philosophers; and that’s not just a tribute of admiration to the master in honor of his recently celebrated 150th anniversary. The meaning of abstractionism is far beyond the aesthetic conception. Being a special style of thinking, it brings together art and science, generating a new creative method, which determined by and large all the cultural history of the ХХ century. However some Kandinsky’s ideas saturated with metaphysical connotations require comprehension. From this perspective, a specific symbolism implementing the idea of synthesism in nonfigurative painting is of special interest. On the one hand, Kandinsky follows the established tradition of theoretical and practical search of the European philosophy of art. On the other hand, the original version of the “parallel” of sounds and “kinds” analysis allowed the artist to introduce his own “formula”, preceding any imagery. The fusion of psychological, religious and metaphysical aspects of cognition realized by Kandinsky is notable for resonant forms of expressiveness. The creative breakthrough of his “abstract painting” claims to solve not only purely artistic tasks, but also the basic task of cognition, which is comprehending the Reality itself, not its “copies” presenting perceptually-based representations. Ironically, in this case Kandinsky does not disparage sensuality as it is, retaining its right to produce impressions. So the main task of abstract (non-objective) painting is to find internally inherent objects features, non-objective in themselves, but constituting the basis of objectivity, harkening back to the influence of scientific discoveries of the early twentieth century. This impact was clearly perceived and recognized by Kandinsky himself. In this sense, he is not just an artist, but one of the founders of modern metaphysics, based on a new understanding of the formal principles of being in their correlation with objective reality. This is a symbolic projection of reality that does not undo (as it’s supposed sometimes) the antecedent cultural achievement; quite the opposite, enriches it with new dimensions, interesting from different perspectives.

The article analyzes the culture of modernity as wholeness, perceived “through the prism” of G.B. Piranesi’s creative mind. It is emphasized, that being the creator of this wholeness, Piranesi is vital for his contemporaries and descendants. First of all, the modernistic character of the author’s self-evaluation and the specificity of Piranesian understanding of the artistic truth are stressed. The creative “self” of the artist is perceived as an autonomous center, the source of individual vision of reality; and at the same time being the result of free creative expression, claims to be its true “eidetic” vision. It is shown that such an understanding of the artist and the art was arising at the dawn of Modernity, starting from the Renaissance era. The genre of Capriccio is considered the quintessence of the method of creating the wholeness in human mind, and thus of disclosing the true nature of the represented reality. Its first philosophical analysis was initiated by V. Carducho, the painter and the art theorist, who lived at the turn of XVI - XVII centuries. He considered necessary to overcome copying of the nature and to open new ways, acting like the jumping mountain goat (lat. capra). G.B. Piranesi is represented as a master of the genre. A number of examples are considered: “Capricci”, “Grotesques”, etc., where he connects the unconnected, and thus expresses the idea of the whole. The idea of organizing Piranesian complete vision of the modern era on the same principle is put forward. The paper presents Piranesi’s self-consciousness as combining the characteristic features of Renaissance, Baroque, enlightenment worldviews. However, the assumption is made about the Baroque nature of connecting the elements into the wholeness. Particular “slices” of the Piranesi’s vision of his era are discussed. It is also shown that Piranesi was able to see and predict the negative consequences of the autonomous reason standpoint. The final evaluation is that Piranesi kept unchanged the modernity’s belief in the creative capacity of the individual “self” for the right eidetic holistic vision of reality.

An interview with historian, corresponding member of the Serbian Academy of Sciences and Arts, at the present time - Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Republic of Serbia in the Russian Federation Slavenko Terzic (ST). Interviewed by Doctor of Philosophy, Professor M.V. Silantieva (MS). MGIMO senior lecturer, the specialist on Serbian culture L.V Nekhay and Candidate of philosophical sciences M.A. Khalil contributed to the interview. Exclusive interview to the Journal "Concept: Philosophy, Religion, Culture".

The article is devoted to analyzing the Russian-French cultural interaction in diachronic dynamics (XI-XXI cc.) together with studying the contacts between the French and the Russian languages. The author believes that the issues concerning the functional yield of the culture and the language elements of intercultural communication, regarded by many culture experts and linguists separately, require a complex approach. The article in question is an attempt to amalgamate the two elements and embodies a contact analysis in both culture and language spheres, basing on the material of diachronic description of a Russian-French dialogue in terms of historical and cultural aspects. The outlined periods are the following: 1) XI c. - dynastic marriages practice emerges 2) XVI-XVII cc. - the countries get to know each other 3) XVIII c. - the interest in Russia activates 4) XIX c. - Russia starts to make its own impact on the cultural life of France 5) XX-XXI cc. - the interconnection becomes wider and deeper. The author shows that the contacts between France and Russia has had a ten-century history during which they have been shaping in different ways, like alliance, collaboration, severance of relations, wars, emigration. Nevertheless, the main direction of the intercultural interaction process can be characterized as an activating, widening and deepening one. Russia experienced the periods of: a) acquainting with the French culture; b) re-thinking of its ideas and values; c) inter-influencing and co-producing of cultural values. Meanwhile, France has come to the latter through: a) travelling; b) appointing the French on administrative positions in Russia; c) the Russian elements in the art. The interaction between the two cultures has taken place in different spheres to different extents of intensiveness. The most marked footprint of the Russian culture in France was in theatre, music, ballet and cinema. The evidence of the French culture influence in Russia is more tangible and can be found in paintings, arts and crafts, clothing, perfume and hairdressing spheres. The study of the language element of intercultural communication is effected basing on the following factors: the status of the language in question in the culture, the use of foreign words and expressions in different social spheres, the position of the foreign language at school and in higher education, the development of dictionaries and grammar, the translations of scientific and fictional literature. The author depicts that Russia showed interest in learning the French language earlier and deeper. Borrowing foreign words into the vocabulary of the culture in question is a matter of great importance when it comes to studying the issue. These borrowings show the peculiarities of how the foreign culture and its natives are comprehended, as well as the most animated contact spheres. Comparing French borrowings in Russian and vice versa, the amount of the former is much bigger. All in all, linguistic studies play a great role in specifying and completing the historical and cultural analysis.

The article is devoted to linguistic country studies competence of the future specialists in Arab countries in the course of linguistic and area studies as one of the aspects of the Arabic language learning. This course was developed at the Department of languages of the countries of the Middle East in Moscow state Institute of international relations. Its purpose is to familiarize students with the customs of the Arabs, their religious traditions, ethical principles, family relationships, holidays, cultural and historical heritage, etc. This aspect, as well as special more detailed courses, examining individual aspects of life in Arab countries, for example, history, Economics, politics, and others, solves the important task of educating future employee’s personality in foreign policy or foreign economic spheres. A young diplomat must possess not only a wide range of interests and expertise; he should also demonstrate genuine tolerance in the intercultural dialogue and the ability to defend national interests with the full understanding and cooperation with representatives of other ethno-cultural communities, with respect for other people’s traditions and customs. In order to solve this problem, there was created a textbook, based on the course of linguistic and area studies, containing the original Arabic language materials: texts, recordings, videos. For better absorption of these training materials, the manual includes training exercises of various kinds. Revising this manual allows students to supplement information obtained from other disciplines and to create a fully functional and linguistic-cultural competence, necessary to proceed working in the international arena.