POLICY ISSUES IN AMERICAN SECURITY POLICY AND POLICY-MAKING USING AND CONTROLLING NEW WEAPONS

NATO may be confronting a crisis over the cruise missiles. Some allies may seek longer-range, nuclear-armed missile which could enable them to strike at Soviet MR/IRBMs and at other targets inside the USSR; others (along with many Americans) aim at restricting both the range and the missions of cruise missiles. The first option could jeopardize detente, inhibit further progress in SALT and conceivably weaken American control over the uses of nuclear weapons in time of war. The second could cause strains between the United States and its European allies. The best policy would seem to be to (1) delay any decision on cruise missile development and deployment in Europe; (2) seek a two-year freeze on all deployment of new nuclear delivery vehicles in Central Europe and of additional Soviet SS-20 IRBMs; (3) use this “breathing space” to seek agreement on the limitation of cruise missiles, MR/IRBMs and other “gray area” weapons in the region “from the Atlantic to the Urals.”     

REGIONAL PLANNING IN THE USSR

The theory and practice of drawing up and implementing regional plans, or “territorial plans,” as they are known in the Soviet Union, has been a matter of considerable debate in the Soviet literature, a debate that has been complicated by differences in terminology. The author discusses various Soviet definitions of “territorial planning” and points out disagreement concerning its nature and scope. The major forms of territorial planning as now practiced in the USSR are reviewed, and two forms in particular—regional economic planning and regional physical planning—are distinguished. It is concluded that territorial planning continues to have a somewhat uncertain status in the USSR, with inadequate official support, although the issue remains a matter of considerable interest to the leadership under the Gorbachev administration.     

The Present State of Toponymy in the USSR

A review of recent place-name research, methods, and publications in the Soviet Union by a deputy chairman of the Toponymy Commission of the Moscow Branch of the Geographical Society USSR. For a previous article on Soviet toponymy, see E. M. Murzayev, “Origin of geographic names,” Soviet Geography, Accomplishments and Tasks, American Geographical Society, 1962, pp. 254–58.     

Israeli Intelligence and the leakage of Khrushchev's “Secret Speech”

Khrushchev's “Secret Speech” of 1956 not only marked a major radical change in the USSR, but when it was published outside the USSR it brought upheaval all over the world. According to conventional knowledge the text of the speech was obtained by the Mossad (the Israeli foreign-intelligence organization) and transmitted to the CIA. A critical examination of the published evidence and accounts contradicts this version and suggests a number of points: the Secret Speech was not secret; Israel was not the single and perhaps not the first source for the text to reach the West; the speech was intended by Khrushchev and the Communist Party of the Soviet Union to be disseminated to all communist parties around the world; and it was covertly brought to the knowledge of Western intelligence organizations and the world press by Soviet political and intelligence agencies.     

My poor cousin,my feared enemy: the image of Arabs in personal narratives of former Soviets in Israel

The goal of this essay is to analyse some cultural antecedents of stereotyping of Arabs by immigrants to Israel from the former Soviet Union. The material used in the essay is part of larger project devoted to personal narratives of the immigrants of the 1990s. It is based on 115 in‐depth interviews. Unlike Oriental Jews who had lived side‐by‐side with Arabs before emigrating to Israel, Soviet Jews had had no contacts with them in the “Old Country.” While Arabs have always populated the folklore of oriental Jews, Soviet Jews have formed their attitude on the basis of the mass media (both Soviet and Israeli) and on limited personal contact after immigration. Immigrants who have had no personal contacts with Arabs perceive them as hostile Others, and transfer to them the negative stereotypes formed in the USSR. A more contradictory image evolves on the basis of personal experience; some narrators make parallels between Israeli–Arab and Russian–Chechen conflicts, while others perceive the situation of the Arabs in Israel as similar to the discrimination Jews had suffered in the USSR.     

THE GEOGRAPHY OF THE 1989 ELECTIONS OF PEOPLE'S DEPUTIES OF THE USSR (PRELIMINARY RESULTS)

In the first Soviet paper written on electoral geography in the USSR, a team of scholars analyzes results of recent elections to the Congress of People's Deputies. An introductory section explains the rationale for greater attention to electoral geography and assesses Western research from a Soviet perspective. Interesting spatial insights (supplemented by maps) are offered on whether existing electoral districts provide equitable representation for the population, on voter turnout (including negative voting against “establishment” candidates), and the level of social-political activism. A concluding section surveys prospects for the further participation of geographers in the study of electoral processes (translated by Jay K. Mitchell, PlanEcon, Inc., Washington, DC 20005).     

LAND AND HOUSING IN THE USSR DURING THE GORBACHEV YEARS

An American urban and regional scholar familiar with the Soviet scene surveys changes in USSR and republic legislation on housing and land (both urban and rural) and outlines “grey” areas falling in the gap between extant Soviet law and yet-to-be-enacted republican legislation. He identifies changes in the land use pattern which can be expected as land begins to be transformed into a form of property where use decisions predominantly are made by private actors. A final section focuses upon the potential significance of these changes, to the extent they materialize, for urban theory in general.     

GEOGRAPHICAL ASPECTS OF A TERRITORIAL REDISTRIBUTION OF WATER RESOURCES IN THE USSR

A set of principles for a geographical research program relating to the future impact of major interbasin water transfers is outlined. Such a program, evaluating the impact of proposed tranfers both in the European USSR and in the Midland Region of Western Siberia, Kazakhstan and Central Asia, should be based on the following considerations. Noneconomic criteria, such as the environmental impact of water transfers, must be given as much attention as economic and engineering criteria. Experience suggests that any measures designed to protect or ameliorate the environment, for example, inland fisheries, should precede actual water-project construction by at least 15 to 20 years. North-south transfers should be so designed as to benefit both the northern region, from which water is to be withdrawn, and the southern region, where water resources are to be enhanced. The problem of interbasin transfers should be accompanied by a program of intensification of water use, measured by a reduction of water input into the economy per unit of output. Water use can be intensified by such measures as shifting grain production from south to north and building irrigation reservoirs in Central Asian mountains to regulate runoff.     

PROBLEMS IN THE SPATIAL REDISTRIBUTION OF STREAMFLOW

A report on a 1974 conference on interbasin transfers from Siberia to Central Asia compares the alternative stream-diversion projects west and east of the Urals and finds that north-south interbasin transfers in the European part of the country have a better chance for early implementation than the diversion from Siberia to Central Asia. The author urges consideration of a unified water-management system within the European part of the Soviet Union that would make it possible to dispatch streamflow from one basin to another much as electric power is transmitted through interconnections between power grids. Such an interconnected water-management system would be based on the premise that runoff volumes tend to be nonconcurrent in the various drainage basins of the Russian plain so that surplus runoff from “donor rivers” (Pechora, Northern Dvina, Onega and the lakes Onega and Ladoga) might be channeled southward to “consumer rivers” (Volga, Don, Dnieper and Ural).     

THE SYSTEM OF PROTECTED NATURAL AREAS IN THE USSR AND PROSPECTS FOR ITS DEVELOPMENT

The International Union for the Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources has developed a 10-category system for classifying the world's protected natural areas. The present article by two Soviet biogeographers, presented at Unesco's “Man and the Biosphere” conference in Minsk in 1983, analyzes the way in which the Soviet Union's protected areas fall into the classification system devised by the International Union. The article also discusses the types of protected areas found in the USSR, and the functions assigned to each. (The translation is by Philip R. Pryde, San Diego State University.)     

The Development of International Contacts in the Field of Geography and Preparations for the 20th International Geographical Congress

The authors review international contacts of Soviet geographers in the last four years and describe a volume of Soviet contributions prepared for the London congress. Soviet Geography, its editor, and David Hooson of the University of British Columbia are criticized for their coverage of the Soviet ideological dispute over the “unified geography” concept. A Soviet proposal for greater timeliness and activity in the work of the IGU is offered.     

Interaction between Nature and Society and Modern Geography

This paper, delivered by one of the leading Soviet philosophers at a plenary session of the Fourth Congress of the Geographical Society USSR, is the latest authoritative statement on the relationship between physical and economic geography. The author balances the fact of increasing differentiation and specialization and the continued existence of separate physical and economic-geographic groups of disciplines against the need for more synthesis in geographic research. He thus echoes ideas expressed by V. A. Anuchin earlier this year in the philosophical journal Problemy Filosofii [see Soviet Geography, April 1964]. Konstantinov, in preparing the paper, made use of the materials of the Combined Conference of Philosophical [Methodological] Seminars of the Academy of Sciences USSR on the theme “The problem of the interaction of nature and society and the place of the geographic sciences in its solution” [see Tezisy dokladov (Abstracts of Papers), Moscow, 1964], especially the paper by A. G. Doskach, Yu. P. Trusov, and Ye. T. Fadeyev on “The interaction of nature and society and some problems of modern geography.” Konstantinov also acknowledges suggestions from Academician I. P. Gerasimov, V. Zh. Kelle, a philosopher, and Academician Ye. K. Fedorov, a geophysicist.     

DESIGN OF UTILITY GRIDS IN NORTHERN USSR

The construction and maintenance of water, sewage, and heating lines in permafrost poses one of the greatest city-building problems faced in northern environments. The design and installation of a modern utility grid in Noril'sk, northern USSR, provides a good example of Soviet civil engineering strategy on permafrost. Early failures in combined underground installation of lines in reinforced concrete conduits (utilidors) forced design changes responsible for the present, more technically advanced system. Cogeneration of heat and electricity and the “closed-perimeter” building ensemble have potential applications in utilities planning in Arctic North America.     

The Significance and Role of Sectoral-Production Complexes in the Formation and Evolution of Economic Regions

Soviet economic regionalization has traditionally focused on the concept of the areal-production complex (or territorial-production complex), representing the aggregate of economic activities within a particular area. These complexes may range in scale from a local group of interrelated activities all the way to the national economic complex of the USSR. A Soviet economic geographer specializing in the Northern Caucasus now introduces the concept of the “sectoral-production complex” as a subdivision of the areal complex. The sectoral complex contains one or more sectors of production that are linked by a common resource base and common economic relations; for example, the agricultural complex, comprising farming and agricultural processing, rests on agricultural resources; the metallurgy and machine-building complex, combining metallurgy and metal fabrication, rests on a common ore-resource base. According to the author, the concept of a sectoral-production complex must be differentiated from N. N. Kolosovskiy's concept of “energy-and-production cycles” [see Journal of Regional Science, 3 (1961), pp. 1–25] on the ground that Kolosovskiy's cycles are based on a common basic technology, while the sectoral complex involves common resources and economic relations.     

Indigenous minorities of Siberia and Russian sociolinguistics of the 1920s: A life apart?

ABSTRACT

In the 1920s, two strong intellectual trends were simultaneously developing in Russia: the studies of languages and cultures of the indigenous population of Siberia and the Far North (led by Vladimir Bogoras, Leo Shternberg, and others), and sociolinguistic studies (led by Evgeniy Polivanov, Afanasiy Selischev, Rosaliya Shor, and others). Sociolinguistics as a new and fashionable branch of knowledge included many topics (sociolinguistic theory, social dialectology, influence of rapid social changes on language), but there never were attempts to study sociolinguistically the languages of indigenous “Northern” minorities. In 1929 Roman Jakobson and Nikolai Trubetskoy, who by that time were both living abroad, launched a project called “Languages of the USSR.” The project could have united the two trends, but it was soon terminated because of the Great Depression in the West and a sharp turn in Stalin's policy in 1929 when many Russian scholars were prosecuted, academia became split in a fight over who represented “the true Marxism”, and international collaboration became dangerous for Russian scholars. Another reason for the lack of interest in sociolinguistic studies of indigenous minority languages was the evolutionist paradigm of Siberianist cultural anthropology of the time. As a result, the Soviet language planning for Northern indigenous minority languages in the1930s and later did not sufficiently take into account the sociolinguistic aspect of the problem; this may be responsible for its many failures and inconsistencies.     

Norwegian and Soviet/Russian World War II Memory Policy During the Cold War and the Post-Soviet Years

Abstract

World War II has played a significant role in using “memory” in all kind of “memory politics” in Europe as well as in the USA. Using examples from Norway and the Soviet Union, later the Russian Republic, this article shows how successfully, but also how contradictorily, historical events can be used as memory politics. We will also see what “memory culture” and “memory policy” is predominant in circumpolar Norway and the Soviet Union/Russia after World War II. We are introduced to the concept of “memory agents”, the producers and directors of “memory politics”. The case is first and foremost the battle of Narvik in Norway in the spring of 1940. We also take a look at the circumpolar borderland between Norway and the Soviet Union during World War II, where the German “Gebirgsjäger” from the Narvik front regrouped and continued their assault on Soviet Union in Murmansk County from the summer of 1941. In what way were the war events useful in the post war era, and how could they directly affect Soviet–Norwegian relations during the Cold War? In addition we ask how memories contributed to the justification of different approaches to the foreign policy in both countries. Besides, the article demonstrates how the memory policy of World War II was affected after the end of the Cold War and the fall of the Soviet Union in Norway and Russia, respectively.     

REGIONAL POPULATION REDISTRIBUTION IN THE USSR: 1979-84

This paper examines regional redistribution and population growth rate trends in the USSR from 1979 to 1984, and compares them to preceding intercensal trends for 1959-70 and 1970-79. Total and regional rates of population change for 1979-84 were generally lower than in preceding periods. The most pronounced regional shift continues to be toward rapidly growing Central Asia, which has surpassed the Center as the most populous Soviet region. However, Central Asia now has net out-migration, and the degree of shift to Central Asia was less than during 1970-79. Between 1979 and 1984 a noticeable northward and eastward shift occurred. In particular, there appeared to be a resurgence of Siberia. After two decades of decline, the share of the Soviet population residing in Siberia increased between 1979 and 1984. Another notable development was the slowing of the rate of rural population decline, especially in the Non-Chernozem Zone of European USSR and in Siberia. It is possible that policies to promote migration to Siberia and to stem rural depopulation may be having some effect. The shift to cities in general and large cities in particular, however, continues. (The author would like to thank Robert Lewis for his useful comments and Jane Rowland for her excellent typing).     

ECONOMIC REGION NET MIGRATION PATTERNS IN THE USSR: 1979-89

This article investigates economic region net migration patterns in the USSR during the 1979-89 intercensal period. Net in-migration and net migration rate increases (compared to 1970-79) occurred in both the western and eastern portions of the Northern USSR region, while net out-migration and rate declines occurred throughout the Southern USSR. Net in-migration again occurred to Siberia, especially Tyumen' Oblast, and there was a reduced rate of net out-migration from the Nonchernozem Zone and Central Chernozem Region of European RSFSR.     

On the Significance of Lenin's Ideas for Soviet Geography

The president of the Geographical Society USSR reviews the present state of Soviet geographic theory in the light of Leninist philosophy. The objective existence of natural regions with definite boundaries is affirmed. The approach of “social physics,” applying natural laws to social phenomena, is rejected. The use of mathematical techniques is welcomed, but not to the extent of giving rise to a separate discipline of “theoretical geography” that would deal with whatever is common to both physical and economic geography. The geographical environment is defined as that part of the earth's natural environment in which nature and society are in direct interaction. Both geographical determinism and social determinism (geographical nihilism) are rejected. The definition of geography as a system of scientific disciplines is affirmed, and a proposed redefinition of geography as dealing with the evolution and control of dynamic spatial systems is rejected.     

AN ASSESSMENT OF A. W. KÜCHLER'S WORK IN THE CLASSIFICATION AND MAPPING OF VEGETATION

An attempt is made to use the Gorczynski index of continentality to trace changes in the continentality of climate in Central Russia through space and time. The index turns out to be sufficiently sensitive to investigate changes in continentality within a limited area such as the Central economic region of the USSR, but not sensitive enough to identify the effect of a large city (Moscow) on continentality. Changes in continentality over time are found to be in good agreement with the types of atmospheric circulation patterns that have been identified by Soviet climatologists. The continentality of Moscow was less pronounced during the first two decades of the 20th century, when atmospheric circulation was dominated by the so-called zonal pattern. It was more pronounced in the 1930s and 1940s, when the meridional and eastern forms of circulation predominated.