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Purpose: The distinction between formality and informality has been a topic central for many scholarly fields. Without rejecting the usefulness of this distinction, the authors argued that instead of analyzing an empirical situation in terms of what is formal and what is informal, it could sometimes be fruitful to focus on what is stable and what is fluid. Design/methodology/approach: This paper reports the results of review and analysis of secondary sources on the distinction between formality and informality, followed by a conceptualization of an alternative distinction between fluidity and stability. This conceptualization was inspired by a science and technology studies (STS) understanding of relations, and was assessed through applying it to a case of patient organizations' participation in patient councils in Russia. Findings: Stability and fluidity do not map neatly into formality and informality; rather, the stability and fluidity cut across these categories. The authors propose a view of both stability and fluidity as kinds of relations between elements of the societal fabric. The distinction proposed here could be especially fruitful when applied to analyses of (1) complex bureaucracies where formal requirements are extensive and potentially in conflict with each other and (2) oppressive situations where significant power imbalances exist. Originality/value: Instead of providing yet another line of demarcation between formality and informality, this paper proposes a shift in attention to what is stable and what is fluid. This novel distinction can help not only in discerning how things actually work but also in bringing to the fore hitherto unnoticed forms of creativity, responsiveness and inclusion. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper discusses electoral integrity and malpractice in Russia from the point of view of the people who make it happen: political strategists, CEOs, and government representatives. The original dataset, encompassing 75 in-depth interviews collected in selected Russian regions in 2018-19, suggests that a wide range of practices are employed to maintain the power of the ruling elite, from legal and ethical ones to morally gray and completely unethical ones. The techniques used have evolved with the general political situation in the country and can be clustered into five periods: 1991−1995, 1996−1999, 2000−2010, 2010−2017, and since 2018. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines Russia's actions in Libya in the context of its pursuit of great power status. Drawing on a theoretical framework of Social Identity Theory, which had been developed and popularized in IR by the scholars Larson and Shevchenko, the article argues that Russia's Libya policy consists of two strategies. First, it pursues social creativity through versatile diplomacy, which has positioned it as an invaluable mediator. Moreover, Russia relies also on social competition by supporting Libyan warlord Khalifa Haftar. While these strategies raised Russia's profile, the ultimate success of status-seeking strategies depends on the recognition by the higher-status holders. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article investigates the idiosyncrasies of creative work in Russian art institutions through a study of their materialities. As identified in previous research, social inequalities are a significant feature of creative work. I argue, however, that in order to reveal inequalities that are constructed performatively, that is, in the 'here' and 'now', we need to further develop the existing arsenal of methods that is employed in critical creative work studies. In the Russian case, art institutions display a wealth of techniques for constructing and maintaining hierarchies, which of necessity must frequently be re-established due to conditions in the local context. In particular, the following explores two perennial paradigms of cultural production: 'high culture' and 'creativity'. As these paradigms coexist in the economy of the Russian art world, they compete for resources, including funding, public attention and legitimation. In the struggle, a binary of purity/dirt develops the social space of institutions, organisational identities and hierarchies inside and between organisations. This paper primarily focuses on an ethnographic study of cultural producers from the visual arts sector in Russia's two largest cities: Moscow and St. Petersburg. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, we draw on three ethnographic studies of surrogacy we carried out separately in different contexts: the western US state of California, the south Indian state of Karnataka, and the western Russian metropolis of St Petersburg. In our interviews with surrogate mothers, intended parents, and surrogacy professionals, we traced the meanings and ideologies through which they understood the clinical labour of surrogacy. We found that in the US, interviewed surrogates, intended parents and professionals understood surrogacy as an exchange of both gifts and commodities, where gift-giving, reciprocity, and relatedness between surrogates and intended parents were the major tropes. In India, differing narratives of surrogacy were offered by its different parties: whilst professionals and intended parents framed it as a win-win exchange with an emphasis on the economic side, the interviewed surrogate mothers talked about surrogacy as creative labour of giving life. In Russia, approaches to surrogacy among the interviewed surrogate mothers, professionals and intended parents overlapped in framing it as work and a businesslike commodity exchange. We suggest these three different ways of ethical reasoning about the clinical labour of surrogacy, including justifications of women's incorporation into this labour, were situated in local moral frameworks. We name them "repro-regional moral frameworks", inspired by earlier work on moral frameworks as well as on reproductive nationalisms and transnational reproduction. Building on these findings, we argue that any international or global regulation of surrogacy, or indeed any moral stance on it, needs to take these local differences into account. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper analyzes trauma as the source for creativity in the urban space. There are two strategies to find a way to live with traumatic experience. The first way, according to Sigmund Freud, is "the work of mourning", which by constant remembering and repeating trauma in the language of tropes and figures allows to integrate discontinuous traumatic experience thus partly expunging trauma. Another strategy for dealing with trauma was described by Eric L. Santner's term "narrative fetishism". This strategy supposes a refusal or inability to admit trauma substituting mourning for narratives, which seemingly do not have any connection to trauma itself. I can find outcomes of this traumatic creative strategy in urban spaces of contemporary megalopolises. The paper analyzes art objects in Yekaterinburg city, namely, the gangsters' tombstones and the cathedral that has been used for political and ideological purposes, the street art activity of painter Radya. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Using the framework of social identity theory, the article attempts to explain the main shifts in Russian policy toward the Middle East since the collapse of the Soviet Union. According to this theory, states have three strategies for achieving status: social mobility, social competition, and social creativity. In the 30 years prior to January 2022, Russian policy in the Middle East tested each of these strategies. In the 1990s Moscow's actions in the region acquired a pragmatic character and can be characterized as social mobility. In the 2000s, with the strengthening of the country's position, the Russian leadership employed the strategy of social competition. The events of the Arab Spring and the stagnation of relations with the West led to a crisis of social competition and an orientation toward social creativity. However, social creativity in the Middle East proved too costly for Moscow: Russia needed to be recognized as "equal" to other global players and minimize costs. This resulted in Russia's policy of balancing between social creativity and social competition. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Emotional creativity (EC) refers to cognitive abilities and personality traits related to the originality of emotional experience and expression. Previous studies have found that the COVID-19 epidemic and the restrictions imposed increased the levels of negative emotions, which obstructed adaptation. This research suggests that EC predicts the motivation for innovative adaptive behavior under the restrictions of COVID-19. In the case study of university professors, we show that EC predicts the motivation to creatively capitalize on the imposed online teaching in looking for innovative research and personal development. Methodologically, we rely on the Emotional Creativity Inventory (ECI) administered to a sample of 463 university professors (41.5% men, aged 22-100. M ± SD = 45.53 ± 11.46, median 44) from the Czech Republic (N = 137), Slovak Republic (N = 61), and Russia (N = 265). The indicators for motivation for innovative performance included motivations to use distant methods of scientific research, to look for partners for conducting scientific research in other cities or abroad, to conduct interdisciplinary research, starting distance learning to enhance qualifications, and the perception that due to online teaching, there is more time for personal development. We employ a set of ordinal regression analyses controlling for age, gender, position (lecturer, researcher, and manager), type of science (formal, natural, social, and applied), and country. The results suggest that Emotional Creativity and its three components predict the motivation of university professors to creatively capitalize on the imposed online teaching in looking for innovative research and personal development under the conditions of COVID-19. Furthermore, our results confirmed the gender and age differences in EC. The differences in EC according to position (lecturer, researcher, and manager) and type of science were not statistically significant. These results compel us to be aware of the importance of the emotional side of creativity to optimize stress-related behavior under the conditions of limited abilities to continue as usual. More space devoted to the manifestation of all the aspects of emotional creativity would improve adaptation to challenging circumstances and even allow one to capitalize on new opportunities. Moreover, we suggest that if personal intrinsic Emotional Creativity is high, the crises, such as the COVID-19 epidemic, may improve adaptation and trigger creative outcomes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article emphasizes that a capacity for leisure and work is indispensable for health growth and creative development. The advancement of technological science and automation is causing a shrinkage of workaday world. Plans for a six-week vacation and a three-day weekend is now underway. Boris Pregel, former president of the New York Academy of Sciences, states that the work week will be reduced by 20 hours within the next decade. In his book "The Great Contest," Isaac Deutscher states that Russia has now a nation-wide plan of preparing its people for a three-hour workday by 1984.

Implicit theories of creativity provide an understanding of attitude towards among different populations, including students. Insights on how students see and define creativity might help to adjust educational settings and thus make it possible to provide students with better conditions to support their creativity. Although many studies have been conducted on creativity in different cultural settings, little is known on individualism or collectivism is connected to implicit theories of creativity. This study was carried out among secondary school students in Estonia and Russia to identify possible differences in how students from different cultural backgrounds (and varying in individualism and collectivism) define creativity. The results indicated that there were differences in how students from Estonia and Russia defined creativity: Although students from Russia tend to identify creativity more with novel ideas, students from Estonia defined creativity more in terms of self-expression (students from schools with Estonian as the language of instruction) and uniqueness (students from schools with Russian as the language of instruction). Implications and further research suggestions are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article explores humour as a significant human phenomenon and therapeutic factor in interactive group art therapy with war veterans. The multidimensional approach integrating developmental and clinical perspectives on the nature, role and functions of humour has been applied. The emphasis is placed on how humour can be generated and expressed through art in clinical art therapy. Researchers postulated that humour may be especially significant as a coping or defensive means among war veterans somehow related to their specific ‘male culture’, mental disorders involved and therapeutic and group dynamics. Different expressions of humour in spontaneous or task-specific art activities have been studied in their connection with various therapeutic situations and targets involved. High frequency of humorous artistic expressions and their significant correlation with cognitive characteristics of the clients was found. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Reflecting on aesthetics of the Russian religious philosopher Nikolai Berdyaev, the author discusses one of its main principles: the tragedy of creativity. Berdyaev believes that the genuine tragedy of creativity of a real artist lies the contradiction between the artist's desire for perfection and the impossibility of realizing it. An artist cannot but strive for that which is from the very beginning—under this “earthly world's” terms of existence—unattainable. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

An essay is presented on how merchants in Russia were short-changed by the artistic intelligentsia that led them to demonstrate a negative image. It explores how the merchant's literary images offer attention to other positive changes in the society. It examines the changes occurring in Russia such as the merchants' move to read more widely, attend to their children's education and take an interest in supporting the arts.