Suchergebnisse

Abstract: The Sleeping Country. Siberia in Russian History, Culture and GeographyTorben Heuer (lecturer in Russian language and culture, formerly affiliated with Aarhus University) reviews Det sovande landet. Sibirien i rysk historia, kultur och geografi (The Sleeping Country. Siberia in Russian History, Culture and Geography) written by Margareta Attius Sohlman.

The author and journalist Morten Jentoft reviews the book Herring in Fur Coat – 20 Years in Putin's Shadow, written by Kristoffer Lieng.

Fyrtårnet i Øst er en yderst velskrevet og informativ analyse af den fascination, som Ruslands præsident Vladimir Putin og hans system nyder i mange forskellige kredse i Vesten. Bogen er rig på detaljer, og den dækker et stort antal lande og forskellige typer af Putin-fascination. Den er kærkommen læsning i forbindelse med dels krigen i Ukraine, dels det politiske opgør som vil følge efter krigen. Her vil den uundgåelige diskussion være, om alt for mange gik alt for langt i deres dyrkelse af Putin og hans system?
Fyrtårnet i Øst (Lighthouse in the East) offers a well-written, informative analysis of the fascination accorded to Vladimir Putin and his system in various circles in the West. Rich in details, the book covers a large number of countries and different types of 'Putin fascination'. It is a welcome read in relation to the war in Ukraine, as well as the political showdown which is bound to ensue. The inevitable question will be: did too many go too far in their idolization of Putin and his system?

Aksel V. Carlsen arbetade som forskare vid Institutet för internationella arbetarrörelsen under de två sista decennierna av den sovjetiska eran. I boken IMRD – min arbejdsplads i Moskva berättar han om kollegor, forskningsprojekt och den komplicerade relationen som institutet hade till den politiska regimen i det auktoritära sovjetsystemet. Ett intrikat nätverk mellan "sextitalisterna", som strävade efter socialistiska reformer av systemet, och de toppstyrda rigida politiska maktstrukturerna omgav och definierade IMRD:s verksamhet.
During the two final decades of the Soviet era, Aksel V. Carlsen worked as a researcher at the Institute for the International Labor Movement (IMRD). In IMRD – min arbejdsplads i Moskva (IMRD: my workplace in Moscow) he writes about colleagues, research activities and the institute's complicated interaction with the authoritarian Soviet regime. An intricate network existed between members of the 'sixties generation', who aimed at reforming the Soviet system, and the centralized rigid power structures – a network that enveloped and determined the work of the IMRD.

This article begins by examining strategic culture studies, in particular Alan Bloomfield's concept of different sub-cultures in strategic culture. It then focuses on the border between Russia and Finland and how Finnish EU membership was made possible by Finland's decision not to challenge the WWII border treaty with the Soviet Union after the Soviet collapse. Next, it investigates the debates and public opinion relating to Finland's 1994 EU referendum, to see how the dynamics changed three strategic cultural sub-groups: "self-defence", "Westernisers" (including Western international organizations) and "Reassurance and Dialogue with Russia". In conclusion, it is argued that EU membership altered the hierarchy of these strategic culture sub-groups in Finland, as well as their substance. These changes were, however, more evolutionary than revolutionary.

Det er vanskelig å være journalist i dagens Russland. Det at man er en utenlandsk journalist gjør ikke situasjonen bedre. Styresmaktene slår hardt ned på kritisk journalistikk og sivilt engasjement. I Sammetsdiktaturen: Motstand og medløpere i dagens Russland gir Anna-Lena Lauren en verdifull innsikt i journalistvirke i Russland i dag, samt et innblikk i samfunnslivet generelt.It is hard to be journalist in Russia today, and being a foreign journalist does not make the situation better. The Russian authorities strike out against critical journalism and civil activism. Anna-Lena Lauren gives valuable insights into journalist realities in Russia as well as life in Russian society more generally in her new book Sammetsdiktaturen: Motstand og medløpere i dagens Russland (Velvet Dictatorship: Resistance and Collaboration in Today's Russia).

Rysk november. En intervjuresa i nordvästligsta Ryssland er en reiseskildring fra Kola-halvøya og Karelen i Russland, der forfatteren beskriver egne møter underveis med representanter for både sivilsamfunnet og det offentlige. Boka er lettlest og engasjerende, og egner seg for alle som er interessert i samfunnsutviklingen i Russland og arktiske spørsmål.
Rysk november. En intervjuresa i nordvästligsta Ryssland is a travelogue from the Kola Peninsula and Karelia in Russia, where the author describes his own meetings along the way with representatives of both civil society and the public sector. The book is easy to read and engaging, and suitable for anyone interested in the development of Russian society and the Arctic.

Boken er en personlig beretning om Russland og russere skrevet av en pioneerene innen nordisk østforskning. Bokens hovedtese er at sovjetisk mentalitet aldri døde ut og nå i økende grad tar over, men at de autoritære tendensene tross alt møtes av et annet Russland av intellektuelle, dissidenter og bloggere hvis betydning ikke bør undervurderes.
This book is a personal tour d'horizon written by one of the pioneers and mainstays of Nordic Soviet, Russian and East European studies through the last half century. The main thesis of the book is that Soviet mindsets never died and are in the ascendant to day, but that there also exists another Russia of intellectuals, dissident and bloggers whose impirtance should not be underestimated.

Abstract: Language policy in Slovakia and the Czech Republic after 1993The establishment of the Czech Republic and the Slovak Republic in 1993 sparked challenges for language policy in the two new states. From a linguistic point of view, the Czech and Slovak languages are very similar but the language situations in the two countries differ: Slovakia is home to two sizable linguistic minorities (Hungarian and Romani), whereas Czechia houses several small minority languages. Applying Robert L. Cooper's and Joshua A. Fishman's analytical categories and focusing on the activities of national politicians and prominent linguists, this article examines status and corpus planning in the two countries. In Slovakia, politicians have engaged intensely in status planning, focused on legislating Slovak as a state language. The establishment of a state language opened for political interference in corpus planning. In Czechia, status planning started out from a liberal platform in the 1990s, and interest mainly focused on corpus planning. Hotly debated questions of corpus planning put Czech linguistic authorities on the defensive. Increasingly, adaptations to the charters and conventions of the European Council have co-shaped both countries' language policy. During the period analyzed here, Slovakia has seen the linguistic standardization of Rusyn and Romani, and linguists in both countries have advanced their theoretical understanding of corpus planning.

Abstract: Russia's operationalization of a sphere of interest in the South CaucasusA central foreign policy objective of Russia is to maintain an exclusive sphere of interest in its post-Soviet neighbourhood. This article analyses how Russia employs a combination of political and military instruments in operationalizing its perceived sphere of interest in the still conflict-ridden South Caucasus. Russia is the only external power in the region to have military bases there, and is the only one seemingly ready to undertake military action. At present, Russia appears satisfied with the status quo in the South Caucasus. The unresolved conflicts in Abkhazia, South Ossetia and Nagorno-Karabakh are therefore unlikely to be resolved in the near future. Unresolved conflicts suit Russia's objectives. Russian military bases in Georgia and Armenia provide Moscow with both a key lever against Tbilisi and Yerevan and a structural advantage for potential Russian military operations in the region. Russia's military posture in the Caucasus is relevant to the potential for large-scale conflict in the Southern war theatre, including the wider Middle East, and not just local conflicts in the Caucasus.

Abstract: Trauma and Collective Memories in Georgia's Foreign PolicyGeorgia's foreign policy since the mid-1990s would appear to be a regional anomaly. While Georgia's neighbors have either accommodated to Russia's geopolitical interests or sought to navigate between Russia and the West, Georgian governments have pursued a comparatively stable pro-Western foreign policy orientation. Thus, structural arguments like geographic proximity, or Russia's assertive foreign policy, cannot account for the variation in foreign-policy orientation among post-Soviet states. Moreover, although alternative explanations, like Georgia's European identity and commitment to democracy, or explanations related to qualities of the Mikheil Saakashvili government, are not without merits, they cannot fully account for the continuity in Georgia's pro-Western foreign policy over time. This article argues that the collective memory of the traumatic years 1989–1994 is a key factor for understanding Georgia's foreign policy continuity. The collective memory and trauma related to loss of territory, together with a weak state and Russia's negative involvement, have shaped the strategic thinking of Georgia's foreign policy elites. This trauma explains Georgia's shift to a pro-Western foreign policy in the mid-1990s and the continuity of this policy up until today. This argument is supported by the author's interviews with key Georgian decision-makers responsible for foreign policy decisions.

Abstract in English: The Shaman in a Rain of Stars: A Journey to the Centre of AsiaIngvar Svanberg reviews 'The Shaman in a Rain of Stars: A Journey to the Centre of Asia' by B. MiRee Abrahamsen. The book is a travelogue from the Russian republics of Khakassia and Tuva in Siberia. Abrahamsen introduces the readers to the history of these regions as well as the everyday life of people living there in 2018, and gives a personal description of shamanism as a religious phenomenon.

Abstract: Economic growth, production and divergence in the transition countries This article examines developments in income and living standards in the post-communist transition countries. All these countries had planned economies, but differed greatly in their economic and institutional starting points at the time of transition. The extent and speed of reforms has also varied. Production has increased considerably, but many of these transition countries have experienced severe business-cycle fluctuations. Although they have generally narrowed the income gap between them and the world's richest nations, there are clear signs of divergence, with some of the poorest transition countries making very slow progress here. This is especially the case with the countries of the former Soviet Union and, to a lesser extent, the Balkan countries, but not the 11 countries that have joined the EU. Thus, the economic gains of the post-communist transition have been very uneven across countries.

Abstract: Who is responsible for the protection of human rights in Kosovo?Human rights are central in the international community's missions in Kosovo. Moreover, Kosovo's 2008 Constitution lists eight directly applicable human rights instruments, along with detailed instructions on how they are to be interpreted in line with developments at the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR). And yet, human rights protection is lacking in the region. Potential violations attributable to the local authorities can be adjudicated, but only through the national courts, which raises questions of independence and impartiality. Meanwhile, NATO's Kosovo Force (KFOR) and the European Union's Rule of Law Programme (EULEX) enjoy immunity against prosecution by the domestic courts while still wielding some executive and judicial power. EULEX has an internal human rights panel, modelled on the less-than-successful panel established to hold the UN's Mission in Kosovo (UNMIK) accountable, while KFOR has no similar judicial body. This article maps which options individuals have for addressing human rights violations in Kosovo and where the system still has its weaknesses. Additionally, it traces how the jurisdictions have changed in the past 15 years and proposes a way forward to fill the lacunae that remains.