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The following thesis is focusing on the geopolitical as well as geostrategic significance of the GIUK Gap. In addition to an overview of the realist theories of international relations used in the analysis as such, the thesis includes a section devoted to the historical development of the geopolitical and geostrategic significance of the GIUK Gap, but above all an analysis of the current geopolitical and geostrategic significance of the once mentioned specific North Atlantic region. The analysis of the current geopolitical situation is written with an emphasis on the increasing importance of the area for NATO and the Russian Federation, whose interests have increasingly clashed in recent years, not only in this region. The aim of the paper is to demonstrate a causal relationship between the generally deteriorating relations between NATO and the Russian Federation following the annexation of Crimea in 2014 and the growing importance of the GIUK Gap.

This thesis looks at the 2014 Ukraine crisis through the lenses of strategic culture by analyzing both the Russian Federation and the European Union's strategic cultures. Over the last eight years, the annexation of Crimea and intervention in Donbass have received a great deal of attention as it was the first geopolitical power struggle in Europe between East and West since the Cold War. Since most of the scholarly work dealing with the 2014 Ukraine crisis have taken a realist approach, this thesis is taking a constructivist approach in order to cover this gap. The paper will cover the Russian strategic culture - the institutional influence of the intelligence services and agencies, foreign political rhetoric, security-related texts, the influence of the leading institutions and the role of 'active measures' - as well as the one of the EU - the influence of the German strategic culture, multilateralism and military restraint. Overall, the thesis will try to shed new light on the 2014 Ukraine crisis so that we can garner more insight on this event. Key words: Ukraine crisis; strategic culture; the Russian Federation; the European Union; Germany; Crimea

In this thesis, I examine how geopolitical ideas about the future development of the Russian Federation changed after the collapse of the Soviet Union, and how the Vladimir Putin regime has subsequently built on this debate. Using Russian political and geopolitical thought, I demonstrate that the key questions to which the Russian elite (whether intellectuals or members of the ruling class) have attempted to find answers over the past two hundred years remain relevant and continue to shape social discurs: For example, the question of how open Russia should be to foreign influences, whether it represents a European, Asian, or unique civilization, and whether the Russian nation has an exceptional, messianic mission to which it must subordinate its existence. Different schools of geopolitics have successively offered different - mutually contradictory - answers to these questions. Thus, I first present the history of the search for the Russian idea, and then, using speeches and articles delivered and written by Vladimir Putin in particular, I argue that none of these geopolitical conceptions alone fully explains the direction in which today's Russia is heading, but that in their summary they can in some way explaining the gradual changes in Putin's rhetoric and policies. Whereas earlier geopolitical...

Title of the dissertation: The Status of Non-Governmental Organisations in International Law on the Example of the Russian Federation Abstract The dissertation deals with the status of non-governmental organisations in international law. It approaches this issue from two perspectives. The first is the international law regulation of non-governmental organisations in the international system. The second is the question of the impact of international law on the regulation of non-governmental organisations at the national level. These two perspectives are interrelated since, without compliance with the requirements of international law at the national level, non-governmental organisations cannot be active at the international level. The dissertation demonstrates this thesis on the example of the Russian Federation, which has adopted legislation on non-governmental organisations that severely restricts their functioning and very existence in the last ten years. The first part of the dissertation examines the status and regulation of non-governmental organisations in international law. It deals with the understanding of non-governmental organisations, their historical development, and the topics that non-governmental organisations currently address in the international system. It also provides a definition of...

This bachelor thesis deals with the concept of a de-escalation nuclear strike in the strategy of the Russian Federation. Unlike the United States of America, the Russian Federation has retained part of its non-strategic arsenal. Furthermore, the delivery systems have been modernized in the last decade. The essence of a de-escalation strike is based on the deployment of non-strategic, lower-yield nuclear weapons, even in the early phase of an armed conflict. This way, a conflict could be ended under more favourable conditions for Russia. The aim of this thesis is to answer a question whether a de-escalation strike is real part of the Russian military strategy. To answer this question, the de-escalation strike is framed within the theoretical framework of limited nuclear war and escalation. The research part of this thesis examines Russian strategic document and missiles capable of delivering lower yield nuclear weapons. Based on the examination of the strategic documents, I have concluded that although the documents do not mention a de-escalation strike, they contain aggressive nuclear signalling. Moreover, the documents show that the threshold for deployment of nuclear weapons by the Russian Federation is very low. The Russian Federation possesses a wide range of ballistic and cruise missiles...

The thesis investigates the determinants of apartment prices in Russia. We examined the relationships between quarterly apartment prices in the primary and secondary markets and a wide range of explanatory variables using a het- erogeneous panel of 73 regions from 2005 Q1 to 2019 Q4. Because the variables were co-integrated, the long-run relationships were estimated using a panel dynamic OLS. The short-run dynamic was captured by the error correction model. Wages and construction costs were found to be the core determinants of apartment prices in both the primary and secondary markets. Construc- tion costs were dominant in the primary market and wages in the secondary market. Unemployment, age structure, migration, exchange rate index, and existing apartment area per capita were identified as additional price determi- nants. Negative error correction terms implied that, following a market shock, apartment prices would revert to their long-run equilibria. The sample was then divided into subsets containing wealthy and poor regions to test for ro- bustness. The regression results suggested di erent dynamics in the wealthy regions, but otherwise confirmed the results' robustness. Finally, subperiods were subjected to indicative analysis. However, no significant changes were observed following the 2008...

The presented thesis examines the presence of elements of Russian strategic narratives in the news of the Parlamentní listy platform on the case of the Vrbětice medial case, which arose after the government's announcement of the involvement of Russian agents in warehouse explosions in Vrbětice in April 2021. The chosen method was a qualitative content analysis of the news that came out in the week after the announcement of information about Russian agents and their involvement in the explosions. Its results were processed using quantitative analysis. The research question was to what extent the Parlamentní listy platform spreads Russian propaganda in cases that are sensitive topic for Russian foreign policy, and by what practices it does so. The thesis also contains a description of the used method and the theoretical embedding of the investigated issue and terms used, such as narrative, strategic narrative, Russian information warfare, etc.

The past two decades have led to dramatic changes in Russian foreign policy, shifting it from post- communist democratization to the path of aggressive revisionism and confrontation with the West. These changes are, to greater degree, regarded with Russian President Vladimir Putin's strategic vision on Russia's future. Since 2007, Russian revisionist foreign actions progressively led to confrontation with the West, which culminated in March 2014 amid Russian annexation of Crimea. The work discusses a number of aspects the Russia-West confrontation such as economic sanctions, nuclear proliferation, proxy wars and current rapidly evolving military escalation at the Ukrainian borders. This also includes Russia's security demands presented to the United States and NATO on 17 December 2021. Simultaneously, this work attempts to connect the role of Western sanctions in worsening of domestic issues inside of Russia such as declining demography, poverty and corruption. In addition, the thesis indicates unnecessary securitization of the Russia- West and Russia-NATO relationships. At the same time, the thesis attempts to show a number of the structural level threats that should be securitized by Russia. These challenges are growing Pan- Turkism and risks of strategic partnership with China, which may pose a...

Every revolution in military affairs was always, to a large extent, driven by the appearance of new types of modern technologies. Many examples from the past revolutions reflect this fact, including the recent one between the 1970s and 1990s of the 20th century. This most recent revolution in military affairs had its roots in a Soviet concept of "military-technical revolution," which, as its name already indicates, gave the technology a great significance. Both above-mentioned theoretical concepts had a practical impact on how the battle operations were conducted, on changes in military doctrines and organization of forces, and the integration of new technologies into existing weapon systems. In the last revolution in military affairs from the 1980s and 1990s, the central role was played by precision-guided munitions, command and control systems, and also communication systems. Today there is an ongoing discussion about the potential new revolution in military affairs, which main drivers are expected to be artificial intelligence and robotic systems. This diploma thesis focuses on the definition of concepts "military-technical revolution," "revolution in military affairs," their evolution, and the new technologies that can cause a new revolution in the near future- artificial intelligence and...

This thesis is about the military conflict in eastern and southern territories of Ukraine, including the Crimean crisis and War in the Donbas area that took place from 2014 till this present time (2020). According to international law, these regions are still part of Ukraine, however, Russia de facto controls the Crimea Peninsula and the Donbass region. Due to dissatisfaction with the dismissal of Ukrainian President Yanukovych, Crimea opposed the new central government with the help of Russian military forces. Subsequently, they elected their own parliament and voted to declare independence. They then successfully held a referendum on whether to "return" to Russia which is biased and condemned by the international community. The referendum claimed to be passed with a very high number of votes although both the turnout and the votes in favor have been questioned, then Crimea officially joined the Russian Federation. The results of the Crimean referendum were not accepted by the Ukrainian government, and Russia was also sanctioned by the Western-based international community due to this crisis. What's more, part of the pro-Russian region in eastern Ukraine has also followed the independence of Crimea and intended to "rejoin" Russia Federal. After the two Minsk treaties, in spite of the fact that...

This diploma thesis analyses the phenomenon of the Russian information warfare targeting the Baltic states - Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia. In five chapters the thesis initially theoretically examines phenomenon of the information warfare itself, specifically its typical components and advantages because of which the Russian Federation uses it. After that, the thesis estimates conceptual preconditions and incentives in the Baltic region due to which Russia implements the information warfare specifically in this region. The information warfare in this sense is understood as the psychological pressure onto the society of Baltics, hence, as one of the tools to enforce the interests and goals of the Kremlin's official foreign policy, because the initiators of such information campaigns are the Russian state media or their proxies. Third, in the empirical part, based the conceptually determined factors and particular events related to them, thesis thoroughly deals with discourses and narratives spread through the Russian and pro-Russian media operating in the Baltic states. More specifically, the analysis conducts research of the content of these narratives, their rhetoric, specific features, context and possible impacts onto the society in the Baltics. The goal of this thesis is to analyse thoroughly...

The bachelor thesis deals with the importance of the Russian car market for car manufacturers in the Czech Republic. It deals with the analysis of the position of individual car manufacturers from the Czech Republic on the Russian market. Analysis of the Russian car market and, also a survey of the Russian Federation's international trade in cars and, also a survey of the Russian Federation's interna-tional trade with cars. The aim is to determine the position of manufacturers from the Czech Republic on the Russian automotive market and, if necessary, to propose a strategy for a short-term / long-term increase in sales and strengthening the po-sition in this market.

This diploma thesis deals with the process of the formation of the Latvian Citizenship Law in the context of European integration. The main aim of the thesis is to analyze the influence of European organization (primarily the Council of Europe, the European Union and the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe) on the law creation and the approval of its amendments. The aim of the study is also to analyze how the representatives of the Russian Federation influenced the process of law creation and its changes. Latvia was annexed by the Soviet Union in 1940, it remained its part until 1991. During the Soviet period, many Russian-speaking people moved to the territory of Latvia. Latvian citizenship law from 1994 was highly restrictive, it was based on the principle of legal continuity between interwar Latvia and restored Latvia after 1991. Therefore, the law only restored citizenship, which meant that only people who had been citizens before 1940 were granted automatic citizenship. Many inhabitants of restored Latvia, especially Russian speaking inhabitants, remained without citizenship. There was a possibility to acquire citizenship through the naturalization process, but the pace of the naturalization was too slow due to the system of so-called "naturalization windows". The system...

v anglickém jazyce The bachelor's thesis deals with the construction of the Nord Stream gas pipeline, which can be described as an important part of the energy tool of the hybrid war between Russia and Ukraine. This project, which aims to connect Russia with Germany, has sparked a wide- ranging debate on energy security in Europe. We can assume that Nord Stream is not only an economic project that should reduce the cost of natural gas transit and diversify existing routes, but also a political project that may have the effect of changing the mutual position of Russia and Ukraine. Russia has used natural gas several times to pursue its political goals, and in the context of the hybrid war between Russia and Ukraine, the pipeline can bring Russia a number of benefits. The work is based on historical cases of the use of natural gas for political purposes before and after the beginning of the hybrid war between these countries. The work outlined both the aggression by Russia and the current security situation in Ukraine.

The study examines the level of party voting discipline displayed by current Russian deputies. The objective is to discover whether deputies elected since the reintroduction of the mixed-member electoral system in 2016 showed a diverse level of party voting discipline. The study expands on the existing research and verifies results of earlier analysis proving weaker party discipline among politicians elected from single-member districts (SMDs). A sample of over 500 thousand deputy votes is analyzed with multiple regression analysis and other methods of quantitative research. The research explores the influence of several variables including the type of elections, political faction membership, double candidacy of a deputy and his incumbency in the previous term of office. Evaluation of results implies that the type of elections does not have a significant impact on party discipline of deputies. The most noticeable is the impact of the membership in various political factions. Greater independence in voting typical for SMD deputies does not manifest considerably in Russia because of the impact of the local hybrid regime and because the majority of SMD deputies belong to the faction of United Russia. Members of a faction with such importance tend to be less motivated to vote against their political...

This bachelor thesis analyzes phenomenon of the state-sponsored doping in the Russian Federation and efforts of the anti-doping movement to fight against it. In four chapters this thesis focuses on the theoretical and historical context of using the doping substances, which is also connected with the formation of the anti-doping institutions. Further, it examines the development of doping environment in the Russian Federation and anti-doping policy in 21st century until the present day. The main goal of the thesis is to find out, if systematic doping in Russia really existed with support of state institutions, e. g. the Ministry of Sport of Russian Federation and the Russian Security Service. This enabled distribution and using of prohibited substances among top athletes in order to achieve the best results. At the same time, I will try to demonstrate on specific examples the involvement of non-state sports institutions in Russia, such as the All-Russian Athletics Federation and the Russian Anti-Doping Agency. These institutions should be independent, but they were subjected to the state institutions mentioned above. Complementary with this, thesis will analyze development of specific reactions and steps of international sports organizations of anti-doping policy in the time. Proving of these...

This diploma thesis contains comparison of IPMA standards' use among project managers from Chelyabinsk oblast in Russian Federation and South-Moravian region in Czech Republic. The work is divided into two parts by themes. The first part creates theoretical platform for understanding of this problematic. The second part is composed of questionnaires’ evaluation and further comparison, which were made by using statistic calculations and coefficients. Findings acquired through questionary assessment are described as follows and on their basis a recommendation for IPMA development is given.

The bachelor thesis studies the nature of communication of Russian Federation. In the beginning the theoretical concepts of state-communication are defined and the key points of difference between each other are specified. In the following part of the thesis, the Russian communication is examined, based on defined theoretical concepts. To achieve this objective, direct and indirect instruments used by Russia are analysed, so is the content communicated by them. Eventually, after determination of the correct term for the Russian communication, there are shortly introduced the objectives of Russian Federation, based on inteligence reports and experts studying the Russian activities.

This thesis deals with the hybrid warfare phenomenon and its development after 2014. It was then that the Russian Federation violated the principles of the international community and, through its actions, contributed to destabilization of Ukraine. Russian-Ukrainian conflict is mostly described as a hybrid war, although there is still no generally accepted consensus on its definition. Part of this one-case study is devoted to presenting an academic debate on this phenomenon which is then used to analyze the war in eastern Ukraine. This paper examines the various means of hybrid warfare used by the Russian Federation towards its western neighbour to destabilize it politicaly, economicaly, security-wise and socially in order to confirm that the Russian hostile activity in the Donbas region in the first phase of the conflict was hybrid warfare.

This thesis concentrates on the case of Russian economy and assessment of its dependence on oil. Russia is often cited as an example of country suffering from resource curse as its natural wealth forms significant share of country's exports and revenues. Thesis will first concentrate on factors determining current state of Russian economy. Presence of the symptoms of Dutch disease in the Russian economy will be studied using the Vector error correction model (VECM) applied on the real effective exchange rate of country (REER). Thesis will also contain an assessment of Russian institutional environment to check for other symptoms of resource curse theory. Analysis of latest federal budget will be used to evaluate the sustainability of Russian federal finances. The thesis is concluded by discussion of results and possible paths of future development of Russian economy.

Suchý D., Progression of the dependence of EU states on natural gas import from the Russian Federation. Bachelor thesis. Brno. Mendel University in Brno, Faculty of Business Economics. The main aim of this bachelor thesis is to compile four evaluation criteria based on collected data from the period 2006–2017 and to quantify and evaluate the progression of dependence of EU member states on natural gas imports from the Russian Federation.

This thesis is dedicated to the Syrian conflict. First, it describes relations between Syria and USSR, Russia’s predecessor, what played an important role in shaping modern relations between countries, as well as modern Russian foreign policy, which contributes to a better understanding of the causes of Russian intervention. Also, attention is paid to the analysis of the syrian war as a multilateral conflict of geopolitical interests, the reasons for its occurrence and the participants In addition, there is a description of the Russian military intervention, where its premises are also analyzed. Last but not least, the consequences of this conflict, both international and in local are also considered.

The thesis deals with the Russian intervention in eastern Ukraine, in the period between February 2014 and the first half of 2015, with the focus on the Russian tactical approach in the operation. A chapter describing the context of the pre-war Ukraine, focusing on Russian- Ukrainian relationship and a brief introduction to the events prior to the war in eastern Ukraine, precedes the main body of the case study. I deem this chapter necessary for reader's understanding of the topic. This chapter is followed by the presentation of Russian strategic goals regarding Ukraine, which Russia aimed to achieve using its tactics in Donbas. This helps to determine the relative success of the Russian operation and the chosen tactics in the final conclusion of the paper. The main chapter describes the Russian tactical approach, which divides both the conflict and the structure of the chapter into particular phases. Transition of Russian tactical approach from the use of political warfare tools to the means of irregular warfare and subsequently to hybrid warfare, followed by a conventional, invasive attack by Russian regular troops, is depicted in the main chapter. The case study concludes that the Russian tactical approach in eastern Ukraine was poorly chosen or executed. The very limited achievement of...

This bachelor thesis addresses current subject of tense and conflicted relations between the United States and the Russian Federation, which are the worst since the end of the Cold War and are remiscent of that confrontational time period. The state of relations has deteriorated in particular since the events in Ukraine in 2014 and most recently demonstrated by reciprocal suspension of Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty from February 2019. The main aim of this thesis is therefore the attempt to answer the question whether the current relations between these powers can really be characterized as a return of the Cold War. And since the Cold War is not only an abstract concept, but also had some specific features (causes, its own characteristics and a certain balance of power), this bachelor thesis, in order to answer the above question in the form of a complex comparison, first analyzes these features and then applies them to the present period.

This paper is dedicated to the problem of migration from Russian Federation to People's Republic of China. The first part will include theoretical understanding of the process of migration, its terminology and classification. The second part will be focused on historical review of migration to China from 20 to21 century, and the general statistical review of migration. The practical part is focused on factors of modern migration and their influence on migration flow from Russia to China.

1 Comparison of Czech and Russian criminal legislation on Terrorism Abstract The aim of this diploma thesis is to provide the reader with an information about criminal legislation of terrorism with regard to its currency, specifically aiming on legislation in Czech criminal law and in Russian criminal law. Both of these legislations are afterwards compared and the biggest differences are pointed out. Also, some changes are proposed to be made in the Czech criminal legislation in this area. Before analysis of criminal legislations of both countries, the issue of current terrorism is described. Also, problematical definition of terrorism is explained, with mentioning few versions of it. History of terrorism is briefly analyzed. Basic forms of terrorism are also described. Then, counterterrorist policy of Czech republic is briefly decribed, and also relationship between terrorism and human rights within fighting against terrorism. In the next chapter, criminal legislation of terrorism in Czech law is described. Firstly, formerly existing Criminal Code and its ideas are pointed out. After that, current Criminal Code is analyzed. Afterwards, individual crimes, that are related to the terrorism matter, are mentioned. In the end of this chapter, some aspects of criminal proceedings related to terrorism are said....

The thesis deals with the Russian non-profit sector and the state restrictive policy directed towards it. Using a multi-case study, thesis examines the impact of the Foreign Agents Act on Civil Society organizations. At the introduction are identified two questions that thesis is dealing with. The first question was, what practical impacts the Foreign Agents Act had on non-profit organizations. For their identification was developed a typology, which included five types of consequences: bureaucratic burden, financial difficulties, public relations deterioration, access to public institutions and general pressure. This typology was applied to three case studies of non-profit organizations. The thesis concludes that these types are valid except for the deterioration of the relationship with the public sphere, which has not been proven. The second question was how this Law fits into the context of state strategies towards civil society between 2012 and 2017. The thesis comes with the assertion that this Act was the key legislation followed by subsequent Laws, that leads to division of the civil sector to several groups.

This work is focused on development of anti-homosexual legislation and conditions of decriminalization in the newly established Russian federation. It is focused on attempts to organize Gay Pride festival in Moscow in 2006 and negative reactions of Russian authorities and subsequent lawsuit. The works informs on change in rhetoric with respect to LGBT community, which was cause by medialization of Gay Pride affair as well conservatism that was being established. It describes Russian conservatism that set itself in contrast to the West by its traditional values, which are in alleged conflict with homosexuality. This development reached its summit in 2013 when anti-propagation law was enacted on federal level. We then focus on immediate reaction to enactment of this legislation and its effects. The work draws from academic articles that appeared after enactment of the act and, and importantly also news articles that could capture ensuing event in real time. It becomes apparent that ostracizing of homosexuals in Russia is a long-term trend that is supported by state controlled news agencies and legislative steps. We explain behavior that is subjected to recently enacted anti-propagation act and reasons for its enactment. In addition, we review how this act is criticized by LGBT activists all over the...

The aim of this thesis is to analyse international trade of the Czech Republic with the Russian Federation. There were important trade and historical connections between those two countries in the past. Since the new century, the trade balance of the Czech Republic and Russia had been growing and the breaking point came in 2008, when the economic crisis stroke and continued with the imposition of sanctions on the international trade of the Russian Federation. The evolution of both countries till 1990s is characterized in the introductory part. The next part describes the evolution of the last ten years. The third chapter concentrates specifically on sanctions, their cause and their impact on the Russian economy. The last chapter contains the prediction of future economic progress and the impact on the progress not only of those two nations.

The bachelor thesis entitled "Coexistence - Cohabitation and Political Representation of Circassians in the Russian Federation" focuses closely on the Circassian minority in the North Caucasus represented in the Russian Federation and charts their efforts for political participation. The attention in the Czech academic area given to this minority is very little despite the ethnic cleansing in the second half of the 19th century, during which the Circassians recorded a large decrease in population. The bachelor thesis is dedicated to introducing the ethnicity of Circassians and introducing the history and context of the issue to the potential reader. In the second part, it focuses on the political activities of the Circassian minority within the Russian Federation and on the responses to which the minority was subsequently confronted. Thus, the work is the first comprehensive text in the Czech language about the ethnicity of Circassians and their political emancipation in the state where this ethnic group represents a minority. One of the main benefits of this work is the complex picturing of an ethnic group with a turbulent history, which is also located in politically dynamic area of the northern Caucasus. The thesis also presents future perspectives and recommendations for further research. Emphasis is...