Suchergebnisse

Stalin's Singing Spy follows the life of Nadezhda Plevitskaya, who achieved fame as one of Nicholas II's favorite singers and infamy as one of Stalin's agents. The first Western biography of this key figure and the first to reconstruct her sensationalized trial for kidnapping a White Army general, this book provides a fascinating window into Soviet-era espionage in interwar Europe.

On February 11-13, 2020, over 200 attendees gathered from all over the world for the Sixth International Conference on Climate Services held in Pune, India. The event, which took place at the Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology (IITM), was supported by India's Ministry of Earth Sciences, the UK Foreign Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO), and the CGIAR Research Program on Climate Change, Agriculture and Food Security (CCAFS). Participants represented a diverse group of institutions from NGOs, international organizations, research institutions, and government agencies. Participants gathered to hear presentations on "advancing the knowledge and practice of climate services for climate resilience," across a set of thematic topics on the state of the practice of climate services, the state of knowledge, and building resilience. ICCS is the premiere climate services event, organized jointly by the Global Framework for Climate Services, an international effort coordinated by the World Meteorological Organization, and the Climate Services Partnership (CSP), an informal platform for knowledge sharing and collaboration. Climate services, which provide timely, tailored information and knowledge to decision-makers – generally in the form of tools, products, websites, or bulletins – are an important part of improving our capacity to manage climate-related risks.

In 2006, during Russia's presidency of the Group of Eight industrial powers (G8), the Russian government claimed to have democratized G8 decision making by creating a new consultation mechanism for non-governmental organizations, the Civil G8, which Russian officials largely viewed as a vehicle for improving Russia's global reputation. Russian participants used it as a forum for criticizing the Putin regime's human rights record and expanding their NGO networks. Moreover, they contested the Civil G8's meaning, objectives and benefits. This contestation reflects well on the forum's organizers, as it shows that they admitted NGOs with diverse political views. While Russian participants' comments about their Civil G8 experience were more positive than negative, several found it had little or no influence on G8 decision making and failed to resolve the domestic problems that NGOs faced, including the regime's increased regulations of their activities. Adapted from the source document.

This article examines the role of the Council of Europe in promoting
human rights in twenty-one former Soviet bloc countries. Using three
cases, the author argues that constructivist approaches best inform the
process of norm diffusion in countries of high compliance (Latvia),
while neoliberal and neorealist approaches better explain why norm
diffusion is less successful in medium (Croatia) and low-compliance
(Russia) countries. She concludes that the Council decided it is more
effective to persuade new entrants to conform to European human rights
standards as members than to wait years until they have reached a high
level of compliance before rewarding them with membership.

Die Verfasserin setzt sich aus der Perspektive des historischen Institutionalismus mit der Frage auseinander, wie sich der berufliche Spielraum der Rechtsanwälte in den letzten Jahren der UdSSR und im postkommunistischen Rußland entwickelt hat. Zahlreiche qualitative Interviews und Beobachtungen aus den Jahren 1994 bis 1997 bilden die empirische Basis der Untersuchung. Die Verfasserin stellt zunächst die staatliche Reglementierung und Kontrolle des Rechtsanwaltsberufs in der Sowjetunion vor 1985 dar. Sie zeichnet vor diesem Hintergrund die Justizreform der Ära Gorbatschow nach, die zu einem erweiterten Handlungsspielraum von Gerichten und Anwälten führte. Diese Entwicklung setzte sich im postkommunistischen Rußland mit einer Steigerung der beruflichen Autonomie der Rechtsanwälte im Verhältnis zum Staat fort. Die Notwendigkeiten der Interaktion mit staatlichen Institutionen setzen der Autonomie der Anwälte allerdings Grenzen. (BIOst-Wpt)

Examines whether advocates (lawyers) have benefited from opportunities for gaining significantly more control over their professional lives since reforms in the late 1980s, by becoming relatively autonomous from state officials, or whether their relations are still strongly influenced by Soviet-era legacies; since 1994, chiefly.