Competing ideologies of Russia's civil society

Many analysts and public opinion makers in the West conflate the notions of Russia’s non-systemic liberal opposition and the country’s civil society. Indeed, despite garnering the support of a minority of Russia’s population, non-systemic liberal opposition represents a well-organized civic group with a clearly articulated agenda and the ability to take action. Yet, does Russia’s civil society end there? A closer look at the country’s politics shows that Russia has a substantial conservative-traditionalist faction that has also developed agenda for action and formulated opinions. This group is anti-liberal rather than illiberal ideologically and pro-strong state/pro a geopolitically independent Russia rather than pro-Kremlin politically. The interaction between liberal and conservative civic groups represents the battle of meanings, ideas, and ethics, and ultimately determines the future trajectory of Russia’s evolution. Thus, the analysis of Russia’s civil society must represent a rather more nuanced picture than a mere study of the liberal non-systemic opposition. This article will examine the complexity of Russia’s civil society scene with reference to the interplay between the liberal opposition and conservative majority factions. The paper will argue that such complexity stems from ideological value pluralism that falls far beyond the boundaries of the liberal consensus, often skewing our understanding of political practice in Russia

Elite opinion and foreign policy in post-communist Russia

Russian elite opinion on matters of foreign policy may be classified as ‘Liberal Westerniser’, ‘Pragmatic Nationalist’ and ‘Fundamentalist Nationalist’, terms that reflect longstanding debates about the country’s relationship with the outside world. An analysis of press statements and election manifestoes together with a programme of elite interviews between 2004 and 2006 suggests a clustering of opinion on a series of strategic issues. Liberal Westernisers seek the closest possible relationship with Europe, and favour eventual membership of the EU and NATO. Pragmatic Nationalists are more inclined to favour practical co-operation, and do not assume an identity of values or interests with the Western countries. Fundamentalist Nationalists place more emphasis on the other former Soviet republics, and on Asia as much as Europe, and see the West as a threat to Russian values as well as to its state interests. Each of these positions, in turn, draws on an identifiable set of domestic constituencies: Liberal Westernisers on the promarket political parties, Pragmatic Nationalists on the presidential administration and defence and security ministries, and Fundamentalist Nationalists on the Orthodox Church and Communists

Diaper dermatitis

Diaper dermatitis occurs in 40% of children in the first year of life [1, 17, 18]. The risk of diaper dermatitis is low when diapers are changed six or more times per day, at breastfeeding and home care (versus nurseries and kindergartens). Risk of diaper dermatitis sharply increases at diarrhea or oral administration of amoxicillin. Bepanten is recommended for the prevention and treatment of uncomplicated diaper dermatitis

Acute bronchiolitis in children

The article tells about mechanisms and disease pattern of bronchiolitis, differential diagnostics, relevant therapy and outcomes, as well as evidence-based treatment tactics

Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder in children and adolescents

The term attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is not quite accurate. By ADHD we mean that the patient can not focus on what is relevant and is distracted by irrelevant detail. In fact, people with ADHD are often obsessed with several issues without being able to focus on a single object

Graft-versus-host disease after allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation in children

Up to 60 thousand hematopoietic stem cell transplantations (HSCT) are carried out globally all over the world. The outcome of HSCT is largely determined by the probability and severity of the graft-versus-host reaction/disease (GVHD). Treatment involves corticosteroids. Antithymocyte globulin, extracorporeal photopheresis, monoclonal antibodies to interleukins or their receptors, methotrexate, cyclosporine, tacrolimus, sirolimus, antithymocyte globulin, etc. are used in steroid-refractory GVHD. It is worth to mention that mycophenolate mofetil, esther of mycophenolic acid, blocks proliferation of T and B lymphocytes. In patients who are refractory to corticosteroids, the use of mycophenolate mofetil in isolation or in combination with cyclosporine, tacrolimus seems to be justified

Headache in children and adolescents

Headache (H) is one of the most frequent complaints in schoolchildren. The frequency of H in child and adolescent population is growing, making H both a general health and social-economic challenge. Primary H, as H in general, affects the life quality of the younger generation, limits the child's activity, impairs social contacts, often requires use of analgesics and other drugs with possibility of developing an addiction, increasing the dose and manifestations of toxic effects [1]. Pediatrician's role when dealing with such patients is to determine whether H is primary or secondary, concomitant with other disorders (injuries, sinusitis, eye disease, etc.), in order to better target and time consultations, patient management tactics and the volume of interaction with the family [2-4]

Early diagnosis of tumors as an all-pediatric problem

More than half of newly diagnosed malignancies in children are stage III or IV which significantly reduces chances of recovery and results in disability or death. We have tried to specify the symptoms for early detection of cancer in childhood, examined and analyzed age-dependent, primary non-specific manifestations of tumors in children and adolescents. We tell about the duration of the symptomatic disease until the correct diagnosis is made. We focused on the fact that long-term persistence of some infectious agents could initialize tumor growth

Value of assessing night-time drop in blood pressure in children for risk factor identification Results of 24-hour blood pressure monitoring

The aim of the study was to identify the relationship between night-time drop in blood pressure and other parameters measured by 24-hour blood pressure monitoring, results of clinical, instrumental and laboratory studies of children with hypertension