POSTKOMUNISTIČKE TRANSFORMACIJE: METODOLOGIJA VIŠERAZINSKE ANALIZE

The end of the 20th century witnessed large-scale simultaneous social transformations on the global, regional and country levels. Post-communist transformations whose analysis has been the focus of multiple Russian and foreign scholarly works, take a special place in these processes. The phenomenon seems, however, not to be wholly comprehended, moreover, we can observe something similar to increasing mythology in the evaluation of current events and processes. Therefore, designing the analysis methodology of post-communist transformations turns out to be an extremely topical scientific problem.Koncem 20. stoljeća događale su se sveobuhvatne simultane društvene transformacije na globalnom i regionalnom nivou, kao i na nivou pojedinih država. Posebno mjesto u tim procesima zauzimaju post-komunističke transformacije, analiza kojih se nalazi u fokusu mnogih ruskih i inozemnih znanstvenih radova. No, čini se da fenomen ipak nije u potpunosti shvaćen, štoviše, mogu se primijetiti rastući mitski elementi u procjeni tekućih događaja i procesa. Stoga je stvaranje metodologije za analizu post-komunističkih transformacija izuzetno važan znanstveni zadatak

POSTKOMUNISTIČKE TRANSFORMACIJE: METODOLOGIJA VIŠERAZINSKE ANALIZE

The end of the 20th century witnessed large-scale simultaneous social transformations on the global, regional and country levels. Post-communist transformations whose analysis has been the focus of multiple Russian and foreign scholarly works, take a special place in these processes. The phenomenon seems, however, not to be wholly comprehended, moreover, we can observe something similar to increasing mythology in the evaluation of current events and processes. Therefore, designing the analysis methodology of post-communist transformations turns out to be an extremely topical scientific problem.Koncem 20. stoljeća događale su se sveobuhvatne simultane društvene transformacije na globalnom i regionalnom nivou, kao i na nivou pojedinih država. Posebno mjesto u tim procesima zauzimaju post-komunističke transformacije, analiza kojih se nalazi u fokusu mnogih ruskih i inozemnih znanstvenih radova. No, čini se da fenomen ipak nije u potpunosti shvaćen, štoviše, mogu se primijetiti rastući mitski elementi u procjeni tekućih događaja i procesa. Stoga je stvaranje metodologije za analizu post-komunističkih transformacija izuzetno važan znanstveni zadatak

Social and Economic Decline as Factors in Conflict in the Caucasus

We argue that the conflicts in the Caucasus are the result of the abrogation by the elite of the earlier, Soviet era, social contract. This process was accompanied by the collapse of the formal economy; evidenced by huge national income compression, falling public goods provision, and growing inequality and poverty. In the absence of state provision of basic amenities and governance, ordinary people are compelled to fall back on kinship ties. Declining standards of governance facilitate state-sponsored corruption and criminality in a setting where the shadow economic activity is increasingly important to individual survival strategies. Oil pipelines and the right to control the transit of goods both legal and illegal also underlie conflict in the region. Criminality has replaced ethnicity as the major motivation for conflict and conflict per se has become a lucrative source of income.Caucasus, conflict, natural resources

Canagliflozin and renal outcomes in type 2 diabetes and nephropathy

BACKGROUND Type 2 diabetes mellitus is the leading cause of kidney failure worldwide, but few effective long-term treatments are available. In cardiovascular trials of inhibitors of sodium–glucose cotransporter 2 (SGLT2), exploratory results have suggested that such drugs may improve renal outcomes in patients with type 2 diabetes. METHODS In this double-blind, randomized trial, we assigned patients with type 2 diabetes and albuminuric chronic kidney disease to receive canagliflozin, an oral SGLT2 inhibitor, at a dose of 100 mg daily or placebo. All the patients had an estimated glomerular filtration rate (GFR) of 30 to <90 ml per minute per 1.73 m2 of body-surface area and albuminuria (ratio of albumin [mg] to creatinine [g], >300 to 5000) and were treated with renin–angiotensin system blockade. The primary outcome was a composite of end-stage kidney disease (dialysis, transplantation, or a sustained estimated GFR of <15 ml per minute per 1.73 m2), a doubling of the serum creatinine level, or death from renal or cardiovascular causes. Prespecified secondary outcomes were tested hierarchically. RESULTS The trial was stopped early after a planned interim analysis on the recommendation of the data and safety monitoring committee. At that time, 4401 patients had undergone randomization, with a median follow-up of 2.62 years. The relative risk of the primary outcome was 30% lower in the canagliflozin group than in the placebo group, with event rates of 43.2 and 61.2 per 1000 patient-years, respectively (hazard ratio, 0.70; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.59 to 0.82; P=0.00001). The relative risk of the renal-specific composite of end-stage kidney disease, a doubling of the creatinine level, or death from renal causes was lower by 34% (hazard ratio, 0.66; 95% CI, 0.53 to 0.81; P<0.001), and the relative risk of end-stage kidney disease was lower by 32% (hazard ratio, 0.68; 95% CI, 0.54 to 0.86; P=0.002). The canagliflozin group also had a lower risk of cardiovascular death, myocardial infarction, or stroke (hazard ratio, 0.80; 95% CI, 0.67 to 0.95; P=0.01) and hospitalization for heart failure (hazard ratio, 0.61; 95% CI, 0.47 to 0.80; P<0.001). There were no significant differences in rates of amputation or fracture. CONCLUSIONS In patients with type 2 diabetes and kidney disease, the risk of kidney failure and cardiovascular events was lower in the canagliflozin group than in the placebo group at a median follow-up of 2.62 years