Age and family structures among the Jews of Mitau, Kurland, 1833–1834

The article analyzes an 1834 listing of the Jewish inhabitants in the city of Mitau in the province of Kurland, one of the Baltic provinces (the other two were Estland and Livland) of the Russian Empire. From Catherine the Great's reign onward, the Jewish population of the Baltic provinces rose steadily throughout the 19th century, but microstudies of Jewish communities in the region are virtually nonexistent, especially for the first half of the century. The Mitau list shows that the Jewish population there was very young, with about 45% being in the age group 0–14. Age at first marriage for males was about 24 years, and for females 21. From about age 35, 93% of males and 97% of females were married. The mean size of the family group was 5.8 persons, and about a third of all families were either extended (containing unmarried relatives beyond the nuclear family) or multiple (more than one kin-linked conjugal family unit). Judging by kinship terms in the source, the kin system tilted toward patrilineality, as would be expected. These characteristics need to be compared to other Jewish communities before and after 1834—in the Baltic area and surrounding regions—but the paucity of local studies suggests that some time will pass before the Mitau findings can be placed in an adequate comparative framework.     

Trends in the proportion of married women of reproductive age in Spain, 1887–1991

Using the Princeton nuptiality index I_m, we analyzed historical developments in the proportion of married women of reproductive age in Spain. We show the internal diversity in nuptiality patterns and offer an explanatory statistical model based on panel data analysis to identify the main variables influencing these changes over more than a century (1887–1991). We found that Spain has been the developed country with the greatest contrasts in its provincial nuptiality patterns (measured by I_m), although this diversity has lessened over the course of time. We also found that some socioeconomic variables (the gross domestic product per capita and the percentage of population living in cities) do not have a linear relationship with female nuptiality but rather have a U shape or an inverted U shape. This may partly account for some of the controversy that has raged on this topic over the past few decades on an international level.     

Economic inequality in satisfaction with healthcare in the Baltic countries during and after the economic crisis (2008–2014)

ABSTRACT

Public satisfaction with healthcare systems is an important dimension of healthcare legitimacy. The paper analyzes how satisfaction with healthcare systems depended upon the economic situation of our respondents during and after the economic recession in the Baltic states. The results show that there were no differences in public satisfaction with healthcare between better and worse off people in Estonia (except in 2009). In Lithuania, however, satisfaction among the economically better off was higher compared to other groups between 2008 and 2014. In Latvia, inequality in satisfaction between groups in different economic situations became significant from 2010.     

俄罗斯与波罗矛盾、摩擦、协调的海三国：中的经贸关系

1990年立陶宛、拉脱维亚和爱沙尼亚相继独立后,俄罗斯与三国间经贸关系的发展一直严重受制于相互间的政治关系。相互间经贸合作规模很小,合作形式单一,主要局限于商品贸易、过境运输等方面。近年来俄罗斯在发展与波罗的海三国经贸关系时,越来越强调经济与政治相结合的原则。俄罗斯与波罗的海三国经贸关系能否顺利发展,在很大程度上取决于俄罗斯与三国的政治关系走向。尽管如此,俄罗斯与波罗的海三国的经济合作对双方均具有重要意义。出于各自经济利益的需要,加之各种有利因素和不利因素的相互影响、互相制约,双方的经贸关系仍将在矛盾、摩擦和协调中向前发展。     

东北振兴过程中的对外开放:中俄合作

《东北地区振兴规划》提出了通过扩大对外开放,加速东北老工业基地振兴。俄罗斯是东北对外开放主要对象国。在东北振兴规划框架下,中俄区域经济合作应该是互动发展、共生发展、和谐发展。充分发挥本区域的经济优势,引进国外的资金和先进技术,提高生产效率,调整产业结构,达到生产要素的国际最佳配置,实现老工业基地的再次辉煌。《规划》初次提出了在理论上要突破以国家为单位的国际区域一体化,而在相邻的两个国家部分地区实行一体化。实践上中俄区域双方的经济合作要达到互动、共生、和谐的发展状态。为此,建议在中俄区域合作中,要把东北作为一个经济体的概念,以区域化打破原有的行政区划。     

Ambiguous activists. Estonia's model of cultural autonomy as interpreted by two of its founders: Werner Hasselblatt and Ewald Ammende

Abstract

Baltic Germans who were active on behalf of especially German minorities throughout Europe during the 1920s have already found some recognition in especially German-language studies. Now they are receiving a wider coverage. Two of these men, Werner Hasselblatt and Ewald Ammende, came from Estonia and played a part in the development of the cultural autonomy legislation enacted in 1925. Traditionally this has been counted a positive contribution to the management of Europe's minorities during the inter-war period. During the 1930s at the latest, however, both Hasselblatt and Ammende drifted towards German National Socialism. Through an investigation of the ideas of these men, this paper attempts to interpret lives which helped to create apparently progressive legislation in the 1920s, but which compromised with a dreadful political movement soon afterwards. What were the motives behind their actions?     

Environment and Energy: The Baltic Sea Gas Pipeline

Germany and Russia have agreed to build the Nord Stream gas pipeline. The 1,200 kilometers-long structure will run from Vyborg, Russia to Greifswald, Germany traversing the Baltic Sea. The Baltic countries, Finland, Poland and Sweden, have expressed concerns about the project. At issue is the environmental impact of the project as well as the energy, political, and socioeconomic implications.     

Family Formation in the Baltic Countries: A Transformation in the Legacy of state socialism

This article examines the transformation of nuptiality patterns in the Baltic countries since the late 1960s, in the context of long-term trends. The aim of the study is to compare the entry into first conjugal union in Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania, and analyze the position of the Baltic countries in a broader European perspective. The analyses employ microdata from national surveys conducted in the framework of the European Family and Fertility Surveys program. Our main results on the timing and mode of union formation show that in Estonia and Latvia the shift from direct marriage to cohabitation started well before the fall of the state socialist regime, and followed a trajectory close to Scandinavian countries. In Lithuania, on the other hand, the change in the pattern of union formation has been much slower. The article discusses the factors underlying the observed similarities and dissimilarities in union formation.     

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.