Background. The paper is dedicated to the psychological description of the musical movement method as a particular practice of esthetic education. The practice of the musical movement (MM) was originally created as an artistic one and only gradually began to acquire the features of the pedagogical system. Over time, works appeared where attempts were made to psychological understanding of the processes taking place in the bosom of this practice: changes, transformations of music perception under the influence of movement, expressive movement, etc. However, a more complete reflection of the psychological content of the MM method was not accomplished.

The Objective of the research is to provide a psychological description of the musical movement method as a specific practice of aesthetic education and to explain the notion of MM as a psychotechnical method.

Background. The paper shows that the subject matter of the MM method is not so much the movement as such, its performing part, but the internal, psychological aspect of experiencing and meaning production. Achieving the unity of internal and external, experience and movement, motivation and action, meaning and gesture are the basis of the main goals of musical movement. Musical-motor exercises are considered to be the main tool of the method with which you can learn the movement and comprehend the images of musical-motor forms. It is shown how the musical-motor form accumulates the experience of experiencing music and reflects different semantic levels of musical content: from onomatopoeia and rhythmic imitation, modeling of emotional intonation to the existential layer of music.

Results. The goal of the artwork in mastering the MM method coincides with the pedagogical task: to achieve openness of the personality, its deep, genuine involvement in dialogue with music through movement and gesture. The task set in the musical movement is to give a motor response to sounding music, which affects the motivational-value sphere of the human individual. Classes in the music movement are unique situations that simulate the processes of creativity and are aimed at developing the capacity for creative realization.

Conclusion. The musical-motor exercise is a unique tool that allows one to learn the movement and comprehend the images of musical-motor forms. The musical-motor exercise accumulates the experience of experiencing music. Due to the perception of music in its full shape and form and penetration into the existential world of music, human feelings begin to achieve the sublime multidimensional level in everyday life.

Background. Lyudmila Filippovna Obukhova (July 22, 1938 - July 20, 2016) made a great contribution to the study of the developmental psychology.

The Objective is to recreate the portrait of L.F. Obukhova retrieved from her personal memories, to identify some features of her personality, to present the most important areas of her research and teaching job in the field of developmental and general psychology, to show her grateful attitude towards parents, teachers, colleagues.

Design.The paper shows that L.F. Obukhova, after graduating from the Department of Psychology at the Faculty of Philosophy, Moscow Lomonosov State University, worked in the field of child psychology. She carried out a comprehensive theoretical and experimental analysis of the Geneva School of Genetic Psychology, established by the eminent Swiss psychologist J.Piaget and his followers. Being a student of P.Ya. Galperin, she worked in the wake of her teacher’s ideas, was a part of his scientific school, conducted lectures on Galperin’s theory and carried out her own research that made a significant contribution to the development of Galperin’s theory. L.F. Obukhova showed that in the stream of all psychological theories of child development, the concepts of Piaget and Galperin are the main approaches to the issue of ontogenetic development. Both of them are fruitful, but Vygotsky cultural-historical school is the most distinguished.

Results. Fruitful activities in the field of developmental psychology, the practical value of textbooks for psychology students allow us to classify L.F. Obukhov as classical Russian psychologist.

The paper presented texts of the three previously unknown Lvygotsky’s journal notes and comments on them. These texts were published in mid-July and early September 1917 in the Jewish weekly «New Path» under the pseudonym «L.S.» and «W». In these texts, Lev Vygotsky describes the features of the political behaviour of the Jewish population in connection with the revolutionary events in Russia. On the one hand, a clear discrepancy between the activation of party work and political rhetoric is mentioned, and on the other hand, reduction of the significance of Jewish communal life is highlighted. As a key characteristic of social and psychological wellbeing of the Jewish population Vygotsky singles out absenteeism, i.e. the lack of interest in politics. Eventually the scientist captures the increase in uncertainty in the Jewish environment and fear of the future political, social and economic reforms in Russia. In the comments on Vygotsky notes, there are definitions relating to the various features of the activities of the Jewish political parties and public organizations, information about various policy documents and staff characterized by social and political situation before the elections in the Consituent Assembly (Uchreditel’noe Sobranie). Particular attention is paid to the analysis of stylistic and structural features of the commented text construction. By implicit quoting the relationship between Vygotsky’s texts and the works of other authors is identified.

Particular attention is paid to the author’s attitude to religious texts, which allows to select a characteristic feature of the «double vision» of real events of the revolution against the background of the Jewish history. The comments help to single out features of the political identity of the young Lev Vygotsky in the period between the two revolutions, which is important to study his biography and understanding of his world view.

The paper raises the issue of signs and symbolic meaning in developing human personality. From the standpoint of cultural historical psychology personality as a kind of totality of subjectivity may be considered as a higher mental function that should be disclosed in terms of its historical genesis and the cultural resources that are to develop it. The role of the plastic image as a cultural means of allowing a person to conceptualize himself/herself and his/her place in the world as a kind of integrity and value is showed. The genesis of the plastic sign of literal physical transformation (tattoos, etc.) to more conventional forms when the plastic image takes on a symbolic value (mask, dance, actor’s part in the theater and others) is considered. Its history can reveal such representations of a person as personality and individuality. The emergence of the most rudimentary forms of cultural behaviour demonstrates an active, transforming the relation of person to him/herself. Bodily changes, cultural «mutilation» and other transformations of physical features are the first signs and symptoms of separation from the nature and development of identity and mechanism of identification with the family name and the image of the totem. The sculptural portrait and anthropomorphic images point to the allocation of the individual family, society and the awareness of a person as a citizen of the state, make their own decisions and to responsibility for oneself. Further theatrical culture shaped a view of a person as an actor who can carry a role without merging with it completely, taking a decision from different positions.

One of the chapters from the book “Way of thinking: the problem of the historical unity of scientific knowledge” by V.P. Zinchenko (edited by T.G. Shchedrina), published in 2011 is presented. V.P. Zinchenko describes his outstanding teachers, especially about P.Y. Galperin and his colleagues: A.R. Luria, A.N. Leontyev, P.I. Zinchenko and D.B. Elkonin, A.V. Zaporozhets, A.A. Smirnov. The contributions of these outstanding scientists in psychological science are shown on a par with biographical account and their personal traits.