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Ivanova Maria O. S. Dullin. The Thick Frontier. The Origins of Soviet Policies (1920–1940) / transl. by E. Kustovaia. Moscow, NLO Publ., 2019. 416 p.

While the works of the Antitrinitarian thinker and religious leader Szymon Budny (ca. 1530-93) have been the subject of extensive scholarly research, his library, marginalia, and reading practices have been significantly less examined. Following the discovery of a copy of Cyril of Jerusalem's Mystagogical Catechisms (Vienna, 1560) belonging to Budny, I analyze Budny's notes and comments regarding the Latin translation of Cyril's text as a case study of Budny's attempt to recover the Church Father from the Catholic post-Tridentine agenda and his own subsequent re-appropriation of Cyril for his radical non-adorantist program. By exploring Budny's subversive reading and annotating strategies, I demonstrate Budny's original contributions to the development of Antitrinitarian thought in Europe. I also illustrate how marginalia and paratexts reflect not only the history of the book in which they are found, but also how they throw light on religious and intellectual history.

The paper focuses on the influence of virtual communication on the German language, exemplified by linguistic and cultural concept "Freundschaft" ("Friendship"). The research aims to distinguish and systematize linguistic means that objectify the concepts "Freundschaft" and "Netzfreundschaft" in real and virtual communication, and to characterize their notional, image and value components. The peculiarities of German-language virtual communication are presented. It is shown that active use of social networks and messengers has led to the development of the new concept "Netzfreundschaft" ("Internet friendship"). Its notional component is explicated through the new meanings of lexical units Freund and Freundschaft. In order to nominate new phenomena, the lexemes and word-combinations (entfreunden, Überfreundung, Freundschaft kündigen) appear. They were not previously represented in the lexical and semantic system of the language or have gained new meanings under the influence of virtual communication. The image component of concept "Netzfreundschaft" is characterized by new metaphorical models, as compared to concept "Freundschaft". The author concludes that verbalization of the processes of emergence, development and termination of friendship, regarded as virtual contact, is established to differ from concept "Freundschaft"; it is represented in the value component of concept "Netzfreundschaft". The phenomenon described in the article is a vivid example of concept sphere evolution under the influence of network communication.

AbstractEnvironmental problems were not among the core issues for the United Nations at its creation in 1945. In the 1970s, however, they created a crescendo of public concern as the threats posed by toxic chemicals, large-scale destruction of natural ecosystems, and the loss of species became visible and were obviously linked to human activity. Pollution, it was clear, did not stop at national borders and solutions required common effort. As part of the special issue on "The United Nations at Seventy-Five: Looking Back to Look Forward," this essay explores how, as the only institution equipped to identify global problems and generate collective action toward their resolution, the UN became the platform for creating multilateral environmental agreements, convening global conferences, and mobilizing national and international effort through a progressively larger number of institutions at the national and international level to guide decisions and influence behavior. We have moved the environmental needle in terms of information, institutions, and awareness. Yet, many environmental problems persist, some are getting worse, and new challenges and, indeed, crises are emerging.

This paper is devoted to the analysis of the demand for older workers and age discrimination in the Russian labor market. The recent pension reform has brought widespread attention to these issues. Macroeconomic analysis showed that, despite the growth in the retirement age population and the increase in their presence in the labor market over the past decade, the demand for older workers has still been limited. One of the reasons for this situation is the relatively high age discrimination both in society and in the Russian labor market. Given this circumstance, raising retirement age should be accompanied by demandside efforts such as improving age discrimination legislation and age-friendly employment policy. The analysis of extensive international experience allows us to develop recommendations that will help smooth out negative effects of raising retirement age for certain categories of workers.

AbstractThe twenty‐first Conference of the Parties (COP21) to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) in Paris was a good COP in contrast to COP15 in Copenhagen, which will remain in history as the low point in climate policy. COP21 demonstrated unprecedented global collaboration when divisions were deep and stakes were high and resulted in the Paris Agreement, the first legally binding document to articulate a clear global temperature goal and a commitment to reach global net‐zero emissions after 2050. The agreement is also universal, with developed and developing countries alike expected to act. This article outlines key outcomes and explains what led to the shift from a bad to a good COP. It also examines the threats and opportunities as the world moves from making commitments to implementing them and draws parallels to the global agenda‐setting process on sustainable development that is also unfolding in the United Nations at the same time.

The 2012 UN Conference on Sustainable Development Rio+20 generated a wide range of mostly negative reactions. Even before the conference, there was widespread doubt about the possibility of success. As soon as the conference closed, analysts highlighted its failures and criticized the outcome document, The Future We Want. While it does not present a grand transformative vision, the outcome document does reaffirm past political commitments and addresses the multiple dimensions of sustainable development and the linkages among them. Indeed, Rio+20 had subtle, yet significant impacts. Three main areas stand out: reform of international institutions, sustainable development goals, and participation as principle and practice. The global decisions in these domains and the unprecedented local engagement provide critical junctures likely to shape global environmental governance for the next two decades.