The article examines the historical and philosophical origins of D. Gauthier’s and M. Ridge’s concepts of public reason, in frameworks of which they attempt to solve «I. Berlin’s problem»: ethical and epistemological pluralism makes essential the problem of relativism and the possibility of achieving a social consensus. It shows that in the search for solutions to this problem modern followers of Hobbes (J. Gray, D. Gauthier, M. Ridge) offer a Hobbesian interpretation of public reason as the «minimal universal principle».

The article holds the idea that the historical experience of the discussion of the main ideas of the concept of Eurasianism and its representatives is of particular interest to modern scholars in the humanities. The most relevant topics of Eurasianism, on the one hand, are defined in context of modern philosophical discussions, and, on the other hand, this topics are represented as exemplified by a newspaper dispute between representatives of the Eurasianism and the philosopher and writer G.A. Landau.

The article is focused on the question that V. Soloviev defined as “internal cause of state being”. This question becomes important due to domination in scientific literature of pragmatic institutionalism regarding the nature of a state. This paradigm leaves out of the sight existential, humane source of statehood. The author analyzes the Soloviev’s article “The Meaning of a State”, in which prominent philosopher thoughts about humane, spiritual nature of a state.

The article suggests a way of understanding and describing the experience of philosophizing as an askesis for example of P.Ya. Chaadaev. The author, based on the works of P. Hadot, M. Foucault, and other developers of anthropological discourse, introduces an understanding of what is philosophical askesis, in contrast to the religious askesis. He introduces the original principles and criteria of philosophical askesis. The author examines “The Philosophical Letters” by P.Ya. Chaadaev as meditation exercises and concentration showing that Russian philosopher was doing some spiritual work, which can be represented as a philosophical askesis.

The article is devoted to the period from early Slavophiles (Khomyakov, and others) to the philosophers of Religious Renaisance (Berdyaev, Frank, and others). It examines 1) the ways of development of religious and moral researches (of the problems of good and evil), 2) evolution of epistemological trends (beginning from dualism and monism to antinomic monodualism), 3) the disclosing of paradoxes and tragic situations in individual and in the worldwide human life. The author is analysing the penetration of Russian historian of philosophy, V.V. Zenkovsky, into perplexive questions of historical cognition.

The article presents the least studied part of the heritage of Prince M.M. Shcherbatov, the author of seven-volume “Russian History” and other works on history, economy, policy, that is, his philosophical reflections. The author shows that M.M. Shcherbatov as a researcher thoroughly and effectively appealed to the issues of philosophical disciplines, such as epistemology, philosophy of history and social philosophy, philosophical anthropology, philosophy of religion.

The article offers the author’s version of reconstruction of the colonizational process of Siberia in the social and cultural dimensions. The conceptual frame of the work is a dialogue between representatives of Russian and Western post-colonial discourses. The dynamic of the colonial situation in Siberia is considered in the ethno-national, religious-confessional and educational aspects.

The article is devoted to the analysis of process of modernization in St. Petersburg. The modern city is considered as a result of multilevel social designing. The authors analyze the indicators of primary, secondary and integrated modernization in relation to this region. They consider separate aspects of city space of St. Petersburg as megalopolis, its role as Russian region from a position of the system and synergetic theory, and draw the conclusion about prospects of development of creative clusters as new forms of the organization of urban social environment.

The paper focuses on the role and the place of regions in the process of transition from the current neo-liberal anti-utopia in Russia to a new, not yet clearly manifested utopia. Utopia is regarded as a social and cultural phenomenon with strong regional specificities. It is shown that the current state of Russia's socio-cultural system, understood as a dystopia, is a serious obstacle to the modernization and industrialization of the country. The paper discusses possible features of a new utopia, which is being institutionalized in modern Russia.