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The paper presents the results of the next stage of a comprehensive study concerning Russian state-legal doctrines in the 19th and early 20th centuries, taken in the triune of the external form of their expression: in dissertations, in monographs and in scientific papers of the periodical legal press. The authors analyzed the content and results of publication of monographs and the most famous papers published by prerevolutionary Russian political scientists on key aspects of the state (constitutional) law science. Data are presented on the main priority areas of research, poorly developed fields of public law science, the laws of genesis and evolution, respectively, of monographic and periodical state-legal doctrines. The methodology proposed for the identification, analysis and general theoretical evaluation of state-legal doctrines has every reason to be applied for obtaining comprehensive knowledge of other branch pre-revolutionary legal doctrines. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of this paper is to review the historical facts related to conversion of indigenous people of the Kazakh steppe from Islam to Christianity and the conversion of the Russian migrants from Orthodoxy to Islam in Kazakhstan in the nineteenth-early twentieth century. The study deals with the laws that were detrimental to Islam and reforms of the imperial government in terms of administration of Kazakh lands favoring Kazakhs baptism. Using the comparative-historical method, the author analyzes the Orthodox missionary societies in Kazakhstan. The paper also determines reasons of Russian migrants' conversion to Islam. We found that it was mainly voluntary process and people would remain faithful to the new religion for the rest of their lives, were in not for the intervention of the church and the colonial administration. The results have shown that Christianization of the adherents of different faiths was used for change their minds in order to simplify management of the colonial people having other nationalities. Furthermore, church clergy and missionaries were involved in relevant activities among various categories of the population. The practical value of the study is that the submissions may be useful for historians and religious scholars in investigations of religion conversions.

The paper characterizes the category of developed Linguistic rhetorical (LR) ideal developed by the authors. The phenomenon is a binding core, the epicenter of the social cultural and educational space (P?SC?S) and is a powerful factor for the formation of a professional linguistic personality of a specialist working in any field or having different educational specialization. In the first place it is relevant for a future teacher for whom language skills are especially important. In the course of communication with students of all ages educates new generations instilling the norms and requirements of the LR ideal that is timely for this stage of cultural and historical development of the state and its P?SC?S. In the process of the pedagogical research the experimental work was conducted with the first year students of Sochi State University specializing in history and foreign languages within the framework of the optional course "Basics of speech self-improvement". The testing results of the theoretical model witness the efficiency of the process developed within the framework of Sochi school continuous Linguistic & rhetorical education. This approach is based on the result-oriented complementary organisation of counter-processes of designing an innovative pedagogical process and self-design of a learner as a strong linguistic personality of a dialogic, democratic and polycultural type (general culture foundation of university training within the framework of Federal State Educational Standards) and professional linguistic personality (specialized foundation of a training program.

The relevance of the problem under study is associated with the actual situation which is characteristic for the present-day Russia and pertaining to the results of the state youth policy being carried out, the level of formation of national and civil consciousness of the Russian young people. The objective of the paper consists in detailing the philosophical bases, meanings and values of the Russian culture that can be used in organizing the upbringing and educational activity of the Russian youth. The leading approach to studying this problem was the culturological one acting as the methodological basis of studying the problem of upbringing of the national and civil consciousness in the Russian young people. The main results of the research have shown that the questions of upbringing of the contemporary Russian young people's civil and patriotic consciousness are understudied. There are only few works of social and pedagogical focus that consider these questions pointedly and productively. The research demonstrates the necessity of introducing the relevant modifications (amendments) concerning the Russian youth to the state social policy. It has to be clearly oriented to organizing the focused and consistent social and pedagogical activity which is aimed at shaping the national and civil consciousness of the rising generation on the basis of meanings and values of the Russian culture. The resulting materials are both of theoretical importance for further exploration of this range of problems and of practical importance for elaboration of objectives, provisions, and content of various state and public projects and programs pertaining to the civil and patriotic upbringing of the rising generation (children, adolescents, young people) and using them within the country's system of education at all levels (pre-school, school, professional, and further ones).

Abstract: Vladimir Petrovich Demikhov, a Soviet physiologist and surgeon, made meticulous attempts at reviving heart and lung transplantation in the last century. Herein, we present an English translation of Demikhov''s 1969 paper of Transplantation of the Heart, Lungs and other Organs (published in Eksperimental''naia Khirurgiia i Anesteziologiia), which represented a synopsis of his experiences with experimental transplantation. A brief account of Demikhov''s life and contributions to transplant medicine is also given. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Following the civil war in Russia, many Russian people ended up in exile. Amongst many other challenges, they were faced with the unique threat of losing their national identity. The key defenders of Russianness were the traditional institutions of identity construction. Youth movements also assisted them in this work, through the use of the Scout method of education. This paper hypothesises that Russian Scouts were originally oriented towards constructing an imperial type of nation, which was aimed at expansion. In exile, they would continue to reproduce this brand of Russianness; however, they would change their approach by adding new characters, inspired by the White ideology. Following emigration, under the influence of these symbols, a new identity was created, the 'White Russian'. The first part of the article describes the context in which Russian Scouts existed. The second part analyses the construction of national identity within Russian Scout organisations.

The relevance of the study is conditioned by the reassessment of the value of security as the basis for sustainable development of civil legal relations, ensuring the protection of the vital interests of the individual, society and state, as well as the preservation of civil peace, political and social stability in society. The purpose of the article is to give the safety's essential characteristics as the civil law category. The leading methods are comparative-historical and comparative-legal. The empirical base of the research is the normative legal acts of the Russian Federation on security. Core findings include: historical stages in the understanding process of security's essence are identified (antique, Christian, Reformation, Enlightenment, classical, neo-classical); Security's essence is disclosed as the state of absence of danger and versatile process for protection of the vital interests of the individual, society and state from internal and external threats; the basic safety features are revealed (generality, comprehensiveness, universality, multi-functionality); the basic directions of the civil right safety regulation are distinguished. This study provides important findings. Firstly, security's civil right regulation provides the legal protection of the vital interests of the rights' entities in connection with the entry into the sphere of legal relations. Second, it is the basis to confront the external and internal threats to the vital interests of the individual, society and the state by legal tools. Third, it creates conditions for strengthening of the inviolability of state-legal system and order, evolution of right and the state to the social ideals. The paper Submissions can be useful for those who are engaged in legislative activities, legal practice, teachers of legal disciplines.

One of the most important functions of historical and pedagogical education in modern educational the system is connected with a pupil's character features development, a value apprehension of social events and a formation of a value-oriented attitude to reality. The main aim of the present article is to describe and analyze the results of a conceptual and methodological model implementation which is based on historical and social science knowledge for a purpose of a formation of value-oriented attitude to reality among younger pupils. The principle methods of this research are: modelling method which allows to observe and trace a value-oriented attitude formation in a step-by-step sequent complex of didactic, methodological and technological historical and social science education components of a primary and secondary education; a method of pedagogical experiment among younger pupils aimed at a formation of a value-oriented attitude to reality on the basis of historical and social science knowledge. The conceptual and methodological model of a value-oriented attitude to reality formed on historical and social science knowledge among younger pupils is discussed and explained in the present paper; the forming conditions of a value-oriented attitude to reality based on historical and social science knowledge among younger pupils are revealed from a pedagogical point of view taking into account pupils' most sensitive personal development period for pedagogical influence and reality apprehension. Devised and tested diagnostic tools implemented among younger pupils to analyze the quality parameters of a value-oriented attitude to social objects in connection with history and modern conditions are considered to be practically significant.

This paper explores the identity and the social/political behaviour of Russians in post-Soviet Central Asia through a comparison with the Baltic countries via a "hot and cold ethnicity" paradigm. Central Asian Russians are more likely, ceteris paribus, to be found at the "cold" end of the spectrum of "ethnic temperatures." The article starts with outlining the historical roots of a specific Russians' self-designation in the "imperial peripheries"--that is, a lowered attachment to their ethnic group as compared with loyalties towards the state. However, patterns of imperial penetration into different territories of the former USSR (FSU) were different, and so were the sociopolitical conditions under which Russians have found themselves after the collapse of the FSU. Due to this, patterns of Russians' self-designation turned out to be quite divergent: Central Asia represents a contrasting pattern in comparison with the Baltics. Subsequent parts of the paper contain a more detailed analysis of the reasons behind a relatively "cold" ethnic stance of Russians in Central Asia. These reasons include the salience of sociocultural boundaries versus ethnic ones, the nature of local political regimes, the role of Russian language and culture, official and popular interpretation of the Soviet past and attitudes towards the present-day Russia.

The study of Russian children's illustrated magazines at the various stages of their formation and development remains a relevant topic due to the evolution of their printed forms in the context of the transformation of the media environment. The first Russian children's magazine was "Children's Reading for the Heart and Mind" ["Detskoye chteniye dlya serdtsa i razuma"] (1785-1789). This publication contributed to the creation of Russian periodical literature for children, and it provided the point of departure for the creative efforts of numerous publications that followed in its footsteps, including even present-day Russian children's magazines. The aim of the present article is to study the evolution of the forms of Russian children's illustrated magazines under modern processes of the transformation of the media environment. This goal has determined the objectives of the paper: to study empirical materials related to this topic, consisting of numerous children's publications from different historical periods; identifying the relevant stages of the development of children's periodicals; examining the content and formal characteristics of children's periodicals; applying an integrated approach to working with the most important aspects of Russian children's magazines in the process of transforming the media reality. Our research methodology is based on a structural approach, which has been updated to incorporate structural-functional, structural-formal, and system-synergetic approaches as well as linear regression methodology. The problems that arise from the epistemological context are determined by the significance of the integrated approach to the study of the formal structure of Russian children's illustrated magazines. When we review the state of research in this area, we see that there have been very few studies of Russian periodicals for children despite the relevance of the topic. During the process of their formation and development, children's magazines came into being as a special type of publication with varying subject-thematic, ideological, political, pedagogical, and commercial orientations. They differed in their target audience, content, and presentation, and they were made available to a wide circle of readers. The content of these publications mainly included fiction, journalism, nonfiction articles, sociopolitical commentary, entertainment, and advertising. We have provided a theoretical justification of our research methodology, which uses the general scientific structural method and facilitates the study of the evolution of Russian children's illustrated magazines. The methodology has allowed us to draw conclusions about how their formal structure as well as the larger media environment were transformed over time. [This article was translated by Kenneth Cargill.]

It is sometimes suggested that activity theory represents the most important legacy of Soviet philosophy and psychology. But what exactly "is" activity theory? The canonical account in the West is given by Engestrom, who identifies three stages in the theory's development: from Vygotsky's insights, through Leontiev's articulation of the fundamental structure of activity, to a still-emerging third generation incorporating difference, discourse and dialogue into the framework. This paper argues that the resulting position is in fact in tension with the concerns of the Russian founders of the tradition. While the latter saw the concept of activity as a fundamental category to address profound philosophical questions about the possibility of mind, activity theory in the West has principally become an empirical method for modeling activity systems. The paper explores the strengths and weaknesses of views on both sides of the contrast and examines its consequences for the future of the activity-theoretical tradition. (Contains 4 figures.)

The rise of Brazil, Russia, India, and China will shape global resource use, the location of market demand and international institutions and interdependencies in the decade to come. In this paper we argue that an understanding of the historical and institutional context of the BRICs, and the potential shift towards a multi-polar world is important for developing curricula and content in international business courses in the future. Implications for international business theory and teaching are discussed. (Contains 4 tables.)

This paper examines portrayals of Russia and the Russians in two generations of Ukrainian history textbooks. It observes that the textbooks are highly condemning of Ukraine's main ethnic other in the guise of foreign ruler: the tsarist authorities and the Soviet regime are always attributed dubious and malicious intentions even if there is appreciation for some of their policies. By contrast, the books, certainly those of the second generation, refrain from presenting highly biased accounts of the ethnic other as a national group (i.e. Russians). Instances where negative judgements do fall onto Russians are counterbalanced by excerpts criticizing ethnic Ukrainians or highlighting conflicting interests within the Ukrainian ethnic group. The negative appraisal of the ethnic other as foreign ruler is clearly instrumental for the nation-building project as it sustains a discourse legitimating the existence of Ukraine as independent state. However, recent trends in history education, the paper concludes, suggest that the importance of nurturing patriotism as a national policy objective is diminishing. (Contains 5 notes.)

This article investigates the prevalent attitudes toward foreign influences and methodologies in Russian mathematics education at different periods in Russian history. The words "universal responsiveness" belong to Dostoevsky, who, in his famous speech on Pushkin, used them to characterize Pushkin's openness to the genius of all other nations. Moreover, Dostoevsky considered universal responsiveness to be typical of Russians in general. However, the isolationist tradition in Russia has been no less influential. At times this tradition has prevailed, at times it has retreated. It has expressed itself openly in political life--Stalin's campaign against "cosmopolites" was an especially striking example--and its impact on the development of literature and science has been the object of extensive research. Mathematics education, however, has rarely been looked at from this perspective. This paper will focus on a few select episodes from the history of mathematics education in Russia. These episodes, however, clearly demonstrate that a conflict between the isolationist and the internationalist traditions has taken place in this field as well. The paper contains a discussion of Leo Tolstoy's article "On the People's Education", little-known in the West, in which Russian mathematics education is aggressively and favorably contrasted with German methodologies. It also examines a methodological work from 1951, which includes a chapter entitled "From the History of the Struggle against Foreign Influences in Russian Mathematics." On the other hand, the article also looks at materials from Russian mathematics teachers' congresses from before the Russian Revolution, which illustrate Russian involvement and participation in processes taking place abroad. It also analyzes correspondence between the well-known Russian and American mathematics educators Dmitriy Sintsov and David Eugene Smith, discovered by the author, which facilitates a deeper understanding of certain aspects of the issues under investigation.

This paper reviews the theory of chemical reaction networks and the contributions of Filipino scientists to it. The modern theory of chemical reaction networks began in the early 1970's with the work of American chemical engineers and chemists from Canada and Russia. The field was reshaped at the turn of the century with the emergence of systems biology and biologists, computer scientists, mathematicians, and researchers from other disciplines joining the collaborative efforts. Luis F. Razon, a chemical engineer, and Baltazar D. Aguda, a chemist, were the first Filipinos to contribute to the theory with their Ph.D. theses in 1985 and 1986, respectively. Over twenty-five years later in 2014, mathematicians from several Philippine universities revived the research - focusing on power law kinetic systems and biological applications - and contributing nine international publications since. The paper concludes with a description of their current research and some promising perspectives. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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The author contemplates the fate of Russian science in the light of the reforms that are going on today, and the requirements of bringing it into conformity with this country's traditions as well as with international practices. [This article was translated by Kim Braithwaite.]

The socialization mechanisms of young people in Russia are greatly affected by the prevalence of youth subcultures, both socially positive ones and marginal subcultures that include antisocial ones. In this paper, the author focuses on a phenomenon in the youth community that is quite prevalent in the provinces of Russia, the "gopniki" [street thugs, muggers, gangbangers]. Gopniki--gangs of Russian youths who use threats and violence to rob and intimidate people--are becoming a more evident phenomenon in the streets of Russian towns and cities. As they enter adulthood there is a danger that this culture and set of values will spread to other areas of Russian life. In contrast to the familiar youth subcultures that are predominant in the mass media, the gopniks today represent a real form of the socialization of a major segment of young people who tend to come from the lowest strata in the Russian provinces. The author points out that this phenomenon should not be classified as belonging to the youth subculture in its classical meaning. It is more a worldview and way of life. (Contains 3 notes.)

Practically no one will dispute that the future of Russia depends on the successfulness of the multifaceted modernization of Russian society, a task that cannot be confined solely to the socioeconomic sphere. The most fundamental task is that of changing the societal system of values and institutions. If Russia is to modernize successfully, the most important task is to improve the country's human potential. To this end, education is the main instrument for the formation of individual and collective value orientations and for providing for the social, spiritual, moral, and physical development of the individual. In the new standards of general education, the chief task of the school system is formulated in a way that is fundamentally new: the task not only of mapping out a particular range of subject knowledge and ensuring that it is learned on the minimum permissible level, but of educating successful citizens. In the course of accomplishing the new ideological tasks of education, the author stresses that the main burden will rest on a number of subjects that can be provisionally called the "ideological nucleus": (1) history; (2) geography; (3) Russian language; (4) Russian literature; and (5) foreign language.

The public has always had a keen interest in textbooks on history. Despite all the differences among textbooks on national histories, most countries have a similar focus: the task of shaping the new generations' positive image of their own people in its long or short history, while not disregarding any sinister, dark, at times frightful pages of its past. When it comes to Russian history textbooks, in the past twenty years or so they have undergone a radical renovation. The former mono-ideology has given way to the pluralism of views and approaches. Conflicting opinions in Russia on how to view Russian history in general, and the role of Stalin in particular, raise the issue of how to treat painful subjects in school textbooks. As a key goal of education is to inspire students, it is understandable that Russian textbook authors, like those in other countries, may prefer to accentuate the positive and eliminate the negative. In this article, the author stresses that the the new conception of the state's educational standards for history must include as a central postulate the idea that the chief purpose of history education is to form people who are patriots and citizens of their country, whose position will determine Russia's present and future.

This paper belongs to a field of research that has appeared comparatively recently, namely, the study of mathematics competitions. The paper utilizes historical-theoretical methodology and is devoted to changes in the way in which mathematics competitions have been conducted in Russia in recent decades. Mathematics competitions, like mathematics education as a whole, are seen as part of a social process, and changes in them are seen as expressions of new social needs and possibilities. The analysis of the system of competitions, as it evolved in the USSR, and the literature devoted to them, makes it possible to identify certain challenges recognized by the mathematics community. In this paper I discuss examples of new competitions that have emerged to address these challenges. It is noted that new types of competitions have emerged, including team competitions and competitions involving mass participation by students. Also discussed is the emergence of new competitions with subject matter closer to that of ordinary school mathematics than that of old, traditional competitions. An analysis of the situation in Russia reveals the existence of a significant group of mathematics educators, parents, and children interested in the development of mathematics competitions. Also, in the paper I call attention to certain questions that I consider worthy of further study. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article focuses on the difficulties afflicting the system of higher education as a result of the decline in the overall level of student training and the "gap between the level of education of secondary school graduates and historically established requirements of higher education in Russia." The author has been teaching sociology majors in a number of the higher educational institutions of Moscow since 1989, the year in which higher sociological education was institutionalized in the country. With the decline in the overall training of the graduates of secondary school, the author examines secondary school graduates' knowledge in two disciplines that are of fundamental importance for future sociologists--history and mathematics. The author presents a wish list to the schools. The article further focuses on a number of the factors that account for secondary school graduates' lack of the knowledge and the ability to read and analyze texts that are necessary for success in institutions of higher learning. Drawing on his personal pedagogical experience, the author also examines a number of facts that reflect the statistical trend and presents conclusions. (Contains 5 notes.)

Purpose: Drawing on the semantic field theory, the paper aims to uncover the challenges of importing and translating a management accounting concept into the Russian language and the semantic nature of resistance towards the imported management accounting concept. Design/methodology/approach: The paper draws on the extensive literature review of the histories of accounting in the Soviet Union and the United States in the first part of the twentieth century and 17 interviews conducted with the Russian accounting academics. Findings: We demonstrate the case of resistance in adopting the imported Anglo-Saxon management accounting concept. We also discuss historical underpinning and origins of this resistance in light of semantic field theory. Research limitations/implications: The paper calls for more research in the non-Anglo-Saxon contexts problematizing conventional assumptions and beliefs about objectivity and universality of accounting language. Practical implications: The study demonstrates the importance of understanding historical and cross-cultural developments of accounting language for accounting educators and practitioners. Critical awareness of the differences in semantic fields of accounting can help accounting researchers and educators to develop contextualized research projects and context-relevant teaching practices. Originality/value: The study contributes to the literature on translations of accounting concepts by demonstrating that accounting concepts are not understood in isolation, instead, they are interpreted in relation to each other. The present study demonstrates that the relationship between the management accounting concept (the signifier) and its meanings (signifieds) is fluid, culturally and historically contingent. To understand this relationship, we should attend to the historical development of semantic fields and associative relations between concepts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to assess what an overview of theoretical literature and case study material can tell us about the different ways crime has been organised in the past in different cultures and whether this has any impact on the ways in which crime may be organised in the present and the future. Design/methodology/approach – The analysis is based on an examination of Mcintyre’s work on how crime is organised and later political, economic and civil society views of criminality. Brief discussion of case studies involving the UK, The Netherlands, the Arab world, Ethiopia and Russia is used to see how crime was organised there in the past. Findings – There is a greater variety of variables in the way crime was organised historically than McIntyre suggests, and an examination of civil society might pay greater dividends than even looking at politics or economic aspects of organised crime. Research limitations/implications – The study is preliminary. More historical case study material needs to be accessed. Originality/value – There are many research case studies, particularly at PhD level and in subjects other than criminology, such as history, language studies and cultural studies generally, which have not been brought together to present an overall picture. This paper is a first step in that direction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In Russia, attempts at liberalizing state finances have long run up against the autocratic desire for control of the money supply. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: During the first quarter of the twentieth century in Russia rapidly developed management thought, generated by many reasons, including socio-economic and political transformations, the results of scientific and practical activities of domestic and foreign experts in management. The purpose of this paper is, first, to acquaint readers with some of factors of the development of the history of Russian Management Thought in nineteenth century and at the beginning of twentieth century and, second, to present the most striking results of the formation of the History of Soviet Management Thought (SMT) in post-revolutionary Russia in the form of the movement of the so-called "The scientific organization of labor" (SOL), including "The scientific organization of managerial labor" (or SOML). Design/methodology/approach: The review and causal analysis of the process of formation of the SMT and historiography of the SMT, a brief description of the institutions of SOL and SOMT and a comparative analysis of little-known works of some Russian authors on management topics of nineteenth century are chosen as research methods. Findings: The paper emphasizes the action of objective historical inertia (or "non-Markoviness") of the process of development of managerial thought, manifested, on the one hand, in the stable action of some management paradigms but, on the other hand, in identifying paradigmatic anomalies, in identifying the need for constant development of managerial thought, in the development of sought-after ideas and concepts of management, and even in the institutionalization of applied scientific research in the field of management throughout the country (in the form of SOL and SOML). Originality/value: The paper attempts to attract the attention of researchers to the little-known Russian and Soviet authors and their little-known works in the field of management thought. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The late 1980s and early 1990s were characterized by the sudden rise of nationalist movements in almost all Soviet ethnic regions. It is argued that the rise ofpoliticalnationalism since the late 1980s can be explained by the development ofculturalnationalism in the previous decades, as an unintended outcome of Communist nationalities policy. All ethnic regions are examined throughout the entire history of the USSR (49 regions, 1917–1991), using the structural equation modeling (SEM) approach. This paper aims to make at least three contributions to the field. First, it is a methodological contribution for studying nationalism: a “quantification of history” approach. Having constructed variables from historical data, I use conventional statistical methods such as SEM. Second, this paper contributes to the theoretical debate about the role of cultural autonomy in multiethnic states. Finally, the paper statistically proves that the break between early Soviet and Stalinist nationalities policy explains the entire Soviet nationalities policy. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This paper examines the early history of agricultural entomology in the Russian empire in the decades before Russian universities and learned societies occupied centre stage in the intellectual life of the country. It aims to contribute to the ongoing discussions of historically contingent relations between 'amateurs' and 'professionals' in scientific research. It explores the social identities of those people who took part in the production and circulation of scientific knowledge, and argues that in this period Russian officialdom played a major role in these processes. The state officials' engagement with natural history originated out of a broader information gathering agenda, which was characteristic of the early- to mid-19th century. At the same time, the paper highlights the importance of provincial observers who were indispensable for providing field data for bureaucratic 'inventorying' of imperial resources. This dependency on local observers had far reaching implications, including the dissemination of the language and practices of natural history among wider audiences. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The history of Communism is effectively taught by the extensive use of new audiovisual and interdisciplinary tools. Inclusion of material from many disciplines besides history is necessary if the complicated and highly emotional political issues are to be handled in a thoughtful, objective presentation. (MLW)

The Kalmyks have lived in southwest Russia for about four centuries. Whilst cultural assimilation with neighbouring peoples has been an ongoing process since the Kalmyks first settled in the lower Volga from 1630, the twentieth century, which saw the rise and fall of several political regimes in Russia, was the most dramatic period in the group's history in that it had a deep impact not only on their social structure, religion, and way of life but also on their identity. Subjected to various political ideologies, not to mention punitive mass deportation to Siberia and Central Asia from 1943 to 1956, the Kalmyks had to constantly negotiate their identity not only with the Tsarist/Soviet/Russian state but also among themselves. Whilst today's self-narratives of Kalmyk ethnic identity are inextricably linked to the discourse of post-Soviet cultural revival, in order to explain the fluidity and dynamics of Kalmyk identity this paper takes a comprehensive approach to the history of the Kalmyk people since their first settlement on the lower Volga. Ethnic identity and its development are narrated chronologically, taking into account social structure, religion, historiography, and popular concepts to which the Kalmyks have been subjected, and which they have embraced, in the course of their history. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines practices of hostage-taking and -giving in the early-modern Russian Empire as practiced since the late 16th century in the regions of Siberia, the Far East and on the Russian Steppe frontier. The paper investigates the origins of this practice, its cross-cultural meanings and its symbolical and practical issues. The political, legal and cultural situation of indigenous hostages in the Russian frontier fortresses is discussed. The Russian hostage system is compared with practices of hostage-taking and-giving in other pre-modern cultures, such as in Ancient Rome, pre-modern China and the European Middle Ages. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The development of living standards in Russia before the First World War and the relationship of this to the interpretation of the cause(s) of the 1917 Russian Revolution are controversial. This paper analyses one piece of evidence which has been cited in support of the ‘optimistic’ interpretation. This is the anthropometric data. The paper investigates the anthropometric data showing that it is more complicated, less easy to compare over time, and less free from reporting error, than has been argued previously. This weakens the ‘optimistic’ interpretation of living standards and the related interpretation of the cause(s) of the Russian Revolution. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Medievalism, defined as the use of medieval history to describe and interpret the present, has been seen in Western Europe primarily as a phenomenon of culture, intellectual history and commerce. However, in Eastern Europe and Russia things have been the other way round, for there, right from the start the appeal to medieval history was an important element of ethnic nationalism, and of official historical policy and memory in various systems. The phenomenon of Medievalism will be studied in this paper using the example of the history of the ancient Russian city of Pskov, which has an eventful and glorious past. The paper shows that rather than being comprehended, Pskov's early history was rather constructed, in compliance with the ideological and cultural discourses of later times. Many legends about the city came into existence over the 16th–19th centuries, but were then turned into 'real facts' in historical literature and became incarnated in places of memory (lieux de mémoire). Such places, manifesting the memory of the Middle Ages, became established from the 16th century onwards and were intensively modelled during the 19th and early 20th centuries. In modern times the Middle Ages are mobilized primarily as a period when legends of the origins of people were reified, where their origo gentis may be found. Thus, this paper argues, the mobilization of the Middle Ages acted as an element of nation-building in the Russian Empire. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The years between 1864 and 1879 have a particular resonance for the history of physical anthropology in Russia. In 1864, Professor of Zoology at Moscow University Anatolii Petrovich Bogdanov (1834-1896) conceived the idea for an anthropological exhibition in Moscow. But it was not until 1879 that his idea became a reality. The years between Boganov's conception of the idea and the realization of the exhibition form the focus of this paper, which discusses this formative period for Russian physical anthropology. During this period Bogdanov established the first association of physical anthropologists and the first chair in anthropology at Moscow University. Also around this time the activities of Bogdanov's Society of Friends of Natural Science, Anthropology and Ethnography made the term anthropology widely popular not only among educated people but also among the lay public. Despite the significance of Bogdanov's contributions to the field of Russian physical anthropology, his name is often ignored and his achievements underestimated by the Russian language literature. The reasons for this oversight are outlined in this paper. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Fundamental reform of Russia’s military has passed through a number of distinct phases since its inception in late 2008. This paper describes the phase of consolidation and stability begun in early 2011. Based on research to June 2012, and pre-dating the replacement of Anatoliy Serdyukov as Russian Defence Minister, the paper shows how early planning and forecasting deficiencies were addressed from 2011 onward, with continuing support at the highest level for the overall aims of military reform. Ongoing problems such as procurement and manpower are discussed as serious challenges to Russian military aspirations, and further specific challenges affecting each individual arm of service are described. In conclusion, Russia’s new military capabilities, and the state’s rationale for introducing them, are considered. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This paper* gives an overview of collective identity issues among the Udmurt people, stressing the importance of the historical background since 1552, up to and including current Udmurt ethnic activity. The first section of the paper considers the foundations of the Udmurt collective identity (linguistic family and the significance of the territory). The second section focuses on occasions when Udmurt identity markers were at stake as a consequence of official policies or legal affairs during the Tsarist and Soviet periods. The third section presents the paradoxical role of the capital of Udmurtia, Izhevsk, the place where assimilation into Russian culture is more important than anywhere else, and which is also the centre of linguistic and cultural official planning where institutional structures are devoted to minority preservation. The last section will be dedicated to Udmurt contemporary ethnic activity in the context of globalisation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper I show how people 'muddle through' the present post-Soviet uncertainties and chaos in Central Asia, creating orders amidst disorder. This muddling-through, locally known as tirikchilik, creates what I call micro-orders structured through trust networks. Present disorder is contrasted to what was known as polyadok i zakon [order and law] in Soviet times. I show these processes in the example of mobile entrepreneurs who make their earnings through their mobile lives between Russia and Central Asia. Power, various dependencies, obligations and duties, shared belief and morals, status and authority play important parts in living and muddling-through within the domain of tirikchilik and also in regulating micro-orders by mobile entrepreneurs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]