The article analyzes the features of targeted social assistance to elderly citizens and the disabled. Targeted social assistance as a special type of state social assistance is of scientific and practical interest. In modern conditions, the basis for receiving social support is an important but insufficient element of targeted social assistance and weakly reflects the principle of targeting. The authors use a description method that reflects the relevance, purpose, philosophy of the basic principle. The criteria for the effectiveness of this research method are especially relevant in determining the content, type and form of targeted social assistance, taking into account the needs of the elderly and the disabled.

Attention is paid to ecotourism as a fundamental element of sustainable destination marketing. The concepts of territory branding and sustainable marketing are disclosed. The problem of development of ecological tourism in the regions is touched upon. Based on the analysis, it was revealed that the demand in the field of tourism in the regions is increasing due to the development of ecotourism. Models of sustainable marketing are given and a unique own model of ecotourism, considered through the prism of the Galanchozhsky district of the Chechen Republic, is defined. It is shown that the Galanchozh region is the most promising direction for the development of tourism in the region, both in terms of protecting the natural and cultural and historical heritage, and in terms of making a profit from this and developing the entire touristdestination. The applied significance of the study lies in the possibility of using the findings to establish the ideological, epistemological and methodological foundations for the development of ecological tourism and branding of territories.

The article is devoted to the study of the influence of Russian fiction on the formation of the idea of life and death in Russian philosophy of the 19^th−20^th centuries. The author names modern Russian scientists who directly or indirectly affect this topic in their scientific works. The article justifies the need to conduct this study to deepen the existing knowledge about the origins of Russian philosophy, as well as to apply the results obtained in the educational process of a modern university. Analysis of the Russian philosophers’ works allows the author to establish the criteria for the difference between philosophical works and artworks, to search in the works of S. N. Bulgakov, N. A. Berdyaev, S. L. Frank and A. F. Losev for the names of Russian writers and poets whose literary work contributed to their interest in existential issues. It is emphasized that the formation of the idea of life and death in Russian philosophy took place not only under the influence of the impression received by philosophers from acquaintance with the fate of the heroes of fiction, but also under the influence of information about the biography of the classic authors of Russian literature that created them, as well as the main motives of their artistic creativity.

National-ethnic selfconsciousness is represented in a sign-symbolic interpretation of the linguistic and territorial identity of the Georgian people. A distinctive feature of the study is that such an interpretation introduces a certain degree of objectivity into the ethnographic research, and thereby provides an opportunity to consider the national-ethnic self-knowledge or identity of the Georgian people both on linguistic identification based on knowledge of the Georgian language and territorial affiliation. The purpose of this study is to combine different perspectives that relate to research issues connected with human language and territory and/or geographical environment. It has been hypothesized that both linguistic and territorial identities of the Georgian people are among the determining factors of national selfconsciousness in general. The multidimensional design of the study, the interpretation of the natural Georgian language codification in the concepts of semiotics and identity through the perception of territorial belonging through the prism of semiotic ethnography are based on the analysis of the description of the Georgian language, landscape and architecture.

Introduction. Language refers to the elements of culture. This is a socio-historical product that reflects culture, the system of social relations, traditions, ethnic history which as a special form of culture materializes spiritual culture. The dialectical connection between language and society lies in the fact that, having arisen as a historical necessity, language meets the requirements set for it by society, reflects its state. Each language is a means of expressing a particular culture. Language represents for those who own it the very existence of a certain culture, its living development, its continuity from generation to generation. Language has its own surroundings. The people who speak it belong to some race (or several races), that is, to such a group of mankind that differs in its physical properties from other groups. Language does not exist outside of culture, outside the socially inherited totality of practical skills and ideas that characterize lifestyle.

The degree of autocratic power influence on the complex process of the national education system formation in the 19th century is being investigated. It is noted that the domestic education system formation coincided with the deep processes of the great Russian culture formation. Having synthesized the achievements of European socio-political thought and the idea of humanism, the spiritual and moral foundations of Orthodoxy, it gave the world a special form of cultural values that have become a significant contribution to the world culture. These historical processes have largely predetermined the need to revise the attitude of the state in the issue of public education and the development of education. The authorities faced a difficult task, it was necessary to carry out large-scale transformations while maintaining the inviolability of the state’s monopoly in the field of autocratic ideology.

In the modern world, there is a steady tendency to study native languages and cultures through education. Most states are multinational; therefore, the formation of interethnic relations on the basis of a flexible national policy primarily in the field of education becomes the most important condition for the strength of the state. In the policy of teaching in the native language, the principle of local languages was formulated, embodying the requirement to teach in the local language. At the end of the 20^th century, when the rise of ethnic minorities in various European states began, it became obvious that the principle of local languages equality and the right to study in their native language are two sides of the same coin. The principle of using local languages in education is also gaining popularity in those European countries where in the past representatives of the national group dominant in this state paid very little attention to the right of national (linguistic) minorities to use and study in their native language.

Thanks to the widespread use of the native language in the process of training and educating the younger generation, the language is being revived, preserved and developed, its prestige is rising, and a society is being formed that provides full and comprehensive communication, regardless of ethnic and cultural identity. The education system positively regards the linguistic and cultural roots of each ethnic group as supporting elements and uses them to enrich the content of education, maintain the importance and effectiveness of achieving cognitive and practical goals at each level of education. The intentionality of entering into the existence of ethnoculture and the motivation to study the native language increases. Teaching culture is a more difficult task than learning to speak a language. This is the task of forming a new mentality through the formation of new images, feelings, abstract concepts and, in general, consciousness. However, this is the only true way, since it is possible to form the mental only by taking root in the spiritual cultural and historical space.

A comparative analysis of the concept of “ethnotourism” is carried out. An attempt was made to provide a comprehensive, systematic, logical and epistemological analysis of this concept in the context of the cultural code of the Republic of Dagestan. The specificity, features of the organization of this type of tourism for the multinational and multi-confessional region of Russia, which is Dagestan, is of particular importance. The features of the organization of ethnographic tourism in Dagestan are considered in detail, the social functions of this type of tourism are highlighted. The functions and components of animation programs of ethnographic tourism are considered. It is noted that the development of tourism in the republic will be facilitated by the development of tourist activity among students, strengthening in connection with this interuniversity, interpersonal and even interethnic relations of the country’s youth.