The article is devoted to the process of formation of the Russian intra-elite consensus about the reintegration of the Crimea and Sevastopol. In particular, the text examines the range of relations between domestic establishment and foreign partners in the context of the «Ukrainian question». The article also analyzes the causes of the «polite policy» in the 2014-2015. It is stated that the United States and the European Union for its straightforward and confrontational actions actually forced the Russian elite to take a tough stance on Crimea. This article discusses an alternative point of view on the reintegration of the Crimea, in particular, of the liberal society that opposed Vladimir Putin. However, the author concludes that for the whole elites managed to come to the consensus about the Crimea that allowed the president of the Russian Federation to continue acting in the Ukrainian direction. At the same time, the spread of conflict in the Donbass caused some unrest in the domestic «ruling class», which led to the conclusion of the Minsk Agreement and freezing of the «Russian world» project.

The research problem addressed by this article is to reveal the causes of negative Russia’s image in the U.S. The methods applied by the author to solve the problem include: analysis of U.S. media, analysis of foreign lobbies exemplified on Poland, Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia; analysis of Russia’s policies and their ramifications for its image in the U.S. PewResearchCenter survey within Global Attitudes Project was used as an indicator of the USA attitude to Russia. The theory tested by the author is comprised of following concepts: the dependent variable is Russia’s image in the U.S., the independent variables are Russia’s policies (endogenous factor), and foreign lobbies (exogenous factor).A working hypothesis of the research is that endogenous factors play the greater part in the USA attitude to our country than exogenous ones. Alternative opposite hypothesis of the paper consists in exogenous factors being the main reason of negative attitude to our country in the USA. The research resulted in author’s conclusion that mentioned dependent variable is influenced more by endogenous factors, rather than exogenous. In other words, the working hypothesis was confirmed, and alternative hypothesis was rejected.

The past year (2014) adjusted Russian foreign policy and once again raised the need to shift towards cooperation with the East. The relevance of this article is examination of international activity of the Russian authorities during sensitive geopolitical and economic turbulence and unprecedented pressure on Russia since the collapse of the bipolar system of international relations. The goal is to identify advantages and disadvantages of the «turn to the East» strategy that was proclaimed by the Russian officials in 2014. The following tasks should be solved to achieve this goal: systematization of Russian political and business elites’ activity in the East, analysis of the steps Russia has already taken, fixing of the political and economic risks that Russia may face in the East on a midterm horizon.Assessment of the effectiveness of Russian leaders’ foreign policy maneuvers in the East requires the following methods: event analysis, situational analysis and the method of peer review. The general conclusion of the paper is the statement that the Russian turn to the East has not formed yet and it requires systematization and formation of an integrated strategy. The author plans to continue to study Russian political and economic potential in the East as well as to identify problem fields and their solutions.

Retraction.

The article deals with the problem of innovation and technological potential of the Russian economy and its influence on the global economic crisis. Industrial policy of the state as part of the overall economic policy is one of the most widely discussed problems. Relevant legislation has been introduced. Supporters of a liberal approach to industrial policy believe that today in industrial policy following solitary branch principle is inexpedient, as in rapidly changing economic and technological conditions the ability of organizations and the state to adapt to the constantly changing environment and the introduction of new technologies comes to the fore.It is noted that the realities of the early 21st century are such that Russia has lost the ability to engineering as to the creation of new types of products on a number of branches (most). Today State industrial policy should be formed as a national, when not only the state and business, but also scientific and public organizations, civil society institutions are equal participants in its design and implementation. The principles of diagnosis of industrial policy are proposed.The reasons of the destruction of morality of the Russian economy and the loss of stability and economic development are disclosed. Concern is expressed that eight good years have bred a wealthier generation of politicians and senior managers accustomed to«manage the growing prosperity» under greenhouse conditions, when all markets are growing, when there is no competition with stronger rivals from abroad and no need in large investments into new technologies, when people are not interested in politics. Such elites have no experience of crisis management and no necessary skills, they are not charged for constant hard struggle. In Russia, a new economic strategy requires creation of intelligent and moral economy. The crisis is most striking for immoral economies, because it is the immoral conduct of business, government and citizens that actually generates crises. The current crisis is a new stage of economic and moral recovery for many countries. The paper States that the current situation in Russia does not allow to create an innovative economy nor to 2020 nor to 2050.

The article reveals key features and analyses Russian-language and foreign-language sources, devoted to Bologna Process and specific aspects of its implementation - most notably, in various European countries (of Western as well as Eastern Europe), and current development trends of European higher education system.Analyzed data and documents allow reasonable conclusion that, in spite of significant efforts have been made and measures have been implemented for the last fifteen years, in reality, procedures, mechanisms and principles of Bologna Process by no means always have been implemented smoothly not only in the Eastern European countries (which joined Bologna Process later), but also in the Western European countries, including founding members (for instance, Germany and Italy).The author pays attention to defects and limitations of Russian-language sources. This fact highlights necessity to use English-language academic publications and English-language official documents of European Union, devoted to Bologna Process, to more fully and deeply understand Bologna Process.Given Russian intention and commitment to continue Bologna Process implementation in spite of current negative international environment, it is important to study and analyze Bologna Process experience of Eastern European (e. g. Czech Republic, Slovakia, Bulgaria) and CIS (Moldova, Kazakhstan, Ukraine etc.) countries.

This article is devoted to the dynastic myth of the Rurikids and its cultural and religious grounds as an example of positive state-forming historical mythology. The problem of historical mythology now takes on a new urgency. On the one hand, a broad public debate about the falsification and demythologizing history goes on. On the other hand, the development of the historical consensus as one of the fundamental elements of the Russian state ideology is on the agenda.The author postulates that along with the deliberate falsification of history, there are, in fact opposite to it, positive historical myths included in the national consciousness and that became key components of the cultural and historical identity. Development of positive historical myth for any state, for any nation is the inevitable and desirable process. As an example of such myth the article considers the historical dynastic mythology of state of the Rurikids in Kiev and Moscow period. Particular attention is paid to the period’s literary monuments in which the dynastic myth was reflected and developed. Its development is Traced from the «Tale of Bygone Years» to «Book of Degrees».The article Shows how the Old Russian writers and chroniclers disclose basic, sacred meaning of existence of the Russian state. Often it happens through the formal distortion, in the opinion of the modern researchers, of historical fact. However, the perception of the historical text in the Middle Ages differed from the modern. Approximation of described reality to the ideal one through biblical allusions and paraphrases contributed only, in the opinion of the medieval author, to the establishment of genuine truth. The Myth sacralized the reign of the ruling dynasty, playing a significant positive role in the construction of the Russian state.

The article looks at the role of families of Jewish financiers in London in the XVII-XX centuries. The question of Jewish involvement in historic capitalist development and movement of the Jewish capitals from Holland to England in XVII-XVIII centuries is considered. Jewish capitals had an important role in the creation of Bank of England in 1694 (Suasso and others families). In the XVIII-XIX centuries, the Jews were the leading financiers of London. The big role of Rothschild banking family in the banking history of England of XIX-XX centuries is well known about. The article emphases the history of less known families of the Jewish financiers (Cohen, Goldsmid, Hambro, Levita, Mocatta, Montagu, Montefiore, Raphael, Rothschild, Sassoon, Stern and others). Some of these families keep leading roles in the world of finance. Several major international banks of XIX-XX centuries were started by Jewish financiers from England. The information contained in the article shows the close relative connections between mentioned families of Jewish financiers as well as connections between Jewish financiers and British aristocracy.

B.A. Grushin belongs to a small group of researchers, rightfully called the founders of Soviet theoretical and empirical sociology. As a philosopher and methodologist he contributed significantly to the conceptual language of sociology, addressed many of the complex problems of the genesis of mass consciousness and behavior. A special place in his work was given to questions of the study of public opinion, he was the first in the USSR to begin conducting public opinion polls and publishing the results of the analysis of people’s opinions in the press. B.A. Grushin was one of the founders of the Russian (former all-Union) center for the study of public opinion.The material published herein is a synopsis statement in the format of a journal article of the main ideas of the eponymous book, which was dedicated to the IV International sociological conference «Following Grushin’s traditions» (2014). It acquaints the reader with the main stages of the biography and scientific achievements of B.A. Grushin.

One of the leading Russian experts in international politics, the scientific director of the expert platform «Valdai Club» and chief editor of the magazine «Russia in Global Affairs»F. Lukyanov tells what is happening in today's world of ambiguous processes taking into account the growing turbulence and Russia's role in them.

Protocol Expert Comment following consultations of Trilateral contact group on joint steps aimed at implementation of the Peace Plan of the President of Ukraine Petro Poroshenko and initiatives of Russian President Vladimir Putin (Minsk-1) and a set of measures to implement the agreements Minsk (Minsk-2)

The article deals with the essence of the widespread concept of «shock advertising». In another way it is called «scandalous advertising» or «shockvertising». It violates the established rules of the advertising business, established traditions and culture of the society and violates the stereotypes. The essence of shock advertising is a provocation of society; manufacturers tend to cause a scandal in public. This type of advertising is one of the company’s strategy to create brand awareness, the end result of which is the ability of the consumer to identify it, to acquire the product and recommend it to others. As one of the means to gain advertising exposure, shock advertising allows consumers to draw attention to the company in a short time, to win their loyalty and to consolidate its position on the market. But the shock techniques are the most controversial influence technologies of advertising. There are doubts about the effectiveness of this type of advertising in terms of moral and ethical standards, and its acceptancy by different cultures.The author proposes a classification of shock techniques on the example of Russian and foreign commercial advertising campaigns, and the analysis of the distinctive features of the Russian shock advertising. The article Focuses on such kinds of shock advertising as violence, fear, death, religion, and offers characteristics that distinguish shock advertising from other advertising methods.

The review of Giuglietto Chiesa’s book «What Is Instead of Catastrophe» (M.: Tribuna publishing house, 2014. 352 p.)