Contemporary Russian Identity between East and West

This is a review of recent English-language scholarship on the development of Russian identity since the collapse of the USSR in 1991. The first part examines literature on the economic and political changes in the Russian Federation, revealing how scholars became more sceptical about the possibility of Russia building a Western-type liberal democracy. The second part investigates approaches to the study of Russian national identity. The experience of empire, in both the tsarist and Soviet periods, gave Russians a weak sense of nationhood; ethnic Russians identified with the multinational Soviet Union. Seeking legitimacy for the new state, President El’tsin sought to create a civic identity focussed on the multinational Russian Federation. The Communist and nationalist opposition continued to promote an imperial identity, focused on restoring the USSR or creating some other formation including the Russian-speaking population in the former Soviet republics. The final section discusses accounts of the two Chechen wars, which scholars see as continuing Russia’s imperial policy and harming relations with Russia’s Muslim population. President Putin’s co-operation with the West against ‘terrorism’ has not led the West to accept Russia as one of its own, due to increasing domestic repression and authoritarianis

Batman and Robin? Exploring foreign policy differences between Putin and Medvedev during the Medvedev presidency

Following the return of Vladimir Putin to the Russian presidency, the specific features of Russian foreign policy under the 2008-12 presidency of Dmitrii Medvedev can now be analysed. This paper investigates how significant the foreign policy differences were between Medvedev and Putin; the importance of Medvedev’s influence and the achievements of Russian foreign policy under his presidency. It argues that Medvedev’s presidency did not lead to fundamental change in Russia foreign policy, but allowed an improvement in relations with the West and the maintenance of the strategic partnership with China. However, both Putin and Medvedev shared a belief in Russia as a great power and a pragmatic outlook. Both opposed NATO enlargement into the former Soviet Union although Medvedev leaned more towards collaboration with the West, and Putin towards integration based on the CIS. Relations with the West deteriorated at the end of the Medvedev presidency following the announcement of Putin’s planned return to the Kremlin and the rigging of parliamentary elections. However, five major foreign-policy achievements can be identified: the postponement of NATO enlargement into post-Soviet space following war with Georgia; the defeat of the leaders of the Orange Revolution in Ukraine; the ‘New START’ treaty; entry to the WTO; and the implementation of the Common Economic Space with Belarus and Kazakhstan

Ideology and Interests in Putin's Construction of Eurasia

The idea of Eurasia as a unique civilization uniting ethnic Slavs and Turks adhering to the Orthodox and Muslim faiths was developed by Russian émigrés in the 1920s. Putin used the terminology of Eurasianism from 2001 onwards, with the establishment of the Eurasian Economic Community, but did not make the idea of Eurasia a central part of his ideology until much later. In October 2011 Putin publicly advocated the idea of a Eurasian Union. The basis was to be the Customs Union established by Russia, Belarus and Kazakhstan, but the intention seemed to be to create not only an economic union but also a political union, and one which would go beyond the members of the Customs Union to attract other former Soviet republics, particularly Ukraine and in Central Asia, and potentially other states. The aim of the paper is to understand the motivations for Putin’s support of the Eurasian Union. It is argued that while the proposal, advanced at the beginning of the campaign for the State Duma elections, was intended to boost support for both United Russia and his own presidential return, it also reflected the economic and geopolitical interests of key sections of the Russian élite

Effects of ecosystem protection on scallop populations within a community-led temperate marine reserve

This study investigated the effects of a newly established, fully protected marine reserve on benthic habitats and two commercially valuable species of scallop in Lamlash Bay, Isle of Arran, United Kingdom. Annual dive surveys from 2010 to 2013 showed the abundance of juvenile scallops to be significantly greater within the marine reserve than outside. Generalised linear models revealed this trend to be significantly related to the greater presence of macroalgae and hydroids growing within the boundaries of the reserve. These results suggest that structurally complex habitats growing within the reserve have substantially increased spat settlement and/or survival. The density of adult king scallops declined threefold with increasing distance from the boundaries of the reserve, indicating possible evidence of spillover or reduced fishing effort directly outside and around the marine reserve. However, there was no difference in the mean density of adult scallops between the reserve and outside. Finally, the mean age, size, and reproductive and exploitable biomass of king scallops were all significantly greater within the reserve. In contrast to king scallops, the population dynamics of queen scallops (Aequipecten opercularis) fluctuated randomly over the survey period and showed little difference between the reserve and outside. Overall, this study is consistent with the hypothesis that marine reserves can encourage the recovery of seafloor habitats, which, in turn, can benefit populations of commercially exploited species, emphasising the importance of marine reserves in the ecosystem-based management of fisheries

Russia and the South Caucasus

More than 20 years after the collapse of the USSR, Russia remains the most influential outside power in the South Caucasus. This chapter examines why the region is important to Russia, what its interests are and how it has pursued its relations with the states of the region, Armenia, Azerbaijan and Georgia. In particular, how Russia has responded to the challenges posed by the activities of NATO and the EU will be explained. The period covered will be approximately from 2003, the year of the launch by the EU of its ENP and also the year of the Rose Revolution in Georgia, up to April 2017

Low-multiplicity burst search at the Sudbury neutrino Observatory

Results are reported from a search for low-multiplicity neutrino bursts in the Sudbury Neutrino Observatory. Such bursts could indicate the detection of a nearby core-collapse supernova explosion. The data were taken from Phase I (1999 November-2001 May), when the detector was filled with heavy water, and Phase II (2001 July-2003 August), when NaCl was added to the target. The search was a blind analysis in which the potential backgrounds were estimated and analysis cuts were developed to eliminate such backgrounds with 90% confidence before the data were examined. The search maintained a greater than 50% detection probability for standard supernovae occurring at a distance of up to 60 kpc for Phase I and up to 70 kpc for Phase II. No low-multiplicity bursts were observed during the data-taking period. © 2011. The American Astronomical Society. All rights reserved. Printedin the U.S.A