Transformation of agricultural sector of Ukrainian economics: some social and economic results

Agricultural sector of Ukrainian economics is in the period of transformations, which are accompanied by increase of negative tendencies in the social sphere: depopulation of significant territories, worsening of living conditions for rural population, increasing of mass poverty, growing unemployment, sharp income differentiation. High social losses against a background of development of large-scale commercial production, land concentration and capitalization of production are leading to increase of social tensions in society thus hampering country's exit from the crisis. Ukrainian economic science and practice of reforms hasn't been ready that social processes in the economics under reforms are complicated and inconsistent: some of them are contributing to economic increase, other vice versa are influencing in the opposite way. Currently the relevant task is development of the efficient social policy promoting structural and institutional rebuilding of economics, stimulating sustainable economic growth. In order to solve this task it's very important to bring economics out of shadow, which is based on humiliatingly low level of wages in Ukraine, prearranged by the inadequate shares of income distribution between the labor and the capital. Processes of land concentration, attraction of industrial capital and creation of large-scale integrated commercial structures in agricultural sector are strengthening shadowing of economics and increasing disproportions in such distribution. With the existence of the shadow economics nominal and real increase of salaries doesn't necessarily mean increase of standards of living for country's population. For instance, average monthly wage in Ukrainian agriculture grew 4,5 times from 1999 to 2006, but the share of wages in Gross added value (GAV) dropped almost two times. In the industry wage increase 5,3 times leaded to wage drop in by 14,3% GAV. And only in service and construction the respective ratio grew by 4,3% and 3%. In the country with the transitional economics it's impossible to improve standards of living for population by simple wage increase without simultaneous actions aimed at bringing the economics out of the shadows. The biggest threat of low standards of living of Ukrainians is that there're falling numbers of rural population and large territories are being depopulated. Identification of main trends for development of modern society and social factors of economic growth should promote identification of main directions for social and economic policy of the state during establishment of new rural way of living in Ukraine. Keywords: agricultural transformations, rural development policy, depopulation of rural territories, social factors of economic growth.agricultural transformations, rural development policy, depopulation of rural territories, social factors of economic growth., Agricultural and Food Policy,

Peculiarities of creation of extra large agricultural companies under conditions of insufficient legislative regulation in Ukraine

Agricultural transformations in Ukraine resulted in division of tracts of land and creation of large number of small private land owners. Since December 1999 these processes were developing with especially high speed after adoption of Presidential Decree "On emergency actions aimed at acceleration of reorganization of agricultural sector of economics", which has become fundamental legislative act in conducting land and agricultural reforms. During the first year after adoption of the abovementioned decree, there started development of land market, which ought to have included: private property for land, legislative protection of land rent, possibilities of free transfers of ownership rights for land from one market subject to another (purchasing and selling of land), as its components. Namely for solving this task, which is important for completion of land reform, Ukrainian Parliament has imposed moratorium that is still in force. First of all in this context, it is necessary to develop institutional background for ownership and selling of land and its main components - cadastre and register of land plots. The task of cadastre - description of physical characteristics of land plots, the register - description of their legal status. It is impossible do develop land market that is civilized and understandable for society without introduction of unified system of land registration. Incompleteness of agricultural transformation led to development of land market under conditions of insufficient legislative regulation. In Ukraine processes purchasing and selling of agricultural lands are developing spontaneously, enlargement and consolidation led to development of extra large agricultural companies that are increasingly influencing situation in agricultural sector, but also in social and economic situation in the country.Ukrainian agriculture, agricultural transformations, land market, land latifundia, state agricultural policy., Agribusiness,

Новый подход к имперской истории России XVIII в. Рец. на кн.: Vulpius R. Die Geburt des Russlдndischen Imperiums. Herrschaftskonzepte und -praktiken im 18. Jahrhundert. Beitrдge zur Geschichte Osteuropas. Kцln : Böhlau Verl. GmbH, 2020. 610 S.

The review analyses Die Geburt des Russländischen Imperiums. Herrschaftskonzepte und -praktiken im 18. Jahrhundert. Beiträge zur Geschichte Osteuropas (The Birth of the Russian Empire: Concepts and Practices of Domination in the 18th Century) by Ricarda Vulpius. The author of the monograph focuses on the question of when Russia became an empire. Vulpius pays special attention to the discussion around this problem in relation to the eighteenth century and offers her own solution to the problem using the Begriffsgeschichte methodology. The historian connects such concepts as imperial discourse and colonialism. In her opinion, a major role in the formation of the imperial idea in Russia was played by the development of the territories of Siberia and the Far East, the Caucasus and the lands inhabited by Bashkirs, Kalmyks, and Kazakhs. Despite the thoroughness of the work carried out, the book is not without drawbacks. They are due to the narrowness of the source base of the study and the impossibility of using the Begriffsgeschichte approach in analysing the structures created for the management of the indigenous population of the Russian Empire.Рецензия посвящена анализу книги Рикарды Вульпиус «Рождение Российской империи. Понятия и практики господства в XVIII в.». В центре внимания автора рецензируемой монографии — вопрос о том, когда Россия стала империей. Р. Вульпиус обратила особое внимание на дискуссию вокруг этой проблемы применительно к XVIII в. и предложила свой вариант ее решения через использование методологии Begriffsgeschichte, связав такие понятия, как имперский дискурс и колониализм. По мнению Р. Вульпиус, большую роль в формировании имперской идеи в России играло освоение территорий Сибири и Дальнего Востока, Кавказа и земель, заселенных башкирами, калмыками и казахами. Несмотря на скрупулезность проведенной работы, книга не лишена недостатков. Они обусловлены узостью источниковой базы исследования и невозможностью использования подхода Begriffsgeschichte при анализе структур, созданных для управления индигенным населением Российской империи

Условия содержания заключенных во второй половине XVII — первой четверти XVIII в. (на примере мест заключения

The article considers the little studied issue of Russia’s penitentiary system development in the 1st quarter of the 18th century. Referring to a variety of sources, such as laws, documentary sources and memoirs of foreigners who visited Russia between the mid-17th — 1st quarter of the 18th century, the author reconstructs the living conditions of prisoners in order to determine the scale of influence of Peter the Great’s reforms on the main principles of prison organization and the prisoners’ confinement conditions. A comparative and historical analysis helps establish the frequency of imprisonment as a punishment during the period in question, and refers to the differences there existed in the confinement of convicts in the second half of the 17th and the 1st third of the 18th century. The study of primary sources and assessments of prisons contained in the historical books has shown no drastic changes in incarceration conditions during Petrine transformations. As in the previous century, the main contradiction in the life of prisons was the lack of the government’s attention to the problem of funding and a tendency to dictate strict requirements to the guarding of convicts. Nevertheless, unlike in the 17th century, prisoners had more opportunities to earn their living as their labour was used in factories and they did other hard work.Статья посвящена малоизученным вопросам развития пенитенциарной системы в России первой четверти XVIII столетия. Основываясь на данных, содержащихся в нормативных правовых актах, документальных источниках и воспоминаниях иностранцев, побывавших в России в середине XVII — первой четверти XVIII в., автор реконструирует условия содержания заключенных с целью выяснить, насколько реформы Петра Великого повлияли на основные принципы организации тюрем и образ жизни заключенных в них арестантов. Сравнительно-исторический анализ позволил выявить частоту использования тюремного заключения как одного из видов наказаний того времени, а также обратиться к характеристике различий, существовавших в содержании колодников во второй половине XVII и первой трети XVIII в. Изучение источников и оценок состояния тюрем, содержащихся в историографии, показало отсутствие серьезных изменений условий содержания арестантов в России эпохи Петровских преобразований. Как и в предыдущем столетии, основным противоречием существования мест заключения являлось отсутствие внимания государства к проблеме их финансирования при стремлении диктовать жесткие требования к охране колодников. Правда, в отличие от XVII в. арестанты имели больше возможностей заработать на свое содержание, так как их труд очень часто использовался в заводских и иных вспомогательных работах

Horse Theft in the Urals in the 1730s

The article is devoted to the problem of horse theft in the Urals in the 1730s. The main reason for this situation should be called the paucity of information about horse thieves, presented in the documents of the court and the investigation, which allow reconstructing the criminal world of early modern Russia. The author drew attention to the peculiarities of the region under study, which was a transit zone between the European and Asian parts of the Russian Empire and a major industrial center of the country. These features determined the special importance of horses not only in agriculture, but also in industrial production as a means of transporting goods and maintaining communication between the capital and the periphery. Analysis of the books of minutes of the Yekaterinburg Office of Judicial and Executive Affairs for the second half of the 1730s led to the conclusion that horse theft was widespread in the region. Most of those accused of stealing horses were residents who sought to escape from the difficult conditions of life in the Ural factories. At the same time, these sources allow us to conclude that there existed groups of horse thieves in the first third of the 18th c. in Russia, engaged in this business on a regular basis. Their thieving practices were similar to the activities of the organized groups of horse thieves in Russia in the second half of the 19th – early 20th centuries

The effect of soil fertility on antioxidant enzymes activity in a subarctic woody species

The influence of major nutrients’ reserves (available to plants) – nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P), potassium (K) – in the top 25-cm layer of soil on the Karelian birch (Betula pendula Roth var. carelica (Mercl.) Hämet-Ahti) with non-figured and figured wood via the antioxidant enzymes’ activity was investigated. The analysis of sites in area where Karelian birch trees with varying degree of figured wood intensity were growing was carried out. The cambial zone of the sample trees during active cambial growth period was studied for the activity of AOS enzyme complex (superoxide dismutase (SOD); catalase (CAT); peroxidase (POD); polyphenol oxidase (PPO)). Cellulose content and lignin content were studied. It was noticed that the availability of major nutrients in the investigated sites had influence on the degree of figured wood intensity in Karelian birch plants. Thus, non-figured and figured Karelian birch plants that grew on sites with various levels of major nutrients’ reserves differed in the AOS enzymes’ activity, which was a consequence of different xylogenesis scenarios in the studied birch forms. It was supposed, that the certain site conditions (N, P, K levels) formation could affect the degree of figured wood intensity, cellulose and lignin content. The N level and P/N ratio had the most effects under the adequate K level. So AOS enzymes’ complex activity could indicate differences in Karelian birch wood quality in sites that differ in soil fertility (N, P, K levels).

The Moraxella adhesin UspA1 binds to its human CEACAM1 receptor by a deformable trimeric coiled-coil

Moraxella catarrhalis is a ubiquitous human-specific bacterium commonly associated with upper and lower respiratory tract infections, including otitis media, sinusitis and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. The bacterium uses an autotransporter protein UspA1 to target an important human cellular receptor carcinoembryonic antigen-related cell adhesion molecule 1 (CEACAM1). Using X-ray crystallography, we show that the CEACAM1 receptor-binding region of UspA1 unusually consists of an extended, rod-like left-handed trimeric coiled-coil. Mutagenesis and binding studies of UspA1 and the N-domain of CEACAM1 have been used to delineate the interacting surfaces between ligand and receptor and guide assembly of the complex. However, solution scattering, molecular modelling and electron microscopy analyses all indicate that significant bending of the UspA1 coiled-coil stalk also occurs. This explains how UspA1 can engage CEACAM1 at a site far distant from its head group, permitting closer proximity of the respective cell surfaces during infection

Cellular and molecular biology of Neisseria meningitidis colonization and invasive disease

The human species is the only natural host of Neisseria meningitidis, an important cause of bacterial meningitis globally, and, despite its association with devastating diseases, N. meningitidis is a commensal organism found frequently in the respiratory tract of healthy individuals. To date, antibiotic resistance is relatively uncommon in N. meningitidis isolates but, due to the rapid onset of disease in susceptible hosts, the mortality rate remains approx. 10%. Additionally, patients who survive meningococcal disease often endure numerous debilitating sequelae. N. meningitidis strains are classified primarily into serogroups based on the type of polysaccharide capsule expressed. In total, 13 serogroups have been described; however, the majority of disease is caused by strains belonging to one of only five serogroups. Although vaccines have been developed against some of these, a universal meningococcal vaccine remains a challenge due to successful immune evasion strategies of the organism, including mimicry of host structures as well as frequent antigenic variation. N. meningitidis express a range of virulence factors including capsular polysaccharide, lipopolysaccharide and a number of surface-expressed adhesive proteins. Variation of these surface structures is necessary for meningococci to evade killing by host defence mechanisms. Nonetheless, adhesion to host cells and tissues needs to be maintained to enable colonization and ensure bacterial survival in the niche. The aims of the present review are to provide a brief outline of meningococcal carriage, disease and burden to society. With this background, we discuss several bacterial strategies that may enable its survival in the human respiratory tract during colonization and in the blood during infection. We also examine several known meningococcal adhesion mechanisms and conclude with a section on the potential processes that may operate in vivo as meningococci progress from the respiratory niche through the blood to reach the central nervous system

Transformation of agricultural sector of Ukrainian economics: some social and economic results

Agricultural sector of Ukrainian economics is in the period of transformations, which are accompanied by increase of negative tendencies in the social sphere: depopulation of significant territories, worsening of living conditions for rural population, increasing of mass poverty, growing unemployment, sharp income differentiation. High social losses against a background of development of large-scale commercial production, land concentration and capitalization of production are leading to increase of social tensions in society thus hampering country's exit from the crisis. Ukrainian economic science and practice of reforms hasn't been ready that social processes in the economics under reforms are complicated and inconsistent: some of them are contributing to economic increase, other vice versa are influencing in the opposite way. Currently the relevant task is development of the efficient social policy promoting structural and institutional rebuilding of economics, stimulating sustainable economic growth. In order to solve this task it's very important to bring economics out of shadow, which is based on humiliatingly low level of wages in Ukraine, prearranged by the inadequate shares of income distribution between the labor and the capital. Processes of land concentration, attraction of industrial capital and creation of large-scale integrated commercial structures in agricultural sector are strengthening shadowing of economics and increasing disproportions in such distribution. With the existence of the shadow economics nominal and real increase of salaries doesn't necessarily mean increase of standards of living for country's population. For instance, average monthly wage in Ukrainian agriculture grew 4,5 times from 1999 to 2006, but the share of wages in Gross added value (GAV) dropped almost two times. In the industry wage increase 5,3 times leaded to wage drop in by 14,3% GAV. And only in service and construction the respective ratio grew by 4,3% and 3%. In the country with the transitional economics it's impossible to improve standards of living for population by simple wage increase without simultaneous actions aimed at bringing the economics out of the shadows. The biggest threat of low standards of living of Ukrainians is that there're falling numbers of rural population and large territories are being depopulated. Identification of main trends for development of modern society and social factors of economic growth should promote identification of main directions for social and economic policy of the state during establishment of new rural way of living in Ukraine. Keywords: agricultural transformations, rural development policy, depopulation of rural territories, social factors of economic growth