2012 Issue №6

This article analyses the formation of a new type of rationality in N. Lobachevsky's works. The author identifies the reasons for hostility against the new theory of outstanding Russian mathematicians and pays special attention to the development of rationality in Russian philosophical thought of the 19th century.

This article considers rationality of practical activity as one of the criteria of development of society. The author analyses the efficiency of education as a social institution in this context. Education distinguishes between training and upbringing and emphasises the need to increase the level of rationality of education in order to overcome crisis phenomena in the society. Special attention is paid to the higher education reform implemented in Russia.

This article analyses the axiological features of the phenomenon of rationality of acting in the framework of social-philosophical and cultural discourse. The author identifies the functions of philosophical education in the conditions of system crisis of modern civilization. Philosophical education is considered as a means to increase rationality of thinking and acting.

This article focuses on the problems of preserving ethnocultural identity in the conditions of globalisation and blurring of cultural distinctions, first of all, the possible loss of ethnocultural identity of Russian-speaking population in the post-Soviet space of the Republic of Lithuania. A specialised survey is used as material for the analysis of the role of education as one of the most important
social institutions ensuring the formation, preservation, and reproduction of cultural identity.

This article reconstructs the situation of total ignorance that the Soviet settlers faced when reclaiming the alien cultural space of former East Prussia. The author analyzes the settlers' cognitive activity of cultural assimilation of new territories, which became an everyday routine and vital necessity.

This article examines the medieval logical theory of insolubles by Thomas Bradwardine as a way to solve the liar paradox in the period of Logica Modernorum.

This article focuses on the interpretation of Kant’s political philosophy given by V. Gerhardt within his “existential liberalism” and by J. Habermas in the applied part of his communicative theory. The author addresses similarity and complementarity in the identification of political agent and its properties.

The author analyses F. Lassalle’s ideas from the perspective of philosophical and legal concept of Sergey Hessen. The role of F. Lassalle’s concept in the development of socialism as viewed by Sergey Hessen is examined in the article.

This paper considers the cultural, political, and historical problems of the development of European identity in the discourse of Europe. The author addresses the question as to whether European identity is a category of political discourse or a real instrument of European integration and comes to a conclusion that the concepts of European identity are stuck in a methodological trap. And the EU institutional design does not inspire confidence among the residents of united Europe. The question as to how European identity will develop after the EU crisis is becoming increasingly topical.

This article is devoted to the important issue of development of parliamentarianism in post-authoritarian countries through the case of Poland. Having passed several stages of constitutional changes and political crises caused by the situation of political infighting, the Polish political system has reached sustainability, which ensures its effective functioning.

This article offers data on the results of a survey of students of humanities of Kaliningrad universities. The survey was dedicated to the assessment of maturity of historical consciousness in youth. The author characterises the general picture of knowledge of regional history and identifies the gaps.

This article analyses the theoretical framework of studying suicide as a social phenomenon. The author examines the social grounds for suicide in the concepts of E. Durkheim, R. Merton, A. Schopenhauer, and E. Fromm and described the methodological principles of studying suicide as a social practice in the sociological discourse of deviant behavior.

This article focuses on the features of political news communication. The author pays attention to various journalist techniques used in news delivery and identifies the most effective means to disseminate news.

This article addresses the controversial issue of the strength of the Russian garrison and the Polish-Lithuanian army during the Siege of Pskov in the period of the Livonian War. The article offers data provided in the Russian Chronicles on the Siege of Pskov by Stefan Batory and the works of Polish contemporaries. The author describes the perspectives of prerevolutionary, Soviet and contemporary researchers on the strength of the opposing forces. The author comes to a conclusion that Stefan Batory's army of was at least 2—2,5 times stronger than the Russian forces defending Pskov, including armed citizens.

This article focuses on the features of the re-evacuation of World War I refugees in 1920, i.e. the spontaneous movement of the hungry mass of refugees to the Western border, the South and South-East, as well as Siberia, in early spring, which was supported by local authorities aspiring to reduce the pressure on their own regions but opposed — to no effect — by the central authorities. The planned evacuation solely to the Baltic Republics at the end of summer of 1920 was accompanied by violations, abuse of power and the absence of proper organization.

This article focuses on the execution of one of the leaders of the Prussian revolt, Herkus Monte, according to the “double death” rite dedicated to two gods — Patollo and Potrimps. This rite is typical for the Baltic perception of the other world and is a special case of the common for Indo-European peoples idea of death.

This article considers the architecture of the second third of the 19th century in Eastern Prussia, belonging to the period of German Romanticism. The author focuses on the reasons behind the development of this trend and the role of the King of Eastern Prussia, Frederick William IV, and the architect, F.-A. Stüler, in the history and architecture of that period.

This article focuses on the daily life and problems of the development of new collective farms in the Kaliningrad region (1946—1953) on the basis of earlier unknown archive documents. The study sets out to broaden our perception of the phenomenon of totalitarianism and transformations in the Soviet society in the last years of Stalin's regime, as well as to identify the specific
features of regional history at this stage.