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In this paper, we conduct a meta-analysis of studies that empirically examine the relationship between economic transformation and foreign direct investment ( FDI) performance in Central and Eastern Europe and the former Soviet Union over the past quarter century. More specifically, we synthesise the empirical evidence reported in previous studies that deal with the determinants of FDI in transition economies, focusing on the impacts of transition factors. We also perform meta-regression analysis to specify determinant factors of the heterogeneity among the relevant studies and the presence of publication-selection bias. We find that the existing literature reports a statistically significant non-zero effect as a whole, and a genuine effect is confirmed for some FDI determinants beyond the publication-selection bias. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Since McCallum's (1995) finding of surprisingly high border effects on trade between the US and Canada, there have been a number of studies on other parts of the world, and improvements made to the gravity model to measure this effect accurately. This paper suggests some other modifications to the model, and applies it to a region of the world that presents a distinctly interesting case. Changes in border effects of formerly socialist countries in Central and East Europe, and countries in the former Soviet Union are analyzed during 1976-2002 at country and sectoral levels, and also with respect to blocs of countries. A discussion on cross-country variations in border effects follows the computations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: The end of the Soviet Union and communist regimes throughout Eastern Europe led to sudden increases in emigration and large changes in wage inequality. This has provided a unique opportunity to understand how these changes altered incentives to emigrate during the transition period. In this paper, I analyze immigrant selection before and after the fall of the Soviet Union within a Roy Model framework, in which the relative return to skills determines the skill composition of immigrants. Using micro‐level data from Russia, Ukraine and Bulgaria, matched to Census data on immigrants from these countries in the United States, Spain and Greece in the post‐Soviet period, I find evidence of positive selection of immigrants in the US, and negative selection for Greece and Spain. Using retrospective data from Ukraine during the communist period, I find that selection among Soviet men in the US was intermediate and selection among women was positive. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article measures and discusses the continuities and changes in the procurement process in Europe by examining the influence of national preferences in terms of sovereignty, industrial issues, and strategic needs on procurement strategies. We focus on the aerospace defense industry and study four aircraft markets (fighter aircraft, transport aircraft, helicopters, and UAVs) in 30 European countries during the post-Cold War era. Our results reveal significant heterogeneity in terms of strategies. They suggest that European countries lack coordination in their aircraft procurement strategies; if a country has sufficient industrial capacity, it will seek to maximize national industrial benefits in its procurement choices, to the detriment of its European partners; conversely, if a country has no industrial capacity, transatlantic suppliers would be preferable to European ones. Members of the former USSR and Warsaw Pact have phased out old Soviet-era aircraft at different rates, depending on the market, with European suppliers benefiting more from this process than American ones. Overall, our study provides a comprehensive and nuanced perspective on the defense aircraft industry in Europe that can inform policymakers and stakeholders in this sector. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper seeks to build on ongoing work in east central Europe and the former Soviet Union—in geography and beyond—to think through the conceptualisation of post-socialism. The rationale for this is threefold. Firstly, we see a need to understand post-socialist conditions as they are lived and experienced by those in the region. Secondly, we seek to challenge the persistent tendency to marginalise the experiences of the non-western world in a discourse of globalisation and universalisation. Thirdly, we identify a need to ask how the conditions of post-socialism reshape our theorising more widely. Centring our analysis on history, geography and difference, we review a wide range of perspectives on the socialist and post-socialist, but argue for a strategic essentialism that recognises post-socialist difference without eclipsing differences. In outlining how we might understand history, geography and difference in post-socialism, we draw on key theorisations from post-colonialism (such as the articulation of the post- with the pre-, the relationship to the west, the rethinking of histories/categories, the end of the post) and outline post-socialisms that are partial and not always explanatory but nevertheless important. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article presents information on various studies related to women and politics in comparative perspective in Europe and the Soviet Union, by several authors. Susan Welch used British survey data to argue that differences between the political behavior of men and women at the mass level are very small. Janine Mossuz-Lavau and Mariette Sineau, studied the impact of social class and cultural levels on differences in men and women's attitudes and partisan affiliations in France. Elina Haavio-Mannila examined the impact of factors, including educational level, employment status, urban-rural residence, and region, on aspects of political activity as voting and support for women candidates in Finland, Sweden, and Britain.

Decades after the transition processes have spread across Central, Eastern, and South-Eastern Europe (CESEE), the former Soviet Union, and the Baltic, it was interesting to perform the post-transition and non-transition advanced European economies comparison to capture the outcomes of the 'catching-up process'. In this analysis, I tried to reach the results of this 'catching process' using the firm-level accounting data, namely, enterprises' annual accounts rather than countries' national accounts. The goal was to evaluate if post-transition countries' enterprises have reached the financial performance of non-transition countries' enterprises across Europe, three decades after the transition processes began. The research captured firm-level financial performance aspects revealing some differentiators, namely, financial report indicators that differed for the enterprises belonging to post-transition countries in comparison with the ones belonging to non-transition countries in Europe. The findings related to the liquidity, solvency, indebtedness, profitability indicators, and labor intensity ratio were derived by logit regression models. The observations for 569 European companies were provided by Orbis Europe for the year 2021 annual accounts. According to the results, enterprises in post-transition countries, characterized by lower total assets and working capital scale, were likely to have lower profit margins, share of employees' costs in operating turnover, current ratio, and gearing, while higher solvency and liquidity ratio. Mild marginal effects indicated the gap narrowed but with still existing significant disparities, particularly in the field of liquidity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Over the past half century the global tendency for improvements in longevity has been uneven across countries. This has resulted in widening of inter-country disparities in life expectancy. Moreover, the pattern of divergence appears to be driven in part by processes at the level of country groupings defined in geopolitical terms. A systematic quantitative analysis of this phenomenon has not been possible using demographic decomposition approaches as these have not been suitably adapted for this purpose. In this paper we present an elaboration of conventional decomposition techniques to provide a toolkit for analysis of the inter-country variance, and illustrate its use by analyzing trends in life expectancy in developed countries over a 40-year period. Methods: We analyze trends in the population-weighted variance of life expectancy at birth across 36 developed countries and three country groups over the period 1970-2010. We have modified existing decomposition approaches using the stepwise replacement algorithm to compute age components of changes in the total variance as well as variance between and within groups of Established Market Economies (EME), Central and Eastern Europe (CEE), and the Former Soviet Union (FSU). The method is generally applicable to the decomposition of temporal changes in any aggregate index based on a set of populations. Results: The divergence in life expectancy between developed countries has generally increased over the study period. This tendency dominated from the beginning of 1970s to the early 2000s, and reversed only after 2005. From 1970 to 2010, the total standard deviation of life expectancy increased from 2.0 to 5.6 years among men and from 1.0 to 3.6 years among women. This was determined by the between-group effects due to polarization between the EME and the FSU. The latter contrast was largely fueled by the long-term health crisis in Russia. With respect to age, the increase in the overall divergence was attributable to between-country differences in mortality changes at ages 15-64 years compared to those aged 65 and older. The within-group variance increased, especially among women. This change was mostly produced by growing mortality differences at ages 65 and older. Conclusions: From the early 1970s to the mid-2000s, the strong divergence in life expectancy across developed countries was largely determined by the between-group variance and mortality polarization linked to the East--West geopolitical division. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Epidemiological evidence suggests that regular physical activity (PA) positively impacts individuals' mental health (MH). The PA-MH relationship may be critical among immigrants owing to psycho-social-cultural influences. This scoping review of 61 studies employed a holistic bio-psycho-socio-cultural framework to thoroughly investigate the complex relationship between PA (across life domains) and immigrants' MH in Western countries. A systematic search of five electronic databases (Medline, PubMed, Embase, PsycINFO and Anthropology Plus) was conducted to locate relevant articles. No limitations were applied to study design, age, gender, home country, MH condition or PA type. A bio-psycho-socio-cultural-informed conceptual model guided the analysis of the multi-domain PA-MH relationship. Immigrant PA-MH studies were conducted and reported most commonly in the USA (38%), Australia (18%), and Canada (11%). Overall, PA was positively related to MH. Each domain-specific PA appeared to be associated with unique MH-promoting pathways/mechanisms. Leisure-related PA may support MH by enhancing self-agency and minimizing risky behaviors, whilst travel- and domestic-related PA may promote self-accomplishment and physical engagement. Ethnic sports appeared to enhance resilience. Occupational-related PA was associated with either positive or negative MH, depending on the type of occupation. A bio-psycho-socio-cultural-informed model is required to gain an encompassing and integrated understanding of immigrants' health. The first iteration of such a model is presented here, along with an illustration of how the model may be used to deepen analysis and understanding of the multi-domain PA-MH relationship among immigrants and inform public health planners and practitioners. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the context of the forceful dispute over national identity in Moldova, the Communist government of 2001–2009 aimed to articulate a project of “Moldovan identity” which was raised to the level of a state ideology. In the spirit of Soviet propaganda, this project was implemented through public holidays and celebrations. The following analysis examines two case studies—the Wine Festival and the Independence Cup—by discerning the performative practices designed as part of the nation-building project in Moldova between 2005 and 2009. Organized at the official level, but with the strong assistance of mass media, these public events were intended to win the support and attention of Moldovan society by employing rituals and performances similar to those of the Soviet period. The paper addresses the characteristics and mechanisms of these performative practices, and considers why this nation-building project did not achieve its goals, but instead caused tension and disputes. One of the main aims is to understand how the Communist government sought to redefine “the Moldovan nation”. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The post-colonial face of Poland is rather problematic. Nationalistic right-wingers started using interpretations applying the post-colonial theory, and the theory itself seems to put little resistance to this type of appropriation. Rather than acknowledging such state of affairs as the fate of every idea falling into the hands of the natives, in this paper I would like to treat the problems of Polish post-coloniality as a very interesting test, both for the theory itself and for the analyses of the Polish reality. I shall compare the cases of nationalistic misuse with a more "mainstream" approach to the issue of applicability of the post-colonial theory to the situation in Eastern Europe, and particularly to the situation in Poland. As I shall try to demonstrate, this comparison will reveal many disturbingly common threads--which in my opinion are unjustified assertions and conclusions--resulting not only from errors in reasoning but the shortcomings of the theory itself. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article examines the relationship between the policies of the Soviet Union and the state of communism in Europe following World War Two. The author attests that two fundamental differences arose in the Soviet attitude regarding Europe: the cessation of revolution as a viable means of solving conflicts between states and the emergence of a communist influence that was integral to Europe’s future. The role of Joseph Stalin, who held the position of General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union’s Central Committee, is discussed. The paper urges that the hostilities that arose between the Soviet Union and Yugoslavia led to the demise of any potential for international communism.

The paper seeks to evaluate the scope and limits of the Russian state's capacity to use oil and natural gas as strategic resources to revive Russia's fortunes as a credible global power. It offers an analysis of the evolution of state-markets interactions in the energy sector from the late Gorbachev era to the present day. The paper briefly documents how Russian foreign policy became more assertive using energy as a strategic resource, particularly in crafting its relations with the European Union. Subsequently, the paper analyzes Russia's limits of using energy as leverage in securing foreign policy objectives. Finally, it points to the impediments to normalizing a Russo-EU energy dialog. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Understanding rainfall variability in the arid, rugged landscapes of Iran requires studying the climatology and spatial patterns of daily precipitation. This paper applies geostatistical and other methods to daily precipitation data from 90 stations that are distributed across Iran to calculate daily rainfall concentration and intensity and map their spatial distribution. The results show that daily precipitation tends to be irregular and intense across much of Iran and that a disproportionately large share of the annual rainfall comes from a small number of high intensity to extreme rainfall events. Analysis of daily rainfall concentration confirms that extreme events are widely distributed across the country, with more than 20% of the land area exposed to the risk of extreme rainfall. The areas experiencing the most frequent extreme events are the hot, dry southern coast and the western slopes of the main north–south range, the Zagros Mountains. Even the wettest parts of the country along the Caspian Sea coast derive a significant amount of their rain from high intensity and extreme events. A cross-validation analysis supports the reliability and accuracy of the geostatistical modeling. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper analyzes the determinants of investments in physical infrastructure over the first decade of market reform in Central and Eastern Europe and other former Soviet economies. Both market and political reform would be expected to have an impact on the level of infrastructure, but the relationship will likely differ for infrastructure which remains dependent on the public sector and that which becomes more dependent on private investment after such reforms. Results for a large cross section of transition economies show that market reform has had a positive impact on both traditional and newer types of infrastructure, with a stronger impact on the newer types which are more likely to be market-derived. The findings also suggest that market reform is more likely to push investors to develop infrastructure when political and market reforms are accomplished in tandem. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

After the fall of communism in the Soviet Union, newspapers, films, academic researchers and intelligence agencies warned against a new phenomenon in organized crime: the “Russian mafiya.” In fact, since the fall of the Berlin Wall, Western European countries have noted an increase in the number of criminals from Central and Eastern Europe. In the mid-1990s, the Dutch judicial authorities made the issue a priority and established a special team to investigate crime with links to Eastern Europe. From 1999 to 2005, the KT NON crime team published several studies and reports on serious crime of this nature. In this paper, the authors, who were assigned to the KT NON crime team, discuss the findings of the two most recent publications on the “causes, nature, scale and threat of Central and Eastern European crime” and “mobile banditry,” respectively. They come to the conclusion that among other forms of crime, the phenomenon of mobile banditry seems to be the most serious manifestation of crime from post-communist countries. The Russian mafia was not found. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose - Part of the "JDoc at 60" series, this paper aims to discuss, evaluate and compare writings on the state of libraries in Continental Europe in the 1940s and the 1990s. Design/methodology/approach - Four papers published in Journal of Documentation, three from 1945 and one from 1994, are analysed and compared, and their significance discussed. Findings - Finds that there are similarities and differences between the situation facing European libraries at the end of the 1939-1945 war, and after the collapse of the Soviet Union. Originality/value - Both historical and current policy perspectives are included. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Social or public housing is an important component of the housing supply in most European countries. Nowhere, however, has the notion of social housing been taken as far as in the countries that formerly were ruled by socialist regimes, most notably the Soviet Union. For this reason, it may be argued that the development of theorizations on housing has much to learn from this large but inconclusively studied example. One of the avowed virtues of socialism was that the system, in theory, guaranteed its subjects equal rights to housing. That this was not quite the case is well known in the literature, but in fact no robust evidence to support this view (or the contrary) has been presented so far. Therefore, this paper's aim is to investigate the functioning of the Soviet system of housing allocation, assessing its claims to social equity and justice. Based on a detailed case study of about 3500 Soviet-era housing allocation decisions made in Daugavpils, Latvia, at five points in time covering various stages in the development of Soviet power (full coverage of decisions made in 1953, 1960, 1970,1980, and January-April 1990), we illustrate how much living space was allocated to whom. In addition, we detail the characteristics of the waiting times involved. We apply both descriptive and regression methods on our data-set, making a significant contribution to what is known about the outcome of housing allocation under socialism and, at a more general level, under strictly supply-constrained conditions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article analyses aid effectiveness from the donor's perspective. An aid contract is effective for the donor when she is able to observe her required levels of trade and institutional change on the territory of the recipient. The distinction between reciprocal, normative and just donors indicates three different approaches to aid effectiveness. The aid systems of the United Kingdom, Germany and the European Union are cases that differentiate along the lines of donors whose primary intentionality lies in the accumulation of trade and investment profits, donors that advance the implementation of institutional change and donors that put equal weight in both strategies. The existence of numerous veto players in the German aid system and the singularity of administrative organization in the British aid system operationalise the distinction between normative and reciprocal donors. The aid system of the European Union is defined as just because economic cooperation or institutional change alone is treated as insufficient for aid effectiveness. Hence, the success of the Technical Assistance to the Commonwealth of Independent States Program (TACIS) is due to the strategic choices of European Union bureaucrats and their treatment of antithetical donor preferences as complementary in the process of aid implementation. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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Abstract: The Post-Soviet regionalism is a new phenomenon and it requires a theory which addresses the very beginning of regional integration. Both Neofunctionalism and (liberal) intergovernmentalism conceptualize the very outset of European integration, thus, presenting the most adequate theoretical framework for understanding post-Soviet case of regionalism. This study seeks to contribute to a better understanding of the impediments to regional integration but also to conditions under which integration might succeed in Post-Soviet Eurasia. The numerous and unsuccessful attempts at regional integration in the post-Soviet Eurasia provide an opportunity to analyze the factors unfavorable to integration and to identify the impediments to this process. The issue motivating this study is that unsuccessful attempts should be analyzed not less than successful ones. Eurasian case is different from European integration due to different historical legacies, institutional choices, structural-developmental contexts and on-going state- and regime-building problems. Regionalism and democratic development are a salient feature of recent developments in Russia and the other republics of the former Soviet Union. The working premise is that through various regional arrangements that operate across Eurasia, countries will be able to find new cooperative solutions to existing problems. The main question is, given the undeniable advantages of the integration, why there has been little progress achieved? How the theories of regional integration can contribute to our understanding of the puzzles of Eurasian regionalism? To address this question, the paper focuses on a few theories of regional integration which will be applied to empirical analysis of post-Soviet Eurasia. The main focus is made on neofunctionalism. However, the study, will also consider the alternative explanation provided by (liberal) intergovernmentalism. The article also analyses the role of historical legacies and the attempts of post-Soviet states (PSSs) at regional integration and provides theoretical explanations of the outcome of these attempts. The analysis evaluates the outcome of post-Soviet Eurasian regionalism and tests the main theoretical assumptions. The analysis offered in this article aspires to contribute to the studies of comparative regionalism and area studies. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

During the mid-1980s Vietnam experienced widespread hunger and malnutrition. This led to an economic reform process already before the transition in Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) and the former Soviet Union (CIS). Vietnam embarked on a unique way of decollectivization which followed neither the Chinese model nor the direction of agricultural transition among CEE and CIS countries. The collective farms had to be either transformed into service cooperatives based on share capital and voluntary membership or liquidated. Vietnamese farmers had to meet two challenges. They again had to manage their private farms as entrepreneurs. In addition, they had to create new supporting organizations. After a slow start many farmers were successful in transforming or establishing agricultural cooperatives for their support during the last decade. Three phases of institutional development can be distinguished. The main features of agricultural cooperatives are analyzed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article analyses the interim Conference on Security and Cooperation in Europe (CSCE) interim meetings held from 1984 to 1986 in Stockholm, Ottawa, Budapest, and Bern and reassesses previous characterisations of this period as one of stagnation in the CSCE. It demonstrates that the significant groundwork laid at these meetings later manifested itself during the Vienna CSCE Review Meeting. The two most important shifts in the CSCE during these years were an increased Western and neutral emphasis on compliance with existing CSCE agreements at the expense of achieving new concluding documents and a slow evolution in Soviet thinking on its role in the Helsinki process. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: In this paper the author discusses L.V. Nikulin''s travelogue The Seven Seas, published in 1936 and describing his journey through Europe in 1933. In the article Nikulin''s manner of writing is analysed, the use of digressions, of actual and fictitious meetings with several characters in different countries, the use of newspapers and periodicals. Ultimately Nikulin''s goal is to demonstrate the decay and rise of fascism in the European countries, set against the superiority of the young Soviet Union. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: This paper develops a theoretical model of job reallocation in post-communist transition countries. The framework is consistent with the micro-empirical evidence showing that: 1) job destruction is present in the new private sector even if this one is the key job creator and 2) most of the job reallocation from state to private employment is direct. In a departure from prior Optimal Speed of Transition (OST) conclusions, the model shows that the preferences of state workers are fundamental for the issue of transition. The diverging evolutions of unemployment and growth in the central and eastern European countries (a quick economic revival and high unemployment) and the former Soviet Union (low levels of unemployment with either a dynamic private sector development or a failure of the transition process) are related to restructuring policies of public firms. Where state-owned enterprises (SOEs) proceeded with massive layoffs, transition was achieved eventually with a cost of high unemployment in the medium term. When on the contrary employment was kept high, transition was more likely to derail even if unemployment evolved very slowly. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

This article tries to reduce the lack of tax compliance research analysing tax morale in transition countries. The empirical analysis using tax morale as a dependent variable working with World Values Survey data indicates that there is a significantly higher tax morale in Central and Eastern European than in former Soviet Union countries. This difference has increased during the transition process. Furthermore, the article shows that factors such as trust in the legal system and the government have a significant positive effect on tax morale in transition economies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An important challenge for macrosociology in the 1990s is to account for the cluster of social movements in different post-World War II settings, most recently those that intend structural changes in Eastern Europe and the Soviet Union. To account for these extraordinary phenomena of historical significance calls for a new global synchronic and diachronic analysis. After discussing three major waves of these movements that have in common a challenge to the authority of the modern state, this paper proposes that 'neomodernisation analysis' may be the most appropriate macro-paradigm to relate sociology to the comparative study of cycles of modernisation and of centres of modernity. It is highly relevant since many regions of the world are undergoing ah important new phase of modernisation and since there may be taking place ah important shift in the epicentre of modernity. State socialism is bankrupt in Eastern Europe. Governments, ruling parties, of the opposition, experts, and expert committees are desperately searching . . . for a new paradigm, a new social and economic model with which to launch these countries onto a new course of dynamic development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Soviet placards and paintings, newspapers and novels, film and music, radio and television portrayed communism as the ‘radiant future of all humanity.’ Every Soviet child was fed a diet of dialectical materialism and taught that history was on the side of communism while capitalism was doomed. Soviet war heroics, scientific achievements and economic progress were all hailed as part of a great march forward to a resplendent tomorrow — one that justified great sacrifices from workers and peasants. But ‘communism’ has fallen on bad days. It has come begging for aid from the West as panic and chaos threaten to dissolve the Soviet Union, Market reform is touted as the universal panacea as the country plunges into economic disaster. Every day the Soviet Union moves closer toward dictatorship and civil war. Communism has ended up in a shambles. In Eastern Europe this seemingly invincible order collapsed within the space of a year. Moreover, with the notable exception of Rumania, these collapses occurred with hardly a whimper. What was to be the radiant future became the radiant past. In a remarkable ideological about turn, now it is capitalism that is proclaimed the radiant future of all mankind. How did these Communist or what we have called state socialist societies crumble? will the putative capitalist future be any more radiant than the socialist part? Will the gap between ideology and reality remain as wide as it was under the old regime? And, if so, with what effects? What is the real future of what was state socialism? These are the questions we try to answer in this paper. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Advocates the abandonment of plans for a strategic defense initiative against the Soviet Union in Europe. Justification of the European Defense Initiative program as a necessary response to the deployment of Soviet short-range ballistic missiles armed with conventional warheads; Need to review competing western interpretations of the evolution of Soviet strategy; Suggested reduction of conventional and nuclear forces.

The article presents the author's views on steps that should be taken to achieve nuclear disarmament. Multilateral elimination of nuclear weapons along with compensating changes in the conventional forces should be done. Restrictions should be applied on storing nuclear weapons in some zones bordering Germany and Czechoslovakia. This would reduce the possibility of meeting a conventional action in Europe by the Soviet Union by a nuclear response.

The article discusses the North Atlantic Treaty Organization's (NATO) unwillingness to postpone a decision regarding deployment of 572 cruise and Pershing missiles in Europe to begin negotiations for reduction of nuclear arms in the western part of the Soviet Union. Russia's offer for negotiations was rejected by the U.S. administration who claimed that it was a ploy by Russia to weaken the NATO solidarity. It is suggested nuclear deployment in western Europe has affected international policies leading to Russia's exclusion from the Strategic Arms Limitation Talks II. The U.S. decision to increase counter-silo capabilities have fueled Russia's fears of a nuclear attack. Several European military personnel have criticized the deployment stating that it will increase nuclear crisis.

The article provides information on the developments of arms race in the U.S., Soviet Union, and Europe after the World War II. Some changes that took place in the nuclear weapon systems include large computer-controlled air defense networks, avionics, airborne anti-submarine warfare, development of new materials and advances in the aeronautics industry, advanced weapon guidance, increase deployment capabilities, radars for artillery and mortar location, and nuclear power for naval vessel propulsion. The role of scientific research and development in the acquisition of strategic and other advanced weapons systems is discussed.

The article discusses the possible effect on the development of the antiballistic missiles in Europe to its economy. Several possibilities are given by the author which include that ABM might make the advent of war, reinvigorate the arms race, and raise the diplomatic tension between the Soviet Union and the U.S. He also notes that ABM could create a competition between assured destruction and damage limitation which constitute a classic arms race in which the precautions of one side becomes the fears of the other.

In 2010-2012 the new assessment system was officially introduced into Estonian formal education. In order to understand how fundamental a cultural change this was for Estonian society, this study presents the discourses represented in the memoirs of the former students who got their assessment experience between the 1960s and the 1980s. The official Soviet assessment system was introduced into Estonian education in the 1950s. Although the Estonian pedagogical literature in the 1960s - 1980s was pedagogically comprehensive, the 48 recollections gathered for this study repeatedly represented discourses that can be found from the assessment norms introduced in the 1950s: counting mistakes, public humiliation, teacher's injustice or assessment that was meant to punish for improper behaviour. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Policies to improve health status, tackle disease and ensure equitable access to healthcare should be informed by evidence derived from high-quality research. However, health research capacity is unevenly distributed across countries, as revealed by mapping exercises that have been undertaken to provide a basis for concerted action to strengthen capacity. This study systematically describes capacity to undertake health research in the countries of the former Soviet Union and south-eastern Europe and identifies the elements required to create a national health research system. Methods: The mapping exercise comprised two elements: a survey of key informants in the respective countries and a bibliometric analysis of scientific publications in the field of public health. Results: Our results confirm that health research remains a low priority in some countries of the WHO European Region. In these countries, most of the literature was produced by researchers outside the country, often to inform international donors. Conclusions: This study provides important information for countries seeking to initiate action to strengthen their research capacity. There is a need for a comprehensive strategy with sustained investment in training and career development of researchers. There is also a need to create new funding systems to provide financial support to those undertaking policy-relevant research. International collaboration and investment in mechanisms to bridge the gap between research and policy are urgently required. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Criminal victimisation and subjective well-being have both been linked to health outcomes, although as yet, comparatively little is known about the relationship between these two phenomena. In this study we used data from nine countries of the former Soviet Union (fSU) to examine the association between different types of crime and subjective well-being.Methods: Data were obtained from 18,000 individuals aged 18 and above collected during the Health in Times of Transition (HITT) survey in 2010/11 in Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, Moldova, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia and Ukraine. Information was obtained on respondents' experience of crime (violence and theft) and self-reported affective (happiness) and cognitive (life satisfaction) well-being. Ordered probit and ordinary least squares (OLS) regression analyses were undertaken to examine the associations between these variables.Results: In pooled country analyses, experiencing violence was associated with significantly lower happiness and life satisfaction. Theft victimisation was associated with significantly reduced life satisfaction but not happiness. Among the individual countries, there was a more pronounced association between violent victimisation and reduced happiness in Kazakhstan and Moldova.Conclusions: The finding that criminal victimisation is linked to lower levels of subjective well-being highlights the importance of reducing crime in the fSU, and also of having effective support services in place for victims of crime to reduce its detrimental effects on health and well-being. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]