Publications

My book examines the function and development of the cult of saints in Coptic Egypt. For this purpose I focus primarily on the material provided by the texts forming the Coptic hagiographical tradition of the early Christian martyr Philotheus of Antioch, and more specifically – the Martyrdom of St Philotheus of Antioch (Pierpont Morgan M583). This Martyrdom is a reflection of a once flourishing cult which is attested in Egypt by rich textual and material evidence. This text enjoyed great popularity not only in Egypt, but also in other countries of the Christian East, since his dossier includes texts in Coptic, Georgian, Ethiopic, and Arabic. This work examines the literary and historical background of the Martyrdom of Philotheus and similar hagiographical texts. It also explores the goals and concerns of the authors and editors of Coptic martyr passions and their intended audience. I am arguing that these texts were produced in order to perform multiple functions: to justify and promote the cult of a particular saint, as an educational tool, and as an important structural element of liturgical celebrations in honour of the saint.

This is a German language article about the Foreign Cemetery (Gaikokujin Bochi) in Yokohama: its history, the circumstances of its origin, the study of the national, ethnic, and religious background of those who are in the ground. This is the part of a project (with archival research and field study parts) about this cemetery and the reconstruction of the history of life and death of foreigners in Japan in the late 19th and 20th centuries.

The article is dedicated to the studies of communicative practices characterizing the system of traditional lifestyles of women in China and Russia. On the basis of comparative analyses of the novel Zuleikha Opens Her Eyes by Guzel Yakhina and a story The New Year Sacrifice by Lu Xun the basic types and characteristics of communication of women with social surroundings, family and nature are defined. These include: social and sacral communicative practices, based on social and ethno cultural values and ethno psychological attitudes. The dual character of ethno-cultural tradition forming women’s lifestyle is determined, constructive and destructive aspects of women’s communicative practices are studied. Women’s characters are studied as examples of the transformation of the traditional lifestyle within the context of conflicting relations between old traditional norms and new socio-cultural realities, various types of social bans and penalties (up to sanctioned abuse). The books by Guzel Yakhina and by Lu Xun reveal parallel trends in the artistic representation of basic characteristics of cultural traditions regulating women’s activities in family and society as well as similar ethical and psychological features of both main characters. The article studies two levels of realization of women’s communicative practices: “husband – wife”, and “son – mother”. It is stressed that the researched books both represent women’s communicative practices not only as verbal activity, but as a description of various types on non-verbal communication (touching, gestures, positions), which is more important for the image of a mother. The realization of women’s communicative scenarios, such as “standard scenario”, “gaining meaning of life scenario” and “scenario of losing one’s family” are examined.

For the first time in Russian historiography, there is a review of literature in Korean, published in the Soviet Far East. A diverse and wide range of books has a scientific analysis as historical sources on the development of the Korean language, culture and education of Korean migrants in the territory of the USSR during the formation of the Soviet government and the Korean community (Soviet Koreans). The Russian State Library in the Eastern Department stores more than 550 volumes published in Korean in the USSR. These are books written for children, Korean textbooks for primary and secondary classes, textbooks translated from Russian into general disciplines such as algebra, geometry, physics, chemistry, literature, geography, translations of classics of Russian literature, as well as political education books. . Contrary to the claims of many foreign researchers who questioned the development of the Korean language in the USSR (1920–1937) during the period of Japan’s colonial domination on the Korean Peninsula, these sources prove that the native language level of migrants was at a high enough level and had the potential for further development. There could be no similar textbooks and books in Korean on the Korean Peninsula, as well as in any other country of the world where Koreans lived compactly. The analysis of this literature is relevant not only for historians, but also philologists and linguists of the Korean language.

The growing interest of Russia in development its economic and political ties with Asia makes particular important the Korean vector of the Russian foreign policy. Although Russia tries to maintain equally friendly relations with the Republic of Korea and the DPRK, cooperation with both states has always been affected by a number of negative factors. The present paper aims to show the current state of relationships between Russia, the Republic of Korea and the DPRK,  analyzed in the context of recent conceptual changes in the Russian foreign policy, reestablishing dialogue between South Korea and North Korea, and the resumption of direct negotiations between the USA and the DPRK.

A survey of Christian civilisations Western and Eastern

In Soviet Russia, during the 1920s—early 1930s dozens of publishing houses published children's literature richly (sometimes lavishly) illustrated by the best (yet sometimes the worst) artists of the epoch. They epitomized the real revolution in the art of the picture-book and, at the same time, the revolution in the message that had been conveyed in these books. In other words, the children's books of the early Soviet era embodied the twofold revolution: in aesthetics and in spirit. This book is the study of this revolutionary phenomenon: how early Soviet authors, artists, and book designers used innovative artistic concepts in the production of books intended for children and thus served the ruling authorities in forging the new citizens of the Communist state by means of the subtle art of indoctrination.

Although there is no uniform definition of “terrorism”, the majority of existing ones include at least one common characteristic of terrorist activities, that is an attempt at intimidation and influencing the common consciousness. Some researchers posit that terrorism might be described as an act of violence conceived to attract attention and send a message through the raised  publicity (Hoffmann, 1998).

That is, activities in the field of information may be perceived as as one of the principal parts of modus operandi of terrorist organisations. Starting the XXI Century information activities of terror groups transform from the reporting instrument to the stand-alone self-sufficient track creating info-propaganda materials. In this work we study evolution process in the field of info-activities of the terror groups through the Islamic State case-study. We analyse factors influencing adaptation process of information strategies of terror groups as affected by the changing environment. Considering the centrality of the information instruments in the functionality of terror organisations we thus create a certain resource base needed to conduct further research and forecast developments in the crisis situations  in order to facilitate decision-making process in the sphere of the counter-terrorist activities.