The Ethnic 'Other' in Ukrainian History Textbooks: The Case of Russia and the Russians

This paper examines portrayals of Russia and the Russians in two generations of Ukrainian history textbooks. It observes that the textbooks are highly condemning of Ukraine's main ethnic other in the guise of foreign ruler: the tsarist authorities and the Soviet regime are always attributed dubious and malicious intentions even if there is appreciation for some of their policies. By contrast, the books, certainly those of the second generation, refrain from presenting highly biased accounts of the ethnic other as a national group (i.e. Russians). Instances where negative judgements do fall onto Russians are counterbalanced by excerpts criticizing ethnic Ukrainians or highlighting conflicting interests within the Ukrainian ethnic group. The negative appraisal of the ethnic other as foreign ruler is clearly instrumental for the nation-building project as it sustains a discourse legitimating the existence of Ukraine as independent state. However, recent trends in history education, the paper concludes, suggest that the importance of nurturing patriotism as a national policy objective is diminishing

Temperature induced structural and polarization features in BaFe12O19

We report the observation of a peculiar polarization behavior of BaFe12O19 in electric field where the linear polarization is detected at temperatures below 150 K whereas at higher temperatures a hysteresis-like polarization response is observed. At the same time, the performed neutron diffraction analysis shows no variations in crystal or magnetic structures with temperature. Based on the results of ab initio calculations we suggest the mechanism able to explain the experimentally observed behavior. We show that specific Fe atoms do not occupy the positions formally assigned to them by the conventional centrosymmetric P63/mmc (#194) space group (z = 0.25; 0.75) as these positions correspond to local energy maxima. Instead, these Fe atoms are shifted along the z-axis to positions z = 0.259 (0.241) and z = 0.759 (0.741), which correspond to local energy minima. To an inversion center move between these minima Fe atoms need to overcome an energy barrier. This barrier is rather insignificant for smaller volumes but it becomes larger for expanded volumes due to coupling between the displacements of these Fe atoms. Additionally, our analysis suggests that the non-centrosymmetric and polar P63mc (#186) space group could be appropriate for the description of the BaFe12O19 structure

The origin of the dual ferroic properties in quasi-centrosymmetrical SrFe12−xInxO19 hexaferrites

The local crystal/magnetic structures of the SrFe12−xInxO19 solid solutions (x = 0.1; 0.3; 0.6 and 1.2) were investigated using neutron powder diffraction. The measurements of the electric polarization for all investigated samples were carried out as a function of the external electric field. The presence of the ferroelectric and ferromagnetic ordering (dual ferroic ordering) in the SrFe12−xInxO19 hexaferrites at 300 K was found. This appearance contradicts to the conventional opinion describing their crystal structure (centrosymmetric space group P63/mmc (No. 194)). The reason for the existence of a spontaneous polarization (nonzero dipole moment) in the SrFe12−xInxO19 hexaferrites continues controversial. The crystal structure of the hexaferrites was considered both the centrosymmetric P63/mmc and non-centrosymmetric P63mc space groups. This fact made it possible to find a connection between the emerging dipole moment and not equal distortions of the neighbor oxygen polyhedral. The nature description of the nonzero dipole moment formation in a quasi-centrosymmetrical system of the In-substituted SrFe12−xInxO19 hexaferrites was presented based on the neutron diffraction data.This work was supported by the Russian Science Foundation (Agreement no. 19-19-00694 of 06 May 2019).With funding from the Spanish government through the ‘Severo Ochoa Centre of Excellence’ accreditation (CEX2019-000917-S).Peer reviewe

ВЗАИМОСВЯЗЬ МЕЖДУ КИСЛОРОДНОЙ НЕСТЕХИОМЕТРИЕЙ И СВЕРХСТРУКТУРНЫМ УПОРЯДОЧЕНИЕМ Fe/Mo В Sr2FeMoO6-d

Single-phase Sr2FeMoO6-d powders with various degrees of superstructural ordering of Fe/Mo cations and oxygen index d were obtained by solid-phase synthesis. With the help of X-ray phase analysis and neutron diffraction studies it has been established that the Fe-O1 and Mo-O2 values decrease with increasing oxygen content and the superstructural ordering of Fe/Mo cations increases, whereas the Fe-O2 and Mo-O1 bond lengths decrease, which leads to a decrease in the crystal lattice parameters and in the unit cell volume accordingly. This indicates an increase in the covalence of the bond along the axis (c), which stimulates the redistribution of the electron density from the (Fe/Mo-O2) layers to the (Fe/Mo-O1) layers and to an increase in the concentration of spin-polarized electrons with spins¯, which are located in the conduction band on Mo(t2g)¯ electron orbitals. When studying the dynamics of the change in oxygen non-stoichiometry and the degree of superstructural ordering it was found that the rate of desorption of oxygen is several times larger than the rate of Fe/Mo cations ordering.Однофазные порошки Sr2FeMoO6-d с различной степенью сверхструктурного упорядочения катионов Fe/Mo и кислородного индекса d были получены методом твердофазного синтеза. С помощью рентгенофазового анализа и нейтронографических исследований установлено уменьшение объема элементарной ячейки. Это свидетельствует о повышении ковалентности связи и перераспределения электронной плотности, что способствует увеличению концентрации поляризованных по спину электронов со спинами ¯, расположенных в зоне проводимости на Mo(t2g)¯ электронных орбиталях. При изучении динамики изменения кислородной нестехиометрии и степени сверхструктурного упорядочения обнаружено, что скорость десорбции кислорода в несколько раз больше, чем скорость упорядочения катионов Fe/Mo

Mineral, chemical and isotope compositions of clay subfractions from formations of the Srednii Peninsula, Murmansk coast of the Barents Sea

Fine-grained clay subfractions (SFs) with particle size of <0.1, 0.1-0.2, 0.2-0.3, 0.3-0.6, 0.6-2.0, and 2-5 µm separated from claystone of Upper Precambrian Pumanskaya and Poropelonskaya formations on the Srednii Peninsula were studied by transmission electron microscopy, X-ray diffraction, and Rb-Sr methods. All subfractions consist of low-temperature illite and chlorite, and contribution of chlorite decreases with diminishing particle size. The crystallinity index and I002/I001 ratio increase from coarse- to fine-grained SFs. Leaching by ammonium acetate solution and Rb-Sr systematics in combination with mineralogical and morphological data indicate that illite in Upper Proterozoic claystone from the Srednii Peninsula formed during three time intervals: 810-830, 610-620, and about 570 Ma ago. The first generation of this mineral with low Rb/Sr ratio dominates in coarse-grained SFs while the second and third generations with a high Rb/Sr ratio prevail in fine-grained SFs. All of three generations are known in Poropelon claystone, whereas Puman claystone contains only illite of the first and second generations. Geological processes responsible for multistage illite evolution in claystones are discussed