Non-Democratic Federalism and Decentralization in Post-Soviet States

Patterns of Psychiatric Hospitalization Among Ethiopian and Former Soviet Union Immigrants and Persons Born in Israel

Since the fall of the communist regimes in Central and Eastern Europe in 1989, a neoliberal discourse has dominated the thinking of the political elite in post-communist countries, paving the way for unprecedented mass privatisation, economic deregulation, and other market reforms. In this article, we study the development of public support for market economy principles in post-communist countries compared to other European countries between 1999 and 2008, the period that directly followed the initial stage of market transformation. The article is based on data from the European Values Study covering 22 European countries for the years 1999/2000 and 2008/2009. In addition to analysing the trends, multilevel regression models are used to study the determinants and levels of support for the market economy in post-communist and other European countries. When controlling for individual and country-level variables, a significant increase in support for market economy principles is observed in the post-communist cluster, which is not the case in the other countries. There is some inconsistency in support for the individual principles of market economics: support exists in post-communist countries for the notion that the state should be responsible for the social and economic well-being of its inhabitants and for state regulation of the economy, while support is high for some market economy principles, such as free competition and private ownership. In other words, support for some kind of social market seems to prevail among people living in post-communist countries, based on the notion that the state should combine a market economy with relatively generous social policies.

The present article is devoted to the analysis of participation of new post-Soviet Eurasian states in international economic relations, of current goals and strategic targets of this policy in the economic development of these states. Many, in fact the majority of them appeared to be unable after achieving political sovereignty to solve complex economic problems of national development since they had neither organizational experience in carrying out an independent and effective economic policy nor the personnel, technological and financial provisions for these goals. Therefore new independent Eurasian states had to approach foreign countries searching for adequate forms and methods of cooperation with them on these issues. In this connection the article explores the nature of interrelations between post-Soviet states with their principal foreign partners on a bilateral basis as well as in multilateral international economic organizations, of the comparative role of political and economic factors in these relations. Some of the post-Soviet states have begun their participation in the Eurasian integration project headed by Russia, others aim at solving their external political and economic problems by strengthening relations with the USA and European Union on a priority basis, still others see the way out in promoting their orientation primarily on their closest regional partners (such as China, Turkey, Iran). However, neither of these directions of external economic activities has become a dominant one on the post-Soviet space. Moreover, some of their elements may get a priority significance, neighboring others or even replacing them at various stages of development of this or that post-Soviet state. Besides, three decades after their formation the new sovereign Eurasian states having endured complex processes of national state building began to differ substantially from each other by their political systems, by levels of economic development and above all – by their strategic goals, aspirations and orientations. And in its turn this has caused serious changes in their approaches to building relations with their external partners, both in bilateral and multilateral formats. Under these conditions the most important national priority of Russia is to implement such a foreign policy at the post-Soviet space that would react timely and most flexibly at social, political and economic processes going on there and emphasizing that most important goal of such a policy is neither a political expansion or an institution of a great power hegemony but development of partnership and friendly relations with the post-Soviet states on the basis of equality and mutual benefits.

How do the post-Soviet countries differ in their regulatory approaches to organized civil society? This study provides a systematic and comprehensive assessment of relative differences and similarities in the regulation of civil society organizations in seven post-Soviet countries: Armenia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Moldova, Russia, Tajikistan, and Ukraine. Empirically, the study offers a regulatory index that makes it possible to map and compare relative differences and similarities between these countries’ regulatory approaches to civil society. The findings show that post-Soviet authoritarian countries do not use similar levels of repression against organized civil society. The study provides an account of how different political configurations explain relative differences in the extent to which post-Soviet authoritarian countries repress their respective civil societies.

This paper investigates the process of trade integration between the enlarged European Union and the Newly Independent States (NIS), focusing on the new EU member states (NMS) and selected NIS (Russia, Ukraine, Belarus, Moldova and Kazakhstan). The paper analyses the evolution of the regional and commodity composition of trade in the countries concerned. A detailed market share analysis reveals the emerging trade specialization patterns. There has been a general trade reorientation of both NMS and (less so) the NIS towards the West. The recent trade developments on EU?NIS borders indicate a closer trade integration among the NMS, declining trade integration among the NIS, as well contradictory shifts in NMS?NIS exports and imports. The importance of the NIS as export markets for the NMS is growing, in particular for the NIS neighbours. The bulk of EU exports is made up of manufacturing products. By contrast, EU imports from the NMS and NIS display a much more diversified pattern. The key NMS manufacturing export commodities to the NIS are chemicals, machinery & equipment, motor vehicles and food products, whereas NMS manufacturing imports from the NIS are dominated by basic metals, refined petroleum, chemicals and fabricated metal products, and there is a high concentration on just a few basic manufactures. The NMS increasingly specialize on high-tech and medium-high-tech products. The wide-ranging modernization and industrial restructuring in the NMS has been facilitated by the process of EU integration and by massive inflows of FDI whereas in the NIS the resource specialization generally increased as reforms and restructuring were delayed. It is questionable whether the NIS will be able to revamp their industrial structure without significantly stepping up reform efforts, trade integration and attracting more FDI.

Cyanobacterial harmful blooms (CyanoHABs) in lakes, estuaries, and freshwater reser-voirs represent a significant risk to water authorities worldwide due to their cyanotoxins and economic impacts. The duration, spread, and severity of CyanoHABs have markedly increased over the past decades. The article addresses CyanoHABs, cyanotoxins, and monitoring methodologies in post-Soviet and Central Asian countries. This particular region was selected for the systematic review due to its relative lack of representation in global CyanoHABs reporting, particularly in Central Asia. The main aim of this systematic review was to analyze the primary literature available from 2010-2024 to examine the current situation of CyanoHAB detection, monitoring, and management in Central Asia and post-Soviet countries. Following a detailed database search in several selected data-bases (Google Scholar, Pubmed, Web of Science (WOS), Scopus, Elibrary, ENU, and KazNU) along with additional hand searching and citation searching, 121 primary articles reporting 214 local cyanobacterial bloom cases were selected for this review. Aquatic cyanotoxins were reported in water bodies of eight countries, including high concentrations of microcystins that often exceeded reference values established by the World Health Organization (WHO). Advancing monitoring efforts in Baltic countries, Belarus, and the Russian Federation differed from only a few Central Asian reports. However, Central Asian aquatic ecosystems are especially threatened by rising anthropogenic pressures (i.e., water use, intensive agriculture, and pollution), climate change, and the lack of adequate ecological surveillance. We hypothesize that recent Caspian seal mass mortality events have been caused by a combination of infection (viral or bacterial) and exposure to algal neurotoxins resulting from harmful algal blooms of Pseudo-nitzschia. We conclude that there is an urgent need to improve the assessment of cyanobacterial blooms in Central Asia and post-Soviet countries.

By means of discourse-analytical desk review of qualitative sources, this article discusses the factors that have facilitated the prevalence of transnational organised crime in post-Soviet and former Yugoslav states together with the impacts and the factors that are affecting the effective prevention and control of transnational organized crime (TNOC) in post-Soviet and Yugoslav states. It examines the factors affecting the effective prevention and control of transnational organized crime (TNOC) in post-Soviet and Yugoslav states, and impacts, especially those connected to the globalization of the world economy; the increased mobility of people and services across transnational borders leading to the ethnicization of criminal activities and internationalization of organized crimes due to borderless illicit traffic. The paper argues that as a result of the combination of multiple factors, the prevailing rhetoric of TNOC in the former Yugoslav and Post-Soviet States is explained in terms of the profitability of TNOC economy for political elites, border police, smugglers and people living around the borders and the ability of organized criminal groups to supplant state institutions and its replacement it with private interests which has led to the institutionalization of criminality and the privatization of criminalization occasioned by breakdown of law and order and the corruption of the political elites. Finally, the paper concludes by nothing that the current manifestation of transnational organized criminal activities in former Soviet territories is a synthesis of political corruption and criminal syndication.

Review: Environmental Justice and Sustainability in the Former Soviet Union Julian Agyeman and Yelena Ogneva-Himmelberger (Eds.) Reviewed by Peter C. Little Orgeon State University, USA Agyeman, Julian and Ogneva-Himmelberger, Yelena (Eds.). Environmental Justice and Sustainability in the Former Soviet Union. Cambridge, MA: The MIT Press, 2009. 320pp. ISBN 9780262512336. US$25, paper. The central questions grounding Environmental Justice and Sustainability in the Former Soviet Union are 1) To what extent are increased popular environmental awareness and associated activism driving public policy and planning in the former Soviet republics, and 2) Are there emergent, separate brown (environmental justice) and green (environmentally sustainable development) agendas or are these joining together in a single just sustainability or human security agenda (p.4). This is one of the first books addressing these questions to make sense of environmental justice and sustainability struggles unfolding in countries of the former Soviet Union (FSU), which is now a post-Soviet geopolitical landscape made up of fifteen republics. The book unpacks the laws, politics, and economics germane to this region of the world that in turn exacerbate struggles for “just sustainability,” a term Agyeman helped coin in an earlier publication (Agyeman, Bullard, and Evans (Eds), Just Sustainabilities: Development in an Unequal World. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press, 2003). It begins with an introduction that provides a brief history of the environmental movement in Russia, the diversity of the movement and tactics of civic engagement, the rise of non-governmental organizations supporting movement agendas, and the common interest among activists to connect sustainability, public health, and environmental justice. The majority of the contributing authors to the book contend there “is the emergence of at least a justice-informed environmental discourse in the former Soviet Union, if not a full-fledged environmental justice or a just sustainability/human security agenda” (p.9). The remaining chapters explore a diversity topics and issues germane to civic struggles in countries of the FSU. Brian Donahoe explores the critical role of the contemporary and unstable Russian legal system and therefore the regulatory system for understanding environmental protection and indigenous peoples’ rights. Donahoe exposes the fact that the enforcement of laws are weak and ineffective largely because, as he puts it “these laws are only very general framework laws. The actual details of their implementation are supposed to be hammered out at the regional level. As a result, they are inconsistently interpreted and unevenly enforced” (p.25). He does a good job of also explaining the chronic uneasiness with democracy in Russia, noting that the Putin-Medvedev administration has made at least some judicial reforms that dovetail with the goals of environmental activists. Other chapters look at the ways in which sustainable development has been incorporated into Russia’s nation-building program as a response to economic crisis and because of strategic pressure from actors engaged in the Russian environmental movement (2); indigenous protest on Sakhalin Island (3) and in subarctic Russia (8) to protect natural resources, culture, and identity (3); petro-capital resistance in Azerbaijan (4) and Kazakhstan (7), and pipeline resistance in Russia’s Tanka National Park (5); the meshing of culture and nationalism to inform environmental action in Latvia (6); and environmental justice and sustainability activism in Estonia (9) and Tajikistan (10). The book concludes with the thought that environmental justice and sustainability movements in the former Soviet Union vary “according to the complex of sociocultural, socioeconomic, political, ethnic, and nationalistic factors that currently define, and are reshaping, the republics” (p.280). This book does an excellent job of exposing this variation, as well as the boundary-crossing human security interests that bring diverse activists and stakeholders together in their shared struggle for a better life. The book will excite scholars and activist interested in environmental justice, sustainability, environmental social science, and post-Soviet studies. Peter C. Little , PhD candidate, Department of Anthropology, Oregon State University, Corvallis, Oregon, USA. Electronic Green Journal, Issue 30, Spring 2010, ISSN:1076-7975

ObjectiveThe purpose of this project was to develop an English-Russian Epidemiology Dictionary, which is needed for improved international collaboration in public health surveillance.IntroductionAs part of the US Department of Defense strategy to counter biological threats, the Defense Threat Reduction Agency’s Cooperative Biological Engagement Program is enhancing the capabilities of countries in the former Soviet Union (FSU) to detect, diagnose, and report endemic and epidemic, man-made or natural cases of especially dangerous pathogens. During these engagements, it was noted that Western-trained and Soviet-trained epidemiologists have difficulty, beyond that of simple translation, in exchanging ideas.The Soviet public health system and epidemiology developed independently of that of other nations. Whereas epidemiology in the West is thought of in terms of disease determinants in populations and relies on statistics to make inferences, classical Soviet epidemiology is founded on a more ecological view with the main focus on infectious diseases’ spread theory. Consequently many fundamental Soviet terms and concepts lack simple correlates in English and other languages outside the Soviet sphere; the same is true when attempting to translate from English to Russian and other languages of the FSU. Systematic review of the differences in FSU and Western epidemiologic concepts and terminology is therefore needed for strengthening understanding and collaboration in disease surveillance, pandemic preparedness, response to biological terrorism, etc.MethodsFollowing an extensive search of the Russian and English literature by a working group of Western and FSU epidemiologists, we created a matrix containing English and Russian definitions of key epidemiologic terms found in FSU and Western epidemiology manuals and dictionaries, such as A Dictionary of Epidemiology (1), Epidemiology Manual (2) and many other sources. Particular emphasis was placed on terms relating to infectious disease surveillance, analysis of surveillance data, and outbreak investigation. In order to compare the definitions of each term and to elucidate differences in usage and existing gaps, all definitions were translated into English and Russian so that the definitions could be compared side by side and discussed by the working group.ResultsSix hundred and thirty one terms from 27 English and 51 Russian sources were chosen for inclusion based on their importance in applied epidemiology in either the West or the FSU. Review of the definitions showed that many terms within biosurveillance and infectious disease public health practice are used differently, and some concepts are lacking altogether in the Russian or English literature. Significant gaps in FSU epidemiology are in the areas of biostatistics and epidemiologic study designs. There are distinctive differences in FSU and Western epidemiology in the conceptualization and classification of disease transmission, surveillance practices, and control measures.ConclusionsEpidemiologic concepts and definitions significantly differed in the FSU and Western literature. To improve biosurveillance and international collaboration, recognition of these differences must occur. Detailed analysis of epidemiology terminology differences will be discussed in the presentation and paper. Major limitations of the work were scarcity of prior research on the subject and lack of bilingual epidemiologists with the good understanding of FSU and Western approaches. A bilingual reference in the form of a dictionary will greatly improve mutual comprehension and collaboration in the areas of biosurveillance and public health practice.

Dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane usage in the former Soviet Union

Summary Reserves definitions in use in the Former Soviet Union (FSU) are described and discussed. The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and SPE deterministic definitions and the 1983 World Petroleum Congress (WPC) probabilistic (1P, 2P, and 3P) definitions commonly used in Europe are compared with the A, B, C, and D system used in the FSU. We discuss the strengths and weaknesses of each system, the implication for quantification of reserves and resources in each area, and the translation difficulties between systems. Introduction Reserves definitions have evolved in response to specific goals. Requirements and standards are fundamentally different when the goal is consistent financial reporting or providing collateral than when the goal is making an investment decision. As a result, the fiscal environment and maturity of the reserves evaluation target have played a key role in the evolution of formal reserves definitions. The role of "certainty" is at the core of such differences. While such philosophical differences are fundamental, they are also a serious stumbling block in communicating basic quantitative information on oil and gas reserves. U.S. definitions are most applicable to mature situations and tend to be conservative, resulting in considerable reserves growth through positive revision. Lower confidence categories normally are not formalized, which limits their use in immature field evaluations and for corporate planning. WPC definitions are probabilistic and use uncertainty as the criterion for defining reserves categories. The FSU system recognizes reserves categories as a function of maturity but tends to apply economically unfounded theoretical aspects to the quantification process. As a result, such estimates tend to err on the optimistic side. With the U.S. oil industry rapidly becoming international and with the FSU an industry focal point, it is vital to understand the different reserves evaluation systems. We then can comprehend the difficulties in translation between systems and can better understand the valuable information in the lower confidence categories, which is vital for evaluating international investment decisions. Also, future revisions to SPE definitions will benefit from certain concepts incorporated in the FSU system. Background SPE formed a committee some years ago to investigate the merits of changing the existing reserves definitions. There was a growing concern in the industry that SPE definitions had application drawbacks in certain circumstances and that application of SPE definitions was difficult or even inappropriate when addressing many international reserves evaluation situations. The main controversy concerns methods of integrating or translating the deterministic approach adopted by the SPE definitions into the WPC definitions, which are probabilistic and are the standard in some international areas. To add fuel to this fire, the recent "opening" of the FSU introduced a third system, which is based on concepts common to SPE and WPC systems. Because few details and little discussion on the FSU system has reached western literature, this paper documents FSU definition construction and then compares and contrasts aspects of the three systems. Refs. 1–5 provide detailed discussions of the SPE and WPC systems. Resources vs. Reserves The FSU reserves classification system adopts an approach that is fundamentally different from SPE and WPC systems. The FSU approach first recognizes the natural progression of resource identification, delineation, and conversion to reserves. Resources and reserves are classified by where a reservoir, field, or region is in this sequence. This is similar to the classic concepts proposed by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) and diagrammatically expressed as the McKelvey box.6 While the industry embraces this concept, formal linkage of McKelvey's "measured," "indicated,"and "inferred" categories with standard industry use of "proved," "probable,"and "possible" has not occurred because of differences in concept and purpose.7 However, the McKelvey box is extremely useful for illustrating conceptual similaries and differences between reserves classification systems. McKelvey, former director of the USGS, developed the box in 1972. The box represents the total volume of unproduced mineral resources and classifies such volumes with reference to a horizontal axis representing degree of geologic and engineering certainty and a vertical axis representing the range of economic feasibility of mineral recovery (Fig. 1).

Because of the large size of the former Soviet Union (FSU) and the heavy use of organochlorine pesticides (OCPs) in the FSU, usage information regarding OCPs in the FSU is important in compiling global emission inventories and thus in studying the transport of OCPs among different environmental compartments worldwide. The availability of such information is limited. By analyzing the available 1,2,3,4,5,6-hexachlorocyclohexane (HCH) data in the FSU, this article presents estimates of HCH usage in this region from 1950 to 1990, when HCH was officially banned for agricultural use by the FSU government. The creation of HCH usage inventories for the FSU has paved the way to produce HCH emission inventories for this region. Total HCH usages for agricultural purposes in the FSU from 1950 to 1990 were estimated to be 1,960 kt for technical HCH and 40 kt for lindane. The total usage for the isomers was 270 kt for gamma-HCH, 1,270 kt for alpha-HCH, and 170 kt for beta-HCH. Use of HCH reached a peak in 1965: 130 kt for technical HCH, 2.7 kt for lindane, 18 kt for gamma-HCH, 86 kt for alpha-HCH, and 11 kt for beta-HCH. Gridded usage data sets in the FSU of technical HCH and lindane-and the alpha-HCH, beta-HCH and gamma-HCH isomers-on a 1degree x 1degree longitude and latitude grid system for 1980 are freely available to all users at http://www.msc.ec.gc.ca/data/gloperd/.

Child rearing in the new independent states: A review of the literature

No AccessPolicy Research Working Papers21 Jun 2013Stabilization, Adjustment, and Growth Prospects in Transition EconomiesAuthors/Editors: Cevdet DenizerCevdet Denizerhttps://doi.org/10.1596/1813-9450-1855SectionsAboutPDF (0.1 MB) ToolsAdd to favoritesDownload CitationsTrack Citations ShareFacebookTwitterLinked In Abstract:November 1997 Except for the Baltics, the countries of the former Soviet Union developed and implemented reform later and more slowly than the countries of Eastern Europe. Why? Political change marked the difference between the approaches of the countries of Eastern Europe and the former Soviet Union (FSU). The Baltics and most Eastern European countries wanted to break away from communism and the FSU domination-so their transition was characterized first by political change. Communists were discredited and removed from power, creating a period of extraordinary politics and a window of opportunity for reform. The collapse of the FSU did not lead to political change in most FSU states. There were indications of discontent with the Union, but except for the Baltics these were not as strong as in the Eastern European countries and there were no explicit demands for independence. The former communists hoped that the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) set up after the collapse of the FSU would evolve into a loose federation, maintaining old trade and financial links. Many FSU countries avoided policies different from Russia's. Most political leaders did not initially think that they would need structural reform policies which could diverge from Russian policies. The pace of reform quickened only after the collapse of the ruble zone in the FSU in 1993. Knowing where to go helped shape reform. The Eastern European and Baltic countries, wanting to join the European Union and encouraged to do so, first initiated political reform, which led to economic reform. Most FSU countries, not knowing with whom to align, initially saw no choice but the Russian Federation. Once reforms are launched, the outcomes are quite similar. Growth starts about two full years after stabilization, although it took about a year longer in the FSU. Initial conditions are important to the transition. Short to medium-term prospects seem most favorable to Eastern Europe and the Baltics, although they still have to catch up with the OECD countries. If admitted to the European Union, they may attain high growth rates even in the longer term. The FSU countries have even more catching up to do. In the short to medium term, countries with slower population growth rates and strong reform efforts should enjoy rapid per capita growth. The Central Asian countries, with their high population growth rates, need economic growth rates faster than their population growth rates. This leaves little room for slowing reform. Given the benefits of integration, there is a strong case for Central Asian countries pushing for an economic union, which would also facilitate the restructuring of their economies. This paper-a product of the Development Research Group-is part of a larger effort in the group to study the progress of transition economies. Previous bookNext book FiguresreferencesRecommendeddetailsCited byPrivatization and Growth: Natural Experiments of European Economies in TransitionSSRN Electronic JournalStructural Policies and Growth: Time Series Evidence from a Natural ExperimentSSRN Electronic JournalGrowth in Transition: What We Know, What We Don't, and What We ShouldSSRN Electronic JournalEconomic Reform, Democracy and Growth During Post-communist TransitionSSRN Electronic JournalPrivate, Public and Foreign SavingsSSRN Electronic Journal View Published: November 1999 Copyright & Permissions Related RegionsEurope and Central AsiaRelated CountriesBelarusCzech RepublicRussian FederationUnited StatesRelated TopicsFinance and Financial Sector DevelopmentMacroeconomics and Economic GrowthPoverty ReductionPrivate Sector Development KeywordsCAPITAL ACCOUNTSCAPITAL FORMATIONCENTRAL BANKCOMMERCIAL BANKSDISCOUNT RATEDISCOUNT RATESECONOMIESECONOMYFISCAL BALANCEFISCAL DEFICITSGROWTH RATEIMPLICIT SUBSIDYINFLATIONINFLATION PERFORMANCEINTEREST RATEINTEREST RATESLABOR FORCELIBERALIZATIONMONEYOUTPUT DECLINES PDF DownloadLoading ...

This study examined drug use patterns and severity among native-Israeli and former Soviet Union (FSU) immigrants in Israel who reported heroin use. a total of 272 native Israelis and 300 FSU heroin users were interviewed from 2002 to 2006 as part of a large drug use surveillance study in Israel. Individuals were sampled at an intake centre, a methadone clinic and a day-treatment facility in the Negev region of Israel. Participants were assessed using the Addiction Severity Index, fifth edition. Native Israeli and FSU users were compared within two groups: those interviewed at intake and those interviewed in treatment. Overall, ASI composite scores suggested generally comparable levels of addiction severity between the two ethnic groups. Native-born Israelis reported more years of heroin use; however, the FSU immigrants reported longer use of other opiates. The FSU reported significantly more heroin use by injection, and a significantly higher rate of hepatitis C and other chronic medical problems. Comparisons by gender within each group revealed higher drug severity scores for females (native-born Israeli and FSU combined). Females in the intake group had significantly higher severity scores in the areas of employment and psychiatric status when compared to individuals who had been in treatment for some time. Except for higher levels of alcohol use, the FSU did not have more severe drug problems than the native Israelis as measured by ASI severity scores. Injection use among FSU, however, is a critical public health problem, especially given the well-established link between injection drug use, hepatitis C and HIV/AIDS.