The article discusses the ways of representing of state symbols in the postcards of Japan during Meiji period (1868–1912). On the basis of their visual design the ways of constructing the image of the new government are considered. After the “Meiji restoration”, the state symbols were adopted (based on the old ka-mon family emblems): the national flag, the emperor’s seal, orders and medals. The post service belonged to the state, which allowed the images to show not only the actual state symbols but also in what situations it should be used and how it should be perceived. These tasks were implemented by artistic means. The different types of symbols on postcards were distributed unevenly. The most diverse subjects are related to the national and army flags. It depicted not only war but also the everyday “peaceful” life. The documentary photo, the decorative drawings of emblems, the real peoples and fantastic animals were used for the decoration. Through the positive emotions were transmitted (pride, joy, interest, etc.). Japan is represented there as the modern, internally cohesive state with the irresistible military power, fully supported by the population, with state symbols that preserve continuity with the past.

The article examines the cult of the bacteriologist, the discoverer of the plague bacillus Alexandre Yersin (1863–1943) in modern Vietnam. The cult of Yersin developed in the place of his burial near the city of Nha Trang in the south of Vietnam, and Yersin is worshiped there both as a rural guardian spirit in the Vietnamese folk religion (thành hoàng), and as a bodhisattva in Mahayana Buddhism, although he was not a Buddhist. One of the Buddhist temples in which he is worshiped was previously his office. Meanwhile, Buddhist cult is closely related to the popular veneration of the scientist. Worship of Yersin as a guardian spirit takes place at his grave. An important feature of the cult is that the popular veneration of Yersin was supported by the state: in 2013, a biography of Yersin was published in which his merits are referred as a basis for honoring him as the patron spirit of the area. In addition, secular ceremonies in honor of Yersin contain elements of religious practices rooted in the Vietnamese belief in the existence of the spirits of the dead and their active influence on the daily life of living people. I consider the veneration of Yersin as a new syncretic cult of post-secular Vietnam which give evidence of the vitality of traditional beliefs and their ability to develop in changing social conditions.

The article provides a primary analysis of the Russian corpus of illustration studies as a systematic theoretical understanding of illustration. The author emphasizes the interdisciplinary nature of research on illustration as a sociocultural phenomenon. The presentation of the topic in Russian dissertation research, in periodical scientific and theoretical journals of various cultural and scientific institutions (universities, libraries, museums, research institutes), in thematic collections and monographs devoted to illustration as a media, artistic practice and visual research is studied. The necessity of studying and including educational projects and activities of independent researchers into the analyzed resources is additionally substantiated. The author draws attention to the ambiguity of the situation. On the one hand, there is a regular appearance of new events (exhibitions, conferences, articles, collections, dissertations) related to book, magazine and web graphics. On the other hand, most of the publications and studies are directed to historically remote objects, only a minimal number of scientists work with the present. The author records the disunity of the scientific community and weak interdepartmental communication in Russian illustration studies. The author also speaks about the need to create an interdisciplinary and international publication platform, uniting researchers of illustration of all forms of its modern existence, about the need for Russian specialized scientific and theoretical.

The concept of “Open storage of pottery and construction materials collection of the State research institute and Museum of architecture named after A.V. Shchusev” adopted for implementation is considered in the article. A survey of collection items (collection contain more than 4000 items that allow to reflect diversity of construction materials used by master builders of ancient Rus’ and prior to the early 21st century. Having performed analysis of the Russian and foreign experience, the author argues that the selected form of exposition provides the access and maximum contact authentic items that the major part of them has not been displayed earlier. This concept is easily combined with the space of museum dedicated to architecture. It is well-known that the number of items in museum collections by far exceeds possibility to exhibit them in museum. Hence the principal reproach addressed to museum community: the greater part of any collection that are preserved in museum vaults are inaccessible to public. The main reason for that is the shortage of exposition areas. This shortage exists nearly at every Russian museum. With increasing frequency museums use for performance of their main function (storage and provision of social-cultural information not only exposition areas but also vaults in form of open storage.

The modern Russian comics industry is mostly author’s comics. At the same time, first of all, comics are associated with superhero stories, whose appearance on the screens of cinemas became the starting point for many people to recognize the original source – the comic. In Russia, a mass commercial comic strip is presented by the publishing house BUBBLE Comics. Its slogan from the first issue was: “The country must know its superheroes”. The article examines the forms and methods of transformation of the characteristic features of superhero comics in Russian comics published by BUBBLE Comics. BUBBLE Comics strives not to copy the narrative strategies of American publishers, but to adapt them for the Russian reader. BUBBLE publishers partly use the superhero theme, adopting the idea of a single universe and heroes who are engaged not so much in saving the world as in helping people. Unlike traditional solo superheroes, BUBBLE Comics’ heroes are surrounded by people who share their mission and are more of a team. Such comics not only construct a new fictional world, but also to a certain extent reflect the socio-cultural reality that is close to the understanding of the Russian reader

Tezuka Osamu is one of the first manga artist, who started to transform works of classical literature into the language of Japanese comics. Among his works we can distinguish the comic adaptation of Goethe’s “Faust” (1950) and “Crime and punishment” (“Tsumi to batsu”, 1953) by Dostoevsky. These works, according to the assurances of Tezuka Osamu, were created by him in order to introduce the younger generation to the masterpieces of world literature. But, in fact, they are rather a courageous experiment by the author, which is based on Tezuka Osamu’s personal experience with the works of American and Soviet animation and cinema (“Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs”, “The Humpbacked Horse”, “Moth and the Flame”, “The Third Man”, etc.). Being a big fan of cinema since childhood, Tezuka Osamu unwittingly transferred a set of different cinematic techniques to the art of comics, thereby expanding its capabilities. In this article we will consider in detail the mechanism of adaptation of literary texts in Tezuka Osamu’s manga, starting with the indication of direct quotations from movie and animation of that time and ending with a variety of effects (Kuleshov effect) and principles of the film industry (“Star System”).

This article introduces the concept of “digital light” into the Russian-language space of media theory, and also offers its conceptualization as a distributed network medium that transforms cultural practices. The article substantiates the need to distinguish digital light as a separate concept. Unlike the concept of “electric light” introduced by McLuhan, the content of the concept of “digital light” is based on the constructive and physical features of this medium, and not on abstract ideas about “pure information”. This article describes the media properties of digital light, determined by its semiconductor structure and the property of sampling the electrical signal. It substantiates the productivity of considering these structures in the context of a broad concept of digital light, rather than individual technological forms or software solutions. Considered not as a separate technological form, like a light bulb or a screen, but as covering the entire set of radiating and controlling means, and as a dynamic developing network, the elements of which can be both visible to a person and invisible to him (as a part of the infrastructure), digital light creates various situations of multi-channel exchange of electrical signals, eliminating the boundaries between its own digital structure and the illuminated objects of the environment. In particular, digital light allows interactive digital installations to exist and can process and visualize big data in real time. Digital light, understood in this way, turns out to be a medium with its own “message”, which overcomes McLuhan’s claim of electric light as a “medium without a message”.

The article examines the forms of historical consciousness that are present in the digital environment, more specifically in Internet memes. With the universal spread of the Internet, civilization received not only a new tool for communication, but also entered the phase of fundamentally new communication formats. One of them is Internet memes – understood in the article as predominantly mutable templates, in which the picture is static and the text changes. Internet memes function as two-tiered utterances. At the first level, the Internet meme is an ironic part that allows you to grab attention and go to the second level, where the utterance is made. Communication through Internet memes is the realization of everyday representations and thought structures. These structures include, among other things, historical consciousness, which can be understood as all cases of the presence of the past in everyday life. If the historical memory in the Internet culture is widely studied: narratives, symbols that are realized in various kinds of content are analyzed, then the historical consciousness still remains outside the analysis. The article raises the problem of the implementation of temporal representations, the role of the past in the processing of present events, conceptualization of the past in communication through Internet memes.

Social media has contributed to the spread of fashion, style or lifestyle blogging around the world. This study focuses on self-presentation strategies of Russian-speaking fashion bloggers. Its objects are Instagram accounts and YouTube channels of two Russian fashion bloggers: Alexander Rogov and Karina Nigay. The study also observes their appearances as guests in various interview shows on YouTube. Alexander Rogov received his initial fame through his television projects. Karina Nigay achieved popularity online on YouTube and Instagram, therefore she is a “pure” example of Internet celebritiy, whose rise to fame took place on the Internet. The article includes the following objectives 1) to study the self-branding of fashion bloggers on various online platforms; 2) to analyze the construction of fashion bloggers’ expert positions and its role in their personal brands. Turning to fashion blogging allows us to consider how its representatives build their personal brands and establish themselves as experts in the field of fashion and style in Russianlanguage social media.