Vol 5, No 1 (2025)

The author conducts an interdisciplinary analysis of Swiss artist Hans Rudolf ‘Rudy’ Giger’s work which considers his art through the prism of technological transformations of human nature. The study applies a peculiar methodological approach to understanding the ontological metamorphoses occurring in the context of the technologicalisation of modern society, including, in particular, hermeneutics, psychoanalysis and anthropology. At the same time, the author interprets Giger’s artworks as a visual philosophy reflecting collective fears and traumatic scenarios of human fusion with technological systems. Special attention is paid to the concept of metaparasitism and the transformation of human identity in the conditions of technological progress. The study allows the author to conclude that Giger’s work is the result of comprehension of the processes of technologisation of human nature, and is a kind of prediction of the ontological shift caused by these phenomena. Despite the predominantly pessimistic nature of Giger’s work, the artist’s heritage can be considered as a unique and promising methodological tool for comprehending modern transformations.

The article considers the function of a linguistic sign that forms an intelligible integrity from the point of view of their systemic interrelations arising in the essential center of the one-to-one correspondence between being and thinking. The ontognoseological horizon determines the effectiveness and feasibility of the functions of a linguistic sign in the context of the opposition of the ideal and the real. The difference between two ways of problematization is formulated - aporetic in ontology and antinomic in epistemology. The article proposes to consider the functional ensemble of a linguistic sign. Seven main functions are identified and their system-forming oppositions are differentiated. The difference in functional dominants is shown in the course of solving the problem of universals as the main issue of medieval philosophy. A new interpretation of the “semiotic triangle” model is proposed in the light of the principles of N. Hartmann’s critical ontology according to the criteria of “stepping” and “layering”. Constitutive and regulatory factors of differentiation of linguistic functions of nomothetic minimalism are identified.

In the narrative structure of the novel “Impatience”, dedicated to the “People’s Will” organization, the Soviet writer Yu.V. Trifonov reflects the dynamics of intergenerational memory and oblivion, described later by the researcher of memorial history Aleida Assman through the categories of “archive”, “selective memory”, “obsolescence”, etc. The main part of the novel is a reflection of the consciousness of Andrei Zhelyabov, but the text also contains evidence about him from other characters, written in the first person and designated as “Voices”, attributed to other time layers. A more unexpected narrative authority is introduced in the chapters of  “Klio-72”, where the voice of history is heard. Both the voices of contemporaries and “Klio-72” in the artistic world of the novel cannot be identified with the document, have their own subjectivity and enter into polemics with each other and with the position of the hero. This polemic and the complex artistic meaning it creates will be the subject of our attention in this article.

The article’s materials complement the topic “Christianity and Russian literature” based on the example of B.A.Sadovsky’s novel “The Sixth Hour”. B.A.Sadovskaya (1881-1952) is known as the author of historical novels devoted to the study of the causes of the fall of the monarchical system in Russia in the twentieth century. He examines the history of Russia from the time of Peter I to Nicholas II from the point of view of Orthodox historiosophy. The author of the article describes the role and significance of the biblical text in creating an apocalyptic artistic picture of the world in B.A.Sadovsky’s novel “The Sixth Hour”. The biblical text was introduced by the writer into the titles (the title complex), represented by quotations from the New Testament, and is present at the level of associative symbolism in the images (names) of the characters. The novelty of the research is determined not only by the insufficient study of the writer’s literary heritage and the lack of full-fledged works on his novel work, but also by the attempt to present the novel “The Sixth Hour” by B.A.Sadovsky as a warning novel that Russia must return to monarchy and Orthodoxy as the only sources of its civilizational existence. 
The author concludes that the biblical text in B.A.Sadovsky’s novel “The Sixth Hour” defines its stylistic unity and forms an idea of the author’s historiosophical concept, in which pre-revolutionary and pre-war Russia is depicted as a place of battle between good and evil, emphasizing the inevitability of its sacrificial path as a condition for its future revival.

The article examines modern prose texts in which music and related art concepts, genres, and forms become an important attribute in the development of the plots of works, in the creation of images of characters, and in the title complex. This point confirms the relevance of this article, which uses an integrated approach to the analysis of literary texts, including interpretative, analytical, intertextual and other methods.
 As an empirical basis attracted Modern prose texts by Timur Kibirov, Evgeny Vodolazkin, Maxim Zamshev, and Elena Kholmogorova. As a result, it is concluded that intermediality in the modern literary process and its peculiar “musicalization” are a noticeable and promising trend.

The article discusses the issue of self-identification of modern youth as patriots. This work is based on the analysis of data obtained from two projects implemented by a team of authors from the Faculty of Sociology of Samara University: "Identities and practices of consolidation of modern youth of the Samara region" (2023) and "Meanings and types of patriotism of modern youth: a regional aspect" (2024), as well as a secondary analysis of date of Public Opinion Foundation data and All-Russia Public Opinion Research Center. The peculiarities of self-identification by modern youth as patriots were determined by studying the place of patriotism in the system of traditional spiritual and moral values; characteristics of themselves as patriots of citizens, youth of Russia and students of Samara University; as well as the specifics of self-identification as patriots by students of Samara University, depending on some characteristics. It is revealed that patriotism is one of the most important traditional values of Russians. At the same time, the data obtained indicate that there are fewer young people than in the entire sample who consider themselves as an absolute patriots. Moreover, there are even fewer absolute patriots among the students of Samara University than among the youth of Russia. It is argued that it is necessary to strengthen the work of the agents whose activities are somehow related to youth and patriotic education   especially among  students.

The article examines the financial strategies and needs of foreign students studying at universities in the Saratov region in 2024. The issue of economic adaptation for international students is increasingly relevant as the number of foreign students grows. The purpose of the study is to explore how students manage their budgets under limited financial resources and how they allocate funds across key expense categories. The article analyzes the theoretical background of the socio-economic adaptation of students, drawing on the work of leading researchers. Empirical data were collected through a survey method, with a sample of 200 foreign students studying at universities in the Saratov region. The key expense categories include education, housing, food, transport, communication services, and unexpected costs. Statistical and comparative methods were used for data analysis. The findings indicate that most students combine part-time work with their studies and receive financial support from relatives, but they are forced to economize in various budget areas. Only a small proportion of students (up to 5%) experience serious financial difficulties. The results may be useful for developing support strategies for foreign students facing social-economic adaptation challenges.

The relevance of the research is due to the increasing role of science and technology, the need to transfer academic experience from generation to generation and the need for an influx of young scientists into the scientific field. The purpose of the article is to test the methodological complex of socio-psychological monitoring of students' intentions to engage in scientific activity. The theoretical basis for monitoring was I. Aizen's theory of planned behavior, adapted by the authors to the tasks of the study. To measure the factors and prerequisites of students' scientific intentions, the following scenarios were used: scenarios modeling situations of choosing a career as a scientist; ranking profiles of their own personal traits and qualities associated with the personality of a scientist; ordinal and nominal scales for assessing the severity of readiness indicators; correlation analysis multiple regression analysis as a method of constructing a model for predicting intentions depending on a number of psychological and social predictors. The model tested 10 indicators that could potentially influence students' intentions to engage in scientific activity. The results showed that 6 out of 10 indicators have a significant impact. At the same time, the greatest contribution to the intention to engage in scientific activity is made by the desire to engage in science, attitude and preference for a career as a scientist. Noticeably smaller and comparable contributions are made by variables of scientific research awareness, perceived behavior control, and gender. The formation of a stable desire to engage in scientific research and attitude can become a lever of influence on the intentions of students to engage in science. Both of these factors have a certain relationship with each other. The approved methodological complex aimed at assessing the scientific intentions of students includes affective-motivational, socio-demographic and cognitive variables. The selected predictors of intentions make it possible to identify students who are focused on scientific activities, even in the case of uncertain intentions. The prospects of the research are related to the development of a methodology that takes into account significant variables of different types and properties of scientific intentions

This work is a review of the multi-authored monograph (prepared by the staff of the Samara Literary and Memorial Museum named after M. Gorky, Samara National Research University named after S.P. Korolev, Social and Humanitarian Institute (Department of Russian and Foreign Literature and Public Relations) «Russian Wealth» by N.G. Garin-Mykhaylovsky: biography – writing – “samara text” – literary context – perception», published in 2004 (сompiler Editor – M.A. Perepelkin, doctor of philological sciences, director of the Samara Literary and Memorial Museum named after M. Gorky, professor of Samara National Research University named after S.P. Korolev). The editors of the publication, memoirists, philological scientists have done a huge research work, supporting the remarkable Samara tradition in the field of literary local studies. N.G. Garin-Mykhailovsky cannot be classified as a «forgotten and secondary» writer, his works are in demand, and the amazing story «Tyoma’s Childhood» is not only popular, but also depicted in film. Nevertheless, the team that created the two-part monograph did a lot to remind about the features of the biography of the talented writer, tireless traveler, educator, whose works inspired such writers, separated by decades from each other, as A.I. Kuprin, N.N. Zlatovratskyi, K.M. Stanyukovich, M. Gorky, V.T. Shalamov, V.A. Chivykhin. The first part of the reviewed work contains memories of N.G. Garin-Mykhailovsky’s contemporaries (relatives, acquaintances) who reminded of the human charm of this unique person endowed with «an ardent fairy-tale fantasy». In the second part, the works performed in the field of textology and poetics proper are presented, which also contain valuable information about the connections of N.G. Garin-Mykhaylovsky with the writers who were directly related to Samara. We note that the articles of the monograph made significant additions to the «world of Garin-Mykhailovsky».