Russian Private Research Articles

Decoding Operational Latitude of Russian Private Military Companies (PMCs): A Case Study of Wagner Group in Syria

The usage of private military companies (PMCs) has remained rampant among significant powers of the world since the Cold War. Historically, PMCs emerged as small contractors in the beginning but gradually attained multiplicity with distinctive capabilities. The Russian Wagner Group provides multi-dimensional and sophisticated support to the Putin Administration. The Group accounts for an operational latitude which is advanced, diplomatic, and target-oriented, and maneuvers Russian strength in both Syria and Ukraine. Russian mercenaries are state-specific, i.e., the use of Wagner Group in Syria and Ukraine, making it challenging for the opposition to understand the functioning and administration of these companies. By 2019, the Group remained covert yet precarious for its enemies. However, the new advancements suggest that the idea of plausible deniability is now shifting towards overt use as well as far-reaching proprietorship of the Group as a branch of Russian military interests. The research focuses on the private structure of Wagner Group paving the way for new challenges towards the NATO countries, shifting from conventional military threats from Russia towards overt, opportunist, and task-oriented PMCs.

Gender systems in the Putin autocracy.

Over the last 23 years, Russian President Vladimir Putin's autocracy has revealed a set of interlocking gender systems that have come to the fore particularly vividly since the full-scale invasion of Ukraine on February 24, 2022. How, this article asks, have the masculinist cultural and political practices of the Putin regime undermined democratic practices and engagement broadly speaking? How have they organized Russian state and society in ways that have led to today's war in Ukraine with its massive destruction, violence, and brutality? And have there been earlier signals that should have warned observers that this regime might undertake such a war of aggression? Drawing on public, mass media data, this article analyzes the gendered structures of power in Russia that have contributed to the degeneration of democracy in three main areas: (1) male-on-male domination in discourse and practice that supports Putin's personal rule and emasculates his enemies; (2) the elevation of male power clans, including the President's personal praetorian guard and the Russian private military companies; and (3) the overall taming and emasculation of the Russian Parliament combined with the elevation of tough women deputies, whom I call the Baba Commissars. These female MPs support the President's domination by creating an appearance of a threatening outside world that needs to be kept at bay. At the same time, they support a neo-traditional gender order with women managing the house under the direction of the patriarchal male leader.

Периодизация социокультурного генезиса российского частного школьного образования (XI век – 20-е годы XXI века)

The study aims to present the periodization of the sociocultural genesis of private school education in Russia as an integrated process, combining historical and modern periods. The article addresses the comprehensive sociocultural study of the processes of historical genesis and modern development of the Russian non-state school as a pedagogical phenomenon to propose the periodization of its evolution. The scientific novelty lies in: the systematization of the historical and modern processes of private school education development, presented in the form of periodization, with the key sociocultural factor of influence, taken as its criterion; creating a holistic representation of the Russian private school genesis by combining in the proposed periodization all the sociocultural stages of its formation and development, starting from its inception in the 11th century and including the current period of its development; identifying the pedagogical specifics of the modern period of private schools development based on a theoretical analysis of the latest scientific and pedagogical publications devoted to their educational activities; introducing new information into the scientific discourse of pedagogical research, reflecting the analytics and statistics of modern private school education. As a result of the study, according to the major factor of sociocultural influence specified in the research, five periods of historical and pedagogical development of the Russian private school were defined, with all the stages of its historical genesis and modern development covered. The author has concluded that the complex socio-cultural influence of the society and state is the major factor determining the private school evolution and its pedagogical specifics in the modern period.

Исследование трансформации рынка частных инвестиций в России на современном этапе

The need to ensure the stable development of the Russian economy and financial market in the current geopolitical conditions presupposes the use of domestic financial resources as the main source of investment. Of particular scientific and practical importance is the identification and research of key trends and growth drivers in the development of the Russian private investment market, the main participants of which are resident individuals. The analysis of the features and changes in the functioning of the domestic stock market at the present stage allowed us to substantiate the conclusion about the strengthening of the role of the retail investor, including due to the universal digitalization of society and increasing the availability of basic exchange instruments for the mass consumer, whose investment behavior is now becoming decisive in the transformation of the Russian stock system as the largest element of the financial market in the country. A study of the quantitative and qualitative characteristics of the activities of resident individuals on the stock exchange in the segment of trust management and brokerage services, which allowed to assess the volume of their investment, investment activity, share of participation in auctions, including in certain market segments, industry rotation of investments, investment horizon, as well as to identify the significant changes in the retail investor's investment preferences, which affected the structure and quality of his portfolio. The factors and areas of activity that contribute to the solution of the task identified at the state level as a priority to stimulate the process of transforming the savings of the population into long-term investments are identified.

Political and Military Implications of Private Military Contractors in Russia

The topic, which is of personal interest, makes an impression that contractors are only a marginal part of the modern security studies, the academic community of international relations and the public interest. The world is in constant evolution, dominated by more urgent topics and the previous ones are pushed into the background, which specifically in this case poses a great threat. Article focuses on the issue of private military contractors as an alternative to modern privatisation of military and overview of their main differences to the known mercenaries, ethics, and their restrictions with the aim to showcase timelessness and adequate usability of these contractors with the focus on characterising the Russian Private Military Companies and their recent operations. We intend to look at the role of Russian Private Military Contractors and analyse the possible impact that these companies may have and continuously still have in the sphere of international relations and security studies. We offer an updated viewpoint on their place in the current global governance order, and we showcase why and how have they achieved their status. Such findings are crucial for understanding the role of non-state actors in the current security environment.

Comprehensive Fibromyalgia Treatment in Russian Private Center

Comprehensive Fibromyalgia Treatment in Russian Private Center

From mercenary to legitimate actor? Russian discourses on private military companies

ABSTRACT The Russian private military company (PMC), the Wagner Group, went from being a public secret to openly fighting alongside Russian forces in Russia’s war in Ukraine. By looking at Russian pro-government media discourses on PMCs, this paper argues that this development is largely made possible by a discursive shift, which happened before the war. Two basic discourses are found in the period leading up to the war – a discourse that denies the existence of Russian PMCs, and a discourse of normalization, which constructs PMCs as legitimate businesses and Russia as a great power. The two discourses previously kept the PMCs in a grey zone, allowing the Russian political elite deniability, while also taking credit for the foreign policy successes the PMCs achieved. However, this paper shows a discursive shift of recognizing PMCs as legitimate actors, which allowed for the Wagner Group to play a key role in Russia’s war.

The Household Financial Security Through the Prism of the Digital Ruble

The financial and economic activity of Russian private households as a result of the sanctions policy of unfriendly countries underwent significant changes, including a decrease in the level of financial security. It has a negative impact on the financial, credit and budgetary and tax spheres of the domestic economy. The use of new financial technologies and in particular the digital ruble can correct the current negative situation. Having certain signs of cryptocurrency, the digital ruble is able to ensure the financial security of payments and meet modern financial challenges. Changing the functions of money poses serious scientific questions about the use of the digital ruble. The problems of its introduction into the economic process and the peculiarities of its use by private households are considered. The differences between the digital ruble and existing cryptocurrencies, as well as its advantages over the latter have been formed. The impact forecast of new financial technology on private households in the context of financial security has been made.

Russian Policy of Securitization in Africa: Features of Perception

The study focuses on the perception of the Russian military presence in Africa. The 1990s and early 2000s saw a long break in Russian-African relations, linked to Russia’s priority of establishing a dialogue with Western countries. Largely as a result, Russia managed to avoid getting involved in conflicts and maintain respectful relations with African countries. In recent years, however, Russia’s “return” to Africa has revitalized Moscow’s interests in the region. One of the key elements of this process has been the intensification of the activities of Russian private military companies (PMC) on the continent. This, in turn, is the relevance of the present study. The study conducted a qualitative content analysis of the publications of the most quoted media sources in African countries where Russian private military companies have been observed: Central African Republic, Mozambique, Sudan and Mali from 2018 to 2021. Based on an analysis of the African media, it can be seen that the first experiences with the arrival of Russian PMCs were initially accompanied by a predominantly neutral-negative tone in the local media. Later, however, there was a shift from neutral to positive, particularly in the case of Mali. It was also found that the framing of the Russian presence in African countries with experience of interaction with Russian PMCs is changing from a purely local context (struggle for resources, protection of the regime, etc.) to a more global one, implying that Africa is an arena of confrontation between major world powers. It is shown that the experience of Russian involvement in conflict resolution plays an important role in shaping a positive image of the Russian “military” presence in Africa. Thus, the transfer of significant areas under central government control, first in Syria and then in the Central African Republic after the appearance of the Russian military in these countries, is associated by Africans with the achievement of stability, which is in demand in African societies. Another important indicator on which positive perceptions are based is the perception of a crisis in relations between France and Africa.

Russian beneficiaries: challenges in relation to foundations in 2022 and prospects for Russian Private Foundations

Abstract The lifetime (inter vivos) private foundation is a second attempt by the Russian legislator to introduce private foundations. The first (and practically stillborn) attempt was the post-mortem foundation of 2016, of which exactly one has been established. In stark contrast, there are already six lifetime private foundations, although their legal framework only came into force a year ago, and in a rather turbulent year at that. In this article, which follows on from the article in the 2022 issue, the authors review the main features and weaknesses of this new vehicle, examine its suitability for wealth management and succession planning, and attempt to predict its future popularity.

Private companies in the Russian space industry: features of functioning and development factors

The object of the study are private companies which do their business in the Russian space industry. Statistical data on private space companies in Russia based on which the study was conducted, were collected by the author from open sources on the Internet. The purpose of research is to develop recommendations for improving the conditions for the development of private companies operating in the Russian space industry based on an analysis of their characteristics and environmental development factors. In the research, the author used methods of analysis and synthesis, methods of system and comparative analysis, statistical and graphical methods. Research results are the next: the article analyzes the main economic indicators of the Russian and foreign private space companies. The author identifies four main features of the Russian private companies in comparison with foreign ones, which functioning in the space industry. Author proposes a classification of environmental factors that contribute to and restrain the development of private space sector in Russia. Based on the results of the analysis, the author has developed recommendations for improving the economic and legal conditions for the development of Russian private companies in the space industry.

Some elements of the legal personality of an individual in private international law

This article is devoted to the study of the elements of the legal personality of an individual in private international law, the problems and features of conflict of laws regulation are identified and its characteristics in Russian private international law are given. The conducted research made it possible to identify a number of problems of conflict regulation, in particular, the use of different terminology in states regarding the same legal phenomenon, different understanding, interpretation and qualification of concepts. Such problems are inevitable due to the existence of different legal systems. It is possible to overcome this with the help of conflict-of-laws regulation, however, it does not solve all the issues and discrepancies that arise. The conflict of laws regulation of the legal personality of individuals differs in the following characteristic features: the legal personality of an individual is determined by his personal law; there are two rules of personal law – the law of citizenship and the law of residence, the law of citizenship is applied as a general rule, the law of residence regulates the legal personality of those persons in respect of whom it is difficult to find out with a certain degree of certainty the legal connection with the state on the basis of citizenship; when determining the procedure and grounds for limiting legal capacity recognizing a citizen as unfit or incapacitated, Russian law is applied, i.e. the legislator uses unilateral conflict of laws rules.

AND THEIR IMPACT ON THE REGULATION OF THESE RELATIONS IN RUSSIA

The article analyses the section of the Russian private law system devoted to the restriction of land rights. The modern model of a private easement is analysed, the theory and practice of its application are considered. The Russian experience is compared with the models existing in the European and American legal system. The institute of “neighbourhood law” is investigated. Its models adopted in various foreign countries are considered. Individual elements of legal regulation adopted in foreign countries are proposed for research, the experience of which may be useful for the development of Russian legislation in the field under study.

Public Sector and Privatization in Russia in 2022

Public Sector and Privatization in Russia in 2022

Civil Law School of the All-Union Institute of Legal Sciences and the Institute of Legislation and Comparative Law: Formation and Development

The article is dedicated to the centenary of the Institute of Legislation and Comparative Law under the Government of the Russian Federation. The reader is invited to characterize and systematize the main stages in the development of civil law thought in the scientific school of the Institute, which has historically been the center of Russian legal science. Based on the analysis of sources, not only the formation and development of the ideas of the outstanding legal scholars of the country, who made the glory of domestic legal science, but also their influence on the improvement of Russian legislation can be traced, the grounds that individualize the civil law school of the Institute are identified. The article presents unique data that has not yet been presented in the historiography of the science of Russian private law. Keywords: history of Russian civil law; civil law schools; development of the science of civil law.

Proksi-obavještajna delatnost i klasifikacija obavještajnih aktera na primeru SAD

This paper provides a definition of proxy intelligence and a classification of intelligence actors using the United States as a model. The activity of the main U.S intelligence actors is briefly discussed. An intelligence service is defined as a service provided by both state and non-state intelligence actors. Document analysis, content analysis and comparative method were used. Based on the study conducted, it was concluded that the U.S. actively uses non-state intelligence actors, particularly private intelligence companies, in its political activities. Their role, contribution and significance in making foreign policy decisions are defined. "An intelligence service" is systematized as a specific service that intelligence agencies provide to their clients. Based on the conclusions reached, practical recommendations are proposed to the Russian authorities to build communication and business relations with Russian private intelligence companies. Based on the finding obtained in this study, a course in the Political Science, Information and Hybrid Warfare master's degree program at Moscow State University was designed.

Aggravation of the Colonial Struggle in the Pacific Ocean in 1760—1770s

The article is devoted to the struggle for colonies in the North Pacific in the context of the interaction between Russia, Great Britain and Spain in the second half of the 18th century, with an emphasis on the voyage of J. Cook to the coast of Alaska. The activity of Russia and the Western European powers related to the intensification of efforts in the northern part of the Pacific Ocean is considered. The article notes that the region studied by us has long attracted the attention of European countries. The factors that contributed to the development of the North-West of America are revealed. The authors show that it was a very complex and multifaceted process, in which various levels of state power, up to the emperors, participated. The importance of the initiative of private commercial companies in the colonization of territories is noted. The authors of the article draw attention to the fact that the expansion of the Spanish Empire became possible due to Madrid’s fears about the strengthening of Russia in the North Pacific. In turn, Great Britain carried out active intelligence activities, which resulted in a phase of military conflict at the end of the 18th century. On the basis of Russian and foreign documents introduced into scientific circulation for the first time, the authors of the article try to show the validity of the fears of the Madrid court regarding Russian colonization, as well as the ambitions of London in this region. Promotion of Russia to the northwest of America was due to economic and political reasons. The access to the Pacific Ocean of Russian private structures was caused by the desire to collect yasak from the indigenous peoples, as well as to obtain furs, which were highly valued in world markets. The article notes the changes in the position of Great Britain, Spain and Russia in relation to the colonies in the 18th century. It is concluded that, in general, the policy of Spain and Great Britain was aimed at curbing the Russian advance in the Pacific Ocean. Russian-Anglo-Spanish relations in the Northwest Pacific at the end of the 17th century and the first half of the 18th century made a significant contribution to the subsequent active colonization of the North Pacific. The article was written using an interdisciplinary approach based on a wide range of sources from domestic and foreign archives.

Impact of industry clusters on the performance of Russian private companies: Inter-industry analysis

This paper discovers the sustainability of agglomeration externalities and robustness issues for Russian private real sector companies between 2011 to 2018. Agglomeration effects are measured with the Ellison—Glaeser index (industry is supposed to be clustered in certain region(s) if the EG value is high). Firms’ sales margin was chosen as the main performance characteristic (dependent variable). The sample was divided into six aggregated groups (agriculture, mining, manufacturing, transport, IT, services). For each of them, sustainability and robustness of the concentration effect were checked using OLS estimates obtained for each year. Companies, located in and out of the cluster were studied separately. Strong, sustainable, and positive concentration effects were found for the agricultural, mining and transport industries. Sustainable negative agglomeration effects appear for the manufacturing and service industries. For IT companies located inside the industry cluster the agglomeration effect appeared to be negative and for those outside it — positive.

Perceptions of Russia’s ‘return’ to Africa: Views from West Africa

ABSTRACT The article focuses on the perception of Russia’s ‘return’ to Africa through an analysis of field research data from three African states: Mali, Niger and Burkina Faso, gathered in late 2021. In this article, the authors argue that the Russian ‘return’ to Africa, which is primarily seen in the provision of security services through the presence of Russian private military companies (PMCs), is perceived positively in West Africa. An important role is played in these perceptions by the Soviet legacy on the continent, which is remembered positively among Africans. Perceptions among the youths surveyed appear significantly influenced by the crisis in relations between West African countries and France, as well as the experience of Russian involvement in the field of securitisation since 2014. The net effect is that Russian engagement in West Africa, and specifically by PMCs, is welcome.

Russia in the Horn of Africa: Re-engagement in a new strategic environment

ABSTRACT This article discusses the role of Russia in the Horn of Africa in the context of Moscow’s drive to re-engage in the region amid stiff international competition. After providing an account of the geostrategic importance of the Horn, the article discusses a number of areas in which Russia has engaged in cooperation with various regional actors. Those discussed include anti-piracy efforts, military cooperation, trade in arms, cooperation on nuclear energy, and the role played by Russian private security agencies. In addition, analysis notes Russia’s debt relief for African states, failed vaccine diplomacy, assistance for oil exploration, and scholarships and training for African students. Discussion briefly considers the current war in Ukraine and the impact on Russian foreign policy on the Horn. The article concludes that Russia’s foray into Africa is largely to reassert its great power status without considerable costs and risks.