№ 89 (2025)

The article examines the features of the memoirs of A. F. Langhoff, Minister-Secretary of State for the Affairs of the Grand Duchy of Finland, as a historical source on the history of the policy of the tsarist government in Finland. The article analyses the features of the structure and content of the memories, as well as key stages of A. F. Langhoff’s biography. Based on the analysis of the available research literature, a conclusion is drawn about the reasons for the relatively limited research interest in this source. It is shown how the features of Langhoff’s offi cial status and the complexity of his interaction with P. A. Stolypin were refl ected in the text of the memoirs. It is concluded that Langhoff’s goals in writing his memoirs were not only to preserve for his contemporaries the history of the most important decisions of the tsarist gov- ernment concerning the Finnish question, including the laws of 1908 and 1910, and to discuss the situation of landless Finnish tenant farmers, but also to document his own, albeit ultimately unsuccessful, attempts to infl uence the decisions of the tsarist government in the interests of the Finnish people and the autonomous rights of Finland.

This article examines D. D. Shostakovich’s methods of working with folklore sources, using the a cappella choir “Venuli Vetri” as an example. The study compares various versions of the melody and lyrics of this song and characterises the distinctive features of Shostakovich’s creative approach, which predetermines the methods used by several composers of the “new folk wave” to work with authentic folklore samples.

The purpose of the article is to analyse the artistic features of the statue “Eve” (marble, 1919) created by S. D. Erzia. To achieve this goal, formal-stylistic and comparative-stylistic approaches were used. The author compares Erzia’s work with interpretations of the image of the biblical foremother in the works of his predecessors and contemporaries (G. Klimt, B. M. Kustodiev, A. Rodin) and identifi es the specifi cs of the Russian sculptor’s interpretation.

The article examines specifi c features of Konstantin Paustovsky’s individual textual field through the lens of the lexical-semantic dominant of colour. The study focuses on the transformation of lexical meanings and the systemic relationships among units within the colour fi eld as they function in artistic imagery. Particular attention is paid to the representation of objects of “colour painting” (tsvetopis’) in accordance with the author’s creative intent, whether expressed through the position of an impartial observer or that of an emotionally involved participant in the changes occurring in nature.

The article examines the influence of Impressionist painting on musical art, particularly on the creative style of C. Debussy as explored in the works of Chinese scholars. Special attention is paid to two main aspects of expression – harmony and form – in connection with their special transformation in the works of C. Debussy as a prominent representative of musical Impressionism.

The purpose of the study is to identify data from the records of the French Ambassador William of Rubruck about Nestorians at the court of the supreme ruler of the Mongol Empire, Möngke Khan. The source base of the research includes the treatises “The Journey of William of Rubruk to the Eastern Parts” by William of Rubruck, “The Story of the Mongols Whom We Call the Tartars” by Giovanni da Pian del Carpine, “The Remaining Signs of Past Centuries” by Abu Rayhan al-Biruni, “The Journey through the Holy Land” by Riccoldo da Monte di Croce, “The Compendium of Chronicles” by Rashid al-Din. The article examines evidence from a mid-13th-century Latin source. The Mongol Empire and the Genghisid uluses, which were formed after its collapse, were multi-religious states where, until a certain time, a policy of religious tolerance was in effect. While the religious policy of the Mongol Empire and the Genghisid states, as well as the spread of Islam and several Christian traditions (Gregorian, Catholic, and Orthodox), have been studied in considerable detail, Nestorianism — or East Syriac Christianity — during the Mongol period remains comparatively under-researched. Based on a critical analysis of the sources, data on the geographical distribution of Nestorianism and its influence among the nobility and offi cials are revealed.

The article is devoted to the problem of transformation and variability in avantgarde, and the methods of transforming compositions by processing visual elements. The article reveals the essence of collage as a creative method, as a direction for finding artistic ways to refl ect the diversity of human activity, its sensory and emotional reactions to the world, and as a way to shape new modes of artistic perception among audiences. The article establishes the scientific roots of the phenomenon and describes the ways of constructing tectonised images by representatives of Cubism, the Russian avant-garde, Dadaism, and Surrealism.

The 18th century marked an era of Sino-Western exchange. Amidst the European “China craze”, the French Rococo artist François Boucher became a key mediator between Eastern imagination and Western aesthetics through his unique artistic language. This study focuses on his chinoiserie works, uncovering the mechanisms of creative interpretation of the cultural “Other” during the early stages of Europe’s engagement with the East. Boucher constructed an image of China as both a mirror of authentic Eastern civilisation and a poetic fantasy of the European aristocracy. Employing an interdisciplinary approach, the analysis explores how the artist harmonised the decorative features of Rococo with the symbolic meanings of Chinese visual motifs, using pictorial means to shape a European cultural landscape imbued with Eastern fl avour.

The Russian dative case exhibits a wide range of semantic functions, including recipient, benefi ciary, experiencer, and possessor. These meanings are not isolated but are interconnected through a common cognitive schema. Historically, the dative case encoded a spatial meaning, denoting the endpoint of directed motion. Other meanings metaphorically derive from this initial spatial sense. The use of the dative in predicative and external possessive constructions represents the result of such semantic extension. Physical motion is metaphorically mapped onto the transfer of energy or impact, while the endpoint of motion corresponds to the possessor who becomes the target of this impact. In these constructions, the key factors motivating the dative are the close relationship between the possessor and the possessed entity, as well as the affectedness of the possessor.

Chinese music is characterised by its colourfulness and national identity, which is predetermined by the specifi c features of the national culture itself. The genre of variations also fi nds an original interpretation in Chinese music. Based on national instrumental music, Chinese piano variations include intonational formations characteristic of Chinese melodies, as well as imitations of Chinese national instruments. The use of syncopated rhythms, metric shifts, and long pauses are just a few of the distinctive features that have been adopted from folk music. Furthermore, national folk songs often serve as the thematic basis for piano variation cycles.

This article explores problems of artistic form-creation and the adaptation of cultural heritage in the fi eld of decorative and applied arts, using traditional Chinese auspicious ornaments as an example. It focuses on the methodology for transforming these visual systems in the context of a modern object-spatial environment, particularly in interior textiles. Overcoming the limitations of existing research, which focuses primarily on classification and iconography, the work proposes a theoretical three-level model (“semantics — context — pragmatics”) and specific strategies for artistic adaptation. The model is based on the principles of semantic analysis and receptive aesthetics, and its application is demonstrated in the practice of contemporary artistic design. The scientific novelty lies in the development of a comprehensive methodological approach that ensures the preservation and actualisation of traditional ornamental heritage through its organic inclusion in contemporary artistic practices and design.

The article examines the development of cooperation between the People’s Republic of China and the Republic of Kazakhstan within the framework of international organisations, taking into account historical preconditions, institutional mechanisms, and contemporary challenges. Special attention is given to the analysis of multilateral cooperation in structures such as the SCO, UN, APEC, and EAEU, as well as to the alignment of national strategies, including the Belt and Road Initiative and the Nurly Zhol programme. The author identifi es key risks and problems related to geopolitical pressure, asymmetry of potential, and threats to regional stability. It is concluded that a balanced and adaptive model of participation in international institutions is essential for strengthening the strategic partnership between the two countries.

The Leningrad Metro, one of the city’s most important symbols, was an integral part of the “chamber propaganda plan”: images of its pavilions and stations appeared in numerous works of art and crafts, incorporated into the everyday space of virtually every Soviet apartment in the 1950s and 1960s. The artistic and plastic design of these mass-produced items coincided with the stylistic coordinates of the station images, which transformed from the “Triumph” style of the fi rst (red) line to the contemporary style of the second (blue) line. Using objects created at the Leningrad Enamel Factory, a leading Leningrad manufacturer of consumer goods, this article identifies the expressive and semantic features of the representation of images of the fi rst line of the Leningrad Metro in works of art and crafts.