Soviet Legacy Research Articles

The history of post-Soviet Armenia through its political myths and symbols

We address the semiotics of conceptual shifts in the dominant discursive political and sociocultural practices of the Post-Soviet Armenia. The political history of independent Armenia is expressed through dominant political symbols and concepts, with a heterogeneous mixture of mythologized ancient history, Soviet and anti-Soviet ideologies. Attempts to create new symbols or re-interpret old ones led to significant transformations in the main discursive practices, which could form the foundation for the legitimization of the Armenian political identity. In general, if we depart from the substantive aspects, semiotic operations are governed by two main transformational principles: recursion and inversion, precisely those that Levi-Strauss described in relation to myth. At the same time, different cycles of this process can coexist in the same socio-cultural space. The political post-Soviet history of Armenia is divided into four periods, each of which is associated with a specific political regime (1990 - 1998; 1998 - 2018; 2018 - 2020; 2020 - up to present). Each of them gives rise to different political myths, both dominant (official) and oppositional, but in general, they are all based on the basic vocabulary that was formed in the late 1980s and early 1990s. Therefore, from the point of view of symbolic conceptual patterns, they are all based on the transformation (negation, inversion, and recursion) of the previous stages. Thus, the initial stage was characterized by a revaluation of values: everything Soviet was to be denied, and the Republic of Armenia of 1918-1920 was considered as a model. However, the new authorities intended to establish themselves through the myth of the creation of a fundamentally new - namely, a political nation, therefore, a tension has emerged between the concepts of reincarnation and creation. Soviet Armenia is contrasted with non-Soviet Armenia, which is then split into two opposed concepts: the First vs. the Third Republic. Then their “reconciliation” took place. It is reflected in the metanarrative of the Three Republics, and the Soviet Armenia occupies a worthy place as an intermediate link from incomplete to full-fledged independent statehood. In the 1900s, primordial narratives were revived, asserting the immutability of Armenia, starting with the legendary progenitor Hayk. At present, there is an obvious attempt to create the concept of the “Fourth Republic” based on the negation of the previous ones, up to the rejection of the Declaration of Independence as a Soviet legacy and the annulment of previous symbols (the coat of arms, the anthem, the Mount Ararat).

RUSSIAN-UKRAINIAN DISPUTES OVER SOVIET LEGACY AFTER 1991. BULGARIAN DIPLOMATIC PERSPECTIVE

The article explores the Russian-Ukrainian Cold War and Russian-Ukrainian disputes about the Soviet legacy after 1991 through the prism of Bulgarian diplomatic analysis. The main source material is unpublished documents from the archives of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Bulgaria, as well as published archives - the Boris Yeltsin Presidential Centre, and the American National Security Archive. Thematic circles focus on the Crimean Knot, Sevastopol and the Black Sea Fleet, and the fate of Soviet nuclear weapons. The analytical forecasts of Bulgarian diplomats are examined in two main vectors: geopolitical and ideological.

Adapting Nord Stream 2: How Russia adapts strategic narratives to English-speaking Polish and German audiences

Despite extensive scrutiny of how Russia has weaponized information, little work has been done on how it takes different audiences into account when designing its strategic narratives. Although scholars and practitioners agree on the importance of fitting narratives to audiences, the fact that Russia builds knowledge on audiences and that its practices are informed by a Soviet legacy of information warfare, little is known about the strategies Russia uses to adapt its strategic narratives to audiences. Through a comparative narrative study, the article investigates how Russian state media promote different narratives on Nord Stream 2 to German, Polish and English-speaking audiences. It shows how these are shaped by four adaptation strategies in which Russia amplifies, bridges, transforms and pushes back on the audiences’ pre-existing structures of meaning. This article contributes to the existing literature by deepening our knowledge of the relationship between the design of strategic narratives and their intended audience.

Russian operational art for attrition in Ukraine

Originally intended as a swift regime-change operation by the Russian leadership, the Russo-Ukrainian War has evolved into a prolonged war of attrition. In that sense, this paper reassesses the transformation of the Russian way of warfare during the war through a focus on the battles of Severodonetsk-Lysychansk, Kharkiv, Kherson, Bakhmut, Avdiivka, and the Ukrainian Summer Offensive. Accordingly, the theoretical underpinnings of Russian strategy, particularly the enduring influence of Soviet-era legacy, are highlighted in the first part. In the second part, this research offers insights into the Russian military praxis during the war by drawing on various sources, including Telegram channels. It is shown that the Russian army has focused on the combined employment of a new reconnaissance-fire system (ROS), reconnaissance-strike system (RUS), infantry assaults, and umbrella of integrated air defence and electronic warfare systems for force protection and attrition during costly offensives like Bakhmut and Avdiivka. Consequently, this paper asserts that the Russian war machine effectively responded to the necessities of attrition warfare by updating its operational art, drawing on the Soviet legacy.

PUBLIC SCULPTURE IN WARTIME UKRAINE AS A FORM OF THE STATE’S MEMORY POLITICS

The authors argue that during wartime in Ukraine, public sculpture serves as a reflection of the memory politics of the contemporary Ukrainian state. As such, these politics are aimed at breaking away from the Soviet legacy that continues to exist simultaneously in the form of hidden or sometimes obvious remnants of older colonial narratives of Ukrainian history and in the form of aesthetic artifacts akin to those that can be seen in the public space of big cities, e.g. sculptures and reliefs, etc. However, in its efforts to shed the Soviet legacy, Ukraine's memory politics often uncritically adopt dominant capitalist narratives, inadvertently perpetuating another form of cultural oppression and colonization. In addition to critiquing contemporary market-driven discourse, the authors stress the importance of not overlooking the layer of mythological memory, as it constitutes one of the most fundamental elements of Europe's cultural landscape.

V ALL-UKRAINIAN SCIENTIFIC AND PRACTICAL CONFERENCE WITH INTERNATIONAL PARTICIPATION «PERSONALITY IN THE EDUCATIONAL ENVIRONMENT OF MODERN SOCIETY»

In recent years, we have openly declared our move away from the Soviet legacy in the educational sphere. And today it is important to offer interesting practice-oriented classes to the participants of the educational process that would not push a person away from the learning process, but rather encourage them to actively immerse themselves in it. After all, the high-tech world has long recognized the special importance of science and knowledge in the civilization processes of scientific and technological progress, sustainable development of national economies, and improvement of citizens' lives. The modern interactive and meaningful educational environment has a positive impact on all participants in the educational process, from children who become more confident, curious and open-minded to adults who do not stop but continue to improve and develop professionally. Despite the fact that today Ukraine is experiencing military actions of the occupier, more than a hundred destroyed and damaged schools and higher education institutions, we must lay a stable foundation for democracy, civic engagement and professional environment of people who will continue to build the Ukrainian state. Education and science predict the prospects for human development and prepare people for tomorrow, so we must start today to form conscious citizens who will rebuild the country after our victory. We are active participants in reforms in secondary education under the New Ukrainian School Concept and transformations in higher education, which are focused on the future of Ukraine and a democratic society. Therefore, the entire education system of the region and the country is balanced and focused on the optimal network of educational institutions, on improving the content and quality of educational services, which will outline new dimensions of educational activities and performance, and provide space for the use of new digital resources for the educational development of the individual. In these areas, we find the experience of European national models of education, practices of educational activities and teaching life competencies quite interesting. 16 Ukrainian science and education is gaining unique European integration experience that promotes the use of innovative pedagogical teaching methods, the development of algorithms for using digital technologies and supporting individual entrepreneurial thinking, and the development of personal language skills as a means of active communication and professional development. All of this is done to expand educational opportunities for students' learning and development. In the above contexts, the question arises: is a new strategy in the field of education and science needed? We can confidently answer that we need a strategic plan and, in general, we need to fully adopt European principles of strategic planning - to actively fill them with new principles, plans and results of the education reform. Everything is aimed at developing and building the state and a person.

Normative power at its unlikeliest: EU democratic norms and security service reform in Ukraine

This article traces the effects of European Union (EU) normative power on security sector reform in Ukraine. We argue that to get a better grasp of how normative power works in practice, we need to scrutinize more closely the domestic journey of EU norms. This local lens allows us to uncover the inherent contestation involved in the transnational travel of norms, emphasizing the importance of local agency and local conceptions of normativity. We reveal the internal struggle between liberal democratic norms and deeply ingrained attitudes, institutions and behaviours linked to the Soviet legacy. We show how EU democratic norms gradually empower domestic constituencies and overcome domestic structural resistance to change, leading to democratic advances in a sector least likely to reform.

Emerging penality: Shifting ideologies, reconciliations and clashes

Drawing on ethnographic research in the only women's prison in Latvia, this article examines the impact of the ideological shift from socialism to neoliberalism on the way women's imprisonment operates. The aim is to provide a more nuanced understanding of how the transition from the Soviet regime to a market-led neoliberal economy has impacted women's imprisonment in the Global East, while challenging the neglect of this area by mainstream criminological scholarship. The ideological rupture introduced ‘governing through freedom’, which has currently resulted in a sophisticated amalgam of penal power fusing the Soviet legacy, which informs the ‘eastern soft power’, a rights-based approach and other western influences such as sentence planning based on inmate risks and needs. These developments have significantly transformed the power dynamics in a Latvia women's prison. On the one hand, these changes have improved staff–prisoner relationships and assisted the implementation of international rules for the treatment of prisoners while on the other, they have led to more complex, individualized and distant relationships between the women prisoners.

Nostalgia for Soviet Estonia: Discursive Elements of Shared Memory in the Facebook Group “Sovetskaia Estoniia – Eesti NSV”

This paper explores the role of online platforms in shaping a nostalgic discourse around Estonia’s Soviet past, focusing on the Facebook group “Советская Эстония – Eesti NSV” (Soviet Estonia). Despite official condemnation of the Soviet legacy, this bilingual Russian-Estonian group fosters a positive representation of the era through shared photos and personal memories. Utilizing sociolinguistic methods, the study examines posts and comment threads, unveiling discursive mechanisms employed to reinforce group identity and leverage nostalgia. Members engage in discussions that not only counter the official narrative regarding the past but also extend to contemporary political issues. The research highlights the impact of digital tools and social media in facilitating the construction of collective memory and challenging dominant historical perspectives.

Law on Higher Education and Science of the Republic of Armenia

In 1991, the Soviet model of higher education in 15 republics of the USSR, with its 5.1 million students and 946 higher education institutions, started 15 independent journeys. All countries within the Soviet heritage, shared the legacies of the single Soviet approach to higher education provision: a centrally planned organization and financing, subordination to multiple sectoral ministries, a national curriculum, a vocational orientation based on the combination of strong basic education and narrow specialized job-related training, a nomenclature of types of higher education institutions, tuition-free study places and guaranteed employment upon graduation combined with mandatory job placement. After 70 years of Soviet legacy, back in 1991 Armenia initiated its independent journey. The Law on Higher and Postgraduate Education of the Republic of Armenia (RA) entered into force on April 14, 1999 and since then has undergone a number of amendments. Back in 2019 a new draft Law on Higher Education and Science was published on the Unified Website for Publication of Legal Acts’ Drafts, inviting public discussions from 03.12.2019 till 18.12.2019. Throughout two decades this was the first time when major and fundamental amendments were foreseen in the existing law on Higher and Postgraduate Education and the Law on Scientific and Scientific-Technical operations; at least this is what has been announced by the Ministry of Education, Science, Culture and Sport (MoESCS). However, the reality is that after long- lasting public discussions, debates and a lot of time spent on final version of the document, on August 2, 2021, the Constitutional Court declared the law “On Higher Education and Science” unconstitutional. This paper aims to analyze the reasons behind the proposed amendments to existing laws and the negative reception of the draft law. Specifically, it focuses on the Draft Law on Higher Education and Science, examining the historical, social, and political factors that may have influenced the agenda-setting process. Additionally, the paper employs a critical policy discourse analysis framework, with a particular emphasis on contextualization, to study the agenda-setting process.

The development of state-legal regulation and certain civil law aspects of the higher education system in the Republic of Kazakhstan

Relevance. Modernisation in the higher education system is designed to ensure the stable position of the Republic of Kazakhstan in the world arena, as well as guarantee the future of its citizens and, importantly, develop the country's human capital. Purpose. This paper aims to provide an overview of the legal reforms of the higher education system in the Republic of Kazakhstan, as well as a brief description of the advantages of the higher education system. Methodology. The study reviews and analyses relevant laws, government programs, and strategic documents related to higher education reform in Kazakhstan. It also provides comparisons to higher education systems in other countries. Results. The analysis reveals that Kazakhstan has made significant strides in modernizing its higher education system through a series of reforms. These reforms include the introduction of new educational standards, decentralization of educational management, and the implementation of international accreditation standards. The study also identifies challenges such as the Soviet legacy and issues arising from the adaptation of foreign educational models. Conclusions. Kazakhstan has made significant efforts to modernize its higher education system and increase international competitiveness. While much progress has been made in a short time, challenges remain in fully implementing reforms and ensuring high-quality education. The government continues to prioritize higher education development through strategic programs and policies. Keywords: higher education system; consumers of educational services; quality of education; quality of educational services; accreditation; regulatory legal acts

Legal problems of extrajudicial removal of a child: Soviet legacy, current state and legislative prospects

The article analyzes such a measure as the removal of a child by decision of the guardianship and trusteeship authorities, which was allowed in 1927–1968, after which it was canceled, and since 1996 it has returned to family law and has become allowed not in all cases of inappropriate parental behavior, but only if there is an immediate threat to the life and health of the child. An assessment is also given of bills devoted to reforming the norms of the Family Code of the Russian Federation on the removal of a child by decision of the guardianship and trusteeship authorities. The article presents arguments in favor of the legislative idea of the need to deprive guardianship and trusteeship authorities of the powers to independently extrajudicially remove a child from the family and leave these powers only to police officers.

The theme of Cossacks in Shcherbytskyi's work

Soviet heritage in Ukraine is not only monuments to Lenin and cultural stereotypes, but also infrastructure and industry. The fact that Ukraine is still a space state is also a Soviet legacy. It is obvious that the complexity and ambiguity of the Soviet past should call for more reflections on various topics related to the USSR. For example, in studies of the "Soviet" period, the modernization approach is practically not used, many topics remain outside the attention of researchers, the main focus is only on negative experiences (repressions, Holodomor, Russification). This is often a criticism not only of the Bolsheviks, but actually of the entire leftist idea and a kind of negative discrediting advance for future leftist organizations and parties in Ukraine. In addition, "Soviet" is often evaluated as something static, non-dynamic, purely negative. But the Soviet Ukraine of Kaganovich and Kosior is not the Soviet Ukraine of Shelest and Shcherbytskyi. There were changes in the average life expectancy of citizens of the republic and the structure of the family. At the same time, the process of Russification of the population intensified, one of the greatest man-made disasters in the history of mankind occurred, and the oppression of dissidents continued.

Наука в позднесоветских вузах: регулирование, иерархии, взаимодействия

The introductory article problematizes the understudied issues of the institutional history of science in the late Soviet higher education (HE) from the 1950s to the 1980s, generalizing on the articles of the thematic issue. The authors depart from the idea of multiple modes of governance and the agency of universities and rely on a combination of “history from above” and “history from below”. Analyzing organizational forms along with insti-tutional logics, the authors find that the functioning of HE science was more complex than proponents of its “secondary” character and isolation from the academic and industrial sectors suggest. The increasing substantive and organizational complexity of HE science required more fine-tuned management. However, the development of non-directive regulatory mechanisms and informal interactions, while partially solving this problem, even led to increased tension under the dominance of command-administrative measures. The late Soviet period is charac-terized by the increasing complexity of HEI hierarchy in terms of the volume and nature of scientific research work (R&D). High competition led to the consolidation of a group of leading universities, which later became the forerunners of post-Soviet national research universities. Although HEIs demonstrated remarkable adaptabil-ity to changes in scientific and technological policies, their agentic strategies were reactive, tending to maintain the status quo rather than contribute to institutional changes. The late Soviet period was also marked by the im-plicit spread of pro-market logics and mechanisms of interaction, such as competition, contract research, effi-ciency discourse, economization, and quantification. It enables us to find the deep roots of neoliberal reforms in post-Soviet higher education in Soviet legacy.

FORMATION OF NATIONAL ENVIRONMENTAL LAW IN THE REPUBLIC OF UZBEKISTAN

In the modern world, environmental problems and environmental protection occupy a central place on the agenda of many countries, including the Republic of Uzbekistan.In the context of Uzbekistan, which is striving for sustainable development, the study of the formation and development of national legislation in the field of ecology is of particular interest. Throughout the history of independence, Uzbekistan has been actively working on the formation of a legal framework regulating environmental issues. The key stages of this process were the period of independence and the influence of the Soviet legacy on the formation of relevant legislation.

A person VS the state: studying access to justice

The purpose of this article is to expand the access to justice research agenda by focusing on a person’s identity in dispute with state authority. Keeping in mind that everyone should be able to challenge governmental actions and decisions adverse to their rights or interests, in- depth research on access to justice in “a person vs the state” disputes which takes place in courts of administrative jurisdiction, is needed. The methodology of the research acknowledges the unavailability of statistical data about the litigants, and the finding of the study which shows that different groups defended their rights with varying degrees of success. Thus, an innovative approach to the analysis of the Supreme Court judgements was used. It envisions leaving aside legal issues such as statutory interpretation, and instead examines the judgements through the lens of litigant’s characteristics. The findings show that the judgements of the Administrative Court of Cassation within the Supreme Court reflect the diversity of characteristics of persons who apply to administrative courts, including categories directly named in the Constitution of Ukraine as well as not specifically mentioned in it, such as war veterans, IDPs, etc. The financial status of the litigants varies from low-income to quite wealthy, and a certain category of plaintiff is not limited to one type of specific legal problem. For example, “property owners” challenge the decisions of state agencies in a wide range of areas: taxation, urban planning, social benefits, freedom of movements, etc. However, the vast majority of “a person vs the state” disputes concern the refusal to provide some benefits rather than action against a violation of human rights and fundamental freedoms. This can be seen as a Soviet legacy to perceive the state as a welfare provider. Following the people-centered approach to access to justice is essential to reorient the court statistics from “cases and files” to litigants and their characteristics which allow to relay on data to find out whether there is any connection between some features (characteristics) of litigants and types of lawsuits.

Path Dependencies of (Un-)sustainable Land Use in Central Asia

Abstract Across Central Asia, agricultural and agroforestry practices have been shaped by a high-modernist approach since about the 1950s, with the aim of overcoming ecological limitations. Negative repercussions of this approach still affect local developments, but a shift towards resource-conserving production systems faces constraints—many of which relate to so-called ‘path dependencies’, i.e. historically-evolved institutions constraining the current practices, policies and local imaginaries of (un-)sustainable land use in various ways. Drawing on case studies from agriculture and agroforestry developments in Xinjiang (China), Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan, the paper explores these mechanisms and reveals a modernisation paradigm as a major source of path dependency. Moreover, the paper highlights aspects that are sometimes overlooked in the path dependency literature on Central Asia: first, path dependency should not be confused with Soviet legacies, and second, not all agricultural policies in the past were environmentally detrimental; in fact, reviving some aspects could actually be beneficial.

Is the New Path a Modified Old Path?

Abstract This article reviews the Soviet legacy in relation to contemporary cotton production in south-western Tajikistan and asks why farmers are still locked in to Soviet cotton production policies and practices despite post-Soviet regulatory, societal and environmental changes. With hindsight on Soviet agricultural production policies in Central Asia, this contribution scrutinises the perception of smallholder dehkhan farmers towards continued cotton production as a primary crop choice, which continues to occupy most of the irrigated land in the Khatlon region. For the analyses of the post-Soviet agricultural developments, the paper applies a path dependence conceptual framework by positing the significance of historical and social contexts in policymaking and socio-economic development in cotton production. Fieldwork data collected in two districts of Khatlon region are used to explain that despite post-independence land reforms and the abolishment of Soviet authority over cotton production, smallholder dehkhan farmers are still cultivating cotton as a primary crop under deteriorating land and irrigation conditions.

MORAL AND ETHICAL COMPONENT OF SCIENCE IN TIMES OF WAR

MORAL AND ETHICAL COMPONENT OF SCIENCE IN TIMES OF WAR

Wood in Lithuanian and Finnish architecture: the legacy of architectural tradition and possibilities for its contemporary use

ABSTRACT Lithuania has a long tradition of using wooden architecture. Wooden structures have, however, started to decline in number, not only because of new materials and technologies, but also due to Soviet legacies. Bearing in mind the current importance of sustainability and resilience, the authors discuss why contemporary wooden architecture thrives in some countries of the Baltic/Nordic region, especially in Finland, while it continues to be marginalized in Lithuania. The authors suggest that this is due to the lack of an integral understanding of wooden architecture in Lithuania’s society and state institutions. Advances in architectural phenomenology as well as the demands of sustainability might change the status quo in Lithuania.