Pub Date : 2023-05-15DOI: 10.30965/18763324-bja10081
Merlin Läänemets
The article focuses on the role of Western goods and cultural influences in the Estonian SSR during late socialism, aiming to analyze “conspicuous” consumption practices, behaviors, and attitudes. Situated in the context of Soviet modernization and the economy of shortages, the article moves beyond the dominant discourse of scarcity and contributes to a growing body of literature that has uncovered the Soviet consumer as a modern shopper with distinctive tastes, demands, and sensibilities that were formed at the interplay between the socialist “good taste” and the imagined, yet incredibly tangible manifestations of Western material objects. The article argues that younger, urban, and largely female consumers in Soviet Estonia were susceptible to the enticement of materiality and status-oriented consumption that could be explained by the rise of “new” Soviet consumer’s consciousness, Western-imitating do-it-yourself practices, and acquisition of Western goods that were regarded as a sign of knowledge, prestige, and social standing.
{"title":"The Rise of Status Consumption in the Estonian SSR: Socialist “Good Taste” and Western Influence","authors":"Merlin Läänemets","doi":"10.30965/18763324-bja10081","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.30965/18763324-bja10081","url":null,"abstract":"\u0000The article focuses on the role of Western goods and cultural influences in the Estonian SSR during late socialism, aiming to analyze “conspicuous” consumption practices, behaviors, and attitudes. Situated in the context of Soviet modernization and the economy of shortages, the article moves beyond the dominant discourse of scarcity and contributes to a growing body of literature that has uncovered the Soviet consumer as a modern shopper with distinctive tastes, demands, and sensibilities that were formed at the interplay between the socialist “good taste” and the imagined, yet incredibly tangible manifestations of Western material objects. The article argues that younger, urban, and largely female consumers in Soviet Estonia were susceptible to the enticement of materiality and status-oriented consumption that could be explained by the rise of “new” Soviet consumer’s consciousness, Western-imitating do-it-yourself practices, and acquisition of Western goods that were regarded as a sign of knowledge, prestige, and social standing.","PeriodicalId":41969,"journal":{"name":"Soviet and Post Soviet Review","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.6,"publicationDate":"2023-05-15","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"47898440","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2023-05-15DOI: 10.30965/18763324-bja10082
T. Kubín
February 24, 2022, after several months of preparation, Russia launched a full-scale war against Ukraine. For the EU and NATO states, Russia’s aggression against Ukraine means, inter alia, a major change for their security. But Russia’s war against Ukraine has been going on since 2014. In reaction, the EU, the US, and other Western states imposed economic sanctions on Russia in 2014. The subject of research is primarily comprehensive (general) sanctions. Another type of economic sanctions—targeted (smart) sanctions—are relatively new, so there is also relatively little research devoted to them. The main purpose of the article is to investigate the impact of smart (targeted) sanctions on five banks: Sberbank, VTB Bank, Gazprombank, Vnesheconombank (VEB), Rosselkhozbank, and three oil companies: Rosneft, Transneft and Gazpromneft. The study has been conducted on the basis of the analysis of the basic indicators illustrating the financial situation and changes in the prices of shares listed on the Moscow Exchange. The main finding is that the effects of sanctions are relatively weak and limited in time; in 2015–2017, a deterioration in the financial situation of only some of the eight corporations surveyed was noticeable, but later their situation improved significantly and in 2018–2019 it was clearly better than before the sanctions were imposed.
{"title":"Russia, Ukraine, and the West: Are Smart Economic Sanctions Effective?","authors":"T. Kubín","doi":"10.30965/18763324-bja10082","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.30965/18763324-bja10082","url":null,"abstract":"\u0000February 24, 2022, after several months of preparation, Russia launched a full-scale war against Ukraine. For the EU and NATO states, Russia’s aggression against Ukraine means, inter alia, a major change for their security. But Russia’s war against Ukraine has been going on since 2014. In reaction, the EU, the US, and other Western states imposed economic sanctions on Russia in 2014.\u0000The subject of research is primarily comprehensive (general) sanctions. Another type of economic sanctions—targeted (smart) sanctions—are relatively new, so there is also relatively little research devoted to them. The main purpose of the article is to investigate the impact of smart (targeted) sanctions on five banks: Sberbank, VTB Bank, Gazprombank, Vnesheconombank (VEB), Rosselkhozbank, and three oil companies: Rosneft, Transneft and Gazpromneft. The study has been conducted on the basis of the analysis of the basic indicators illustrating the financial situation and changes in the prices of shares listed on the Moscow Exchange. The main finding is that the effects of sanctions are relatively weak and limited in time; in 2015–2017, a deterioration in the financial situation of only some of the eight corporations surveyed was noticeable, but later their situation improved significantly and in 2018–2019 it was clearly better than before the sanctions were imposed.","PeriodicalId":41969,"journal":{"name":"Soviet and Post Soviet Review","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.6,"publicationDate":"2023-05-15","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"43477762","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2023-03-08DOI: 10.30965/18763324-bja10079
Robert Kuśnierz
The history of communist crimes in the USSR has been well elucidated. Nonetheless, a still under-investigated group of archival materials are files of the Soviet counterintelligence. One of its tasks was the surveillance of the foreign diplomats and consular representatives operating on the territory of the USRR. Even after the fall of the USSR and the opening of the archives, access to the materials of the communist special services was and is very difficult. The situation changed not very long ago. Open access to materials of the former GPU/NKVD/KGB was possible in Ukraine. In the Branch State Archive of the Security Service of Ukraine in Kyiv is a file continuing materials from the surveillance by the Soviet counterintelligence of the Polish diplomat Jan Karszo-Siedlewski, who was among others the head of the Polish consulates general in Kharkiv and Kyiv in 1932–1937. In this way, material that had been entirely inaccessible for researchers will be discussed in the present article.
{"title":"Surveillance of the Polish Diplomat Jan Karszo-Siedlewski by Soviet Counterintelligence, 1932–1937","authors":"Robert Kuśnierz","doi":"10.30965/18763324-bja10079","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.30965/18763324-bja10079","url":null,"abstract":"\u0000The history of communist crimes in the USSR has been well elucidated. Nonetheless, a still under-investigated group of archival materials are files of the Soviet counterintelligence. One of its tasks was the surveillance of the foreign diplomats and consular representatives operating on the territory of the USRR. Even after the fall of the USSR and the opening of the archives, access to the materials of the communist special services was and is very difficult. The situation changed not very long ago. Open access to materials of the former GPU/NKVD/KGB was possible in Ukraine. In the Branch State Archive of the Security Service of Ukraine in Kyiv is a file continuing materials from the surveillance by the Soviet counterintelligence of the Polish diplomat Jan Karszo-Siedlewski, who was among others the head of the Polish consulates general in Kharkiv and Kyiv in 1932–1937. In this way, material that had been entirely inaccessible for researchers will be discussed in the present article.","PeriodicalId":41969,"journal":{"name":"Soviet and Post Soviet Review","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.6,"publicationDate":"2023-03-08","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"48086203","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2023-02-27DOI: 10.30965/18763324-bja10078
Garrett McDonald
This essay examines the life and career of famed Russian geologist, geographer, and academician of the Soviet Academy of Sciences V. A. Obruchev. By emphasizing Obruchev’s commitment to popular enlightenment within and beyond his scientific disciplines, a clearer portrait of Obruchev’s lasting influence in Soviet science and literature emerges. Over the course of his career, Obruchev devised an original model of public science, one that renegotiated the traditional boundaries between science fiction, popular science, and academic discourse. As a result, Obruchev’s scientific research granted form and function to his popular fiction and his fiction, in turn, provided a space to explore the possibilities of scientific hypotheses and promote the active research of the scientific phenomena Obruchev considered significant. By the time of Obruchev’s death in 1956, other natural scientists, especially geoscientists, and science fiction authors had coopted Obruchev’s approach to popular enlightenment, cementing his legacy.
{"title":"Journeys through the Past and to the Future: V. A. Obruchev and Popular Enlightenment in the Natural Sciences, 1886–1956","authors":"Garrett McDonald","doi":"10.30965/18763324-bja10078","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.30965/18763324-bja10078","url":null,"abstract":"\u0000This essay examines the life and career of famed Russian geologist, geographer, and academician of the Soviet Academy of Sciences V. A. Obruchev. By emphasizing Obruchev’s commitment to popular enlightenment within and beyond his scientific disciplines, a clearer portrait of Obruchev’s lasting influence in Soviet science and literature emerges. Over the course of his career, Obruchev devised an original model of public science, one that renegotiated the traditional boundaries between science fiction, popular science, and academic discourse. As a result, Obruchev’s scientific research granted form and function to his popular fiction and his fiction, in turn, provided a space to explore the possibilities of scientific hypotheses and promote the active research of the scientific phenomena Obruchev considered significant. By the time of Obruchev’s death in 1956, other natural scientists, especially geoscientists, and science fiction authors had coopted Obruchev’s approach to popular enlightenment, cementing his legacy.","PeriodicalId":41969,"journal":{"name":"Soviet and Post Soviet Review","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.6,"publicationDate":"2023-02-27","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"46272583","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2023-02-01DOI: 10.30965/18763324-05001001
Christopher J. Ward
{"title":"Editor’s Note","authors":"Christopher J. Ward","doi":"10.30965/18763324-05001001","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.30965/18763324-05001001","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":41969,"journal":{"name":"Soviet and Post Soviet Review","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-02-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"136172570","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2023-02-01DOI: 10.30965/18763324-05001000
{"title":"Front matter","authors":"","doi":"10.30965/18763324-05001000","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.30965/18763324-05001000","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":41969,"journal":{"name":"Soviet and Post Soviet Review","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-02-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"136172571","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2023-02-01DOI: 10.30965/18763324-05001002
Sharon A Kowalsky
{"title":"Introduction: A Festschrift In Honor of Donald J. Raleigh","authors":"Sharon A Kowalsky","doi":"10.30965/18763324-05001002","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.30965/18763324-05001002","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":41969,"journal":{"name":"Soviet and Post Soviet Review","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.6,"publicationDate":"2023-02-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"48954184","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2023-01-20DOI: 10.30965/18763324-bja10077
Frederick C. Corney
{"title":"The French Revolutionary Tradition in Russian and Soviet Politics, Political Thought, and Culture, written by Jay Bergman","authors":"Frederick C. Corney","doi":"10.30965/18763324-bja10077","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.30965/18763324-bja10077","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":41969,"journal":{"name":"Soviet and Post Soviet Review","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.6,"publicationDate":"2023-01-20","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"47176163","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2023-01-04DOI: 10.30965/18763324-bja10076
Alexander McConnell
{"title":"The Soviet Myth of World War II: Patriotic Memory and the Russian Question in the USSR, written by Jonathan Brunstedt","authors":"Alexander McConnell","doi":"10.30965/18763324-bja10076","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.30965/18763324-bja10076","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":41969,"journal":{"name":"Soviet and Post Soviet Review","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.6,"publicationDate":"2023-01-04","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"69267905","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2022-12-19DOI: 10.30965/18763324-bja10075
N. Ganson
In February 1974, just days after author A.I. Solzhenitsyn’s deportation from the Soviet Union, Fr. Vsevolod Shpiller, a well-known Orthodox priest serving in Moscow, gave an interview to Novosti Press Agency in which he provided a negative appraisal of Solzhenitsyn as a Christian writer. While Shpiller was quickly denounced by numerous dissidents as a traitor and stooge of the state, his vast correspondence suggests that the views expressed were the reflection of a clearly articulated approach to Christianity that emphasizes the creative building up of the Christian image and the transfiguration of the world from inside oneself through the acquisition of the Holy Spirit. Shpiller believed that the political objectification of spiritual processes brings about their destruction. The interview provided an opportunity to admonish Solzhenitsyn, whom Shpiller knew personally, and to share with the wider Orthodox Christian audience what the priest believed to be at the essence of Christianity.
{"title":"Truth Reveals Itself through Love: Fr. Vsevolod Shpiller’s Critique of Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn as a Pastoral Admonition","authors":"N. Ganson","doi":"10.30965/18763324-bja10075","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.30965/18763324-bja10075","url":null,"abstract":"\u0000 In February 1974, just days after author A.I. Solzhenitsyn’s deportation from the Soviet Union, Fr. Vsevolod Shpiller, a well-known Orthodox priest serving in Moscow, gave an interview to Novosti Press Agency in which he provided a negative appraisal of Solzhenitsyn as a Christian writer. While Shpiller was quickly denounced by numerous dissidents as a traitor and stooge of the state, his vast correspondence suggests that the views expressed were the reflection of a clearly articulated approach to Christianity that emphasizes the creative building up of the Christian image and the transfiguration of the world from inside oneself through the acquisition of the Holy Spirit. Shpiller believed that the political objectification of spiritual processes brings about their destruction. The interview provided an opportunity to admonish Solzhenitsyn, whom Shpiller knew personally, and to share with the wider Orthodox Christian audience what the priest believed to be at the essence of Christianity.","PeriodicalId":41969,"journal":{"name":"Soviet and Post Soviet Review","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.6,"publicationDate":"2022-12-19","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"46219403","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
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