Russian State University for the Humanities

This paper provides a comprehensive analysis of the territorial differentiation of private household plots (PHPs) in Russia based on the 2016 and 2021 agricultural censusesdata. The studyaimsto assess the spatial distribution and development key indicators (number of farms, land and crop areas, livestock population, and resource structure) in 18 municipal districts of 9 pilot regions of the Russian Federation. Particular attention is paid to intraregional heterogeneity, farm concentration, and changes in agricultural activity between censuses. The relevance of the study stems from the key role of PHPs in Russia's agricultural sector – to ensure food security, support rural incomes, and preserve traditional land use patterns. The study is based on spatial statistics and economic-mathematical modelingtheory. Evidence-based recommendations stemming directly from the study findingswere developed to streamline the 2027 All-Russian Agricultural Census. These recommendations can be used for regional adaptation of survey methodology, thereby increasing the accuracy of the future census data.

The author substantiates the necessity of transitioning from the evolutionist-modernization paradigm to the civilizational approach in representing the course in Russian history, while correlating this shift with the state and societal demand for strengthening sovereignty and a unified identity. The methodological framework of the study is revealed through the comparison of the core content of the current course in history with the fundamental principles of civilizational theory and their logical projections onto Russian historical material. The author traces the formation of the civilizational discourse in contemporary Russia at the state level and its reflection in educational processes. The author also proposes a set of methodological recommendations related to the transition to examining Russian history through the prism of characterizing Russia as a civilization-state. Recommendations are provided for introducing corresponding adjustments in: the representation of state genesis, the identification of the driving forces of Russian history, historical periodization, assessment of reforms, the determination of the nature of social crises, explanation of external conflicts, and the role of ideology and identity systems. The practical result of the research lies in outlining guidelines for updating school and university courses in Russian history within the unified framework of a civilizational approach.

Introduction. The growing influence of social media on adolescent culture requires systematic study of its impact on the mental health and self-esteem of young people. Existing studies show conflicting results regarding the nature of this influence. Objective. To investigate the relationship between social media, use, mental health, and self-esteem in adolescents, and to develop recommendations for reducing psychological stress. Materials and methods. A comprehensive study was conducted using mixed methods, including a systematic literature review, meta-analysis, quantitative survey, and semi-structured interviews. Standardized methods were used: The Social Media Usage Intensity Scale (SMUIS), the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale, the Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-9), and the Generalized Anxiety Disorder Scale (GAD-7). Mathematical data processing was performed using Pearson's correlation coefficient, multiple regression analysis, and Student's t-test. Results. A significant negative correlation was found between the intensity of social media use and self-esteem, as well as a positive correlation with anxiety and depression levels. A curvilinear relationship was found between social media use and psychological well-being, with moderate use associated with the most positive outcomes. Significant gender differences were identified: girls demonstrate greater vulnerability to the negative effects of social networks. Discussion. The impact of social media on the psychological well-being of adolescents is complex and is modeled by a number of factors, including intensity of use, gender, and individual personality traits. Moderate and conscious use of social media is associated with more positive psychological outcomes. Recommendations have been developed for parents, educators, and mental health professionals aimed at fostering healthy patterns of social media use among adolescents.

Chekhov’s book “Sakhalin Island” is a significant milestone in the writer’s work, not only because it raises the social and humanitarian problems of the time, but also because, on the one hand, it accumulates themes and artistic strategies of pre-Sakhalin prose, and on the other hand, reflects new techniques of poetics, which were developed and deepened under the impression of what they saw on the “island of suffering.” The subject of this article is the dual nature of the prison chronotope in Chekhov’s artistic and documentary discourses. In this work, the multi-genre work “Sakhalin Island” is considered in unity with Chekhov’s fiction. In the story “Dreams” (1886), the artistic depiction of a prison and a prisoner anticipates the documentary description in the book “Sakhalin Island.” In the story “Gusev” (1890), written under the impression of what he saw on a hard labor island, the factuality and journalistic axiology inherent in the essay narrative are deepened by metaphysical symbolism. The double optics of Chekhov the essayist and Chekhov the artist determine the stylistic heterogeneity of the book “Sakhalin Island” and the interference of artistic and journalistic discourses in his work.

The identification of psychophysiological mechanisms underlying internal pronunciation in healthy individuals may enhance the performance of modern brain–computer interfaces that rely on the recognition of mental commands. Studying the brain mechanisms of internal pronunciation in people with stuttering can contribute to understanding the causes of this speech disorder and to developing new or improving existing methods of stuttering correction. The purpose of the study was to compare the psychophysiological mechanisms of internal speech (internal pronunciation) and word perception in people with normal and speech defects (stuttering). Electroencephalographic (EEG) recordings were obtained from 35 participants (25 with normal speech and 10 with stuttering) using a 19-channel system while they performed a task involving listening to and internally pronouncing four words in Russian (“sakhar”, “shashlyk”, “raketa”, and “r’aketa”). The analysis was carried out using a novel tool – the virtual implanted electrode technique (Patent RU 2,785,268 C1 by A.V. Vartanov), which enables the reconstruction of neural activity across several brain regions, including six areas of interest: Broca’s area, Wernicke’s area and their right-hemisphere homologues, as well as the cerebellum bilaterally. The activity data obtained were compared in control (normal) groups and people with stuttering. The comparison revealed significant differences in reconstructed electrical activity with an emphasis on hyperactivation in stutterers of the Broca’s area, the symmetrical zone on the right, and the cerebellar cortex bilaterally, compared with the control group, when listening and pronouncing words internally. In this way the process of perception and internal pronunciation of words in a group of normals and stutterers is different. The significant differences observed in Broca’s area likely reflect its primary role in speech production, whereas differences in the cerebellar cortex may be related to its supportive function in the motor coordination of speech. The absence of differences in the Wernicke’s zone can be considered as a consequence of the lack of auditory feedback during internal pronunciation.

16 Greek tombstones from the necropolis of Pantikapaeum with Sarmatian tamgas are examined. Usually, such signs were applied during the secondary use of a tombstones during various actions that took place at old cemeteries. These are clusters of tamgas, during an event with 10—20 participants (Ns. 1—4), pairs of signs (Ns. 4—8), and single signs (including the emblems of the Bosporan kings) (Ns. 9—12). Sometimes tamgas are violate the Greek texts. The sinchronous tamgas engraved on tombstones date back to the Middle Sarmatian period and are associated with the “Barbarian” regions of Crimea (Ns. 14—15). The tamgas were signed by the representatives of Sarmatian nobility, most often from the Lower Don region, and less often from the Northern Azov Sea region and “Barbarian” parts of Crimea. They belonged to the Middle and Late Sarmatian periods in approximately equal numbers. Among the clusters of tamgas, there are also emblems of the Bosporan kings Sauromates II, Rhescuporis III and Inensimeos, which were left by officials present at the events on behalf of the king. In order to prevent the deceased Greek owner of the tombstone from taking revenge, the Sarmatians removed the faces of the dead and his family members, as well as the top part of the tombstone with his head. The Sarmatian mini-sanctuary No. 4, which features three horse figures and was used during both periods, is particularly interesting. The horse on Atta's tombstone (No. 13) is unique, as it depicts the tamgas of its former owners, king Rhoemetalces and an influential nomadic clan from Western Ukraine. Until recently, the descendants of the Sarmatians, in some situations overturned the tombstones of foreign cultures for magical purposes. Рассмотрены 16 греческих надгробий из некрополя Пантикапея с нанесенными на них сарматскими тамгами. Обычно такие знаки наносили при вторичном использовании надгробия во время различных акций, происходивших у старых кладбищ. Это скопления тамг, во время акции с 10—20 участниками (№№ 1—4), изображения пар знаков (№№ 4—8) и единичные знаки (включая эмблемы боспорских царей) (№№ 9—12). Иногда тамги находят на греческий текст. Единичные тамги, гравированные при изготовлении надгробия, относятся к среднесарматскому времени и связаны с «варварскими» районами Крыма (№№ 14—15). На надгробиях ставили свои знаки представители сарматской знати, чаще всего с Нижнего Дона, реже из Северного Приазовья и «варварских» районов Крыма; они примерно поровну относятся к среднесарматскому и позднесарматскому времени. Среди скоплений тамг встречены и эмблемы боспорских царей Савромата II, Рискупорида III и Иненсимея; их оставили присутствовавшие на акциях чиновники от имени государя. Чтобы не допустить мести умершего греческого хозяина надгробия, сарматы сбивали лица с изображения его и членов семьи, удаляли верхнюю часть с его головой. Очень интересно сарматское мини-святилище № 4 с тремя фигурами лошадей, использовавшееся оба периода. Уникален конь на надгробии Атты (№ 13), на котором изображены тамги его бывших хозяев —царя Риметалка и влиятельного кочевого клана с Западной Украины. Еще недавно потомки сарматов в некоторых ситуациях опрокидывали в магических целях надгробия чужих культур.

The contemporary condition of total digitalization and hyper-connectivity presents a fundamental paradox: unprecedented access to information and communication is built upon the radical opacity of the underlying infrastructures. Understanding this crisis requires new philosophical metaphors capable of conceptualizing withdrawal and ontological rupture. This philosophical essay aims to trace the process of conceptualizing the phenomenon of the urban manhole cover as a key metaphor of contemporaneity, one that reveals the ontological gap between the human world of experience (Umwelt) and the concealed realm of non-human actors including infrastructures, data, andnetworks. The central research question is: How does the manhole cover, as a material and symbolic object, allow us to conceptualize the nature of power and interaction in an age of hidden technological complexity? The study aims to situate the manhole cover within the framework of spatial theory (P. Sloterdijk) and Actor-Network Theory (B. Latour); To analyze it as a "stain of the Real" through the psychoanalytic optics of J. Lacan; To interpret the manhole cover as an "objectin-itself" within G. Harman's Object-Oriented Ontology (OOO); investigate the representation of the manhole cover and its immaterial analogues in contemporary art and choreography; To examine the politico-economic dimension of the manhole cover through the lenses of Marxism and speculative aesthetics. The primary material of the study is the urban manhole cover itself, examined as a semiotic and philosophical object. The analysis is extended to its representations and conceptual avatars in contemporary art, choreography (e.g., works by Sasha Waltz, Murad Merzuki), and cinema, which serve as case studies for its metaphorical expansion. The research employs a multidisciplinary methodological toolkit, including methods of philosophical topology, comparative analysis, and the conceptual apparatus of Object-Oriented Ontology, Actor-Network Theory, psychoanalysis, and discourse analysis. This synthesis allows for a multi-faceted deconstruction of the object. The manhole cover is conceptualized as a universal metaphor of withdrawal and a "non-interface." Its heuristic power lies not in pointing toward hidden information, but in marking the very fact of ontological incommensurability between human and non-human realms. The study argues that power in the modern world is increasingly exercised not by controlling the information "beneath the cover," but by administering the boundaries and managing the consequences of this fundamental opacity. The metaphor is thus extended from an epistemological problem (what is hidden) to an ontological and political one (how we relate to the radically Other). The manhole cover disrupts the immunological logic of spheres, acting as a gateway into the alien realm of networks. It functions as a traumatic void, a puncture in the symbolic fabric of the urban order, pointing to the unsymbolizable Real of infrastructure. As an object-in-itself, it perpetually withdraws from all relations and perceptions, embodying a core principle of OOO. The "manhole-coin," adorned with city coats of arms, is revealed as a token of symbolic power, a fixed sign that legitimizes the appropriation of the subterranean world and naturalizes the city's infrastructural authority. In contemporary art, the manhole cover and its immaterial counterparts (airflows, and data streams) become metaphors for opaque forces that actively shape the body and consciousness.