Socialist Camp Research Articles

Theatricality and Totalitarianism. Case study

In my paper I shall approach the phenomenon of communist totalitarianism in relation to the theatricality developed by the inhabitants of the countries in the socialist camp, in a society under constant surveillance by the political police. At the same time, I shall look at the ways in which theatricality permeates and is reflected in the novels of the age, particularly in Norman Manea’s novel The Black Envelope, first published in Romania in 1986 in a censored version. In The Captive Mind, the Polish writer Czesław Miłosz devotes an entire chapter to exploring the forms of histrionism developed by the inhabitants of the Sovietized countries. Similar ideas are conveyed in an interview of Matei Călinescu, a Romanian-American literary critic and prose writer, who describes life under Ceauşescu’s neo-Stalinist regime as being governed by „Pseudo”. In this Orwellian universe the totalitarian, tyrannical fiction rivals literary fiction. The fiction-to-fiction relation between literature and the totalitarian world is significantly problematised in N. Manea’s writings.

Architectural and artistic solutions of the OTC during the gentrification of soviet cinemas

In the professional environment of architects, there is concern about the formation of a trend of reconstruction and renovation of buildings and structures in large and major cities in order to develop urban infrastructure. The underestimation of the contribution of Soviet architecture to the cultural heritage of post-Soviet countries and countries of the socialist camp is noted. At the same time, the "new architecture" forms the urban environment under the stereotypes of homologation, which does not correspond to the socio-cultural demand of the glocalization of "digital nomads" seeking to live in eco-digital cities. The obsolescence of the "new architecture" is observed already at the project stage or in five years. In Moscow, the reconstruction program includes 39 Soviet cinemas in the peripheral zone of the city. Public and shopping complexes with underground levels are being built on the site of these cinemas. The article classifies the types of projects of Soviet cinemas and shopping centers, and also forms diagrams for their qualitative comparison. This eventually made it possible to evaluate the architectural and artistic contribution to the Moscow development of both Soviet cinemas and new shopping complexes, the continuity between them and differences in design principles.

„Diplomaţia conferinţelor” sau intelectualizarea politicii externe a RPR sub regimul lui Gheorghiu-Dej

Once Romania came under the influence of the Soviet Union, the new regime established in 1948 was integrated into the diplomatic system created by the Kremlin. The party-state in Bucharest participated in youth festivals, the world women's movement, intellectuals' conferences, the Christian Peace Movement, and particularly the World Peace Congress. All of these events served as propaganda instruments to discourage a more assertive Western anti-Sovietism. Since 1954, Khrushchev initiated a shift in Soviet policy, one focused on peaceful coexistence rather than confrontation between the two formerly irreconcilable political camps. The Romanian People's Republic, along with other state socialist countries, emulated this novel approach in Moscow. The article explores the impact of the new course on Romania’s cultural diplomacy in the late 1950s and the early 1960s. To establish credible diplomatic efforts, there was a need to rethink socialist culture and revalue the pre-communist heritage. This new culture was based on the Leninist principle of “the new culture, national in form, socialist in content”. It signaled that the regime had moved beyond de-Stalinization, and now possessed internal legitimacy that no longer relied on the presence of Soviet troops in the country. However, this socialist culture drew inspiration from postwar autochthonized Bolshevik (Stalinist) nationalism. The medieval tradition rediscovered by Soviet cultural studies (such as Dmitry Likhachev, Viktor Lazarev, or Boris Rybakov) fueled anti-Soviet sentiments in Bucharest, leading, by 1964, to a significant distancing from Moscow. This article traces the diplomatic efforts of the Romanian People's Republic during this period of latent learning of the new rules of the political game within the socialist camp.

A Cinematic Calling Card: Preludio 11 and Cuban-gdr Cultural Dialogue

Abstract Preludio 11 is a little discussed Cuban-gdr co-production from the early 1960s that was part of a glut of cinematic collaborations between Cuba and predominantly socialist European partners as a means of skills exchange and relationship-building. However, the film and the fact of the organization of the collaboration can offer valuable insight into the dynamics within the international socialist camp and both Cuba and the gdr’s focus on national projection on the international stage. Through examination of the communication between collaborators – principally between the Cuban and East German cinematic institutes and internal gdr communication – on the film, this article sheds light on the political and symbolic value of Cuba to the gdr and vice versa. It also shows how those relations were in constant flux as the project developed and the two countries battled with their commitment to cultural expression and development and shifting political priorities.

Agricultural reform in Ukraine: the history and present

The purpose of the research is to reveal the process of implementing the agrarian reform in Ukraine as a natural stage of the development of the country's agriculture during the last 100 years. The existing problems in Ukrainian agriculture were considered and it was established that these problems have their roots in the past, in the 20s of the 20th century, when the natural development of agriculture was interrupted, Ukraine became part of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR), private ownership of agricultural land and private farms were liquidated, collective and state agricultural enterprises were created instead. The paper analyzes the initial stage of agrarian reform in Ukraine at the end of the 20th and beginning of the 21st centuries after gaining state independence, and it is concluded that agrarian transformations in the country took place quite completely, in comparison with the countries of Eastern Europe. One of the reasons for this state of affairs was the low efficiency of the management of this process on the part of the state authorities responsible for the reform, particularly land reform as a key factor in all agrarian transformations. Only after the beginning of the wide implementation of land reform and reforming of collective agricultural enterprises in the early 2000s, a rapid increase in the volume and efficiency of agricultural production began. The long-term moratorium on the sale and purchase of agricultural land (more than 30 years) was based on political, not economic, reasons. In the analysis of the prospects for the development of domestic agriculture in the period after the agrarian reform, modern comprehensive programs of strategic directions for increasing the efficiency of the industry and rural areas were used, in the development of which the author was involved. These state programs, namely the "Unified comprehensive strategy and action plan for the development of agriculture and rural areas in Ukraine for 2015-2020" and the "National Economic Strategy 2030" conclude with the main task of creating a competitive, export-oriented agriculture and the production of competitive food products in accordance with international safety and quality standards in the context of the European integration of Ukraine. The research methodology is based on the use of publications by Ukrainian and foreign researchers devoted to the analysis of economic transformation in Ukraine and other countries of the former socialist camp, as well as scientific developments by authors, in particular, as a member of teams of international experts and consultants on the development and implementation of agrarian reform in Ukraine. Further directions of research, which were covered in the article, should be aimed at the development of integration processes in the market structure of the European Union, adaptation of the national agrarian policy to the Common EU policy. This is to provide an opportunity to increase the welfare of agricultural workers, the efficiency and productivity of the domestic agrarian industry.

Participation of the Russian Orthodox Church in the activities of the Christian Peace Conference in 1960–1972

The article aims to describe and analyse the experience of the active participation of the Russian Orthodox Church in the Christian peace movement, which had as its main task consolidation of Churches and Christian figures in the struggle for peaceful relations between peoples, against the arms race and the nuclear threat. In the context of the global confrontation between the USSR and the USA, the “Cold war”, the activities of the Christian Peace Conference (CPC) were the integral part of the international policy of socialist countries. The departments for church affairs of the socialist camp states monitored the work of the peacekeeping organization and the direction of their development. Attempts by Western Christian figures to distract the organization from practical efforts to fight for peace came into conflict with the interests of socialist states and gave rise to divisions within the organization and crises. The events of the Prague Spring and the entry of Warsaw Pact troops into Czechoslovakia brought the CPC to the brink of collapse. On the basis of the church and state archival sources, the author of the article outlines the sequence of actions of the Chairman of the Department of External Church Relations, Metropolitan Nikodim (Rotov) of Leningrad and Novgorod, aimed to overcome internal discord in the Conference. The hierarch held senior positions in the СPС, including the post of president, which allowed him to have a significant influence on the course of peacekeeping work.

Резервы вишеградского сотрудничества

The article attempts to analyze the limits of stability of a unique regional formation – the Visegrad group that was founded a third of a century ago on the ruins of the socialist camp. Over the past two years, the Visegrad Quartet has been subjected to perhaps the most serious tests in the entire history of its existence, related to the divergence in approaches to the military conflict in Ukraine. The author notes that the longer the conflict lasts, the tougher the positions of Kiev’s supporters and opponents become. The population of Central European countries gets tired of the war. The regime of sanctions against Russia and the influx of refugees from Ukraine as well as from Russia and Belarus begin to affect the results of national elections in central European countries, and hence brings changes in the position of countries towards Moscow, Kiev and Brussels. For the first time, countries are facing the problem of such multifaceted pressure literally in all spheres of life, including the economy and the social sphere, which are acutely affected by the consequences of the war. Having relatively successfully overcome the global economic crisis together, turned away the migration flow from the South, stood up in the fight against COVID?19, and survived “attacks” from Brussels, the Visegrad Union now seems to have faced an existential problem of a geopolitical nature. Nevertheless, according to the author, it is too early to write an obituary on the Visegrad group. It still has certain reserves, hidden both in its genesis and structural features, which have no parallel among not only European but also world regional units. The main achievement of the Visegrad Four’s three decades of operation may be the hard-won and subsequently mastered “art of compromise”. No matter how deep the differences in the views and positions of the countries may be, the understanding of the necessity to find a compromise for the sake of preserving the unity of the region always prevails. In particular, the events of the last two years since February 2022, marked by a military conflict on the eastern border of the Quartet, have proved this statement.

Collective Memory, Moral Economy and Land Disputes after the Repatriation of Crimean Tatars

This article is devoted to the meaning of identity and belonging in the processes of defending land rights. The 20th century was marked by unprecedentedly large processes of rejection and redistribution of land ownership in the countries of the socialist camp. Forced confiscation of property and collectivization fundamentally changed the landscape of land ownership. And in some border territories of the Soviet Union, which includes the Crimean peninsula, the events of ethnic deportations of the population had a decisive influence on the redistribution of land ownership as well. Separated from their ethnic lands, the Crimean Tatars formed an identity that had a clear connection to the lost territory and homeland. The process of political resistance, which continued during the Soviet period, and mass spontaneous repatriation took place under the main slogan - the restoration of justice and the return of Crimean Tatars to their ethnic homeland. After the return of a large part of the Crimean Tatars to their ethnic lands, the process of restoring land rights began. This process had an organized nature and great political resonance in Crimea and led to a significant reorganization of the cultural landscape of the peninsula.

Homo(sexual) socialist: Psychiatry and homosexuality in China in the Mao and early Deng eras

AbstractThis article focuses on the relationship between psychiatry and homosexuality in the People's Republic of China from the Mao era to early Deng era (1949–c.90). I argue that, entangled with the multi‐centred global psychopathological regime of homosexuality, the psychiatric discourse in China perpetuated a medicalised concept of homosexuality from the Mao period through the early Deng years. This article further situates homosexuality in Mao's China in the socialist camp to call for a decentring historiography of modern homosexuality. It also contributes to the understanding of the continuity between the Mao era and the Deng era.

Russia and Mongolia in the civilizational and geopolitical paradigms of Central Eurasia development

The relationship between Russia and Mongolia in the civilizational and geo-political paradigms of Central Eurasia development is extremely important for political science, sociology and regional studies. The authors’ definition of Central Eurasia differs from the generally accepted neutral interpretation due to its connection with a specific civilizational space - three local civilizations - the historically summarized limits of their dominant influence. The article considers the following limits of the influence of the Mongolian, Russian and Chinese civilizations from ancient times to the present: the great steppe empires (from the state of the Xiongnu to the Great Mongol Empire of Genghis Khan) with the center in Mongolia, the Russian Empire and the socialist camp with the center in Russia (USSR), and the economic corridor Russia-Mongolia-China with centers in three countries. The recognition of the taxonomic equilibrium of Russia, China and Mongolia as the cores of the Russian, Chinese and Mongolian civilizations, united by the space of Central Eurasia, allows to reconsider the Russian-Mongolian relations from ancient times to the present. The authors admit the existence of the world civilization hidden in Inner Asia and based on more than two thousand years of the nomads’ written history - the Mongolian civilization. The authors develop a new scientific direction - civilizational political science which considers the interaction between societies through the intertwined civilizational world order. The authors believe that civilizations cover the entire global space; introduce the concept “cascade of the civilizational boundaries”, which requires a combination of modeling methods and geoinformation technologies with cultural-historical ideas; consider the historical tradition of relations between Russia, Mongolia and China in the Eurasian region as being revived in the new context of trilateral cooperation.

Kazakhstani History Education Considered via Textbooks’ War Narratives, with a Focus on the “Great Patriotic War”

Abstract The article is devoted to how history is taught in Kazakhstan. We take a concrete example: how the complex history of World War II, a topic that has been highly ideologized in Soviet historiography, is presented in the history textbooks of the post-Soviet period. The study defines how the history of the Great Patriotic War – that is, the Soviet Union’s struggle against the Nazis – has undergone conceptual transformations to varying extents in the textbooks of the countries of the former “socialist camp,” with our focus being Kazakhstan. Additionally, the model of Kazakhstan’s education is essential, as the country has yet to be left out of a definitive history of education narratives. For example, after analyzing history textbooks, it is possible to identify how students’ historical memory about one of the most catastrophic wars has been formed. Our interdisciplinary study used content analysis and “opening up the textbook” to identify types of qualitative models of history textbooks’ content about the war. In addition, the authors analyzed the coverage of the war in textbooks in various historical fields and branches belonging to different stages of Kazakhstan’s educational reforms. One result stood clear, namely that history education has been the subject of frequent debate in Kazakhstan, with the debates indicating how the state apparatus has managed a national approach that teaches a history productive of good patriots. On the other hand, teaching history also has its technocratic justification, as a means for students to acquire necessary skills.

THE REFLECTION OF SOCIALISM REALISM IN RUSSIAN MUSIC IN THE MUSIC IN THE CHINESE PIANO CONCERTO “THE YELLOW RIVER”

After World War II, the socialist camp opposed capitalism, and socialist realism became the official art school and style of socialist countries in the Soviet Union. This article analyzes how the realistic music style of the 19th century Soviet Union was inherited and developed in the 20th century, thus forming a music style that can be called “socialist realism”. This style had a profound impact on the development of Chinese piano music in the 20th century, including the creation of the Yellow River Piano Concerto by six Chinese composers, including Yin Chengzong, which is one of the typical music works of socialist realism style and the product of a specific historical period. It uses a revolutionary musical language, filled with inner passion and motivation. The paper applies the historical-structural approach, as well as the method of analysis of musical works and structural analysis of musicological literature published in Chinese and Russian on the subject of research. This article aims to reveal the significant impact of Russian and Soviet music styles on the development of Chinese piano art. The author concludes that due to the “socialist realism” style, the Yellow River piano works have a strong appeal and revolutionary nature, inspiring people to participate in national struggles and becoming a model of piano music at that time.

Politicization of psychiatry and the improvement of ethical standards in the 1970s.

The Code of Ethics for Psychiatry adopted by the World Psychiatric Association in 1977, also known as the Declaration of Hawaii, was a milestone in the development of ethical standards in psychiatry. The impetus for the development of the code came primarily from the politicization of psychiatry, first discovered in the USSR, and later in other countries of the socialist camp, such as Romania, Yugoslavia, and the People's Republic of China. The purpose of this article is to trace reasons for the lack of consolidation among Western psychiatrists against the politicization of psychiatry and their efforts to improve the ethical standards in this medical field. We analyzed unpublished documents from the Archive of the German Association for Psychiatry, Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics, the private archives of the West German psychiatrists Gerd Huber and Walter von Baeyer as well as research works. To examine these sources, we implemented the historical-critical method. The World Psychiatric Association made efforts to collect, analyze and discuss materials concerning psychiatric ethics in order to create the Code of Ethics for Psychiatry and establish an Ethical Committee. In general, the reaction of Western psychiatrists to the information about the internment of dissidents in psychiatric hospitals was restrained and focused on attempts to solve the issue together with the Soviet colleagues. The international policy of détente of the time as well as collisions between different medical concepts and ethical dimensions did not allow Western psychiatrists to condemn cases of politicization of psychiatry without proir clarification of the situation. The efforts of the World Psychiatric Association in the ethical field improved the ethical standards for psychiatry.

German-Israeli Political Relations under the Chancellor's Government Willy Brandt (1969-1974 AD)

Objectives: This study examines the evolution of German-Israeli political relations under Chancellor Willy Brandt's government (1969-1974 AD). The government, led by the Social Democratic Party (SPD), was formed after the parliamentary elections on 9/28/1969 AD and gained confidence through an alliance with the Free Democratic Party (FDP), led by Walter Scheel.
 Methods: The study employed an analytical historical approach, drawing from unpublished German documents in the archives of the German Ministry of Foreign Affairs and other contemporary sources to shed light on an under-researched subject. It analyzes Germany's progression from establishing normal relations in 1969 AD to further developments by 1974 AD.
 Results: The study reveals that political relations with Israel evolved in line with Germany's policy of openness to the socialist camp. It also examines how the German government dealt with the "Munich Process" during the Olympic Games and its impact on Israel-Germany relations. Additionally, the study explores the factors influencing Germany's stance during the October 1973 war, particularly in light of the Arab oil initiative led by King Faisal Al Saud in foreign policy.
 Conclusions: During Chancellor Willy Brandt's government, German-Israeli political relations advanced significantly, with Germany expressing support for Israeli political positions. Moreover, the study highlights the reestablishment of German-Arab relations, which had been severed since 1965 AD.

A Most Mysterious CIA Spy Scandal: The 1963 Georgiev Case in Bulgaria

Asen Georgiev was a Bulgarian lawyer and diplomat who confessed to working for the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) between 1957 and 1963. In a show trial staged in 1963 in Sofia Bulgaria, prosecutors alleged that he had been paid nearly $200,000 for his services and accused him of undermining the interests of the entire socialist camp by handing over Soviet secrets to the Americans. This article offers a comprehensive de novo analysis of the Georgiev case based on the extensive records of the Bulgarian State Security Service and individual declassified CIA documents. This study demonstrates that Georgiev’s intelligence about Nikita Khrushchev was crucial for calling the Sino–Soviet split in 1960 and raises the possibility that he played unacknowledged roles in other international crises in 1961 and 1962.

The COMECON Internal Analysis of the Prospects for the Development of Oil Cooperation with Iraq in the 1970s

October 2023 marks the 50th anniversary of the moment when the world faced the first oil shock of 1973—1974. As time has shown, its influence (along with the influence of the second oil shock of 1979—1980) turned out to be significant not only for the “Capitalist Bloc”, but also for the “Socialist Camp”. On the eve of the first oil shock, in the spring and summer of 1973, a new working body was created within the framework of the Comecon (its Standing Commission on Foreign Trade), the so-called Petroleum Bureau. It was the Petroleum Bureau that in 1973—1978 represented the main coordinating and analytical center of interested Comecon members in the field of taking coordinated steps by the «Socialist Bloc» to build effective foreign economic cooperation with the developing countries that produced liquid hydrocarbons. Among the key activities of the Bureau was the country analysis, which, as a rule, included: a concise economic description of the oil-producing developing countries selected by Comecon for rapprochement; a brief assessment of their domestic political situation, main features and problems of their socio-economic development; information about national companies of these countries in the field of fuel and energy, about their national oil reserves and conditions of oil production, as well as their export capabilities and import needs; information on the possibilities of Comecon members coordinated activity in local markets and multilateral cooperation in various economic sectors in order to ensure a continuous flow of primary energy resources from the “developing world”. In this article, for the first time, the document “Generalized material for the development of practical integrated steps of Comecon members cooperation aimed at timely provision of oil purchases in Iraq on a long-term basis”, stored today in the Russian State Archive of Economics (RGAE), is published and introduced into scientific circulation as an example of Comecon Petroleum Bureau country analysis. The published document confirms Comecon good awareness of what was happening to the oil industry and the economy of Iraq in the first half of seventies.

Transformation of the post-cold war order and the global and regional powers policy in the South Caucasus after the 2020 Karabakh war

The end of the Cold War ushered in a Unipolar world characterized by the US hegemony. In 1990s and early 2000s the US was realizing the strategy of “liberal hegemony” with emphasis on democracy promotion in the former socialist camp. The NATO enlargement and the support to the EU extension were key pillars of this strategy. There was a perception among pundits and policymakers that the “liberal democracy” will spread all over the world, bringing a new era of peace and stability. However, the Unipolar moment was short lived. The global financial crisis of 2007-2008 marked the beginning of the transformation of the post-Сold War order. The reasons behind this transformation are numerous - the relative decline of the US, the rise of others, most notably China, and the launch of the new multilateral organizations such as BRICS and Shanghai Cooperation Organization. The transformation of the post-cold war order brings back the notion of multipolar world and the “great power competition”. The emergence of the "multi-polar world order" will inevitably trigger regional instability and the rivalry for regional hegemony. The absence of the world hegemon or the "world policeman" means that the second-tier states will be more inclined to use coercion as the primary tool to push forward their national interests. The world is facing the unraveling of the global world order with very few clues on what the new emerging order may look like. One pattern is obvious - states are putting more emphasis on the coercion, force and hybrid warfare as a key element of their foreign policy. Meanwhile, the absence of global hegemon triggers the tough and often violent struggle for dominance among regional powers. The South Caucasus was an arena of overlapping interests of many actors - Russia, the US, the EU, Turkey, and Iran. While in 1990s and 2000s the geopolitical configuration of the region was based on the competition between Turkey - Azerbaijan - Georgia partnership supported by the US, and Russia - Armenia alliance, the situation has changed in recent years. Turkey’s quest for independent foreign policy and growing tensions between Turkey and the US have resulted in a establishment of competitive/cooperative relations between Russia and Turkey. Ankara and Moscow are still competitors but they are able to manage their contradictions. The 2020 Karabakh war was a harbinger of upcoming changes in the regional balance of power. Azerbaijan won the war receiving significant military support from Turkey, Armenia suffered significant losses, while Russia deployed its peacekeepers in Nagorno Karabakh. As South Caucasus faces the growing competition between external actors vying for influence, and as Russia - West relations were completely ruined after the February 2022, the region has become another arena for Russia - West competition. The US and the EU are interested to push Russian peacekeepers out from Nagorno Karabakh after the end of the initial five-year term, viewing this as a significant step in reducing Russian influence in the region. Meanwhile, Russia seeks to stabilize relations between Armenia and Azerbaijan, meanwhile keeping its military presence in Nagorno Karabakh. Despite the growing tensions between Turkey and the US, Ankara still remains main tool for the US in its efforts to decrease Russian power in South Caucasus.

Пропаганда антинаучных взглядов Т. Д. Лысенко на страницах французских периодических изданий в 1930-х ‒ 1940-х гг.

The article is devoted to foreign propaganda of T. D. Lysenko’s views on the nature of heredity and variability. Articles from French communist periodicals are used as an example. The article?s relevance is determined by understudied issue of the Lysenkoism promotion in France, although it is known that his doctrine, which was close to Lamarckism, was being implanted after 1948 in the countries of the socialist camp and criticized by the British and American biologists. The historical picture of purposeful promotion of anti-scientific views criticizing fundamental genetics has been reconstructed in materials of French periodicals and documents deposited in the T. D. Lysenko fond in the Archive of the Russian Academy of Sciences (fond 1521). To determine the political factors that influenced international scientific relations between Soviet and French scientists, the documents from the Political Bureau of the Central Committee fond of the Russian State Archive of Contemporary History (fond 3) have been used. When describing popularization of Lysenkoism in France, an integrated approach has been chosen, as it takes into account various factors (political, ideological, cognitive) that determined penetration and reception of scientific ideas. Using newspapers and magazines as historical source have permitted to detail the phenomenon, to supplement the available information with new facts, and to revise established notions. It is shown that T.D. Lysenko’s figure came into the spotlight in the French press as early as the late 1930s, when a campaign began in the Soviet Union against Mendelism-Morganism, called metaphysical-idealistic bourgeois science by the party elite. In those years, such scientists as N. I. Vavilov, G. D. Karpechenko, S. G. Levit, I. I. Agol were arrested and repressed. In 1948, with J. V. Stalin support, Lysenko organized the August session of the All-Union Academy of Agricultural Sciences, where representatives of classical genetics were accused of sabotage. Lysenko claimed that his experiments were aimed at increasing productivity of agricultural crops and solving food security issues. The Soviet bureaucracy saw innovation and bold struggle against old scientific dogmas in populist statements of the “People's Academician.” The fight against genetics was not limited the territory of the USSR, almost all socialist countries were involved. However, the leading scientific powers (the USA and Great Britain) actively resisted penetration of the works of Soviet Lysenkoists into scientific and popular publications. The exception was France, which had long-standing scientific contacts with the Soviet Union. Information on the “victory” of Michurin Biology over genetics at the 1948 Agricultural Sciences Session was widely presented on the pages of French liberal publications. It is shown that the French scientific community was not categorically opposed to Lysenkoism for a number of reasons, among them spread of communist ideas in the country, stability of Lamarckian traditions, cooling diplomatic relations between the USSR and the USA, desire of the Soviet leadership to make France its political ally.

РОЛЬ ЄБРР У КРЕДИТУВАННІ МАЛОГО ТА СЕРЕДНЬОГО БІЗНЕСУ

The most intensive development of international financial and credit legal relations took place in the 20th century. in connection with the consequences of world wars and numerous economic crises. The number of international credit agreements is growing every year, but a comprehensive analysis of them has not yet been conducted in the science of international law. It should be noted that scientific approaches to these issues were formed separately by Soviet and Western scientists. In their research, they took into account the specifics of the political and economic system of their states. Since the collapse of the socialist camp, domestic science of international law has received new approaches to the study of the so-called "international currency law" (as a prototype of modern international financial law), which arose from the combination of the positions of the Soviet and Western schools of international law. However, taking into account the mutually exclusive nature of these studies, their results should be updated and establish how the legal regulation of financial and credit relations is carried out in international public law. These relations are characterized by industry-specific features of subject composition and sources of legal regulation. International credit agreements, in turn, contain relevant special essential conditions. In the process of implementing these relations, scientific disputes often begin about the expediency of including TNCs in the list of subjects of public international law as a whole. Given the fact that Ukraine is an active participant in international financial and credit relations, this topic requires further scientific research. The work examines and systematizes information on the role of the EBRD in lending to small and medium-sized businesses. The purpose of the study is to analyse the role of the EBRD in lending to small and medium-sized businesses. The relevance of the study of this topic in the context of the development of the international economy is determined. Information about the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development is provided, and the theoretical foundations of the creation and functioning of the EBRD are considered. The role of the EBRD in lending to small and medium-sized businesses is being studied. An evaluation of the current crediting of the Ukrainian economy by international financial organizations is carried out.

ЛІБЕРАЛІЗАЦІЙНІ ПРОЦЕСИ В ДОНБАСІ У РОКИ «ВІДЛИГИ»: МАСШТАБИ ТА ОСОБЛИВОСТІ

The presented article is aimed at studying the liberalization processes that took place in the social and cultural life of Donbas under the influence of the «thaw». The general trends and the scope of liberalization in the region were analyzed. The regional peculiarities were identified, and the factors that determined the shift in the social consciousness of the population of the region were pointed out. The recreation of spiritual atmosphere in Donbas of 1953-1964 is important in the context of understanding the realities of the functioning of cultural elite. The author sought the ways of revealing the problem of refracting possible influences on the worldview of the creative intelligentsia of the region. The statistical data on the progress of work on the study and clarification of the resolution on the personality’s cult and the tendencies of overcoming its consequences in Donetsk and Luhansk regions were provided. The possibilities of obtaining information from foreign radio broadcasts and press sources were analyzed. It was concluded that liberalization processes in Donbas corresponded to all-Ukrainian trends and were dependent on the cultural and political processes taking place in the capitals. Simultaneously, the democratization of cultural life in the regions was inferior to those processes in terms of scale. The peculiarities of the liberalization course were related both to the specifics of the province and the regional characteristics of Donbas itself (russification, strong regional self-identification, mythologizing of the region by the authorities). The sources of expanding the consciousness of the creative intelligentsia of the region were cultural and socio-political impulses coming from the center (Kyiv, Moscow); Western mass media (radio, press); personal contacts with outstanding cultural personalities of the former USSR (tours abroad, primarily in the countries of the so-called socialist camp and visits of groups from different countries), citizens of European countries, prisoners of Stalinist camps (occasional meetings, contacts with the relatives), trips abroad (creative business trips), etc.