Who is the enemy now? Islamophobia and antisemitism among Russian Orthodox nationalists before and after September 11

In this article Verkhovsky focuses on Russian nationalist groups who base their ideology on the Russian Orthodox tradition. These Russian Orthodox nationalists should be distinguished both from those nationalists for whom Orthodoxy is clearly overwhelmed by the ideological demands of ethno-nationalism, as well as from those who use Orthodoxy simply as a popular symbol of national identity. Orthodox nationalists, moreover, are fairly independent of the Moscow Patriarchate and its ideology. The ideology of Orthodox nationalism focuses both on its principal enemy, the Antichrist, and on those enemies subordinate to the Antichrist: Jews, Catholics, the West, the New World Order and so on. In the mid-1990s Islam had no obvious place among this set of hostile forces. The Moscow Patriarchate and moderately nationalist politicians, relying to some extent on Eurasianist ideas, saw the relationship between Orthodoxy and Islam in Russia as a harmonious one, and, on the whole, Orthodox nationalists did not disagree, although individuals occasionally claimed that the Jews, using the West, were setting Islam against Orthodox Russia. The situation began to change during the second Chechen war, when Orthodox nationalists began to issue warnings of an Islamic threat. This was related not only to the situation in former Yugoslavia and in Chechnya, but also to an increase in the immigration of Muslims to ethnically Russian regions of the country. For Orthodox nationalists, this Islamic threat was part of the larger threat coming from the Jews and the West. Islam, they claimed, was being used as a tool by the Antichrist not only because it was a flawed religion, but because it, being less godless than the West, would produce radical Islamism as a synthesis of western technology and eastern passion. In the intense debates that followed in the wake of the attacks of 11 September 2001 most Orthodox nationalists in Russia supported adopting a neutral position in the supposed ‘clash of civilizations’ between Islam and the West.     

The file on operation “Priboi”: A re-assessment of the mass deportations of 1949

Abstract

Using information from documents found in the Russian State Military Archives, this article discusses the organization and execution of the Soviet mass deportations from the Baltic States in March 1949 — code-named Operation “Priboi” by the USSR MVD. These findings are presented for the first time in English, in the context both of established historiographical interpretations and recent literature on the deportations. The aim is to encourage a scholarly reassessment of Operation “Priboi” as a crime against humanity perpetrated by the Soviet occupation regime, but supported by indigenous collaborators to a far greater degree than previously assumed.     

Exploring Russian-Speaking Identity from Below: The Case of Latvia

Recent research on the acculturation strategies of Russian speakers in Latvia has demonstrated that there is a high level of support for integration (identifying with both Latvian and Russian cultures) compared to marginalization, separation, or assimilation. However, a number of researchers have also highlighted the negative impact of top-down narratives and discourses produced by the country's politicians and journalists. These discourses, it is argued, hamper the integration process by creating incompatible identity positions between ‘Russian-speakers’ and ‘Latvians’. Accordingly, this research turns to focus group interviews with Russian speakers in Latvia in order to uncover the nuances of their identity-forming processes, their relations with the respective Russian and Latvian states, and their acculturation strategies, which are commonly overlooked in top-down accounts. Based on the analysis of the qualitative data it will be argued that there is great potential for an integrated, yet culturally distinct Latvian-Russian identity in Latvia.     

从所有权法向物权法的转型——以“《俄罗斯联邦民法典》完善计划”为向度

自"前苏联解体"20多年以来,俄罗斯物权立法逐渐摆脱计划经济时代的物权观念,不断地向着传统物权法的类型与体系回归。通过渐次的多级转换,俄罗斯物权立法从"所有权中心主义的物权立法"向"他物权日益凸显的物权立法"转化。近年来通过"《俄罗斯联邦民法典》完善计划"的实施使之具有了与大陆法系之德国法传统的物权法相类似的体系特征。     

马克思与现代自然法思想的内在难题——基于《论犹太人问题》的分析

在人类法律思想的发展史上,现代自然法思想奠定了现代法律思想的基础,成为了资产阶级革命最为有力的武器。然而,自其诞生开始,现代自然法思想就蕴含着内在矛盾,该矛盾在资产阶级革命胜利之后进一步凸显出来。马克思走向成熟时期的论著——《论犹太人问题》——揭示了这一矛盾的深层次原因。而且,马克思进一步指出,人要获得最后的解放必须批判随资产阶级革命而建立起来的现实世界,并最终消除导致人之异化的资本。如此,现代自然法思想中的难题也才有了彻底解决的可能。     

俄罗斯经济的转折点与“俄罗斯病”

俄罗斯经济一度在油价的暴涨中实现了高增长,但在2008年油价暴跌之后,俄面临着经济增长的转折点。虽说俄罗斯的经济转型伴随着一系列的市场经济结构改革,但还是对于油价变动反应过度。俄受油价变动摆布的资源依赖型经济可统称为"俄罗斯病"。这其实是一种"石油诅咒"综合症,但它不同于"荷兰病"。虽然俄罗斯历经石油价格高涨→实际汇率升值→进口扩大的发展路径,却没有出现GDP增长递减和制造业增长低迷的现象。因为俄国内市场大于荷兰,而且制造业发展缓慢。我们不能期待出现治愈"俄罗斯病"的特效药和特需,而有效利用资源利益来推动其经济发展是俄罗斯的现实选择。俄罗斯以"推翻世界史"的速度实现了开放的市场经济,但是,在重构文化背景和制造业基础之后再来发展经济恐怕还需时日。     

俄罗斯联邦检察机关的“一般监督”职能及其对我国的启示

1922年5月28日,当时的苏维埃俄国通过了《俄罗斯社会主义联邦苏维埃共和国检察机关条例》,首次赋予检察机关以"一般监督"职能。自此之后,检察机关的"一般监督"职能得以继承和发展。目前,检察机关的"一般监督"职能,在俄罗斯联邦检察机关的检察监督职能中仍然占据首要地位,並在发现和消除行政执法过程中许多行政违法行为(作为或不作为)方面,发挥着举足轻重的作用。考察和研究俄罗斯联邦检察机关"一般监督"职能的历史发展、主要内容和实践效果,对我国具有重要的启示意义。     

How to Ease China’s Holiday Travel Rush

正Dear Readers,Forum is a column that provides a space for varying perspectives on contemporary Chinese society.We invite you to submit personal viewpoints on past and current topics(in either English or Chinese).yanwei@bjreview.com Please provide your name and address along with your comments     

Ink Blossoms Renowned painter Guo Shifu soars to new heights in the traditional arts

正Guo Shifu was born in 1945 in Beijing.A member of the China Artists Association and an art commissioner with the Beijing Fine Art Academy,Guo is also the founder of Beijing’s first painters’association,which has since been renamed the Beijing Society for Bird-and-Flower Paintings.Guo is proficient in traditional painting,calligraphy,seal cutting,poetry and Western artistic techniques.The Ministry of Culture has listed Guo as one of the masters of contemporary Chinese art.     

Deng Xiaoping: Economist,Diplomat, Reformer

正Dear Readers,Forum is a column that provides a space for varying perspectives on contemporary Chinese society.We invite you to submit personal viewpoints on past and current topics(in either English or Chinese).yanwei@bjreview.com Please provide your name and address along with your comments Deng Xiaoping’s role as the father of reform in modern China is historically secure.In his vast biography of the Chinese leader published in 2011,American academic