Vol 22, No 1 (2017)

The purpose of this article is to describe the reading practices of A.P. Chekhov during the formation and development of his writing talent. The research focuses mainly on Chekov’s epistolary heritage from 1876 until 1888. In his correspondence with family, friends, aspiring writers, publishers and well- known figures of Russian culture of the 1870s and 1880s preferences and interests of the writer can be identified in reference to articles, newspapers, magazines and books he liked to read. A wide range of Russian and foreign books and articles that Chekhov read contributed to not only the achievement of literary excellence, but also to the formation of Chekhov as a person. The evolution of Chekhov as a reader from 1876 to 1888 is particularly important for understanding the origins of the poetic style of his prosaic and dramatic works.

The article is devoted to the so called “Italian cycle” in Nikolai Gumilev’s poetry. It consists of the poems “Venice”, “Fra Beato Angeliko”, “Pisa”, “Rome”, “The Cathedral of Padova”, “Genova”, “Bologna”, “Napoli”, “Villa Borghese”, “Florence”. The common structure of the poems devoted to Italy and the Italian cities is described.The “Italian cycle” is a part of developing the theme of travel in Nikolai Gumilev’s poetry. The travels of the poet in different cities and countries are reflected in his poetry and this “travel diary” had a clear objective: to point a given toponym on the map making out of it a culturonym, which has a specific semiotic significance.

The purpose of the article is to identify the main principles of creation of the modern historical fiction and to determine the reasons for its popularity. In the course of the current study, the following features of modern Russian historical prose were noted: non-realistic depictions of historical events and historical figures, the shift of the narrative towards the sphere of private life and reinforcing the entertainment element. Writers are paying more attention to recreating the historical flavor, reflecting the consciousness of the era. The historico-philosophical prose of V. Aksenov and E. Vodolazkin is fundamentally different: they bring back to the historical prose its core values, philosophical and social categories, which are equally important for the past eras as well modern times. In general, the modern historical fiction, if analyzed systematically, reflects the leading artistic trends of the literary process of 2000-2010th: a dialogue with mass culture and the search for a new narrative style.

In article the cycle of sonnets of Vladimir Palchikov “The poet of the Igor’s regiment” is analyzed. Images legendary Bojana in his correlation with the anonymous author of the great poem, the prince Igor, his brother Vsevolod, Izyaslav Vasilkovich, Yaroslavna and the grand Kiev duke Svyatoslav are considered.The genius author of the poem “The word about of the Igor’s regiment” from the time of its discovery had a multiple resound in Russian poetry. Its interpreters invented so many various forms. One of the most unexpected were sonnets and its variations (cycles of sonnets, and others). Though it’s a truth that “The word about Igor’s regiment” and sonnets appeared almost simultaneously at the end of XIIth century.The article sonnet cycle of V. Palchikov is being analyzed. The images of legendary Boyan are being revised, as well as Knight Igor, his brother Vsevolod, Izyzslavl’ Vasilkovich and Yaroslavna, Kiev Great Knight Svyatoslav. Especial attention is payed to the confessional position of the legendary author.

The first works by A. Rand, a famous American writer, are discussed in the article: a screenplay “Red Pawn” and a novel “We are living” which formed the author’s philosophic concept based on her peculiar vision of Communist Ideology. Some peculiar features of describing the USSR as a totalitarian system are being analyzed; some particular examples of the dictatorship influence on free artistic people are being discussed. Also, the autobiographic elements of these works and their influence on the author’s further creations as well as Ayn Rand’s attitude towards Soviet Russia are studied in the article. The analysis of Ayn Rand’s early works allows us to see the events of one of the most controversial period of Russian history through the prism of literary creativity of the first wave of Soviet emigration.

The article deals with political communication as the actualization of the interests of different social groups in the different information platforms which are realized the problem of political structures to present their social programs and attract supporters. The possibilities of these areas with a primary focus on the media, as well as the reaction of these activities on the part of the population, in particular, according to sociological research, including the results of the elections in the US - 2016.

In the article the immaturity is detected of such a key problem of the science of journalism as mass information flows. An attempt was made to consider the problem of information flows at a synergetic angle. The rules were formulated describing the principle and mode of operation of mass information flows in society. It is shown that the information flow represents a complex dynamic system consisting of a multitude of relatively independent subsystems represented by information inflows. In the context of study the world information picture appears as the projection of global information flow. The insecurity is identified for a person from information flows as a global self-developing system capable of having an unpredictable and undesirable impact on his/her perception and behavior.

This article is dedicated to the birth of an important period of the formation of native broadcast journalism and radio heralds. Transmited by the radiotelegraph, they were delivered special local stations and became popular among print newspapers, leaflets, newsletters, posters, reaching a mass audience. The author proposes a analytical overview of textual materials of archive folder of one of Moscow issues “Radio Herald ROSTA”.

The article analyzes the way of formation and development of the means of artistic expression of radio, examines the specifics of their impact on the listener. The last large-scale study of this topic was made by A.A. Sheryl. The results are reflected in the number of essays named “The Audio - culture of the XXth century”, which were published in 2004. The modern way of broadcasting differs from the one we had in 2000s. New trends, such as convergence, focus on social media sources, have radically changed the traditional genres and forms of the media industry sector. For the sake of efficiency less attention is paid to the proper, unique sounding of the radio and this, in turn, negatively affects the quality of the materials going on the air.