The article traces the evolution of views of the outstanding culturologist, documentologist and librarian Arkady Vasilyevich Sokolov (10.02.1934—16.11.2023) on the integral science, summarizing many related disciplines. At first he assigned this role to informatics, then to bibliofuturology, pinning his hopes on the fact that in the future of Russian books “library humanism” will triumph - the main pivot and target of all scientific work of A.V. Sokolov. In 2019, he rose to a new level of abstraction, reaching the concepts of bibliosphere and documentosphere derived from the concept of noosphere and concluding that their theoretical generalization is bibliosophy. By 2020 A.V. Sokolov began to investigate the phenomenon of library post-modernity. He did all this in order to substantiate at a fundamental general theoretical level the notion of humanistic book culture opposing digital culture. A.V. Sokolov defended the concept that the library is a humanistic stronghold of the nation, and digitalization (informatization, automation) is an auxiliary means to strengthen book culture as a basic value of culture.

The heterogeneity and diversity of the North Caucasus culture, which has been rediscovered in recent years due to the growing demand for domestic tourism, inevitably attracts the attention of journalists, filmmakers and researchers. The relevance of the issues is confirmed by the release of a variety of audiovisual content devoted to the socio–cultural specificities of life in the Caucasus. Documentary materials about the region in various genres – from reportage to large documentary films – are released regularly and provoke contradictory audience responses. The novelty of the study lies in the compilation of a list of artistic expressive means of audiovisual works that contribute to the creation of a certain image of the region’s inhabitants and the peculiarities of their socio–cultural life. The author analyses contemporary documentary materials about the role and status of women in the culture of the peoples of the North Caucasus, published on the Internet or released on the big screen for 2015–2021. The artistic analysis of the pictures allowed us to identify the main expressive means used by the authors of audiovisual works. Among them we can single out visual metaphor, leitmotif, cliché, montage, presence of the author and voice–over text, interviews, audio accompaniment. These artistic means are not characteristic features of one type of cinema, but they are tools of audiovisual narrative and occur in different proportions in the films. A comparative analysis of the films was conducted, which helped to systematize the material and to determine that these documentaries about the region exist in such artistic categories as kitsch, propaganda and visual anthropology. This has a direct impact on the viewer’s perception of the documentary material and generates a multitude of interpretations both within and outside the region.

With unique aesthetic value, snowy landscapes are one of the most important subjects in Chinese painting. Due to their purity, elegance, serenity, simplicity and cold charm, snow scenes have been the focus of artists and scholars from long ago. The artistic features and cultural connotations of Chinese snow paintings have attracted the attention of many Chinese and Russian scholars. However, there is no typological study of snow landscape in their works. In this regard, the authors consider it necessary to actualize this topic. The article provides historical information about the study of snowy landscape, the history of Chinese painting masters’ appeal to this theme. The classification of snow painting depending on seasons, geographical regions of China, atmospheric phenomena, and themes is offered. The authors suggest their definition of the concept of “Chinese snow landscape” and the author’s classification of the content of snow paintings. The paper applies a typological approach to the analysis of “snow” scenes, and examines the development of traditional Chinese aesthetic contexts from ancient artistic codes to contemporary theories. Outstanding examples of snow landscape painting are presented. Snow painting is an important medium of Chinese cultural heritage that demonstrates the diversity and richness of Chinese culture. The given overview of China’s snow scene painting as a phenomenon in the work of Chinese artists can serve as a basis for further in–depth studies.

Domestic viola art is a multifaceted phenomenon, developing along its own individual trajectory, demonstrating outstanding achievements that have had a significant impact on the world’s artistic heritage. This historical path is a testament to the boundless talent of the musicians who participated in the creation of the performing and pedagogical school — a tradition that is carefully preserved today. The musical-historical and source studies perspectives of the research proved to be the most correct for studying the work of H.A. Weickmann and V.R. Bakaleinikov, who made a notable contribution to the formation of the artistic image of the instrument, its formation in the solo and ensemble repertoire of Russian and foreign composers. The most significant here are the original works that are evidence of the authors’ growing interest in the technical and timbre characteristics of the viola and the rethinking of its role in the space of Russian musical art.

In the center of attention are personalities, ensembles, performers, and violists’ own compositions that reveal little–known facets of their work, including H.A. Weickmann’s pieces for stringed instruments published in Germany, which demonstrate the violist’s outstanding compositional skills and melodic talent. V.R. Bakaleinikov’s vocal music, which was created for famous pop singers in the early 20th century — N.V. Plevitskaya, M.A. Karinskaya, etc. — may also be of great interest. The article contains rare memoir sources published abroad and a large amount of illustrative material taken from the collections of the Russian State Library. The work of H.A. Weickmann and V.R. Bakaleinikov, for all its diversity, followed the path of forming a national tradition in which the viola took an honorable place as an instrument with great technical and sonic possibilities. This study summarizes the scattered information about the life and work of the famous violists and creates prerequisites for their further study.

The article considers Siberian neoarchaic as a trend of modern art, which originated in the early twentieth century. The aim of the study is to trace the stages of formation of Siberian neoarchaic as a style from the emergence to the present day, to identify the artists who worked within the framework of this trend and the Scythian-Siberian animal style. Important research tasks are to answer the question about the reasons for the appearance of Scythian art motifs in the works of contemporary artists and to analyze the ways of artistic borrowings in different types of art. The relevance of the work lies in the fact that modern society (and art) is in the process of searching for self-identity, and the appeal to ancient traditions and cultures is one of the most accessible tools on this path.

On the basis of the comparative method and visual analysis of works, the author has identified artists who are bright representatives of Siberian neoarchaics, and from the 1960s to the present time have made a significant contribution to the history of art, using images of the Scythian animal style in their works. The analysis was preceded by a stage of studying the autobiographies of the painters and interviewing some living masters, which allows us to draw a conclusion about the reasons for their turning to such a narrow theme within the broad direction of Siberian neoarchaic art, as well as to identify the factors determining the formation of the author’s style. The works of 10 artists are analyzed in chronological order, unambiguous visual parallels with specific monuments of Scythian art are made, methods of artistic borrowing and techniques are outlined. A review has been carried out, which can be considered the first step towards the practical formation of the list of masters actually creating this trend. The stylistic features of Siberian neoarchaic art are revealed, which form the prerequisites for the formation of a methodological basis for the study of works of this style, a promising direction of art history research.

The article is devoted to the study of a manuscript book of the middle of the 17th century, kept in the collection of E.E. Egorov in the Manuscripts Department of the Russian State Library and containing the text of the Slavonic translation of Josephus Flavius’ “The Jewish War”. This copy, which remained unaccounted for in the domestic historiography of the monument, is accompanied by additional articles, one of which, dating back to the “Tale of the Princes of Vladimir”, which remained unknown until now, is introduced into the scientific turnover. The owner of the book, judging by the entry in its margins, was Prince Dmitry Vasilyevich Romodanovsky, exiled in 1660 to the Solovetsky Monastery.

On the basis of a review of manuscripts belonging to the family of D.V. Romodanovsky and a comparison with one written by him himself, it is proved that the prince also produced the manuscript of Egorov. It is assumed that it was written by D.V. Romodanovsky still at home, before his exile to the Solovetsky monastery. It was possible to read in ultraviolet rays the erased record on the protective sheet, which testifies to the fact that the manuscript was put up for sale in the 17th century. An attempt is made to find the antigraph of additional articles of the book, particularly in the libraries of the Solovetsky Monastery and the Romodanovskys. It is concluded that it is necessary to introduce the manuscript under study into a wide scientific circulation as an important historical source.

Vyacheslav Vladimirovich Samodurov is one of the brightest choreographer-directors in contemporary Russian ballet. Despite the fact that at present V.V. Samodurov is a free artist who has entered a new stage of his creative biography an important milestone on the way of the master is his staging activity, carried out in 2011—2023, the period of his work at the Yekaterinburg State Academic Opera and Ballet Theatre (“Ural Opera Ballet”). The productions of the Yekaterinburg period allow us to draw a conclusion about the features of V.V. Samodurov’s style, which determine the creative image of the master. At the same time his creative heritage of the period of his work with the “Ural Opera Ballet” company has not been subjected to a comprehensive art history analysis. This fact reveals the relevance of the topic of the article.

The aim of the research is to identify the features of V.V. Samodurov’s production style, manifested during his activity as a choreographer of the “Ural Opera Ballet” company. The novelty of the article lies in the fact that for the first time in the research of scientific character the features of V.V. Samodurov’s staging style are generalized and systematized. On the basis of the comparative analysis of his productions performed during the Yekaterinburg period of the master’s creative biography, generalizations were made, which testify to the combination of traditional and individual innovative features in the master’s staging style, defining the creative image of the choreographer.

The article is devoted to the theme of the artistic embodiment of the Hebrew legend of the dybbuk on the modern opera stage. The legends about the restless soul of a sinner, “stuck” between two worlds — the world of the living and the world of the dead — are reflected in the works of famous Jewish writers of the turn of the 19th—20th centuries. They received their first vivid refraction in drama in the play “Between Two Worlds (Dybbuk)” (1915) by the outstanding folklorist and ethnographer Semyon Akimovich Ansky. The story of the dybbuk, heard by Anton during folklore expeditions in Volhynia and Podolia, is reinterpreted by the playwright, “overgrown” with complex literary and philosophical connotations. The dramatic play is literally saturated with music: songs, dances, prayers and Hasidic melodies, one of which — “Mipney ma” in the genre of nigun — becomes the leitmotif of the work. The masterpiece of Ansky, reflecting the specifics of the everyday, cultural and religious life of the Hasidic community of the early twentieth century, gave rise to an extensive body of musical and theatrical works — more than ten over the last century (operas by L. Rocca, D. Tamkin, ballet by L. Bernstein, etc.). The article discusses the multimedia chamber opera “Dybbuk. Between Two Worlds” (2007) by the Israeli-American composer Ofer Ben-Amots through the prism of a dialogue with the original source. Previously, Ben-Amots’s musical work had not been studied in Russian art criticism, which predetermined the novelty of the chosen topic. The musician interprets the main ideas of Ansky’s dramatic play in his own way, presenting the image of the dybbuk as an allegory of the “borderline” existence between two worlds, turns to the traditional musical culture of Judaism (conducts the nigun “Mipney Ma” as the leitmotif of the opera, brings to the fore the timbres of the violin and clarinet, uses special techniques of sound production on these instruments associated with music playing in Klezmer chapels, stylizes the folklore of Jewish towns).

The article is devoted to the actual problems of the theory of the book, created and largely practically implemented by V.A. Favorsky and his associates in the 1930s —1950s. This theory was based on the principle of perception of the book as a synthetic art, which is confirmed by the tradition of handwritten books, relevant to the era of printing. The main contradiction faced by those who largely follow the work of V.A. Favorsky remains the correlation of the aesthetic concept of the book with its literary content. There are many dark places in V.A. Favorsky’s theory connected with this problem. Different approaches to this problem, characteristic of such a complex, synthetic work as a book, are analyzed, including issues related to the psychology of creativity, with a deep study of literary material when working on a book. The ambiguous experience of V.A. Favorsky, associated with immersion in the material of the book, with the study of the cultural context of the work, is considered. The article also highlights the important problem for V.A. Favorsky of the perception of a literary text in connection with the ideology and historical context of various epochs.

The theoretical legacy of V.A. Favorsky does not lose relevance in our time, when the art of books is in need of pioneering approaches related to electronic publications of various types, including on the basis of the principle of “relay race of arts”, developed by the director and art theorist S.V. Obraztsov. Taking into account the current state of book publishing and its prospects, an updated appeal to the legacy of V.A. is proposed. Favorsky, which would solve the task of creating books at a high artistic level, taking into account the educational and informative functions of the book, without contradictions with the literary content of the work.

The article deals with the ballroom dance practice peculiar to the culture of Russian society of the early 18th—19th century. Ball tradition is a “polyfunctional sociocultural phenomenon”, realizing important functions of culture, activating the process of aesthetic and ethical education of a personality involved in historical ball events. Historical ball culture is one of the forms of sociocultural practice of the nobility, which participated in dance celebrations according to the established ball structure, having a ceremonial form and its own aesthetic stylistics. One of the main motives for the fascination with balls was the aspiration of a part of the educated nobility for its own socialization within the estate. The period of flourishing of the ballroom dancing tradition fell on the second half of the 18th — first half of the 19th century. After the Imperial Court Ball in 1904 in the Winter Palace of St. Petersburg, the tradition of this type of festivities was interrupted. In the 1980s and early 1990s, through the efforts of enthusiastic constructors, ballroom dance programmes began to revive. In modern Russia, the institute of historical ballroom dancing clubs has been formed, and an institutional environment of entities engaged in the study and promotion of historical ballroom traditions is gradually forming.

Ballroom culture is characterized by a whole range of developmental functions that contribute to the formation of a socially adapted personality. The author proposes to supplement the communicative and marketing group of functions, inherent in the revival of historical ballroom traditions, with the function of social mythologization. To prove this thesis, the author defines the properties of ball culture as a social myth, which possesses rationality (consciousness), conceptual development (ceremoniality), aesthetic orientation, the presence of intension, communication, presentation or marketing purposes of the groups of people involved in it.

The symbolic experience of re-enactors in recreating historical dances is largely mythologemic in nature, appealing to some of today’s youth and adults. Passionate about ballroom culture under the guidance of experienced choreographers, they create memorable aesthetic ballroom symbols, involving patrons and supporters in the process. Griboyedov’s historical ballroom dance programmes are part of the institutional environment considered in this article, correspond to the style of the noble era, have a ceremonial and entertaining context and contribute to the promotion of the cultural heritage of the great Russian playwright and diplomat A.S. Griboyedov.

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