Sahha (jakuudi) identiteet ja institutsionaliseeritud šamanism

In this article I discuss the ambivalent position of institutionalised shamanism in the Republic of Sakha, in the Russian Far East. Concurrently with the declaration of sovereignty in 1991, there was an upswing in the ethnic consciousness of the Sakha, the relevant process being manifested in increased interest in Sakha traditions and history.Shamanism, as one of the core features of Sakha culture, soon became an important ethnic symbol. After the establishment of the Association of Folk Medicine, the institution became politicised, being informally embedded in state structures, althoughformally, it was primarily engaged in healing people.I show that the state needed the Association to complete its nation building project, and the Association leaned on the state to increase its significance

On the independence of the humanities: Tartu–Moscow School and official Soviet politics of science

Review: Maxim Waldstein, Soviet Empire of Signs: A History of the Tartu School of Semiotics

Hegemonic signification in photograph

[Abstract] The present paper attempted to distinguish certain hegemonic strategies of encoding for depicting «the people» in the photography of the public space of communication during the Stalinist period. These were, on the one hand, photographs that had acquired the status of an icon in the public space; and on the other, the internal principles of construction of these «iconic» photographs, for which the following means of encoding were distinguished: 1) the dominant text as the dominant element of the process of signification depicted in the photograph; 2) code-text as the principle of organization of the mutual relationships between elements depicted in the photograph. It seems that the Soviet public scopic regime is characteristic of the type of culture that Lotman has characterized as a collection of texts, as opposed to the type of culture that creates the collection of texts (Lotman; Uspenskij 1994, 245). In this type of culture, the content of the culture is pre-given with respect to the selfunderstanding of that culture, it consists of the sum of normalized, «correct» texts: «iconic photographs» that have been encoded according to a unitary canon

SÕNALAHINGUD

Review of: Saara Jantunen 2018. Infosõda. Tlk Tuule Meri. Tallinn: SA Kultuurileht, 280 lk. Thomas Elkjer Nissen 2015. Sotsiaalmeedia kasutamine relvasüsteemina. Tänapäeva konfliktide omadused. Tlk Kaili Tamm. Tallinn: Tallinna Raamatutrükikoda, 208 lk

Hegemonic signification from cultural semiotics point of view

This paper attempts to integrate discourse theories, mainly the theory of hegemony by Essex School, and Tartu–Moscow School’s cultural semiotics, and sets for itself the modest task to point to the applicability of semiotic approach in political analysis. The so-called post-foundationalist view, that is common for discourse theories, is primarily characterized by the rejection of essentialist notions of ground for the social, and the inauguration of cultural and discursive characteristics (such as asymmetry and entropy; explosion; antagonism; insurmountable tension between organization and disorganization, regularity and irregularity, etc.) into the wider social scientific paradigm. Customarily, those characteristics have been attributed to contingent or peripheral events and phenomena that by nature do not belong to the social structure proper. Grounds for such ‘groundless’ contingencies are found in philosophy (Marchart), or for instance from the psychoanalytic notion of affect (Laclau). Many discourse theorists proceed here from Derrida’s position that in the process of signification there is an overabundance of meaning which renders final closure impossible (Howarth; Glynos). However, it seems that despite placing communication at the heart of their conceptions of discourse, the communicative character of constructing power relations remains undertheorized in those conceptions. This article attempts to approach the above mentioned problem by way of the concepts of communication and autocommunication(Lotman). The outcomes stemming from the latter are unavoidable,since the result of any possible research (text) itself belongs to culture or a larger discourse and opera tes as the organizing function of the latter. Hence, research practice and its results always need to be looked at as mutually affecting each other

The construction of the ‘we’-category: Political rhetoric in Soviet Estonia from June 1940 to July 1941

The article asks, how one of the basic notions of cultural-political identity — we — is constructed in mass media, viz. which kind of semiotic and linguistic facilities are used in constructing a political unity. The approach used in this article is based on Lotman’s semiotic theory of culture and on the analysis of pronouns in political texts, using Emil Benvenist’s theory of deixis. Our case study concentrates on the years 1940–1941 which mark one of the most crucial periods in Estonian nearest history. The source material of the analysis consists of speeches of new political elite in power, all of which were published in major daily newspapers at the time. In outline, first year of soviet power in Estonia can be divided in two periods. First period would be from June 21 to “July elections” in 1940. In political rhetoric, new political elite tried to create a monolithic subject, the unity between themselves and people (people’s will) by emphasizing activity and freedom of selfdetermination. Nevertheless, starting from “elections”, especially from the period after “accepting” Soviet Republic of Estonia as a full member of Soviet Union, a transition of we-concept from an active subject to mere passive recipient can be detected. From that time on, people’s will was envisaged as entirely determined by marxist-leninist ideology and “the Party”

Sakha Music: Selling 'Exotic' Europeanness in Asia and Asianness in Europe

In this paper I compare strategies to sell Sakha music in different countries over a ten-year period with a particular emphasis on 2005–2007. due the fact that local income from performing and selling albums is not sufficient for living the artists from the republic of Sakha are trying to perform as much abroad as possible. When touring abroad, the music and performances have changed over time depending on the region. Sakha artists attempt to respond to the expectations of the audience and modify their program accordingly. In a period from the late 1990s to 2007, the same artists have switched from pop to rock to folk music, using different languages and different costumes, performing as Asian or European artists. comparing these strategies, one can see how Sakha musicians use cultural stereotypes of foreign audiences for economic purposes

Religioon kui etnilise identiteedi sümbol sahha (jakuudi) muusikas

Religion as the Symbol of Ethnicity in the Sakha (Yakut) Music In this paper I discuss the meaning of the religion in modern rock music of the Republic of Sakha, Eastern Siberia, Russian Federation. Shamanism is the traditional religion of the Sakha people. In modern rock music, shamanism is a symbol and manifestation of being Sakha. Shamanism is viewed by artists as a complex of symbols and beliefs that embodies Sakha culture. People treat shamanism with great respect. During building their career and joining with the rock music community, Sakha artists become believers in shamanism. "This means that they do not cross the line when using elements of shamanism in their music becomes practicing shamanism. Rock musicians distinguish themselves from commercial music, believing that they carry on Sakha culture and tradition. Their identity is very much built on this notion of the conflict with the commercial music. I show how the conscious manifestation of the Sakha identity by using shamanistic elements in the music is transmitted from one rock musician generation to another. New rock musicians are adopted within the network of reciprocity and solidarity, at the same time they take over cultural ideology of the rock community

On semotics of war

Review of War and Semiotics: Signs, Communication Systems, and the Preparation, Legitimization, and Commemoration of Collective Mass Violence. (Jacob, Frank, ed.) London, New York: Routledge, 336 pp

Кібербезпека як невід’ємна складова системи державного управління

The modern era is the era of the information society, which is characterized by the dominance of information and communication technologies in all spheres of human life. The use of technology has become a habitual norm of everyday life of citizens, corporations, the state. At the same time, the use of technology and communication networks carries risks of abuse and malicious action. Therefore, cybersecurity issues are more relevant and important. In this context, the leading role in the use and protection of information and communication systems should belong to the state, which has the organizational and administrative apparatus and power to implement these tasks.Сучасна епоха – це епоха інформаційного суспільства, яка характеризується пануванням інформаційних та комунікаційних технологій в усіх сферах життєдіяльності людини. Використання технологій стало звичною нормою повсякденного життя громадян, корпорацій, держави. Одночасно з цим, використання технологій та комунікаційних мереж несе в собі ризики зловживань та зловмисних дій. Тому питання кібербезпеки є понад актуальними і важливими. У даному контексті провідна роль у питаннях використання та захисту інформаційно-комунікаційних систем повинна належати державі, яка володіє організаційно-розпорядчим апаратом та владними повноваженням для реалізації означених завдань