Ideas and Ideals

The purpose of the work is to study the signifi cant value orientations of the Russian youth. The article substantiates the idea that the system of personal value orientations is mobile. It is formed due to the inner aspirations of the individual. It’s proved that this property of value orientations makes it possible to shape young people in the direction of a harmonious and aspiring personality. Value orientations are infl uenced by both internal and external conditions. In this regard, it’s important to create such external conditions that will positively infl uence the formation of personal, social, and universal value orientations of young people. The article presents the results of an empirical study aimed at identifying relevant values and orientations for students. It’s empirically proven that both traditional values such as life, health, family, friendship, love, and modernist values such as fi nancial security, career and professional growth, education, as well as postmodern values such as recreation and entertainment are important for young people. Young people associate the successful development of Russia with science and education, mining, the digital economy and healthcare. The youth consider the XXII Winter Olympic Games in Sochi, the annexation of Crimea and the city of Sevastopol to Russia, and the World Cup to be the most signifi cant events that arouse pride. An event such as the construction of the Crimean Bridge is of close importance. Political events are less celebrated by young people.

The paper analyzes the problems of the Russian oil and gas sector from the point of view of the interaction between oil companies and contractor service companies. The Russian oilfi eld services market formed in the 90s as part of the separation of non-core assets from oil and gas production enterprises. The trend of the last decade has been the development of their own services by oil and gas companies. The key features of the Russian oil services market are: inelasticity to hydrocarbon prices and production levels, the dominance of internal services of large companies, and, as a consequence, the monopsony nature of the market. In the context of increasing technological level of complexity and risks in the implementation of projects (depletion of existing fi eld reserves, Arctic projects, sanctions), the role of not only standard, but also high-tech work performed by service companies is growing. Oil and gas companies strive to build interactions with service companies in such a way as to minimize their risks. The existing format of interaction between oil and gas companies and service companies is not always acceptable for independent service companies in the regions, since it hinders their development. In competitive procedures, the price criterion dominates; the requirements for equipment and personnel qualifi cations on the part of oil and gas companies are growing, which companies cannot always meet. As a result, service contracts are often low-margin. We propose Norway’s experience in providing service companies with guaranteed long-term contracts and reduce the importance of the price criterion when choosing an oil service contractor.The paper analyzes the problems of the Russian oil and gas sector from the point of view of the interaction between oil companies and contractor service companies. The Russian oilfi eld services market formed in the 90s as part of the separation of non-core assets from oil and gas production enterprises. The trend of the last decade has been the development of their own services by oil and gas companies. The key features of the Russian oil services market are: inelasticity to hydrocarbon prices and production levels, the dominance of internal services of large companies, and, as a consequence, the monopsony nature of the market. In the context of increasing technological level of complexity and risks in the implementation of projects (depletion of existing fi eld reserves, Arctic projects, sanctions), the role of not only standard, but also high-tech work performed by service companies is growing. Oil and gas companies strive to build interactions with service companies in such a way as to minimize their risks. The existing format of interaction between oil and gas companies and service companies is not always acceptable for independent service companies in the regions, since it hinders their development. In competitive procedures, the price criterion dominates; the requirements for equipment and personnel qualifi cations on the part of oil and gas companies are growing, which companies cannot always meet. As a result, service contracts are often low-margin. We propose Norway’s experience in providing service companies with guaranteed long-term contracts and reduce the importance of the price criterion when choosing an oil service contractor.

The paper analyzes changes in structural policy in the USSR after Stalin’s death. They were intended to ease the material situation of the population of the USSR after the hardships on the eve and during the Great Patriotic War, which were only partially compensated for in the fi rst postwar period. These changes are called ‘the economic thaw of 1953’ by the author as an analogy with Ilja Ehrenburg story “The Thaw” and are barely covered in Russian economic literature.

The motives for implementing the structural maneouver of 1953 were the desire of the new soviet leadership to win the sympathy of soviet people.

The reform of 1953 is analyzed on the basis of the report of A.I. Mikoyan at the congress of trade workers of the USSR in October 1953 and a number of other sources.

The additional targets established for the production of consumer goods by industry for 1953 are compared with the targets of the fi ve-year plan. They appear to be signifi cantly higher than these targets for all types of products, especially for durable goods.

These fi ve-year plan tasks were fulfi lled for the fi rst time in the history of fi ve-year plans. At the same time, additional tasks for 1955 were not fulfi lled because they were not realistic. Great efforts were made to improve the living condition of the population by producing goods that make life easier, expanding the network of trade and public catering enterprises and improving the quality of their work.

In 1955, as a result of Мalenkov removal from the post of Chairman of the Council of Ministers of the USSR, there was a partial rejection of the structural maneuver of 1953. The Analysis shows that additional targets for the production of consumer goods for 1955 overestimated the real capabilities of the economy at that time. By diverting resources from heavy industry, those plans slowed down technical progress and the renewal of fi xed assets.

When economic theory and business models are lagging in relation to practice, there is a need to form business designers ahead of practice, defining specific directions, strategies, algorithms for running a separate business, and accurately predicting its results. With the expansion of the project approach to the field of business, the question arises of how to make this business more efficient by involving natural and artificial intelligence resources. Consider a business constructor as a business design tool. A business designer is a set of components from which a business model and project are formed, and their features are determined by the content of a particular business, the specifics of its development stage, and a set of internal and external conditions. The business designer occupies an intermediary position between business analytics and real business. We will associate the deployment of ideas about the business designer with the application of a categorical methodology in it. In this sense, an organizational and business game, Insafing, will be organized, reviewed and analyzed, which can be applied to business design. The use of the following shows promise: categorical methodology, including: categorical system methodology (KSM), theory of dynamic information systems (TDIS). In economics, a discrepancy between theory and practice is common. This discrepancy is overcome in Insafing, which can be a theoretical component of a business designer, along with the use of KSM, TDIS. Insafing is capable of becoming a business engineering tool. One of the problems of modern business is the difficulty of introducing new intellectual products in it. The direction of modernization (digitalization, artificial intelligence, automation) contributes to the entry of business to a new intellectual level. Digitalization can contribute to this. The article shows how digital encoding allows one to implement business design and modeling. A business constructor is proposed, a design that provides for the design of categorical schemes corresponding to specific business tasks. It is shown that the design of a business is quite consistent with developments in the categorical methodology. It is convenient to start with fairly general categories, which we have done with the help of a Universal Conceptualizer (UC). The use of the UC allowed us to generate many categories that already characterize the business directly, then TDIS and KSM were applied, giving models and other theoretical constructions a predictive character.

The article analyzes the conceptual and practical problems in the field of tax control of transfer prices in transactions between interdependent participants, and provides an overview of the methods of their assessment. The lack of publicly available information on prices, the lack of comparable transactions, and the high labor cost of a comprehensive analysis of the financial and economic activities of related firms limit the control of public authorities in this area.

The application of the basic concept of “at arm’s length” in the implementation of tax policy is not always consistent with the strategies of financial management firms that seek to optimize not only tax payments, but also other economic indicators. The transfer pricing mechanism (hereinafter referred to as the TC) affects the costs, profits, and output volumes of all participants in the chain, so the choice of the optimal level of domestic prices for the supply of components should be based on target criteria.

The “arm’s length” concept does not take into account firms’ motives for vertical integration and consolidation. The task of the interdependent participants is to organize the production process in such a way as to increase the efficiency of the entire technological chain. Choosing a specific pricing policy within complex “fan-shaped” structures with many levels and links is a peculiar method of coordinating work in a system based on integration. The application of a market-based approach to determining domestic prices should be complemented by a mechanism for adjusting them, which will achieve the planned targets for various participants in the chain.

The article substantiates that in the implementation of tax and industrial policy it is important to ensure a balance of interests of various parties: the state and business. On the one hand, it is necessary to prevent tax evasion as a result of the withdrawal of enterprises’ funds abroad, on the other hand, it is important to understand the nature and functions of transfer prices, which serve as a tool for optimizing financial and economic performance of fi rms.  Within the framework of the current legislation, a compromise solution is provided – agreed transfer pricing.

The article discusses the concept of new financial instruments, known as synthetic assets, which combine traditional finance with blockchain and decentralized finance (DeFi). These synthetic assets are digital tokens that are created artificially using derivatives. They aim to replicate the characteristics of realworld assets, such as stocks, commodities, and currencies, allowing investors to access these assets without owning them directly. These platforms are powered by smart contracts, which enable access to previously inaccessible markets.

The author examines the various classifications, operational models, advantages, regulatory challenges, and potential for future growth and integration of synthetic assets into the global financial system. These synthetic assets are classifi ed based on their underlying asset and liquidity/maturity, and their functionality is based on real-time price predictions transmitted through external tools to the blockchain. Key operational principles for synthetic assets include imitating the behavior of their underlying assets, decentralized operation through the use of smart contracts, the use of collateral, often in the form of cryptocurrencies, and mechanisms to increase liquidity. Various strategies, such as the use of derivatives and leverage, are employed in the trading of these assets.

The differences between synthetic assets and other financial instruments are discussed. Synthetic assets have several advantages compared to traditional, tokenized, and derivative assets. These include accessibility, improved risk management, partial ownership, lower transaction costs, programmability, and potentially higher liquidity.

However, there are also signifi cant risks associated with synthetic assets, such as volatility due to underlying cryptocurrencies, regulatory uncertainty, and the dependence on price forecasts. The author also considers regulatory and law enforcement issues regarding the classification and decentralized nature of these assets.

This article is primarily devoted to the philosophy of history: the unique features of the traditional Chinese categorical vision of historical reality are demonstrated using the specifi c example of the fates of two great historical fi gures of Ancient China. The central point here is the categorical understanding of the effectiveness of certain existential strategies that determine human activity as a decisive factor in the historical process.

In contrast to the radical hopelessness of Spengler’s fatalism, which leaves man with no chance of not only averting the sentence of fate, but even postponing its execution, traditional Chinese thought, which is more generous in this regard, insisted on the existence of strategies capable of freeing him (at least temporarily) from the snares of a seemingly predetermined fate. The proposed article examines one of such miraculous stratagems for overcoming/postponing the impending (according to the inexorably developing fi gure of fate) tragic ending. Such transcendence of the circumstances, evasion of one’s “karmic debt” require at fi rst glance an unbearable (after all, the verdict of fate has already been passed: “this is who you are - you can’t run away from yourself!”) overcoming of oneself. Nevertheless, the latter is achieved thanks to the effect of self-applicability, when it is directed at the negative: for example, “sadness” (you  忧), being directed at itself (“to be sad about one’s sadness” you qi you  忧其忧), is capable of abolishing the original sadness.

The problem discussed in the article is that modern engineers do not possess knowledge of ecological regularities, and this, in turn, leads to the fact that the development of technology enters into irreversible contradictions with the established natural landscapes and the biosphere as a whole. Such an attitude of man to nature was laid down by the accelerating evolution of productive forms of economy, initiated by the ‘Neolithic Revolution’. Tools, which for a long time played an auxiliary role, eventually turned out to be the dominant factor. If at the first stages of the formation of states man was still adjusting to natural processes, then gradually he is increasingly reorganizing them in his own interests. Three stages in the formation of technology are distinguished: 1) from primitive society to the Middle Ages, 2) the “engineering” of the New Age, 3) the formation of modern technology, in which the technogenic civilization explosively asserts itself. A peculiar socio-cultural technical reality has emerged. The main problem is that the increasing possibility of transforming nature gave the illusion of its deeper understanding. But by now there is a need to re-cognize the nature of human impact on natural phenomena. The fact is that with all the development of technical means and transformation of the environment, a man remains a part of the biosphere. What distinguishes a man from other species is his extended use of his neighbors in the biocenosis, but, most importantly, the physical extermination of competitors. The latter is an exceptional feature of a man, for all other species do not exterminate each other, but compete with each other. But nowadays the understanding of this fact makes us talk about the necessity of new relations between a man and other species. After all, man, as one of the animal species of our planet, can live only as part of the biosphere, he cannot be removed from it and cannot remain on the planet in case of a strong disturbance of the biosphere, which excluded his vital needs. These considerations should be the basis for the training of modern engineers. It is realistic to maintain the balance of habitat conditions only with absolute full awareness of each participant in the laws of ecology, ethology and postulates of ecological ethics. And mass application of such knowledge is realistic only with a paradigm shift in education and training for professionals with ecological thinking.

The round table “The Pythagorean Argument of the Intelligent Design of the Universe” was held in the online format on 12, December, 2024. The discussion was held on the cycle of articles by A.V. Burov and A.M. Tsvelik “The Pythagorean Argument of the Reasonable Design of the Universe and its Critique” published in the journal “Ideas and Ideals” in Nos. 3 and 4 of 2023 and Nos. 1–3 of 2024. The discussion was attended by such scholars as Mikhail Arkadyev, Andrei Baumeister; Alexander Bobylev; Alexei Burov (moderator); Igor Dmitriev; Igor Dymov; Konstantin Zuev; Andrey Ivanchenko; Kirill Kopeikin; Irina Rybakova; Alexey Tsvelik.

The article examines the origins of the philosophical foundations of music in the artistic worldview systems of J. Xenakis and J. Cage, outstanding representatives of the Western musical avant-garde of the second half of the 20th century. Both authors started from a personal interpretation of the categories “nothing” and “non-existence”, leaving to being only the ontological status of “a specific something - a piece of music”. The unique interpretations of the substantial status of “nothing” and the process of “nothing” transitioning into something, as well as individual versions of the semantic system “nothing - creative personality - musical composition” are of interest for understanding the ways of forming creative initiative by each of the composers. Trying to synthesize their own artistic worldview on the basis of various philosophical teachings about nothingness, non-existence and existence, both composers proposed a radical rethinking of the creative process and new ways of justifying the existential status of a musical work, putting forward and defending new aesthetic ideals of musical art.

The article examines N. Leskov’s novel “Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk” and the setting based on it, performed by Peter Shereshevsky at the Novosibirsk State Academic Drama Theater “Red Torch”. The research methodology is based on a hermeneutical approach, as well as on comparative analysis techniques. As a result of the analysis, the naturalistic intention of the production was established, which required the genre form of the essay which the writer initially chose for his text. The resulting realistic nature of the work is also shown, correlating an impartial depiction of life with the obligatory horizon of the ideal. The psychology of the main Leskov’s character is interpreted as one of the manifestations of the Russian national character, when the human soul is engulfed by an all-consuming passion.

The article shows the author’s change in the staging by Semyon Sakseev of the original concept of the story, carried out by substituting the motivations of the main character. In Leskov’s novel, Katerina Izmailova succumbs to passion, pushing her to commit crimes, against the background of childlessness and the routine of a provincial existence. In Sakseev’s version, the heroine is presented as a limited modern limiter, whose main motive is the fear of returning to her hometown of Prokopyevsk. Russian realism is born out of love for the Russian province and the Russian character, which the writer has studied with conscientious attention. For Sakseev, provincial life causes a deliberate rejection, generating an ironic distance.

Such a change in motives affects the perception of the confl ict and creates the direction of staging. Since the psychology of Katerina Izmailova in Semyon Sakseev’s version is not so much investigated as constructed on the basis of the motive attributed to the heroine, the action of the production is transferred to the conditional modernity of the sleeping area. Peter Shereshevsky used a number of techniques inherent in his style of production which were borrowed from cinema, so that the stage action began to approach the nature of a reality show. The lack of full-fl edged psychologism provoked a weakness in the plot development of the staging, and the director replaced the denouement with a moralistic epilogue.

The advantage of staging is the desire to reproduce the language of the original source, which is an important element of Leskov’s poetics. But Leskov’s tale arose on the basis of careful observation of folk speech, which conveys the outlook and psychology of ordinary storytellers. For Sakseev, the elements of the tale perform only the role of stylization.

As a conclusion, the ineffectiveness of the postmodern approach to the stage interpretation of Russian classics is mentioned. In principle, this approach seems outdated, and in dealing with texts that create the basis of national identity, it leads to a displacement of important dominants of the viewer’s cultural outlook.

The article deals with the images of children in the Dutch family portrait of the XVII century. The infl uence of Protestantism was refl ected in the fact that in the Netherlands the family was considered to be the most important social institution, the basis of the state and the Church. Relationships within the family were to set an example of love, trust and mutual support. The task of the parents was to raise responsible citizens of the Republic and faithful Christians. The upbringing of the children was the responsibility of both parents: young children up to the age of seven were mostly with their mother; older children, especially boys, were under the greater educational supervision of their father. In family portraits, artists emphasized the hierarchical structure of the family, the distribution of duties between husband and wife, and also paid much attention to children, whose images were supposed to testify to their good upbringing. With the help of individual motifs with symbolic meaning, Dutch artists revealed the peculiarities of family relationships and pedagogical ideas underlying the system of child education based on Christian and humanistic texts. Child mortality was high in the seventeenth-century Netherlands: only half of all children born lived to the age of twenty-fi ve. The large number of family portraits, especially of young children, shows that parents rejoiced at the addition to the family, loved their children, and tried to keep their memory alive if the children passed away early. This is evidenced both by the large number of portraits of children under one year of age and the emergence of the genre of family portraits depicting deceased children. The article deals with the images of children in the Dutch family portrait of the XVII century. The infl uence of Protestantism was refl ected in the fact that in the Netherlands the family was considered to be the most important social institution, the basis of the state and the Church. Relationships within the family were to set an example of love, trust and mutual support. The task of the parents was to raise responsible citizens of the Republic and faithful Christians. The upbringing of the children was the responsibility of both parents: young children up to the age of seven were mostly with their mother; older children, especially boys, were under the greater educational supervision of their father. In family portraits, artists emphasized the hierarchical structure of the family, the distribution of duties between husband and wife, and also paid much attention to children, whose images were supposed to testify to their good upbringing. With the help of individual motifs with symbolic meaning, Dutch artists revealed the peculiarities of family relationships and pedagogical ideas underlying the system of child education based on Christian and humanistic texts. Child mortality was high in the seventeenth-century Netherlands: only half of all children born lived to the age of twenty-fi ve. The large number of family portraits, especially of young children, shows that parents rejoiced at the addition to the family, loved their children, and tried to keep their memory alive if the children passed away early. This is evidenced both by the large number of portraits of children under one year of age and the emergence of the genre of family portraits depicting deceased children.

A monument is one of the most stable cultural forms, it shows resistance to historical changes and preserves a unique complex of cultural and anthropological functions throughout its long existence. However, today the position of a monument and memorial zones is becoming a subject of discussions about the future of these objects in the urban environment. These discussions arise on the wave of modernization, which characterizes modern urbanism. In the article, the author examines a number of arguments that are used in the critical assessment of traditional forms of memorial culture. Some of these arguments are aimed, among other things, at justifying the reasons for the oblivion of memorial sites. These are such arguments as the “outdated aesthetics” of monumental works, the ordinariness of their perception, the remoteness of memorials from people’s daily routes, etc. The author also provides counterarguments that confi rm that the problem of the unpopularity of monuments among the general public has a deeper level. The author puts forward and substantiates the hypothesis that the loss of the skill of narrative perception (contemplation) by the modern viewer is the reason for the indifferent attitude towards the monument. A monument is always a symbol that points to a meaning that has supreme value for the cultural community. Contemplation of a monument is a condition for experiencing aesthetic experience as a transcendental experience, because contemplation is an extrasensory, intuitive perception. Such perception involves peering, listening, immersion in the narrative. Without contemplation, the monument-symbol is “closed” to a person, consciousness simply does not grasp its highest meaning and value. German philosopher Byung-Chul Han writes about the “narrative crisis” in an essay of the same name. Han found a successful metaphor that characterizes the state of a signifi cant part of today’s society. Today, information replaces narration, the absence of distance replaces remoteness, and quick switching of attention becomes more important than concentration. All this leaves no opportunity for a person to develop the skill of contemplation. In the article, the author places the monument in the context of a narrative crisis in order to consider the problem of the lack of demand for monumental symbols from an anthropological perspective. From an anthropological perspective, the interaction of a person with a monument acquires the meaning of a transcendental and sacred experience.

“Lifestyle” is a concept that intuitively means everything and nothing at the same time. For philosophical work, this becomes a big problem when the concept used by various social sciences and humanities does not have a clear defi nition. Therefore, this article is aimed at exploring the problem of the concept of “lifestyle”. For a deeper understanding of the concept, in the fi rst part of the article, “lifestyle” is examined through the prism of various social sciences and humanities. This helps us isolate the possible elements that a concept may include. The second and third parts of the article are aimed not only at analyzing research on the concept of “lifestyle”, but also at identifying different approaches to working with it, which correspond to two traditions: analytic and continental. Thus, the second part of the article analyzes the works of two researchers (M. Sobel, A. Veal) of “lifestyle”, in which the authors work with the concept in the analytic tradition. Both researchers come to the conclusion that the concept of “lifestyle” inevitably raises questions related to choice, integrity, value, the problem of human identity, etc., but they fail to fully close these issues. The third part of the article analyzes the work of P. Bourdieu, which differs markedly from the works of the previous two researchers. Bourdieu works with the concept of “lifestyle” in the tradition of continental philosophy. He embeds the “lifestyle” into his concept of habitus, which not only gives us an understanding of what a “lifestyle” is, but also gives the concept a logical and complete form. Bourdieu also focuses on problematic issues related to “lifestyle”, but he manages to provide answers to them. Bourdieu sees the emerging issue of choice, and in some cases its absence, not as a problem and an obstacle to the existence of a person’s lifestyle, but as an opportunity to understand the lifestyle as such.