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The paper explores a shift from engagement to confrontation in Russia’s policy toward Georgia since the Rose Revolution. In addition to emphasizing power and security as explanations of Russia’s behavior, the paper focuses on considerations of honor and prestige. The latter are relational and a product of Russia’s perception of its ties with Western nations. Honor also plays a crucial role in Georgia’s attitude toward its northern neighbor, and the entire Caucasus area emerges as a battleground for symbolic attributes of power among larger states with capabilities to influence the region. The case of Russia–Georgia divide is important for demonstrating benefits and limitations of traditional foreign policy explanations and for learning possible ways to de-escalate dangerous bilateral conflicts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Despite the vast literature on the economic and social affects of micro-financing in poor countries, little attention has been given to its political implications. At a time when the broader development implications of micro-financing are being recognized—thanks, in part, to the Nobel Prize Award to Prof. Yunus and the Grameen Bank—political scientists have an opportunity to contribute to and learn from the study of this financial instrument. This paper traces the existing microcredit—and more broadly the microfinance—literature to delineate the ways in which microcredit can contribute to the political awareness and activism of the poor, i.e., their political empowerment. I argue that the link between microcredit and political empowerment is self-efficacy and social capital, which can be generated from a particular form of microcredit lending where clients apply for loans as a group and share responsibility for repayment. Furthermore, I make the case for why the Central Asia and Caucasus region would provide an appropriate case to analyze the political effects of microfinance. Research in this area will not only fill an obvious gap in the literature, but it will also help microfinance institutions, donor communities and governments to better understand the wider political implications of microfinance and the ways by which to measure them. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, we introduce the results of the statistical analysis of atmospheric characteristics at the site of the Big Telescope Alt-azimuthal (BTA) of the Special Astrophysical Observatory (SAO) of the Russian Academy of Science (RAS). The BTA is the largest optical telescope in Eurasia and is located near Mt Pastukhova in the northern part of the Caucasus Mountains, at an altitude of 2070 m above sea level. The atmosphere of the Earth is a major challenge for observing and it limits the quality of astronomical images obtained by ground-based telescopes. The study of the atmosphere above astronomical observatories is important for the planning of observing time, for the optimization of instrument performance and for the development of adaptive optics systems. We discuss the results of a study of the meteorological conditions at the BTA site: total cloud cover, wind speed at the pressure level of 200 hPa, vertical motions, vertical profiles of the wind speed employing data from the ERA-Interim and National Centers for Environmental Prediction/National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCEP/NCAR) re-analysis data bases. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents a comprehensive revision of Circassina (Gastropoda: Hygromiidae). Circassina is divided into two subgenera. The nominotypical subgenus is characterized by an inflation forming a brim at the base of the dart apparatus, whereas Circassina (Abchasohela) is characterized by a granular shell sculpture. Circassina (Circassina) includes C. frutis (with the subspecies C. f. frutis, C. frutis circassica and C. frutis veselyi), which ranges from the northwestern slope of the Caucasus Mountains throughout most of Georgia to northernmost Armenia and the Eastern Pontic Mountains in Turkey, and C. lasistana new species, which is only known from the Vileyet Artvin in Turkey. Circassina (Abchasohela) includes C. christophori, C. pachnodes, C. pergranulata new species, C. septentrionalis new species and C. stephaniae. All species of Circassina (Abchasohela) are restricted to Abkhasia and the adjacent Russian regions in westernmost Caucasia. The shell and the genitalia of each taxon are described and illustrated. All synonyms and all locality records are listed. The distribution of the species is illustrated on a UTM-grid map. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Due to global climate cooling and aridification since the Paleogene, members of the Neogene flora were extirpated from the Northern Hemisphere or were confined to a few refugial areas. For some species, the final reduction/extinction came in the Pleistocene, but some others have survived climatic transformations up to the present. This has occurred in Castanea sativa , a species of high commercial value in Europe and a significant component of the Caucasian forests' biodiversity. In contrast to the European range, neither the historical biogeography nor the population genetic structure of the species in its isolated Caucasian range has been clarified. Here, based on a survey of 21 natural populations from the Caucasus and a single one from Europe, we provide a likely biogeographic reconstruction and genetic diversity details. By applying Bayesian inference, species distribution modelling and fossil pollen data, we estimated (i) the time of the Caucasian—European divergence during the Middle Pleistocene, (ii) the time of divergence among Caucasian lineages and (iii) outlined the glacial refugia for species. The climate changes related to the Early–Middle Pleistocene Transition are proposed as the major drivers of the intraspecific divergence and European–Caucasian disjunction for the species, while the impact of the last glacial cycle was of marginal importance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Caucasian rock lizards (Darevskia) are a speciose group with 42 described species from the Caucasus Mountain region. We selected 11 species from Georgia and adjacent territories to explore whether their distribution depends on the distribution of congeneric taxa. We estimated two measures for each species pair: (1) niche overlap between all pairs of the studied species; (2) the extent of contact between the ranges of individual species. We then calculated the correlation between these measurements and the time of divergence between the species. The results showed that in sympatric and parapatric (but not allopatric) species, there is a highly significant correlation between the divergence time and the extent of the contact, as well as between the divergence time and the overlap of suitable habitats. The ranges of the evolutionarily closest species have the smallest extent of contact. Species separated later have overlapping ranges, although are separated by altitude. The most distant species, irrespective of their phenotype, are commonly found in the same location. We suggest that a gradual increase in the contact extent is compensated for by increasing the effectiveness of other mechanisms of niche shift or behavioural isolation and hence the frequency of potentially deleterious interspecific contacts is kept low. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background and Aims Southwestern Asia is a significant centre of biodiversity and a cradle of diversification for many plant groups, especially xerophytic elements. In contrast, little is known about the evolution and diversification of its hygrophytic flora. To fill this gap, we focus on Cardamine (Brassicaceae) species that grow in wetlands over a wide altitudinal range. We aimed to elucidate their evolution, assess the extent of presumed historical gene flow between species, and draw inferences about intraspecific structure. Methods We applied the phylogenomic Hyb-Seq approach, ecological niche analyses and multivariate morphometrics to a total of 85 Cardamine populations from the target region of Anatolia–Caucasus, usually treated as four to six species, and supplemented them with close relatives from Europe. Key Results Five diploids are recognized in the focus area, three of which occur in regions adjacent to the Black and/or Caspian Sea (C. penzesii , C. tenera , C. lazica), one species widely distributed from the Caucasus to Lebanon and Iran (C. uliginosa), and one western Anatolian entity (provisionally C. cf. uliginosa). Phylogenomic data suggest recent speciation during the Pleistocene, likely driven by both geographic separation (allopatry) and ecological divergence. With the exception of a single hybrid (allotetraploid) speciation event proven for C. wiedemanniana , an endemic of southern Turkey, no significant traces of past or present interspecific gene flow were observed. Genetic variation within the studied species is spatially structured, suggesting reduced gene flow due to geographic and ecological barriers, but also glacial survival in different refugia. Conclusions This study highlights the importance of the refugial regions of the Black and Caspian Seas for both harbouring and generating hygrophytic species diversity in Southwestern Asia. It also supports the significance of evolutionary links between Anatolia and the Balkan Peninsula. Reticulation and polyploidization played a minor evolutionary role here in contrast to the European relatives. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Aegean archipelago, as an 'evolutionary laboratory of nature', is an ideal model for research in phylogeography. In this area, the darkling beetles of the genus Dendarus (distributed from Morocco to the Caucasus) exhibit a high level of diversity with 36 species, 27 of which are island endemics. However, their taxonomy is complex and unstable, having undergone continuous revision to address extensive morphological and ecological plasticity. Here, we examine the phylogenetic relationships of 23 species from Greece and Turkey, using mitochondrial and nuclear DNA sequences and 61 morphological characters, to unveil their phylogeny in the Aegean. This helps to clarify phylogeographic scenarios and historical processes that shaped the observed patterns. The analyses reveal 13 distinct lineages with several para- and polyphyletic cases that correspond to three major phylogroups [south/south-east Aegean (D. foraminosus complex, D. rhodius , D. sporadicus , D. wettsteini); central to north Aegean, Turkey and mainland Greece (D. crenulatus , D. moesiacus group, D. sinuatus complex, D. stygius) and mainland Greece (D. messenius , D. paganettii)], indicating the need for further taxonomic re-evaluation. Lineage topology and phylogeography suggest a spatial and temporal sequence of geographic isolation, following either a vicariant or a dispersal model coincident with major palaeogeographic separations in the Aegean. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The North Caucasus region of Russia is known for spawning the highest number of adverse judgments from the European Court of Human Rights compared to any other Russian region—over 500 as of mid-2020. Since 2005, the Court has found Russia responsible for enforced disappearances, extrajudicial killings and torture carried out on a mass scale during the second Chechen war and in its aftermath. The Head of the Chechen Republic, Ramzan Kadyrov, has become internationally infamous for the brutal repression of even his mildest critics, ensuring that most Chechens will be too afraid to claim their rights in any forum. Domestically, the Russian federal authorities have either ignored or tacitly condoned the increasing subversion of state law in the region in favour of de facto customary norms— adat —and elements of sharia law that have had a devastating effect mainly on women's and girls' rights. Harmful traditional practices such as 'honour killings', child marriage, bride-kidnapping, and—in certain remote mountain regions of Dagestan—female genital mutilation take place on a regular basis. Yet such violations, however grave, do not easily lend themselves to litigation. This practice note focuses on one of the few areas in the region in which systematic focused litigation is being carried out in domestic courts, often against enormous odds: the systematic denial of women's right to family life after divorce or the death of their children's biological father. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Mountains are important landforms with regard to both biodiversity and evolution of endemism. We analysed macro-ecological patterns of distribution and endemism of European montane (i.e. with at least 70% of their range inside mountain areas) mammals. The landscape of the study area was characterized by three environmental variables: land cover, land-use and elevation. For each species, we collected spatially explicit information on the extent of occurrence, level of endemicity, conservation status, habitat preferences, elevation range and all the available presence points. Montane species accounted for 25.5% of the total (N = 66), whereas lowland species (N = 193) accounted for 74.5% of the total European mammals. There was a significantly lower mean range in size of montane species compared to non-montane species. There was a negative correlation between the number of species and elevation, and a negative correlation between median elevation of the range of a given species and its extent of occurrence. The highest peak in the percentage of species present in each altitudinal band was observed at lower elevations in the lower altitude mountain chains. There was a significantly negative correlation between elevation and Simpson's index of habitats, but species richness increased significantly with Simpson's index of habitat diversity. A total of 122 species (40.7%) were European endemics, with the frequencies of endemic species not being different between montane areas and overall. A logistic regression model showed that, for a given species, being montane also enhanced the probability of being endemic to Europe. Montane species are especially concentrated in the Caucasus, along the Turkish coast of the Black Sea. The area of the various mountain chains did not influence either the number of montane species or the number of montane species that are strictly endemic to that mountain chain. A total of 45 endemic montane species were recorded for the study region, with only ten being of conservation concern according to IUCN criteria. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Eastern Anatolia region between north-south colliding Arabian and Eurasian plates has no significant crustal root and shallow (upper) mantle flow beneath seems to be vertically supporting its high topography. It has a high surface heat flow and the underlying mantle is characterized by low seismic velocity zones. Using a mantle density/temperature variation field derived from P-wave seismic velocity, current shallow mantle flow and resultant dynamic topography of Eastern Anatolia and adjacent Arabian foreland and Caucasus areas were calculated along a vertical section. The section crosses the tectonic boundaries interrelated with slab bodies (high seismic velocity/cold regions) and the low velocity zones above the slabs. According to the modelling experiments, the surface topography of Eastern Anatolia seems to be supported by shallow mantle flow dynamics. On the other hand, residual topography for the region was calculated using high resolution crustal thickness data. Positive residual topography that suggests an undercompensated state of Eastern Anatolia is in concordance with the dynamic topography anomaly. The modelled local shallow mantle flow support due to the density contrast between hot (low velocity) zones and underlying cold slab bodies beneath the area may be the present-day snapshot of the mantle flow uplift in Eastern Anatolia presence of which was previously suggested. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

How does political violence affect the attitudes and beliefs of affected populations? This question remains of central concern to the discipline of conflict studies. In response, we make the case (by empirical example) that the choice of spatial and temporal ranges of analysis influences conclusions about the associations between exposure to political conflict and subsequent opinions. Using 2005 survey data from Russia's North Caucasus and georeferenced conflict data for the preceding 2 years, we find that violence affects levels of ethnic pride, trust in public institutions, and preferences for ethno-territorial separation, as well as other postwar attitudes. By designating a wide range of distance and time boundaries for capturing a conflict/attitude relationship, we argue for a more inductive style of analyzing theoretical propositions than is usually found in the field of conflict research. Our research is framed within the theoretical and empirical discussions of contextual-, neighborhood-, and community-level drivers of individual-level outcomes from the political geography and conflict studies literatures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The globally significant Caucasus hotspot of biological diversity holds a rich and largely endemic fauna of land molluscs. Georgia holds the majority of these regional endemics. Land molluscs are particularly sensitive indicators of habitat quality and faunal diversity. In this study, we examine the extent to which the existing network of protected areas (PAs) within Georgia captures the hotspots of endemic molluscan diversity. We collected and mapped the records of Georgian and Caucasian endemic species onto a 20 × 20 km2 UTM grid to identify the most important endemic areas in Georgia. We related these to the existing network of PAs. Less than half of the richest grid cells included significant PAs. Although those endemics with the smallest known ranges were better protected than the remainder, the incomplete state of knowledge means that our estimates of existing protection are surely optimistic. To date, the designation of PAs in Georgia has not used distributional data for invertebrates, although elsewhere they have been shown to be an effective aid to planning and management for conservation. Further surveys of molluscs and their monitoring in existing PAs can and should inform a systematic conservation strategy in Georgia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Few smoking cessation programs are designed for college students, a unique population that may categorically differ from adolescents and adults, and thus may have different motivations to quit than the general adult population. Understanding college student motives may lead to better cessation interventions tailored to this population. Motivation to quit may differ, however, between racial groups. The current study is a secondary analysis examining primary motives in college student smokers, and differences between Asian American and Caucasian students in smoking frequency, nicotine dependence, and motives to quit. Methods: Participants (N = 97) listed personal motives to quit cigarette smoking, which were then coded into categories: health, personal relationships (e.g., friends, family, romantic partners), self-view (e.g., “addicted” or “not in control”), image in society, impact on others or the environment (e.g., second-hand smoke, pollution), and drain on personal resources (e.g., money, time). Results: Mean number of motives were highest in the category of health, followed by personal relationships, drain on resources, self-view, image, and impact. Asian American students listed significantly fewer motives in the categories of health, self-view and image, and significantly more in the category of personal relationships than Caucasian students. Nicotine dependence was significantly higher for Asian American students. However, frequency of smoking did not differ between groups. Conclusions: Results may inform customization of smoking cessation programs for college students and address relevant culturally specific factors of different racial groups. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Teleseismic phase readings from the Eastern Turkey Seismic Experiment (ETSE) have been inverted using teleseismic tomography in order to create a 3-D image of the underlying mantle beneath Eastern Turkey. The aim was to investigate the existence of an upper mantle negative velocity anomaly that is used to explain the uplift of Eastern Anatolian plateau and the potential pieces of detached oceanic slabs related to Neo-Tethyan subduction suggested by previous studies. Using teleseismic waveforms from the 29 stations of the Eastern Turkey Seismic Experiment, 2926 direct P phases from 146 events were picked by using adaptive stacking techniques. In order to increase the station coverage and resolve the surrounding area, the phase readings from the International Seismological Center (ISC) Bulletin have also been added. The data set consists of 9571 P and PKP phase readings of 79 stations from 503 teleseismic events. This study develops the first high-resolution 3-D upper mantle P-wave tomographic model for this region. The tomographic results show the existence of an upper mantle negative velocity anomaly to a depth of ∼200 km beneath the eastern Anatolian accreationary complex (EAAC) as commonly observed in the previous studies that suggest a shallow partially molten asthenosphere. The slab-like high velocity anomalies beneath the EAAC, Pontides and Caucasus are interpreted as the detached southern and northern Neo-Tethys slabs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

During their occupation of the North Caucasus in late 1942 the German forces found themselves in control of several thousand members of a little-known ethnic group called the Mountain Jews. The Nazi authorities were uncertain, however, whether these were actually "racially" Jews, and let themselves become involved in a drawn-out discussion of the question. Prior to their retreat in 1943 the Germans killed hundreds of the Mountain Jews, but the majority of those who had come under occupation survived thanks to the Germans' hesitation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

SummaryBackground: Mesenteric venous thrombosis is a rare cause of acute abdominal pain that may be the result of coagulation abnormalities. Methods: Four consecutive patients with mesenteric venous thrombosis underwent haematological evaluation. Results: All four had activated protein C resistance resulting from a single mutation in the gene coding for coagulation factor V. Three had surgery; in one patient the diagnosis was made by ultrasonography. One of the patients who had surgery died but the other three survived and were treated with long-term anticoagulation. Conclusion: Activated protein C resistance may be an important pathogenetic factor in primary mesen-teric vein thrombosis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]