post-Soviet Research Articles

«Дипломатия всех треков»: опыт применения на постсоветском пространстве

The article is devoted to the practice of using methods of informal expert diplomacy in peace processes. The relevance of the problem is due to the decline in the potential of traditional diplomacy in the current geopolitical turbulence and the protracted nature of unresolved conflicts in the post-Soviet space. The experience of using alternative tools for establishing and maintaining contacts at the level of experts, representatives of NGOs and the academic community of the parties, as well as the interweaving of official and auxiliary diplomacy in the conditions of the so-called “new internationality” requires rethinking. The purpose of the article, which consists in summarizing the experience of “second and one-and-a-half track” diplomacy in post-Soviet conflicts and identifying the potential of such activities in the context of peace processes, predetermined the tasks: to analyze the world practice of transprofessionalization of diplomacy, to give an overview of the available theoretical literature, to identify the importance of expert diplomacy in the inter-Tajik settlement and the features of expert participation in confidence-building measures in the Georgian-the Abkhaz conflict, as well as Azerbaijani-Armenian and Moldovan-Transdniestrian relations. The object of the study is informal diplomacy. The subject is the experience of transprofessionalization of diplomacy in a number of conflict cases of the post-Soviet space. Methodology and methods of research are as follows: to achieve the objectives of the study, a systematic approach is applied, which has allowed a comprehensive analysis of the accumulated practice of involving experts in conflict resolution processes, as well as general scientific methods of comparative analysis and generalization. It is concluded that although “expert diplomacyˮ is not an alternative to the official one and in this regard cannot replace the classical tools traditionally used by diplomats, the auxiliary and stabilizing potential of “diplomacy of all tracks” is quite high.

Ethnic Self-Organization in the post-Soviet space: Development, Structure and Dunctions

Ethnic Self-Organization in the post-Soviet space: Development, Structure and Dunctions

Clash of Interests of Turkey and Russia in the Post-Soviet Space

Clash of Interests of Turkey and Russia in the Post-Soviet Space

The participation of separatist movements in the creation of quasi-state entities in the post-Soviet space

The participation of separatist movements in the creation of quasi-state entities in the post-Soviet space

“Every word is a world”: loanword ideologies and linguistic purism in post-Soviet Armenia

Abstract Through the analysis of materials such as online articles, blogs, and radio broadcasts, this paper investigates linguistic purism toward Russian and English loanwords in the understudied context of post-Soviet Armenia. Our analysis finds that public commentators categorize potential loanwords as “borrowings” (փոխառություն [pʰokhaṛutʰyun]) if acceptable and “foreignisms” (օտարաբանություն [ōtarabanutʰyun]) if unacceptable, while also comparing these loanwords with acceptable and unacceptable Armenian equivalent words. In categorizing both loanwords and Armenian equivalents, commentators base their arguments on evaluative contrasts related to threats to the language, the desirability of word meaning and usage, and stylistic appropriateness. Though commentators situate themselves into opposing purist and moderate camps, differentiated by their tolerance of loanwords and classifications of individual words, the two camps rely on the same ideological framework of contrasts and use similar argumentation. Thus, while the debate invokes binary criteria for evaluating words, similar to those identified in other instances of linguistic purism, Armenian commentators themselves often defy binary categorization, falling along a fluid language-ideological continuum in which seemingly opposing commentators sometimes demonstrate striking similarities. Framed alongside prior studies of language ideologies in post-Soviet spaces, this evidence suggests that the loanword debate has a more symbolic than practical function in Armenia’s contemporary multilingual society.

РЕАЛИЗАЦИЯ КОНЦЕПЦИИ «МЯГКОЙ СИЛЫ» ПРИ ОБУЧЕНИИ ИНОСТРАННЫХ СТУДЕНТОВ В РОССИИ (НА ПРИМЕРЕ ВОЛГГТУ)

The article examines the implementation of such “soft power” tools as language and education. Examples of “support” and “protection” of language in Russia and other countries are given. Education is one of the most effective tools of “soft power”, international practice is student mobility and admission of foreign students to study. The authors describe various forms of conducting classes with students for their integration into the Russian-speaking environment and acculturation. The article presents those approaches to working with foreign students that have a positive effect and demonstrate the implementation of the “soft power” policy. Thus, Russian language teachers actively use the excursion method in teaching Russian as a foreign language. Good results are obtained from working with foreign graduates who have now returned to their homeland and are employed in their specialty and have realized themselves professionally. The authors conclude that to implement the concept of “soft power” it is necessary to actively work with foreign graduates, promote the spread of the Russian language in the post-Soviet space, and expand the use of positive educational practices.

Financial-economic systems of quasi-state entities in the post-Soviet space

Financial-economic systems of quasi-state entities in the post-Soviet space

COMMON PROBLEMS, INDIVIDUAL SOLUTIONS AROUND THE DYNAMICS OF CONFLICTS IN NAGORNO-KARABAKH, ABKHAZIA, SOUTH OSSETIA AND TRANSNISTRIA

There are about 25 de facto states in the world, five of them in the postSoviet space. The emergence of de facto regimes is directly related to the impasse and conflict-causing reality when the de jure state, which is directly related to the state, is no longer able to exercise its (self-) authority over the population and territory of the de facto state. The purpose of this article is to analyse and compare the ethno-political conflicts in Nagorno-Karabakh, South Ossetia, Abkhazia and Transnistria. The focus is on the similarities and differences in the causes, processes and consequences of the conflicts, which provides a comprehensive understanding of the dynamics of the conflicts and reveals the existence of possible commonalities in the context of ethno-political disputes. In order to achieve this goal, the task was to examine the role and significance of historical background, political developments, ethnic composition and international influences in the regions. The methodological approach of the article is based on a comparative analysis of the mentioned ethno-political conflicts. Both qualitative and quantitative research methods are employed. Primary sources are used, including official documents, political statements and articles, mainly from the German news media. Ethno-political conflicts have always been found to have complex and contradictory dynamics, which in turn provide fertile ground for the interests of major regional actors. The conclusion is that cross-cutting research on ethno-political conflicts provides an opportunity to develop a clear understanding of the causes and consequences of conflict in order to identify possible patterns and commonalities in conflict resolution in comparable situations.

Омск как культурный центр в отражении городской топонимии

The article characterizes urban toponymy associated with the cultural development of Omsk. It examines the names of city streets in honor of cultural figures - poets and writers, scientists, artists, composers, represented in the cultural landscape of the city. The main stages in the development of the “cultural” toponymy of the city are highlighted, as well as the factors that determined its evolution in different periods of the country's history. At the end of the 19th - beginning of the 20th centuries. the city had a small number of godonyms - street names associated with its cultural development. As a rule, these are streets that got their name from the location of city educational institutions and religious institutions. In the 1920s in the toponymy of the city there is a revolution as a consequence of the political revolution, the formation of a new Soviet statehood and ideology. In Omsk, streets appeared in memory of the classics of Russian literature, whose works were distinguished by a democratic orientation, narrated about the life of the people, as well as in honor of famous Soviet writers and public figures. In the 1930s commemorative practices in the field of toponymy were determined by the guidelines of the Stalinist “cultural revolution”. During this period, streets appeared on the city map that immortalized the names of writers, literary critics, democratic revolutionaries, socialists, popular Soviet writers, national cultural figures, outstanding Russian and Soviet scientists. In the 1950s - 1980s. The formation of the city's toponymy was greatly influenced by such processes in the country's socio-political life as the “thaw”, de-Stalinization and the debunking of the “cult of personality”. A new trend of this time was the expansion of the repertoire of urbanonymic foundations by naming streets in honor of local cultural figures. The social order of the era for science was also reflected in the toponymic space of the city: many streets appeared on the map of Omsk during this period in honor of the great Russian scientists, inventors, and founders of astronautics. In the post-Soviet period of history in the 1990s - 2000s. in the conditions of the collapse of the previous ideological system, the search for a new identity was expressed in turning to Russian and Soviet culture, updating its heritage in toponymy. The trend of naming city streets in memory of local cultural figures has also intensified as an expression of the desire of the city community and local authorities to gain local identity and create a positive, unique, recognizable, investment-attractive image of the city.

КОНЦЕПЦІЯ СТРАТЕГІЇ ЄВРОПЕЙСЬКОГО СОЮЗУ І США У ВІДНОСИНАХ ІЗ РОСІЙСЬКОЮ ФЕДЕРАЦІЄЮ (КІН. ХХ – ПОЧ. ХХІ СТОЛІТТЯ)

This research is devoted to identifying the causes of the crisis in the global security system, triggered by the large-scale invasion of Ukraine by the Russian Federation in February 2022. The foundational concept underlying the strategy of the European Union and the United States in developing relations with the Russian Federation post-Cold War is analyzed in the article. Specifically, contemporary approaches of the EU and the US towards Russia bear the hallmarks of the concept known as Wilsonianism, which became the bedrock of the foreign policy strategy of the US and European countries towards post-Soviet states. The study presents a critique of this concept and analyzes its weaknesses. It also attempts to explain the logic behind the decisions of Western politicians regarding Russia from the end of the Cold War to its large-scale invasion of Ukraine. Through historical examples, the author demonstrates why it is currently impossible to apply the principles of Wilsonianism in developing a strategy for relations with the Russian Federation. Specifically, this is related to the lack of a common value foundation on which this concept is based. At the same time, the feasibility and appropriateness of the United States and European Union countries returning to the so-called principle of Realpolitik in relations with the Russian Federation is analyzed, as such proposals are also being discussed in the contemporary Western intellectual community. According to the author, this concept is also incapable of ensuring lasting peace and stability in Europe, as demonstrated by the historical example of its dominance in the strategies of Old-World states in the second half of the 19th and early 20th centuries. Accordingly, its application under current conditions also does not seem beneficial for restoring stability in the international system. The research analyzes the most effective systems of international relations that have prevailed in the world over the last 200 years and explains why, under current conditions of a global security crisis, only one strategic concept of containment appears most attractive in terms of maintaining peace and stability.

The Soviet and Post-Soviet Anthrobscenes: Speculations from Cheburaska to Khulkulya

This paper seeks to investigate the representation of and presence of non-human animals through the framework of new media theorist Jussi Parikka's conceptualization of the "Anthrobscene."Additionally, an examination of Marxist-Leninist thought concerning both environmentalist policies and practices of early childhood education is essential to formulating a well-rounded understanding of the innate political nature of these anthropomorphic representations and, in turn, how the treatment of animals, both domestic and wild, are considered reflexively by the Soviet state and the current Russian Federation through both a Soviet example (Cheburashka the abstracted and unspecified mouse-cat-primate creature) and a more modern environmentalist mascot (Khokhulya the Russian desman), both of which are duly reflective of their political contexts and social imaginings. Through an analysis of historical contextualizations and the modern mascot representation of the animal as a means of either social or philosophical change as well as practical environmentalist aims under the new capitalistic system post-1990s, Cheburashka and Khokhulya respectively serve to articulate and exemplify a comparison between the ideological functions of both economic systems within the broader field of animal and early childhood media studies.

Архивные документы Государственного комитета по охране природы СССР как источник по экологической истории России конца 1980-х – начала 1990-х гг.

The article examines and analyzes a set of archival documents of the State Committee for Nature Protection of the USSR (Goskomprirody of the USSR), which covers the events and processes that occurred in the relationship between the Soviet state, society and nature at the turn of the 1980s-1990s. In the domestic historiography this subject is still poorly studied, so the main source on the environmental history of the perestroika period are archival documents. The most informative in this respect are the materials of the USSR Goskompriroda, which are stored in the fonds of the Ministry of Nature Management and Environmental Protection of the USSR (F. 709) of the Russian State Archive of Economics (RSAE). The purpose of the study, the results of which are presented in the article, is to analyze the structure of this fund, which consists of 661 storage units, and to review the content of its inventories. The materials in them are grouped by dates and belonging to the structural subdivisions of the State Committee. The main part of them (599 items) is concentrated in inventory 1. The chronological framework of the complex of documents of the USSR State Committee for Nature Protection is limited to four years (1988-1991), during which the socio-economic and political situation in the country changed significantly. There have been changes in the content and directions of development of the state environmental policy, the essence of which is reflected in the materials of the agency that formally managed the entire system of nature management and environmental protection in the USSR during the perestroika period. These include: official and office records of the USSR State Committee for Nature Protection, its correspondence with central and regional authorities; parliamentary requests and answers to them; materials of the state environmental expertise; information on activities to promote environmental knowledge; statistical data; documents on international cooperation with foreign organizations on environmental issues; reports on the work of the USSR reserves, and much more. For specialists in the environmental and social history of Russia in the Soviet period, the most valuable are the storage units containing letters from citizens and public organizations addressed both to the chairman of the USSR State Committee for Nature Protection and to the highest authorities. They contain appeals, proposals and requests, and characterize the environmental situation in various regions of the country. The study of these letters, as well as the documents testifying to the response to them on the part of state bodies, allows us to analyze the level of development of environmental consciousness of the country's population and the peculiarities of relations between the authorities and society in the field of nature protection. The documents of the USSR Goskompriroda represent an extensive and diverse source base for studying the environmental history of Russia in the Soviet period. Their further research and introduction into scientific turnover will contribute to the development of this branch of historical science.

ОСОБЕННОСТИ РАЗВИТИЯ СИСТЕМЫ ОБЩЕГО ОБРАЗОВАНИЯ В АРКТИЧЕСКОЙ ЗОНЕ РОССИЙСКОЙ ФЕДЕРАЦИИ

The Arctic zone of the Russian Federation is one of the geostrategic territories. Access to education is one of the priority areas of the state social policy, which is determined by the Strategy for the development of the Arctic zone of the Russian Federation and national security for the period up to 2035. The peculiarity of the Arctic territories is the dispersed nature of population settlement and the “focal” nature of territorial development, which is caused by the uneven distribution of industrial and social infrastructure, including educational infrastructure. The Arctic zone of the Russian Federation is inhabited by representatives of small indigenous minorities of the North. The problem of accessibility of education of small indigenous minorities was inherent in different periods of time in pre-revolutionary Russia and the Soviet state. Today, the development of education for indigenous peoples living in the Arctic takes on a special meaning, where an important aspect is the form of education, namely boarding and nomadic schools and the availability of qualified personnel. The applied forms of education - boarding schools and nomadic schools - have positive and negative sides. The creation of an effective education system in the AZRF with the availability of modern modernized technical equipment is very relevant.

НИЩЕННЯ ГОСПОДАРЯ – СКЛАДОВА ЗЛОЧИНУ ГОЛОДОМОРУ-ГЕНОЦИДУ 1932–1933 РОКІВ

The article reveals the destruction by the Soviet command-repressive system of the economic freedoms of the Ukrainian rural producer, the prosperous peasant (kulak), a middle-class representative in the village – the guarantor of the socio-political and economic stability of the state. Since the late 1920s, a command-repressive system of governance was formed in the Ukrainian village, implemented by the Soviet communist political regime. In the context of the problem, it is important to study the dynamics of the destruction of prosperous producers (dekulakisation), which is a component of the criminal genocidal policy of the Soviet totalitarian regime against the Ukrainian nation. During 1918–1920, the Bolsheviks’ periodic invasions of Ukraine were marked by the introduction of a policy of «war communism», when «military communist» methods ensured the non-fixed collection of taxes. In March 1921, the Soviet political regime radically changed the taxation system in the village. Instead of the pre-tax system, a fixed food tax was implemented, and the New Economic Policy was introduced. The years 1928–1929 proved to be a crucial turning point in the relations between the peasant producer and the Soviet state. Since the late 1920s, an overall offensive by the Soviet political regime against the Ukrainian village affected several important segments for the village: the church, economic and political repression of the prosperous producers, forced grain procurement, and forced collectivisation. In 1929–1931, the article examines the example of the village of Zaruddia in Poltava region to demonstrate the formation of a command and repressive system of governance. In the late 1920s and early 1930s, the destruction of the spiritual, ethical, socio-economic foundations of the traditional Ukrainian peasant by the Soviet political regime is studied on a specific historical example. The Soviet political communist regime, forming a command-repressive system of governance since the late 1920s, violated human and civil rights and humiliated human dignity. Such actions caused irreparable spiritual, ethical, socio-economic damage in the traditional Ukrainian village.

The Rise of the “Lineage Proletariat”: The Soviet State’s Class Policy and Kyrgyz Lineage Society in the 1920s

The Rise of the “Lineage Proletariat”: The Soviet State’s Class Policy and Kyrgyz Lineage Society in the 1920s

МІЖНАРОДНІ ФІНАНСОВІ ПОТОКИ В КРАЇНИ ЦЕНТРАЛЬНОЇ ТА СХІДНОЇ ЄВРОПИ ПІСЛЯ ГЛОБАЛЬНОЇ ФІНАНСОВОЇ КРИЗИ 2008 РОКУ: СТРУКТУРНІ ОСОБЛИВОСТІ

In our study, we will focus on determining the dynamics and structural changes in the flows of foreign capital to the countries of Central and Eastern Europe after the global financial crisis of 2008. For the analysis, we selected a group of Central and Eastern European countries that joined the European Union: Bulgaria, Romania, Poland, Hungary, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Slovenia, Estonia, Lithuania, Latvia, as well as the post-Soviet European countries - Ukraine, Belarus, Russia and Moldova. We chose three periods for the study: the first period from the beginning of liberal reforms to the present (1991-2021); the second period from macroeconomic stabilization to the global financial crisis (1994-2008); the third period covers the post-crisis period before the start of the Russian-Ukrainian war (2009-2021). The article examines the structure of the inflow of foreign capital to the countries of Central and Eastern Europe before the global financial crisis of 2008 and in the period after it. It was determined that the share of direct and portfolio foreign investments in the structure of foreign capital increased significantly in the post-crisis period. In the post-crisis period of 2009-2021, there was a significant increase in the average value of the stock of foreign direct investment to 41.2% of GDP and a more than two-fold decrease in the volatility of FDI inflows, which amounted to 5.2, as well as a 1.5-fold increase in portfolio foreign investments and a drastic reduction in the volatility of this type of foreign capital to 2.69. As for other investments, they remained at the pre-crisis level, but volatility decreased by a quarter. An econometric study of the influence of the stock of foreign direct investment and foreign debt per worker on the level of economic well-being in the CEE countries was conducted, which proved the strengthening of the role of foreign direct investment after the global financial crisis and the lack of influence of foreign debt. In our opinion, the governments of the CEE countries have focused on the economic policy of slowing down foreign capital flows and avoiding financial risks associated with foreign debt flows. Today's geopolitical tensions, the Russian-Ukrainian war will contribute to the deepening of these processes, increasing the influence of states on limiting international financial flows.

ХУДОЖЕСТВЕННАЯ ИНТЕЛЛИГЕНЦИЯ КАК СУБЪЕКТ ОБЩЕСТВЕННОГО ДОГОВОРА В ПЕРИОД КУЛЬТУРНОЙ РЕВОЛЮЦИИ В СССР (1930-Е ГГ.)

The article considers features of the social contract between the artistic intelligentsia and the Soviet political elite during the cultural revolution in the USSR. In that period the social contract was still paternalistic in nature, but being based not only on violence, but also on consent, on the general idea of implementing the social and cultural revolution and on benefits of various kinds that the creators could get from the new government. Since the late 20s, the management by the sphere of culture and art began to be centralized and the state became the main subject of cultural policy. Strict ideological control over the cultural process was carried out as well as the persecution of aesthetic dissent. At the same time, loyal cultural figures are rewarded through government orders and by being given high social status, high salaries, granting rights to publications, personal exhibitions and business trips abroad, awards and prizes, solutions for household and family concerns, etc. The principle of “socialist realism” was declared as the dominant creative principle. The Soviet party and state leadership enjoyed exceptional opportunities to influence the formation and change of the public consciousness of the Soviet people through cultural production.

ЗЛАМ МЕНТАЛЬНОСТІ УКРАЇНЦІВ У ХХ – НА ПОЧАТКУ ХХІ СТОЛІТЬ: ІСТОРИЧНИЙ ТА АСИМІЛЯЦІЙНИЙ КОНТЕКСТ

The evolution of the nation’s mentality is a complex interplay of historical events, societal transformations, and cultural assimilation. The 20th century brought about a series of changes that left an indelible mark on the collective psyche of its people. Navigating through the tumultuous historical landscape of the 20th and early 21st centuries becomes exceptionally important in studying the nuances of fractures in the mentality of Ukrainians. This scientific article aims to delve into the aspects of mental transformations that took place among Ukrainians during this period, shedding light on both historical and assimilation factors that contributed to the evolution and distortion of the Ukrainian worldview. The historical context encompasses a list of events, from the tumultuous first decades of the 20th century, marked by wars and revolutions, to the complex socio-political landscape of the post-Soviet era. Simultaneously, assimilation processes, whether globalization, external cultural influences, internal transformations, wars, or genocide, add impetus to the formation of the Ukrainian mentality. By carefully studying these two components, the goal is to uncover the nuances of changes, challenges, and resilience embedded in the mental profile of Ukrainians, offering a comprehensive understanding of the factors shaping their worldview. In the quest to unravel the complexities associated with the mental transformation of Ukrainians, this article seeks to provide a scientific investigation rooted in historical analysis and assimilation frameworks. Through a detailed examination of key events and cultural dynamics, it is important to contribute to a broader discourse on the evolution of national mentalities, fostering a deeper understanding of the Ukrainian experience in the 20th and early 21st centuries. In this context, it is crucial to consider individual stories and testimonies preserved in personal archives, such as the archive of O. S. Pohribniak. These sources provide an opportunity to trace significant sociocultural changes in the young generation of the 21st century.

Memes as Satire in Romanian Political Culture

The aim of this paper is to define political memes as belonging to the genre of political satire and part of Romanian political culture, to outline their characteristics and functionality, and to indicate that the phenomenon of political meme-sharing is a cultural phenomenon with growing significance based on the highly affective usage of memes that allow for the recontextualization of past political events in accordance with the new realities of the Romanian political and cultural space. Using the case study that is included, which takes into account how the awareness of the political context is the basis of the memes and the features of the memes themselves, the author shows that memes can be considered a type of informal, non-conventional form of political participation and considers this in relation to the political landscape of a post-communist country, thus determining that memes are a novel element that should be considered when dealing with civic culture at large, and digital civic culture specifically.

Economic transformation of the post-communist countries of the Western Balkans after 2008

Economic transformation of the post-communist countries of the Western Balkans after 2008