Abstract: Social Distinctions in Contemporary Russia: Waiting for the Middle Class Society?Aadne Aasland (NIBR, Norwegian Institute for Urban and Regional Research, Oslo Metropolitan University) reviews Social Distinctions in Contemporary Russia: Waiting for the Middle Class Society? edited by Jouko Nikula and Mikhail Chernysh (Routledge, 2020).
Abstract in English"That kind of mother": Stigmatisation by the Russian child protection servicesHow does stigma influence the extent to which the child protection services in Russia undertake preventative work with vulnerable families in order to avoid taking the child out the family? Based on an analysis of previous research and my own fieldwork from St. Petersburg and Moscow, I note the gap between expectations towards vulnerable families, and their actual living conditions and potential for meeting these expectations. This gap results in a stigmatising categorisation of families who find themselves marginalised as neblagopolutsjnye – socially disadvantaged. Although Russia's officially 'family-oriented' child protection system is expected to base its work on objective methods, stigmatisation influences the decisions of social workers, making the system risk-oriented in practice. This is due to little or inadequate specialised education among social workers, resulting in the strong presence of the human factor: subjective, non-professional evaluations are made. With scant intersectional cooperation among state actors, there is little space to counteract or modify subjective evaluations. Thus, stigmatisation serves to limit the extent to which vulnerable families in Russia receive help, thus creating and upholding 'social orphanhood'.
"This work is the first English translation of the Title of Totonicapán, an important document composed by the K'iche' Maya in the highlands of Guatemala in 1554. This volume contains a new translation from the original text, based on a manuscript copy rediscovered by Robert Carmack in 1973"--
Abstract: The Dynamics of Identity Negotiation in a Border Region: The Case of Georgian Azeri-Tukrs of Kvemo KartliIn The Dynamics of Identity Negotiation in a Border Region: The Case of Georgian Azeri-Tukrs of Kvemo Kartli Karli-Jo T. Storm studies collective identities among Georgian Azeri-Turks in relation to officially propagated narratives of national identity in Georgia and Azerbaijan. Storm's ambitious work offers us insights into the complexities of the social and spatial positions of minority populations in the post-Soviet nation building projects.
Abstract: Post Post-Soviet, style and rebellion: Symbolism and subversive nationalism in Gosha Rubchinskiy's 'new Russia'This article explores the resonance enjoyed by streetwear designer Gosha Rubchinskiy among young Russians, and the extensive network that has emerged under his wings and refers to itself as 'the new Russia'. Analysis of Rubchinskiy's work, with Dick Hebdige's semiotic approach as the epistemological context, supplemented by insights from Simon Reynolds, Michel Foucault and Michel Maffesoli, reveals a continuous deconstruction of the Russian regime's hegemonic narrative of Russianness – so-called 'Putinism'. At the same time, Rubchinskiy constructs a countercultural form of Russian national belonging, one with room to accommodate those who feel alienated by mainstream Russian nationalism. From a social science perspective, a countercultural inclusive nation-building project is in itself a paradox – so how are we to understand Gosha Rubchinskiy's 'new Russia'?
Primera edición impresa en coedición con el Fideicomiso Felipe Teixidor y Monserrat Alfau de Teixidor: 2017. Primera edición digital en PDF: 2017. Primera edición digital en PDF con ISBN: 2018 ; La versión en PDF se generó a partir de los archivos editables de Indesign CC2018 correspondientes a la primera edición digital. ; "Los yacimientos arqueológicos de la cultura maya precolombina que se encuentran diseminados en todo el sureste mexicano, Guatemala, Belice y Honduras, forman uno de los legados arquitectónicos más numerosos e impresionantes que existen de una civilización indígena americana. Entre sus ruinas han sido recuperadas miles de inscripciones que nombran a los señores que, hace más de trece siglos, gobernaron el dinámico y complejo paisaje maya. Esta obra contiene una traducción íntegra de setenta fuentes escritas en caracteres jeroglíficos comisionadas por los gobernantes K'ihnich Janaab' Pakal, de Palenque, B'ajlaj Chan K'awiil, de Dos Pilas, e Itzamnaah Kokaaj B'ahlam II y Yaxuun B'ahlam IV, ambos de Yaxchilán. Estos señores gobernaron sus respectivas entidades políticas en el periodo Clásico tardío (600-909), y durante sus mandatos remodelaron y ampliaron la zona central de sus capitales, emprendieron grandes obras arquitectónicas y destacaron en el campo de batalla. Mientras ellos estuvieron a la cabeza de sus entidades políticas, el poder de Palenque, Dos Pilas y Yaxchilán brilló con su más vivo esplendor; sus nombres jeroglíficos, ostensiblemente tallados, aparecen de manera prominente en numerosos tableros, dinteles, escaleras jeroglíficas y estelas. El discurso que revelan sus inscripciones muestra, con un ímpetu poco conocido en la antigüedad maya, tanto una voluntad política de renovación dinástica como una conducta religiosa tradicional y creadora a un tiempo". ; Spread throughout the Southeast of Mexico, Guatemala, Belize and Honduras, the archaeological remains of the Pre-Columbine Maya culture constitute one of the most extensive and impressive architectural legacies of a Native American civilization; in whose remains, there have been found thousands of inscriptions containing the names of the men who governed the dynamic and complex Maya landscape over thirteen centuries ago. The work here presented contains a full translation of seventy written sources, in hieroglyphic characters, inscriptions which were commissioned by: K'ihnich Janaab' Pakal of Palenque, B'ajlaj Chan K'awiil of Dos Pilas, and Itzamnaah Kokaaj B'ahlam II and Yaxuun B'ahlam IV, both of Yaxchilán. These men, who were known to be outstanding warriors, ruled over their respective political entities during the Late Classic period (600-900). During which time, they remodelled and expanded the central area of their capitals and undertook great architectural projects. In the course of their rule, Palenque, Dos Pilas and Yaxchilán reached their period of greatest splendour, and so their names appear prominently in numerous panels, lintels, stairways and stelae. These inscriptions show, with an emphasis rarely seen in Maya antiquity, a political inclination towards dynastic renewal, and a religious conduct that was both innovative and traditional. ; Agradecimientos; Introducción; K'ihnich Janaab' Pakal: La irradiación divina; Corpus documental; B'ajlaj Chan K'awil: la gloria del vencedor de tikal; Corpus documental; Mapa y figuras; Itzamnaah Kokaaj B'ahlam II: señor de innumerables cautivos; Corpus documental; Yaxuun B'ahlam IV: el poder absoluto; Corpus documental; Conclusiones; Bibliografía; Glosario de términos y antropónimos
"Este libro explica la construcción social del conocimiento de la matemática maya. Lo hace con el fin de evidenciar su naturaleza, sus criterios de organización y su vivenciación que sustentan la epistemología de la matemática maya. Está basado en un estudio etnográfico-participativo realizada con la comunidad maya Tz'utujil. Utiliza la socioepistemología como marco teórico para su abordaje, y por el carácter sistémico de este enfoque, prioriza dos aspectos fundamentales a saber: el carácter científico y la cosmovisión de la cultura maya."--Back cover
Abstract: On the Historiography of Zubov et al.'s History of Russia in the 20th CenturyAround 2009, a certain Kremlin-sanctioned Vergangenheitsbewältigung of Russia's Soviet past developed. A case in point is the collective two-volume work edited by Andrei B. Zubov, Istoriya Rossii. XX vek, published in 2009. Societal agency is said to be stressed over structural forces, but it is mainly the agency of Lenin, Stalin and later Soviet leaders that is analyzed. The narrative of the times before Stalin's ascent to power emphasizes repression, terror and planned famine as precursors of the totalitarian excesses under Stalin (1923–1953). The originality of Zubov's historiography is evident in his approach to the Great Fatherland War of 1941–1945, which Zubov refers to as The Soviet–Nazi War. Further, the narrative of the Cold War era culminates in an 'imperial overstretch' theory about the Soviet collapse. However, Zubov has been vehemently criticized for lack of critical rigor; his work represents an awkward mix of liberal enlightenment and obscurantism in its veneration of the fascistoid thinker Ilyin. Today Russia officially operates with one historical truth about the years 1941–45 and is hereby distancing itself from scholars like Zubov.
Abstract: Hans Christian Andersen in RussiaBrita Lotsberg Bryn (University of Bergen) reviews the anthology Hans Christian Andersen in Russia, edited by M.S. Jessen, M. Balina, B. Hellman and J. Nørregaard Frandsen, which investigates the influence of H.C. Andersen's work on Russian culture. It demonstrates that Andersen's fairy tales, broadly employed by authors and artists and valued by generations of readers and audiences in Russia, constitute a specific cultural code. The book comprises articles by seventeen scholars of Danish and Russian literature, art, film, theatre, music and media, exploring this code from various angles.
Abstract: An East-West divide in late-life wellbeing in Europe? A comparative study of 12 countries This study explores late-life loneliness and depression in European countries, noting the role of micro-level differences in socioeconomic status, health, and social variables. Findings from cross-sectional, nationally representative data from 12 countries and 36,000 individuals in the Generations and Gender Survey show a marked East–West divide among older but not among younger adults. Among older adults (aged 60–80) loneliness and depression are as much as three to four times more prevalent in Eastern European (20–40%) than in Northwest European countries (10–15%). These patterns reflect economic, social, and societal issues which in turn affect the conditions for active and healthy aging. There is considerable variation among Eastern European countries, correlating with macro-level economic development and welfare spending. Generous welfare states seem to offer a buffer against, or postpone, the risk of late-life depression and loneliness. Cultural factors may also play a role: because of high expectations as to strong family and community ties, Eastern Europeans may have a lower loneliness threshold than other Europeans.
Abstract: The Collapse of the Planned Economy – and Other Widespread Misconceptions of the Transitions in Russia and Eastern EuropeAccording to the prevailing view, the Soviet planned economy collapsed around 1990; it was a failure, because a planned economy cannot work. Comparing this common view, as it appears in numerous quotations from special and general sources, with basic empirical evidence reveals deep discrepancies. This also applies to other common conceptions regarding the transition in Russia and Eastern Europe e.g. environmental problems, agricultural crisis, poverty and inequality. The command economies in Eastern Europe and the Soviet Union did not collapse; they were dismantled, and until then they functioned and delivered growth rates comparable to those of western countries. The transition after 1989 was driven by marketliberalistic enthusiasm as a short cut to imitation of western prosperity and entailed a refusal of economic planning in the East and in the West. A more realistic evaluation of the planned economy is important for how we politically and economically address our two great challenges, the global environment, and the global distribution.
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.
Abstract: Armenia and Europe: Foreign Aid and Environmental Politics in the Post-Soviet Caucasus Lene Wetteland (Norwegian Helsinki Committee) reviews Armenia and Europe: Foreign Aid and Environmental Politics in the Post-Soviet Caucasus by Dr. Pål Wilter Skedsmo. The book is a revised version of his 2017 PhD thesis in Social Anthropology. Skedsmo uses his personal experience from a project on environmental rights in Armenia in the early 2010s and Armenian civil society's application of the Aarhus Convention as case studies to discuss the issue of Europeanization of Armenia in this context.
Abstract: 'Have we ever been European?' Everyday reflections from Russia on the gender and sexuality 'culture wars'Drawing on long-term ethnographic fieldwork in European Russia, Jeremy Morris examines everyday attitudes to homosexuality in Russia, and the linkage to an understanding of terpimost (or 'tolerantnost') – 'tolerance' – as an insincere 'Euro-American' attitude. In this companion-piece to work focusing on male homophobia and conservative attitudes to childrearing (Morris & Garibyan, 2021), the focus is on how women describe their experience of same-sex relations and their heteronormative attitudes towards what they understand as 'non-normative' sexuality. Whereas the influence of Russia's state-led policy of conservatism is reflected in everyday talk – especially in relation to the idea that Euro-American values of permissiveness and 'tolerance' are misplaced – the findings reveal more nuanced ideas 'from below' about cultural differences between Russia and the putatively 'other' Europe. The article further notes the volatility and variance in survey methods that seek to measure 'intolerance' and cultural difference. They can exacerbate what, as Katherina Wiedlack and others have pointed out, is a colonial and orientalizing discourse that features an 'enlightened' West and a 'passive, backward' East. This article shows how 'intolerance' and acceptance of non-normative sexuality in Russia do not differ greatly from the situation in comparable societies of the global North.
Abstract in English: Close and Distant. Political Executive-Media Relations in Four CountriesElin Strand Larsen reviews Close and Distant. Political Executive-Media Relations in Four Countries. Edited by Karl Magnus Johansson and Gunnar Nygren, the book is based on a three-year long research project and analysis of the relationship between politicians, press secretaries and journalists in four countries – Finland, Lithuania, Poland and Sweden. By conducting thorough, well-coordinated research and numerous research interviews (20–25 from each country), the research group has studied the interplay between government and media in the period 2014–2017. The anthology contains four country-specific chapters, as well as the following cross-national themes: government communication, social media, source-journalist relationships, mediatisation and political communication cultures.
