Violins and trowels for Palmyra: Post‐conflict heritage politics

Since the rise of the Islamic State in the Middle East, anthropological research has focused on the many deliberate destructions of cultural heritage in the region. Whilst such analyses can offer important insights into the multidimensionality of contemporary warfare and the important role of culture in perpetuating physical violence, heritage ethnographers should also spotlight the post‐conflict futures of Syria and Iraq's war‐torn heritage. Drawing on extensive ethnographic research on (world) heritage politics in the Russian Federation, this article highlights the strategic manipulation of Palmyra by the Russian Federation and investigates how conservation and reconstruction are also important political episodes in a heritage object's cultural biography.     

Strange Bedfellows: Explaining Political Cooperation between Communist Successor Parties and Nationalists in Eastern Europe

Abstract. In postcommunist politics many of the ‘new national right’ political formations in Eastern Europe and the former Soviet Union have joined forces with the communist successor parties. Such a combination is, on the surface, a baffling mixture; how is it possible that two fundamentally different ideological approaches (nationalism and internationalist socialism) can coexist and actively cooperate to form such a potent political force? What are the conditions under which such political cooperation emerges? This article attempts to answer the above questions by, first, empirically testing the effects of several factors which might explain postcommunist–nationalist political cooperation. Second, the quantitative analysis is buttressed with a comparison of the Hungarian and Russian cases. The analysis indicates that the most important variable associated with the emergence of postcommunist–nationalist political cooperation is the effect of previous regime type.     

The 18th-century traditions of representation in a new age of revolution

What happened to shared historical experiences in the discursive processes of constitutional reform in Sweden and Finland? This article examines the use of 18th-century history in early 20th-century politics. Building on a long-term survey of Swedish and Finnish estate and parliamentary debates, it analyses the political implications of differing national historiographies in the two successor states of the 18th-century Swedish realm, focusing on how the ancient past and collective (and often selective) memories of the Age of Absolutism, the Age of Liberty and the Gustavian Age were used by parliamentarians in constitutional debates. The analysis demonstrates how the Finnish polity continued to be profoundly influenced by these 18th-century constitutions even after the Russian Revolution, while Sweden took the post-French Revolution constitution of 1809 as its point of departure. In both countries, interpretations of the long 18th century were ideologically motivated in an age of the parliamentarization of government and the democratization of the representative system. This leads us to a discussion of the history-political significance of the common and differing understandings of representative government in the two interconnected countries.     

Between hospitality and hostility: Russian citizens in Georgia

Since the Russian attack on Ukraine, as many as 100,000 citizens of the Russian Federation may have migrated to Georgia to avoid military service or to escape the impact of Western sanctions on their employment prospects. While Russian political activists abroad have received some attention, the reception in Georgia of other Russian émigré groups remains understudied. This article distinguishes four groups of Russian newcomers to Georgia based on their class and regional affiliations. It analyses their relationships and how Georgian government officials and citizens receive each group. Regardless of such categorizations, the massive, temporary and uncertain presence of Russian citizens affiliated with a large country currently attacking a smaller country whose sovereignty it does not recognize erodes the foundations of hospitality, which is held in high esteem in Georgia.     

Building identities in post-Soviet “de facto states”: cultural and political icons in Nagorno-Karabakh,South Ossetia,Transdniestria, and Abkhazia

Abstract

For states that have recently declared their independence but remained unrecognized “de facto states,” building a national identity is critical in the face of international rejection of their political status. Key elements of this new or re-animated national identity are political and cultural icons symbolizing the new political entity but with historical antecedents. Following Anthony Smith’s ethno-symbolism approach to the study of nationalism and motivated by Jean Gottmann’s research on iconographies in political geography, the article reports the results of nationally representative samples in four post-Soviet de facto states, Nagorno-Karabakh, South Ossetia, Transdniestria, and Abkhazia. Respondents were asked to name up to five political and cultural figures that they admired. The collated results show a great array of local and Russian names in the four republics. Categorizing the names by historical era and by provenance allows a clarification of the extent to which nation building can rely on local heroes. Among the four republics, Nagorno-Karabakh stands out for its ethno-symbolic local character, while Transdniestrian respondents identified few iconic figures. South Ossetia shows a mix of local and Russian names while the respondents in Abkhazia were divided by nationality in their choices.     

Regional Elections and Political Stability in Russia

A noted American specialist on regional affairs in the Russian Federation presents and analyzes a compilation detailing the political orientation of Russia's provincial executives. The data represent electoral results and include information from 68 provinces (49 oblasts, 6 krays, 10 autonomous okrugs, and 1 autonomous oblast) and 21 republics through September 1997. The discussion covers Russian regional politics, the results of regional elections held in 1996, and an assessment of alternative futures. Tabular material identifies the names of chief executives, dates of most recent elections, party support, and results relating to incumbency. Journal of Economic Literature. Classification Numbers: H77, D52, P41. 3 tables, 25 references.     

The Emergence of Ethno-Geopolitics in Post-Soviet Russia

A prominent UK-based political and historical geographer analyzes ethnogeopolitics, a new trend in Russian political discourse that is distinguished by the primary role it assigns to ethnicity (rather than the nation-state) as a geopolitical factor—i.e., recognizing formal (often poly-ethnic) ethno-national groupings on their respective ethnic spaces as important "geopolitical subjects" in their own right with a certain autonomy in world politics. After defining and otherwise setting out the differences between ethno-geopolitics and the more mainstream school of Russian geopolitics emerging after the disintegration of the USSR, the author proceeds to assess the extent to which ethno-geopolitics is shaping current Russian geopolitical thought in two critically important arenas: (1) Russia's relations with other great powers at the global level and (2) the dynamics of ethnicity (and inter-ethnic relations) within its own boundaries as well as in neighboring states. Journal of Economic Literature, Classification Numbers: Y900, Z190. 71 references.     

2002年俄罗斯联邦的民族状况

2002年俄罗斯联邦进行了苏联解体后的第一次全国人口普查。本文根据此次人口普查的资料描述和分析了俄罗斯民族数量的变化、人口10万以上民族的性别和城乡居民比例以及掌握俄语的情况,也对土著小民族以及没有族属的人的情况等进行了介绍和分析。文章认为,苏联和俄罗斯联邦的民族数量不确定的原因,主要与其缺乏统一、连贯的划分民族的国家原则有关。     

Russia resurgent? Moscow's campaign to ‘coerce Georgia to peace’

Russia's military incursion into Georgia in August 2008 and formal recognition of South Ossetia and Abkhazia raise fundamental questions about Russian regional policy, strategic objectives and attitudes to the use of armed force. The spectacle of maneouvre warfare on the periphery of Europe could form a watershed in post‐Cold War Russian relations with its neighbourhood and the wider international community. The speed and scale with which Russia's initial ‘defensive’ intervention to ‘coerce Georgia to peace’ led to a broad occupation of many Georgian regions focuses attention on the motivations behind Russian military preparations for war and the political gains Moscow expected from such a broad offensive. Russia has failed to advance a convincing legal case for its operations and its ‘peace operations’ discourse has been essentially rhetorical. Some Russian goals may be inferred: the creation of military protectorates in South Ossetia and Abkhazia; inducing Georgian compliance, especially to block its path towards NATO; and creating a climate of uncertainty over energy routes in the South Caucasus. Moscow's warning that it will defend its ‘citizens’ (nationals) at all costs broadens the scope of concerns to Russia's other neighbour states, especially Ukraine. Yet an overreaction to alarmist scenarios of a new era of coercive diplomacy may only encourage Russian insistence that its status, that of an aspirant global power, be respected. This will continue to be fuelled by internal political and psychological considerations in Russia. Careful attention will need to be given to the role Russia attributes to military power in pursuing its revisionist stance in the international system.     

The Investment Contract as a mechanism of urban development in the Russian Federation

This article considers the Investment Contract, which has been introduced in several cities of the Russian Federation as the mechanism to link private capital with municipal resources in urban development projects. The device is intended to stimulate development by diminishing economic risks and providing investors with more secure legal status during the processes of project design, construction and land parcel formation and allocation. Looking at the Investment Contract as both an economic and legal device, this article considers whether it is likely to fulfil its intended purposes.     

Islam,Territory, and Contested Space in Post-Soviet Russia

A noted American specialist on nationalism and identity politics in the former USSR reviews the political, institutional, and territorial complexities identified with the Muslim minority in the Russian Federation. Coverage includes the size and distribution of Muslim communities, the government's approach to the diverse adherents of Islam (including Wahhabis), fragmentation of Islamic institutions, and federal policies before and after the October 2004 terrorist attack on the school in Beslan, North Ossetia. Considerable attention is devoted to differences between Islamo-internationalism and Islamo-nationalism in Chechnya, as well as similarities and differences among approaches to Muslim affairs in Russia and other parts of Europe. Journal of Economic Literature, Classification Numbers: O15, O18, Z13. 1 table, 53 references.     

Still not worth the bones of a single Pomeranian grenadier: the geopolitics of the Kosovo war 1999

The Kosovo war of 1999 brought the checkered legacies of Russian and Western geopolitics back to the forefront of international relations. Central to the discussions of the Balkans is its century-old legacy as a Shatterbelt or Crush Zone. Though not identified by Saul Cohen as a Shatterbelt during the Cold War, the region is now located where the maritime (Western) and land power (Russian) geostrategic realms come into contact. NATO expansion and Russian insecurities about the region’s future have revised interest in geopolitical linkages and historical antecedents. The tradition of pan-Slavism, linking Russia to the Balkans cultural and political networks, has been uneven and is now subject to intensive debate within Russian political circles. In 1999, public opinion surveys showed consistent support in NATO countries for the bombing of Yugoslavia but strong opposition in Russia and other Slavic states. The surveys also question many stereotypes, especially the geopolitical visions of Russian citizens. Modern geopolitics is differentiated from classical geopolitics by the insertion of public opinion into the formation of geopolitical codes and foreign policy, in both the western countries and in Russia. In such an environment, the Balkans will remain central to the strategies of the great powers but public opinion, modifying geopolitical cultures, will ameliorate confrontations.     

五代时期的“中国”观

在五代十国时期,北方五朝相继,都以继承唐朝而自居于正统、代表中国,对其他各国都作现况的承认,但态度并不一致,视局势的不同而有所调整,或认为天下分裂,各有其国,或认为地方政权应在臣属的地位。而其他各国有的承认北方五代为正统,屈从于臣属地位,也有认为天下分裂,北方并不能是中国的必然代表,即各有其国,各有合法的地位。"中国"代表北方中原的朝代还是代表"天下"?在表述中并不一致,当时的情形是各自的认知并不一致之故,亦即没有共识的基础。     

Identifying with the old or the new state: nation‐building vs. Yugonostalgia in the Yugoslav successor states

The article examines to what degree attachment to a former multinational state which breaks up may complicate national consolidation in new states, as was the case in the Soviet Union and Titoist Yugoslavia. In the former Yugoslavia such attachment is usually referred to as ‘Yugonostalgia’, and various opinions have been expressed about its strength and possible political consequences today. Only in 2011, however, was an attempt made to measure Yugonostalgia quantitatively and analyse this phenomenon comparatively in the various successor states. A large‐scale survey showed that while Yugonostalgics in some countries were less loyal than other citizens towards the new state this was not the case in Serbia. In Croatia, the number of respondents who felt Yugoslav has gone down since independence far more than in any other state; probably a result of a massive public campaign to discredit continued identification with the former state.     

Is Bosnia-Herzegovina Unsustainable? Implications for the Balkans and European Union

Two U.S.-based political geographers survey the current state of affairs in Bosnia-Herzegovina (BiH), characterized by increasing political tensions between its two constituent entities—the Federation of Bosnia-Herzegovina and Republika Srpska (RS). The authors examine ways in which recurrent calls for a referendum on RS's self-determination/independence (from BiH) have charged the political atmosphere in both entities, delayed the formation of a central government in the aftermath of inter-entity elections in October 2010, and thus precipitated claims of BiH's unsustainability. In a concluding section, they explore the broader implications of renewed conflict and territorial fragmentation in BiH, which include the mobilization of seccessionist movements (and possible ethnic cleansing) in other contested regions in the Balkans and the former USSR and the possibility of renewed EU/NATO military engagement, with the attendant risks involving the EU's relations with Russia and member states of the Organization of the Islamic Conference. 1 figure, 2 tables, 38 references.     

The "Crisis" Geography of Contemporary Russia

Against the background of structural and geographical changes that brought about the economic crises of the 1990s in the Russian Federation and subsequent recovery in the early years of the 21st century, the authors analyze the challenges of (and responses to) the 2008 global economic and financial crisis in Russia. Quantitative data derived from official sources and the authors' own research is used to analyze developments at a variety of spatial scales, including inter- and intra-regional, urban and rural. The noted authors speculate about possible exit paths from the crisis and their impacts on spatial differentiation within the Russian Federation. Journal of Economic Literature, Classification Numbers: F210, G010, O150, O180. 6 figures, 1 table, 55 references.     

The Experiences of a Polish Family from the Eastern Borderlands (1914–1921): The Protassewiczes of Borki

ABSTRACT

This article examines how two generations of a large Polish landed family from the Grodno governorate in the Russian Empire were affected by the political and social upheavals brought about by World War One, the Russian Revolution, the threat of Bolshevism, and the rebirth of a Polish state. The Protassewiczes, like other landed noble families in the region, despite their Polish- Lithuanian identity, enjoyed a privileged social status in tsarist Russia. Marriage and work took many of the family’s members to Wilno (Vilnius) and Siberia, while a younger member studied in Austrian Galicia where he joined Pi?sudski’s organisation. The article describes the evacuation to Taganrog in 1915 of the senior Protassewicz and his subsequent return to Borki in 1918 to face the ensuing Polish-Soviet War. Two members of the family who were engaged in railway building in Siberia met a tragic end. The younger generation participated in Polish military efforts in the east in 1919–21 and adapted successfully to life in restored Poland. Attention is paid to issues of national identity raised by rival Polish and Lithuanian claims to Wilno in the context of the fall of empires and the emergence of new national states.     

Who identifies with the “Russian World”? Geopolitical attitudes in southeastern Ukraine,Crimea, Abkhazia,South Ossetia,and Transnistria

Abstract

The concept of the Russian world (Russkii mir) re-entered geopolitical discourse after the end of the Soviet Union. Though it has long historical roots, the practical definition and geopolitical framing of the term has been debated and refined in Russian political and cultural circles during the years of the Putin presidency. Having both linguistic-cultural and geopolitical meanings, the concept of the Russian world remains controversial, and outside Russia it is often associated with Russian foreign policy actions. Examination of official texts from Vladimir Putin and articles from three Russian newspapers indicate complicated and multifaceted views of the significance and usage of the Russkii mir concept. Surveys in December 2014 in five sites on the fringes of Russia – in southeastern Ukraine, Crimea, and three Russian-supported de facto states (Abkhazia, South Ossetia, and Transnistria) – show significant differences between the Ukrainian sample points and the other locations about whether respondents believe that they live in the Russian world. In Ukraine, nationality (Russian vs. Ukrainian) is aligned with the answers, while overall, attitudes toward Russian foreign policy, level of trust in the Russian president, trust of Vladimir Putin, and liking Russians are positively related to beliefs about living in the Russian world. In Ukraine, the negative reactions to geopolitical speech acts and suspicions about Russian government actions overlap with and confuse historical linguistic-cultural linkages with Russia, but in the other settings, close security and economic ties reinforce a sense of being in the Russian “world.”     

Selkirk in Singapore

This article explores the strained relationship between HaroldMacmillan's Conservative government and its senior representativein South-East Asia, the former minister George Selkirk. In particularit considers the impact of that relationship on the final yearsof colonial governance in Singapore. Between 1959 and 1963 Singaporeremained a British colonial territory enjoying internal self-government,and the most important British military base in South-East Asia.During these years Britain was the People's Action Party's guarantoragainst subversion. Newly released British documents deal withthe assessment of the communist threat. They reveal that Britaindid not have a single view of that threat. The British HighCommission in Kuala Lumpur and Britons remaining in the employof the Federation of Malaya after it gained independence inAugust 1957 argued that Britain should act as if the threatwas serious, in order to encourage the Malayan government tocreate a Malaysian federation. The United Kingdom Commissionin Singapore believed that Singapore's communists were indigenousleftists with valid claims to political legitimacy. They arguedthat these leftists could be overcome by political means ratherthan by mass detention. The British government in London hadlittle interest in Singapore's internal politics. Iain Macleodand Reginald Maudling were tardy in establishing any firm policyfor the island. Their successor as Colonial Secretary, DuncanSandys, accepted the advice of Selkirk on most issues in Singaporeanpolitics but overrode his reluctance to suppress the leftists.Singapore provides a case-study of the dilemmas of British ColdWar policy during the process of decolonization. ^* The author wishes to thank the Humanities Research Board ofthe British Academy for its generous financial support of theresearch upon which this article is based.     

俄罗斯中国新移民现状及其课题研究

1991年以来的俄罗斯中国新移民是一个涉及面广泛的问题, 这一问题的复杂性及其对俄罗斯产生的正负面影响, 在俄罗斯引起了广泛争议。本文分析俄罗斯中国新移民产生的背景、特点及其人口统计学特征, 探讨俄罗斯官方对中国新移民的态度和政策, 概述俄罗斯各方面专家学者对这一问题的研究与看法。作者认为, 要很好地解决这一问题, 需要俄中两国开展明确的具有建设性的合作, 需要一个加强双边关系的更强大的社会平台, 也需要俄罗斯方面实行一种平衡的移民政策。