The author analyzes virtual states in the contexts of identity markets. There is assumed that virtual states can play the role of both subjects and objects of modern symbolic exchange. The article shows that virtual states do not have a common definition, and those who study them offer different approaches ranging from economic to cultural, from social to anthropological. On the one hand, virtual states can sell their identities. The author presumes that markets can be defined as cultures, and cultures as markets. On the other hand, the virtual states’ “products” that actualize their identity can also be goods. There is assumed that the processes of globalization and virtualization significantly changed the vectors and trajectories of identities development, turning them into a part of the market economy. The article assumes that the nation-state is gradually losing its monopoly right to represent the identity of the nation, and new actors are trying to challenge this right by proposing their own projects for identity development.

The author believes that the emergence of virtual states in identity markets was the result of a performative turn and a craft revolution, for virtual states appeared as the consequences of economy craftivization, offering various mechanisms to monetize identities and turn them into sacred and symbolic political products. The author believes that the virtual state was caused by the craftivization of the serial mass identities proposed in the 19th century as in the age of nationalism. There is assumed that the virtual states were the attempts to challenge the regular state’s monopoly inherited from the modern era to construct national identities. Therefore, the article analyzes the virtual states as attempts to revise the modern nation-state in the contexts of a cultural turn in the economy, which turned it into a sphere of production of meanings and identities. In general, the author considers virtual states as a new and alternative form of economic functioning, where the sense-making and meaning-generating constructs that invent and imagine new types and forms of identities become goods.

There is a clear need to consider the cultural industry as a holistic system that emerged as a result of the relationships and interactions of different markets. The cultural industry is becoming a model for understanding the changes in other areas of human activity. This is a consequence of the increasing role of symbolic creativity and (or) information in social and economic life. The article analyzes the conceptual apparatus of the system of cultural services. There are revealed the apparatus’s existing imperfections, which can be eliminated under the condition of legislative regulation. This research is purposed to conduct a quantitative analysis of the functioning of Russian cultural institutions in modern conditions. The cultural industry is a complex business structure interested in making a profit by producing and distributing cultural texts. The results of the last 25 years of Russian cultural history are reflected in the figures given. The analysis showed that, in general, the number of cultural institutions tends to decrease. Only the number of theatre-goers and museum visitors has increased, while other segments of the cultural sphere have reduced their numbers. The most stable are the performance indicators of children’s music schools. The functioning specifics analysis allowed to identify the dominant trends in the development of the modern Russian cultural industry, which systematically change its design, landscape and principles of operation. These are exogenous structural transformations, endogenous processes of culture, and transformations in the field of financing and administration by the state. The article notes that promising directions of the cultural industry development should include its transformation, aimed at meeting the needs of the market and the state, and contribute to the formation of a national economy congruent with the needs of the consumers. Basing on the findings of the research, it is possible to forecast the cultural industry development and further elaborate the set of mechanisms supporting it, which will create prerequisites for the revival of the regional economy and sustainable economic growth of the Russian Federation.

The article reveals the origins and style features of the gold embroidery of the Mishar Tatars of the Ulyanovsk Region. Though surrounded by a population that is not uniform in ethnic composition, including the Chuvash, Mordovian, Mari, Udmurt and Russian peoples, the Mishars have preserved the aesthetic preferences of their ancestors. For centuries, the bib — an element of the national costume — has maintained the visually expressed originality of its decorative design conditioned by the traditions characteristic of this local group. The gold embroidery was a hereditary female occupation; its technique, as well as unique ornamental elements, were imparted from mother to daughter. Samples of needlework by masters of the past indicate the uniqueness of the patterned finish as well as the main trends of its development. The design techniques include large floral elements arranged in a certain compositional order. Its artistic structure uses the principle of symmetry as a reflection of the balance and stability of the universe. The repetition of images symbolizes the cyclical nature of being and reproduction processes. The style features of the Ulyanovsk Mishars’ gold embroidery include the homotypic impregnated technique and the relief of finishing elements. The interpretation of the key character-symbol in the center, which combines solar and floral forms, is diverse. The stylistic features of the Mishars’ gold embroidery reflect the system of the spiritual values common to the Tatars that were feeding the artistic forms of decorative art, originally sourced by the Bulgarian urban culture of the Golden Horde period, and then the Kazan Khanate. For many centuries, the best samples were selected and polished in the course of time. The style-forming elements of the national costume components’ gold decoration were steadily reproduced. The tradition of their application allows us to assume that the ancestors of the modern Mishar Tatars living in the rural part of the Ulyanovsk Region were of urban origin.

Vasily Vasilyevich Bessel (1843—1907) entered the history of Russian and world music culture as one of the largest music publishers. His company was occupying one of the leading positions in terms of production volume in the Russian music printing market in the late 19th — early 20th century. It was the company that first published many of works by Russian classical composers — A.G. Rubinstein, A.P. Borodin, P.I. Tchaikovsky, M.P. Mussorgsky, N.A. Rimsky-Korsakov, and A.K. Lyadov. V.V. Bessel’s music publishing activities were connected with his works on the history of music printing in Russia and copyright. He left an extensive legacy in the form of numerous handwritten materials, now dispersed in various archives (mainly in Moscow and Saint Petersburg). The Russian National Museum of Music, Collection 42, holds one of the largest archives associated with V.V. Bessel. Major part of it makes up a separate collection called “V.V. Bessel”, which includes unofficial documents, responding mail, as well as literary manuscripts and photographic materials. Due to lack of comprehensive research of that documentary collection, this article provides a brief overview of its content, and the history of formation of V.V. Bessel’s collection. The main purpose of the research is to characterize both published and unknown sources. The article meets the relevant task of modern musicology: disclosure of Moscow and St. Petersburg archival collections. Many of the documents reviewed by the author are an important addition to the only monograph on V.V. Bessel, which belongs to the pen of N.F. Findzein. The article discusses, in more detail, the documents related to the literary weekly “Muzykal’nyi Listok [Musical Sheet]” (1872—1877), the first periodical published by “V. Bessel and Co.”, as well as the correspondence of December 1886 between V.V. Bessel and P.I. Tchaikovsky, which, at the latter’s initiative, ended all the composer’s personal and business contacts with his Petersburg publisher. This study expands the researchers’ understanding of the body of documents stored in the collection under consideration, the problems associated with them, and their prospects.

The article reveals and introduces into scientific circulation the previously unknown artistic source of Konstantin Andreyevich Somov’s early art – Jaspar de Isaac’s engraving “Narcissus”. There is traced the course of work with this one along with other art sources (works of European masters of the 16th—18th centuries depicting hunting scenes, paintings by Antoine Watteau, Jugendstil graphics), revealed the context of reference to it, and analyzed the stylistic features of including this source in Somov’s work on the watercolor “Rest after a Walk”. These tasks are addressed in the context of the role of artistic sources from the heritage of past eras in early works of Konstantin Somov. The topic’s relevance is determined by the fact that Jaspar de Isaac’s engraving “Narcissus”, made at the very beginning of the 17th century for a French edition of the “Imagines” by Philostratus the Elder, for the first time becomes the object of research as a source of Somov’s art. The scientific novelty of the work lies in the fact that for the first time it attempts to identify (basing on a combination of formal and contextual analysis), and to use a source from the artistic heritage of France of the beginning of the 17th century in the work of K. Somov on the themes of the 18th century. The reveal of the source — the engraving “Narcissus” by J. de Isaac — made it possible to reconstruct the artist’s work on the “Rest after a Walk”. The article examines not only the sketch for this work from the collections of the Pushkin State Museum of Fine Arts, but also the drawing “A Date” from the State Tretyakov Gallery. There is stated that it is a preparatory drawing for the watercolor “Rest after a Walk”, basing on the general iconography of the watercolor, sketch and engraving “Narcissus”. The author concludes that Somov’s appeal to the engraving by J. de Isaac was not conscious, it should be attributed to the phenomenon of artistic memory, and his probable acquaintance with it had taken place before the artist left for Paris in the autumn of 1897.

The article highlights a new period in the development of Russian art, which demonstrated a “picture of the world” radically different from previous eras. There is discussed the 18th century, the trends of its secular art, focused on the reflection of real life. That time brought an interesting and significant phenomenon — the natural image intended to demonstrate the properties of living nature, full of diversity and beauty. The article is aimed at assessing the search for this reverent natural ontology, which originated in the depths of early art and grew to the status of an independent genre. This absolutely new phenomenon was filled with particular delight of artists. To reflect it in full, masters resorted to the detailed and scrupulous interpretation of animalistic scenes and individual characters, depicting them in still lifes, hunting, and nature, and comprehending the essence of material life, its laws and specific expression in art. The article reveals the principle of “admiring”, which is within the area of perception and interpretation of this art. There are considered the so-called “Kunstkammer” drawing, floral still lifes, scenes with animal images, which are characterized by the artist’s rapturous contemplation of natural realities and their careful depiction. On the one hand, this process was due to the interest in the knowledge of the natural world, and on the other hand, it contributed to the composition of genres, especially animalism in its specific features. The first artists (M.S. Merian, J.F. Grooth, K.F. Knappe, J.E. Grimmel, A. Dobryakov), mainly among foreign masters, continued the line of the natural world cognition, emphasizing the curious and characteristic moments in its manifestations. They clearly demonstrate a philosophical view of the natural world order, full of sensuality and material delight. The article formulates the idea of importance of the early stage in the development of Russian animalism for the subsequent development of the genre.

In connection with the environmental problems that have become more acute at the global level, it has been recognized the need for society to take the path of sustainable development, the main principles of which are focused on a decent standard of living for each member of society, reducing the anthropogenic burden on nature and preserving the environment, including for future generations, as well as the integrated solution of environmental, social and economic issues at the global and local levels. In the process of implementing this concept, a fundamental role of culture was revealed, and a specific role of environmental culture as well, which would ensure a harmonious development of the society and the environment. In particular, it is necessary to transform the worldview, re-evaluate the values and shift the emphasis in consumption from material benefits to spiritual ones.

This research is relevant because of the need to promote the principles of sustainable development in all areas of society that determine the current level of culture and civilization. This work is aimed at analyzing the potential of dance art as a source of indirect influence on the environmental consciousness and thought, reasonable attitude to nature during the environmental culture formation.

Environmental culture is expressed in people’s perception of themselves as a part of nature. One of the elements of environmental culture is environmental consciousness. Having the ability to influence the emotional sphere of a person, art, in particular dance, is a useful tool for effectively perceiving environmental information and motivating environmental activities. Due to its polyfunctionality, art can aid to form the environmental identity at the level of the following components: cognitive (informational, gnostical, educational function), emotional (compensatory, suggestive one), instrumental (social-transforming function).

Based on the analysis of scientific literature and some musical and choreographic works from the standpoint of the ecocentric paradigm, the article suggests that choreography in environmentally oriented performances can serve as one of the effective means of evoking empathy at the deep kinesthetic level, environmental empathy. Choreography can play the role of an emotional component in the process of forming environmental identity, which will in general contribute to the environmental consciousness formation at the individual level.

The article reviews writer’s biographies as a kind of literary biography genre. There are revealed the thematic and artistic features characteristic to this subgenre of literature. The author systematizes the subgenre’s specific features and shows a wide range of their possible implementation at the present stage. The material for the study was selected among the works that won the national award “Big Book”. In less than fifteen years of the award’s existence, writers’ biographies have taken first place twice (D.L. Bykov’s book about B.L. Pasternak and P.V. Basinsky’s book about L.N. Tolstoy) and second place four times (A.N. Varlamov’s book about A.N. Tolstoy, L.I. Saraskina’s book about A.I. Solzhenitsyn, S.A. Shargunov’s book about V.P. Kataev, and the joint work by A.A. Kabakov and E.A. Popov about V.I. Aksyonov). All these works are analyzed sequentially (in order of receiving the award) in the article. On the one hand, this allows us to identify the features of each of them, on the other hand — to find common typological features that are characteristic of the subgenre in question. A distinctive feature of the book by D.L. Bykov is the deepest “sensitive immersion” of one poet (the author) in the creative work and world perception of another (his character). A.N. Varlamov is characterized by comparison of several sources in order to reveal complete truthfulness. P.V. Basinsky has a specific angle in which the writer’s biography is shown (he puts forward the “family idea”, the most important for Tolstoy himself). L.I. Saraskina focuses on the personality of A.I. Solzhenitsyn, considering his biography as the main artistic work of this author. A.A. Kabakov and E.A. Popov build the text of V.I. Aksyonov’s biography in the form of a lively, casual conversation, while the objectivity of the written is confirmed by a variety of documents submitted in the appendix. S.A. Shargunov traces the reflection of V.P. Kataev’s unusual life, full of real adventures, in the writer’s works.

Nevertheless, all these works have common features. Each of them create a Russian writer’s living and full-blooded image, both tightly included in the historical and cultural context of the corresponding era, and shown in the indissoluble unity of the writer’s personal destiny and creative heritage (which is carefully analyzed). All books are written based on carefully studied biographical materials and documents, including archival ones. The works’ large volume allows including these materials directly in their text.

The article is devoted to the tradition of the Tibetan New Year celebration reflected in contemporary Chinese oil painting. The article’s purpose is to study the cultural features of the Tibetan New Year, on the example of works of the two Chinese artists: Pan Shixun and Ye Xingsheng, and to analyze the degree of art’s influence on the preservation of intangible cultural heritage. Chinese painting contributes to the unity of traditions of the past and present, as well as the integration of classical and contemporary elements in the technique of modern times. In their works, the masters, using elements of classical Chinese, Western and Tibetan painting, conveyed unique features of the national culture and history of Tibet. The work systematizes the complex of customs and religious rites, traditional costumes and treats of the Tibetan New Year festival. The artists’ works are considered as a mechanism for transmitting traditional Tibetan folk and religious art.

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