The postmodern turn of the last quarter of the twentieth century, which consisted in a fi - nal rejection of metanarratives, makes great philosophical systems one of the areas of mythological narratives. However, this fact does not mean we do not have to comprehend the modern situation, which has become an inalienable attribute of modern identity. In this way, generalized metaphors, generalizing our knowledge at the intuitive level of aesthetic perception, become more and more important. From this philosophical and metaphorical instrumentation’s point of view, the history of the West can be schematically described in the form of three ages, symbolized, respectively, by the Mind (intelligence), the Reason, and the Sensuality, each of them having their own unique system-forming meanings that suggest relevant cultural practices. The Mind, or the age of Antiquity, affi rms the identity of the unconcealed in reality with the ontological basis of the existing — the cosmic mind. The Christian Middle Ages raise the line between the world of divine archetypes and sinful empirism. The Reason becomes human’s symbol and destiny. The new age or Modernity focuses on what is happening here and right now, brings reality to the momentary and pragmatic, and therefore can be described as the age of Sensuality. Thus, the logic of the West’s history, understood in this way, allows us to look at the whole historical process from a new perspective, at the same time opposing it (the logic) to the classical view, which became classical in the times of M. Weber, on history as on an ongoing process of disenchantment, the result of which is the mankind teleologically moving towards the incarnation of formal rationality.

The article raises the issues of interaction between modern direction and the musical text of opera. Researches of foreign and domestic scientists in the fi eld of theatre studies and musicology allow analyzing a musical performance as an independent text, in which there is an interchange between different types of art. The author focuses on the opera as a dialogue between music and theater. The author proposes three main forms of the dialogue for consideration: the director and the composer, the director and the viewer, the director and the actor. The article expresses the opinion that, in the process of interaction between the director and the opera text, some myths appeared and started to impede the development of this process and to cause confl ict situations while analyzing the fi nal results. Among those kinds of myths, the author reckons the idea of director-conceptualist as the destroyer of the composer’s idea, the unconditional defi nition of this idea, and the so-called “reverse logic” of feeling and action in musical theater. Observing the functioning of each of these myths on concrete examples, the author comes to conclusion on the necessity to “debunk” them for further successful development of musical theater. From this position, the article analyzes fragments from operas by Russian and foreign composers and their stage impersonations. In the dialogue “director—viewer”, two main ways of the participants’ interaction are defi ned: the theater as a form of escapism and the theater as a “catalyst” of intelligence. The author emphasizes the need to have both the ways, so that the viewer should be able to choose. The author considers the relations between the director and the actor to be the most positive for the modern theatre, which led to the emergence of a new type of performer on the modern opera stage: singerartist, who fully owns the acting technique of “internal action”. The article concludes that there is an ambiguous, but rather perspective and positive situation in the modern musical theater, which determines further ways of the genre’s development.

The article refers to the educational electronic service provided in libraries by volunteer instructors, who help users, mostly those unemployed and elderly, to master computer literacy, work with the Internet , and search for information, especially concerning the labor market. Launched at the Chicago Public Library, in which, under the conditions of manifestation of the so-called phenomenon of library axiom, volunteers act as digital social workers, the CyberNavigator program has become one of the most sought-after and contributed to reducing the digital inequality in this megalopolis. Having familiarized with the American practice in the fi eld of library volunteering, during an educational trip to the United States, Polish specialists, studying foreign experience in the organization of modern volunteering to increase the level of its development in their country, decided to adopt a new service addressed to persons with diffi culties in accessing to information and communication technologies (ICT). To do this, they created and implemented a pilot project called “Information for Citizens — Cyber-Navigators in Libraries”. Its main objective was to introduce a system of continuous electronic training for persons with diffi culties in accessing to ICT by implementing a specifi c service of “cyber-navigators” in libraries. The authors of the project strived to implement digital and media training in libraries, both for those users “delimited by the digit” and for librarians to develop various forms of lessons for visitors like that (trai nings, instructions, consultations, etc.). The authors also wanted to identify the needs in the fi eld of users’ digital training and to attract volunteers in professional library activities, basing on the experience of American libraries and taking into account the Polish realities. The idea of cyber-navigation appeared to be so timely and fruitful, that the libraries have included this informal educational service in their list of permanent ones.

The paper is devoted to the study of the principles of micrographics in the artistic space and graphic design of the twentieth century. The article describes micrographics as an art phenomenon and considers it as an important element for the fi ne arts and graphics. The text studies principles of micrographic, which can be considered as an important component of the contemporary visual system. At the same time, micrographic elements defi ne the specifi cs of modern design. The article notes that micrographic principles are a common phenomenon in the visual systems throughout the 20th century. In addition, the article gives an attention to the typography and visual practice of the “New Wave” — the most important trend of graphic design in the second half of the 20th century. This phenomenon is considered as the central form of modern design whose specifi cs signifi cantly infl uenced the development of graphic design in general. At the same time, we observe the fact that the micrographic methods were important for the creation of the phenomenon of the “New Wave”. They correlate both: the visual system of the “New Wave” and the graphic program of modern graphic design. The article considers the main forms of micrographics, which were widely used in the system of “New Wave”. The author attempts to determine micrographics, and to give the characteristic of the “New Wave”. Micrographics is explored as a form in contemporary art space and as a system that had a signifi cant influence on the formation and development of the design in the twentieth century.

The article studies the Alan-Abkhazian cultural contacts by analyzing architectural decorations of these peoples. Actuality of the study is determined by considering the architectural decorations as a cultural marker of Abkhazians and Alans in the period of the 8th—10th centuries. This point of consideration is primarily important for studying the material culture of the ethnic groups living in close proximity to the route of the Silk Road, which is regarded as a powerful catalyst for cultural exchange between the numerous tribes and peoples each having its own unique and diverse artistic skills. The article compares a number of artifacts: some fragments of the altar barrier from Anacopia (Republic of Abkhazia, New Athos) and some fragments of the altar barrier from the Ilyichevskoe Hillfort (Krasnodar Region, Otradnensky District). This allows the author to state that there existed common ornamental schemes in the monumental art of those peoples in the period preceding the 13th—14th centuries. The article analyzes the patterns and zoomorphic images of “animals in a heraldic pose” from the church on Mount Lashkendar (Republic of Abkhazia, Tkuarchalsky District), and a dog from the Alan tomb of the Kyafarskoe Hillfort (Karachay-Cherkess Republic, Zelenchuksky District), providing additional arguments for the animals’ identifi cation. The author explores the system of images of the Alan tomb to determine the semantics of the dog’s image in the Christian church’s decoration and comes to the conclusion that the symbolism of the dog’s image originates from pre-Christian beliefs (namely, those Zoroastrian). The article emphasizes the fruitfulness of studying the Alan-Abkhazian contacts using the example of architectural decoration: it makes possible to identify some images and specify their dates. The author offers a variant of identifi cation of the relief from Mount Lashkendar; defi nes the place of this unique monument in the course of formation of the original artistic culture of the Abkhazian Kingdom; notes the heterogeneous infl uences on this process, coming both from the territories of different regions of the Byzantine Empire (Constantinople, Cappadocia, etc.) and from Transcaucasia (Armenia, Georgia). The Alan-Abkhazian layer of cultural contacts is highlighted.

This article investigates the painted miniatures of manuscripts and early printed books of the second half of the 15th century performed in the art workshops of the Renaissance Venice and Padua. The author determines the main development stages of the principles of space depicting in the picturesque design of manuscripts and printed books. The relevance of study of this topic is caused by the fact that it has been on the periphery of research attention for a long time, obscured by other historical and artistic problems. The scientifi c novelty of the research revealed the new principles of constructing spatial composition and formation of new typology of landscape in Venetian art. For the main research method, the author uses the formal-style analysis and structural analysis. It demonstrates how simultaneously with the change of the sheet decoration structure there appeared the new opportunities for the placement of spatial composition. At an early stage, the manuscript sheet decoration consisted of the depiction of painted architecture treated in the guise of triumphal arch or classical altar with inscription, which gradually has been getting form of imaginary façade with ornaments and fragments of text upon it (the so-called architectural frontispiece type). The next faze consists in the emergence of natural motifs near it and its progressive development in the form of autonomous landscape, which one can see in the works of leading Venetian illuminator in the time circa 1500 Benedetto Bordon. The author investigated the basic types of manuscript decoration that included the depiction of landscape as well as its basic iconographical formulae. The signifi cance of the study lies in that fact which helps to explore the new sources of Venetian mythological painting, going back to the stylistic features and compositional principles of the Late Quattrocento miniature.

Every year the Pskov State University hosts the International scientifi c and practical conference “Mukhin readings”, which received its name in honor of the Doctor of psychological Sciences, Honorary Professor of the Department of pedagogics and psychology Yury Mikhailovich Mukhin. He would have turned 95 on July 24, 2018. He devoted many years of his life to the search and systematization of art postcards with the images of masterpieces of world art, which he used in scientifi c and pedagogical activities. The famous collection of Y.M. Mukhin includes more than 12 500 postcards; 10 994 of them were donated by the widow of the scientist to the Pskov regional universal scientifi c library (PRUSB), where they are now kept in the Department of literature on culture and art, as well as in the Regional Center for work with rare and valuable documents of PRUSB. The article describes the content and value of this collection, the main part of which is devoted to paintings, but there are series of postcards with graphics, engravings, sculpture, jewelry, arts and crafts, book illustrations and miniatures, photos, etc. The cards represent a wide variety of pictorial genres: portraits, landscapes, still life, as well as historical, military, religious, domestic genre scenes. You can see here the paintings by famous Russian and foreign artists, as well as works of little-known and unknown authors. The presented reproductions demonstrate the values that the world’s largest galleries and museums have, covering historical periods from ancient times to the end of the 20th century, and acquaint with the paintings, on which many generations were brought up. Truly, the collection of Y.M. Mukhin is the pride of the people of Pskov and is the unique encyclopedia of art, the art world in miniature.

The article for the fi rst time attempts to introduce into the Russian cultural circulation the creative heritage of V.B. Sven, whose 120th anniversary of birth was celebrated in 2017. This writer of the second wave of Russian emigration is now almost unknown in homeland. His works, however, deserve to be noticed by Russian readers and researchers. Firstly, V.B. Sven’s works, due to their high artistic level, are an integral part of Russian culture. Secondly, the writer refl ected in his literature a number of interesting historical and cultural phenomena, characteristic of the era he wrote about. A literary analysis of V.B. Sven’s works is given in correlation with his unusual biography. Many facts from the writer’s life are refl ected only in sources diffi cult to access; they are presented to a wide audience in this work for the fi rst time. The article considers the specifi cs of V.B. Sven’s creative style in the evolutionary development. The article develops a periodization of the literary array created by the writer and justifi es the conditionality of its division into periods. It shows the infl uence of M.M. Prishvin on the work of V.B. Sven, determines the place of the writer in the emigrant literature, analyzes the reviews of his works written by his contemporary critics-emigrants. Much attention is paid to the artistic innovation of V.B. Sven, his experiments in the fi eld of artistic form, inherent in later works. The article highlights the mystical element in the worldview and, accordingly, in works of the writer, and the specifi c cultural phenomenon closely associated with it — Miklashevsky’s “system”, which became the content and structural center of one of his works. The article distinguishes between the diffi culty of seeing any V.B. Sven’s lifetime printed publications, on the one hand, and the availability of texts of his works in digitized form, on the other. There is emphasized the importance, in a situation like this, of information about the existence of the works, about their merits and accessibility. The references to the article include a list of sites where the main works of the author can be found.

The article reveals the main features of M.O. Knebel’ artistic periods. She was an outstanding director and theatre teacher of the 20th century. In May 2018, it was 120 years since her birth. This study applies historical-cultural, sociocultural, and art-historical methods. On the basis of systematization and generalization of her biographical information, as well as analysis of her creative way, the article traces the transformation of M.O. Knebel from a supporting actress to the director and theater teacher. The study is relevant, because M.O. Knebel is underestimated as a person who harmoniously combined acting, directing and pedagogical intentions. There is much attention paid to the main paradox of M.O. Knebel’s creative career, which consists in understanding that if she had not had the episodic actress’ experience she would not have come to the directing and pedagogical way. All M.O. Knebel’s creative achievements arose from her not quite successful acting career. Therefore, the study proves the connection between the experience of M.O. Knebel as an actress of the second roles in the Moscow Academic Art Theater and the successful implementation of her directing and pedagogical aspirations. To identify the hidden springs of M.O. Knebel’s activity, much attention is paid to the context of her work: her circle is analyzed — the teachers, colleagues, students. The author emphasizes that M.O. Knebel was a kind of link between theatrical generations. Being a propagandist of the great Stanislavsky and Nemirovich-Danchenko’s teachings and continuing the traditions of her teachers, she raised a bunch of outstanding directors. Thus, the personality of M.O. Knebel, presented in a wide context, is included, in turn, into the contextual circle for generalization of new directors and actors’ creative work. The article shows the result of the study, which refutes the idea of secondary cultural signifi cance of the actors who did not become famous and did not receive outstanding recognition, but crystallized into great teachers and directors who even established a creative school.

The article investigates and publishes a previously unknown note-autograph of Orest Nasturel, a famous book figure of the first half of the 17th century, who made a significant contribution to the popular education in Wallachia. Orest Nasturel held the high position of the second logothete at the court of the Wallachian ruler Matei Basarab. Despite his busy schedule, he devoted much of his time to collecting ancient manuscripts, translating Latin and Church Slavonic books into Romanian, and publishing them. Establishing the facts of Orest Nasturel’s biography is based, in historiography, on the analysis of the records he left in books. The scientific novelty of this research stems from the fact that, for the first time, there is introduced into scientific circulation Orest Nasturel’s handwritten owner’s entry, found in the manuscript book of Catecheses of Theodore the Studite in the Collection of SlavonicRussian Manuscripts of E.E. Egorov of the Russian State Library (Manuscripts Department, coll. 98, no. 949). According to this record, dated 1642, Orest Nasturel, inspecting once the sovereign’s monasteries, found in the Snagov Monastery (now Romania) an ancient manuscript crumbling from decay. Since it was not possible to save it, Orest Nasturel made a long journey to Rybnitsa (now the Pridnestrovian Moldavian Republic), where a famous book master named Nikolai made for him, in 1642, a copy of this book, which Orest then put into the Trinity Cozia Monastery (now Romania.) In the 19th century, the book was taken in Russia, probably by Russian old believers, where it first came to the collection of the antiquarian-bookseller I.L. Silin, and then was purchased from him by E.E. Egorov. The author conducted the dating of the manuscript’s watermarks (the 1640s) and compared the note’s handwriting with known autographs of Orest Nasturel. It is noted that the beautiful head-piece and the initials of Egorov’s Collection are close to the manuscript of Octoechos of the middle of the 17th century, stored in Belgrade in the Library of Serbian Patriarchate. According to a postscript in it, the Octoechos was made in a Slavic monastery of Athos. It is established that such decoration was quite popular for South Slavic manuscripts in the middle of the 17th century, and, therefore, it was hardly copied by the scribe Nikolai from an ancient original. The main results of the study are the detection, identification, attribution, reading and publication of the previously unknown note-autograph, as well as geographical and chronological localization of the list. The author emphasizes the value of Egorov’s Collection for studying by the specialists in the field of philology and linguistics, and sets a promising task of recreating the content, language features and dating of the lost protograph.

The author reviews the monograph of A.I. Gogolev “The Origin of the Sakha people and their traditional culture” (2018), the study of the ethnogenesis of the Yakut people (native name — Sakha) and the origins of their material and spiritual culture. For the sources, the author of the book used archaeological, ethnographic, linguistic and historical data of the entire Central Asia and Far Eastern area, as well as the adjacent and remote areas. A.I. Gogolev studied particularly carefully the area of Central Lena, because that area has become ethnic forming for the people of Sakha. The author discovered the Scythian-Siberian, ancient Altai and Hunnic roots of the Sakha culture, traced the formation of its basis under the infl uence of ancient and medieval Turkic tribes of Southern Siberia, Central Asia and the Baikal region. In the latter respect, A.I. Gogolev paid special attention to the historical and cultural ties of the Yakuts with the Turkic-speaking peoples of Southern Siberia and the Buryats. The researchers face the new challenges: to achieve fi nal clarity on the question who were ethnically the indigenous aborigines of the Middle Lena, to determine what impact on the spiritual and material culture of the Yakuts had the oldest religion — Tengrism, and to study more thoroughly the origins of the writing of the Sakha people.

A.W.N. Pugin’s work is frequently mentioned among the central phenomena of historicist architecture of the 19th century. The problem that is usually overlooked is that Pugin’s vision of the world (as it is deduced from his writings) is basically ahistorical. Pugin’s undoubtable influence on architecture makes it necessary to redefine the notion of historicism, used both in history and history of art to describe different, though connected phenomena. The aim of this paper is to formulate the essence of historicism and to discover Pugin’s relations with the methods of dealing with the past used in the 1^st half of the 19^th century.

The article discusses the features of actualization of the industrial architecture, its conversion and utilization. The lack of research related to this activity can be explained by the fact that industrial buildings, until relatively recently, were occupied directly by industries. Only at the turn of the 20th— 21st centuries, it was decided to move industries outside large cities, which resulted in creation of a social demand for the actualization of industrial architecture. This, in turn, allows us to consider in detail the specifics of this activity and the results that have been achieved in recent decades, which is the novelty of the study. The relevance of this study is determined by the low level of research in this topic. Within the framework of the actualization forms related to the industrial heritage, there is the specifics on various features that bring their demands and interests in the projects of actualization. The article considers both public projects and private investment cases. Identifying opportunities and prospects for further research in this area is of key interest. The article analyzes both issues of the history of approaches to the industrial architecture actualization, and successful modern projects in this area. Special attention is paid to the prospects of interaction between the government and private projects, as well as the main advantages and disadvantages of government and private projects, which suggests a possible improvement of the actualization on the basis of combining the positive aspects of approaches to it. The article may be of interest to specialists studying the issues of preservation and actualization of architecture and to readers who do not have professional knowledge on the topic, because of a detailed consideration of the basic aspects of the importance of actualization as such, and the features of the industrial heritage actualization, as a specific form of architecture that cannot be used for its intended purpose. This issue raises the obvious need for systematic analysis and drafting based on changes in the functions of building.