Ideas and Ideals

The paper deals with social-cultural aspects of catching up modernisation in the newly industrialising countries (NICs) of East and South-East Asia in the 1960s-90s. The author treats this modernisation as a kind of conservative modernisation because it combined the local traditions and several elements of modernity, the “family-centred” attitudes of the East with the “self-centred” individualism of the West. In this connection, the author considers the role of Confucianism in East Asian modernisation and discusses the problem of compatibility of the Confucian doctrine with “the spirit of capitalism”. As it is known, Max Weber wrote about their incompatibility with each other but the practice of the last third of the XX Century disapproved the conception of Weber. This apparent paradox has been explained by the profound changes in capitalism since the times when Weber elaborated his conception. When the countries under scrutiny approached to their modernisation, they borrowed and implemented the model of managerial capitalism with the developmental state and economic bureaucracy. The state and its officialdom played the leading role in development of these countries, being much more important for modernisation than “the spirit of capitalism” with private initiatives. Meanwhile, the developmental state’s activity corresponded to some principles of the Confucian doctrine, so Confucianism that glorified the harmony and strong order appeared as well compatible with fast modernisation, particularly in Korea, Singapore and Taiwan. However, the Confucian heritage and the relics of communalism became the obstacles to transition towards a knowledge-based economy. A focus on learning instead of studying in education according to the old Confucian traditions restrains the students’ creativity and oppresses an endeavour to express individuality. Thus, the practice of conservative modernisation, which was very effective at the stage of imitative, catching up industrial development, succeeds in a blind alley because does not enable to begin implementing a knowledge-based, innovative model of development that presupposes a free creative activity of individuals. At the same time, liberalisation of economy, particularly after the Asian financial-economic crisis of 1997-1998, leads to deepening social differentiation and erodes the base of the previous developmental state. In the changing conditions, a set of the so-called “Asian values” has been used not for further modernisation but for justifying the conservative, authoritarian tendencies in politics and ideology. The main conclusion the author makes from his consideration concerns the debates about the global shift of the world economy’s core to the East (including China): in the nearest decades neither China nor East Asia as a whole will become the world economic hegemon. The West with the US domination will remain the global scientific-technological and, therefore, economic leader in the world.

The paper considers a concept of poverty in socio-economic, historical and institutional aspects, individual and social causes of poverty, and key factors determining the level of poverty. The author shows that poverty is a social problem, and its level is an indicator of the quality of institutions and government policy. Poverty assessment is not only an economic and statistical problem, but also a political one. Specifically, the methodology for determining the poverty level based on the assessment of the minimum subsistence level has considerable potential for manipulation. Based on the research of a few authors, it is shown that the most important factor of property stratification is inflation, and the hypothesis that the current income differentiation observed in Russia is largely due to inflation and extremely low rates of economic growth in the post-Soviet period. The author discusses the specifics of poverty in Russia and concludes that it is poorly dependent on the level of education and skills of workers and – to a greater extent than in other countries - on their place of work, economic sector, region, size of settlements, etc. It is shown that the government policy on incomes of certain categories of the population could result in an increase in inequality both regionally and between different social groups. The methods and tools of the government policy for overcoming poverty briefly considered in the paper are limited, on the one hand, and, on the other hand, they could have possible negative consequences of income equalization policy. At the same time, the author agrees with the opinion that more equal distribution of income makes society not only fairer, but also more efficient due to higher regional, social and professional mobility and greater efficiency of market institutions. In conclusion, the author discusses the strategy how to modernize the Russian economy and achieve the national goal on reducing poverty by half.

The analysis of statistical data shows that in reality quite often in the bankruptcy of organizations there are signs of its premeditation. However, the subjects are brought to responsibility for this offense in isolated cases. According to most researchers, this situation is largely due to the imperfection of methods for identifying signs of deliberate bankruptcy of organizations. In turn, the methodological basis for identifying signs of deliberate bankruptcy of organizations, predicting the probability of bankruptcy and deliberate bankruptcy of organizations depend on the understanding of the nature of bankruptcy and deliberate bankruptcy of organizations. The concepts of bankruptcy and deliberate bankruptcy of organizations are enshrined in a number of legislative documents. In the economic aspect, the concept of bankruptcy of the organization in the Russian scientific and periodic literature is widely covered. The majority of researchers in their works consider the concepts of deliberate bankruptcy of the organization from the position of the legal aspect. The economic aspect of the concept of deliberate bankruptcy of the organization is mentioned in a few papers, which indicates underdevelopment of scientific research of the economic aspect of the phenomenon of intentional bankruptcies of organizations. The article puts forward and proves the hypothesis that on the basis of semantic analysis and definitions of the semantic core of the concepts “bankruptcy of the organization” and “deliberate bankruptcy of organizations”, it is possible to formulate the key characteristics of bankruptcy, deliberate bankruptcy of organizations, revealing the essence of these phenomena. According to the results of the semantic analysis and semantic core definition of the concept of “deliberate bankruptcy of the organization” the article suggests a definition of the concept of deliberate bankruptcy of the organization from the position of the subjects of demand for information in the market.

Free time is an important economic resource for a resident of a big city. The availability and rational use of free time is determined by the conditions of a particular urban environment. The problem of time is connected with the theme of quality and standard of living of the modern citizen. This problem allows us to identify promising areas of development of the service sector. The article presents the results of a sociological survey – a study of socio-economic aspects of the situation of personal time deficit. 82 people took part in the survey, among them 50 % (41 people) are constantly experiencing a lack of personal time, 38 % (31 people) have such a situation regularly. It is established that respondents with middle and high income are people with high professional employment. They are forced to systematically resort to paid services to achieve an individual level of comfort. The use of such services is the way to receive personal time for rest and hobbies. An affordable price is a decisive factor in the choice of specific services for the majority of respondents. The article defines the actual level of demand for services at the present time. The authors have identified the types of household chores that citizens are willing to give up. The results of the survey of consumers of the market of services in Novosibirsk show a steady interest of respondents to entrepreneurship. The authors identified the most popular segments of the urban service sector - cooking healthy food, minor repairs of equipment, repair of premises, improvement of housing. The value of consumer services is the ability to form a stable level of comfort. Comfort is an important category of life in urban agglomeration. The desire for comfort cannot be accidental. Small business allows you to effectively and efficiently combine work and achieve most of the personal goals of the person. The development of the consumer services sector in a large city is a strategic priority.

The authors of the article set a task to identify the extent to which Eurasian ideology has influenced G. V. Vernadsky scientific research. In the 20 – 30s, Vernadsky acted as a historian trying to scientifically justify the Eurasian view of Russian history and as an innovator, creating a new composition of the historical narrative, a new style of historical writing. Two of his works: “Outlines of the History of Russia” (1927) and “The Experience of the History of Eurasia from the Half of the VI Century to the Present Time” (1934) had the obvious purpose to break with the national tradition of history and develop a new concept of Russian history in the spirit of Eurasianism. But both attempts failed. In “Outlines of the History of Russia” the basis of the periodization of Russian history (which he considered as a part of the Eurasian history) Vernadsky considered as “the fight of forest and steppe” There can be an illusion that he borrowed this concept from the Russian historian S. M. Solovyov. But Vernadsky’s concept is different. For Solovyov the fighting of forest and steppe is important, but it is peripheral to the story of one of the stages of Russian history. Vernadsky also puts this concept in the spotlight, thereby setting clear criteria for the selection of historical material on the degree of importance. As a result, all the huge historical material that characterizes the political, socio-cultural and historical development of Russia moved partially to the periphery of the historical narrative, and most of all fell out of it. The most successful and innovative was the section of the book devoted to the Mongolian period of Russian history. Here, Vernadsky used the technique of shifting the focus of the narrative, which allowed him to cover historical events from two points of view: as they were seen from the center of the Mongolian Empire and as they were perceived from the Russian periphery. Due to this, a “holographic” vision of historical events was created, which allowed to deepen their understanding. In the work “The Experience of the History of Eurasia...” Vernadsky attempted to present the history of internal (Russian) Eurasia as a history of self-sufficient subject of historical development. But he also failed to do that. The story was torn into separate subjects, devoid of internal integrity. In subsequent years, the structure and content of works by Vernadsky indicate that he was released from the fetters of the Eurasian ideology and returned to the historiographical tradition of N. M. Karamzin. At the same time, in the work of “Mongols and Russia” (1953), he perfected his “holographic” method of constructing a historical narrative.

The paper analyzes the reasons of violence involving a high level of the risk of life among irregular troops – ethno-social groups possessing means of violence (elites or communities claiming the elite status). Besides, the author examines factors that influence preferring one of the two alternative strategies relating the interaction between irregular troops and the state power – rebellion or loyalty. The analysis is based on comparing two contrastive cases – the Cossacks inhabiting the Southeast Europe (“Wild Fields”) and the Cossacks inhabiting Siberia, in particular, the Amur River basin in the 17^th century. The author considers the interaction of the above mentioned social groups of the Cossacks with the administrations of their states and neighboring countries (Russia, the Crimean Khanate, the Ottoman Empire, the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth in the case of “Wild Fields”, Russia and China in the case of the Amur River). Don Cossacks as well as Zaporozhian Cossacks initiated large scale revolts in the 17^th century whereas Siberian Cossacks showed loyalty to the Czar's Government and even sacrifice and heroism defending the interests of Russian state, as was the case with the siege of the Russian fort Albazin in 1685 and in 1686–87 by the Manchu troops. The macrohistorical approach is used as the main research method. The sources of hypothetical explanations are theories of the impact of the environment on thought and behavior of individuals and their communities, structural-demographic theory and the theory of exchanges. The analysis has shown that violence involving a high level of the risk of life among irregular troops is due to the impact of several factors of geopolitical, institutional and demographic origin. First, the competition between several states for the sustainable control over disputed areas when none of the competing states is able to establish this control creates “frontiers” – territories with undefined borders characterized by the deficit of the monopoly on violence and the lack of state institutions. These regions became attractive for individuals possessing the means of violence. Second, increasing competition on geopolitical markets as well as growing dependence of Cossacks wellbeing on the payments from state treasury motivate them to demonstrate their fight skills, courage, persistence as a kind of bargaining with the government for salary and recognition of their status as state servants. The strategy of rebellion was used when the irregular troops were able to build coalitions with others social groups whereas the strategy of loyalty was chosen in case of lacking potential allies.

  Abstract The paper deals in detail with the biographies of three women representing three consecutive generations in computing and programming. All the three have firm personalities and work with commitment and perseverance towards the objectives set in their academic career development. They have displayed a high level of competence and ability to strategize in various social, political and economic situations. In addition to reconstructing the biographies of these three scholars on the basis of documents, we have done some research (using the microanalytical strategy) to determine how general and specific gender imperatives have influenced their view of the world and life quality. The general gender imperatives derive from the patriarchal or feminist picture of the world, and specific gender imperatives become apparent in problem situations related to career, self-realization, double standards, etc. All the three women are/were affiliated with Soviet/Russian Academy of Science, have a degree in mathematics and computation and specialize in programming.

The article discusses the relationship of the need for privacy with the development of the individualism. The right to privacy as the autonomy of the self first appeared in Western European culture basing on the idea of individualism. Privacy protects an individual from the unwanted interference of society and the state. The realization of the right to privacy depends on the social environment - the norms and customs of society. The process of individualization took place as a result of the transition from the traditional society to the modern society, which gave a person both the right and the duty to make decisions regarding his own life. An individual received a chance to become the creator of his own destiny, which had previously been socially predetermined. The development of privacy and individualism requires an appropriate sociocultural foundation that emerged during the evolutionary process, which originated in the High Middle Ages and accelerated during the transition to the New Age. Individualization is associated with the development of the inner world as the basis of subjectivity, which was particularly influenced by the Catholic confession, which prompted the analysis of one's own spiritual motives and the teachings of Protestantism with its idea of personal responsibility. The reflection of the growth of the individuality of consciousness is reflected in the art of portrait and self-portrait, depicting a human face in its originality. Increased interest in one’s own self, in one’s own emotional life, is expressed in introspection, analysis of one’s own feelings and motives, as evidenced by the growing number of autobiographical sources. The growing literacy of the population led to the popularity of literary and philosophical societies, which discussions created a platform for bourgeois publicity. Industrialization, which entailed the separation of the place of work and home, served to create a home as a closed private space and a nuclear family as one of the most important values of bourgeois society. Individualization brought for a person both new chances in the form of the right to self-determination and self-development, as well as certain risks and contradictions: the fear of loneliness, the feeling of being thrown out into the world, the need to make an independent choice and solely responsible for its consequences.

The paper is devoted to the deportation and stay in Western Siberia of deportees from the Baltic republics. That deportation (summer, 1941) made the deportees the second (after the Polish) large ethnic special contingent during the Second World War period. The deportation operation was positioned by the Soviet leadership as a “cleansing” of the newly annexed territories from the anti-Soviet, criminal and socially dangerous elements, i.e. it was conducted on a social rather than ethnic basis. Perhaps this “dual” approach predetermined the peculiarity of the operation and its difference from the previous one. In particular, in view of the “increased social danger” of the contingent, the most rigid exile settlement regime was introduced until 1952. The paper analyzes the main documents regulating the process of forced relocation, status, regime, supply, and employment of exiled settlers and other aspects of their stay in Siberia. The author comes to the conclusion that deportations from the Baltic and Moldavian republics were not planned in advance. The decision to conduct them arose to some extent spontaneously, after a memorandum from the People's Commissar of State Security of the Lithuanian SSR, P.A. Gladkov (we would remind you that the Resolution on Deportation from the republics of the Baltic States and Moldova has not been found yet and, very likely, did not exist at all). Therefore, the regulation of the status of this category of deportees was not sufficiently worked out. In this regard, local authorities in Siberia did not always understand what they had to do, and often they simply disclaimed all responsibility for the matters related to the situation with deportees in special settlements. A special part of the paper is the analysis of a very original source - discontinued archival and investigatory cases (AIC), which were instigated on special settlers as the result of their criminal prosecution. The paper gives a profound analysis of the case No. 19707 as an example, which describes a special case from the lives of exiled settlers (deported to the Altai Territory) who organized an “illegal” literary circle and published a handwritten journal “Home Sickness”.

The article considers the specifics of medical culture: medical culture as a part of the general culture of a society and professional culture. The present research defines the essence of the social process of medicalization. The paper highlights the idea that medicine in the ancient period (considered on the example of the practices of Ancient Greece) medicalizes culture in general and can be considered as historical and cultural prerequisites that laid the foundation for transfessionalism of a modern doctor. Nowadays, medical industry becomes the space of transfer, where knowledge of the computer and other information technologies, as well as knowledge of managing, teaching, social work, philosophy, etc., are necessary for a professional in this field. The center of transfessional activity is the doctor’s focusing on a patient's personality, and not just on the disease and its symptoms. A doctor has to become a competent guide for a patient, and not a custodian of unique, inaccessible knowledge. Transfessional transformations define the modern basic principles of healing, originated in Ancient Greece. They still remain strong in the modern medicalized world. Today the Ancient Greek medical culture resonates as prolongation of medical transfessionalism.

The topics of numerous discussions nowadays are economic, social, cultural, psychological, ethical, existential problems of medical treatment. Modern society realized that it is almost impossible to solve a range of problems of the domain of medicine and medical care alone through scientific and technological achievements. Consequently such questions have to be answered: how should medical help and care be provided? Why does clinical practice provide “high-tech” medical care? And why does it fail to provide the “humane” care, which patients need so much? How can a patient resist such negative aspects of illness experience, as objectification and technologization, being in contact with medical discourse? Russian Orthodoxy has accumulated a rich and unique experience in caring for ill people. The study of this experience and its practical application are nowadays in the focus of attention of many foreign experts. Unfortunately, in our country, this problem remains somewhat undervalued among researchers, and the specificity of medical care according to orthodox tradition is forgotten in most of modern hospitals. In the humanistic model of medicine, the healing process is considered as scientifically grounded and individualizing care for patients, including the sensual-emotional and moral-existential sphere of intersubjective relations between the patient and medical specialists. It is not only about the “healing” of the patient at the biological level, but also about the internal “healing” of each patient, relief from suffering, which is grounded on the uniqueness of his/her own situation. The ideal of the humanistic model of medicine reflects the attitude: “medicine must treat the patient, not the disease.” At the same time, the interpretation of this aim differs significantly within the framework of Western and Eastern Christian cultures, in this case Russian Orthodoxy. The individualization of medical care in the Russian Orthodox tradition is not connected with the recognition of the patient as a sovereign individuality, as is the case in Western Christian cultures, but in the spiritual unity of the sufferer and caregiver, determining the harmonious relationship of a person as a part with the Wholeness. The spiritual unity of the sufferer and the caregiver, unfolding as mutual love, creates the potential for joint and conciliar overcoming of suffering through spiritual perfection. Orthodox “technologies” of spiritual healing of patients are characterized by the lack of rationalization, unification, and, as a result, commercialization.

Dystopia, which is one of the popular genres of modern culture, has found new opportunities in the cinema for its development. Many researchers are studying the cinematography dystopias, but dystopia as a genre of animation is practically unexplored. The purpose of this article is to examine the emergence and development of the genre of animation dystopia. The author suggests the periodization of the history of animation dystopias: from the first experiments of animators through the active mastering of the dystopia genre by animation – to the rise of the popularity of animation dystopias. The author connects the development of dystopias in animated films with world events and the development of computer and animation technologies, the advent of high-speed Internet. The paper systematizes the basic animation principles and imaginative means of animation, on the basis of which the author analyzes the first animation dystopias of the 1940s and 1960s: “Mr. Walk”, “Animal Farm”, “Cybernetic Grandma”, “Shareholders” and “Mermaid”. The article draws attention to the fact that the analyzed animation films combine several types of dystopias at once (socio-political, social-science-fiction and sociocultural) and reflect the corresponding dystopian features. Among the animation dystopias of the 1940s and 1960s, the author identifies hand-drawn animated films and puppet animation using the animation creation technique. The author believes that animation films producers were able to create lifelike characters, which are revealed under the influence of dystopian circumstances. Animation imaginative means, according to the author, made it possible to convey complex inner state and characters of persons of animation dystopias and features of the dystopian works. The author concludes that the application of the basic principles of animation, animation imaginative means and the principles of complexity and uncertainty promote an increase in interest both to the events occurring in the analyzed animation dystopias and to the genre of animation dystopia in general.