Main events and concepts:

• Pandemic of smallpox, Spanish flu.
• The collapse of empires.
• The October Revolution, the creation of the USSR, the construction of socialism and an attempt to build communism.
• The formation of totalitarian and authoritarian regimes. Holocaust, Stalinist repressions, "cultural revolution", McCarthyism.
• Creation of revolutionary drugs: sulfonamides and penicillin, synthetic analgesics, mass vaccination, antibiotics.
• The beginning of the atomic era: nuclear weapons (atomic bomb), the destruction of the cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, atomic energy.

• Creation of the UN
• The world has become bipolar, the Cold War
• Creation of NATO
• Democracy, human rights
• Space breakthrough: spacewalk, flights to the Moon, Mars, Venus
• Development of transport: jet civil aviation, mass motorization
• Mass use of birth control pills and antidepressants
• Creation of the European Union
• Collapse of the USSR, the Warsaw Pact and the Council for Mutual Economic Assistance
• Development of information and communication technologies: cellular communication, computer, television, Internet.

Main events

The 20th century brought a colossal shift in worldview as a result of changes in economics, politics, ideology, culture, science, technology and medicine.

The main economic result of the century was the transition to mass machine production of goods from natural and synthetic materials, the creation of conveyor production lines and automatic factories. In parallel, a scientific and technological revolution took place, which transferred the economy of the whole world to the post-industrial stage of capitalism and passed through three main phases:

• the first (transport and communication) phase of the scientific and technological revolution (motor transport, aviation, radio, television), the creation of an arms industry (machine guns, tanks, chemical weapons);
• the second (chemical) phase of the scientific and technological revolution: the creation of a chemical and medical industry (fertilizers, synthetic materials and medicines, plastics, thermonuclear weapons).
• the third (information-cybernetic) phase of the scientific and technological revolution: (cosmonautics, electronic computers), the creation of the entertainment industry (cinema and sports shows), the growth of the service sector.

The cyclical nature of world social production, which arose in the previous century, was preserved in the 20th century: world financial and economic crises (recessions, recessions) overtook industrialized countries in 1907, 1914, 1920-1921, 1929-1933 (great depression), 1937-1938 , 1948-1949, 1953-1954, 1957-1958, 1960-1961, 1969-1971, 1973-1975, 1979-1982, 1990-1991, 1997-1998, leading to an absolute decline in production, reduction of capital investments, growth unemployment, an increase in the number of bankruptcies of firms, a fall in stock prices and other economic shocks.

In the political realm, the world has moved from the colonial agrarian empires of the 19th century to industrial republican states. The military-revolutionary era of the first half of the 20th century became a global political catastrophe - a period of revolutionary changes in the largest world powers and related civil, interstate and inter-coalition wars of 1904-1949 (includes the Russo-Japanese War of 1904-1905, the Russian Revolution of 1905-1907, the Iranian revolution of 1905-1911, the Young Turk Revolution of 1908, the Mexican Revolution of 1910-1917, the Xinhai Revolution and the Chinese Civil War of 1911-1949, the Italo-Turkish War of 1911-1912, the Balkan Wars of 1912-1913, the intercoalition First World War of 1914-1918, the Russian revolution and civil war in Russia 1917-1923, revolutions in the German, Austro-Hungarian and Ottoman empires of 1918, interwar period in Europe 1918-1939, Spanish revolution and civil war in Spain 1931-1939, Japanese-Chinese 1931-1945 and intercoalition Second World War 1939-1945). Rapid technological advances have allowed the means of warfare to reach an unprecedented level of destruction. The Second World War led to mass deaths of the civilian population as a result of aerial bombardments and the genocide of "non-Aryan" peoples. In 1945, Hiroshima and Nagasaki were atomically bombed. The wars claimed the lives of about 90 million people (World War I - more than 20 million, civil wars and famine in China and Russia - more than 10 million, World War II - about 60 million). The main political events of the century were:

1. The collapse of the Ottoman, Chinese, Austro-Hungarian, Second German and Russian empires during the First World War.
2. Creation of the League of Nations, formation of the Third German, Japanese empires; Great Depression during the interwar period.
3. The death of the Third German and Japanese empires and the creation of the United Nations as a means of preventing future world wars during the Second World War.
4. The cold war of the two superpowers of the USA and the USSR after the Second World War.
5. The emergence of divided nations in Germany, China, Korea and Vietnam and their struggle for reunification.
6. Reconstruction of the Jewish state in Palestine and the related long-term conflict in the Middle East.
7. Creation of the socialist People's Republic of China.
8. The collapse of the British, French and Portuguese colonial empires and the end of colonialism, which led to the declaration of independence of many African and Asian countries.
9. European integration that began in the 1950s and led to the European Union, which at the end of the century included 15 countries.
10. Revolutions of 1989 in Eastern Europe and the collapse of the USSR.

As a result of these events, almost all the great powers of the beginning of the century ceased to exist, only the United States acquired and retained its status of a superpower until the end of the century.

The economic and political upheavals of Europe in the first half of the century led to the emergence of several types of totalitarian ideologies: in Europe - fascism, in Russia - communism, and in Germany after the Great Depression in the 30s - Nazism. After the victory of the Soviet Union in World War II, communism became one of the main world ideologies, which received the status of a state ideology in Eastern Europe, China, Cuba and some countries in Asia and Africa. The development of communist ideology has led to an unprecedented growth of atheism and agnosticism in the world, as well as a decline in the authority of traditional religions. At the end of the century, after the fall of their main part, the political activity of Christian and Islamic fundamentalists, the Roman Pontiff and the Dalai Lama was revived.

In the social field, during the 20th century, ideas about the equality of the rights of all people of the Earth, regardless of their gender, height, age, nationality, race, language or religion, became widespread. The eight-hour working day has become the legal norm in most developed countries. With the advent of new means of birth control, women have become more independent. After decades of struggle, all Western countries gave them the right to vote.

The mass social movements of the 20th century were:

• communist organizations in Russia and China;
• civil disobedience movement in India;
• the civil rights movement in the United States;
• the anti-apartheid movement in South Africa;

The 20th century brought into the consciousness of mankind such terms as world war, genocide, nuclear war. Rocket thermonuclear weapons that arose during the Cold War provided mankind with a means of complete self-destruction. The media, telecommunications and information technology (radio, television, paperback pocketbooks, personal computers and the Internet) have made knowledge more accessible to people. Cinema, literature, popular music have become available anywhere in the world. At the same time, the mass media became in the 20th century a means of unbridled propaganda and a weapon in the struggle against the ideological enemy.

As a result of the achievement of political and cultural hegemony by the United States of America, American culture has spread around the world, carried by Hollywood films and Broadway musical productions. At the beginning of the century, blues and jazz became popular in the United States, which maintained their dominance in music until the advent of rock and roll in the 1950s. In the second half of the century, a rock conglomeration of various styles and directions (heavy metal, punk rock, pop music) became the leading direction in popular music. Synthesizers and electronic instruments began to be widely used as musical instruments. After the First World War, the detective genre gained unprecedented popularity in literature, after the Second World War - science fiction and fantasy. Visual culture has become dominant not only in film and television, but has penetrated into literature in the form of comics. Animation has become of great importance in cinema, in particular in its computer versions. In the visual arts, expressionism, Dadaism, cubism, abstractionism and surrealism were developed. The architects of the 20th century, who began their activity in the style of modernism, after numerous upheavals and destructions of world wars, as well as due to the development of the construction industry that arose on the basis of the use of standard reinforced concrete products, were forced to abandon decoration and move on to simplifying forms. However, in the USA, in interwar Germany and the USSR, architecture and monumental art continued to develop. The popularity of sports increased significantly in the 20th century, turning into a mass spectacle thanks to the development of the international Olympic movement and the support of the governments of totalitarian states. Computer games and Internet surfing became a new and popular form of entertainment during the last quarter of the 20th century. By the end of the century, most countries in the world were dominated by the American lifestyle: English, rock and roll, pop music, fast food, supermarkets. Increasing public awareness led to widespread discussions about the impact on humanity of the environment and about global climate change, which began in the 1980s.

Enormous changes in the 20th century took place in science, which turned from the entertainment of loners into the main productive force of society. In the interwar period, Godel's incompleteness theorems were formulated and proved in mathematics, and the invention of the Turing machine made it possible to lay the foundations for the creation and application of computer technology. The very use of computer technology in the second half of the 20th century changed the nature of mathematical calculations, forcing mathematicians to abandon the methods of classical mathematical analysis and move on to methods of discrete applied mathematics. During the first half of the 20th century, new areas of physics were created: special relativity, general relativity and quantum mechanics, which radically changed the worldview of scientists, making them understand that the universe is fantastically more complex than it seemed at the end of the 19th century. It was found that all known forces can be explained in terms of four fundamental interactions, two of which - electromagnetism and the weak interaction - can theoretically be combined into an electroweak interaction, leaving only three fundamental interactions. The discovery of nuclear reactions and nuclear fusion made it possible to solve the problems of astronomy about the source of solar energy. The Big Bang theory was proposed and the age of the Universe and the solar system, including the Earth, was determined. Spacecraft that flew to the orbit of Neptune made it possible to study the solar system more deeply and prove the absence of intelligent life on its planets and their satellites. In geology, a powerful method for determining the age of ancient animals and plants, as well as historical objects, has given the isotope method of analysis. The theory of global tectonics revolutionized geology by proving the mobility of the earth's continents. In biology, genetics has gained recognition. In 1953, the structure of DNA was determined, and in 1996 the first experience of cloning mammals was carried out. The selection of new varieties of plants and the development of the mineral fertilizer industry have led to a significant increase in agricultural crop yields. In addition to agricultural fertilizers, thanks to the unprecedented development of chemistry, new materials have come into life: stainless steels, plastics, polyethylene film, Velcro and synthetic fabrics. Thousands of chemicals have been developed for industrial processing and home use.

The most significant inventions that entered life in the 20th century were light bulbs, the automobile and telephone, supertankers, airplanes, highways, radio, television, antibiotics, refrigerators and frozen foods, computers and microcomputers, and mobile phones. The improvement of the internal combustion engine made it possible to create the first aircraft in 1903, and the creation of a conveyor assembly line made it possible to make mass production of automobiles profitable. Transport based on horse-drawn vehicles for thousands of years was replaced by trucks and buses during the 20th century, made possible by the large-scale exploitation of fossil fuels. After the development of jet aircraft engines in the middle of the century, the possibility of commercially profitable mass air transportation was created. Mankind conquered the air ocean and got the opportunity to study outer space. The competition for space between the United States and the Soviet Union led to the first human spaceflight and the landing of a man on the moon. Unmanned space probes have become a practical and relatively inexpensive form of intelligence and telecommunications. They visited Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune, various asteroids and comets. The space telescope, launched in 1990, has greatly expanded our understanding of the universe. Aluminum fell sharply in the 20th century and became the second most common after iron. The invention of the transistor and integrated circuits revolutionized the world of computers, leading to the proliferation of personal computers and cell phones. In the 20th century, a large number of types of household appliances appeared and spread, which was facilitated by the growth in electricity production and the welfare of the population. Already in the first half of the century, washing machines, refrigerators, freezers, radios, electric ovens and vacuum cleaners became popular. In the middle of the 20th century, television receivers and audio recorders appeared, and at the end - video recorders, microwave ovens, personal computers, music and video players, cable and digital television appeared. The spread of the Internet has made it possible to digitize music and video recordings.

Infectious diseases, including smallpox, Spanish flu and other influenza viral infections, plague, cholera, typhus, tuberculosis, malaria, and other especially dangerous, well-known and little-known viral infections, killed up to a billion people over the 20th century (see Pandemics), and at the end of the century, a new viral disease, AIDS, was discovered that originated in Africa. Nevertheless, at the end of the 20th century, infectious diseases for the first time in the history of mankind gave way to primacy as causes of death to diseases of the cardiovascular system and malignant neoplasms. Medical science and revolutionary advances in science in agriculture have increased the world population from one and a half to six billion people, although contraceptives have reduced the rate of population growth in industrialized countries. In the 20th century, vaccines were developed against polio, which threatened a world epidemic, influenza, diphtheria, whooping cough (convulsive cough), tetanus, measles, mumps, rubella (German measles), chickenpox, hepatitis. The successful application of epidemiology and vaccination led to the eradication of the smallpox virus in humans. However, in low-income countries, people still die predominantly from infectious diseases, and less than a quarter of the population lives past age 70. At the beginning of the century, the use of X-rays became a powerful diagnostic tool for a wide range of diseases, from fractures to cancer. In 1960, the method of computed tomography was invented. Ultrasonic devices and the method of magnetic resonance imaging have become an important diagnostic tool. After the creation of blood banks, the method of blood transfusion received significant development, and after the invention of immunosuppressive drugs, doctors began to transplant organs and tissues. As a result, new fields of surgery emerged, including organ transplants and heart surgery, for which pacemakers and artificial hearts were developed. The development of vitamin production has virtually eliminated scurvy and other vitamin deficiencies in industrialized societies. Antibiotics, created in the middle of the 20th century, dramatically reduced mortality from bacterial diseases. For the treatment of neuropsychiatric diseases, psychotropic drugs and antidepressants have been developed. The synthesis of insulin contributed to a three-fold increase in the average life expectancy of diabetics. Advances in medical technology and improvements in the well-being of many people made it possible to increase the average life expectancy in the 20th century from 35 to 65 years. The world's population has almost quadrupled.

• February 8 - July 27 - Russo-Japanese War.
• August 1 - November 11 - World War I.
• The Great Depression of the 1930s.
• September 1 - September 2 - World War II.
• The End of Vast Colonial Empires.
• Formation and disintegration of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, the Warsaw Pact.
• Political repressions in the Soviet Union. Particularly large-scale and bloody Stalinist repressions.
• Formation and disintegration of military blocs SEATO , CENTO .
• The rapid development of science and technology: from the first flight of an airplane to the sending of spacecraft to planets and beyond the solar system. New sources of energy, new weapons (nuclear, hydrogen bombs, etc.), television, computer, Internet, new materials (nylon, Kevlar), high-speed railways have been invented.
• In some countries of the world, an attempt was made to build a new socio-economic formation based on the theory of Marxism - communism through its intermediate stage - socialism.
• "Cold War" between Western countries and Warsaw Pact countries.
• Rapid rise in living standards in North America, Europe and Japan.
• The emergence and awareness of global environmental problems (deforestation, lack of energy and water, reduction of biological diversity,

The first half of the 20th century in the history of Western Europe is extremely important. During this period, the formation of an industrial civilization is completed and the transition to a post-industrial one begins. Capitalism at this time is transformed from monopoly to state-monopoly. Deep changes are taking place in him, many of which can be called life-changing, since they affected his very existence. This was confirmed by the crisis of 1929-1933, unprecedented in its depth and scale, which shook Western society to its very foundations. Capitalism most likely would not have survived the second such crisis. In order to avoid its repetition, capitalism was subjected to serious reform. It has been very successful in the USA.

The reforms carried out did not rid capitalism of contradictions and crises, but they significantly softened them, did not allow contradictions to reach extreme antagonism, and ensured the necessary minimum of social balance. Thanks to the reforms, the necessary prerequisites for the emergence of a consumer society appeared, which could have taken shape already in the 40s, but due to the Second World War, it took shape in the United States by the end of the 50s, and in other European countries - in the 60s. On the whole, state-monopoly capitalism managed to find a kind of "modus vivendi" in which both the wolves would be fed and the sheep would be safe.

Among the most important events of the first half of the 20th century are two world wars, which brought tens of millions of dead, innumerable disasters, destruction and loss. These wars caused a deep crisis of humanism and other educational ideals and values ​​that formed the foundation of Western civilization and culture. After World War II, the world split into two opposite systems - capitalism and socialism - the opposition of which complicated the existence of world culture as a whole.

These and other factors determined the conditions in which Western culture developed in the first half of the 20th century. Science has been the most successful in doing this. In the period under review, the second scientific revolution takes place, which began at the end of the 19th century. Revolutionary shifts have taken place in all areas of knowledge. In physics, the divisibility of the atom was discovered, quantum mechanics and the theory of relativity were created. In chemistry, the regularities of many chemical processes were discovered, and quantum chemistry was created. In biology, the formation of genetics begins. In cosmology, the concept of a non-stationary - contracting or receding - Universe has been developed. Science owes its outstanding achievements to many scientists, including A. Einstein, M. Planck, A. Poincaré, N. Bohr, M. Born, the spouses Irene and Frederic Joliot-Curie.

In the sphere of cognition, with its differentiation into separate sciences, the same processes take place within each of the sciences, which, in turn, are divided into many disciplines and schools. All this reinforces the trend towards pluralism. It is not uncommon for a situation where, within a given science, representatives of different schools hold different views on the same phenomenon.

As for religion, its position continued to deteriorate. We can say that the first half of the 20th century turned out to be the most non-religious of the West.

Unlike religion, philosophy was in a better position. The main philosophical directions are neopositivism and existentialism. The first speaks on behalf of science. He made a significant contribution to the development of problems of formal logic, language and theory of knowledge. Its representatives B. Russell, R. Carnap, L. Wittgenstein. Existentialism opposed itself to science and positivist philosophy. He focused his attention on the problems of man, and, above all, on the problems of freedom. Its most famous representatives are J.-P. Sartre and M. Heidegger.

During the period under consideration, artistic culture developed quite successfully. This period was the last when France occupied a leading position in world culture, and Paris was considered the recognized cultural capital of the world. The main trend in the art of France is realism. In literature, he is represented, first of all, by three great names: A. France, R. Rolland, R. Martin du Gard. The first created a number of historical and philosophical novels, one of which is The Gods Thirst. The second world fame was brought by the epic novel "Jean-Christophe", which tells about the relationship between the genius musician and society. The third is the author of the multi-volume novel The Thibaut Family, which gives a broad panorama of France.

A significant phenomenon in the spiritual life was the work of existentialist writers - J.-P. Sartre and A. Camus. The main themes of their works are freedom and responsibility, the absurdity of being, loneliness. Sartre's plays "The Flies" and "The Devil" and "The Lord God" gained great fame, while Camus's novels "Alien", "Plague", "The Myth of Sisyphus".

Along with literature, French sculpture is successfully developing. In this period, it is represented by sculptors E. Bourdelle and A. Maillol. The works of the first - "Hercules", "Penelope", "Sappho" - were created according to ancient subjects in the classical spirit. The female statues of the second - "Night", "Pomona", "Mediterranean" - are marked by amazing harmony and balance, filled with captivating femininity.

German literature has made significant progress. She owes this, first of all, to the work of T. Mann, L. Feuchtwanger, E. M. Remarque. The main figure in German literature is T. Mann, who created the fundamental philosophical novels The Magic Mountain and Doctor Faustus, as well as the biblical tetralogy Joseph and His Brothers. Feuchtwanger is known primarily for his historical novels Goya, Wisdom of an Eccentric, etc. In the novels All Quiet on the Western Front, Three Comrades, and others, Remarque expressed the attitude of the “lost generation”. The work of B. Brecht, who created the intellectual epic theater, deserves special mention. World fame was brought to him by the plays “Mother Courage”, “The Good Man from Sezuan”, etc.

English literature is experiencing a real upsurge. Of the many great names, first of all, J. Galsworthy, S. Maugham, B. Shaw should be mentioned. The first world fame was brought by the trilogy "The Forsyte Saga". The second is known as the author of the novel The Burden of Human Passions. B. Shaw is a recognized classic of English literature. He successfully proved himself in all genres - drama, novel, short story.

American literature remains at a high level. She owes this primarily to such writers as W. Faulkner, J. Steinbeck, E. Hemingway. In his novels The Sound and the Fury, The Light in August, and others, Faulkner combines a realistic style of narration with a search for new forms and techniques. Steinbeck is best known for his novel The Grapes of Wrath, which has become a real epic of the life of the American people. Hemingway's work is broad and multifaceted. In For Whom the Bell Tolls, he reflects on war and violence as the tragic curse of humanity. In the story-parable "The Old Man and the Sea", the life and fate of a person are considered in the light of tragic stoicism.

Although traditional realistic art occupied a significant place in the spiritual life of Western society, it was not at the center of public attention. In this regard, it was inferior to modernism and the emerging avant-garde, which increasingly came to the fore, enjoying growing media attention. At the same time, modernism is increasingly being transformed into the avant-garde.

The avant-garde was a direct continuation of modernism, with which it has much in common, which is why they often do not differ. However, despite the similarities, there are significant differences between them. There is a lot of duality, inconsistency and inconsistency in modernism. He does not completely break with the past, he is at odds with the present, he does not believe much in the future. Hence his asociality, sometimes turning into antisociality. In relations with science, he oscillates between close cooperation with it and complete rejection of it.

Modernism is full of melancholy, marked by decadence. All this weakened his creative potential. Therefore, many aspects of modernism found their further development in the avant-garde, which turned out to be more consistent and integral. We can say that the avant-garde is modernism, turned to society and science and looking to the future.

The Art Nouveau style (1880-1910) was a transitional trend from modernism to the avant-garde. Its main representatives were H. Van de Velde in Belgium, J. Olbrich in Austria, A. Gaudi in Spain, C. Mackintosh in Scotland, F. Shechtel in Russia. It is most widely used in architecture and arts and crafts. "Modern" in many ways continues symbolism, but there is practically no decadence in it, while the avant-garde component is noticeably enhanced. Following romanticism, he strives for synthesis.

In his manifestos, he called for a "total renewal of art." Representatives of "modern" made extensive use of modern technical and constructive capabilities, but at the same time showed a certain distrust and even fear of the car. They tried to combine scientific calculation with intuition and irrationalism.

Fauvism (1905-1908) became the first current of the avant-garde itself. He continued the line of Romanticism, Impressionism, Post-Impressionism and Art Nouveau, influenced by Oriental and African art. His supporters - A. Matisse, M. Vlaminck, A. Derain, A. Marquet - made statements about the end of realism. They set the task for art not to “copy”, but to “invent reality”, “re-create the world”, following inner desires. The main goal for them is expressiveness, the search for pure means of survival. Fauvism significantly increased the importance of the personal, subjective principle in art.

A. Matisse - the head of the movement - defined his work as "an expression of a personal spirit", he did not want "anything but color." Matisse abandoned the image in favor of the sign, believing that the first is overloaded with details and details, while the second allows you to achieve pure color and absolute simplicity. Among his works, "Joy of Life", "Dance", "Music", "Red Fishermen" stand out. Fauvism was open to society. Some of its participants intended to make a revolution not only in art, but also in life. However, in general, he was characterized by a lyrical view of the world.

Expressionism (1905-1920) arose under the influence of the previous currents of modernism and avant-garde, as well as oriental art. The first work written in the spirit of expressionism can be considered the picture of the Norwegian artist E. Munch "Scream" (1893). As a special trend, expressionism declared itself simultaneously with the creation of the Bridge group (1905). It has received wide international distribution, although it is primarily a German phenomenon. Its main representatives were the artists E. Kirchner, E. Nolde, M. Pechstein, F. Mark, P. Klee.

Expressionism breaks more decisively with traditional art, more openly, directed to the future. Its very name indicates that the main thing for it is expression, expressiveness. For this, he boldly goes to the violation of proportions and deformation of the depicted object. Expressionism shows maximalism both in the choice of expressive means and in the effort of the subjective principle. Expressionist artists created internal tension, explosive forms. They painted their canvases in bright, poisonous red or blue colors and with iridescent contour outlines. Expressionism relied mostly on irrationalism, the philosophy of life of W. Dilthey and F. Nietzsche, the theory of the unconscious by S. Freud, and was skeptical about science. He was characterized by a sharp social and anti-war position.

Cubism (1908-1930) - one of the main currents of avant-garde - arose under the influence of P. Cezanne's post-impressionism and Fauvism, as well as African sculpture. Its representatives P. Picasso, J. Braque, F. Léger, R. Delaunay profess a real passion for experimentation, the search for new expressive means and techniques. They strive for a radical renewal of the artistic language. Art for them acts as the creation of plastic forms endowed with independent existence and meaning.

Cubism relies on modern science - the theories of A. Einstein, A. Poincaré, G. Minkowski. P. Picasso - the head of the movement - said that he paints not what he sees, but what he knows. With his work, he appealed to the human intellect, considering his paintings as "the denial of feelings." Picasso also emphasized that in painting "only finds are important." His most famous works are The Maidens of Avignon, The Three Masked Musicians, Guernica, The Dove of Peace. Signs of modern civilization are widely present in cubism - factories, pipes, bottles, umbrellas, etc. He invades social issues and politics, being an example of biased art.

Futurism (1909-1925) became one of the most radical variants of avant-garde. It received the greatest distribution in Italy, where its representatives were F. Marinetti, U. Boccioni, J. Balla, L. Russolo; and in Russia - V. Mayakovsky and V. Khlebnikov. The Futurists proclaimed a complete break not only with art, but with the entire culture of the past. They came out with the glorification of the industrial civilization and the modern big city.

Instead of the former aesthetics of the beautiful, they put forward the aesthetics of energy and speed, "the aesthetics of locomotives, monoplanes and automobiles." The car seemed to them more beautiful than Nike of Samothrace. Futurism was highly socialized and politicized. Some of his supporters (F. Marinetti) declared their adherence to the ideas of fascism. Most adhered to the left positions.

Surrealism (1924-1940) - the last significant trend of the European avant-garde - arose under the influence of symbolism, expressionism and Dadaism (M. Duchamp). It has received wide international distribution. Its main representatives are A. Breton in France, S. Dali in Spain, R. Magritte in Belgium, G. Moore in England. Surrealism is based on irrationalism and alogism, the concept of the unconscious by Z. Freud.

He became the embodiment of extreme forms of subjectivism. Surrealists find inspiration in fantastic dreams and hallucinations. The main figure of surrealism is S. Dali. His most famous works are "Burning Giraffe", "Premonition of Civil War", "Autumn Cannibalism". Surrealism proclaimed as its goals the social, moral and intellectual liberation of man. He did not shy away from politics, declaring himself a supporter of the revolution. He also opposed the commercialization of art.

In general, the first half of the 20th century was marked by a further strengthening of the civilizational beginning. At the same time, the position of spiritual culture became more and more complicated.

At the turn of the XIX and XX centuries. the era of new industrial productions has come in the industry of the world. The changes affected almost all old productions and brought to life new ones, which previously did not exist at all. It was then that the so-called. the avant-garde trio, which determines scientific and technological progress, is the electric power industry, mechanical engineering and chemistry.

The most profound changes took place in the energy sector and were associated primarily with the beginning of widespread use. Back in 1870, there was practically no industrial production of electricity in the world. By the beginning of the XX century. the capacity of power plants in the world has already amounted to 3 million kW! This is only about half the capacity of one modern Sayano-Shushenskaya HPP. At the end of the XIX century. The first hydroelectric power stations were built in Germany (on the Neckar River) and in North America (on Niagara). At the same time, numerous inventions related to electricity were put into practice - a dynamo, a generator, an electric motor, a transformer, an incandescent lamp. Since then, one of the most important areas in mechanical engineering, electrical engineering, has been developed in the advanced countries of the world.

A real revolution in technology, and later in production, was caused by the invention of internal combustion and the diesel engine. This was followed by the invention of an improved motor and automobile. Thus, the demand for new, liquid, fuel was sharply increased, which in turn stimulated production. Oil production in the world was 0.8 million tons in 1870, 20 million tons in 1900 and 54 million tons in 1913. This branch gave impetus to the formation of the automotive and aviation industries, the oil complex, etc.

The uneven economic development of countries in the early 20th century

From the history of motoring

In 1886, the German engineer Karl Benz (remember the name of the company "Mercedes Benz") received a patent for the car he invented and in the same year demonstrated his "motorized carriage" to the public in the city of Mannheim. The new vehicle made its way with great difficulty. Only two years later, the inventor received a "temporary permit" to drive a car. It was the first driver's license in history. In the early days of the automobile era, cars were driven by fuel in pharmacies, where bottled gasoline was sold as a cleaning agent. Later, in the American city of Seattle, the first "gas station" was opened - a tank with a hose. A real filling station with a pump was first launched in Berlin in 1922.

Development of various industries

The chemical industry also flourished. Until the middle of the 19th century, chemistry was, in essence, an auxiliary production, and at the turn of the two centuries it became a large and important branch of industry. The production of mineral fertilizers (for the rapidly growing agricultural sector in developed countries) and synthetic dyes for the textile industry, which retained its role, grew especially rapidly. The production of dyes was most developed in Germany, which, unlike other large European countries, did not have its own natural raw materials (Germany had few colonies). Pharmaceutical production has also become increasingly important.

The production of cellulose for the rapidly developing paper industry, which was trying to satisfy the growing “paper hunger”, can also be conditionally attributed to chemical industries. The development of publishing, especially the newspaper business, required more and more paper. The development of the consumer sector in developed countries stimulated the expansion of the production of various kinds of practical and convenient packaging, for which cardboard and various packaging papers were needed.

The development of industry would have been impossible without the creation of facilities for the production of means of production, i.e., metalworking machine tools. Machine tool building is becoming one of the most important sectors in mechanical engineering (and indeed in industry in general). It could be developed only in the most advanced countries of Europe and in the USA.

A real revolution took place in the field of transport and communications. The turn of two centuries is marked by a boom in railway construction. In 1869, a trans-American railroad from New York to San Francisco was built, and in 1903, the Great Siberian Railway to Vladivostok. For a long time, the steam locomotive remained the main type of locomotive, but electric and diesel locomotives were increasingly used.

Maritime transport, which has undergone a deep modernization, has acquired decisive importance. In 1870, 80% of the tonnage of the world's merchant marine was sailing ships. By 1913 their share had decreased by 10 times. The geography of maritime transport also changed due to the construction of the Suez (1869) and Panama (1914) canals.

The construction of the Panama Canal even led to a change in the political map of America. Built mainly with the participation of the United States, it was almost ready when the government of Colombia, showing intractability, began to negotiate more favorable terms for itself.

The Americans did not like this, and without further ado, they organized a coup in the Colombian province of Panama. The rebel authorities were immediately recognized by the American side. The term "Panama" entered the political lexicon, meaning a scam, some kind of adventurous business.

The means of communication have become completely different. The invention and practical application of the telephone, telegraph and literally brought together the most remote corners of the globe.

The development of the military industry

The development of scientific and technological progress at the beginning of the 20th century. proceeded largely under the banner of militarization. Preparations for war and hostilities accelerated the development of two groups of industries aimed at the military sphere. Mechanical engineering began to produce equipment in mass quantities, which previously did not exist at all. On land, "armored monsters" appeared - tanks, first used by the British in 1916. There were more and more military aircraft. At the beginning of the First World War, there were only about two thousand of them, and at the end - more than 60 thousand. This is how the aviation industry arose. At sea, in parallel with the improvement of surface ships, work was underway to create submarines, the leaders in the production of which were Germany and Russia.

Chemistry also worked for military needs, supplying huge quantities of explosives and poisonous substances.

In the period between the two world wars, there was an increase in industrial production, the range of manufactured products expanded, and the structure of production changed.

The geography of the world's mining industry has also changed rapidly. Compared with the beginning of the century, the role of Europe has sharply decreased. The importance of other regions of the world has increased, especially for certain types of mineral raw materials. For example, South America has become a major producer of copper, bauxite and oil, while Africa has become a major producer of manganese and copper.

With the Soviet Union taken into account, the role of Europe is growing substantially. Thus, in 1937, the USSR provided about 1/10 of world production and oil, which was mainly concentrated in its European part.

By the middle of the XX century. an almost modern macrostructure of industry was formed, in which manufacturing industries prevailed by 9/10, and mechanical engineering became the leading industry. Just like at the beginning of the century, the vast majority of the industry was concentrated in Europe and North America (USA and Canada), with the only difference being that Europe lost its leading position.

The interwar period was characterized by uneven industrial (and generally economic) development of individual countries of the world. As a result of the First World War, there was a further strengthening of the position of the United States and a significant decrease (by 1920) in the industrial potential of Germany and Soviet Russia (the civil war and intervention played a negative role). The table shows the changes in the ratio of industrial forces of the largest states.

So, the period of development of the so-called. old industrial productions ended. It was characterized mainly by the extensive development of the industry, accompanied primarily by its quantitative growth, which later received the name of "primitive industrialism". Employment of the population has sharply increased (see the article "") in industry. More and more various raw materials and materials were consumed, which caused an aggravation of the ecological situation in many industrial regions of the world. Industry began to gradually penetrate the world's periphery, beyond Europe and North America.

And here is what the list of countries - leaders of industrial development of the 20th century looks like:

The formation of an independent state created more favorable conditions for the development of Polish culture, education and science. The urban population, including recent immigrants from the villages, lost touch with traditional culture, perceived new patterns of behavior formed by the Polish intelligentsia or borrowed from abroad.

This concerned clothing, housing arrangements, family relations, spending free time. The urban way of life and the cultural stereotypes associated with it also penetrated into the rural environment, and peasant youth were especially receptive to modern trends.

The appearance of cities continued to change, and not only in their central or aristocratic districts, but also in the outskirts, on which building cooperatives erected relatively inexpensive residential buildings with modern conveniences. Gas street lighting was replaced by electric everywhere, more and more cities built water and sewer networks. But there were also slums that did not meet the most elementary sanitary standards.

Medical care has become more accessible. In the 1930s medical cooperatives began to be created in the villages, but the cities, in terms of the number of doctors per capita, were still far ahead of them.

An increasing role in people's lives was played by sports, which ceased to be the privilege of the rich. Workers' sports clubs became widespread. A healthy lifestyle and sports activities were actively promoted by youth organizations. Polish athletes entered the international arena. Polish runners Janusz Kusoczynski (champion of the Olympic Games in Los Angeles in 1932) and Stanislava Walasiewicz (champion of the Olympic Games in Los Angeles and silver medalist of the Olympic Games in Berlin in 1936), pilots Franciszek Zhwirka and Stanislav Vigura gained wide popularity in the world. and others. Football, rowing, equestrian sports were popular.

Already in the first years of independence, the most serious attention was paid to public education. In February 1919, a decree was issued introducing universal seven-year education for children between the ages of 7 and 14 and providing for the creation of an adult education system. As a result, the proportion of illiterates in Poland among persons over the age of 10 fell from 33.1% in 1921 to 22.1% in 1931 and continued to decline. The situation was worse with the education of children of non-Polish nationality in their native language in public schools. In Galicia, for example, the number of state Ukrainian schools even decreased compared to pre-war times, but the number of bilingual schools grew. In order to counteract the Polonization of youth, Ukrainians, Belarusians, Germans were forced to maintain private paid schools.

The vast majority of Jewish children continued to study in traditional schools (cheders).

To the three Polish universities that existed at the time of gaining independence, Poznan, Vilna and Lublin Catholic, as well as a number of institutions, were added. In total, 16 public and 11 private institutions of higher education operated during the interwar period, graduating 83,000 students. But the Ukrainian university promised by the Polish government was never opened, and the issue of introducing a percentage rate for Jews in higher educational institutions was constantly discussed in society.

About 26,000 libraries, more than 900 people's houses (including 625 rural ones), a thousand people's theaters, 175 museums, and dozens of cultural and educational societies carried out extensive educational activities. In 1925, the first Polish radio station began its work, and in 1939 there were already about 1 million radio subscribers in the country.

Along with the writers who gained fame before the First World War, the literary horizon sparkled brightly with the work of writers Maria Dombrovsky, Juliusz Kaden-Bandrovsky, Zofia Nalkowska, poets Vladislav Bronevsky, Yaroslav Ivashkevich, Anthony Slonimsky, Julian Tuvim, Jan Lekhon and others. Vladislav Reymont in 1924 received the Nobel Prize for the novel The Peasants. Along with realistic literary creativity, various areas of avant-gardism gained popularity.

More favorable conditions developed for scientific work, but disciplines that did not require large funds for research continued to prevail. Works in the fields of mathematics (Stefan Banach), sociology (Florian Znaniecki), philosophy (Kazimierz Twardowski, Tadeusz Kotarbiński, Władysław Tatarkiewicz), physics (Czesław Bialobrzeski), history (Vaclav Konopczynski, Jan Rutkowski, Vaclav Sobieski, Oskar Halecki and etc.).

The rapid development of rail, sea and air transport, the creation of modern industries, as well as the needs of the army for new types of weapons stimulated engineering and design thought. In 1938, at an aviation exhibition in Belgrade, the Polish Los bomber took first place, ahead of British, German and Italian aircraft. But its serial production was not established. A great achievement was the creation by Polish specialists of the Enigma machine, with the help of which military intelligence was able to decipher Germany's secret ciphers. During the war, the Poles handed it over to their Western allies.

You can also find information of interest in the scientific search engine Otvety.Online. Use the search form:

You can better understand the historical processes of the first half of the 20th century by looking at the paintings of artists of that time and reading the most interesting literary works of their contemporaries. Let's go on a little excursion.

Culture and art of the first half of the 20th century: a summary

At the turn of the century, decadence reigned in European culture - there was a huge number of different conflicting trends that did not have common features with each other. The culture and art of the first half of the 20th century has two main directions:

• Modern (French - Art Nouveau, German - Jugendstil).
• Modernism.

The first originated in the last decade of the 19th century and gradually ended its existence with the outbreak of the First World War (in 1914).

Modernism is an interesting direction of the late 19th - first half of the 20th century. It is so rich in masterpieces of painting and graphics that it is divided into separate movements according to characteristic features.

Art Nouveau: nature is a source of inexhaustible inspiration

The name of the direction comes from the French word "moderne", which means "modern". This is a trend in American, European and Russian art at the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries. Modernism is often confused with modernism, although these are fundamentally different things that have little in common with each other. We list the distinctive features of this trend in art:

• search for inspiration in nature and in the surrounding world;
• rejection of sharp lines;
• faded, muted tones;
• decorative, airy;
• the presence in the paintings of elements of nature: trees, grasses, shrubs.

The easiest way to understand what modern is is by contemplating the architecture of European cities in this style. Namely - the buildings and cathedrals of Gaudí in Barcelona. The capital of Catalonia attracts so many tourists precisely due to its unique architecture. The decor of the buildings is distinguished by elevation, asymmetry and airiness. Sagrada Familia) is the most striking project of the great Antonio Gaudi.

Modernism

Why was this direction able to originate, win the love of the audience and give a start to the development of such interesting trends as surrealism and futurism?

Because modernism was a revolution in art. It arose as a protest against the outdated traditions of realism.

Creative people were looking for new ways of self-expression and reflection of reality. Modernism has its own characteristic features that are unique to it:

• the high role of the inner world of man;
• search for new original ideas;
• great importance is given to creative intuition;
• literature contributes to the spiritualization of man;
• emergence of mythology.

Culture and art of the first half of the 20th century: we will study pictures by various artists in the next two sections.

What are they? Amazing: you can reflect on them and constantly discover something new for yourself. The culture and art of the first half of the 20th century will be briefly described below.

We will not languish and present information in the most concise form - in the form of a table. On the left will be the name of the artistic movement, on the right - its characteristics.

Culture and art of the first half of the 20th century: table

Original currents of modernism

Current name	Characteristic
Surrealism	Apotheosis of human fantasy. Differs in a paradoxical combination of forms.
Impressionism	It originated in France and then spread throughout the world. The Impressionists conveyed the surrounding world in its variability.
Expressionism	The artists sought to express their emotional state in the paintings, from fear to euphoria.
Futurism	The first ideas arose in Russia and Italy. Futurists in their paintings masterfully conveyed movement, energy and speed.
Cubism	The paintings consist of bizarre geometric shapes in a certain composition.

Culture and art of the first half of the 20th century (table, grade 9) reflects basic knowledge on the topic.

Let's take a closer look at impressionism and surrealism as trends that brought fundamentally new ideas to art.

Surrealism: creativity of the mentally ill or geniuses?

It was one of the currents of modernism, which arose in 1920 in France.

Studying the work of the surrealists, the average person often wonders about their mental health. For the most part, the artists of this trend were quite

Then how did they manage to draw such unusual pictures? It's all about youth and the desire to change standard thinking. Art for the surrealists was a way of liberation from generally accepted rules. Surrealistic paintings combined dream with reality. The artists were guided by three rules:

1. relaxation of consciousness;
2. accepting images from the subconscious;
3. if the first two points were successful, they took up the brush.

It is quite difficult to understand how they painted such meaningful pictures. One suggestion is that the Surrealists were fascinated by Freud's ideas about dreams. The second is about the use of certain mind-altering substances. Where the truth is is unclear. Let's just enjoy art, no matter the circumstances. Below is a picture of the "Clock" by the legendary Salvador Dali.

Impressionism in painting

Impressionism is another direction of modernism, the birthplace is France...

Paintings of this style are distinguished by glare, play of light and bright colors. Artists sought to capture on canvas the real world in its variability and mobility. From the paintings of the Impressionists, the mood of an ordinary person improves, they are so vital and bright.

The artists of this trend did not raise any philosophical problems - they simply painted what they saw. At the same time, they did it masterfully, using various techniques and a bright palette of colors.

Literature: from classicism to existentialism

The culture and art of the first half of the 20th century are new trends in literature that have changed the minds of people. The situation is similar to painting: classicism is becoming a thing of the past, giving way to the new trends of modernism.

He contributed to such interesting "discoveries" in literature as:

• internal monologue;
• mindflow;
• distant associations;
• the author's ability to look at himself from the outside (the ability to talk about himself in the third person);
• irrealism.

Irish writer James Joyce was the first to use such literary devices as internal monologue and parody.

Franz Kafka is an outstanding Austrian writer, the founder of the current of existentialism in literature. Despite the fact that during his lifetime his works did not arouse the enthusiasm of readers, he is recognized as one of the best prose writers of the 20th century.

His work was influenced by the tragic events of the First World War. He wrote very deep and heavy works, showing the impotence of a person when confronted with the absurdity of the surrounding reality. At the same time, the author is not deprived of a sense of humor, however, he has a very specific and black one.

We warn that meaningful reading of Kafka can contribute to lowering your mood. It is best to read the author in a good mood and a little abstracting from his gloomy thoughts. In the end, he describes only his vision of reality. Kafka's most famous work is The Trial.

Cinema

Funny silent films are also the culture and art of the first half of the 20th century, read the message about them below.

There is no other art form that develops as rapidly as cinema. Filmmaking technology appeared at the end of the 19th century: in just 50 years, it was able to change dramatically and win the hearts of millions of people.

The first films were created in advanced countries, including Russia.

Movies were originally in black and white and without sound. The meaning of silent cinema was to convey information through the movement and facial expressions of the actors.

The first movie with talking actors appeared in 1927. The American firm Warner Bros. decides to release the film The Jazz Singer, and this is already a full-fledged film with sound.

He didn't stand still either. The first successful project was the film "Don Cossacks". True, censorship in Russian films also took place: filming of church rites and members of the royal family was banned.

A special stage in the development of Russian cinema began after the Bolsheviks came to power. These comrades quickly realized that cinema can be not only entertainment, but also a serious weapon of propaganda.

The most famous Soviet director of the 1930s was such works as "Battleship Potemkin" and "Alexander Nevsky" have long become classics. Kyiv director Alexander Dovzhenko also reached the heights in cinema. The brightest work is the film "Earth".

The most interesting topic for conversation among adults is the culture and art of the first half of the 20th century. Grade 9 gives truncated information that quickly disappears from the head. This gap can be filled by constant self-education.