Russian nationalists in the Komi Republic: a case study of the Frontier of the North

The article examines some generic traits of the “new” Russian ethnic nationalism, namely, de-ideologization of the nationalist milieu and its inclination for civic activism. It results from a case study of the Frontier of the North (FN – Syktyvkar), an ideologically ambivalent organization that combines dual Russian/Komi ethnic nationalism, anti-migration sentiments, white racism, and fragments of other ideologies. The article demonstrates that, unlike nationalists of the previous generation, FN is not hostile to public authorities and is ready to cooperate with them. FN’s grassroots activism, as well as sports and healthy recreational activities, attracts young people. The organization tackles the most acute social problems, often neglected by everyone else, and has become a working civil society institution. The authors argue that these tactics win the “new” nationalists sympathy among ordinary people and makes the groups politically stronger and more influential than the previous nationalist generation. However, state anti-extremist policy hampers the advancement of nationalists into mainstream politics.     

Assessing asymmetrical federal design in the Russian federation: A case study of language policy in tatarstan

This article seeks to further the understanding of language policy in Tatarstan by examining the development of language legislation and policies in the republic in the post-Soviet period and by placing the issue of language policy within a federal – republican context. The article finds that asymmetrical federalism is an appropriate and workable response to Tatarstan's demands for policy capacity over issues pertaining to language. It is Russia's federal design itself, and not processes of ad hoc constitutional bargaining, which creates governance capacity in this policy area and provides Tatarstan with the de jure power to implement measures to protect the Tatar language.     

A rise of state activism in a competitive industry: The case of Russian retail trade law of 2009

The paper is aimed at exploring the Russian state return to the highly competitive industry of retail trade by adopting restrictive industry-specific legislation in 2009. We reveal a new precedent model of governance using the liberal rhetoric of the competition protection to justify intervention in interfirm contractual relations. We use survey data collected from 843 retailers and suppliers in 2013 to demonstrate that the new legislation had not achieved the proclaimed goals. The paper concludes that instead of market facilitation, the new state activism leads to the further suppression of business and the subversion of antimonopoly policy.     

Environmental terrorism: A case study

Abstract

The radical environmental movement, Earth First, was founded in 1980 by David Foreman, a Washington environmental lobbyist. Adopting as their slogan “No compromise in the defense of Mother Earth,” the movement progressed through the early formative stages usually associated with protest groups: letter‐writing campaigns, staged protests, sit‐ins, antiestablishment skits, and so forth. But over the past several years, Earth First has turned to violence, sabotage, and terrorism against land developers and the lumber, oil, and electricity industries.

Their well‐educated, white, middle‐class members have more recently focused their attention on planning serious attacks on nuclear facilities and associated electric systems. In 1986 they were responsible for a successful attack on the Palo Verdes nuclear facility's transmission lines. In June 1989, three members were arrested for attempting to cut down power lines in Arizona as part of a plan to disrupt operations at the Diablo Canyon nuclear generating plant. The overall radical environmentalist movement and its sabotage efforts appear to be spreading. On April 29, 1990, eco‐terrorists claimed responsibility for a serious sabotage incident in Palo Alto, California, and on the same day power lines were sabotaged in Fairfax County, Virginia, by unknown perpetrators.

It is clear that in the United States a national ecoterrorist network exists whose main purpose is to commit illegal acts in defense of the environment. These ecoter‐rorists appear to be gaining strength as well as the capability to increase their activities around the country. The radical environmentalist movement has the potential to become the country's major domestic terrorism problem.     

A view from below: industrial re-structuring and women's employment at four Russian enterprises

The labor market in Russia has changed significantly during the last decade. This transformation has resulted in notable changes in employment and unemployment patterns, and in labor mobility, flexibility and insecurity. One critical question is whether these changes signal important differences in labor market outcomes by gender. The approach taken here is to focus on the Russian industrial enterprise. In our study, we find that women experience different internal labor market opportunities and external job prospects than men and those differences in experience are reflected in the actual hiring practices at our firms, with men substituting for women, and women finding it particularly difficult to negotiate the increasingly closed labor market in Russia. At the same time important differences persist among women, differences that do not exist for men.     

Russian and Ukrainian elites: A comparative study of different identities and alternative transitions

The deterioration in Russian-Ukrainian relations heightened in 2014 but did not begin then and has deeper roots. Both Russian presidents have had troubled relations with all five Ukrainian presidents irrespective if they were described as ‘nationalist’ or ‘pro-Russian.’ This article is the first to explain why the roots of the crisis go deeper and it does this by investigating three areas. The first is the different sources of elites in 1991 when independent Russia captured Soviet institutions and undertook top-down state building while Ukraine inherited far less and set course with bottom up state-building. The second is divergent Russian and Ukrainian national identities. The third is the resultant different transitions with Russia reverting to great power imperial nationalism and Ukraine quadruple and post-colonial transitions.     

Professionalization within a traditional political culture: A case study of south carolina

This article examines the progress of professionalization within a highly traditional political and social setting. The impact of such characteristics as a decentralized personnel system, fragmented political authority, and an absence of top-level support is assessed in the context of current initiatives to upgrade the professional orientations and capabilities of the state's workers. The primary theme is that, despite the lack of an integrated professionalism movement in state government, remarkable advances have occurred, and are continuing at an impressive pace. The impetus for these changes is found to be in the various employee groups that are striving to enhance their professional skills and status.     

Designing a fiscal federal mechanism for the transition period: the case of the Russian federation

In countries undergoing economic transition, economic factors have caused discord between central and regional authorities. This paper explores the causes and consequences of fiscal conflicts between the federal and regional governments and discusses what elements in an optimal fiscal management would best preserve federal integrity. It provides a plausible game-theoretic representation of the power struggle between the center and regional governments in the Russian Federation. This representation describes the rules and political environment that served as a background for the budgetary wars of 1992 to 1994, the objectives of both the regional and federal players, and a history of game play during the transitional period.     

Popular culture and development: A case study

Communications and development in the broadest sense of the terms are examined in relation to evaluation of the work of the Communication Foundation for Asia (CFA). CFA produces, in conjunction with public and private development agencies, flip-charts, comics, a fieldworker's handbook for use in family planning education, sound cassette magazines for agricultural extension work, booklets and sound-slides on forming cooperatives, and other educational materials. CFA operates in the Philippines. A developmental radio drama produced by CFA delivered a pro-development message, one that tells people they can do something about their conditions/situations, compared to the passive, consumer-oriented commercial radio drama. The most prominent theme was achievement. The characters had complex motivations and displayed wide range of motives. Like other forms of propaganda, developmental radio drama is not welcomed by radio station owners. Not many people in the industry perceive the opportunity for increasing overall development and economic growth. All pressures from commercial radio are in consumerist directions while developmental drama encourages production.     

俄罗斯军队『新式武器』扫描

不久前,俄总统普京在首都莫斯科召开的年度新闻发布会上称,俄拥有可击穿任何防御体系的导弹,这种神秘的导弹就是普京总统2002年下令研制的"最新式武器".据称,2010年前俄军将研制成功并部署这些"新式武器".     

Eastward bound: A case study of post-soviet labour migration from a rural Ukrainian town

This case study uses ethnographic interviews and survey data to explore temporary work migration from Komsomolsk, a rural town in central Ukraine. At the time of the Soviet collapse, experts expected temporary work migrants to orient toward labour markets in Western Europe but our data show that in 2002 the majority of temporary migrants made trips to Russia and parts of the former Soviet Union from Komsomolsk. Women were less likely than men to engage in temporary work migration, yet those women who did migrate for work were more likely to migrate west. Men, particularly older, ethnically Russian men, sought work in the east. Ethnographic data indicate language skills and knowledge of the Russian labour market influenced migrants' choice of destination. Social contacts, such as recruiters from Russian construction firms, helped to bring Ukrainian workers east. Survey data show that younger ethnic Russians and ethnic Ukrainians from all age groups were more likely to seek work within the country or in Western job markets than in Russia.