Soviet Republics Research Articles

Ordinary Grieving in the Lithuanian SSR: Atheization, Hybrid Meanings and Emotional Response

Abstract The article raises the question of what impact Soviet atheization, driven by Nikita Khrushchev’s reforms, had on the grief of ordinary post-Stalinist Soviet people. The analysis focuses on the case of one of the Soviet republics, the Lithuanian SSR, examining the emotions and meanings of grief that manifested in society during the 1960s to 1980s. The article argues that society reacted in two interrelated ways to Soviet policies: it formed a complex of hybrid meanings of death, combining pre-Soviet and new meanings, and developed an exceptionally emotional relationship with death. The article focuses on the expressions of grief used to mourn the deaths of distinguished individuals, which set normative boundaries for grieving and those for ordinary people. The analysis is based on the inscriptions on funeral wreaths, sympathy telegrams, and epitaphs on monuments, serving as material expressions of grief.

United response of Lithuanian nation to J Stalin.

On 21 July 1940, the puppet ‘people’s’ Seimas, elected during fraudulent election, declared that the Soviet system was being established in Lithuania and decided to ask the Supreme Soviet of the USSR to admit the LSSR to the USSR as a union republic. The ‘voluntary accession’ took place. The propagandists of the LKP(b) proclaimed that the ‘people’s’ Seimas had thus expressed the will of the entire Lithuanian nation. In the summer of 1945, the Central Committee of the LKP(b) (apparently on the ‘advice’ of the LKP(b) office in Lithuania) had a good opportunity to show its slavish submission to the dictator Stalin on the eve of the 5th anniversary of the proclamation of Soviet power and the “incorporation of the LSSR into the union of the fraternal Soviet republics”. On this occasion, the leadership of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Lithuania (LKP (b)) decided to send a letter of gratitude to Stalin, signed by the Lithuanian population. Although some agitators even threatened Siberia and the NKVD, the Lithuanians boycotted the signing of the letter in towns and countryside.

Native, but unique: Jews of Georgia, Azerbaijan, Uzbekistan and their neighbours revealed through their twentieth century demographic profiles

ABSTRACT In the course of seven decades of Soviet rule, the republics of the Caucasus and Central Asia underwent tremendous transformations: civil wars, class purges, religious persecutions, liberation of the women of the East, accelerated urbanization and industrialization, collectivization, cultural revolution and language reforms, the turmoil of World War-II, Russification, and Sovietization. All of these combined with numerous waves of internal migrations and forced deportations. This article aims to examine the main demographic developments that took place during this era in three Soviet republics: Georgia, Azerbaijan and Uzbekistan. The article focuses on demographic data published in the all-Union Soviet Censuses of 1926, 1939, 1959, 1970, 1979 and 1989. It presents the statistical data with regard to the Jewish population of those republics (local/native and Ashkenazi) and compares it to the titular populations (i.e., Georgians, Azeris and Uzbeks) and to other major minorities of those republics: Russians, Armenians and the Tajiks. The demographic review is limited to five main sections: changes in national composition; urbanization; population composition (according to age and family size); and literacy rates and levels of education. By doing so, the article makes an effort to draw a broad picture of major demographic developments and to trace social similarities and differences of the groups under discussion.

Benchmarking research performance in a post-Soviet science system: the case of Armenia

Thirty years after the dissolution of the USSR, the significant disparity between the research infrastructures of former Soviet republics and Western countries remains evident. Despite various efforts to transform national research systems through policies aimed at encouraging participation in global academic networks, enhancing research quality, and disseminating results through high-impact international journals, the gap persists. This paper first examines the reforms implemented by the Armenian science system to integrate more closely with the European Research Area. It then presents the outcomes of a bibliometric research evaluation exercise, using Italy as a benchmark. Based on 2017–2021 WoS data, we measured the research productivity (scholarly impact) at the individual level of almost 4000 Armenian scientists. By aggregating this data at the meso and macro levels, we provide a comprehensive picture of the Armenian research system’s strengths and weaknesses. These insights are valuable for informing future policy interventions aimed at enhancing the science system through adaptation to global standards.

Ретроспективный и перспективный анализ миграционных процессов в Республике Башкортостан

The article presents a retrospective and prospective analysis of the migration processes that took place in Bashkortostan, as well as an attempt to regulate them by the state. A brief reference is given on ancient migra-tion and the formation of ethnic communities in Bashkiria, but the greatest attention is paid in the text of the twentieth and early twentieth centuries. The most complex and, as researchers call it, “stressful” migration flows occurred in the region during the First World War, the Civil War and the Great Patriotic War. At this time, the au-thorities have to create organizations that regulate and control migration processes. So, back in 1914–1915, bureaus, reference offices, and committees appeared to track and assist refugees, prisoners, and transit work-ers. During the Civil War and the Great Patriotic War, a whole system of work with refugees, the wounded and the evacuated population was already created. After the war and in the late Soviet period, migration processes took on the appearance of internal and were mainly inter-regional in nature and the nature of urbanization. In the 90s, there was practically no government regulation of migration, as society and the authorities solved prob-lems of economic and political importance. Therefore, migration processes had a spontaneous appearance and were multidirectional. On the one hand, labor migrants from Central Asia were returning to Bashkortostan from the former Soviet republics, on the other. Conclusion: today it is necessary to use the best practices from the past, which have been most successfully and effectively applied by the state to regulate and manage mi-gration processes, but modernizing and adapting to the realities of the present.

AZERBAIJANI WOMEN IN THE FIRST 20 YEARS OF POST-SOVIET TRANSITION PERIOD

The collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991 marked a historical moment for the fifteen former Soviet republics, including Azerbaijan, as they embarked on a journey of nation-building and identity formation. Post-Soviet Azerbaijan experienced a revival of pre-Soviet traditions, particularly in the realm of Islam, alongside a redefinition of national identity spearheaded by predominantly nationalist male elites. This process was intricately linked to the changing role of women in Azerbaijani society. While the Soviet era had seen efforts to empower women, including advancements in education and legal rights, the dissolution of the Union brought forth a renewed emphasis on Islam and traditional gender roles. This study analyzes the position of women in post-Soviet Azerbaijan, and underlines that it reveals a complex interplay of cultural, religious, and economic factors. It is aimed to show that Azerbaijani women navigate a unique path, blending secularism with Islamic values while adapting to changing socio-economic realities. The study is important because it emphasizes that while Azerbaijan grapples with the legacy of Soviet rule and navigates the challenges of transition, the evolving role of women emerges as a key determinant of future societal dynamics. Their experiences offer insights not only into the Azerbaijani context but also into broader discussions of gender, religion, and nation-building across former Soviet republics, particularly those with Muslim populations.

LEGAL AND POLITICAL ASPECTS OF SOVIET-GERMAN URANIUM MINING IN THE SOVIET OCCUPATION ZONE OF GERMANY (SBZ) AND THE GDR

The Soviet nuclear weapons programme, which was stepped up from 1945, required a lot of uranium. The Soviet Union itself only had a few small deposits in the Central Asian Soviet republics. It was dependent on uranium from countries in its sphere of influence. This included the Soviet Occupied Zone, from which the Soviet Union was to receive its reparations for war damage caused by Germany in accordance with the Potsdam resolutions of the three Allies. The Soviet Occupation Zone had suspected uranium deposits in the Saxon Ore Mountains, which, together with neighbouring deposits discovered in Thuringia, developed into the largest deposits in the entire socialist camp with the delivery of around 216,000 tonnes of enriched uranium. The article deals with the legal and political aspects of this uranium mining, which was initially purely Soviet from 1945 to 1953 and Soviet-German from 1954 onwards.

Doświadczenia wojenne w narracjach żołnierek Armii Czerwonej a trudności z rozwiązywaniem kryzysów rozwojowych

This paper is a psychological analysis of the experiences of former Red Army female soldiers fighting in the World War II. The empirical material includes the narratives of 150 female soldiers collected by Svetlana Alexievich in her book “War’s Unwomanly Face” (2015). The book contains the interviews conducted 40 years after the World War II by the author, who talked to the female soldiers from different former Soviet Republics. The analysis of the narratives was based on the developmental psychology life span paradigm and applying the concept of experience structuring and restructuring by Maria Tyszkowa (1988), as well as the psychosocial development theory by Eric Erikson (1997). The most important war and post-war experiences were listed and defined with reference to the narratives analysed and subsequently each experience was evaluated in cognitive, emotional and evaluational terms according to the theory of M. Tyszkowa. The criteria listed above showed to what extent the war and post-war experiences of the female soldiers enriched them in cognitive terms, what was their emotional impact and how they can be evaluated as useful in terms of values that are of greatest importance for these women. The analysis allowed to compare the war and post-war experiences and to find which of them and to what extent influenced the developmental changes taking place in the course of their life. It was concluded that the experience of being a soldier had greater impact on these changes than finding the path in the post-war reality. The impact of the war experiences was very strong, it extended their self-knowledge and influenced the way in which these female soldiers perceived the world. It speeded up significantly their process of growing-up and becoming mature. The post-war experiences of these women, such as the criticism for being soldiers or excluding them from the celebrations of the Red Army’s victory, had a destructive impact on their development and resulted in feeling guilty for being forced to kill during the war. Social rejection was a factor that hindered these women in successfully overcoming their developmental crises. They showed courage and bravery during the war, but in the post-war reality became insecure, withdrawn and lacked confidence, as they lost their sense of agency.

Встановлення та юридичне оформлення кордонів Української РСР з сусідами – кордон з Білоруською РСР

This article is part of a series dedicated to the establishment of the borders of the Ukrainian SSR (and its legal continuation under the Union Constitution of 5 December 1936 of the Ukrainian SSR) with the neighbouring Soviet republics – the RSFSR, the Belorussian SSR (BSSR) and the Moldavian ASSR (Moldavian Autonomous Socialist Soviet Republic; since 1936 – the Moldavian Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic) and the latter’s legal successor – the Moldavian SSR. The author points out that the issue of territorial demarcation between the Ukrainian SSR and the BSSR in 1924 was resolved primarily on the basis of the demographic factor and was not accompanied by such brutal pressure as it was when drawing the borderline between the two republics with the RSFSR. During the establishment of the inter-republican borders of the USSR, the Ukrainian delegation (the commission of D. Bahalii and M. Hrushevskyi) expressed its readiness to voluntarily transfer to the BSSR territories with a predominantly Belarusian population – on ethnographic grounds. In turn, the Belorussian faction of the conciliation commission, headed by the chairman of the Central Election Commission of Belarus, A. Cherviakov, was ready to support the Ukrainian SSR in its territorial arrangement with the RSFSR. As a result, the issue of republican borders was referred to the Politburo of the Central Committee of the CPSU (b). A conflict of interest emerged during the division of the Polish inheritance (autumn 1939), with the piquancy of the situation being that the interests of the BSSR were defended by the first secretary of the CP (b), P. Ponomarenko, a Ukrainian by nationality, and the Ukrainian SSR – by the Russian N. Khrushchev. The author suggests that the current Ukrainian-Belarusian border generally corresponds to ethnographic characteristics and does not require any correction, even in view of economic considerations (such as, for example, the exchange of territories with Moldova). Keywords: borders of the Ukrainian SSR, borders of modern Ukraine, legal regulation of the national question in the internal policy of the USSR.

The Creation of the Community of Political Prisoners and Resistance in the GULAG Special Regime Camps (1948–1954)

This article analyses the evolution of the system of GULAG special regime camps during 1948–1954 and the development of the status, identity and the formation of the community of political prisoners incarcerated there, as well as the resistance and struggle of political prisoners for the liquidation of the special imprisonment regime in the camp is also reviewed. The author of the article summarizes the most recent works of Lithuanian and foreign historians, and has utilized an abundance of memoirs of former political prisoners and sources published in separate collections of documents. The Soviet Union officially maintained that there were no political prisoners in the country, only persons who had committed crimes against the state. Articles on anti-state crimes of the criminal codes of Soviet republics were applied broadly in practice. Their wording meant that not only ideological enemies of the Soviet state and the system were covered by the political charges, but also affected apolitical Soviet citizens. Therefore, political prisoners imprisoned in the GULAG for anti-state crimes for a long time failed to form an ideologically uniform and purposeful community able to successfully resist abuse at the hands of the camp administration and criminal prisoners. However, after the Second World War the composition of the political prisoner population changed: more determined and active enemies of the Soviet system were imprisoned in camps, including members of anti-Soviet armed resistance and underground youth organisations. This not only changed the situation of political prisoners in the camps, but also was one on the main reasons for separating political prisoners from the general prisoner population in 1948 and moving the politicals to camps of special regime. Camps of special prison regimes, which were active in 1948–1954, possessed features of both camps and closed prisons. Their aim was to isolate and then physically and morally break the most active enemies of the Soviet state. However, despite the strict regime, special camps became the main place for the political prisoners' consciousness-raising and discovery of their identity. Continuing their tradition of armed resistance, members of resistance movements who were imprisoned in camps after the Second World War struggled against criminal prisoners and prisoners who assisted the administration of camps. The forms of resistance were similar but they developed in an organised manner, to various extents, in all camps of the special regime. During 1951–1952, the resistance of political prisoners in the special regime camps manifested itself by single actions and hunger-strikes. While the community of political prisoners was taking shape, these spontaneous unorganised protest actions developed into mass strikes and revolts. In 1953–1954 thousands of prisoners of Gorlag, Rechlag and Steplag camps went on strike. During the general strikes. the strength of the relations among the communities of political prisoners and the effectiveness of methods of unarmed struggle were tested. Although the largest strikes during 1953–1954 in the special regime camps were suppressed, the Soviet government was forced to satisfy the demands of the prisoners: liquidate the special imprisonment regime; create better working and living conditions; begin the review of criminal cases of political prisoners and then to rehabilitate them. By the end of 1956, most political prisoners were released from the camps and amnestied.

Evolution of Kazakhstan’s foreign policy

Kazakhstan’s foreign policy began to take shape after the disintegration of the USSR. Changed geopolitical conditions set new tasks for the state. It became necessary to elaborate new approaches to external affairs. The peculiarity of Astana’s diplomacy was the expansion of relations with non-regional states while maintaining economic and political ties with the former Soviet republics. The article concludes that the foreign course of Kazakhstan was established under the influence of country’s economic development, its internal political processes and external factors. These aspects were reflected in the fundamental documents that were adopted in Kazakhstan in the following decades. The research highlights the main stages of Astana’s foreign policy and identifies the factors that determined the development of the state. In addition, it is concluded that the diplomacy of Kazakhstan was characterized by a balanced approach, which took into consideration the economic and political opportunities of the country. In recent decades, Astana’s foreign policy has been under the increased influence of non-regional actors, which show growing attention to Central Asia and the states of the area.

Relations between the Soviet Lithuanian Government and the Baltic Military District in 1963–1986

The Soviet annexation of Lithuania was also manifested in aspects such as supplying the Soviet army with the required resources. The influence of the Soviet army and the relations between the armed forces and the local authorities in Lithuania has not been thoroughly investigated. A study of the relations between the Soviet Lithuanian government and the Baltic Military District draws on numerous archival materials of 1963–1986, and reveals the basic tendencies in the relations. The influence of the Soviet military ethos is the primary characteristic of the relations between the Soviet army and the local authority. According to the Soviet military doctrine, the Soviet Union was expecting the potential use of nuclear weapons by Western countries, and was preparing for war. The Soviet republics, including Lithuania, had to implement prescriptions initiated in Moscow for preparations for war. Changes in the military doctrine influenced changes in the military and military-social demands. The demands of the military involved mainly requirements to enlarge the land possessions of the Baltic Military District and its garrisons, to provide the military with accommodation, to improve the condition of the country's roads, the mobilization of agricultural machinery, and the mobilization of people into the Soviet army. To meet the demands of the military, the Lithuanian government usually used local resources. Relations between the Soviet Lithuanian government and the Baltic Military District in the sphere of land assignations had no united model. In the period 1963–1986 a substantial change in relations took place, increasing the number of failures to satisfy the military's requests. The consumption of Lithuanian forests by the military was one of the factors that influenced the changes in relations between the Baltic Military District and the Lithuanian government. The control of the exploitation of forests was a sphere where the Soviet Lithuanian authority expressed a particular position with regard to Soviet Lithuania's economic interests. The relations between the Soviet Lithuanian government and the Baltic Military District depended on the possibility of the local authority to provide the army with accommodation. To guarantee the military housing, the Lithuanian government established the „10 percent fee“ and also developed mass construction works. Nevertheless, in the Seventies, Lithuania fell into debt supplying accommodation to the Baltic Military District. The Soviet army did not always occupy a superior and inflexible place in Soviet Lithuania. In the Eighties some alterations between the Soviet Lithuanian government and the Baltic Military District relations in the field of mobilization potential were effected. Organizations and companies in Soviet Lithuania disregarded the implementation of military mobilization schedules. Periodically, in people's attitude towards So military service, changes appeared.

States and Their Diasporas

Abstract In assessing the emerging role of diasporas in contemporary international relations, several states have established state structures to engage with their diasporas and develop special policies related to them. This article addresses the creation of such a policy, using the example of Soviet Armenia’s relations with the Armenian diaspora, highlighting the setup of institutions tasked to work with that diaspora, the main directions of this activity, and policy changes regarding the Armenian diaspora. The article demonstrates that by developing connections with the diaspora the Soviet authorities aimed above all to enhance the prestige of the Soviet Union abroad, especially in countries with substantial diasporic Armenian populations. Paradoxically, the ties they forged also facilitated the establishment and growth of institutional relations between the Soviet Republic of Armenia and the Armenian diaspora, leading to a significant increase in, and the pursuit of, activities related to specifically Armenian national and cultural identity.

Institutional transformation of the children’s after-sсhool sector in post-Soviet countries

ABSTRACT This study examines the institutional transformation of extracurricular education systems across the 15 former Soviet republics using Qualitative Comparative Analysis (QCA). Drawing on national statistics, policy documents, and expert interviews, the research identifies three distinct transformation scenarios: reproduction, modernisation, and degeneration. The analysis reveals varying degrees of change, from low-level transformation in countries maintaining significant state involvement to high-level transformation where the sector has undergone substantial restructuring. The study employs a composite index to quantify institutional change and explores key parameters such as coverage, accessibility, and legislative frameworks. While highlighting the persistence of Soviet legacy in some nations, the research also demonstrates the dynamic nature of these transformations, with some countries transitioning between scenarios. This comparative approach provides valuable insights into the evolving landscape of extracurricular education in post-Soviet space.

The issue of women in the Khorezm People's Soviet Republic (1920-1924)

This article aims to shed light on issues related to the social life of women in the Khorezm People's Soviet Republic in 1920-1924, such as education, family and marital relations, and the activities of the Department for Working with Women.

Особенности демографических процессов в Республике Южная Осетия в послевоенный период с 2008 года

Introduction. Military actions, leading to mass migration and increased mortality, have a significant impact on the number and structure of the population of the states in which they take place. The Republic of South Ossetia, which has experienced two armed conflicts over the past 30 years (in 1991-1992 and 2008), has faced deep demographic upheavals that require detailed analysis and understanding today. At the same time, the study of the demographic situation in South Ossetia is important not only for the Republic itself, but also for the entire Caucasus region and the international community. The experience of South Ossetia may be useful for other post-conflict territories facing similar problems. Goal. The study aims to assess the demographic trends in the Republic of South Ossetia in 2008-2022, the period after the military aggression by Georgia. Materials and methods. The work used statistical data collected from various sources, including official population censuses and reports from State authorities. Quantitative and qualitative analysis methods have been applied to assess the size and structure of the population, the mechanical movement of the population, as well as trends in the development of demographic processes. Results and discussion. As a result of the study, the following features of the demographic development of the Republic in the period after the war in 2008 were identified: the restoration of the population due to fertility, the return of the indigenous population and the positive migration influx from Russia and the former Soviet republics; the instability of the gender and age structure of the population, where certain age groups reflect the consequences of military operations; the increase in urbanization processes characterized by gradual resettlement population from villages to the capital of the Republic – Tskhinval and nearby settlements. Conclusion. Accordingly, the study of demographic changes in the Republic of South Ossetia after the war with Georgia is an important step towards understanding and solving problems related to the restoration and development of the region, ensuring the well-being of its population and maintaining stability. The results of the study emphasize the importance of an integrated approach to demographic and migration policy in South Ossetia, including measures to stimulate fertility and improve living conditions for the local population.

Учреждение советского федерализма, 1918–1924

Background. In the Russian theory of the state, the topic of federalism naturally occupies a prominent place, bearing in mind the glorious history of the Soviet and Russian Federation. At the same time, the study of its initial stage is especially relevant against the background of attempts by Western authors to discredit the Russian federal model as "improper", "incorrect", unlike the American version of federal relations. Materials and methods. The analysis of the federalization process in our country was carried out on the basis of published state and legal sources in a comprehensive manner – using not so much historical and legal approaches as historical and state studies approaches. A wide range of published sources, articles and monographs was used. The comparative method as applied to the solution of national problems in different regions, as well as the methods of analysis and synthesis, proved to be extremely useful. Results. The author stated that the first documents of the Soviet power, adopted in 1918, did not contain the necessary specifics, which can be explained by the lack of the necessary practical experience. The difficulties of solving the national question in 1918–1919 are shown using the example of Turkestan and the Tatar-Bashkir Republic. The limited resources of the Bolsheviks in relation to the Baltics are demonstrated. An explanation is given for the increased conflict potential in Ukraine and the mistakes of the Bolshevik leadership in terms of excessive leniency towards Ukrainian nationalism are noted. At the same time, I.V. Stalin was more of a strategic realist than V.I. Lenin, who limited himself to solving only tactical problems. The Treaty of December 30, 1922 on the creation of the USSR was, to a certain extent, an agreement of intent. Its revision and specification were carried out throughout 1923. The party leadership had to counteract the hidden manoeuvres of Ukrainian nationalists and Muslim separatists, as demonstrated by the materials of the 13th Congress of the RCP(b) and the 5th Conference of the Central Committee of the RCP with responsible officials of the national republics. Thus, it was possible to defend the optimal design of the USSR in its initial outlines consisting of 4 union republics, the core of which was the RSFSR, dominant in area and population. Conclusions. The process of federalization of our country should not be understood narrowly, reducing everything to the Union Treaty of December 30, 1922, but broadly - in all its duration and complexity. In early 1922, the preliminary stage of consolidation of the Soviet republics ended, and the process of proto-federalization was finally completed at the end of 1922. The very establishment of the federal state during 1923 concentrated two simultaneously ongoing processes – constitutional consolidation and the formation of institutions. In this, the USSR differed from classical bourgeois federations (for example, the USA), where these processes developed sequentially, since the extraordinary conditions of the organization of our country required the concentration of all efforts.

The Russian-Ukrainian War and the Eastern Partnership Program

The article aims to present the EU Eastern Partnership program in the context of the Russian-Ukrainian war. The Eastern Partnership program was launched in 2009 and covered six former Soviet republics: Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, Moldova, and Ukraine. Ukraine achieved all the main goals of the Partnership, which did not provide any prospects for membership in the European Union. The situation changed in 2022 with the Russian full-scale invasion of Ukraine. One of the effects was Ukraine submitting a formal application for EU membership in 2022, and in 2023, the EU decided to start accession negotiations with Ukraine. The article aims to diagnose the effects and perspectives of the Eastern Partnership program in connection with the architecture of international relations and security in Europe. The most important research question is: Will the Russian-Ukrainian war and the resulting emergence of a new geopolitical map of Europe mean a more active role for the EU towards the Eastern Partnership countries? The following theses were put forward in the article: The impact of the Russian-Ukrainian war on the EU’s Eastern Partnership has been significant because, in particular, it significantly impacted the EU’s relationship with Russia and should lead to the more active involvement of the EU in the situation of its eastern neighbors. The changes brought about by the Russian-Ukrainian war should lead to certain modifications of the Eastern Partnership because, in the current situation, this program is no longer an adequate instrument of the European Union’s eastern policy. Methods of content analysis of documents and publications, were used in the article.

Unity of Applied Sociology and Social Philosophy

Sheregi’s account on his own scientific research is an unusual tale with multiple layers to it, with its origins lying in events that transpired half a century ago and the tale itself culminating in reports about current scientific research. The events mentioned in the account are not assigned any specific dates, but the era is given away by major events that happened during any given time and even more so by the subject matter of whatever studies are presented. You have your Komsomol construction projects, including the Baikal-Amur Mainline (BAM), then you have a series of studies that were supposed to gauge what the youth thought about decisions made at Komsomol conventions. Then you have opinions held by various groups of the youth and the general population in regards to Mikhail Gorbachev’s social and economic innovations. As time goes on election surveys and attempts to predict who will win an election become a relevant topic. Then you’re presented with a comprehensive look into research on issues related to youth, college students, teachers, next to that you have studies that look into various forms of deviant behavior exhibited by young Russians. This isn’t simply a list of topics for research: in his work Sheregi delves into the very essence of his approach towards dealing with sociological subject matter. For example, when analyzing the ethnic composition of the workforce involved in the construction of the BAM dispatched from different Soviet republics, he noticed that the vast majority of those who were coming in were ethnic Russians, which prompted him to conclude that the country would soon fall apart. Content analysis of corresponding plans of publishing houses for the years 1975–1985 refute official statements made by the government alleging that inflation was nonexistent in the country. One thing that is unique compared to autobiographies written by other Russian sociologists would be Sheregi describing his own career path. It basically boils down to him actively avoiding government service. The new forms of labor relations, as well as new approaches towards coordinating scientific research that came about during the time of the perestroika immediately caught his attention, they reminded him of what he learned in the early years of his own life living in the Hungarian part of Western Ukraine, which for a long time harbored skills and traditions inherent to a capitalist economy. Also Sheregi elaborated on what motivated him to establish his own (private) research center, on top of inventing a particular way of organizing scientific research that turned out to be much more effective compared to what was practiced in state-curated sociology departments. One initiative of his center that stands out in particular is the publication and distribution of literature on sociology, which is something that has been actively ongoing and almost exclusively done charitably: at the moment this “small library” consists of about 250 books. In recent years various circumstances of his life have prompted F. Sheregi to make a comeback and once again pursue theoretical sociology, and just as before his efforts involve inventive ways to formulate problems and a unique outlook on their genesis and resolution.

Ինչո՞ւ Ազգերի լիգան 1920 թ. չի վիճարկել Արևելահայաստանում Հայաստանի Հանրապետության տիտղոսը և օրինական չի ճանաչել Ադրբեջանական Դեմոկրատական Հանրապետության տարածքային հավակնությունները

The article substantiates the thesis that none of the republics that appeared in the 20th century in Transcaucasia under the name Azerbaijan were established by an act of self-determination and did not have legally established borders. The first of them - the Azerbaijan Democratic Republic (ADR) - was created in 1918 by Ottoman troops invading Transcaucasia. The League of Nations refused the ADR's request to join its ranks, recognizing its territorial claims as unfounded either historically or demographically and noting the impossibility of defining its territories (and therefore its borders). It turned out that the formula “consisting of Eastern and Southern Transcaucasia” of the Declaration of Independence of the ADR, which formed the basis of its territorial claims, could not be verified. As far as the Republic of Armenia (RA) is concerned, the League did not challenge its title in the ethnically Armenian territories of the Russian Empire including Artsakh and marked the future territories of the RA after the entry into force of the Woodrow Wilson arbitration award. The ADR left history without recognized territories and borders when the XI Red Army of Soviet Russia entered Baku on April 28, abolished the ADR and proclaimed the Azerbaijan Soviet Socialist Republic (Az.SSR). The determination of the borders of the Transcaucasian Soviet republics was left to the government of Soviet Russia, which had entered into an agreement with Kemalist Turkey. In 1921, Nakhichevan and Nagorno-Karabakh (Artsakh), already recognized as territories of Soviet Armenia (Armenian SSR), were separated from the Armenian SSR and included within the borders of the Az. SSR. Nakhichevan - according to the Treaty of Kars (1921) with the status of a protected territory, and Artsakh - according to the “decision” of the Caucasian Bureau of the Russian Communist (Bolshevik) Party (Caucasian Bureau of the RCP/b/) with the status of national autonomy with broad rights (July 5, 1921). This “decision” is known not only because it came from a third party body that did not have the right to resolve territorial issues, but also because it was not actually adopted. Stalin read the text and, without putting it up for discussion and voting, closed the meeting of the Caucasian Bureau. During the collapse of the USSR, Baku declared its refusal to inherit Az. SSR, recognizing it as an illegal entity that emerged as a result of the annexation of Azerbaijan. Baku understood the absurdity of recognizing the legal borders of Az. SSR, which they considered an illegal entity. Therefore, they decided to remain faithful to the heritage of the ADR in this matter. The formula for its territorial claims, rejected by the League of Nations, was in the way: “consisting of Eastern and Southern Transcaucasia”, the inconsistency of which was obvious. In the Constitutional Act “On State Independence of the Azerbaijan Republic” (October 18, 1991), Baku replaced it with another, but legally more meaningless: “The territory of the Azerbaijan Republic within the historically established borders is united, indivisible, inalienable” (Newspaper “Baku Worker”, November 7 1991), fundamentally not amenable to either delimitation or demarcation. With such “territories” and “borders” the Republic of Azerbaijan (AR) came to Almaty on December 21 to join the CIS and agree to the demands of the European Community put forward on December 16, 1991 in the “Statement of the Twelve” as criteria for the recognition of new states of Eastern Europe and the post-Soviet space. Europe turned a blind eye to the fact that Azerbaijan does not satisfy any of the criteria it put forward and apparently advised Baku to hold a referendum on independence in order to at least determine the borders with such an act. This first referendum on independence in the history of entities called “Azerbaijan” took place on December 29, 1991. But the question submitted to the referendum “Do you support the Constitutional Act adopted by the Supreme Council of the Republic of Azerbaijan “On State Independence?” left in force the thesis about historically established borders, devoid of legal meaning. The borders of the AR remained undefined. Realizing the absurdity of the situation, Baku removed the Constitutional Act from circulation, placed it on the presidential website, removing the words “within historically established boundaries” from the text.