St Petersburg State University Research Articles

Faculty of Sociology Science Session at the St Petersburg State University as part of the VIII St Petersburg International Labor Forum (February 20–22, 2024). Commemorating the 300th Anniversary of the Founding of St Petersburg State University

Faculty of Sociology Science Session at the St Petersburg State University as part of the VIII St Petersburg International Labor Forum (February 20–22, 2024). Commemorating the 300th Anniversary of the Founding of St Petersburg State University

Psychosocial stress and its consequences among modern university students: the megalopolis factor

BACKGROUND: Students, who comprise a significant proportion of society, are a vulnerable group that often experiences high levels of stress, affecting their psychological well-being. At the same time, students’ stress has to be assessed comprehensively, taking into account various factors such as living conditions and academic demands, AIM: To assess the psychosocial stress and psychological well-being of students, taking into account the characteristics of the university and the urban environment, whether it is a megalopolis or a regional center. MATERIAL AND METHODS: A cross-sectional study was conducted among students from St. Petersburg State University (SPbSU) and Belgorod State University (BSU) using an online survey method with a snowball sampling technology. The survey questionnaire aimed to gather both qualitative and quantitative data on key stressors, indicators of psychosocial maladaptation and mental health issues using the DASS-21 scale. The collected data was analyzed using IBM SPSS Statistics v. 27. RESULTS: Students at SPbSU exhibited more pronounced signs of psychological distress, such as anxiety, stress, depression, loneliness, fatigue, and a need for psychological assistance. They also, reported facing challenges in in their daily lives, including issues with nutrition and transportation. Additionally, they were more likely to use nonproductive coping mechanisms, such as excessive use of social media and engaging in addictive behaviors. On the other hand, the students at BSU demonstrated a closer and more trusting relationship with their parents, as well as and higher level of financial dependence on their families. However, as for main indicators of academic stress, particularly in relation to the use of online technologies during the pandemic, there were no significant differences between the students of both universities. CONCLUSION: The influence of living in a megalopolis is likely to be the primary factor contributing to the observed disparities in psychosocial maladaptation among the surveyed student populations. More attention should be paid to the adaptation of students to life in large cities, with a focus on support from families and university administrations.

The Skies Are Falling: Mathematics for Non-Mathematicians

Mathematical education, both mass education, and university education of non-mathematicians, are in an abominable state, and rapidly degrading. We argue that the instruction of non-mathematicians should be dramatically reformed both as substance and style. With traditional approach, such a transformation would take decades, with unclear results. But we do not have this time. The advent of Computer Algebra Systems gives the mathematics community a chance to reverse the trend. We should make a serious attempt to seize this opportunity. In the present paper we describe one such project of reform implemented at the St Petersburg State University.

THE SKIES ARE FALLING: MATHEMATICS FOR NON-MATHEMATICIANS

Mathematical education, both mass education, and university education of non-mathematicians, are in an abominable state, and rapidly degrading. We argue that the instruction of non-mathematicians should be dramatically reformed both as substance and style. With traditional approach, such a transformation would take decades, with unclear results. But we do not have this time. The advent of Computer Algebra Systems gives the mathematics community a chance to reverse the trend. We should make a serious attempt to seize this opportunity. In the present paper we describe one such project of reform implemented at the St Petersburg State University.

A Comment on: An Eocene army ant (2022) by Sosiak CE et al.

A Comment on: An Eocene army ant (2022) by Sosiak CE et al.

From carbon polygon to carbon farm: The potential and ways of developing the sequestration carbon industry in the Leningrad Region and St Petersburg

Climate change is one of the most important global problems of the 21st century. The territory of Russia is located in an area of significant observed and forecasted climate change. Achieving Russia's carbon neutrality by 2060 requires the development of a national system for monitoring greenhouse gas emissions and uptake. To achieve this goal, the Ministry of Science and Higher Education launched a pilot programme to create a national network of carbon polygons. St Petersburg State University together with Voeikov Main Geophysical Observatory created the concept of Ladoga carbon polygon focusing the study the greenhouse gas absorption (or sequestration) potential of forest ecosystems typical for Northwest Russia. The evolution of this project assumes the establishment of a forest carbon farm (nature-based solutions). Based on the assumption that the territories of forest areas that were previously part of the state agricultural lands of the Leningrad region can be used for carbon farms (afforestation, enhanced carbon uptake by changing land use), an estimate of CO2 absorption has been made. For the total area of forest carbon farms of 677.9 · 103 ha, it was evaluated of 3700 ± 1900 kt CO2/year or (1000 ± 520) ·106kg С/ year. It is shown that the CO2 absorption of such carbon farms can offset up to 20 % of the total CO2 emission of the Leningrad Region and not more than 8 % of the total CO2 emission for the combined region consisting of Leningrad Region and St Petersburg. The economic effect of the operation of forest carbon farms can only be achieved in the long term. At the current price level per tonne of CO2 (35 USD/(t CO2 )), a 1 hectare of forest carbon farm would yield an income of 9500 USD over a 75-year lifetime. This determines the economic feasibility of creating carbon farms, which is also due to the potential for the production of carbon units based on them, which will either be traded on carbon exchanges or be taken into account as the results of activities aimed at reducing carbon emissions.

Scientific school of non-equilibrium aeromechanics in Saint Petersburg State University

The review is devoted to the foundation and development of the scientific school of S. V. Vallander at the Leningrad (now St Petersburg) State University. The achievements of the scientific school in the development of the kinetic theory methods for modeling nonequilibrium flows, construction of rigorous self-consistent mathematical models of varying complexity for strong and weak deviations from equilibrium, and the use of the developed models in challenging problems of modern aerodynamics are discussed. Particular attention is paid to the study of non-equilibrium kinetics and transport processes in carbon dioxide, identification of key relaxation mechanisms of polyatomic molecules, derivation of physically based reduced hybrid models, and optimization of non-equilibrium flow numerical simulations using modern machine learning methods. Correct description of electronic excitation in the kinetics and transport processes, models of local equilibrium gas flows with multiple ionization, and features of modeling bulk viscosity in polyatomic gases are discussed.

On the revision of historical collections of three-dimensional models of foraminifers from the Paleontological Museum of St Petersburg State University

Two collections of plaster models of foraminifera from the Paleontological Museum of St. Petersburg State University were studied. The first one (No. ПЛ ОФ 721) is represented by 95 objects. The time of its acquisition and authorship were unknown, some of the models were kept without labels, there was no catalog and records of its receipt. The collection has not been used for teaching or exposure in the museum. As it turned out the creator of the original collection was Academician Alcide d'Orbigny, who first described foraminifers as a separate group of animals in 1826 in the monograph “Tableau méthodique de la classe des Céphalopodes”. The 100 plaster foraminiferal models were made by him to illustrate the classification the new group. The original d'Orbigny’s collection is kept in the National Museum of Natural History in Paris, and its copies were acquired by museums and universities in different countries. The copy of the d'Orbigny collection of the Paleontological Museum of St. Petersburg State University was probably made by the German trading company “Dr. F. Krantz, Rheinisches Mineralien-Kontor”. It was acquired by the St. Petersburg Imperial University for the Geological Cabinet (museum), which were created since 1870 by Professor A.A. Inostrantsev. Based on literary sources, the history of revisions of the d'Orbigny collection has been restored. That made it possible to correct errors in the museum labels, as well as to establish the original names of species depicted as models and bring them into line with the now accepted foraminiferal taxonomy. The second collection (No. ПЛ ОФ 75) is only a part (15 objects) of the collection of 100 models made by Václav Frič to illustrate foraminiferal classification scheme by the Austrian paleontologist August von Reuss. It was purchased for the Geological Cabinet of the Higher Women's (Bestuzhev) Courses and subsequently entered the Department of Paleontology, established at Petrograd University in 1919. As a result of the revision, the species affiliation of the species depicted as the models was established in accordance with the modern system of foraminifera.

Methodological model of teaching academic writing to undergraduate students

Methodological model of teaching academic writing to undergraduate students is presented and explained in this paper which intends to re-emphasize the role of academic writing at the beginning of university studies in Russian universities. The paper suggests an overall methodological framework for developing undergrads writing skills and competencies and offers some practical suggestions on its implementation. The proposed model of teaching academic writing has been piloted throughout the English for Academic Purposes (EAP) course for the 1st year students of the Faculty of Liberal Arts and Sciences at St Petersburg State University and the pilot study outcomes are reported and discussed in this paper. This article is aimed at university faculty who help undergraduates improve their academic writing for further education. The target readership includes EAP and academic writing teachers, academic writing tutors and all those who see pedagogic value in academic writing as a university course.

Cross-Cultural Dialogue and the German Theatre in St Petersburg

This article explores the history of the German theatre in St Petersburg in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, a subject forgotten for a hundred years due to historical reasons. Svetlana Melnikova uses cross-cultural research methods, which, as she has discovered, appeared in Russian criticism concerning the arts as early as the nineteenth century. The ideas of Russian scholars turned out to be concordant with modern findings in cross-cultural dialogue and comparative research methods, because the process of establishing Russian culture was influenced by earlier cultures in a variety of ways. The German diaspora in the capital of the Russian Empire at the turn of the nineteenth century, and the artistic qualities of the German theatre (the activities of its managers, the company, the repertoire, theatre buildings, as well as the target audience) described in this article, are here presented as the expressive elements of intercultural communication that provide theatre history with a sense of actuality. The author introduces unique archive materials from the Russian State Historical Archive, as well as from publications preserved in Russia-focused departments of major Russian and German libraries. Examining these materials, she reconstructs the history of this rare phenomenon in the context of the mutual influence between German and Russian theatres. Svetlana Melnikova is Professor of Art at the St Petersburg State University of Film and Television. She is the author of six books, including Kotzebue in Russia (2005), and ninety-six articles on the history, theory, and practice of theatre in Russian and German.

The Vietnam cross days between MGIMO University and St Petersburg State University

The article surveys a scientific conference and a scientific-practical student seminar held in Moscow and in St Petersburg in the frameworks of the Vietnam Cross Days that were organized by MGIMO Vietnamese Students Association, the ASEAN Centre in cooperation with the Ho Chi Minh Institute of the Saint-Petersburg State University. Russian and Vietnamese speakers discussed a wide range of issues, including bilateral relations, growth and development of Vietnam, as well as the history, culture and language of this country.

Notes on the history of the creation of the Russian Academy of Sciences and St Petersburg University in 1724

The achievements of Russian science and education form a reliable basis for the innovative development of the modern economy. It is quite natural, therefore, that there is an interest in the origins of the origin of science and education in Russia. In preparing this article, the author relied on the materials of books written by him about such outstanding scientists as Leonard Euler, Mikhail Lomonosov, Dmitry Mendeleev, who forever inscribed their names in the history of St Petersburg University and made the glory of Russian and world science. The article examines on a factual basis the history of the creation of the St Petersburg Academy of Sciences and Arts, established on the initiative of Peter I. At the request of Peter I, the University and the Gymnasium were included in the Academy. Thus, the simultaneous beginning of the activities of the current Russian Academy of Sciences and St Petersburg State University was laid, having one common date of foundation — January 28 (February 8), 1724. The article examines the first years of the Academy and the University through the special contribution to their development of a number of outstanding scientists, first of all, M. V. Lomonosov. M. V. Lomonosov has the merit of separating the University into an independent unit within the Academy of Sciences, its reorganization in order to ensure high-quality training of domestic scientists and their replenishment of the Academy’s ranks. The main economic ideas of M. V. Lomonosov, who anticipated the modern policy of state protectionism in his proposals. The data on the beginning of the systematic teaching of economic disciplines after the restoration of the activities of St Petersburg University in 1819 are given. Shown are examples of close cooperation between the Russian Academy of Sciences and St Petersburg State University in the modern period, when preparations began for the 300th anniversary of the Russian Academy of Sciences and St Petersburg State University.

Traditions of the St Petersburg Historical School in the Works of Mikhail Pavlovich Iroshnikov

This article is devoted to the scholarly work of the prominent Russian historian, Doctor of Sciences (History), Professor of St Petersburg State University Mikhail Pavlovich Iroshnikov. A student of two well-known St Petersburg-Leningrad scholars, Alexander Ignatievich Andreev and Sigismund Natanovich Valk, M. P. Iroshnikov became one of the leading specialists in the field of the political history of Russia of the 20th century, the history of state and law, the history of state institutions, archives, source studies, historiography and archeography. The successor to the traditions of the St Petersburg historical school — the school of S. F. Platonov, A. S. Lappo-Danilevsky, A. E. Presnyakov — M. P. Iroshnikov not only became a recognized Russian archaeographer, an expert in archival documents, but also a thoughtful, attentive researcher. The most important academic achievements of M. P. Iroshnikov was the study of the creation, activities and personnel of the Soviet government in 1917–1922, and the discovery and introduction of the census of Soviet employees in 1918 into the scholarship. The article analyzes the work of M. P. Iroshnikov in organizing and implementing many of the largest domestic archeographic projects: the publication of the works of V. N. Tatishchev, decrees of the Soviet government, the Radziwil Chronicle. The article also examines the pedagogical activity of M. P. Iroshnikov in St Petersburg State University, where he continued the traditions of his teachers in educating historians, archeographers and source specialists.

Analysis of the efficiency of support programs of Russian universities (2010–2020)

The article provides a comparative analysis of the scientometric achievements of universities of the “5–100” group and the two leading universities of the country, Moscow State University and St Petersburg State University. Issues of linking the financing of higher education and scientometric achievements of educational institutions are considered. Particular attention is paid to qualitative indicators, in particular, publications in high-ranking journals. The fastest effect of promotion in ratings is achieved, among other things, using unscrupulous methods and techniques, which in the long run have serious reputational costs. The content of individual coefficients is disclosed, which it is advisable to use to compare the scientometric achievements of universities. A qualitative description of the comparative parameters in the field of scientometrics, the features of their calculation and interpretation, as well as a logical interpretation of the comparison results are given. The purpose of the study is to identify the most objective indicators for comparing the scientific value of the publication activity of university staff, which can later be used to comparatively characterize the effectiveness of universities in terms of promotion in international rankings. The most qualitative comparison is possible for a number of scientometric indicators, which are based on the division of publication sources into quartiles. The problem of “garbage” (“predatory”) journals is considered in the context of university ratings. The trends in higher education in terms of achieving the planned scientometric parameters are characterized, and new indicators are identified that can be used to obtain a reliable and verifiable qualimetric assessment of the “value” of the university or the scientific community. The indicator “fair citation” is introduced, which is supposed to be used to assess the quality of the published material.

The Orthodox clergy of Crimea in the First World War and the Civil War in a new historical study

This review explores a new study on the history of the Crimean clergy during the First World War and the Civil War, up to the exodus of the white forces from the Crimea in November 1920. The authors of the monograph work at St Petersburg State University: Professor A. S. Puchenkov and Associate Professor V. V. Kalinovsky. The study examines such little-studied issues as the attitude of the clergy as a class and its individual representatives to the war, to politics, to reforms within the Church itself. During the war, the Crimean clergy took a peacemaking position, preventing German pogroms in the Tauride diocese. It should be noted that the revolutionary forces at various levels exercised increased control over the content of the sermons of the clergy, and the new government tried to influence the church authorities and the congresses of the clergy. The Church was perceived by society as a force closely connected with the monarchy. Criticism and hostility towards the Church began to worsen, resulting in open persecution after the October revolution. The authors of the review concluded that the authors managed to create a fundamental work, the absolute merit of which is the reconstruction of church life against the background of socio-political and military upheavals. The authors took a balanced position, without deviating into apologetics or criticism of the clergy. The work disposes to the comprehension of many controversial and complex topics.

Transnational law: The scientific breakthrough of professor Liudmila Nikiforovna Galenskaya

The article discusses the main provisions of Professor L. N. Galenskaya’s monograph “Legal regulation of transnational relations” published in 2022. The totality set of L. N. Galenskaya’s ideas is characterized as a scientific breakthrough, which makes it possible to explain the correlation of various regulators of international relations — international and transnational law. The article examines the nature of relations regulated by transnational law, the mutual position (relationship) of international, transnational and private international law. The issues of special principles of transnational law and its subjects, the nature of regulated relations, branches of transnational law are analyzed. According to L. N. Galenskaya, the regulators in the field of transnational law are the basic principles of international law, to the action of which all legal relations are subject — both within the framework of international and domestic relations. In addition, as a special regulator, it highlights the special principles of transnational law. The legal principles cannot be considered either as fundamental ideas in law or as norms of a special kind. Among them, the principle of equality of legal systems, the principle of non-discrimination, the principle of legal protection should be highlighted. In the sphere of cross-border relations, on the one hand, the principle of freedom of subjects to participate in transnational relations operates, on the other hand, participation in them is possible only with the general or special permission of the state. Moreover, in the sphere of transnational relations, the principle of constant connection with the state of nationality of the subject operates. Since the monograph was released published in 2022, when in the year that Professor L. N. Galenskaya celebrates her anniversary, the author tells separately about the scientific achievements of the hero of the day and her long-term work at Leningrad (St Petersburg) State University.

The scientific and life path of the outstanding comparative psychologist N.A.Tikh

The article explores the life and scientific work of Nina Aleksandrovna Tikh (1905–1983), an outstanding Russian zoopsychologist and comparative psychologist, and professor at Leningrad (St Petersburg) State University in 1951–1975. She followed V. A.Wagner, was a student of V. M.Borovsky, and was a colleague of N. Yu. Voitonis, N. N.Ladygina-Kots, G. Z.Roginsky, and M. F.Nesturkh. She made a significant contribution to the development of comparative psychology and zoopsychology. Tikh conducted observations and experiments on animals and birds; she published about fifty works, of which four are monographs. Tikh’s main areas of interest were the origin and development of human consciousness, thinking, speech, and social behavior. Most of all, she was engaged in the least developed problem of anthropogenesis: the history of the transformation of the herd life of human ancestors into the social life of people. For sixteen years Tikh studied the prehistory of social life, observing the herd life of apes in the Sukhumi Monkey Nursery, the medical and biological station of the USSR Academy of Medical Sciences. Tikh concluded that living together in a herd would not have advantages over individual life without mutual help. The materials of these observations, their analysis, and an attempt to reconstruct the development of the hominid community from the herd life of animal human ancestors were included in the final monograph Prehistory of Society, which is a fundamental scientific work.

Vocation of the Russian philosophy and sociology historian. Centennial of Professor Galaktionov

The article is written to commemorate the centenary of the birth of the famous historian of Russian philosophy and sociology Anatoly Andrianovich Galaktionov (1922-2002), whose life activity for a long time was closely connected with St Petersburg (Leningrad) State University. The purpose of the article is a comprehensive understanding of the role of A. A. Galaktionov in the national historical and sociological tradition, as well as a synthesized assessment of his work from the standpoint of the current state of the history of sociology. The historian’s work is revealed within the biographical context and the main stages of the scientist’s life as a struggle for his research principles and beliefs. Based on the historiographical review, the sequence of formation of A. A. Galaktionov’s key scientific ideas is thoroughly considered and the fundamental importance of methodological developments in the field of historical research of the Russian philosophical process is shown. On basis of this approach, his fundamental contribution to the development of Russian science was first concretized. An important conclusion is made that the main creative achievement of A. A. Galaktionov is the concretization and systematization of the historical-materialistic understanding of social thought in Russia. The identification of the national and cultural peculiarities of the Russian philosophical process is indicated as an important moment of this concretization. A vivid example of this kind of concretization was the comprehension of the historical place and significance of Slavophilism in the history of Russian social thought. For the first time in the Russian literature, his characteristic of Russian philosophy as a philosophy of life is highlighted. At the end of the article, the relevance and value of A. A. Galaktionov’s ideas for modern research of Russian philosophical culture and sociological thought is emphasized.

The legal field of Russian museums as the basis of the modern cultural policy of the Russian Federation

Starting from the 2022–2023 academic year, St Petersburg State University of Industrial Technologies and Design will begin lecturing and conducting practiacademic disciplines “Modern Cultural Policy of Russian Federation”. This course has been introduced into the educational process of many Russian universities in connection with the Decree of the President of the Russian Federation “Fundamentals of State Cultural Policy” (2014). State cultural policy is an integral part of Russia’s national security strategy. Within its framework, specific tasks are set and carried out. The article describes the structure of the regulatory framework that forms the state policy of Russia in the field of culture. The normative legal acts that make it up serve as sources of the legal field of the museum sphere. The novelty of the study lies in the method of systematizing the legal documents that underlie the legislation on Russian museums in order to present the foundations of modern cultural policy to students of St Petersburg State University of Applied Arts. The scientific significance lies in the fact that the latest legal acts affecting museum issues are analyzed, interpreted with the comments of the researchers of the issue in order to form students’ understanding that the protection of the common good, including in the field of museums, is associated with the organizational and power activities of the state. This article analyzes separate legal sources of the Russian Federation regarding the state and functioning of the Museum Fund and museums in Russia, in particular, the Federal Law “On the Museum Fund of the Russian Federation and museums in the Russian Federation”.

Philosophy of literature and the methodology of studying of poetic texts: In honor of the 80th anniversary of professor V. S.Nikonenko

The article deals with the anniversary of an eminent historian of Russian philosophy V. S.Nikonenko (1942–2013), who is the author of well-known works, a member of St Petersburg State University. The author of the article presents the theory of analysis of philosophical content of poetic texts, created in late Nikonenko’s works. Studying Pushkin’s and Zhukovsky’s poetry, Nikonenko asserts that Russian literature reached the new stage of self-consciousness in the beginning of the 19th century. It was not only a literature, but it has become a worldviewing paradigm of Russian thought. A poet thinks not in metaphysical, but in concrete image form. A poetical image is not a concept. It is a symbol expressed in verbal eidetic pattern. Pushkin is a propagandist of the general moral, political and metaphysical ideas presenting in symbolical poetical images. However, it is very difficult to rationalize poetic images at all. Pushkin’s typical heroes are ideal patterns and eidetic images of contemporary men. The specificity of poetic image is the possibility to interpret it in many conceptual dimensions. A poetic image is unknown in rational form: it is understood irrationally. Nikonenko holds the romantic theory of the impossibility of recognizing the essence of poetic image by poets and literal heroes. Pushkin expresses his ideal content in specific symbolic form of the prophecy. He uses verbal poetic symbols which could be analyzed only in a week sense because they are metaphors and not concepts. So poetic truths are not the logical ones. They are sentences having only apparent logical proofs. Shortly speaking, poetic sentences may be certain, but they are not true ones. To sum up, Nikonenko works hermeneutic method of interpretation of poetic texts, according to it philosophical content of poetry can be extracted only from the linguistic textual structure.