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This study attempts to detect papers originating from the Russia‐based paper mill 'International Publisher' LLC. A total of 1,063 offers to purchase co‐authorship on a fraudulent papers published from 2019 to mid‐2022 on the 123mi.ru website were analysed. This study identifies at least 451 papers that are potentially linked to the paper mill, including one preprint, a duplication paper and 16 republications of papers erroneously published in hijacked journals. Evidence of suspicious provenance from the paper mill is provided: matches in title, number of co‐authorship slots, year of publication, country of the journal, country of a co‐authors and similarities of abstracts. These problematic papers are co‐authored by scholars from at least 39 countries and are submitted to both predatory and reputable journals. This study also demonstrates collaboration anomalies in questionable papers and examines indicators of the Russia‐based paper mill. The value of co‐authorship slots offered by 'International Publisher' LLC from 2019 to 2021 is estimated at $6.5 million. Since this study only analysed a single paper mill, it is likely that the number of papers with forged authorship is much higher. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article deals with the problem of calculating the volume calendar plan of a paper mill. The presented mathematical model and methods make it possible to schedule paper production orders between several paper machines (PM) to even their loading, devise cutting plans for each winder and arrange the order of their implementation. When forming cutting plans, orders are grouped in accordance with such parameters as grammage, roll diameter, core diameter, product type and number of layers. Deadlines and volumes in customer orders are taken into account. The cutting plans for each winder account for the allowable roll width limits and the maximum number of knives. To find the optimal schedule, a combination of the following criteria is used: minimal trim loss, minimal changes to the knives' setup and smooth transitions by product grades. Solution algorithms are presented that use a combination of the simplex method, the column generation, the branch and bound methods, the greedy algorithm and the local search procedure. We tested the solution approach on real production data from a paper mill in European Russia and obtained the production sequence that better matches deadlines in customer orders compared to the plan devised manually by production planners. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this article we analyze the cited references in 1.38 million papers by Russian (co-)authors indexed in the Web of Science database until May 2022. Similarly, to the established processes in the so-called Reference Publication Year Spectroscopy (RPYS), we study the distribution of the references across the cited years and seek to identify the peak years with the publications that attracted the most attention of Russian scholars. In this way, the historical roots of Russian science may be traced and we take a closer look at these most influential works. In addition, we investigate the evolution of the mean age of references and of their average number per paper over time and inspect the most frequently cited sources. The results show that the average number of references in Russian papers has been steadily increasing, but the mean age of references has been declining in the most recent years. Also, the foundations of Russian science seem to be physics of particles and electrochemistry and have recently become based more internationally than in the past. This study is the first of its kind and may help better understand the character of Russian research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The best way to understand the environmental status of a certain region involves thorough non-target analysis, which will result in a list of pollutants under concern. Arkhangelsk (64° 32′ N 40° 32′ E, pop. ~ 344,000) is the largest city in the world to the north of the 60th parallel. Several industrial enterprises and the "cold finger" effect represent the major sources of air contamination in the city. Analysis of snow with comprehensive two-dimensional gas chromatography–high-resolution mass spectrometry allows detecting and quantifying the most hazardous volatile and semivolatile anthropogenic pollutants and estimating long-term air pollution. Target analysis, suspect screening, and non-target analysis of snow samples collected from ten sites within the city revealed the presence of several hundreds of organic compounds including 18 species from the US EPA list of priority pollutants. Fortunately, the levels of these compounds appeared to be much lower than the safe levels established in Russia. Phenol and dioctylphthalate could be considered as the pollutants of concern because their levels were about 20% of the safe thresholds. ChromaTOF® Tile, MetaboAnalyst software platform, and open-source software protocols were applied to process the obtained data. The obtained clusterization results of the samples were generally similar for various tools; however, each of them had certain peculiarities. Bis(2-ethylhexyl) hexanedioate, benzyl alcohol, phthalates, aniline, dinitrotoluenes, and fluoranthene showed the strongest influence on the clusterization of the studied samples. Possible sources of the major pollutants were proposed: car traffic and pulp and paper mills. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper addresses the assessment of woody biomass resources in Russia and the Baikal region. The analysis of the literature demonstrates that the Baikal region has considerable amounts of waste from the logging, timber processing, and pulp and paper industries (up to 220 PJ). A review of utilization technologies for woody biomass demonstrates that the existing technologies based on biomass gasification are promising for energy purposes. The gasification of biomass for small-capacity power plants has some advantages compared to its combustion. This paper considers an autonomous power system that consists of photovoltaic converters, wind turbines, storage batteries, a biomass gasification power plant, and a diesel power plant. A mathematical model used to optimize the system's structure finds the minimum of the total discounted costs for the creation and operation of the system with some constraints met. Based on mathematical modeling, the cost-effectiveness of such a power supply system is assessed for different climatic zones of the Baikal region and the coastal area of Lake Baikal. The findings indicate that the optimal solution is the integration of various renewable energy sources in hybrid power systems. The proportion of energy sources of different types in the installed capacities is found. The study demonstrates that the optimal structure of the power system can provide significant savings (the total discounted costs are reduced by almost 2.5 times compared to the option using a diesel power plant alone). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper it is displayed the resilience of the Ukrainian educators and students during the ongoing conflict with Russia, with a particular focus on the role of online learning platforms. Despite the challenges posed by air raids, evacuations, and infrastructure damage, educators have swiftly transitioned to virtual classrooms using platforms like Zoom, Google Meet, AllUkrainian Online School and others. These platforms not only provide continuity in education but also serve as spaces for emotional support, fostering discussions about the conflict and offering solidarity to students amidst uncertainty. While significant challenges persist, including reaching students in heavily affected regions, the adaptability and dedication of Ukrainian educators underscore the resilience of the human spirit in adversity. Online learning continues to serve as a beacon of hope, ensuring that the pursuit of knowledge endures even in the darkest of times. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

France’s reaction to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine was initially conciliatory. However, the current French President’ statements, Macron, gradually changed, suggesting a potential shift in France's stance. The French president recently suggested troops could be sent to Ukraine to fight the Russians, a move that could significantly impact the course of the war. Our paper aims to address this possibility. How feasible would this be from a military perspective? Second, are there any other relevant political actors that will support it? Third, why has Paris changed its position to such a radical stance? We start from the theoretical design of realist constructivism. Postcolonial theories and the concept of locked-in path dependence supported this research. The methods follow the path of historical synthesis, discourse analysis of key political actors, and text analysis of defense white papers. Quantitative military variables are used to understand France’s and the EU’s military-industrial complex capabilities and assess its potential. The collapse of France’s neocolonial empire in Africa and Russia’s growing influence in the region partially explains Macron’s discourse change. This is correlated with the need to follow a more independent European security policy and the worsening military situation in Ukraine. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Orthopteroidea is an ecologically diverse group of incompletely transformed insects that includes several insect orders similar in development and structure. Many species from Dermaptera, Orthoptera, Mantodea, and Blattodea are sensitive to anthropogenic influences and are indicators of the external environment. Some species cause damage to agriculture and forestry; others are inhabitants of human dwellings and pests of food supplies. The aim of this study is to describe fauna of some orders of Orthopteroidea in the Republic of Mordovia, in the central part of European Russia. This study was conducted in April–October 1971, 1984, 1995, 1996, 1998, 2000, 2001, and 2004–2023. All possible habitats were studied using a variety of methods (entomological traps, pitfall traps, pan traps, etc.). An acoustic method of species identification was also used. For each observation, the coordinates of location, abundance, and dates were recorded. The dataset contains 4865 occurrences. In total, 16,644 specimens of Orthopteroidea were studied. The dataset contains 71 species including Dermaptera (4), Orthoptera (62), Mantodea (1), and Blattodea (4). Of these, 13 species are identified for the first time in the region; these mainly inhabit steppe areas. The presence of two Orthoptera species has not been confirmed yet during our studies; these species are noted in this paper according an old published paper. The biodiversity of Mordovia includes 73 species from four orders. The biology of numerous species, their seasonal dynamics, and some descriptions of biotopes and number of new species are described. Dataset:  https://doi.org/10.15468/cmr3yy. Dataset License: Creative Commons Attribution (CC-BY) 4.0 License [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines Russia's propaganda discourse on Twitter during the 2022 invasion of Ukraine. The study employs network analysis, natural language processing (NLP) techniques, and qualitative analysis to identify key communities and narratives associated with the prevalent and damaging narrative of "fascism/Nazism" in discussions related to the invasion. The paper implements a methodological pipeline to identify the main topics, and influential actors, as well as to examine the most impactful messages in spreading this disinformation narrative. Overall, this research contributes to the understanding of propaganda dissemination on social media platforms and provides insights into the narratives and communities involved in spreading disinformation during the invasion. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Economic Horizons / Ekonomski Horizonti is the property of Economic Horizons 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.)

This paper presents a detailed and insightful bibliometric analysis of environmental education research in Russia offering an integrated view of progress, impact and main actors of the field. Fundamental information was gained from journal articles, conference papers and other significant academic distributions that were included in the Scopus database. These included measurements involving issues like distributions and references/year, neighboring country comparisons, authorship patterns, affiliations and sources of financial support etc. The analysis of Russian exploration of environmental education presented in the paper provides an outline for further work in a crucial area Russia can be effective here, drawing on its experience with this demand to contribute to the development of environmental education and global sustainability efforts in general. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A Soft Computing technique is one of the essential problems solving techniques for the researchers present in the world. Compared to other issues solving techniques, the Soft Computing domain gives outstanding performance, so the researchers are concentrating the Soft Computing domain for solving problems. Soft Computing domain categorizes into many sub-domains, like Neural Networks, Machine Learning, and Genetic Algorithm. Through this paper, we considered to study the impact produced by the Institutions as well as authors in the domain of Soft Computing from the year 1999 to 2019 for PubMed database. From the overall study, we found that China has made more number of publications, author productivity, and influential authors. Some countries, like Russia, Saudi Arabia, and Turkey, with minimum author productivity and minimum publications from the Asian continent in the Soft Computing-related domains. From the research, we determined that china dominates in terms of Institutions wise and Author productivity in the field of Soft Computing domain. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The global energy sector is in a period of transition, during which time it is expected that renewable and low-carbon energy sources, such as wind and solar, will replace traditional fossil fuels, including oil, gas, and coal. The energy transition is happening not only to limit the environmental impact of fossil fuel production and consumption but also to ensure energy security, reliability, access, affordability, and sustainability. The importance of the energy transition has been amplified by recent events, notably the Russian-Ukraine conflict. Economic, financial, and trade sanctions against Russia, and in particular its oil and gas industry, have forced countries to find new suppliers in the short term, but also to investigate new and more sustainable sources to guarantee long-term energy security. Given the importance of energy, it is perhaps not unexpected that there is a considerable body of recent academic literature, particularly over the last 4–5 years, studying what industries, consumers, governments, and markets can do to help bring about a faster energy transition. In this paper, we provide a review of the literature that pertains to the economic aspects of the energy transition. While our initial search of the literature is targeted at uncovering all relevant articles on the subject, we focus most of our discussion on the most influential articles in prominent journals and articles published in this journal—Energies. This review is intended to help identify active topics and potential research gaps and provide future direction, so we hope it will prove useful to the readers and authors interested in this topic. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper explores the main features of digital repression in Russia, especially in the context of the Russian invasion of Ukraine. The repression of digital activism is not a new phenomenon in Russia; however, it gained fresh momentum during the Russian-Ukrainian war. Security has been used as a pretext to expand the state's authority at the cost of individuals' rights and freedoms. To control political narratives, suppress online dissent and surveil regime critics, the government has significantly tightened the national legislation through its media regulator, Roskomnadzor. The aftermath of the war, harsh sanctions and increased anti-regime movements have also deepened Russia's aspirations toward 'digital sovereignty'. Meanwhile, regardless of a number of important initiatives in this direction, domestic digital space still remains an ambitious goal to be fulfilled. This paper concludes that, along with other devastating consequences, the war in Ukraine will provoke further digital repression in Russia aimed at achieving the Kremlin's goal of "digital sovereignty". [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of this paper was to reveal the influence of the support of the sustainable development goals (SDGs) on the financial risks of responsible universities in Russia. This paper fills the gap in the literature that exists regarding the unknown consequences of SDGs' support by responsible Russian universities concerning their financial risks. Based on the experience of the top 30 most responsible Russian universities in 2023, we used regression analysis to compile a model for their financial risk management. This model mathematically describes the cause-and-effect relationships of financial risk management in responsible Russian universities. This paper offers a new approach to financial risk management in responsible Russian universities. In it, financial risks to Russian universities are reduced due to universities accepting responsibility for state and private investors. A feature of the new approach is that the effective use of university funds is ensured not by cost savings but by the support of the SDGs. The potential for a reduction in financial risk in responsible universities in Russia through alternative approaches to financial risk management was disclosed. The proposed new approach can potentially raise (to a large extent) the aggregate incomes of responsible universities in Russia compared to the existing approach. The main conclusion is that the existing approach to financial risk management in Russian universities is based on low-efficiency managerial measures which risk burdening universities. This burden could be prevented with the newly developed approach to financial risk management in responsible universities in Russia through support of the SDGs. The theoretical significance lies in clarifying the specific list of the SDGs whose support makes the largest contribution to reducing financial risks for the universities—namely, SDG 4, SDG 8, and SDG 9. The practical significance is that the new approach will allow for full disclosure of the potential reduction in financial risks in responsible universities in Russia in the Decade of Action (2020–2030). The managerial significance is as follows: the proposed recommendations will allow improved financial risk management in Russian universities through optimization of the support of the SDGs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper is devoted to the resolution of the problem of risk management in a high-risk market environment. The goal of this paper was to study the experience of and prospects for the use of responsible innovations as tools for managing the financial risks of high-tech companies' projects for their sustainable development (using the example of companies in Russia's IT sphere in 2022–2023). We used the SEM method to study the daily statistics of the Moscow Exchange in 2022–2023. As a result, we quantitatively measured the financial risks of Russian companies in the IT sphere in 2022–2023. The studied case experience of the IT sphere in 2022 confirmed that Russian high-tech companies actively implement responsible innovations based on ESG projects. Our main conclusion is that the financial risks of high-tech companies are reduced in the case of the implementation of responsible innovations. Therefore, it is advisable to implement responsible innovations for the sustainable development of high-tech companies in a high-risk market environment. The theoretical significance of our conclusions lies in the substantiation of the synergetic effect of financial risk management with the help of responsible innovations. The scientific novelty and contribution of this paper to the literature consist in its clarifying the sectorial (in the IT sphere) and market (in a high-risk market environment) specifics of managing the financial risks to companies. We also disclosed a poorly studied and largely unknown unique and leading experience of managing the financial risks of Russian high-tech companies in 2022–2023. The practical significance of our recommendations is that the compiled scenario can be used as a strategic benchmark for the most complete development of the potential of the sustainable development of Russian high-tech companies in 2024. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Russias invasion of Ukraine in 2022 triggered a conflict that has transformed international relations through drastic impacts on policymaking, energy politics, and alliances. Such impacts have produced severe multi-dimensional consequences for African countries that have yet to be sufficiently interrogated in the literature. In response to this gap, this paper examined the security implications of the conflict for African countries to offer a comprehensive analysis that considers the intersection of the conflict with contemporary economic, human, social, and political issues confronting Africa. In discourse using a qualitative approach and rooted in a theoretical perspective drawn from the Copenhagen School, the paper underlined the security implications as evident in the areas of food security and governance, buttressing that the proxy conflicts and power struggles associated with this war have exacerbated existing challenges related to food availability and interfered with the consolidation of democracy in Africa. The paper concluded that the war's multi-dimensional impact potentially compounds political instability vectors. It generates dynamics capable of eroding social cohesion and fomenting social unrest in Africa, meriting its designation as an issue of great concern to African policymakers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In 2022, the Russian forest sector was severely affected by the government's ban on the export of unprocessed timber and trade sanctions imposed by several countries. It is generally recognized that the regions of the Russian North-West are the most affected by trade barriers that have emerged. Against this background, the impact of bilateral trade restrictions on timber companies in the Asian part of Russia is not discussed. Nevertheless, the forest industry is an important sector of the Siberian economy that has an economic, social and environmental impact on the life of local communities. This paper analyzes the differences among Siberian timber companies in their response to the crisis depending on three factors: industrial specialization, scale of revenue and regional location. The results show that in 2022 the highest median revenues and net profits were generated by small firms that were focused on the domestic market and benefited from reduced competition due to sanctions. There is also evidence that spatial heterogeneity in the response to the crisis may be due to the different support measures of regional authorities and the proximity of the region to border points. We argue that the current conditions may become a new driver for the timber industry development, aimed at the growth of added value and expansion of domestic demand for wood products. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The lingering COVID-19 pandemic and ongoing war between Russia and Ukraine have wreaked havoc on the global oil supply chain. The current disruption of the oil supply chain and the rapidly growing energy demand created unprecedented oil shortages and raised the oil price beyond the affordable level. As worldwide oil price hikes continue, there is an urgent need for developing alternative energy sources, such as smart rural energy. Despite its enormous potential as a viable alternative to traditional fossil fuel-based energy sources, smart rural energy has never been fully utilized in society. The limited use of smart rural energy may be related to its lack of commercialization, which could have created more eco-friendly and cost-efficient alternative energy sources. This paper assesses the eco-friendliness and cost-efficiency of smart rural energy sources such as solar, wind, biomass, and hydropower for the first time. This paper is also one of the first studies that intends to develop viable strategic plans for commercializing smart rural energy using strategy maps, which subsequently helps increase public awareness of renewable energy by creating visual communication tools that convey the benefits of smart rural energy commercialization to multiple stakeholders, including government entities, business communities, and energy consumers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Firms' contractual relations with a state may give lenders a positive signal and facilitate access to debt. This paper studies the impact of public procurement contracts on firms' access to debt using an extensive survey of Russian manufacturing firms combined with accounting and procurement data. It shows that earnings from state-to-business contracts increase the short-term debt twice as much as revenue from private contracts. Long-term debt is not affected by public contracts differently compared to private contracts. The debt sensitivity to public contracts is four times larger for politically connected firms, although it is still positive and significant for non-connected and small firms. The paper concludes that political connection does not entirely suppress the beneficial access to debt that public contracts create. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Russia–Ukraine war requires management scholars to reflect on the interconnectedness of research themes across countries, and across management disciplines. This paper introduces the papers in this mini special section and discusses the interdisciplinary implications of the Russia–Ukraine war on themes that include – but are not limited to – management theory, banking, energy, culture, psychology and international entrepreneurship and innovation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Featured Application: This review concludes the advantages of heat pipe technology and its application in permafrost regions are summarized, which can also provide recommendations for permafrost protection measures. Permafrost spans approximately 23–25% of the land in the northern hemisphere, primarily found in Russia, Canada, USA, and China. Numerous engineering projects, particularly those related to transportation, are situated within these permafrost regions. Due to the impact of highway construction and global warming, the permafrost beneath the infrastructure is deteriorating, leading to significant damage. Two phases closed thermosyphon (TPCT) is a widely accepted green countermeasure against the problem in permafrost regions. Although it has been applied to prevent permafrost degradation, their application presents significant challenges on account of the stronger endothermic action of asphalt pavement. This paper focused on a review of the thermosyphon technology and application in the permafrost. Moreover, the article highlighted the excellent working performance of the TPCT that improves the stability of the infrastructures and prevents it degrading due its excellent efficiency in terms of heat transfer. The industrial applications of the TPCT were also summarized, along with their limitations. Ultimately, the findings presented in this paper can offer crucial insights for future TPCT design and development in permafrost areas. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

[Purpose] This article addresses the lack of legislation in India to govern digital currencies, as well as the legality of Bitcoin in comparison to Russia's ban on other digital assets for payment regulation, highlighting the necessity for effective legislation once all around the world. It further delves into potential misuse of private cryptocurrencies in a variety of ways while placing upon the need for both countries to form a new digital currency regulatory authority. [Methodology/Approach/Design] This paper probes into the existing legal regulations for Cryptocurrency in India, Russia and other countries by using primary and secondary data throughout the paper. The primary data have been taken from legitimate government sources such as Russia's federal law and other bills and laws enacted in India, such as the "Banning of Cryptocurrency and Regulation of Official Digital Currency Bill, 2019" and "The Cryptocurrency and Regulation of Official Digital Currency Bill, 2021." Various judgments like the case of Internet and Mobile Association of India v. Reserve Bank of India and Dwaipayan Bhowmick v. Union Of India and Ors. have been taken out from Manupatra which is an online database for legal research. Government reports and notifications from the Indian, Russian and US government have also been examined. The secondary data include numerous news articles from Times of India, The Mirror, India Times, The Moscow Times, Telegraph, The UK News and other new sites. Lastly, articles by various researchers like Bohme et al, Dyhrberg and Kim have also been thoroughly analysed. [Findings] It was concluded that legalising Cryptocurrency through codified laws, appropriate approval for digital currencies through regulatory authorities, establishing clear definition of 'cryptocurrency', uniform taxation for all types of Cryptocurrencies, updation of penal laws and setting imprisonment for cryptocurrency regulation violation seem to be some effective solutions to reignite the Indian and Russian Economies. [Practical Implications] The practical implication lies in the fact that the use of cryptocurrencies is increasing on a daily basis, but neither the national government nor the world organizations has made any steps to control the market for virtual currencies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: This paper aims to examine the dynamic conditional correlation (DCC) and hedging ratios between Dow Jones markets and oil, gold and bitcoin. Using daily data, including the COVID-19 pandemic and the Russia–Ukraine war. We employ the DCC-generalized autoregressive conditional heteroskedasticity (GARCH) and asymmetric DCC (ADCC)-GARCH models. Design/methodology/approach: DCC-GARCH and ADCC-GARCH models. Findings: The most of DCCs among market pairs are positive during COVID-19 period, implying the existence of volatility spillovers (Contagion-effects). This implies the lack of additional economic gains of diversification. So, COVID-19 represents a systematic risk that resists diversification. However, during the Russia–Ukraine war the DCCs are negative for most pairs that include Oil and Gold, implying investors may benefit from portfolio-diversification. Our hedging analysis carries significant implications for investors seeking higher returns while hedging their Dow Jones portfolios: keeping their portfolios unhedged is better than hedging them. This is because Islamic stocks have the ability to mitigate risks. Originality/value: Our paper may make a valuable contribution to the existing literature by examining the hedging of financial assets, including both conventional and Islamic assets, during periods of stability and crisis, such as the COVID-19 pandemic and the Russia–Ukraine war. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Politologija is the property of Vilnius University 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 proposes several key questions that should be unavoidable in the research on history of economic sanctions. Four key questions are identified. The first one is what the aim of the sanctions is; what are they supposed to achieve? The second question relates to the mechanisms of sanctions. The third question is, are sanctions effective, i.e. do they produce economic impact and what is its magnitude? The fourth question is, are sanctions efficient, i.e. has the aim been achieved? All these questions are further developed into several more specific questions. Crucial methodological obstacles to answering all these questions are identified and guidelines for overcoming them are provided. The answers to the proposed key questions should be only the starting point in research on history of economic sanctions. Some preliminary answers to these questions were given for the case of February 2022 sanctions against Russia, imposed after it invaded Ukraine. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper explores the phenomenon of anonymous news channels on Russian Telegram, which have become increasingly popular in recent years. Drawing on 25 self-confrontation interviews, we answer the following questions: Do users trust anonymous news? If not, why do they keep using this information source? How does a restrictive socio-political context influence users' trust in alternative news sources? Our results show that, in Russia, the concept of trust is linked to the normative democratic understanding of journalistic functions. At the same time, many users believe that trust in media is not at all necessary and develop individual strategies to navigate a "chaos of narratives". The paper discusses Telegram's role in shaping trust or distrust in news. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Hard ticks (Acari: Ixodidae) are the economically and ecologically most important blood-sucking arthropod vectors that can transmit disease agents under temperate climate. In this group, the highest number of species (currently nearing 270) belongs to the genus Ixodes. For this review, more than 400 papers related to this genus in the context of Russia were checked for data on the host records, locations of collection, as well as ecology of assigned tick species. This monograph compensates for the lack of a similarly comprehensive English-language overview of Ixodes species in the region of Russia for nearly half century, and also makes a large set of data easily available for international readers, which is especially important if the original source is difficult to access from outside this country. In addition, the data from a significant number of papers on this topic available only in the Russian language are made accessible through this work. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Ekonomika is the property of Society of Economists 'Ekonomika' 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.)

Purpose: Only data from developed countries were used to estimate the sexual orientation difference in wages. This paper is the first, which aims to identify the wage discrimination of gay men in Russia – a country where institutional discrimination and ignorance against gay men are known to present. Design/methodology/approach: Gays are identified as men who reported having sex with other men in several waves of the national household survey. A wage equation is used to estimate the gay wage penalty. Extending the wage equation to implement a difference-in-difference design, the paper also evaluates the effect of the gay-propaganda law of 2013 on gay wages. Findings: No wage discrimination is identified. The law also has no adverse effect on gay wages. Practical implications: Cross-country comparison and theoretical generalizations are premature, and better identification strategies are needed to understand sexual orientation differences. Social implications: Policymakers should be aware that in both discriminatory and equitable environments, there may be hidden inequality even if researchers do not detect it. Originality/value: The findings are implausible and add to existing evidence that gay discrimination measured with wage equation suffers from endogeneity and should be interpreted with caution. Particular caution should be exercised in cross-sectional and time-series comparisons, as a tendency to report the orientation honestly and unobserved confounders vary by location and time. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Despite the global decline in marine species biodiversity, relatively few countries have enacted national endangered and threatened species legislation. Tailoring an adequate legislative framework with clear objectives and regulations consistent with the available scientific evidence is fundamental for the effective conservation of marine endangered and threatened species. This paper analyzes the legal framework and current institutional tools for the conservation of marine endangered and threatened species in the Russian Federation. In this regard, important legislative tools include federal laws, as well as internationally binding signed agreements, among others, such as the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) and the Convention on Wetlands of International Importance Especially as Waterfowl Habitat (Ramsar). A strategy and an action plan for the conservation of biological diversity were also developed. Besides, the most important tool for the conservation and protection of marine endangered and threatened species is the Red Book of the Russian Federation (RBRF) and other regional Red Books. Responsibility for causing harm to the species listed in the RBRF and their habitat is specified in the code of administrative offenses and the criminal code of the Russian Federation. Finally, conclusions and identified gaps were highlighted in the last section, including, among other things, that legislation is still limited in how it takes the impacts of climate change into account. Such type of study is highly recommended, considering the relatively few number of papers dedicated to the study of the impact and/or implications of the conservation tools and strategies mentioned in this paper on the status of the marine endangered and threatened species. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the spring of 2022, a new round of epidemic broke out in Shanghai, causing a shock to the Shanghai carbon trading market. Against this background, this paper studied the impact of the new epidemic on the price of Shanghai carbon emission rights and tried to explore the prediction model under the unexpected event. First, because a model based on point value data cannot capture the information hidden in inter-day price fluctuation, based on the interval price of Shanghai carbon emission rights (SHEA) and its influencing factors, an autoregressive conditional interval model with jumping and exogenous variables (ACIXJ) was established to explore the influence of the Russian–Ukrainian conflict and COVID-19 on the interval price of SHEA, respectively. The empirical results show that the conflict between Russia and Ukraine has no obvious influence on the price of SHEA, but COVID-19 led to a decline in the price trend of SHEA over four days before the city was closed, and the volatility changed significantly on the day before the city was closed. The price fluctuation was the strongest within 3 days after the city was closed; In addition, in order to accurately predict the interval data of SHEA against the background of COVID-19, based on the interval data decomposition algorithm (BEMD), a hybrid forecasting model of NDGM-ACIXJ/CNN-LSTM was constructed, in which the discrete gray model of approximate nonhomogeneous exponential series (NDGM) combined with the ACIXJ model is used to predict the high-frequency sub-interval, and the convolution neural network long-term and short-term memory model (CNN-LSTM) is used to predict the low-frequency sub-interval. The empirical results show that the prediction model proposed in this article has higher prediction precision than the reference models (ACIX, ACIXJ, NDGM-ACIXJ, BEMD-ACIX/CNN-LSTM, BEMD-ACIXJ/CNN-LSTM). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In these last decades, especially after the Russia–Ukraine war, the impact of energy related to issues, such as energy poverty, energy transition, and energy security have been heavily debated. To comprehend the conceptual development of this subject in the academic literature, few studies tackle the problems above by reviewing earlier research on the subject. Inspired by this interest and literature ago in this field, this study aimed to address the past, present, and future advancements of critical issues in this regard. Thus, in this review paper performed during February–April 2023, we employed the PRISMA method selecting and checking the review papers articles indexed in the three databases of Web of Science (WoS), Scopus, and JSTOR. Then, the research was followed by extending it and adding some other articles discovered on the gray literature. After a detailed classification of articles, a total of 2615 review articles were deemed valid for this analysis. The study's key contributions is the classification of the some cluster themes for the metasynthesis analyses, which point to potential future directions with a special focus on governmental policies to pursue some macrolevel goals concerning energy poverty, energy transition, and energy security in our daily lives. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper is focused on study of the geomagnetic field variation response caused by a series of earthquakes with magnitudes of Mw = 7.5–7.8 in Turkey on February 6, 2023. The initial data include high-precision observations of the geomagnetic field with a one-second sampling rate recorded at magnetic observatories in Russia and neighboring countries from middle to high latitudes. The paper analyzes the morphology of the geomagnetic signal, its amplitude-frequency characteristics, pulses in the rate of change and delays of the geomagnetic field response to earthquakes with magnitudes Mw = 7–8 depending on the distance to the source. The results suggest that the geomagnetic effect is detected best in the rate of change recordings, reaching anomalous amplitudes of 10 nT/s. The signal delay ranges from 221 to 592 s depending on the magnetic field component and the distance to the epicenter, which is in the range from 765 to 2650 km for the selected observatories. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

(1) Background: Beetles in the superfamily Scarabaeoidea are one of the most important groups of Coleoptera. They are found in various ecosystems all over the world and belong to coprophagous, necrophagous, saproxylophagous, phyllophagous and rhizophagous types. The aim of the study is to describe the fauna and distribution of Scarabaeoidea in the Republic of Mordovia (central part of European Russia); (2) Methods: The study was conducted from 2003 to 2023. Collection material (specimens from 1972 and 1986) was also used. Specimens were collected using traditional Coleoptera collecting methods (manual collecting, light trap, collection of rotten remains and pitfall traps). For each observation, the coordinates, number of specimens and dates were recorded; (3) Results: The dataset contains 3198 occurrences. We examined 11,011 specimens of Scarabaeoidea. The dataset contains information on 88 species of Scarabaeoidea. Of these, five species (Aphodius pedellus, Nobius serotinus, Phaeaphodius rectus, Planolinus fasciatus and Onthophagus medius) are listed for the region for the first time. Another seven species are additionally known from others taken from the literature (but were not found during the present field survey); (4) Conclusions: Species diversity of Scarabaeoidea of Mordovia accounts for 95 species from 4 families (Geotrupidae, Trogidae, Lucanidae and Scarabaeidae). Ten species (Protaetia marmorata, Anoplotrupes stercorosus, Cetonia aurata, Protaetia cuprea volhyniensis, Oxythyrea funesta, Platycerus caraboides, Serica brunnea, Melolontha hippocastani, Trichius fasciatus and Protaetia fieberi) constitute the main population of Scarabaeoidea fauna given in the dataset. The species diversity of Scarabaeoidea of the Republic of Mordovia is roughly similar in number of species to that of neighboring or more northern regions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Many scholars have empirically tested the influence of geopolitical risk on economic activities and financial indicators. This paper attracts a new research strand by investigating the geopolitical risk determinants. More precisely, we examine if the international geopolitical risk of a selected group of countries spills over to Russia. Alternatively, it inspects if the geopolitical tension among nations is cointegrated. This group of countries includes the United States, Germany, China, and Ukraine. The current paper designed and computed an empirical model using the Autoregressive Distributed Lag model (ARDL) during the period 1993:01–2022:05. The results reveal that the international geopolitical risk of Russia is cointegrated with the other four nations. In the short run, the international geopolitical risk of the four nations spills over to Russia by increasing its international geopolitical risk. While in the long run, the same impacts persist. But the effect of the United States' geopolitical risk becomes statistically insignificant. The results also show that Germany has the largest effect on Russia's geopolitical risk in the long run. Moreover, the increase in oil prices overflows Russia by decreasing its international geopolitical risk. Thus, rival nations should reach a settlement to reduce the geopolitical tension. Otherwise, the world economic performance will deteriorate. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The global energy crisis, which began in 2021 due to the extraordinary economic recovery after the pandemic and intensified after Russia's invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, has changed the conditions of energy management, paying more attention to energy efficiency. Natural gas prices have reached record levels and, consequently, so have electricity prices in some markets. Oil prices have reached their highest level since 2008. Higher energy prices have contributed to sharply increased inflation. Households are again becoming interested in buying coal as a source of heat. High energy and gas prices have pushed many families into poverty and forced some factories to cut production or even close. They have also slowed economic growth to the point where some countries are heading for a serious recession. Paradoxically, the negative effects of the energy crisis may accelerate the introduction of cleaner, sustainable, renewable energy such as wind and solar energy. The energy crisis is comparable to the oil crisis of the 1970s, when it contributed to significant advances in energy efficiency. The current crisis has highlighted the importance of investments in renewable energy resources and initiated the process of integrating regional markets, developing energy efficiency and promoting renewable energies. The aim of this article is to comprehensively explore the complex relationship between energy awareness, consumption patterns, and energy efficiency, with a focus on both individual consumers and industries, during the global energy crisis. This paper is based on a literature review, overarching policy documents, energy reports, and other secondary documents. The primary research method was the systematic literature review method, based on which the impact of the global energy crisis on energy efficiency was evaluated. This study emphasizes the diverse influences on energy awareness, ranging from economic factors to consumer preferences and environmental consciousness. The findings of the paper underscore the significant responsibility of industries in contributing to energy-saving efforts and the active role of consumers in the energy market. The responsibility of industries in contributing to energy efficiency is highlighted, with a call for a comprehensive approach that integrates energy-saving criteria into product development and corporate social responsibility. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

On 26 May 2011, the Russian People's World Council issued a document entitled The Basic Values: The Fundaments of National Unity. The document, prepared by the Synodal Department for Church–Society Cooperation, provided a catalogue of 17 traditional values whose general framework was constituted by a combination of freedom, unity, patriotism, family, and devotion. At that time, the Moscow Patriarchate considered religious faith to be the foundation of traditional values and it continues to do so. The defence and promotion of traditional Russian spiritual and moral values were also central in the Russian National Security Strategy (2015); this was the case in the updated version of this document as well, put out in July 2021. Furthermore, they have been the core of the Moscow Patriarchate's participation in the Council of Europe and of Patriarch Kirill's speeches about the war in Ukraine. Finally, on 9 November 2022, The Foundations Of State Policy For The Preservation Of Spiritual And Moral Values was approved. This framework permits us to understand the strict interplay between the Church and the State in the Russian Federation and to see why it is important to refer to the concept of post-secularism when talking about the role of religion in post-Soviet Russia. Proceeding from the Abstract, the present paper aims to analyse this interplay in a specific sector of visual culture: the cinema and television industries. Manuel Castells highlighted the relevance of cultural values in the age of information and the connection between the values and social mobilization that follows it. He pointed out that the Internet has become a way to render this connection predominant, inevitably leading to the development of social movements and networks that have a religious basis. This is unquestionably true; surveys conducted by the Russian Public Opinion Research Center (OJSC «VCIOM») and by Nevafilm Research confirm that a high percentage of Russians watch films not only at the cinema or on television (especially the older generations) but also on the Internet (as far as the younger generations are concerned). The importance of this market is also confirmed by the success of the cinema and TV distributor Orthodox Encyclopaedia (2005); in the words of the philosopher Sergei Kravets, who, commenting on it during an interview published in 2006 by the website Sedmits.ru, declared that the expression "orthodox cinema" can be understood as a way to express Russian culture. He asserts that "the fact that today Orthodox films have begun to appear on the central TV channels testifies that Russian film producers and viewers have apparently begun to be aware of themselves as Orthodox, to feel that they are bearers of a special Orthodox culture. [..]". At the same time, consideration should be given to the importance of the Russian Orthodox Church and the Minister of Culture's condemnation of films such as Matilda or Monastery. In addition, it is important to consider that, according to a survey conducted in 2022 by the Levada Center, Russian people consider television the most reliable source of information (54%). The long-term implications of this tendency may have very important effects, not only in terms of its objectives but also in terms of the consideration that, after the beginning of the war, many Western film distributors withdrew their licenses from Russia. This paper will analyse "the effect of religion on the institutional system, the regulatory environment of the media and the public sphere" by studying the features of films and TV programs distributed by Orthodox Encyclopaedia, their relations with traditional values promoted both by the Kremlin and the Church, how these have contributed to strengthening the interplay between the Minister of Culture and the Moscow Patriarchate, and the impact this process has had on Russian society and Russia's relations with the European and Western World in the 2005–2022 period. A list of the films and TV programs being discussed will be provided, and then statements about the project and reviews of the serials and films will be analysed. The analysis will be conducted mainly through the official sites of the Russian Orthodox Church and the Kremlin and by browsing the Integrum database. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although Russia's economy appears immune to any actions taken by countries supporting Ukraine in its struggle to preserve its sovereignty, the sanctions project directed against Russia continues to evolve. The sanctions policy pursued by the European Union, the United States, and their allies is isolating the Russian economy, gradually leading to its 'Sovietisation'. The primary purpose of this paper is to assess the impact of the sanctions on the economic situation of the Russian Federation. The paper is based on available statistical information provided by the Federal State Statistics Service (Rosstat) and Russian news media. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper discusses the way the European Union (EU) needs to adapt its economic diplomacy toolbox to tackle current challenges pertaining to the Russian war on Ukraine. It investigates the way in which the EU has developed its economic diplomacy in Ukraine, focusing on the scope of this diplomacy and its efficacy in responding to Russia's assertiveness and, ultimately, to Russia's aggression. The research identifies those initiatives that may be part of the priority toolkit used for sustaining the EU's strategic goals in Ukraine and beyond, considering the evolving global economic environment. The paper concludes with a comprehensive listing of the EU's challenges and opportunities for further developing its economic diplomacy, including as a solution or a response to the Ukrainian reconstruction needs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This work discusses the differences in the removal efficiency of heavy metals in soils along the China-Russia crude oil pipeline in different vegetation backgrounds. In this paper, two representative forest types, birch forest and larch forest, were selected for replicated sampling and experimental study in the soil of disturbed and undisturbed areas along the pipeline, respectively. The results showed that after ten years of vegetation restoration, the amount of heavy metals in the soil of birch and larch forests decreased, the Cu content in the soil under the background of the birch forest was higher than that of the larch forest, while the Zn, Mn and Pb contents were lower than that of the larch forest. The order of decreasing magnitude was Mn, Pb, Zn and Cu, and the overall decreasing rate of heavy metal content in larch forest soil was more obvious. The above conclusions indicate that vegetation restoration is an effective measure to alleviate soil heavy metal pollution. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper examines Russia's cultural expansionism that extends beyond the military invasion in Ukraine since 2014. In the first part, I trace Russia's systematic efforts to seize and manipulate Ukrainian heritage, often under the guise of protection. I also touch on the role of museums in this expansion, where they are used to preserve collections through coercive acquisition and to promote a Russian-centric narrative. The second part of the article delves into the historical relationships between Russia and Ukraine, especially in the context of the Soviet era's museum infrastructure. Overall, the text calls for new concepts and international efforts to critique Russia's actions and protect Ukrainian culture. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]