International Law in the Courts of the Russian Federation: Practice of Application

This paper analyses the practice of the Courts of the RussianFederation in applying the rules of International Law in theperiod following acceptance of the Constitution of the RussianFederation (1993). The present constitution and the new federallegislation regulate the relevance of International and RussianLaw much differently than they did before. Accordingly, judiciarypractice is developing in a new way. Despite the massive bodyof laws and regulations, there are no precise reference pointsand answers in the legislation to practically important questionsof correct application of the international treaties and generallyrecognized rules. This is one of the reasons why judiciary practiceis developing inconsistently, and the application of InternationalLaw is often incorrect or even wrong. Not all of the internationalnorms are applicable, and not all of the treaties have priorityover laws. There are certain legal conditions for the applicationof international treaties, conditions for when they prevailover laws, and also there is a procedure of application whichshould be observed by Courts trying particular cases. Althoughone can speak of many contradictions, it is wise to take noteof the tendency in judiciary practice to co-ordinated applicationof international and Russian law.     

The "Question of the Ethnic Russians" in the Context of Ethnic Relations in the Russian Federation

The author examines the current and likely future position of the Russian ethnic group within Russia's systems of interethnic and ethnofederal relations. He also examines the meaning of the term nationalism as used in Russian politics and warns about the danger of growing imbalances in state regulation of federal and ethnic relations. He proposes a new federalism that would eliminate asymmetries in relations between ethnic Russians and other ethnic groups inhabiting the Russian Federation.     

建立领导班子定期务虚制度思考

党的十七届四中全会提出的建立领导班子定期务虚制度的规定是提升领导班子理论政策水平和工作能力的重要制度安排。当前建立领导班子定期务虚制度,必须在消除务虚与务实关系定位不准、务虚流于形式、务虚"闭门造车"、务虚成果虚化等制约因素的基础上,树立正确的务虚观,做好务虚会的前期调研工作,开好领导班子定期务虚会,建立领导班子定期务虚考评体系,实现务虚与务实的有效对接。     

North Korea's juche ideology: indigenous communism or traditional thought?

ABSTRACT

This article examines the content of North Korea's juche ideology by analyzing official texts in comparison with Confucian classics and new religious movements in South Korea. The comparison revealed a series of similarities that vividly demonstrate that juche ideas have absorbed core elements of Korean and East Asian philosophical traditions.     

2003年深圳市区级人大代表竞选现象的政治解读

在2003年深圳市区级人民代表大会代表换届选举中，出现了一些“民荐候选人”或“自荐候选”，体现了我国民主政治发展的民间动力和社会基础日益增强，激活了现行体制和本制度中内在的民主基因，催生着有中国特色社会主义的民主竞选制度。通过这次选举，可以看出，民主政治是需要在实践中不断学习的利益协调机制，民主政治的健康发展，必须防止金钱的腐蚀和干扰，公正地保护弱势群体的应有权利。     

Networked poverty in rural Russia

This article attempts to apply major ideas developed in Anglo-American ‘network analysis’ to enlarge geographical constructions of the rural ‘problematic’ in Russia. It interrogates complex understandings of ‘poor people’ via a study of social networks in two villages in Central European Russia, focusing on connections between different actors embedded in social contexts in the countryside, different forms of associations between rural people, and the ways in which specific forms of their interrelations affect poverty. In so doing, the article attempts to reconnect different positions of rural people in Russia and different transitory aspects of ‘poor’ identities (i.e. of people in poverty), as well as to broaden understanding of differentiated experiences of rural poverty.     

Ethnic Migration and Crime

Are the concepts and practical recommendations offered in the works of Western authors for tackling the problem of migration-related crime applicable to Russian realities?