General Crisis Research Articles

Housing and utility complex in the system of sociocultural institutionality

The article examines the issue of the housing and utility services as a sociocultural institution. It has been noted that the larger the urban settlement, the more difficult it is to organize orderly interactions necessary for the sustainability of the urban structure, convenience for residents, safety, expressiveness of the cultural landscape, etc. Housing and utility services perform an important function of forming a positive image of a city, making it competitive in attractiveness in comparison with others cities. The research problem lies in the fact that the housing and utility services are generally considered from the standpoint of economics and management, despite the fact that the activities of this complex have a pronounced socio-cultural orientation. This allows us to talk about the relevance of the study of housing and utility services as a sociocultural institution in order to identify factors that contribute to the effectiveness of the activities of public utility organizations, or lead to institutional dysfunctions. The main research method chosen is structural and functional analysis, which allows us to consider housing and communal services from the point of view of the implementation of sociocultural functions and the search for the causes of possible dysfunctions. Consistently the institutional features of housing and utility complex are revealed. In conclusion, the main reasons for possible institutional dysfunctions of the object under consideration have been determined: violations of functionality are possible, firstly, as a result of general crisis conditions in the economy and politics; secondly, as a result of natural disasters; thirdly, as a result of a lack of understanding of the importance and complexity of housing and communal services by state and municipal authorities. Also, the gap in this area may be affected by shortcomings in the organizational culture of specific enterprises in the public utilities sector.

ФАКТОРы КРИЗИСА ПЕРСОНАЛА В УПРАВЛЕНИИ СОВРЕМЕННОЙ КОМПАНИЕЙ

The modern world is characterized by an increase in the number and speed of changes occurring in the external environment. Many researchers emphasize that the organization and staff today operate in conditions of uncertainty and risk. Modern companies feel the need to simultaneously increase sustainability and flexibility. The crisis reveals weaknesses, forcing employers to develop strategies to optimize costs, technologies, personnel, etc., to change the emphasis in planning and prioritization. In the article, the author examines the most significant causes of the personnel crisis, which can significantly affect the course and severity of the general crisis in the organization.

Eurocommunism: The rise and fall of a hopeful project

Eurocommunism at first seemed to offer a strategy for renewal, but by the mid-1980s its momentum had dissipated. Recent renewed interest in Eurocommunism is part of a wider reflection on the crisis of communism in all its variants since the last part of the twentieth century. Its aim ‐ to forge a new strategy of democratic and peaceful conquest of political power, in keeping with the complexities of contemporary Western European societies ‐ at first seemed full of promise, but by the mid-1980s its momentum had dissipated. In spite of its aim of renewal, it was followed by the crisis and decline of the main communist parties with which it was associated, the Italian Communist Party (PCI), the French Communist Party (PCF) and the Spanish Communist Party (PCE). The actions, decisions and strategies adopted by these parties can only be understood if they are framed within the historical and geographical context of the 1970s ‐ a period of general crisis in both the capitalist and communist worlds, which ultimately consolidated a historical break between two different eras. The article discusses some of the key characteristics of the project, and the hopes and disappointments it provoked, drawing widely on the published literature. It concludes with a brief engagement with some of the reflections and assessments that have been made on the subject. B roadly speaking, in the end Eurocommunism failed to find a way of combining a reformist strategy with a revolutionary identity. It abandoned core aspects of its former strategy without finding a convincing replacement.

Avoiding a reproducibility crisis in regulatory toxicology—on the fundamental role of ring trials

The ongoing transition from chemical hazard and risk assessment based on animal studies to assessment relying mostly on non-animal data, requires a multitude of novel experimental methods, and this means that guidance on the validation and standardisation of test methods intended for international applicability and acceptance, needs to be updated. These so-called new approach methodologies (NAMs) must be applicable to the chemical regulatory domain and provide reliable data which are relevant to hazard and risk assessment. Confidence in and use of NAMs will depend on their reliability and relevance, and both are thoroughly assessed by validation. Validation is, however, a time- and resource-demanding process. As updates on validation guidance are conducted, the valuable components must be kept: Reliable data are and will remain fundamental. In 2016, the scientific community was made aware of the general crisis in scientific reproducibility—validated methods must not fall into this. In this commentary, we emphasize the central importance of ring trials in the validation of experimental methods. Ring trials are sometimes considered to be a major hold-up with little value added to the validation. Here, we clarify that ring trials are indispensable to demonstrate the robustness and reproducibility of a new method. Further, that methods do fail in method transfer and ring trials due to different stumbling blocks, but these provide learnings to ensure the robustness of new methods. At the same time, we identify what it would take to perform ring trials more efficiently, and how ring trials fit into the much-needed update to the guidance on the validation of NAMs.

Нигилистическое опустошение современного человека

The article is devoted to the problem of the growth of nihilistic tendencies in culture. It is proven that modern transformations of the structure of social relations qualitatively change the concept of nihilism as a way of representing culture. This article proceeds from the assumption that the general crisis in the sphere of axiology allows us to state the origins of modern nihilism in the active process of man's reasoning. Hence, general pessimistic tendencies determine a kind of semantic shift when destruction becomes a simulacrum of creativity. At the same time, it is determined that nihilism is revived in the process of replacing value with evaluation. In a comparative analysis of the achievements of modern philosophical thought, the main facets of the modern nihilistic attitude of man toward the world are revealed. In particular, it is indicated that the emergence of the philosophy of devastation can form the recognition of destruction as a social norm. An attempt is made to trace the concepts of epistemic nihilism. The semantic complexity of modern nihilism for its bearers is revealed. Special attention is paid to such a phenomenon as intellectual humility. New forms of alienation of modern man from himself through the rejection of his own beliefs in the face of some opposing statements are traced. It is shown that the revival of nihilistic tendencies in culture contributes to the expansion of the field of manipulative practices in social life. The risks of illusions of explanatory depth due to the formation of a behavioral strategy of intellectual humility are evidently determined. Aspects of the evolution of nihilism are touched upon. The connection between nihilism and the thesis about the state of total war in the 20th century is traced in the trends of the development of modern philosophical thought. It is determined that the devaluation of life provokes the formation of the illusion of the absolute value of material progress and negatively affects the processes of self-consciousness. The role of microaggressions by marginals in the formation of modern nihilism is revealed.

Mountain Steppes And Upland Xerophytes ― As an Element of Landscape Diversity in The Eastern Central Caucasus

Long-term observations of dynamic processes in the landscapes of intra-mountain basins on the territory of North Ossetia-Alania have shown that changes in them can be both progressive and regressive, which is associated with natural external factors that are imposed by anthropogenic influences. For a long time, arid landscapes in the eastern part of the Central Caucasus (within the North Ossetia-Alania) were intensively exploited as pasture (less often arable) land and underwent significant anthropogenic degradation. The situation began to change in the last decade of the 20th century due to the general crisis state of the country's economy, the collapse of collective farms and state farms, a sharp reduction in the number of cattle and small cattle. The removal of agricultural load on mountain landscapes led to the gradual restoration of their natural state. Currently, there is a trend towards a change in traditional nature management to recreational, and the problem of protecting natural geological systems is again emerging from recreational impact. The most vulnerable are arid dry-steppe and upland xerophytic formations, occupying a little more than 6 thousand hectares (8.4%) of the area of intracity basins, but are habitats included in the Red Book of North Ossetia-Alania, endemic and rare vascular plants (more than 20 species) and invertebrate animals (about 60 species).

The experiences of the economic transition in Central and Eastern Europe (1990-2000): The case of the Czech Republic, Slovakia and Poland

In the years 1989–1990, economic and political transition in Central and Eastern Europe coincided with the general crisis of state socialism. The transformation process meant the general liberalization (abolition of state subsidies and fixed prices etc.) of the economic system in the former state socialist countries, which coupled with opening their markets to foreign investors. There were substantial differences in the creation of a freemarket economy in the region. Whereas Poland applied the method of shock treatment, based on the concept of the Washington Consensus, Czechoslovakia followed a double policy by mixing the gradualist approach with “shock” rhetoric to avoid the negative impacts of the economic transition. Although the Central and Eastern European countries followed a different road in restructuring their economies in the 1990s, but by the turn of the millennium due to the privatisation of state-owned assets, private companies accounted for 70 per cent of GDP, whilst the share of the state sector was 30 per cent. This paper aims to highlight the experiences of the economic transformation in the Czech Republic, Slovakia and Poland by comparing its main features and stages. Besides macroeconomic stabilization, emphasis will be placed on analyzing the impacts of privatisation and its main consequences. Due to length constraints, the essay will not focus on the social impacts of the transition process in the region.

ИННОВАЦИОННЫЕ МЕТОДЫ, ПОВЫШАЮЩИЕ ЭФФЕКТИВНОСТЬ БЕРЕЖЛИВОГО ПРОИЗВОДСТВА В РОССИЙСКОЙ ПРОМЫШЛЕННОСТИ

The article is devoted to the study of the features of the application of the lean manufacturing concept in Russian industry. Particular attention is paid to the possibility of increasing labor productivity using traditional and innovative methods of continuous improvement of business processes in industry. The purpose of this article is to study the concepts of lean production as a factor in increasing labor productivity of Russian companies and to develop innovative methods that increase the efficiency of lean production. As part of the study, an assessment was made of the impact of the implementation of the National Project “Labor Productivity” on the growth of industrial efficiency, the dynamics of the productivity index from the moment the measures began state support. The regions leading in productivity growth and the regions of the Central Black Sea Region are considered. The results of the study show that in general, for the type of economic activity “Manufacturing”, the growth rate of the labor productivity index is negative during the implementation of the national project; there is only a jump in 2020. It is suggested that this is not related to the implementation of the project, but to the general crisis bifurcation situation in economics.
 The article shows that the experience of those regions that have achieved success despite the general socio-economic instability in the country and industry deserves a closer look. Summarizing best practices, the article systematizes the main methods of lean production, paying special attention to innovative methods that can be used not only in industry, but also in all types of economic activity. A survey was conducted of the opinions of specialists representing a number of industrial enterprises of the Central Black Sea Region involved in the implementation of the National Project “Labor Productivity”, this made it possible to generalize productive methods of lean production and identify the main problems in applying the concept of lean production in Russian industry.

Current Debates about the Colonial Economy and Government from the Spanish Royal Treasury Records

This essay surveys both the traditional findings and new debates that have used the Spanish imperial royal financial accounts to analyze the colonial economy and government. The crisis of the seventeenth century, the relations between colonial elites and royal government, the impact of income transfers among treasury offices, the sale of offices, the system of voluntary loans, the eighteenth-century reforms, and the influence of the tax system on the evolution of the colonial economy and society have all created a new set of questions and debates that historians, economists, and political scientists have engaged in. There is both consensus and disagreement on what these numbers mean for various groups in the society as well as long-term institutional developments. Just as new approaches have opened up new area for research, there are also a great deal of unexplored topics that can be developed using the unpublished primary accounts.

STATE SUPPORT AS A FACTOR OF REGULATION OF THE DOMESTIC MARKET OF AGRICULTURAL MACHINERY IN UKRAINE

The article analyzes the state of agriculture provision with agricultural machinery and it is clarified that despite the extremely important importance of this branch for the country's economy, today there is a critical situation with the technical provision of the agro-industrial complex. Agricultural enterprises not included in the structure of agricultural holdings provide only 45 to 58 percent of the technological need to machinery, of which almost 90 percent of the units need replacement. The number of worn-out equipment, which each year is written off by enterprises, far exceeds the amount that is procured. The article also analyzes the state of state support of material and technical support of agricultural commodity producers in Ukraine. It has been determined that agrarian policy during the transformation period was characterized mainly by the predominance of tactical rather than strategic goals and programs, and the regulatory activity of the state was not systematic and consistent. Taking into account the above, it was concluded that the problem of increasing the effectiveness of the state influence on the development of the agrarian sector as a whole, and on material and technical support of the crop production sector in particular, is particularly relevant to Ukraine. It is concluded that the state policy in the direction of funding activities aimed at their support is not weighed, formed on the residual principle and can not fully contribute to the accomplishment of the tasks. A number of measures have been proposed for correction of the negative situation, which consist in the necessity of: streamlining of normative acts regulating the financing of programs; increase their funding; strengthening control over the implementation of public funding programs; redistribution of funding directions. An analysis of state support programs for agricultural enterprises makes it possible to conclude that their implementation does not have the desired effect due to: lack of funding by the state; unbalanced fiscal and customs policies, lack of incentives to increase scientific research and accelerate the implementation of their results in agricultural machinery; the general crisis of the country's economy since 2014, connected with the loss of territories, military actions in the east of Ukraine, inflationary processes and the political crisis. Keywords: state support, technology market, efficiency, technical and technological updating, material and technical base, financing

Comprehensive evaluation of fleeces with measurement of the basic properties of wool in breeding work

Despite the general crisis in sheep breeding, lack of demand, low prices for the main type of raw material as wool, scientific breeders and farm specialists continue to work on developing new, more competitive breeds and types of sheep. They also carry out targeted selection to achieve high productivity of animals, since in general the level of productivity and especially the quality of wool do not always meet today’s requirements. The main disadvantages of wool supplied to processing plants are its increased contamination, reduced strength and insufficient uniformity. Their elimination is possible only with proper feeding of animals and constant attention of breeders to the quantity and quality of wool products. In the successful implementation of the tasks facing sheep farmers of the Stavropol Territory to increase the production of fine merino wool with its simultaneous improvement, the use of an objective evaluation of the products produced is of no small importance. The purpose of the research was to study the indicators of a comprehensive evaluation of fleeces with the measurement of the basic properties of wool to identify the effective use of stud rams in the breeding campaign. A positive point is the stabilization at a certain level of quality indicators of wool productivity. The average diameter of wool fiber is in the range of 20,6–22,5 microns, which meets the requirements for the production of fine wool. The yield of pure wool, which is influenced by arid natural conditions, ranges from 60,3–65,2 %, which is rated “excellent” on the scale of comprehensive assessment of runes. Fineness less of wool (on average for the breed) occurred according to the breeds: Stavropol, Manych merino, Soviet merino and Dzhalginsky merino by 2,3; 2,4; 0,8 and 1,2 microns, respectively. The yield of pure wool, in turn, increased by breeds by 1,2; 1,6; 0,9 and 8,3 abs.%, respectively. The ratio of clippings to live weight of animals decreased by 0,9; 1,0; 2,7 and 0,5 abs.%, respectively.

Crisis Management of Enterprises and Post-War Reconstruction in Ukraine

"It has been proven that the anti-crisis management program can determine the presence of three enterprise development systems that determine the choice of directions for anti-crisis management: “conditionally stable system,” in which passive anti-crisis management is sufficient, “system with the manifestation of crisis phenomena,” and “general crisis system,” which requires the application of active anti-crisis measures. The goals of enterprise anti-crisis management vary depending on the type of financial system of the enterprise. Thus, anti-crisis management under the conditionally stable system aims to diagnose the indicators of enterprise activity for timely detection of manifestations of crisis phenomena. In the system expressing crisis phenomena, anti-crisis management aims to localize detected crises, overcome their negative impact, and restore pre-crisis indicators. The goal of anti-crisis management under the general crisis system is to manage the enterprise in conditions of prolonged crisis (stagnation). Each model of anti-crisis management has corresponding stages, the implementation of which is aimed at minimizing the negative impact of crisis phenomena on the enterprise’s activity. The methods of anti-crisis management during the war have been systematized. The methods of anti-crisis management can be attributed to the entire set of methodological tools that include a complex of measures from pre-crisis diagnosis to methods of its elimination and overcoming. Based on the essential characteristics and the need to decide on applying anti-crisis methods at each stage of the enterprise’s life cycle, their consideration from the perspective of diagnostic and crisis management methods is envisaged. Based on the application of a methodological approach to the formation of the system of forecasting anti-crisis management measures at the enterprise, the use of an algorithm for anti-crisis management to choose the direction of anti-crisis management at enterprises (passive or active) has been proposed."

SOCIO-PSYCHOLOGICAL REHABILITATION AND ADAPTATION OF STUDENTS IN THE CONDITIONS OF INCLUSIVE EDUCATION

Among the complex and still far from solved problems in the education system are the problems of the pedagogical paradigm, its essence, content, structure. In this area of scientific and pedagogical knowledge, in the conditions of the modern information world and the “crisis of world education”, discrepancies have appeared regarding the concepts and paradigms of education, which determine the need and relevance of studying this important problem of pedagogical theory. The authors of the article focus the reader's attention on the essential understanding of the very problem of inclusive education, namely the social and psychological rehabilitation and adaptation of students in the context of inclusive education. In addition, the authors emphasise that it is not health-related medical problems that are stated in the Concept as the causes of disability, but shortcomings in the development of society, which, with their barriers, prevent the realisation of the rights and freedoms of people with health disorders. Ratification of the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities will allow governments in most countries of the world to perceive persons with disabilities as full citizens, and not as a special social group of people. The purpose of the study is to substantiate the idea of the main cause of the general crisis in world education as a result of increased differentiation of scientific knowledge due to the acceleration of its growth and to develop an approach to overcoming the crisis within the framework of the general programme of inclusive education. Currently, the solution of problems associated with disability is one of the priority tasks of the social policy of modern Russia. Based on the results of scientific research, the authors see the solution to the problem in reforming the existing educational system, in the formation of new postulates and models for setting and solving the problem of inclusive education.

A critical agrarian approach to food crises: Social distance as a specific food crisis arising from the COVID-19 pandemic in Japan

Covid-19 precipitated a food crisis that reconfigured food systems in unprecedented directions. While much research on Covid-19 and food crises focuses on food insecurity, we argue for a critical agrarian approach to food crises that extends beyond food insecurity. We emphasize how food crises enact disruptions that can lead to the reconfiguration of food systems. Further, we distinguish between specific crises that disrupt food systems from the general Crisis of the corporate food regime. This article draws on interviews with key actors to explore how changes to social distance in response to Covid-19 rippled through Japanese food systems as segments of Japanese food economies expanded, adjusted, and contracted. Although Japan avoided the harshest consequences of food insecurity arising from Covid-19, the pandemic reconfigured Japanese food systems in novel directions. This reconfiguration does not neatly correspond to the general Crisis of the corporate food regime because of the prominence of the hybrid zone and scalar politics of local food within Japanese food systems. We urge critical agrarian scholarship to closely examine the situated dynamics enacted by specific food crises, because such crises introduce key inflection points for reshaping food system trajectories.

State investment policy as a tool to overcome threats to national economic security caused by anti-Russian sanctions

Aim. To study the impact of investment on economic growth and ensuring economic security in modern Russia, developing under the conditions of economic sanctions from the countries of the “collective West”.Tasks. To describe the impact of sanctions on the Russian economic system, to assess their impact on national economic security. To study investment activity in Russia in the medium term, including its transformation in the conditions of non-economic shock caused by sanctions. To offer recommendations for improving the state investment policy.Methods. In preparing the article we used general scientific methods of research (comparative, retrospective, macroeconomic analysis), as well as special methods of economic and mathematical modeling, forecasting, statistical data analysis, and expert assessments.Results. Anti-Russian sanctions have caused a number of new challenges and complex threats to national economic security. The sanctions caused a macroeconomic shock. But, despite the volatility and volatility of GDP, the Russian economy is experiencing a trend of long-term growth, which indicates the presence of sufficiently effective mechanisms for preserving national economic security. At the same time, this growth is rather sluggish, it is necessary to launch mechanisms for its acceleration, which is difficult in the conditions of external sanctions restrictions. The basis for success in economic growth is high investment activity. Its stimulation should become one of the priorities of Russia’s current economic policy. Despite the political and economic turbulence caused by the sanctions and the general contraction of the economy, investments, contrary to expectations, did not decline in Russia in 2022, although their growth rate slowed down. At the same time, the structure of investments has changed unfavorably. The author’s study reveals atypical behavior of investments in Russia under the shocks of 2020 and 2022: the growth rate of investments slowed down, but at the same time they grew in absolute terms in both actual and comparable prices, despite the general crisis in the economy. This creates preconditions for future growth. Apparently, Russian investors did not revise their plans, remaining confident that external sanctions will not only be successfully overcome, but may also give a new impetus to the development of domestic production, as it happened with agricultural production after the food embargo introduced in 2014. This indicates high confidence of national business in the policy pursued by the authorities. In order to maintain the sustainability of socio-economic development and the realization of national economic interests, it is important to achieve a steady decline in investment activity and prevent the curtailment of investment. This is possible only through the creation by the state of such an investment environment, such conditions that are understandable and attractive for the business community and arouse its confidence.Conclusions. The impact of sanctions on the Russian economy is immediate and prolonged. The Russian economy has successfully coped with the initial sanctions shock. But the delayed effects of sanctions remain, they act as a significant threat to national economic security, which makes it necessary to strengthen measures to counteract them and preserve economic stability. The investment policy of the state has a significant role in solving these problems, which is considered in the article as a tool to overcome the threats to national economic security caused by sanctions. Investment activity of private business in the new conditions requires state support, the article reveals the directions and conceptual provisions of such support.

Literature and Totality

Abstract This essay foregrounds the hermeneutic purchase of totality in contemporary literary criticism. Responding to the recent proliferation of the “gig work” novel, the essay takes up two interrelated lines of inquiry: How might we rethink the conceptual affordances of “totality” for the ongoing project of the critique of political economy? What would a rethinking of totality’s position in the conceptual architecture of literary criticism offer in the way of new heuristics for the analysis of the novel? Through recourse to G. W. F. Hegel’s Science of Logic and Michael Theunissen, Hans-Friedrich Fulda, and Rolf-Peter Horstmann’s Critical Presentation of Metaphysics: A Discussion of Hegel’s “Logic” (Kritische Darstellung der Metaphysik: Eine Diskussion über Hegels “Logik”), this essay proposes a method of literary analysis that approaches the formal aspects of the novel as defined through the historical-material conditions for the writing of the text. The essay then puts a close reading of Hilary Leichter’s Temporary in conversation with Sarah Brouillette’s account of the decline of the English-language literary novel to suggest how the formal properties of the contemporary gig work novel respond to the general crisis of novel production in the twenty-first century.

Resolution planning framework constraints: An analysis based on the Sberbank Europe AG resolution case

The paper aims to assess the effectiveness of the resolution planning framework based on the example of the Sberbank Europe AG case. This case is noteworthy, as it was the only one to date involving a banking group that was undergoing a resolution situation and that was, before this event, already fully subject to SRB's resolution planning standards. Furthermore, in this situation, the authorities decided on a resolution strategy materially different to the one prepared as part of the resolution planning. Thus, the paper focuses specifically on the effectiveness of the resolution planning measures that had to be implemented under this very different resolution situation. The paper does not aim for an assessment of the general effectiveness of the whole resolution framework in this case (such as effects on financial stability). However, the paper includes an analysis on potential improvement potentials in the framework in order to support the resolution planning efforts to contribute more significantly to the authorities' decisions and actions in a resolution situation. It thus aims at strengthening the planning efforts for the benefit of both the authorities (in case of a resolution event), as well institutions by allowing them to better align the resolution planning with their general crisis management efforts. This paper is thus addressed to actors active in the resolution planning area both in the industry as well as the authorities.

Environmental crisis overcoming as a factor for achieving economic sustainability in the context of the European green course

By means of the modeling methodology, the object of the study was the theoretical and practical aspects of overcoming environmental crises as a factor to achieve sustainability. In today's world, several crises are combined: social, political, cultural and moral, the crisis of democracy, ideology and the general crisis of the capitalist system. More specifically, the economic and environmental crises are linked to the financial crises and the existing disorientation is due, to a large extent, to the financial risks that have affected the ecological footprint of civilization. As a result of the tasks set, the concept of planetary boundaries has emerged as an effective means of measuring the state of the planet and its threats. In this sense, the concept of an economy in need of transformation has been formed, as environmental growth and technological progress are accompanied and even accelerated by economy and resource efficiency. It is concluded that, current trends on Earth are not sustainable, and traditional responses to these problems often depend on the type of economic growth that is strongly associated, simultaneously, with additional resource consumption and the policies that make it possible.

Конфессиональный аспект политического сыска в царской армии: Туркестанский военный округ

The article is devoted to the issue of political investigation in the tsarist army in the Turkestan Military District. The author notes that it was carried out by commanders of military units and Orthodox military priests. They tried to keep the religious life of servicemen of all faiths under control, but the Orthodox military clergy could not root out the proselytizing machinations of Catholicism and sectarianism in the district's troops. It seems obvious that the shortcomings of the work of political investigation among the religious denominations of the Russian army were the result of a deep general crisis of tsarism.

Споры относительно допуска женщин к диаконскому служению в Церкви Англии

In the history of the Anglican Church the top-ranked issue of the second half of the 20th century and the beginning of the 21st century was disputes on women’s priesthood. As a result of these debates, the Anglican Church began to ordain women as deacons, then as priests, and finally as bishops. In Orthodox view, it was the radical change of the doctrine and the deviation from the apostolic tradition, though at the beginning of the 20th century the Anglican Church was considered as one of the closest churches to Orthodoxy. The first critical step in the direction of women’s priesthood was the opening the diaconate to women. Both in Russian and Western theological science little attention has been devoted to the analysis of this first step, since historically the hottest theological discussion was on the issue of women’s priesthood and women’s episcopate. However, the decision on women’s diaconate was very important since it actually opened the way for all subsequent decisions on women’s priesthood in the Anglican Church. This article offers an analysis of the historical processes and theological discussions that brought the Church of England to the appearance of deaconesses and then women deacons. The article considers the revival of sisterhoods and monastic communities in the Church of England in the middle of the 19th century, the initiative to revive the rank of deaconesses in 1862 and subsequent official decision of the 1920 Lambeth Conference, as well as the relevant reports of the Commissions of 1897, 1908, 1919 and 1935. Then we analyze the discussions about the functions of the deaconess, as well as additional factors that influenced the decision to allow women to be ordained as deacons. One of these factors was the general crisis of the diaconal ministry and the desire to strengthen the role of the laity in the life of the Anglican Church. As a result, the 1968 Lambeth Conference opened diaconate to all laymen remaining in secular occupations (both men and women). The Church of England turned out to be one of the most conservative churches in the Anglican Communion – it introduced women's diaconate almost 20 years later, in 1987. Conservative groups were concerned that this decision would put the Church of England on a "slippery slope" towards women's priesthood and women's episcopate. Subsequent history proved that these fears were completely justified.