West Europeans Research Articles

MR Assessed Changes of Renal Sinus Fat in Response to Glucose Regulation in West European and South Asian Patients With Type 2 Diabetes.

Ethnic differences in the progression and outcome of diabetic kidney disease (DKD) remain to be elucidated. MRI-quantified renal sinus fat volume could be a potential biomarker to help investigate the changes of DKD risk in response to glucose regulation. To evaluate whether the effect of glucose-lowering treatment on renal sinus fat volume differed in West Europeans (WE) compared to South Asians (SA), and whether ethnic-related difference exists regarding the effect of liraglutide on renal sinus fat. Retrospective. Ninety-three patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus, including 47 WE (27 males) aged 59.3 ± 6.5 years, and 46 SA (19 males) aged 54.4 ± 9.8 years. 3.0 T dual-echo fast gradient-echo pulse sequence using two-point Dixon technique with a phase-correction algorithm. Changes of renal sinus fat volume were measured by a radiologist (LL) with 4-years' experience, and were compared between the two ethnic groups, together with glycemic level, metabolic risk factors and renal function. The effects of liraglutide were assessed. Normality of the data was visually evaluated by histograms and Q-Q plots. Within-group and between-group differences were analyzed using paired t-tests and analysis of covariance. Associations were analyzed by person's correlation and multiple linear regression models. Renal sinus fat decreased in SA patients (Δ% = -7.6% ± 14.8%), but increased in WE patients (Δ% = 5.0% ± 13.1%), with a significant difference between the two ethnic groups. In the WE group, the increase of sinus fat volume was significant in the placebo subgroup (Δ% = 6.8% ± 12.5%), in contrast to the nonsignificant increase in the liraglutide subgroup (Δ% = 3.0% ± 13.8%, P = 0.444). Renal sinus fat accumulation responds differently to glucose regulation, showing a reduction in SA patients in contrast to a persistent accumulation in WE patients. A trend of less accumulation of sinus fat in WE patients receiving liraglutide has been observed. 4 TECHNICAL EFFICACY: Stage 4.

HLA allele and haplotype frequencies in Kazakhstani Russians and their relationship with other populations.

HLA class I and class II genotypes from 947 Kazakhstani individuals of Russian origin were analyzed for investigating their most likely origin. The results were compared with similar data from other Russians (East and West), and also Worldwide populations, using standard genetic distances, neighbor-joining dendrograms, correspondence and haplotype analysis. Of the five HLA loci analyzed (HLA-A, HLA-C, HLA-B, HLA-DRB1, and HLA-DQB1) genotyped, 216 HLA alleles were identified. The most frequent alleles were A*02:01 (26.5%), B*07:02 (11.1%), C*04:01 (13.5%) and C*06:02 (12.1%), DRB1*07:01 (13.8%) and DRB1*15:01 (12.2%), and DQB1*03:01 (19.7%). Significant linkage disequilibrium was noted between all HLA pairs. DRB1*15:01 ~ DQB1*06:02 (10.5%), B*07:02 ~ C*07:02 (10.0%), B*07:02 ~ DRB1*15:01 (6.3%), and A*01:01 ~ B*08:01 (4.5%) were the most frequent two-locus haplotypes identified. Subsequent analyses showed that Kazakhstani Russians were closely related to West Russia-residing populations (Northwest Slavic, Vologda, Chelyabinsk, Moscow), East Europeans (Belarus Brest, Ukraine, Poland) and Scandinavians (Swedish, Finns), but distinct from East Russia-residing populations (Tuvians, Siberians from Chukotka, Kamchatka, and Ulchi) and East Mediterraneans (Levantines, Turks, North Macedonians, Albanians), and East Asians (Koreans, Japanese, Taiwanese, Mongolians). These results are in accordance with historical data indicating that the Russians of central Asia originate mainly from European Russia during the migratory flow of 18th and 19th centuries.

Poland's Solidarity Movement and the Global Politics of Human Rights

In the Fall 2013 issue of the Journal of Cold War Studies, Robert Brier published an article “Broadening the Cultural History of the Cold War: The Emergence of the Polish Workers’ Defense Committee and the Rise of Human Rights,” which examined the emergence of a dissident movement in Communist-era Poland. Following a student uprising in Poland in March 1968 and the Soviet-led invasion of Czechoslovakia in August of that year, distinctive forms of opposition began to challenge the Communist monopoly of power in Poland. Inspired by Soviet dissenters, most notably Andrei Sakharov and Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn, Polish opposition activists also later appealed to the human rights agenda of the Helsinki Accords of 1975, which the Polish authorities had recognized by signing but failed to enact in practice.Poland's key opposition movements in the 1970s were the Workers’ Defense Committee (KOR) and the Movement to Defend Human and Civil Rights (ROPCiO). Their aspirations were encouraged by the arrival of the Polish Pope, John Paul II, in 1979, though Brier contends that the pope's visit “may not have been as heroic as some accounts suggest” (p. 34). These were significant impulses for the creation of Solidarity, whose “Twenty-One Demands” articulated the agenda of human rights. Solidarity was temporarily accepted by the Communist authorities in the Gdańsk Agreement of August 1980, but after sixteen months of legality Solidarity was banned by martial law, and the human rights agenda was brutally suppressed.The world watched the Solidarity underground in the decade that followed. But, as Brier explains, international responses were often determined by domestic agendas. To West German Chancellor Willy Brandt—himself a former refugee from Nazi Germany—foreign policy was governed by lengthy time-horizons during which détente gradually unfolded through the evolution of intergovernmental relations. His Ostpolitik hence saw dissidents as promoting an unreasonable, or simply ignorant, view of history. Even so, Western officials began to extend their visits by meeting opposition figures and stopping at sites of popular remembrance, notably the tomb of Father Jerzy Popiełuszko, a Polish priest murdered by secret police officers in 1984.The French left engaged in fierce debate from 1974—triggered by Solzhenitsyn's Gulag Archipelago—about the respective merits of Communism and Marxism. Brier argues that “the once dominant framework of the French Left—Marxism—collapsed completely” (p. 108), and in its place human rights became the principal concern. As the abstractions of “totalitarianism” were replaced by specific concerns for human rights, political prisoners and dissidents in the Soviet Union and Eastern Europe became central figures. Left-wing intellectuals demanded that Communist rulers heed human rights and other universal norms they had endorsed at Helsinki. Rather than acknowledging Communist autocracy, they had to accept Solidarity's democratic principle that citizens should have a direct influence on public affairs. This was also the priority at home.U.S. debates on foreign policy were also driven by domesticity. In the 1970s, Democrats like Senator Henry Jackson began to use the language of human rights to reinforce the ideological differences between East and West and thereby “reclaim American virtue” (p. 128). But under Ronald Reagan's Republican presidency the target was extended from anti-Communist rhetoric to measures against any social system antagonistic toward the creativity of individual human beings. As Reagan dismantled some welfare policies and reduced the influence of trade unions, union leaders in the United States argued that Solidarity represented a human right that was under threat at home: freedom of association.Brier concludes that Solidarity became a “vessel” for the ideas and wishes of its supporters abroad. Its leaders, including “iconic figures” such as Lech Wałęsa, who was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1983, were harshly suppressed by the Communist regime and were lauded abroad as prisoners of conscience. Poland became a “canvas unto which West Europeans and Americans could project their own struggles” (p. 145). Brier does recognize their assistance in helping to keep Polish activists out of prison, providing funds to sustain their activity and nudging the Polish government toward the 1989 roundtable talks with the opposition. These were significant steps toward the end of Communism in Eastern Europe and of the Cold War, but Brier suggests their main impulse was domesticity rather than internationalism.His book is a contribution to the promising Cambridge University Press series “Human Rights in History,” which one hopes will explore these issues further. Not least are the dramatic changes of the post-1989 era, as political leaders in Poland and Hungary have moved to recentralize state power and limit, or indeed extinguish, the role of human rights-based opposition.

Converging on Cannibals: Terrors of Slaving in Atlantic Africa, 1509–1670

Converging on Cannibals: Terrors of Slaving in Atlantic Africa, 1509–1670

What Kind of Electoral Outcome do People Think is Good for Democracy?

There is perennial debate in comparative politics about electoral institutions, but what characterizes this debate is the lack of consideration for citizens’ perspective. In this paper, we report the results of an original survey conducted on representative samples in 15 West European countries ( N = 15,414). We implemented an original instrument to elicit respondents’ views by asking them to rate “real but blind” electoral outcomes. With this survey instrument, we aimed to elicit principled rather than partisan preferences regarding the kind of electoral outcomes that citizens think is good for democracy. We find that West Europeans do not clearly endorse a majoritarian or proportional vision of democracy. They tend to focus on aspects of the government rather than parliament when they pass a judgment. They want a majority government that has few parties and enjoys wide popular support. Finally, we find only small differences between citizens of different countries.

The Wealth Gap between Ageing Immigrants and Native-Born in Ten European Countries

Using data from the Survey of Health, Ageing and Retirement in Europe from 10 European countries, this study contributes to the research on immigrants' economic incorporation by focusing on the nativity wealth gaps in mid and late life. Three origin groups of immigrants were distinguished: non-European, post-communist, and West, Central, and South European countries. We estimated the size of the wealth gap between each immigrant population and natives, the sources of the gap, and the trajectory of wealth convergence. The data revealed that the mean net worth of native-born groups was higher than that of all immigrant sub-groups. The gap was widest for non-European immigrants and lowest for West, Central, and South European immigrants. Differences in the rate of homeownership accounted for the largest portion of the gap, while neither differential levels of income nor education accounted for much of the gap between native-born and either non-European immigrants or immigrants from post-communist countries. Reception of gifts or inheritances did not account for a meaningful portion of the gaps. Estimation of the rate of convergence suggests that it would take an average of 85 years after arrival for an average immigrant household to bridge the wealth gap between it and an average native-born household. The rate of wealth convergence was somewhat faster for non-Europeans and slower for West, Central, and South Europeans.

О сущностном отличии «меж-» от «интер-»: От межкультурного к интеркультурному философскому полилогу в европейском культурном пространстве

The article raises the question of the reasons for the “interculturalism” of the Russian philosophical tradition. The problem is that Russian thinkers, despite their awareness of their belonging to Western European philosophical thought, and despite their foreign-language publication activity, are not fully integrated into it, or even into intercultural philosophy. According to the author, the reason is hidden in the very essence of the project of intercultural philosophizing, which originally was aimed at the philosophical legitimization of non-Euro­pean cultures that had been colonized by West Europeans. It is argued that the project of intercultural philosophy can be realized only if its supporters are able to notice the otherness within Europe; it should be stressed that what is being criticized is essentially “Western Eurocentrism”, since it is Western European philosophy that expresses the claim to be the only correct model of philosophizing. Only in this case the intercultural project will deal with the “Other Europe” where there are different types of philosophical thinking, and the “inner polylogue” will have a chance to begin. The author believes that for Russian philosophers the project of intercultural philosophy will be effective if they manage to synthesize the two cultures of philosophical thinking in Russia – religious-me­taphysical and Soviet. The latter can enrich them with the experience of intercultural perception of other traditions of philosophizing, both in Russia and abroad. This philosophical legacy – reinterpreted and recaptured – will allow us to consciously take part in the project of intercultural philosophy.

Optimizing the genetic prediction of the eye and hair color for North Eurasian populations

BackgroundPredicting the eye and hair color from genotype became an established and widely used tool in forensic genetics, as well as in studies of ancient human populations. However, the accuracy of this tool has been verified on the West and Central Europeans only, while populations from border regions between Europe and Asia (like Caucasus and Ural) also carry the light pigmentation phenotypes.ResultsWe phenotyped 286 samples collected across North Eurasia, genotyped them by the standard HIrisPlex-S markers and found that predictive power in Caucasus/Ural/West Siberian populations is reasonable but lower than that in West Europeans. As these populations have genetic ancestries different from that of West Europeans, we hypothesized they may carry a somewhat different allele spectrum. Thus, for all samples we performed the exome sequencing additionally enriched with the 53 genes and intergenic regions known to be associated with the eye/hair color. Our association analysis replicated the importance of the key previously known SNPs but also identified five new markers whose eye color prediction power for the studied populations is compatible with the two major previously well-known SNPs. Four out of these five SNPs lie within the HERС2 gene and the fifth in the intergenic region. These SNPs are found at high frequencies in most studied populations. The released dataset of exomes from Russian populations can be further used for population genetic and medical genetic studies.ConclusionsThis study demonstrated that precision of the established systems for eye/hair color prediction from a genotype is slightly lower for the populations from the border regions between Europe and Asia that for the West Europeans. However, this precision can be improved if some newly revealed predictive SNPs are added into the panel. We discuss that the replication of these pigmentation-associated SNPs on the independent North Eurasian sample is needed in the future studies.

Colonizing Palestine

This study compiles historical information to highlight the role played by both East and West European countries in the creation of Israel since before World War I. East European countries, especially Russia, Poland, and Romania, were as effective in this regard as the West Europeans. While racial policies were paramount in East Europe, including Germany, religious and strategic policies were as effective in the West, especially in Britain. Two points can be redrawn in this regard: That the question of Palestine was a Western question on both sides of the continent; it had nothing to do with the Eastern question that engulfed the Ottoman Empire before and during World War I. Additionally while World War II did not start the process of creating Israel, it accelerated it since the United States became an active supporter of the Zionist project. The second conclusion explains why all major powers give so much latitude to Israel, regardless of its constant neglect of international law to this very day.

ЧУЖЕЗЕМНАЯ ПРИСЛУГА В ИНДИЙСКОМ КНЯЖЕСТВЕ БХОПАЛ (XIX — НАЧАЛО ХХ ВВ.)

Bhopal, one of the ‘princely states’ and vassals of the British Empire (Central India), enjoyed special favour with its sovereign. Throughout a century, it was ruled by four generations of women who gained themselves, in India and outside, the reputation of enlightened and benevolent monarchs. Archival documents and memoirs allow glancing at the hitherto hidden world of domestic servants who not only ensured the comfortable and luxurious life of the princely family, but its high status too, both for fellow Indians and for British colonial administrators. Among the numerous servants employed by the Bhopal rulers, freely hired local residents prevailed. However, the natives of some other countries, quite far from India, were conspicuous as well: the article highlights West Europeans, Georgians and Africans (“Ethiopians”). In the princely household, foreign servants performed various functions. While British butlers and Irish or German nannies and governesses demonstrated the ruling family` s “Westernized” lifestyle, Georgian maids and African lackeys showcased the affluence and might of the Bhopal queens. Some foreign servants came to Bhopal by force: the reputation of ‘progressive’ was no obstacle for the Bhopal queens to use slave labour. When such cases became public, the British authorities responded with mild reproaches: condemning slavery, they nevertheless loathed any discord with their trusted vassals.

Creole becoming and the commons: Black freedom in Belize

In rural Belize, Afro-Caribbean people have been generating economies and ecologies that simultaneously articulate with and are other than the global capitalism that initially brought enslaved West Africans and free Northern Europeans to the shores of Central America in the 1700s. What it is to be Belizean Creole initially emerged in the crucible of forest slavery and racial capitalism, but flourished in the generation of reciprocal economies and relational entanglement with the more than human, as blackness associated with freedom in the “bush.” Living in lands that did not interest Belize’s 19th century forestocracy, and that were not desirable for industrial agriculture, rural Creole people created commons for hunting, fishing, and other more than human engagement. The sense of being rural Creole develops from these entanglements and reciprocal relations that assemble with blackness and brownness in ways that are not fully contained within global white supremacist logics. This basis for a rural Creole identity has persisted even as rural Creole people engage today with the global capitalist projects of conservation and tourism, and as they live in transnational diaspora. In these ways, rural Creole people expand human being beyond the over-represented form of Man, as Sylvia Wynter has described the problem of the coloniality of “the human,” into a genre of “human being in common.” This expansion illustrates how commoning creates possibilities for blackness and brownness to thrive.

Self-Identified African Americans and prostate cancer risk: West African genetic ancestry is associated with prostate cancer diagnosis and with higher Gleason sum on biopsy.

Concerns about overtreatment of clinically indolent prostate cancer (PrCa) have led to recommendations that men who are diagnosed with low‐risk PrCa be managed by active surveillance (AS) rather than immediate definitive treatment. However the risk of underestimating the aggressiveness of a patient's PrCa can be a significant source of anxiety and a barrier to patient acceptance of AS. The uncertainty is particularly keen for African American (AA) men who are about 1.7 times more likely to be diagnosed with PrCa than European American (EA) men and about 2.4 times more likely to die of this disease. The AA population, as many other populations in the Americas, is genetically heterogeneous with varying degrees of admixture from West Africans (WAs), Europeans, and Native Americans (NAs). Recommendations for PrCa screening and management rarely consider potential differences in risk within the AA population. We compared WA genetic ancestry in AA men undergoing standard prostate biopsy who were diagnosed with no cancer, low‐grade PrCa (Gleason Sum 6), or higher grade PrCa (Gleason Sum 7‐10). We found that WA genetic ancestry was significantly higher in men who were diagnosed with PrCa on biopsy, compared to men who were cancer‐negative, and highest in men who were diagnosed with higher grade PrCa (Gleason Sum 7‐10). Incorporating WA ancestry into the guidelines for making decisions about when to obtain a biopsy and whether to choose AS may allow AA men to personalize their approach to PrCa screening and management.

Insights into matrilineal genetic structure, differentiation and ancestry of Armenians based on complete mitogenome data.

Distinctive peculiarities of Armenians such as their millennia-long genetic isolation and strong national identity attract a keen interest while studying the demographic history of the West Asia. Here, to examine their fine-scale matrilineal genetic structure, ancestry and relationships with neighboring populations, we analyzed 536 complete mitogenomes (141 of which are novel) from 8 geographically different Armenian populations, covering the whole stretch of historical Armenia. The observed patterns highlight a remarkable degree of matrilineal genetic heterogeneity and weak population structuring of Armenians. Moreover, our phylogeographic analysis reveals common ancestries for some mtDNA lineages shared by West Asians, Transcaucasians, Europeans, Central Asians and Armenians. About third of the mtDNA subhaplogroups found in Armenian gene pool might be considered as Armenian-specific, as these are virtually absent elsewhere in Europe, West Asia and Transcaucasia. Coalescence ages of most of these lineages do not exceed 3.1kya and coincide well with the population size growth started around 1.8-2.8kya detectable only in the Bayesian Skyline Plots based on the Armenian-specific mtDNA haplotypes.

MP24-05 SELF-IDENTIFIED AFRICAN AMERICANS AND PROSTATE CANCER RISK: WEST AFRICAN GENETIC ANCESTRY IS ASSOCIATED WITH PROSTATE CANCER DIAGNOSIS AND WITH HIGHER GLEASON SUM ON BIOPSY

INTRODUCTION AND OBJECTIVES:Concerns about overtreatment of clinically indolent prostate cancer (PrCa) have led to recommendations for less screening, fewer biopsies, and the management of low-risk PrCa by active surveillance rather than immediate definitive treatment. However the risk of missing or failing to treat an aggressive prostate PrCa can be a significant source of anxiety. The uncertainty is particularly keen for African American (AA) men who are about 1.7 times more likely to be diagnosed with PrCa and about 2.4 times more likely to die of this disease. Many studies show that genetic factors play a role in the increased risk of PrCa in AA. The AA population, as many other populations in the Americas, is genetically heterogeneous with varying degrees of admixture from West Africans, Europeans and Native Americans. Recommendations for PrCa screening and management rarely consider potential differences in risk within the AA population.METHODS:96 consecutive eligible self-identified AA men were pro...

Ethnic differences in CD1E, but not CD1A, gene polymorphisms between Sub-Saharan Africans, West Asians and Europeans

The five closely linked CD1A-E genes encode the human CD1 family of proteins. Few studies of the allele frequencies of these genes in African populations have been published so far. This study aimed to genotype CD1A and CD1E variants and to compare their frequencies in Sub-Saharan Africans from Gabon and Ivory Coast, and Non-Africans from Syria and France.A restriction analysis of DNA fragments generated by PCR was performed to detect CD1A and CD1E alleles in 105 subjects from Gabon, 169 subjects from Ivory Coast, 107 subjects from Syria and 181 subjects from France.The frequencies of the CD1E*02 allele were high among Sub-Saharan Africans (87%) and low in West Asians (44%) and Europeans (36%), whereas the contrary was obtained for the CD1E*01 allele (7%, 55% and 64% respectively). Frequencies of CD1A alleles were similar between all groups, the CD1A*02 allele was most prevalent (91%).The high frequency of the CD1E*02 allele in Sub-Saharan Africans suggest that future work should investigate the relationship between CD1 polymorphism and infectious diseases.

ТЕРМИН «ФРЯГИ» РУССКИХ ПАМЯТНИКОВ XII-XVII ВВ. И ЕГО ЗНАЧЕНИЕ

Relying on a wide range of sources the article for the first time examines the meaning of the term “Friagi”, which is identified in the Russian monuments of the XII-XVII centuries (chronicles, chronographs, journeys, legends, stories). Their detailed analysis shows that, firstly, this term was used simultaneously in three planes: private - the Italians - and two general planes: geographical - the West Europeans - and confessional - the Catholics, and secondly, that, contrary to the popular belief propagated by historians and philologists, it never meant a “foreigner in general” or an “outsider”.

Hostel front desk employees’ perception of customers: a comparative analysis based on cultural background

PurposeDespite their popularity among tourists, information about low-cost accommodation is limited. The study aims to focus on hostels as tourist accommodation. The purpose of this paper is to document the perceptions of hostel front-desk employees about customers and examine employees’ perceptions from a cultural perspective. As culture moderates behavior in general, in light of the cultural difference postulate which proposes that guests and hosts who are from similar or proximate cultures are more likely to experience positive service encounter and that encounter between guests and hosts from distant cultures may be more challenging to service providers, the study compares the perceptions of hostel Western front-desk employees with those of Eastern front-desk employees of their customers. Customers are categorized into four groups – Western customers, Eastern, Middle Eastern/Arab and African. Exploratory interviews paved the development of perception items, which were later on used in a questionnaire to serve the study’s purpose. The paper has managerial and theoretical implications and offers suggestions for further research to advance understanding about this neglected tourism environment.Design/methodology/approachPreliminary/exploratory short interviews with hostel employees in London paved the development of perception items, which were later on used in a questionnaire. There are about 190 hostels in the London area. The questionnaire was self-administered and successfully completed by 113 front-desk employees working in London hostels. t-test statistics was used to examine whether the two groups of employees hold different perceptions about their culturally different group of customers.FindingsResults indicate that, generally, differences in perception exist among hostel employees about their customer groups. For example, Western customers are perceived as nicer and more tip-givers than Eastern customers, but they also complain more and are more demanding than their counterparts. Asian customers are perceived to be friendlier, least troublesome and least demanding than the other customer groups. African customers are the least positively perceived. As for Middle Eastern (Arab) customers, they are perceived rather somewhat positively and yet the least favorite. Furthermore, no statistical differences were observed between Western employees and Eastern employees’ perceptions about their customer groups, except that the latter perceives Asian customers to be more troublesome and more complaining.Research limitations/implicationsAlthough researchers have compared Western people’s behaviors and attitudes with those of Eastern people, differences may also exist within cultural groups, especially between East Europeans and West Europeans, between Middle Eastern and North Africans or between Americans and Canadians, despite cultural proximity. Therefore, it is always reasonable to interpret cultural differences studies cautiously.Practical implicationsHostel management is advised not to take cultural proximity/distance between employees and customers for granted and, thus, should not assume that Eastern employees are more likely to provide better service to Eastern customers than Western employees or that Western employees are more likely to do so to Western customers because they are culturally similar or proximate. In an increasingly globalized world and mobile and culturally diverse workforce in the hospitality sector, it becomes necessary to raise employees’ awareness about cultural differences and their probable effects on perceptions. This is especially true for hostels because of their social characteristic.Originality/valueDespite the importance of hostels to the tourism and hospitality industry, not much is known about their customers or their employees. In addition to contributing to employee perception in general, which is also a neglected area of study, this paper used cultural distance/proximity to assess differences in perception between Eastern employees and Western employees about four culturally different groups of hostel customers. In light of the impacts of globalization on consumer behavior, this paper joins other research to challenge the cultural distance postulate in the service encounter context.

Genetic differentiation between upland and lowland populations shapes the Y-chromosomal landscape of West Asia.

Y-chromosomal variation in West Asian populations has so far been studied in less detail than in the neighboring Europe. Here, we analyzed 598 Y-chromosomes from two West Asian subregions-Transcaucasia and the Armenian plateau-using 40 Y-SNPs and 17 Y-STRs and combined them with previously published data from the region. The West Asian populations fell into two clusters: upland populations from the Anatolian, Armenian and Iranian plateaus, and lowland populations from the Levant, Mesopotamia and the Arabian Peninsula. This geographic subdivision corresponds with the linguistic difference between Indo-European and Turkic speakers, on the one hand, and Semitic speakers, on the other. This subdivision could be traced back to the Neolithic epoch, when upland populations from the Anatolian and Iranian plateaus carried similar haplogroup spectra but did not overlap with lowland populations from the Levant. We also found that the initial gene pool of the Armenian motherland population has been well preserved in most groups of the Armenian Diaspora. In view of the contribution of West Asians to the autosomal gene pool of the steppe Yamnaya archaeological culture, we sequenced a large portion of the Y-chromosome in haplogroup R1b samples from present-day East European steppe populations. The ancient Yamnaya samples are located on the "eastern" R-GG400 branch of haplogroup R1b-L23, showing that the paternal descendants of the Yamnaya still live in the Pontic steppe and that the ancient Yamnaya population was not an important source of paternal lineages in present-day West Europeans.

История России в восприятии западноевропейцев

История России в восприятии западноевропейцев

Denmark, Scandinavia and the International Confederation of Free Trade Unions in the early Cold War

This article analyses the role of the Danish and Scandinavian labour movements in the International Confederation of Free Trade Unions (ICFTU) in 1950–1955. First, it is demonstrated that although the Scandinavians were critical towards the communist regimes in eastern Europe and supported the Marshall Plan, they only joined the ICFTU as a result of the British break-up of the World Federation of Trade Unions (WFTU). Next, the Scandinavians, on the one hand, allied with the British and other west Europeans and rejected the ‘negative’ anticommunism of the Americans, while, on the other hand, they supported the establishment of an intelligence network behind the Iron Curtain, gave financial aid to the campaign against communists in west European unions, and supported victims of the East German uprising in 1953. In short, the Scandinavians closely followed the British, remained critical towards the Americans, and challenged the Soviets.