Russian Government Research Articles

The impact of Austro-Hungarian plans for the construction of the Sandjak Railway on Bihor and the Novi Pazar Sandjak

The emergence of railways brought about new possibilities in people's lives, as well as in terms of political plans and actions. Railway activities began in the Balkans in the second half of the 19th century and had a significant impact on the relationships between Balkan states. This work explores the potential influence of Austro-Hungarian plans for the construction of the Sandjak Railway in the region of Bihor and the broader areas of Bijelo Polje and the Novi Pazar Sandjak, which were part of the Ottoman Empire. Austro-Hungary had expressed its ambitions in the Balkans even before the Berlin Congress, seeing the region as a bridge that could connect them to the warm Aegean Sea and further to the Middle East. The construction of the railway was one of the means by which Austro-Hungary sought to expand its influence in the Balkans. Such significant political intentions did not go unnoticed by the Ottoman Empire, which aimed to preserve its territorial integrity and possessions in that part of the Balkans. Slovene states and peoples traditionally sought protection in Russia, giving Russia an opportunity to express its own interest in exerting political influence in this part of Europe. Recognizing that Austro-Hungary was its main rival in the Balkans, Russia reached an agreement with them in 1897 to maintain the status quo. This agreement was further confirmed by the Treaty of Mürzsteg in 1903, which aimed to mutually neutralize or divide spheres of interest, with Bulgaria falling under Russian influence and Serbia under Austro-Hungarian. Austro-Hungary's primary goal was to prevent the creation of a large state in the region from the Danube to the Adriatic Sea, which would block its path eastward. As Serbia was located in that region, Austro-Hungarian propaganda was directed against it, despite traditionally good relations with the Obrenović dynasty. Austro-Hungary attempted to strengthen its political plans through the construction of a suitable railway network, which would facilitate easier and faster control of the desired territory. This led to the advocacy of the so-called “Novi Pazar Railway,” which would connect Uvac with Mitrovica. However, German Chancellor Bernhard von Bülow advised Austro-Hungarian Foreign Minister Count Agenor Romuald Gołuchowski to abandon this plan due to the unfavorable situation in Macedonia, where unrest was brewing. Austro-Hungarian diplomacy did not want to make a public and final decision on this proposal. All of the above had an impact on the population of all parts of the Novi Pazar Sandjak. The work examines how the construction of the railway would have stimulated economic development in the entire region by creating new trade routes and encouraging investment in economic sectors such as trade and agriculture. The paper also provides insights into potential changes in the demographic structure through the influx of populations from other parts of the Ottoman Empire and Austro-Hungary, which the railway would necessarily impose. Furthermore, it is essential to mention how the realization of the “Novi Pazar Railway” would have affected the ethnic and religious dynamics in the Bihor district and the broader area. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Empire intervened with Austrian Emperor Franz Joseph and Count Goluchowski on several occasions to abandon the plan to build the “Novi Pazar Railway,” as the Russian government maintained the same view it had expressed in 1900. Austro-Hungary eventually agreed, leaving only a political influence supported by the propaganda activities of secret services. This work serves as a foundation for further research and discussions on this topic.

Optimization of payroll funds in construction industry

This study analyzes a new method for determining the minimum subsistence level based on the median wage in regions with the purpose of exploring the impact of this method on payroll funding in construction industry. The research methodology involved economic and statistical analysis, system analysis, as well as integration of theoretical and practical knowledge. The authors analyzed payroll fund as part of the cost estimate documentation and the wages stipulated in the “Federal Industrial Agreement on the Construction and Building Materials Industry of the Russian Federation, 2020-2023”. The authors analyzed the new method proposed by the Russian Government for determining the minimum subsistence level on the basis of the median wage, explored its advantages and disadvantages, and introduced ideas for its optimization. According to the results obtained, the changes introduced in the method for calculating the minimum subsistence level in 2021 failed to produce the expected results. The method needs to be improved in the following part. The official indicators of regional median wages should be calculated at least quarterly and posted on the official website of Rosstat. The method should justify the percentage (44.2%) adopted for the calculation of the minimum subsistence level based on the median wage. In addition, a low threshold should be established for the minimum subsistence level in a region equal to the cost of the market basket. In order to be calculated accurately, the cost of the market basket should be adjustable in terms of the content of all its sections.

ЦИФРОВАЯ ТРАНСФОРМАЦИЯ ГОСУДАРСТВЕННОГО УПРАВЛЕНИЯ

In the article we formulate and classify key barriers for data driven governance system implementation based on international experience analysis. Further based on the interviews with experts we formulate and prioritize barriers for data driven governance in Russia. We classifi ed technological, organizational, normative barriers in data driven governance system. Th rough the comparison between international experience and experts’ survey we demonstrate the common trend for data driven governance model development which is digital trust on the side of the citizens. In case of data driven governance model in foreign states the highest priority belongs to explicit data policy in standardization and regulation of working with government data whereas in Russia the emphasis is in increasing the level of civil servants’ and citizens’ skills and knowledge about options, mechanisms and conditions of working with data.

Astronomer and Surveyor Anton Shahin (1799–1842)

The paper presents a new data on the biography of eminent astronomer and land surveyor of Vilnius and Kharkiv universities Anton Szahin (1799– 1842). He was born in Vilnius; may be the scientist was in relationship with Tatar poet Franciszek Szahin-Sokol. A. Szahin studied at the Teachers Institute of Vilnius University. In 1816 he obtained the degree of Master of Philosophy and in next year was invited to work at the Astronomical Observatory of Vilnius University. The Chair of Land Surveying was set up in 1826 and A. Szahin, the author of the first textbooks on higher geodesy (Higher Geodesy and Land Surveying and Levelling, 1929, in Polish) was elected its head. In 1832 the Russian government closed the Vilnius University, as an act of repression after the uprising. A. Szahin was forced to go to Vitebsk where he delivered mathematics at gymnasium. In 1834 A. Szahin was invited to Kharkiv University where he gained the professorship of astronomy.

Do deepfake videos undermine our epistemic trust? A thematic analysis of tweets that discuss deepfakes in the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

Deepfakes are a form of multi-modal media generated using deep-learning technology. Many academics have expressed fears that deepfakes present a severe threat to the veracity of news and political communication, and an epistemic crisis for video evidence. These commentaries have often been hypothetical, with few real-world cases of deepfake's political and epistemological harm. The Russo-Ukrainian war presents the first real-life example of deepfakes being used in warfare, with a number of incidents involving deepfakes of Russian and Ukrainian government officials being used for misinformation and entertainment. This study uses a thematic analysis on tweets relating to deepfakes and the Russo-Ukrainian war to explore how people react to deepfake content online, and to uncover evidence of previously theorised harms of deepfakes on trust. We extracted 4869 relevant tweets using the Twitter API over the first seven months of 2022. We found that much of the misinformation in our dataset came from labelling real media as deepfakes. Novel findings about deepfake scepticism emerged, including a connection between deepfakes and conspiratorial beliefs that world leaders were dead and/or replaced by deepfakes. This research has numerous implications for future research, societal media platforms, news media and governments. The lack of deepfake literacy in our dataset led to significant misunderstandings of what constitutes a deepfake, showing the need to encourage literacy in these new forms of media. However, our evidence demonstrates that efforts to raise awareness around deepfakes may undermine trust in legitimate videos. Consequentially, news media and governmental agencies need to weigh the benefits of educational deepfakes and pre-bunking against the risks of undermining truth. Similarly, news companies and media should be careful in how they label suspected deepfakes in case they cause suspicion for real media.

Technological sovereignty as an imperative of national industrial policy

The strategically significant task of achieving technological sovereignty is considered in relation to the general state of Russian industry. The main industrial trends of recent years are characterized. The ways of improving the domestic practice of state regulation of industry are formulated. Including: fuller use of the best world practice of industrial policy (China, USA, South Korea, Japan, India); adjustment of domestic legislation on this issue; improvement of the system of strategic planning of industrial development. The national Industrial Policy is considered as a strategic course of the state for the sustainable functioning and progressive development of the industrial sphere, meeting the national interests and national security of the country. The content of objects and subjects of industrial policy, as well as the vision of the system of strategic planning of the industrial sphere with an emphasis on the needs of the domestic market are clarified. The key provisions of the Concept of Technological Development of the country until 2030, approved by the Government of Russia, are outlined. The basic principles of improving the mechanism of import substitution and the directions of its implementation at the macro level are proposed. It is recommended to concentrate import substitution efforts on industrial goods and complex technical systems that are strategically important from the point of view of national security. Pay special attention to the final types of industrial products containing difficult-to-replace (the most complex) components. To modernize the composition and interaction of technological chains of organizations producing strategic replacement products. In general, a course is needed to increase the strategic flexibility of Russian industry and accelerate the diversification of its scientific and production potential.

The Rise of China and its Interplay with the Russian and Turkish Regimes

How does the rise of China challenge the existing international order? What are the possible outcomes of the interplay between China’s rise and the current trajectory of the Russian and Turkish regimes? Based on a qualitative analysis, I find twomajor dilemmas for the current power dynamics have resulted from China’s challenging behavior in the international system. First, while China promotes steady relationships based on mutual interests facilitated by the rule-based international order, it also carries out actions which feed its aspirations for exploiting the current international institutions. Second, while China underlines the importance of a Westphalian style of sovereignty and non-interference, it also takes interventionist actions in both cyberspace and territorial space. Based on identification of ChinaRussia and China-Turkey interactions through the variations in the most ‘central’ domestic issues of the current governments in Russia and Turkey, I predict four possible outcomes, shedding light on the future policy directions in Russia and Turkey: 1) a prolongation of Putin’s campaign in Ukraine, 2) an acceleration in the process of de-dollarization, 3) lasting Chinese influence on Turkey’s Kurdish issue, and 4) an increase in Turkey’s tendency toward a Chinese-style ‘growth’ model.

The Changing Nature of the Natural Gas Trade between Russia and Turkey: The Role of Climate Change and the EU Institutions

This article focuses on the changing nature of Russia-Turkey energy trade relations. The main argument of the article is that climate change, as well as EU institutions and environmental protection regulations, have been decisive in the long-term transformation of bilateral natural gas relations. The EU favors competitive market structures to combat climate change, and the EU Green Deal sets ambitious targets for renewable energy consumption. These variables establish grounds for legitimacy among EU members in the face of Russian dominance of the EU energy market. However, as discussed in this paper, the Russian government’s main strategy to counter this opposition from the EU side is to circumvent the EU’s institutional arrangements through its relations with Turkey. The final point to be discussed in this paper is the impact of the EU energy and environment policies on changes in Russian perceptions of Turkey.

Protective Liberalism and Protective Conservatism Regarding the Polish Uprising of 1863 (B.N. Chicherin and M.N. Katkov)

In the article the author analyzes the views of B.N. Chicherin and M.N. Katkov on historical processes, and reveals differences in their understanding of the driving forces of the development of society. The latter is very important for the insight into their understanding of the role of the Polish Uprising of 1863. The author states that both thinkers highlighted the short-sightedness of Polish radicals who rejected the evolutionary path of development, guaranteed by the Russian government. Chicherin and Katkov claimed that Polish extremists resorted to terror, slander and deception in order to achieve their goals. While both scholars supported the government's decisive measures to suppress the rebellion, their evaluation of Russia’s subsequent policy towards Poland differed.

Tolstoy’s Happy Children of Peace. The Wartime Translation of 'Sebastopol in December' (1855)

A geopolitical clash between Russia and other European powers, the Crimean War (1854–1856) witnessed the first mediatized armed conflict in modern history. During the war, the young Lev Tolstoy wrote and published three Sevastopol Sketches, based on his wartime experiences in the besieged port of Sevastopol. Upon publication, the first of the stories was translated into French and published within a fortnight. Une journée à Sévastopol en décembre 1854 featured in Le Nord, a Brussels newspaper covertly operated by the Russian government. An in-depth analysis of the translation shows that the text was abridged and carefully groomed to serve Russia’s interests and Tolstoy’s patriotism made way for an appeal to the target audience, designated as ‘happy children of peace.’ Elaborating on the origins of the translation and its publishing context, I argue that this particular translation needs to be read both as an act of soft power and as an act of diplomacy. If the target text is considered as a historical document among other sources, empirical historical research can prove beneficial to the discipline and move forward the debate on Translation Studies’ approach to highly ideological contexts, in particular translations in periodicals.

Methods of digital-sociology: valuation of young researchers

Some methods of social research and social analysis were modified last years. Digitalization of economy and of the social governance create some new conditions for sociological practices. There were modified a respondent, an other objects of social research because of online relocation. There were modified an object, methodology, methods and technics of social research. At the same time, education and trainings of social scientists take into account new reality very bad. Some opinions of young social scientists and social students about factual situation and wishing situation in sphere of digital-competentions presented in this research. There were marked some reasons of important these competentions because of changes in social governance, changes in communication capabilities of society, changes in demands from clients, pace of life increasing, and some new social phenomenon, which could be analyzed by digital methods only. There were marked the most high-demand in practice methods and technics of social research in digital context, needs and capabilities for students education, institutional capabilities and limits of its development in Russia. The results of the research may be used for educational program’s correction as a reflect of new challenges of social governance in Russia.

You’re a murderer: Critical discourse analysis of conversations around abortions in the Russian talk show

Today in Russia, there is a growing number of anti-abortion policies even though the birth rate is not a key factor affecting the demographic situation in the country. In this article, I investigate how the anti-abortion discourse is constructed in the media. For this purpose, I analyse a dataset of 5 hour-long episodes of the tabloid talk show Pust’ Govoriat. More specifically, the aim of this article is twofold. I seek to demonstrate to what extent the discourse displayed in the show is shaped and shapes by the Russian government’s family policies and, consequently, public opinion. On the other side, I aim to understand how speakers verbally and non-verbally negotiate morality, norms, gender roles and identities to negotiate if abortion is acceptable or not. I advocate that the tabloid talk show, like many other state-funded media products in Russia, is utilised as a government’s tool for anti-abortion propaganda and depoliticisation of social problems.

Debunking the autocratic fallacy? Improving public goods delivery in Russia

AbstractRussia's invasion of Ukraine has not only deeply challenged Russia's international standing but has also endangered its fragile domestic order. Data from the 2022 Berggruen Governance Index reveals that overall state capacity has been stagnating at a fairly low level since the beginning of the millennium, while democratic accountability has been declining steadily and profoundly. In contrast, the provision of public goods has strongly increased during the same period. This puts the assumption of the ‘autocratic fallacy’—the idea that sustained public goods delivery relies on democratic accountability in the long run—to the test. We argue that Russia's resource abundance allowed for the maintenance of a regime‐supporting social contract with the population. However, the basis of that contract has changed significantly due to economic decline, fired by, among other factors, several waves of sanctions and the costs of war and will press the Russian government to find urgent solutions to sustain a high level of public goods provision under such unfavourable conditions.

The Influence of Internet Communications on the Formation of Political Identity and Political Behavior of Russian Youth

Introduction. The author of the article develops a theme of the Internet influence on formation of ego- and collective identity of youth ages 18–24. Materials and Methods. Behaviorism, network approaches were used as the theoretical and methodological strategy of the study, as well as systematization of results, obtained during the 14 interviews. Results. We have come to the conclusion that political identity of Russian youth ages 18–24 isn’t formed. This fact can be one of the causes of low political participation of the studied age group. In order to set a trend for sustainable political identity of youth forming, we need to create a unified communication system, which will help to create conditions for internalization of citizen identity values by young generations. Experts agree on the opinion, that the legitimacy of Russian government in the eyes of youth can be enhanced by implementing Internet-technologies, adapted to the young audience’s special perception of information (gamified content, short video content, preferably with the opinion leaders participation), as Russian youth, firstly, tend to rely on the Internet as the most transparent source of information, secondly, young people of Russia use the Internet more often, comparable to other generations. Discussion and Conclusion. Underdevelopment of political identity of Russian younger generations is explained by several factors: first of all, the absence of well articulated by the Russian state image of the future, secondly, too frequent to adapt to them policy changes, thirdly, increasing distance between Russian government and Russian youths and, finally, creating conditions, that decrease the possibility of professional self-realization of younger generations. Raising its socializing effect on youth and becoming more significant mean of communication, the Internet can be used as a political tool, which could help with the forming of sustainable political identity of Russian youth but only if technologies, used by political actors in cyberspace, would be transparent and available for verification.

INVESTMENT POLICY OF BRITAIN IN RUSSIA IN THE LATE XIX - EARLY XX CENTURIES IN ANGLO-AMERICAN HISTORIOGRAPHY

The article shows how the view of English-speaking scholars on the reasons for the influx of British investments into the Russian economy in the late 19th - early 20th centuries changed. It is concluded that the attitude to this issue has undergone a significant evolution. If in the first half of the 20th centuryhistorians and economists considered the influx of foreign capital to be the result of the conscious efforts of the central government and especially the finance ministers I. A. Vyshnegradsky and S. Y. Witte, then from the 1960s in connection with the growing popularity of the theory of modernization in the West, the understanding of the problem has become more complicated. Modern English-speaking scholars believe that in addition to the measures taken by the Russian government, there was a whole range of other internal and external factors that influenced the dynamics of foreign investment. Scientists point out that the model of British investment did not correspond to the economic development cycle of Russia. The influx of British capital was based on previous experience of exporting British products to the Russian market. British capital was «pushed out» of Britain by low domestic incomes and enticed abroad by the promise of high profits in less developed countries. The British government was interested in the economic development of the new resource-rich regions of the Caucasus, the Urals, Siberia and the Far East. Within the framework of the discussion on the role of British capital in Russian industry, the dispute between economists that erupted in the 1970s stands out. The dispute revolved around the impact of the introduction of the gold standard in Russia on the inflow of foreign investment.

Import and Export of Capital from Russia under Sanctions and Response Measures

The article deals with external sanctions and Russia’s response in connection with the conduct of a special military operation. The subject of the study is mutual measures to restrict the movement of capital, their adjustment by the Russian side as the economy adapts. Particular attention is paid to the problem of the withdrawal or suspension of activities of foreign companies in Russia: the initial scale of the exodus and their possible consequences are assessed, strategies for the behavior of foreign investors are given, as well as response measures from the Russian government in order to protect the economic interests of the country. It is noted that under the current conditions, Russian business is also forced to sell and regroup its foreign assets, look for new markets and stock platforms to place its securities and invest in foreign ones. An analysis of the balance of payments of the Russian Federation for 2022 indicates a sharp reduction in accumulated liabilities. At the same time, the outflow of capital from the private sector continued, amounting to a record 10 % of GDP, which is a deduction from the country’s investment potential. In conclusion, the consequences and risks for the Russian economy from the adoption of mutual restrictions on the cross-border movement of capital are indicated. Including: an increase in the volatility of the ruble due to a decrease in the infl uence of the fi nancial account, as well as the withdrawal of funds abroad from the sale of foreign assets; an increase in the debt burden on the corporate sector; falling stock market liquidity; problems with enterprise management and reconfiguration of technological processes after the transition to Russian owners, etc.

Словосочетания со значением этнической интегративности на страницах социальных сетей органов государственной власти России

The paper examines the problems of using vocabulary related to the concept of “ethnic integration” in the discourse of Russian government bodies on their social media pages. The authors analyse the reasons for the choice of language tools, their functional purpose and possible consequences of this approach. The aim of the study is to systematise the speech representations of the idea of ethnic integrativity in the official state discourse on social media. The scientific novelty of the study lies in both the material itself (phrases with the meaning of integrativity on the social media pages of government bodies) and in the concept of its analysis (from the perspective of the so-called “plain language”). 358 messages were analysed and 163 phrases were selected. The main emphasis in the study is laid on the analysis of the semantics of the phrases, as well as their common usage / terminologisation. As a result, the prevalence of such phrases on the social media pages of government bodies and their role in having an effective dialogue with the audience were determined. It was found that government bodies take little account of the specifics of this communication channel and prefer to express the semantics of ethnic integrativity through official terminologised phrases.

Особенности, тенденции и факторы развития различных форм осуществления населением местного самоуправления в регионах Европейского Севера России

The goal of this article is to study the features and trends in the development of various forms of local governance in Russia, with a particular focus on the regions falling within the European North of Russia (ENR). To achieve this goal, a combination of general research methods (analysis, synthesis, generalization, case study) and applied methods (such as grouping analysis, economic and statistical analysis, and sociological research methods) were used. The study relies on official statistics from Rosstat, reports from the Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Justice of the Russian Federation, election and referendum data from the Vybory (Elections) system, and the results of questionnaire surveys of municipal leaders in the Vologda Oblast conducted from 2007 to 2022. The scientific novelty of the study lies in its assessment of the influence of various factors (territorial urbanization level and overall municipal development) on the nuances of residents' electoral participation from 2018 to 2022, using ENR municipalities as a case study. The research revealed that elections lacking a legally established voter turnout threshold witnessed notably low voter participation rates (ranging from 28 % to 41 % in the elections of senior officials of ENR regions from 2019 to 2022, 40% to 46% in the elections of State Duma deputies in 2021, and 8% to 71% in the elections of rural settlement heads). In most cases, municipalities with predominantly rural populations demonstrated higher election turnout rates and stronger support for winning candidates, a pattern that also holds in low-development areas within the Vologda Oblast. The article also discusses how local governors in the Vologda Oblast assess civil engagement from 2012 to 2022 and offers recommendations for regional-level monitoring of diverse forms of population involvement in territorial development, with an emphasis on local public governance.

International aspects of the road tradition (Russia, XVII–XIX centuries)

Introduction. Russian government in the 17th–19th centuries had to maintain control over vast and sparsely populated territories. Modern historians, specialists in Russia, should take into account its specifics and specifically the state of the roads along which horse-drawn vehicles were moving. Investigating the road infrastructure of Russia one can imagine the conditions and circumstances in which the state and society functioned.Materials and methods. This paper explores one of the aspects of the so-called road tradition of Russia – the manifestation of international relations in the context of road traffic. The study of the road tradition is linked to the anthropological approach that historians increasingly use in their works. The paper is based on a variety of narrative sources including fiction and journalistic texts.Results. Russia is not only the largest country in the world, but also one of the most multi-ethnic. A road often became the place where cultural and historical differences were revealed, as well as inter-confessional and inter-ethnic relations. Different types of international relations are studying in this paper: joking; attention to "alien"; interaction of local people with foreigners in the Russian territory; explicit conflicts.Conclusion. It is concluded that a road was dangerous and unpredictable place, and therefore there were often quarrels and conflicts during the traffic. The causes of these quarrels and conflicts have been brewing for a long time, and the reasons could be insignificant.

To the Issue of Solid Municipal Waste in the Irkutsk Region

The article presents data on solid municipal waste (SMW) in the Irkutsk region as the main source of pollution of urban and suburban ecosystems. SMW is currently the most massive and dangerous type of waste, which can lead to irreversible consequences. In Russia, very active attention is being paid to the issues of waste collection and recycling in recent years. The objectives, which the authors set themselves, are a detailed analysis of the situation of SMW in the Irkutsk region. Special attention is focused on the location of already existing facilities as well as planned until 2027 ones. Unfortunately, the population of the Irkutsk region is not yet ready for mass separation of garbage according to its origin and recyclability, but a number of measures are proposed to change the situation. Statistical, comparative-geographical, cartographical and the method of comparative analysis and synthesis were used. The paper presents an analysis of the work of regional operators in accordance with the federal project Integrated system of SMW management carried out for the first time. The amount of waste taken to landfills in the Irkutsk region should be reduced by half by 2030 while sorted waste should gain 100 per cent of all garbage thrown away. The study results in the following conclusions: the region is not ready for processing and recycling of certain categories of waste such as glass or galvanic elements. There are simply no recycling facilities for a number of wastes, which leads to uncontrolled emissions and disturbance of the environment (soil, water, and atmospheric air) but the Government of Russia and the Irkutsk Region authorities are actively reforming the system of SMW management.