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A significant amount of attention has been given to the predictors of academic achievement in higher education. However, the vast majority of articles have centred on entrance criteria and the learning approaches or personal habits of students. Investigations into how achievement depends on student efforts, being almost invariably based on subjective and unavoidably imprecise student self-evaluations, do not generally help the university determine how it can actually promote academic achievement. In this article, the authors construct models for the academic achievement of economics students in various subjects at their institution. These models include students' previous scores and objective information about their studies during the year, including marks for home assignments and tests; subjective information from the students is not used. The predictive power of these models is high, and the authors use them to formulate how the university can enhance academic achievement and improve the quality of studies: for example, improving student feedback; tailoring subjects to complement each other; determining the need for additional classes; identifying students who are in danger of failing; and giving instructors feedback on the efficacy of activities such as home assignments or the format of examination papers and marking. (Contains 1 figure.)

This article focuses on the difficulties afflicting the system of higher education as a result of the decline in the overall level of student training and the "gap between the level of education of secondary school graduates and historically established requirements of higher education in Russia." The author has been teaching sociology majors in a number of the higher educational institutions of Moscow since 1989, the year in which higher sociological education was institutionalized in the country. With the decline in the overall training of the graduates of secondary school, the author examines secondary school graduates' knowledge in two disciplines that are of fundamental importance for future sociologists--history and mathematics. The author presents a wish list to the schools. The article further focuses on a number of the factors that account for secondary school graduates' lack of the knowledge and the ability to read and analyze texts that are necessary for success in institutions of higher learning. Drawing on his personal pedagogical experience, the author also examines a number of facts that reflect the statistical trend and presents conclusions. (Contains 5 notes.)

As the global economy becomes more integrated, incorporating international experiences into college curricula becomes increasingly desirable for American students and their counterparts abroad. This paper describes one model for creating an international, Web-based, distance-learning classroom that can be used as a guide for those who might wish to pursue similar endeavors. Our replicated experiences teaching a sociology course on social control, twice under slightly different conditions, provide the basis for identifying the conditions and practices that optimize the goals of providing a forum for international education and enhancing reading and writing skills. A content analysis of the online Student-Led Discussions provides evidence that cross-national knowledge and understanding can be enhanced in this learning environment. Enrolling students from the United States, Belarus, Russia, and Australia, our course demonstrates how instructors can create a successful virtual classroom that truly encircles the globe.

The sociological study of youth volunteerism is determined by the need for theoretical understanding of volunteerism as a social institution, analysis of domestic youth volunteerism institutionalization practice, creation of the basis for volunteer policy improvement and overcoming barriers that hinder involvement of new representatives of the younger generation in volunteer activities. The objective of this paper is to identify the features of youth volunteerism institutionalization in modern Russian society. Sociological survey serves the main research method of this study, which allowed the authors to identify the features of youth volunteerism institutionalization in Russian society (in combination with secondary analysis of research materials conducted by the leading Russian sociological centers). The paper highlights the socio-economic and socio-psychological factors that hinder the effective development of youth volunteer movement in modern Russian society. It also identifies the current activity areas in the field of volunteerism, the nature of its development depending on the institutional mechanisms that produce and relay volunteerism as a social norm. The obtained sociological data on certain aspects of youth volunteerism is of interest to the authorities of various levels which manage volunteer projects, as well as to the heads of youth volunteer organizations and other subjects of volunteer activity. The theoretical and practical data presented in this paper can be applied in training courses on Sociology, Youth Sociology, Social Technologies of Working with Young People, Youth Movements, etc. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to represent an epistemological analysis of Russian sociological scholarship.Design/methodology/approach The analytical approach that allows reducing the particular representations within the sum of propositions is the methodological base of the paper. Clearing of propositional attitudes explains the basic communications in a thought of researchers. The circle of grounds available to achievement of intuitively noticed purposes defines the preferences of researchers in general.Findings The author proves that the theoretical developments in the Russian sociology are possible as a derivative from the development of questions, which are raised nowadays in worldwide science, but possible in a view of original development of questions, which were raised in worldwide science in the past.Research limitations/implications The Russian sociology represents a part of the European humanities, which is based on the various forms of theoretical combat or agonality.Practical implications The author shows the ways out of the theoretical combat or agonality.Social implications The research clarifies the perspectives for increasing of the knowledge-based society in Russia. The author analyzes the concept of Russia as a paradigmatic society, particularly in the context of transition economies.Originality/value In general, the author concludes that the pro-argument with respect to theoretical developments is weaker than the contra-argument with respect to theoretical developments. This paper has revealed the model within which extreme positions can be reconciled. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Orienteering problem (OP) is a routing problem, where the aim is to generate a path through set of nodes, which would maximize total score and would not exceed the budget. In this paper, we present an extension of classic OP—Orienteering Problem with Functional Profits (OPFP), where the score of a specific point depends on its characteristics, position in the route, and other points in the route. For solving OPFP, we developed an open-source framework for solving orienteering problems, which utilizes four core components of OP in its modular architecture. Fully-written in Go programming language our framework can be extended for solving different types of tasks with different algorithms; this was demonstrated by implementation of two popular algorithms for OP solving—Ant Colony Optimization and Recursive Greedy Algorithm. Computational efficiency of the framework was shown through solving four well-known OP types: classic Orienteering Problem (OP), Orienteering Problem with Compulsory Vertices (OPCV), Orienteering Problem with Time Windows (OPTW), and Time Dependent Orienteering Problem (TDOP) along with OPFP. Experiments were conducted on a large multi-source dataset for Saint Petersburg, Russia, containing data from Instagram, TripAdvisor, Foursquare and official touristic website. Our framework is able to construct touristic paths for different OP types within few seconds using dataset with thousands of points of interest. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper analyzes the origin, development and formation of the identity problem, traditions of exploring this phenomenon in philosophy, psychology and sociology. The basic social and psychological problems of the present-day youth identity evolvement are examined. The findings of empirical study of personal, professional and ethnic identity of 340 university students are presented. The substantial characteristics and the main stages of personal identity development are discussed. The students with different status of professional identity are described; the main types of ethnic identity are identified. The factorial analysis data provides convincing evidence that there are common factors encompassing characteristics of personal, professional and ethnical identity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

When most people hear the word "sanctions," they think of formal economic and political punishments leveled at rogue regimes, like the US trade embargo against Iran, or the threatened expulsion of Hungary from the European Union. Both kinds of sanctions have been leveled against Russia since its February 2022 invasion of Ukraine. But the past eight months have also brought a different sanctions strategy to the fore: one aimed at stigmatizing the individuals close to Putin's regime, in hopes of shattering elite support and encouraging revolt. These sanctions, which have led to the freezing and seizure of Russian oligarchs' assets in the West, have prompted the first murmurs of public dissent by Russian oligarchs in nearly two decades. The sanctions have consequently been effective in destabilizing Putin's authority, cracking the façade of control that has previously deterred attempts to topple him. This article explains the sociological dynamics of this strategy, and how stigma can be effective even where legal and economic punishments fail. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Since the collapse of the Soviet Union, Russia has positioned itself as a modernising country (re)built on the profits of its energy boom and the efforts of, currently, over four million labour migrants, the majority from Central Asia. Far too many migrants endure an extremely precarious everyday as they are forced to live in what this article describes as a citywide state of exception, within which legal frameworks protecting migrants are ignored or misinterpreted to the benefit of the market. Many migrants who desire ‘legality’ are forced into ‘illegality’ by their employers and landlords refusing to register their documents correctly, increasing their vulnerability. Such abuses are facilitated by the state construction of migrants as diseased and criminal, which in turn becomes embedded into cultural imaginations. Employing Mbembe’s theory of necropolitics, this paper theorises how these constructions position migrants as superfluous and that they can be ‘let to die’. The research demonstrates that migrants are simultaneously visible and invisible to the state; with the latter, the legal uncertainty denies migrants access to welfare and a voice within the city, but they are visible for exploitation both in terms of their labour and the political capital gained from their presence. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Petrov A. N. Redrawing the margin: re-examining regional multichotomies and conditions of marginality in Canada, Russia and their Northern Frontiers, Regional Studies. This paper pursues four objectives: to conceptualize and identify organizational logics of space-economy and dimensions of regional differentiation; to identify regional conditions of marginality and group regions along the core–periphery–margin continuum; to examine regional differences within the Norths; and to compare marginal regions in the Canadian versus Russian North. The analysis is based on the multichotomic view of core–periphery–margin relationships that rests on multiscalar, multiscale, and multicentre interpretation of regional polarities. The regional structures of Canada and Russia are ‘remapped’ and it is shown that a great degree of resemblance is shared. The contemporary North is an economically marginalized and fractured, but also a strikingly similar, space. Petrov A. N. Redessiner les limites: réexaminer les multichotomies régionales et les conditions de la marginalité au Canada, en Russie et à leurs frontières septentrionales, Regional Studies. Cet article poursuit quatre objecifs: conceptualiser et identifier la logique organisationnelle de l'espace-économie et l'importance de la différenciation régionale; identifier les conditions de la marginalité et regrouper les régions le long du continuum centre–périphérie-limites; examiner les écarts régionaux au sein des zones septentrionales; et comparer les régions marginales des zones septentrionales canadiennes à celles des zones septentrionales russes. L'analyse est fondée sur le point de vue multichotomique des raports centre–périphérie-limites et qui dépend d'une interprétation de la polarsiation régionale à scalaires, à échelles et à centres multiples. On ‘refait’ la carte des structures régionales canadiennes et russes, et on montre qu'il existe un degré de similarité. La zone septentrionale contemporaine s'avère un espace économiquement marginalisé et fissuré, mais à la fois remarquablement similaire. Structure régionale?Périphérie?Russie?Canada?Forces de la différenciation régionale Petrov A. N. Neudefinition des Randes: eine erneute Überprüfung der regionalen Gegensätze und der Bedingungen der Marginalität in Kanada, Russland und deren nördlichen Grenzen, Regional Studies. Mit diesem Beitrag werden vier Ziele verfolgt: eine Konzeptualisierung und Identifizierung der organisationellen Logik der Raumwirtschaft und der Dimensionen der regionalen Differenzierung, eine Identifizierung der regionalen Bedingungen der Marginalität und Gruppierung der Regionen entlang dem Kontinuum Kern–Peripherie-Rand, eine Untersuchung der regionalen Unterschiede zwischen den nördlichen Regionen und ein Vergleich der marginalen Regionen im Norden Kanadas und Russlands. Die Analyse basiert auf einer gegensätzlichen Sicht der Beziehungen zwischen Kern, Peripherie und Rand, die auf einer multiskalaren bzw. auf mehreren Maßstäben und Zentren gründenden Interpretation der regionalen Polaritäten aufbaut. Die regionalen Strukturen in Kanada und Russland werden neu kartiert, wobei sich zahlreiche Ähnlichkeiten herausstellen. Der moderne Norden ist ein wirtschaftlich marginalisierter und frakturierter, aber auch überraschend ähnlicher Raum. Regionalstruktur?Peripherie?Russland?Kanada?Kräfte der regionalen Differenzierung Petrov A. N. Nueva definición de margen: un reexamen de las multicotomías regionales y las condiciones de marginalidad en Canadá, Rusia y las fronteras norteñas, Regional Studies. En este artículo perseguimos cuatro objetivos: conceptualizar e identificar las lógicas organizativas de la economía espacial y las dimensiones de la diferenciación regional; identificar las condiciones regionales de marginalidad y agrupar las regiones a lo largo de la secuencia de centro, periferia y margen; examinar las diferencias entre las regiones norteñas; y comparar las regiones marginales al norte de Canadá en comparación con el norte de Rusia. Este análisis se basa en la perspectiva multicotómica de las relaciones entre el centro, la periferia y el margen que se basa en la interpretación multiescalar, de varias escalas, y multicéntrica de las polaridades regionales. Tras reexaminar las estructuras regionales de Canadá y Rusia, se observa que comparten muchas características similares. El norte contemporáneo es una región con una economía marginalizada y fracturada pero también un espacio sorprendentemente similar. Estructura regional?Periferia?Rusia?Canadá?Fuerzas de diferenciación regional [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Copyright of Russian Linguistics is the property of Springer Nature and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

The paper first discusses the various philosophical and sociological concepts of the phenomenon of game since ancient history to the modern age. It focuses especially on contemporary domestic and foreign sociologists' research related to the concept of game and the homo ludens. The central object of the author's analysis in this paper is the interpretation of the paradigm of playfulness as posited by the Russian sociologist Sergey Kravchenko, as well as place this paradigm occupies and the theoretical and methodological role it plays in contemporary sociology. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Much has been written to explain the collapse of the former Soviet Union. Little attention, however, has been paid to understanding why post-1991 Russia has maintained stability despite continued economic and political turmoil throughout the 1990s. This paper attempts to answer this question by applying an integrated model of territorial disintegration to examine the political, economic, demographic, and geopolitical changes in the pre-1991 Soviet Union and post-1991 Russia. The integrated model is constructed by synthesizing Goldstone’s demographic-structural model, Skocpol’s and Collins’ geopolitical model, and a modified version of Collins’ argument of the destabilizing potential brought about by rapid market development as three alternative routes to territorial disintegration. It is found that improvement in Russia’s geopolitical condition after 1991 is largely responsible for the decline in disintegrative potential. Slower population growth also rendered the demographic route less disintegrative during the 1990s. More effective taxation and the availability of foreign loans enabled the Russian state to handle its financial crises, thereby curbing the development of destabilizing forces through the dynamics proposed by Collins. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In 1990, Simon Clarke inaugurated two decades of research of the former Soviet Union through an international collaboration with Russian sociologists that examined a society in the throes of transformation. Along with his colleague Peter Fairbrother, Simon developed a network of Russian researchers in the Institute of Comparative Labour Relations Research. Together they produced a corpus of work that meticulously analysed the impact of economic reform on workplaces and households and the response of workers and their organisations. This piece is an extended version of a published interview with Simon conducted by two of his former students, Sarah Ashwin and Valery Yakubovich. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Prevailing research on political protest—which use data on events in pluralist societies —stresses the importance of target characteristics and the distribution of social support as explanatory variables affecting protest outcomes. This paper questions the applicability of these findings for explaining protest outcomes in hegemonies. An analysis of 303 protest events in the USSR yields the conclusion that measures of the internal strength of protest groups are the most important determinants of the effectiveness of Soviet dissident groups. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Today, a number of high-profile initiatives across the globe are concrete implementations of the 'digital sovereignty' principle: i.e., the idea that states should 'reaffirm' their authority over the Internet and the broader digital ecosystem, to protect their citizens, institutions, and businesses from the multiple challenges to their nation's self-determination in the digital sphere. According to this principle, sovereignty depends on more than supra-national alliances or international legal instruments, military might or trade: it depends on locally owned, controlled and operated innovation ecosystems, able to increase states' technical and economic independence and autonomy. Presently, digital sovereignty is understood primarily as a legal concept and a set of political discourses. As a consequence, it is predominantly analyzed by political science, international relations and international law. However, the study of digital sovereignty as a set of infrastructures and socio-material practices has been comparatively neglected. This article explores how the concept of digital sovereignty can be studied via the infrastructure-embedded 'situated practices' of various political and economic projects which aim to establish autonomous digital infrastructures in a hyperconnected world. Although the article focuses primarily on outlining the agenda for a wider and comparative research program, I will place a specific focus on Russia, subject of an ongoing research project, as a pilot case. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Medunarodni Problemi is the property of Institute of International Politics & Economics and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Propósitos y Representaciones is the property of Universidad San Ignacio de Loyola and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

The article presents information about the re-emergence of Russian sociology. The revolutionary tendency within the society contains a strong nihilistic strand. Nihilism as a political position considers necessary the destruction rather than transformation of existing structures. Those who may be classified as bourgeois-liberals are divided on the issue of the system's transformability: some want a peaceful transition to a more efficient economy and democratic polity by continuing the gradual transformation of the system to mould it into a better, more democratic socialist society. Others, with a more capitalist orientation, would prefer a return to the pre-Bolshevik period. There is also a conservative or reactionary tendency. This contains two strands one of which is quite familiar, namely a return to the firm disciplinarian state ruled by the strong leader. The other, but most unlikely possibility, is the restoration of some form of monarchical rule, beginning innocuously by giving cities their pre-revolutionary names. Ironically, this alternative is lent credibility by the growth in nationalism both in the Russian republic and in the other republics of the union.

Major international events contribute to guiding IR scholarship's interests, yet it remains surprisingly unexplored how transformative political events affect international relations as an academic field. This article focuses on the linkage between key global moments and the institutional factors that condition IR scholarship, focusing on the important yet under-explored intervening elements in the interrelation between political events and academic practice. The article defines the utility of such focus and illustrates it with case studies of three central parties to the Cold War conflict: Russia as representative of the Eastern bloc, Canada of the Western alliance, and Switzerland as a neutral polity. This article shows how institutional factors such as funding schemes, the marketization of education, and the creation of new IR departments operate as effective "hinges" exerting significant influence over the ways scholars develop ideas about international relations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Social Anthropology / Anthropologie Sociale is the property of Berghahn Books and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

The present study demonstrates that the path of the 'organic public sociology' (proposed by Michael Burowoy in his famous call of the 2004) as the dominating mode of sociological practice in the national context can be menacing with the serious pitfalls manifested in broad historical perspective. We reveal the four pitfalls basing on the analysis of the Russian experience through the last 150 years. First, the over-politicization and ideological biasness of sociological activities; second, the 'personal sacrifice' of sociologist as a romanticized practice, potentially harmful for the discipline; third, the difficulties of the professional sociology institutionalization; fourth, the deprivation of the policy sociology development. Analyzing the history of Russian sociology in the context of the current international discussions, we give particular reference to the idea of the 'Scientized Environment Supporting Actorhood' elaborated by John Meyer. We suggest the mode of communication between sociology and society, which, in our view, could be helpful for improving their interactions in various local, national and global contexts in the XXIst century. This mode escapes the political emphasis and ideological claims but rather concentrates on the more fundamental ethical issues. It also tries to overcome the limitations of the contemporary professional mainstream (instead of idealizing it). Finally, it presents itself to the publics in the understandable way, while remaining properly scientifically validated (however, avoiding the exaggerated accent on the statistical procedures and fitishization of the natural science' principles ('numerology' and 'quantofrenia')). The public activities of the prominent sociologist Pitirim Sorokin in the American period of his career are a good example of this approach to the interactions with society. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article is a historical and sociological study of occupations and professions in the Soviet Union and Russia, and it shows how political, economic and academic contexts influenced the development of the sociology of professions in Russia. The article includes the description of three periods in the development of Soviet professionalism: the post-revolutionary period, the post-World War II period and the period of 'perestroika' initiated by Mikhail Gorbachev, and the market reform period of 1990-2000's. I pay special attention to the reconstruction of the history of the Soviet and Russian sociology of professions that developed studies professions and occupations beginning in the 1920's, with a gap in the 1930-40's, and that started new researches since the liberalization period of Soviet history in late 1950's. Soviet sociology was always under ideological pressure but it had a rich experience of studies of the Soviet social and professional structure. During the 1960's Soviet sociology was based on ideas selected from the Parsonian version of sociological understanding of social structure. The subsequent collapse of the USSR, and the active civil democratization with market reforms in the post-Soviet Russian economy contributed to the rapid transformation of the occupational system and revealed new opportunities for sociological studies of occupations and professions. The purpose of this article is to show the place of the study of professionalism in Soviet and contemporary Russian sociology, and to outline the scientific and media discourses about professionalism in post-Soviet Russia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abortion rates in Russia, particularly repeat abortions, are among the highest in the world, and abortion complications make a substantial contribution to the country's high maternal mortality rate. Russia also has a very high rate of hazardous alcohol use. However, the association between alcohol use and abortion in Russia remains unexplored. We investigated the longitudinal predictors of first and repeat abortion, focussing on women's alcohol use as a risk factor. Follow-up data from 2,623 women of reproductive age (16–44 years) was extracted from 14 waves of the Russian Longitudinal Monitoring Survey (RLMS), a nationally representative panel study covering the period 1994–2009. We used discrete time hazard models to estimate the probability of having a first and repeat abortion by social, demographic and health characteristics at the preceding study wave. Having a first abortion was associated with demographic factors such as age and parity, whereas repeat abortions were associated with low education and alcohol use. After adjustment for demographic and socioeconomic factors, the risk of having a repeat abortion increased significantly as women's drinking frequency increased (P<0.001), and binge drinking women were significantly more likely to have a repeat abortion than non-drinkers (OR 2.28, 95% CI 1.62–3.20). This association was not accounted for by contraceptive use or a higher risk of pregnancy. Therefore the determinants of first and repeat abortion in Russia between 1994–2009 were different. Women who had repeat abortions were distinguished by their heavier and more frequent alcohol use. The mechanism for the association is not well understood but could be explained by unmeasured personality factors, such as risk taking, or social non-conformity increasing the risk of unplanned pregnancy. Heavy or frequent drinkers constitute a particularly high risk group for repeat abortion, who could be targeted in prevention efforts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

When war challenges civilian survival, what shapes the balance between normative and instrumental rationalities in survival practices? Increasing desperation and uncertainty can lead civilians to focus on their own material interests and to violate norms in the name of survival or gain-to the detriment of the war effort and of other civilians. Do norms, boundaries against transgressions, and considerations of collective interests and identities persist, and, if so, through what mechanisms? Using diaries and recollections from the 872-day Blockade of Leningrad (1941-1944)-an extreme case of wartime desperation-this article examines how three forms of cultural embeddedness shape variation in the strength of norms against calculative, instrumental rationality. Proximity and empathy with others, the structure of norms and analogies to legitimate instrumental practices, and reflexivity vis-à-vis war and others' response interact dialectically with the war context to shape variation in violating norms and rationalizing transgressions. Theft of food and cannibalism, which involve tactics of survival or gain that also risk the well-being of victims (theft) or violation of a powerful taboo (cannibalism), demonstrate the weakness of norms on the margins but their power when core norms or other real, visible individuals are threatened. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article discusses the relationship between two periods of Pitirim A Sorokin’s life, career and scientific work: the Russian period (till 1922) and the American (1923–68). The main sociological problems of both periods are considered in the article, including: social behaviour, the positivistic system of sociology and famine (as the key problems of his Russian period) and revolution, social stratification, social mobility, social and cultural dynamics and altruistic love (as the key problems of his American period). The important point in the discussion is that the Russian period is a prototype of the American one rather than its polar opposite; and therefore that the concepts that characterize Sorokin’s American period are the development of his ideas that had emerged while he was still in Russia. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The use of reliable contraception in Russia remains lower and rates of induced abortion higher than in Western Europe, even though reliable contraception has been accessible for nearly two decades now. Due to the organisation of women's health services in Russian cities, gynaecologists can have a major influence on women's contraceptive choices, but little is known about their attitudes and practices in terms of contraception promotion. This study draws on qualitative observation and interview data of gynaecologists in public-sector women's clinics in St. Petersburg, Russia's second largest city in order to investigate their perceptions of various birth control methods and contraception counselling. Also in focus are clinical counselling practices. The results reveal that gynaecologists in St. Petersburg had up-to-date knowledge of the latest contraception methods and that they were willing to promote their use. They took an active role in counselling, although the coverage was not full. The depth of counselling varied considerably and counselling practices were mainly paternalistic. Yet, in about a third of the observed cases, patient preferences were incorporated into clinical decision-making. The gynaecologists perceived reliable contraception essentially as a means of fostering future fertility and avoiding harmful health consequences of induced abortions. Using reliable contraception was equated with being a responsible and morally respectable woman. The results suggest that links between health, risk and morality are vividly present in contraception counselling in St. Petersburg, and that reliable contraception has become a powerful source of new moral demands for individual women to foster their reproductive function. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article focuses on the sociological context of Russia in relation to the global financial and economic crisis. It mentions that Russian sociology had rejected the forecasts made by economic experts in the past which made it unconcerned on the issue. It notes the necessary measures that Russia must keep an eye to counteract financial risks such as enhancing support to banks and safeguarding of resources or capital. The author emphasizes that Russia needs to revitalize its sociological context to respond problems, whether financial or environmental, that it is going to face.

While not recognized outside Russia for its achievements, sociology in the Urals region has an important place in the history of Russian sociology, especially in the area of the sociology of education. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In its more than 100 years of existence, sociology in Russia and in the Soviet Union has confronted a range of political barriers to its development, and has had difficulty in becoming integrated into the international sociological enterprise. In spite of this, the commitment of a large number of courageous researchers has enabled it to achieve remarkable results. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Among the ethnic groups that composed the population of the Russian Empire, one unique group was that of the Ethnic Germans (Volksdeutschen) who had immigrated to Russia since the second half of the eighteenth century. Over the years, there had been a change in the process of the settlers' assimilation as an outcome of their geographical dispersion. This article focuses on Ethnic Germans who were living in the colonies along the coasts of the Black Sea and in Bessarabia. These settlers managed to preserve their ethnic uniqueness until First World War, in part because of the central role their teachers and schools played in their communities. The teachers were not only agents of knowledge, but also had spiritual-religious roles and were in charge of imparting their unique heritage. An examination of the social origins of the teachers reveals that many of them followed in their fathers' footsteps when choosing an occupation. Hence, it was common that teachers who taught in a certain colony and its surroundings for dozens of years belonged to the same family. The fact that the profession was passed on from one generation to the next as well as marriages between teachers' families and getting teaching positions on this basis had implications beyond the professional-pedagogical domain. This guaranteed the teachers' loyalty to their heritage, their authority in the community and the sense of sharing fate with its members. It was a significant factor in the preservation of the German colonists' ethnic heritage in the face of the increasing Russification of the educational system in their colonies as of the last quarter of the nineteenth century. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Despite the resurgence of interest in group threat theory for explaining negative interethnic relations, adequate empirical evidence on the causal ordering of perceived group threat and outgroup derogation is still missing. In the literature, three theoretical perspectives concerning this issue have been raised. The predominating view assumes that perceived group threat is a causal antecedent to outgroup derogation. Contrary to this perspective, a second theoretical model conceptualizes perceived group threat to be a consequence of prior levels of outgroup derogation. Alternatively, a third theoretical perspective suggests to consider the causal relations between perceived group threat and outgroup derogation to be reciprocal. In this article, we conduct a longitudinal test of these competing theoretical models drawing upon cross-national multiwave panel surveys from Germany and Russia. Using latent autoregressive cross-lagged models, we find that perceptions of threatened group interests are causally antecedent to German's dislike and negative behavioural intentions against foreigners as well as to Russian's ethnic distance towards minorities. The data provide no support for the two alternative models. Findings are discussed with regard to its meaning for group threat theory. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article presents a reprint of the article "The Value Orientations of Today's Young People," by V. E. Semenov, which appeared in the journal "Russian Education and Society," vol. 50. It discusses how the concept of upbringing disappeared from the field of education and policy of youth, after the transformation of Russia from being a Soviet country in 1990 and focuses on the relevance of upbringing to the young adults.

The article presents a reprint of the article "Upbringing and Socialization in Today's Russia: Risks and Opportunities," by N. D. Nikandrov, which appeared in the journal "Russian Education and Society," vol. 50. It tells the condition of Russia after its conversion from being a Soviet country and cites how the nation did its best in order to recuperate its economy, welfare, and the socialization of its citizens. It highlights how the young people brought up and their involvement in the society.

This article addresses the question of interaction between Western and “non-Western” international relations (IR) by analyzing liberal theory of IR that is emerging in contemporary Russia. We argue that, despite a growing diversity within Russian scholarship of liberal orientation, it remains largely a product of Western, particularly American, intellectual hegemony, and more so than any other theoretical perspective. As compared to two other existing traditions in Russian IR—realism and critical studies—liberalism remains the most dependent and therefore must be explored before any other traditions as a crucial case for understanding the dialectic of cultural dependence and hegemony in production of global knowledge. We argue that the greater dependence of Russian liberal IR results from its relatively weak indigenous tradition, perception of Russia’s material weakness as opportunity, and greater availability of Western research funds. We also discuss an alternative, less dependent version of Russian liberal IR, and opportunities that its existence implies for development of a global, de-centered international relations theory. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Green movement in the USSR/Russia has existed for more than forty years. During this period, seven groups have been shaped and consolidated within the movement (the conservationists, the alternativists, the traditionalists, the civil initiatives, the ecopoliticians, the ecopatriots, and the ecotechnocrats). The aim of this article is to consider the value shift each group underwent during the decade 1992–2001 within the context of the broader changes in the Russian society. The article emphasizes key influences conditioning the transformations of values. These include changing of local and national contexts caused by the overall process of society's westernization and globalization, as well as by the changes in each group's positions vis-a-vis the state, market economy, science and local population. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Focuses on homelessness and trends in its development in Russia. Social rehabilitation of people engaged in vagrancy; Statistics of nonexistent phenomenon; Causes of homelessness; Personal documents on homelessness.

The post-Soviet Russian society produces of a great variety of political parties, newspapers, and TV channels but this is not synonymous with democratic pluralism and/or the formation of a critical public sphere. This public sphere suffers from obstructed communication between the state and its citizens as one result of Soviet political socialization. This is not only a reason for fuzzy interview communication in the frame of scientific research in contemporary Russia, it is an important aspect of impediment to the construction of civil society. In our article we will firstly outline Russian sociological discussion on the specific Soviet division of the public sphere in an 'official' and a 'private' part. Secondly, we will suggest how to compare it with 'western' theoretical approaches to the topic by strengthening any non-dichotomous models. Finally, we consider the actual condition of Russian public which is still marked by a general distrust of the state and its 'organs', and recently coloured by false public forums threatening freedom of the press and freedom of opinion. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With the collapse of the Soviet Union, Western public opinion recognized the end of the age of Empires. The human tragedies perpetrated by the extinct empires continue to haunt humankind as the wars in the former Yugoslavia, Chechnya and Transcaucasia have illustrated recently. The ethno-national conflict, secessions and micro-nationalisms are of vital concern to the intergovernmental and international organizations, which are required by their Charter to secure peace between nations and to safeguard the rights of ethnic minorities.

Over several decades, the research institutes of the Russian (former Soviet) Academy of Sciences (RAS) have concentrated the cream of the country's research personnel, both individuals and teams. What happened to this vast intellectual potential in the time of post-Communist transformation, and what was the state of the scientific community during the last decade? This article, based on the findings of empirical studies, answers these questions. All the data used in the text are the results of sociological monitoring undertaken in the research institutes of RAS during 1994-2002. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

I consider the main problem areas within the academic project ``The 1990s: The Semantics of Russian Culture,'' undertaken by researchers, recent graduates, and the first post-graduates of the Moscow Institute for European Cultures. The areas include new figures on the public scene; new forms of communication; new institutions; current processes in culture and society. I examine the social and historical framework of the formation of culture studies as an academic discipline in contemporary Russia, the alternative perspectives and tasks of the sociology of culture in Russian today. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article is about the creation, resuscitation and activity of the Russian Sociological Association in the context of the transformation of sociology brought about by the changes in its societal setting from 1916 till the end of the 20th century. The periodization used ('thaw', 'stagnation', 'perestroika' and 'transition period'), is the one recognized in the newest reading of Russian history, and is primarily based upon the degree of liberalism of government and freedom of speech. It shows that in the autocratic (Tsarist and later socialist) state there was no place for civil society organizations. The intelligentsia played the role of opposition, expressing its social and political concerns primarily in literary fiction and the arts. The sociological profession was a very ideological one, and the professional association had to control the presentations made by Soviet sociologists. After the collapse of the Communist regime, the imposed unity of the sociological community disintegrated. The gradual transition to civil society provides new opportunities for sociologists, and first of all opportunities for the conscious and scientifically grounded shaping of social processes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article examines the inter-relationship between integration and exclusion in a country in transition as in the case of Russia and the assesses the impact of social and economic change on Russian youth, which is also in transition. The article critically evaluate the validity of myths and half-truths currently circulating about Russian youth. Young people have had to adapt to rapid economic change and to respond to changes in the market economy as well as to decay in the social sphere. Young people had not been integrated into pre-reform social structures and institutions, and were protected against these changes mostly by their parents and family. For this reason, they are not faced with the need to break old social ties. An analysis of youth and their role and place in society allows outline of obstacles to the realization of their goals and the strengthening of their integration and social position in a society that is highly unstable.