bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
COVID-19 Variants and Vaccine Development
Authors: Zhao Ziyao , Bashiri Sahra , Ziora Zyta M. , Toth Istvan , Skwarczynski Mariusz
Published: May 2024

Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), the global pandemic caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome 2 virus (SARS-CoV-2) infection, has caused millions of infections and fatalities worldwide. Extensive SARS-CoV-2 research has been conducted to develop therapeutic drugs and prophylactic vaccines, and even though some drugs have been approved to treat SARS-CoV-2 infection, treatment efficacy remains limited. Therefore, preventive vaccination has been implemented on a global scale and represents the primary approach to combat the COVID-19 pandemic. Approved vaccines vary in composition, although vaccine design has been based on either the key viral structural (spike) protein or viral components carrying this protein. Therefore, mutations of the virus, particularly mutations in the S protein, severely compromise the effectiveness of current vaccines and the ability to control COVID-19 infection. This review begins by describing the SARS-CoV-2 viral composition, the mechanism of infection, the role of angiotensin-converting enzyme 2, the host defence responses against infection and the most common vaccine designs. Next, this review summarizes the common mutations of SARS-CoV-2 and how these mutations change viral properties, confer immune escape and influence vaccine efficacy. Finally, this review discusses global strategies that have been employed to mitigate the decreases in vaccine efficacy encountered against new variants.
Multimodal Therapy Approaches for NUT Carcinoma by Dual Combination of Oncolytic Virus Talimogene Laherparepvec with Small Molecule Inhibitors
Authors: Sotiriadis Stavros , Beil Julia , Berchtold Susanne , Smirnow Irina , Schenk Andrea , Lauer Ulrich M.
Published: May 2024

NUT (nuclear-protein-in-testis) carcinoma (NC) is a highly aggressive tumor disease. Given that current treatment regimens offer a median survival of six months only, it is likely that this type of tumor requires an extended multimodal treatment approach to improve prognosis. In an earlier case report, we could show that an oncolytic herpes simplex virus (T-VEC) is functional in NC patients. To identify further combination partners for T-VEC, we have investigated the anti-tumoral effects of T-VEC and five different small molecule inhibitors (SMIs) alone and in combination in human NC cell lines. Dual combinations were found to result in higher rates of tumor cell reductions when compared to the respective monotherapy as demonstrated by viability assays and real-time tumor cell growth monitoring. Interestingly, we found that the combination of T-VEC with SMIs resulted in both stronger and earlier reductions in the expression of c-Myc, a main driver of NC cell proliferation, when compared to T-VEC monotherapy. These results indicate the great potential of combinatorial therapies using oncolytic viruses and SMIs to control the highly aggressive behavior of NC cancers and probably will pave the way for innovative multimodal clinical studies in the near future.
ANALISIS ID, EGO, DAN SUPEREGO PADA TOKOH KEFIANDIRA DALAM NOVEL MITOMANIA SUDUT PANDANG KARYA ARI KELING
Authors: Daulay Faiz Tamimy , Waskita Adi Jaya , Kurniawan Eva Dwi
Published: May 2024

Setiap individu memiliki kepribadian yang berbeda beda. Pribadi tersebut mencakup pikiran, perasaan dan tingkah laku seseorang untuk menunjukkan karakteristik masing masing individu. Tujuan penelitian ini bertujuan untuk mendeskripsikan Id, Ego, dan Superego pada tokoh Kefiandira. Metode yang digunakan adalah deskriptif kualitatif. Tujuan penelitian ini adalah untuk mendeskripsikan tiga aspek kepribadian yaitu Id, Ego, SuperEgo pada tokoh utama pada novel Mitomania sudut pandang karya Ari Keling. Sumber data yang digunakan adalah novel Mitomania sudut pandang yang ditulis oleh Ari Keling tahun 2019. Proses pengumpulan data dengan cara membaca, mencatat dan menafsirkan, dan metode hermeneutika yaitu mengartikan kalimat yang sulit dimengerti menjadi sesuatu kalimat yang mudah untuk di mengerti. Dari hasil analisis yang di lakukan ada beberapa kalimat yang menggambarkan ketiga aspek aspek kepribadian tersebut. Dengan menggunakan metode hermeneutika  menafsirkan kalimat kalimat tersebut agar lebih mudah di pahami, Kefi sebagai tokoh utama memiliki tiga bentuk kepribadian tersebut. Kepribadian tersebut dapat timbul ketika saat saat tertentu yang dapat kita dalam beberapa kalimat yang ia katakan.
Kata kunci: Freud, Kepribadian, Psikoanalisis.
 
 
Every individual has a unique personality, encompassing their thoughts, feelings, and behaviors, reflecting the distinct characteristics of each person. The purpose of this research is to describe the Id, Ego, and Superego aspects of the character Kefiandira. The method employed is qualitative descriptive. The aim of this study is to depict the three personality aspects, namely Id, Ego, and Superego, in the main character of the novel "Mitomania" from the perspective of Ari Keling. The data source utilized is the novel "Mitomania" written by Ari Keling in 2019. The data collection process involves reading, note-taking, interpreting, and utilizing the hermeneutic method to make sentences that are difficult to understand more accessible. The analysis results reveal several sentences that illustrate the three aspects of personality. By employing the hermeneutic method to interpret these sentences for better understanding, it is evident that Kefi, as the main character, exhibits these three forms of personality. These personality traits emerge at specific moments, as indicated by several sentences spoken by the character.
Keywords : Freud, Personality, Psychoanalitic.
Novel Approaches Used for Decreasing Apoptosis Rate in Ovarian Tissue Cryopreservation and Transplantation
Authors: Rezaei Zarnaghi Mahsa , Bahroudi Zahra , Izadpanah Melika , Majdi Seghinsara Abbas , Abedelahi Ali
Published: May 2024

Apoptosis is the main cause of atresia in ovarian follicles. In oxidative stress (OS) conditions, an imbalance between pro-apoptotic and anti-apoptotic genes can increase the apoptosis rate. In some diseases, such as cancers, patients lose fertility due to chemotherapy and radiotherapy. One way to maintain fertility in these patients is ovarian tissue cryopreservation and transplantation (OTC/T). Studies show that OTC/T also increases apoptosis due to hypoxia and ischemia but fortunately new findings show that applying new approaches could decrease apoptosis in these procedures considerably. This article reviewed follicular atresia, apoptosis during cryopreservation and transplantation, and factors affecting the reduction of apoptosis.
Spleen and Pancreatic Tissue Change after Genetically Modified Soybean Oil Consumption Among Male Wistar Rats
Authors: Taheri Horiyie , Mesgari-Abbasi Mehran , Abbasalizad-Farhangi Mahdieh
Published: May 2024

Background: Over the past 20 years, the increased consumption of transgenic products for humans and animals led to the conduction of nutritional studies in this regard. However, these studies were limited, and they did not find a definitive answer to the possible health hazards of transgenic products. Therefore, this study was designed to evaluate the effects of a diet containing transgenic soybean oil on rats. Methods: Accordingly, male Wistar rats (N=6/group) were given a nutritionally moderate purified diet with 10% genetically modified soybean oil for 90 days. Two control groups receiving nongenetically modified soybean oil and a standardized diet were also enrolled. One-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) followed by Tuky post hoc analysis was used to compare the values between groups and to detect the effects of transgenic soybean oil. Results: Rats fed on transgenic soybean oil demonstrated several histologic changes in pancreas tissues, including changes in severe congestion, the presence of inflammatory cells, and changes in the Langerhans islands. However, no changes were observed in the spleen, except for negligible congestion in all treatment groups. Regarding blood indicators, hemoglobin levels in the transgenic soybean oil group decreased compared to the other two groups (P<0.05). Conclusion: According to our results, a 90-day treatment with transgenic soy-based oil caused significant organ changes in the pancreas tissue of rats. Further studies evaluating the long-term effects are also needed to better elucidate these effects.
Instagram Pazarlama Faaliyetlerinin Güvenilirliği: COVID-19 Salgını Öncesi ve Sonrasına İlişkin Karşılaştırmalı Bir Analiz
Authors: Göktaş Bora , Aslan Bilal
Published: May 2024

Covid-19’un başlaması ve bitişiyle birlikte de tüketicilerin alışveriş yapma ortamlarında ciddi değişiklikler olmuştur. Virüsün yayılması ve eve kapanmaların başlamasıyla birlikte insanlar gerçek ortamdan alışveriş yapmak yerine sanal ortamlardan alışveriş yapmaya kaymışlardır. Bu noktada Instagram’da müşterilerin alışveriş yaptığı bir dijital platform olmuş ve Instagram’da bir çok satış yapan profiller oluşmuştur. Çağ dijital çağ ve bu çağda pek çok yeni iş yapma ortamları doğmuş ve bu ortamlar “iş modeli” olarak adlandırılmaktadır. Instangram’da bu iş modelleri sahiplerinin ticaret işlemleri yaptığı sosyal medyalardan biridir. Dolayısıyla Instangam’da gerçekleşen pazarlama eylemleri de artış göstermeye başlamış, kullanıcıların karşısına sürekli reklamlar, tanıtımlar çıkmaya başlamıştır. Instagram’da buna paralel olarak profesyonel hesaplar, sponsorlu reklam, sponsorlu hesap gibi yöntemlerle pazarlama çalışmalarına hız vermiştir. Bu çalışma ile Instagram’daki pazarlama faaliyetlerine yönelik tüketicilerin güven düzeyinin pandemi sonrası nasıl şekillendiği anlaşılmaya çalışılmıştır. Bunun için bir anket formu hazırlanmış ve çevrimiçi olarak kolayda örnekleme yöntemi ile uygulanmıştır ve 504 adet veri SPSS25 paket programı ile analiz edilmiştir. Çalışmada tüketicilerin güvenlerinin nasıl değiştiğini anlamak için pandemi öncesi için 15 ve pandemi sonrası için 15 adet olmak üzere toplamda 30 adet ölçek maddesi katılımcılara yöneltilmiştir. Katılımcıların Covid-19 sonrası Instagram’daki pazarlama faaliyetlerine olan güveninin arttığı sonucu bulunmuştur. Ayrıca bu sonucun katılımcıların; medeni hal, eğitim, meslek ve gelir demografik özelliklerine göre anlamlı bir farklılık gösterdiği görülmüştür.
Dijital Pazarlama Güven Ölçeğinin Geliştirilmesi
Authors: Gürkaynak Gürbüzer Şeyda , Haşıloğlu Selçuk Burak
Published: May 2024

Z kuşağının ailenin küçük ferdi olmaktan çıkıp ebeveyn rolüne bürünmesiyle birlikte, işletmecilik yaklaşımlarındaki değişim hızının da artması kaçınılmaz olmuştur. İnternetin hayatımızın ayrılmaz bir parçası olması da bu süreci daha da hızlandırmıştır. Bugün internetten alışveriş yapmak, X kuşağı için dahi rutin bir hâl almıştır. Doğal olarak gerek geleneksel dünyanın gerekse de dijital pazarlamanın önemli değişkeni olan tüketici güven algısı da bu değişimden etkilenmiştir. Bulunduğumuz döneme özgü geliştirilecek dijital pazarlama güven ölçeğinin uzun yıllar güncelliğini koruması beklenmektedir. Araştırmanın amacı başta e-pazaryerlerinde olmak üzere, dijital pazarlama güven ölçeği geliştirmektir. Bu kapsamda, 10 odak grup görüşmesi gerçekleştirilmiş ve yapılan pilot çalışmalar kapsamında 1226 katılımcıya ulaşılmıştır. E-pazaryerleri için kullanılan 6 maddelik güven ölçeği 3 farklı formatta (e-pazaryerine işaret, en sık kullanılan e-pazaryeri ve online alışveriş) sunulmuştur. Geliştirilen ölçeğin e –pazaryerleri, e-ticaret siteleri, ikinci el çevrimiçi alışveriş platformları ve hatta sosyal medya pazarlaması gibi dijital pazarlama dünyasına özgü yapısal modellerde kullanılması beklenmektedir.
«I see a city so far away that doesn’t exist…» (pre-war Novgorod in K. Paustovsky’s novel «The Smoke of the Fatherland»)
Authors:   Yaroslav-the-Wise Novgorod State University, Ivanova N. F.
Published: May 2024

The article is devoted to a special urban space – pre-war Novgorod, recreated by K. G. Paustovsky after a trip to the Russian North in the late 1930s. On the pages of the novel, the writer pays attention to the Pushkin Mountains, Odessa, and Leningrad but the chapters about Novgorod can be read as an independent text. The material of the study was the epistolary and literary heritage of the writer, in which there are references to Novgorod, the novel The Smoke of the Fatherland, which has a difficult publicist’s history. The aim of the study is to recreate the image of pre-war Novgorod, described by Paustovsky, not as a museum city but a city with a unique appearance, where the past and present, nature, art and culture, traditions coexist. The article is based on socio-critical, hermeneutical, semiotic, and discursive approaches. The main conclusions of the article are related to the fact that the novel, which bears the stamp of its time, the lyrical and romantic attitude of the writer of the 1930s and 1940s, maybe, if it is returned to the urban Novgorod text, relevant, and Paustovsky, pushed to the periphery, should remain in the space of Russian literature, Russian culture. The choice of material is due not only to academic interest in Paustovsky’s work, but also to concern about the fate and pressing problems of the city. Firstly, the visual range of the novel allows us to reconstruct the pre-war image of the city, which does not exist, since it was almost completely destroyed during the Great Patriotic War. Secondly, the proposed plans for the restoration of the city (in particular, Academician Shchusev) were often corrected, changed by local authorities, were not fully implemented, and shortterm pragmatic solutions often won. Novgorod is still going through transformations today, and one can only hope and believe that the time will come to return the lost face, the historical appearance to the city. Paustovsky’s novel will allow the reader to compare pre-war Novgorod with today’s appearance of the city, devoid of integrity and structure, and to think about its preservation.
Visual-Semiotic Patterns in the Study of Urban Architectural Identity: Artistic and Аesthetic Perception of Old Building Facades in Kaliningrad
Authors:   Immanuel Kant Baltic Federal University, Sherstiuk A. A.
Published: May 2024

This scientific paper is dedicated to the issue of studying the urban architectural environment as a comprehensive continuum for socio-cultural communication and artistic expression. The research’s relevance lies in the creation of practically oriented conditions for dialogue between the artist and the city, as for artistic reflection on the exact visual-semiotic architectural layer. The research purpose is to scientifically substantiate and present a concept dedicated to the artistic and aesthetic city image, which is formed by the artist during individual decoding of the visual semiotics of local architectural patterns. The methodology is based on the perceptive research model, which describes the urban architectural identity through artistic and aesthetic perceptive ways. The scientific paper confirms the important role of urban architectural identity in the construction of the holistic city image and in building interpersonal “city–artist” interactions. The research’s investigations are proved through an international art project in the format of the realized author’s urbanistic practice dedicated to the search for the wall’s image identity in one of Kaliningrad’s districts.
Folklore in the Handwritten Albums of Yerevan Schoolgirls as a Manifestation of Urban Youth Subculture
Authors:   Institute of Archeology and Ethnography NAS RA, Vardanyan N. Kh. ,   Yerevan State University
Published: May 2024

In the last decades of the last century, the culture of keeping handwritten scrapbooks was widespread among urban schoolgirls. These scrapbooks are considered one of the small forms of urban and rural folklore of the recent Soviet past and have become an object of study by folklorists and anthropologists. This type of handwritten folklore has been widely studied in the works of foreigners, especially Russian theorists. It is usually referred to as post-folklore or subculture (Neklyudov). Various manifestations of adolescent behavior can be found in these manuscript albums: from rebelliousness to touching lyricism, from magical in-nature guessing games to sociological questionnaires. The predominant texts in these handwritten albums are lyrical texts consisting of couplets, quatrains, and rarely six verses, close to ditties. These small rhyming texts were recorded, memorized, and supplemented by friends and classmates. The tradition of girls’ albums survives today but is perceived as a relic of the Soviet era. These days, young people prefer to use social networks to express themselves. What is the Odnoklassniki portal but an electronic handwritten album? If modern folklore is actively and purposefully studied abroad, in the Armenian reality there are practically no serious studies on the topic so far. The main material of this study is schoolgirls’ notebooks created in Yerevan in the 80–90s of the 20th century, as well as materials recorded by the author from the former albums’ owners. Schoolgirls of this generation are now mature women, some of whom still lovingly keep their school handwritten albums. The article deals with the peculiarities of the folklore of girls’ school albums in Yerevan, the period and medium of their existence, and their genre-thematic manifestations, structure, and contents. The author pays most attention to the poetics of girls’ scrapbooks folklore, which is peculiar to urban schoolchildren. Such issues as bilingualism, thematic layers of these lyrical texts, expression of love feelings in them, attitude to friendship, school, studies, advice about love and life, relations with the older generation, and others are studied. Folklore formulas, allegorical expressions, and fortune-telling games characteristic of school-age psychology are also examined.
Concept Grodno: Dictionary definitions and associations
Authors:   Yanka Kupala State University of Grodno, Sidorovich Z. Z.
Published: May 2024

The paper reports on a study of the national-geographical cultural concept Grodno, using data from 33 different types of dictionaries published between 1907 and 2014, as well as an associative experiment. The study aimed to collect and analyze information about the lexeme Grodno presented in dictionaries and determine the main characteristics of the concept. The structure of the concept was found to include core, value, image, and conceptual components. Only 10 dictionaries recorded the lexeme Grodno, but the study was able to create its own word-formation nest with the lexeme, comprising 8 units. The results of the associative experiment helped identify the concept Grodno in the language picture of the world of 100 Grodno citizens. The paper examines the concept Grodno, its structure, and its linguistic representation, considering cognitive and linguacultural aspects. The study used a complex method of analysis, employing a range of general scientific and linguistic methods. Based on the analysis of dictionary definitions and the associative experiment, a generalized model of the concept Grodno and its components is presented, including the city and its location, the first mention of the city, the number of inhabitants, history, people related to Grodno, architecture, industrial sectors and enterprises, infrastructure, environmental condition, and evaluation (fame). The paper highlights the importance of the concept Grodno as a fundamental concept of Belarusian culture, reflecting the idea of the city in the linguistic picture of the world of Russian-speaking people.
“Zvartnots conjunct with Colosseum”: From Tamanyan’s People’s House to the Theater of opera and ballet
Authors:   Institute of Archaeology and Ethnography of the National Academy of Sciences of the Republic of Armenia, Abrahamian L. А.
Published: May 2024

The article examines one of the most enigmatic constructions of Alexander Tamanyan – the People’s House, which was the basis of the current Opera and Ballet Theater in Yerevan. The People’s House was strictly criticized by young proletarian architects, the Armenian representatives of the revolutionary Culture One – the author follows the concept proposed by V. Paperny, according to which in the early 1930s the “spreading” egalitarian Culture One has been replaced with the Stalin-era Culture Two, characterized by “hardening” and hierarchy. It is shown that Tamanyan’s People's House was horizontally consonant with Culture One, however, it did not imply an egalitarian proletarian daily life, but a nationwide festival in the spirit of carnival festivities studied by M. Bakhtin and Ur-festival reconstructed by the author. In the vertical plane, People’s House was likened to the best achievements of medieval Armenian church architecture, in particular, the 7th-century temple of Zvartnots. Tamanyan generally conceived his People’s House as a conjunction of the Armenian Zvartnots with the Roman Coliseum, which should have been constructively realized by the closed part of the People’s House (the Tamanyan’s Culture Two) and its open part, which, together with the horizontal function of the closed part, provided the festive Culture One.
Square as a visual pattern of the urban environment
Authors:   Yaroslav-the-Wise Novgorod State University, Avanesov S. S.
Published: May 2024

This article is devoted to the analysis of the square as one of the key visual elements (patterns) of the urban environment. To understand how a city works, it is necessary to find out what urban practices are associated with the square, what its role is in shaping the overall appearance of the city, and in what ways it relates to other visual patterns. The study of the city square in its aesthetic, semiotic, social, and cultural aspects is a necessary part of the discourse, which is focused on the theoretical understanding and practical formation of the overall image of the city. The article deals with questions about the human scale of the square, its cultural functions, artistic integrity, and forms of its participation in the scenography of urban space. A comparison of the closed and open squares is made by referring to some well-known examples. It is shown that a normal urban pattern is a square that combines the properties of ‘openness’ and ‘closedness’ and at the same time includes elements of geometry, architecture, sculpture, and local history in its ensemble. It is concluded that a stable visual pattern of the urban environment can only be such a square that combines several functions, is in obvious combination with patterns of other types, has a human scale, and is a noticeable architectural ensemble. The square can act as a visual dominant of the entire urban structure, determine the general perception of the city, its appearance and silhouette. At the same time, the city also influences the square, programming its form, style, and function. The degradation of squares, which leads to the degradation of the urban environment as a whole, is explained by their dehumanization, functional reduction (the transformation of squares into transport hubs) and, most importantly, the fragmentation of their visual perception. The city square is degrading precisely because the townspeople cease to understand and perceive it as a certain and very complex form of organization of the urban texture, on which both the compositional unity of the city and the continuity of its cultural identity rest.
MZhK architecture as a legacy of Soviet modernism
Authors:   Impulse management company, Starostova L. E.
Published: May 2024

In recent years, the architecture of late modernism (the second half of the 20th century) has attracted more and more attention. However, its legacy is still not sufficiently discussed in scientific and popular literature, many buildings of the 1960–80s are demolished before they receive historical and cultural expertise and protection. Despite a number of systematizing studies, the architecture of capitals gets more often in the center of attention of researchers. Until now, the architecture of this period in regional cities, especially residential buildings, has not been sufficiently described. Such buildings bordering in status include residential complexes of the movement of youth residential complexes (in Russian – Molodezniy zhiloy kompleks – MZhK), the architecture and planning solutions of which have become an expression of a unique combination of a construction organization model, a social concept of the neighboring community and author’s architectural solutions within the framework of a given social program for a residential complex. The concept of the youth residential complex was based on the idea of a self-governing neighborhood community, whose members build many apartments houses with their own hands. The peak of construction of the MZhK came in the 1980s, when the aesthetics and principles of modernism spread throughout the world. In large MZhK, architecture has become a manifestation of the social idea of a youth residential complex. The largest MZhK in the Soviet Union was built in Yekaterinburg, but its architectural heritage is not sufficiently appreciated by Authorities. The article conceptualizes the architectural heritage of the movement of youth residential complexes as part of the historical and cultural heritage according to a number of criteria on the example of the architecture of the MZhK in Yekaterinburg, as well as the cities of Korolev and Zelenograd.
The Image of the City in Armenia: Anthropological Perspective
Authors:   Institute of Archeology and Ethnography NAS RA, Vasilyan V. O.
Published: May 2024

Socially significant phenomena are usually personified and embodied in the images of ancestors, ethnarchs, and heroes. The anthropomorphic symbol in the fine arts was an integral part of ancient Greek culture from the very beginning. Accepting the traditional classification as natural phenomena (e.g. g. Earth, Sky, River), places (e.g. g. Region, Earth, City), time (e.g. g. Month, Time of Life, Season), emotions (e.g. g. Love, Fear), political concepts (e. g. g. Victory, Democracy, War), etc., the question of their deification remains a complex and difficult one. The image of the city in anthropomorphic form first appeared in Hellenic art, but its iconographic roots go back to earlier times. Social well-being can be associated with divine figures, such as Tyche or the successive heroes of state power. Artists depicted these characters as resembling heroes or demigods, perhaps deliberately placing them between the divine and human realms. One such heroic character for Armenia is expressed in the idea of “Mother Armenia, Capital, Hero”. However, the image of the “Mother City Goddess” went a long way in Armenia before it became a symbol of the capital. The polis (city) could be depicted as a male or female figure, with the female image being more predominant. The close association with the male figure of Demos reflects the ambivalent nature of urban culture. The polis can be seen as the basic unit of Greek society throughout antiquity. The personification of the polis, understood as a broad and diverse social, geographical, and political phenomenon, can be considered on the basis of the analysis of archaeological and written sources. Defining the polis in a heterogeneous Hellenistic society is a difficult task, especially when the socio-historical context is not directly reflected by individual archaeological findings and detailed historical data. A single definition may not be appropriate, since the meaning and function of the polis varied.
Cities in the antiquarian discourse of the 16th–17th centuries
Authors:   Russian-Armenian University, Palamarchuk A. A.
Published: May 2024

The article deals with the models and strategies of description and constructing the city space in tracts and chorographies written by the English antiquaries during the Tudor and the Early Stuart age. Antiquarian narratives (beside The Survey of London by J. Stow) generally were not concentrated on description of cities. Nevertheless, antiquarian tracts, especially chorographies, played an important part in the process of construction of the English proto-national identity. The space corresponding to this identity was also the object of the intellectual construction. Until recently the works of the English antiquaries were not considered as important historical sources in the field of historical urbanistic studies. Actually, antiquarian tracts, especially the chorographies can expose new aspects in the process of conceptualizing of cities by the Tudor intellectuals. The article analyzes works of Leland, Selden, Stow, Holland, Cowell Vowell and other antiquaries. Aristotelian paradigm of the city as a polity remained the dominant and defining for the Tudor intellectuals. The dichotomy of matter and form in the description of a polity was expressed as distinguishing between res and homines, that is between the material arrangement of a polity and the community constituting a polity. From the chorographies depicting the territory of the kingdom as a whole, emerged two functional definitions of the city: the city as a point of reference on the map, that allowed to measure geographical space: and as a spatial object, containing several places of historical memory. Descripting the inner urban space, the antiquaries actualized both classical patterns (descriptions of Rome) and Early Modern epistemological schemes (Ramism) and, finally, ethnogenetic myths (the conquest of Britain by Brutus).
Visual thought in modern orthodoxy: Art history as theology
Authors:   Institute for Human Sciences, Antonova Clemena
Published: May 2024

In this paper I will discuss the visual category of “reverse perspective”, i.e., the principle of constructing pictorial space in the icon. I will show that in Russia one of the most basic terms in Western art history, i.e., perspective, was thoroughly reworked, even turned on its head as suggested by the terminology, in order to serve a project of modern Orthodoxy. The main proponent of the theory of “reverse perspective” was Florensky, who in his essay of that title, written in 1919, uses several different definitions of the term. In the first section of the paper, I will mention briefly six such definitions, all of which are still current in contemporary scholarship. In the second and third sections, I will suggest a possible theologically-grounded elaboration of one of Florensky’s ideas of what constitutes “reverse perspective”. According to the interpretation proposed here, “reverse perspective” becomes the visual analogue of two basic Christian dogmas – that of a timelessly eternal God and that of “theosis” or “deification”. In the last section, I will give a short background to the relationship between art history and theology, which lies at the heart of my approach.
Hierotopy of darkness
Authors:   Research Center for Eastern Christian Culture, Simsky Andrew
Published: May 2024

Although the role of light in the creation of sacred spaces is well known, the hiero-topy of darkness has never been, to our knowledge, a subject of a dedicated study. In this work, darkness is thematized as a constitutive element of sacred spaces. I argue that there is more to darkness than merely the absence of light. A dark ambience engenders its own spirituality characterized by serenity, quiet peace and focusing on one’s inner life. Moreover, darkness is imbued with its own sacred meanings intimately intertwined with the dramaturgy and mean-ings of light. As an example, we take Roman catacombs, a site of funerary rituals and a spatial icon of the underworld through which the Christian paradise was shining, with sporadically embedded small gold-glass tondo icons as points of connection between earth and heaven.
Rothko’s deep darkness
Authors:   Fieldstead and Company, Green Ahmanson Roberta
Published: May 2024

The paintings of artist, Mark Rothko (1903–1970), are considered in their religious dimension. The essay pursues the significance of Rothko’s words and works by moving from biographies and Rothko’s own writings to sites Rothko purportedly loved (e.g., Fra Angelico’s paintings at San Marco in Florence, Santa Maria Assunta on Torcello in Venice, Matisse’s Red Studio at the Museum of Modern Art). Moreover, the essay seeks to illuminate insight into the meaning of Rothko’s luminous panels (considering the artist’s claim to “paint reality”), and the reasoning behind his idiosyncratic instructions for installing his works low to the ground and in groups. The context of the Rothko Chapel (Houston, Texas) is also considered. Rothko’s Jewish heritage and education recall the “luminous cloud” of the Hebrew Bible, while his love for San Marco and Torcello evoke the all-encompassing beauty of Orthodox sacred spaces. Perhaps in these images Rothko saw glimpses of the reality he sought to paint and discovered a way to display his work and communicate its reality most effectively.
Movable icons and embroidery shrouds in services of dramatic character in Ancient Rus’
Authors:   The Mikhail Abramov Museum of Russian Icon, Evseeva L. M.
Published: May 2024

The Cycle of services of Novgorod Cathedral of the Holy Wisdom included sing-ing services (ᾀσματική ἀκολουθία) after the practice of the Hagia Sophia in Constantinople. Its description is known since the 13th century from the Novgorod liturgical manuscripts. Since the end of 15th century the double- sided proskynesis icons has been an important inte-gral part of singing service in Novgorod Cathedral. The unique complex of the images of the Saviour, Mother of God, saints, and the Bible scenes was created at this time. The complicated organization composition of the Novgorod series allowed to lay one icon in the church naos at festive day or to carry out all icons with images of saints to square near Cathedral during the rites of the New Year on September 1 and on Sunday of the Last Judgement. The icons replaced one another during the Holy Week. The Shroud with the embroidery image of dead Christ was carried out from altar and put on a table in the middle of naos at Holy Saturday. The icon Resurrection (Descent into Hell) replaced the Shroud at early morning of Resurrection Sunday. It was a real “mystery of images”.
Patriarch Nikon’s hierotopy. The New Jerusalem Hermitage as a seventeenth century spatial icon
Authors:   Lomonosov Moscow State University, Lidov A. M.
Published: May 2024

In the context of hierotopy, a discipline that studies the creation of sacred spaces as a specific spiritual and artistic creative activity, two new research problems have been pos-tulated: sacred space creators as a phenomenon, and the Holy Land re-creation as the foun-dation of medieval Christian spiritual culture. These problems determine the content of this paper where we analyze one of the Patriarch Nikon’s most original and significant hierotopic projects, that we believe to be crucial for understanding Russian culture of the 17th century. We claim that the Nikon’s Hermitage (Otkhodnaia Pustyn’) in New Jerusalem is the most sig-nificant spatial icon of this historical period, representing a universal religious and political conceptual idea. This specific Hermitage (Pustyn’) was meant to become a true spiritual center of Holy Rus’, away from Moscow mired down in vain intrigues and other sins. It is known that Nikon was the author of this totally original architectural- spatial and artistic concept. By combining the visual with conceptual as well as the material and concrete with the imag-inary, Patriarch Nikon created an iconic image superior to all of the seventeenth- century Russian flat surface icons. In this respect Nikon emerges as an artistic genius who devel-oped and transformed the great traditions of the Byzantine and ancient Russian hierotopy, the unique art of sacred space creation.
The image of the Earthly Paradise by Efrosin Belozerskii
Authors:   The Institute of Russian Literature (the Pushkin House) of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Bobrov A. G.
Published: May 2024

The spiritual quest of Efrosin Belozerskii was inspired by the dream about searching for the earthly Paradise and its achievement. He not only copied the writings of travelers, but also wrote down other people’s oral stories. Efrosin was interested in information about the areas where the earthly Paradise could have been located (according to the Bible, in the East). Efrosin’s autographs contain stories about the miracle of the resurrection of a young man who saw the earthly Paradise; and among the other texts there is an Epistle from Archbishop Vasilii Kalika of Novgorod to Bishop Fedor of Tver’ about Paradise. Vasilii proved his opinion that the earthly Paradise had not perished and gave examples of the righteous visiting or being near as well as the testimony of eyewitnesses, Novgorodian sea travelers who reached the borders of the earthly Paradise. Vasilii Kalika’s epistle is missing in all fifteenth century Novgorodian chronicles apart from Efrosin’s collection and the Sofia First chronicle, whose older copies come from the Kirillo-Belozerskii monastery. Additions to the original text resemble similar additions made by Efrosin in other texts; the indication of the place where certain ‘rachmans’ lived in the epistle reminds of the rachmans’ utopian country, where, according to Efrosin, there was no state, church, crimes, trade, industry, or conflicts among people. The manu-scripts of Efrosin represent his dream of justice on the Earth, about the life without oppres-sion and violence.
Discussion about authenticity of Loreto’s Sacred Space in the notes of Vasily Grigorovich-Barsky
Authors:   Moscow Kremlin Museums, Buzykina Yu. N.
Published: May 2024

The article analyzes three fragments from the travel notes of Vasily Grigorovich- Barsky about pilgrimage sites identified as the house of the Virgin Mary in Mariazell, Loreto and Nazareth. This traveler, who lived in the 18th century, was an Orthodox Christian and his education was very close to European University tradition, was interested not only in the appearance and history of these complexes, but also in the authenticity of the objects of wor-ship. The texts about Mariazell and Loreto are non-critical descriptions, although about the shrine in Nazareth in his description Barsky is doubting about the authenticity of what he had seen earlier. Bringing scientific arguments, he is convinced of the falsity of the Catholic shrine in Loreto and the falsity of the legend about moving the house to another location. His rea-soning, at first glance, is a natural part of interfaith polemics, but when referring to the tradi-tion of Loretan criticism, it turns out that the author is included in the polemic that began in European religious and scientific circles long before him. His arguments are of interest from the point of view of the history of the Church, since he refutes Catholic practice, relying on arguments of a scientific nature, and not on theology.
Religious practices and church space in modern Russia
Authors:   Russian State University for the Humanities, Russian Presidential Academy of National Economy and Public Administration, Antonov D. I.
Published: May 2024

The article discusses current trends in the formation of the church space in post- Soviet Russia. The author focuses on religious practices that result in the presence of symbo-lically significant objects–relics, votive gifts, donators’ icons, notes, etc., –in churches. These objects build the space of the church as a space of communication with the saints; they form an environment in which parishioners and pilgrims clearly see the channels and means of this communication. Some practices are carried out primarily by the clergy–such as collections of relics and brandea or ordering various reliquaries for keeping sacred objects which the church is either already having or planning to obtain. Collecting relics allows clergy to build the “topography of holiness” in the church, to present the uniqueness of the church in the parish and on the church website. Other practices are carried out primarily by parishioners and pilgrims–this is the bringing of votive gifts, notes, and donators’ icons (sometimes with inscriptions). Various objects that appear in the temple space can serve as affordances for such actions. First, these are wooden icon-cases covered with glass–‘niches’ in which it is conven-ient and safe to place gifts. Secondly, these are ‘regular’ gifts–decorations placed on icons by the clergy (as a rule, pectoral crosses and panagia). Finally, the same role is played by the notes, the gifts, and the curatorial icons themselves–the presence of the gift serves as an invitation to do a similar action and bring a note / a jewelry or to order a new icon related to personal or family story (request, need). As a result of such practices, the church space in Russia is actively developing. Reliquaries of various forms are being created; relics are integrated into icons and crosses, turning them into reliquaries; massive icon-cases are ordered for icons, convenient for placing a lot of votive gifts, etc. These processes are sometimes hardly noticeable, but their role in the current church tradition is undoubtedly significant.
The Neoplatonic Substructure of Russian Orthodox Iconography and Theology
Authors:   University of Notre Dame, University of Tyumen, Alexandrov Emile
Published: May 2024

This paper aims to uncover the underlying Neoplatonic ideas embedded in Russian Orthodox iconography and theology. The focus is on two earlier figures of Neoplatonism, namely, Iamblichus and Plotinus. In Iamblichus, his determination of religious practices or theurgy as imperative for union with God is emphasised. This includes his utilisation of symbols and icons for heightening the worshipper’s faith, a practice that Russian Orthodoxy largely appropriated into a Christian context. However, the understanding of Beauty that both Iamblichus and Russian Orthodoxy incorporated is propelled out of Plotinus’ ontology set in the Enneads. The suffusion of Plotinean ontology and Iamblichean theurgy resulted in the Orthodox portrayal of a divine ladder symbolising assimilation with God. This theological symbolism is markedly adopted by central figures of Eastern Orthodox theology and artistically rendered in Orthodox icons, such as the 12th-century icons Ladder of Divine Ascent and the Faith, Hope, and Love. Both icons are also closely intertwined with the theological texts of Eastern Orthodoxy, especially the Philokalia, which is permeated with Neoplatonic themes that portray a deep historical trajectory of influence that this paper hopes to have better elucidated.
Light and colour in biblical theology
Authors:   St. Andrew’s Biblical Theological Institute, Fedotova E. Ya.
Published: May 2024

Visualisation of verbal languaging, both speech and written texts, goes back to the very dawn of culture and might well be traced back to ancient texts including the Bible. It is well known that fundamental biblical imagery together with related concepts form the basis of European art, culture, and mentality. The very possibility to visualise words draws on the met-aphorical dimension of language and enriches our understanding of both speech and texts. Imagery has its place in biblical exegesis; without it our interpretation of biblical narratives and poetry would be incomplete or even inadequate. This article explores some instruments of figurative expression of theological concepts in the Bible, namely, how lightand colourin the biblical narrative help to visualise the image of God. Contextual analysis shows that the notion of ‘light’in the Bible is almost always associated with divinity. Being God’s first creation, lightin the Bible becomes an important sign of His immanence in the world. Time and again God’s presence is marked with luminous or fiery objects. The word̓ôr (‘light’in Hebrew) is used as an attribute, epithet or even the very name of God.
The early iconographic program of St. Andrew Stratelates Churchin Novgorod Detinets
Authors:   Yaroslav-the-Wise Novgorod State University, Gerov G. P.
Published: May 2024

The article begins with the history of St. Andrew Stratelates Church in Veliky Novgorod. It is shown that today’s church dedicated to St. Andrew was originally built as a chapel of the Boris and Gleb Cathedral in Novgorod Detinets. The St. Andrew Stratelates Church now stands alone in the south-eastern part of Novgorod Detinets, but until 1682 it was the south-ern chapel of the Boris and Gleb Cathedral. Its earliest part was erected at the former location of cathedral’s staircase tower. The initial church, as the paper suggests, was constructed to com-memorate the capture of Swedish Landskrona fortress in 1301 by the army of Prince Andrey III Alexandrovich. It was later rebuilt by Euthymius II, the Archbishop of Novgorod, likely in 1441, simultaneously with rebuilding the Boris and Gleb Cathedral “on its old foundation”. Then the paper turns to the description and analysis of what remains today of the initial iconographic pro-gram of the original St. Andrew Stratelates Church, namely a composition with nine images of saints in the lower part of the northern wall, which belongs to the earliest period of painting. On the right we see the Apostle Peter, an Archangel (Michael?) and the Apostle Paul being blessed by Christ. In the background stand a few praying figures: St. Andrew Stratelates, the patron saint of the church, as well as the Holy Equal-to-the-Apostles St. Prince Vladimir Svyatoslavich, passion bearers princes Boris and Gleb, and two unidentified holy women. The composition was likely to be created after 1494, when the Boris and Gleb Cathedral in Novgorod burned again. Although the origins of the mural remain unknown, a connection with the capture of the Landskrona for-tress is a likely possibility. Indeed, St. Andrew Stratelates Church was first constructed in 1302, i. e., a year following the capture of Landskrona, and it was initially integrated into the Boris and Gleb Cathedral which speaks for itself in view of military overtones of the cult of Boris and Gleb.
Experience of a devotional prayer in front of an icon,reflected in the icon itself
Authors:   Jungian Analysis Journal, Morgachev S. V.
Published: May 2024

In this paper, icons are understood as holy images in a broad sense, including murals, mosaics and miniatures. An icon is considered as a channel of communication with the sacred reality revealing itself through the icon. The numinous experience of ascetics dur-ing their devotional prayers in front of icons is described and conceptualised. This experience is categorised following its increasing intensity: (1) visions of a tunnel extending beyond the icon; (2) gleaming of icons; (3) apparitions of Christ or saints depicted on the icon; and finally, as a climactic point, (4) rapture or ‘energy discharge’. In particular, the images of a tunnel, transcending the icon and extending beyond its surface, can be found in some miniatures, frescoes, and icons of the 13th – 15th centuries as well as in some patterns of spatial ornamen-tation in Serbian and Bulgarian churches. The author argues that images of glowing icons reflect real ecstatic experience evoked when praying in front of icons. Then the paper turns to icons that represent apparitions of Christ or other holy figures to ascetics praying in front of their icons. Finally, the topic of ‘hidden’, i.e., veiled or curtained icons in Cypriot monaster-ies is explored. This tradition, which implies that a person can be “punished” for looking at or touching a miraculous icon, has, as the paper suggests, a completely different meaning. It is not addressed to all pilgrims, as it was customarily understood, but only to ascetics. According to Gregory Palamas, a true ascetic is able to sense uncreated energies, and this ability is a dan-ger and a grace at the same time.