Alexander Lukashuk
- Published in print:
- 2001
- Published Online:
- November 2003
- ISBN:
- 9780199244089
- eISBN:
- 9780191600364
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/0199244081.003.0011
- Subject:
- Political Science, Democratization
Describes the failure of the constitution‐drafting process to contribute to democratic consolidation in Belarus. Today, Belarus is considered the worst authoritarian regime in Eastern Europe. The ...
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Describes the failure of the constitution‐drafting process to contribute to democratic consolidation in Belarus. Today, Belarus is considered the worst authoritarian regime in Eastern Europe. The chapter characterizes the Constitution of Belarus as an occasionally used tool for manipulation by the country's autocratic president. While the president considers the Constitution he drafted to be the sole foundation of law in the country, the democratic opposition considers it illegal and illegitimate. Nevertheless, as the focal point of the struggle between President Lukashenka and the democratic opposition, the significance of the Constitution remains strong. The chapter emphasizes how certain choices and omissions in the constitution‐drafting process laid the foundation for the current undemocratic regime. The chapter indicates reasons behind the failure of constitutionalism in Belarus, such as a weak national identity, the absence of economic reforms during the first five years of independence, the state monopoly of the electronic media, and Russia's strong economic and political support of the Belarus's authoritarian leader.Less
Describes the failure of the constitution‐drafting process to contribute to democratic consolidation in Belarus. Today, Belarus is considered the worst authoritarian regime in Eastern Europe. The chapter characterizes the Constitution of Belarus as an occasionally used tool for manipulation by the country's autocratic president. While the president considers the Constitution he drafted to be the sole foundation of law in the country, the democratic opposition considers it illegal and illegitimate. Nevertheless, as the focal point of the struggle between President Lukashenka and the democratic opposition, the significance of the Constitution remains strong. The chapter emphasizes how certain choices and omissions in the constitution‐drafting process laid the foundation for the current undemocratic regime. The chapter indicates reasons behind the failure of constitutionalism in Belarus, such as a weak national identity, the absence of economic reforms during the first five years of independence, the state monopoly of the electronic media, and Russia's strong economic and political support of the Belarus's authoritarian leader.
Taras Kuzio
- Published in print:
- 2001
- Published Online:
- November 2003
- ISBN:
- 9780199244096
- eISBN:
- 9780191600371
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/019924409X.003.0018
- Subject:
- Political Science, Democratization
Compares different paths of democratic consolidation in Belarus and Ukraine since the disintegration of the USSR. The author argues that Ukraine has evolved beyond ‘Electoral Democracy’ towards ‘ ...
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Compares different paths of democratic consolidation in Belarus and Ukraine since the disintegration of the USSR. The author argues that Ukraine has evolved beyond ‘Electoral Democracy’ towards ‘ Liberal Democracy’. By contrast, after 1994 Belarus has seen democratic erosion and regression from ‘Electoral Democracy’ to authoritarianism. The chapter advances three propositions. Firstly, the strength of ethnicity and national identity at the start of transition process can have a direct impact upon the choice of strategy, speed, and domestic policies adopted by the ruling elites. Secondly, the elites have little choice but to choose a foreign policy orientated towards ‘returning to Europe’—the source of security assurance and technical and financial assistance. Thirdly, the international community can play a highly positive role by providing incentives and assistance that persuade countries that have embarked on democratization to continue the process in the hope of reaching the final destination of democratic consolidation. The chapter is divided into three parts. The first places the transition in Ukraine, Belarus, and the rest of the former USSR within a theoretical and comparative framework by focusing on domestic factors. The second part discusses the international influences faced by a country that has participated in the reform process (Ukraine), and Russian influences on a country that has not done so (Belarus). The last two parts examine Ukraine's ‘return to Europe’ and Belarus’ ‘return to Eurasia’.Less
Compares different paths of democratic consolidation in Belarus and Ukraine since the disintegration of the USSR. The author argues that Ukraine has evolved beyond ‘Electoral Democracy’ towards ‘ Liberal Democracy’. By contrast, after 1994 Belarus has seen democratic erosion and regression from ‘Electoral Democracy’ to authoritarianism. The chapter advances three propositions. Firstly, the strength of ethnicity and national identity at the start of transition process can have a direct impact upon the choice of strategy, speed, and domestic policies adopted by the ruling elites. Secondly, the elites have little choice but to choose a foreign policy orientated towards ‘returning to Europe’—the source of security assurance and technical and financial assistance. Thirdly, the international community can play a highly positive role by providing incentives and assistance that persuade countries that have embarked on democratization to continue the process in the hope of reaching the final destination of democratic consolidation. The chapter is divided into three parts. The first places the transition in Ukraine, Belarus, and the rest of the former USSR within a theoretical and comparative framework by focusing on domestic factors. The second part discusses the international influences faced by a country that has participated in the reform process (Ukraine), and Russian influences on a country that has not done so (Belarus). The last two parts examine Ukraine's ‘return to Europe’ and Belarus’ ‘return to Eurasia’.
Serhii Plokhy
- Published in print:
- 2001
- Published Online:
- January 2010
- ISBN:
- 9780199247394
- eISBN:
- 9780191714436
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199247394.003.0009
- Subject:
- History, European Early Modern History
As Bohdan Khmelnytsky's rule took hold, the new and still inchoate Cossack polity became ever more deeply involved in the European system of international relations. Having rebelled against the ...
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As Bohdan Khmelnytsky's rule took hold, the new and still inchoate Cossack polity became ever more deeply involved in the European system of international relations. Having rebelled against the Catholic Commonwealth, the Cossacks almost automatically made enemies of the Catholic states of Europe and, by the same token, found potential allies among the non-Catholic powers, whether Islamic, such as the Crimea and the Ottoman Empire, or Protestant, as in the cases of Transylvania and Sweden, a rising star in European politics. Orthodox Muscovy took an immediate interest in the Cossack revolt taking place across its border, as did Orthodox Moldavia. The major potential ally of the Cossack polity in the Orthodox world was not little Moldavia, squeezed between the Ottomans and the Commonwealth, but mighty and traditionally anti-Polish Muscovy. The initial concord in relations between the two Orthodox partners, Polish-Lithuanian Rus' and the Tsardom of Muscovy, had disappeared. The uneasy alliance between Russia, Ukraine, and Belarus in which Orthodoxy was destined to play a fundamental role still lay ahead.Less
As Bohdan Khmelnytsky's rule took hold, the new and still inchoate Cossack polity became ever more deeply involved in the European system of international relations. Having rebelled against the Catholic Commonwealth, the Cossacks almost automatically made enemies of the Catholic states of Europe and, by the same token, found potential allies among the non-Catholic powers, whether Islamic, such as the Crimea and the Ottoman Empire, or Protestant, as in the cases of Transylvania and Sweden, a rising star in European politics. Orthodox Muscovy took an immediate interest in the Cossack revolt taking place across its border, as did Orthodox Moldavia. The major potential ally of the Cossack polity in the Orthodox world was not little Moldavia, squeezed between the Ottomans and the Commonwealth, but mighty and traditionally anti-Polish Muscovy. The initial concord in relations between the two Orthodox partners, Polish-Lithuanian Rus' and the Tsardom of Muscovy, had disappeared. The uneasy alliance between Russia, Ukraine, and Belarus in which Orthodoxy was destined to play a fundamental role still lay ahead.
Nicholas V. Riasanovsky
- Published in print:
- 2005
- Published Online:
- January 2010
- ISBN:
- 9780195156508
- eISBN:
- 9780199868230
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195156508.003.0003
- Subject:
- History, European Modern History
This chapter begins by discussing that Kievan Russia is generally presented as playing a significant part in the brilliant and glorious initial period of Russian history. It narrates that the ...
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This chapter begins by discussing that Kievan Russia is generally presented as playing a significant part in the brilliant and glorious initial period of Russian history. It narrates that the Mongol's utter destruction of Kiev in 1240 may be considered the ultimate end of the Kievan period. It explains that Kievan history can be better understood as a series of extraordinary performances by a number of able princes, with the rest of the time devoted mainly to civil wars. It discusses that the political development of the Kievan state was sustained by its rich and varied economy, and the Kievan state was traditionally considered as a trading state, founded on the waterway from the Baltic Sea to Constantinople. It notes that Kievan Russia is located in the Ukraine and that this time deserves full consideration as a very impressive initial period of the rather fragmented and tragic Ukrainian history. It also examines Kievan Christianity, literature, architecture, and arts.Less
This chapter begins by discussing that Kievan Russia is generally presented as playing a significant part in the brilliant and glorious initial period of Russian history. It narrates that the Mongol's utter destruction of Kiev in 1240 may be considered the ultimate end of the Kievan period. It explains that Kievan history can be better understood as a series of extraordinary performances by a number of able princes, with the rest of the time devoted mainly to civil wars. It discusses that the political development of the Kievan state was sustained by its rich and varied economy, and the Kievan state was traditionally considered as a trading state, founded on the waterway from the Baltic Sea to Constantinople. It notes that Kievan Russia is located in the Ukraine and that this time deserves full consideration as a very impressive initial period of the rather fragmented and tragic Ukrainian history. It also examines Kievan Christianity, literature, architecture, and arts.
Adam Teller
- Published in print:
- 2016
- Published Online:
- May 2017
- ISBN:
- 9780804798440
- eISBN:
- 9780804799874
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Stanford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.11126/stanford/9780804798440.001.0001
- Subject:
- Society and Culture, Jewish Studies
This study demonstrates how Jewish economic activity on the magnate estates in the eighteenth-century Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth enriched, empowered, and reshaped Jewish—and ...
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This study demonstrates how Jewish economic activity on the magnate estates in the eighteenth-century Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth enriched, empowered, and reshaped Jewish—and Polish-Lithuanian—society. The analysis follows the New institutional economics (NIE) approach to detail Jews’ roles in the estates’ economic institutions—especially the markets, often overlooked in studying the feudal economy. It examines the economic roles played by Jews on the estates of the Radziwiłł magnate dynasty. This was a late feudal economy, so its study demonstrates how Jews formed part of a pre-capitalist system—a highly beneficial setting for them. Jewish businessmen formed the majority of merchants on the estates and also dominated the leasing of the monopoly on alcohol sales—a crucial way of marketing surplus grain. This economic niche became an ethnic economy, giving Jews market superiority. Their social status improved dramatically since they enjoyed Radziwiłł support and acted as their unofficial agents in various contexts. A new Jewish socioeconomic elite appeared, wielding power and authority over all groups on the estates. Based on the rich archival record, the study focuses on the Radziwiłł family’s Lithuanian holdings, the heart of its estates. It shows that the Jews’ integration into the estate economy was at the family’s invitation, in order to increase revenues. The Jews’ success in doing this allowed the Radziwiłłs, like similar magnate families, to become the most powerful force in Poland-Lithuania. Jewish economic activity, therefore, helped shape the Commonwealth’s eighteenth-century political system.Less
This study demonstrates how Jewish economic activity on the magnate estates in the eighteenth-century Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth enriched, empowered, and reshaped Jewish—and Polish-Lithuanian—society. The analysis follows the New institutional economics (NIE) approach to detail Jews’ roles in the estates’ economic institutions—especially the markets, often overlooked in studying the feudal economy. It examines the economic roles played by Jews on the estates of the Radziwiłł magnate dynasty. This was a late feudal economy, so its study demonstrates how Jews formed part of a pre-capitalist system—a highly beneficial setting for them. Jewish businessmen formed the majority of merchants on the estates and also dominated the leasing of the monopoly on alcohol sales—a crucial way of marketing surplus grain. This economic niche became an ethnic economy, giving Jews market superiority. Their social status improved dramatically since they enjoyed Radziwiłł support and acted as their unofficial agents in various contexts. A new Jewish socioeconomic elite appeared, wielding power and authority over all groups on the estates. Based on the rich archival record, the study focuses on the Radziwiłł family’s Lithuanian holdings, the heart of its estates. It shows that the Jews’ integration into the estate economy was at the family’s invitation, in order to increase revenues. The Jews’ success in doing this allowed the Radziwiłłs, like similar magnate families, to become the most powerful force in Poland-Lithuania. Jewish economic activity, therefore, helped shape the Commonwealth’s eighteenth-century political system.
Martin Dean
- Published in print:
- 2003
- Published Online:
- February 2021
- ISBN:
- 9781874774730
- eISBN:
- 9781800340732
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Liverpool University Press
- DOI:
- 10.3828/liverpool/9781874774730.003.0042
- Subject:
- Religion, Judaism
This chapter reviews Martin Dean's book Collaboration during the Holocaust: Crimes of the Local Police in Belorussia and Ukraine, 1941-44. Martin Dean's book is about local police participation in ...
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This chapter reviews Martin Dean's book Collaboration during the Holocaust: Crimes of the Local Police in Belorussia and Ukraine, 1941-44. Martin Dean's book is about local police participation in the murder of the Jews in certain regions of Belarus and Ukraine which were part of Russia until 1918, then part of Poland or the Soviet Union until 1939, and then part of the Soviet Union until 1941. He points to the importance of a ‘second wave’ of killings, at least in the parts of the former Soviet Union he addresses. Generally, he notes, the historiography of the Holocaust has focused on the ‘first wave’, which took place in the summer and autumn of 1942. But the great majority of the murders took place later, in 1942 and 1943, as ghettos were systematically cleared. In this deadly ‘second wave’, local Ukrainian and Belarusian police forces played an essential role, primarily in rounding up and hunting down Jews for execution, but also from time to time as gun men. The Germans relied heavily on these policemen to find the Jews since they had the advantage of knowing the intended victims personally.Less
This chapter reviews Martin Dean's book Collaboration during the Holocaust: Crimes of the Local Police in Belorussia and Ukraine, 1941-44. Martin Dean's book is about local police participation in the murder of the Jews in certain regions of Belarus and Ukraine which were part of Russia until 1918, then part of Poland or the Soviet Union until 1939, and then part of the Soviet Union until 1941. He points to the importance of a ‘second wave’ of killings, at least in the parts of the former Soviet Union he addresses. Generally, he notes, the historiography of the Holocaust has focused on the ‘first wave’, which took place in the summer and autumn of 1942. But the great majority of the murders took place later, in 1942 and 1943, as ghettos were systematically cleared. In this deadly ‘second wave’, local Ukrainian and Belarusian police forces played an essential role, primarily in rounding up and hunting down Jews for execution, but also from time to time as gun men. The Germans relied heavily on these policemen to find the Jews since they had the advantage of knowing the intended victims personally.
Marina Zaloznaya and John Hagan
- Published in print:
- 2012
- Published Online:
- September 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780199658244
- eISBN:
- 9780199949915
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199658244.003.0014
- Subject:
- Law, Public International Law
This chapter considers the uses of the anti-trafficking agenda of the authoritarian government of Belarus. It identifies the ways the Belarus government uses anti-trafficking as a basis for other ...
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This chapter considers the uses of the anti-trafficking agenda of the authoritarian government of Belarus. It identifies the ways the Belarus government uses anti-trafficking as a basis for other self-sufficient and nationalist agendas, and by making travel abroad by students and young people more difficult. It notes that the trafficking indicators of the State Department ignore other forms of human rights repression or the excesses of policing systems in Belarus. This chapter also emphasizes the relevant theme of the importance of global indicators in authoritarian contexts, an area that also lacks research.Less
This chapter considers the uses of the anti-trafficking agenda of the authoritarian government of Belarus. It identifies the ways the Belarus government uses anti-trafficking as a basis for other self-sufficient and nationalist agendas, and by making travel abroad by students and young people more difficult. It notes that the trafficking indicators of the State Department ignore other forms of human rights repression or the excesses of policing systems in Belarus. This chapter also emphasizes the relevant theme of the importance of global indicators in authoritarian contexts, an area that also lacks research.
Barbara Epstein
- Published in print:
- 2008
- Published Online:
- March 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780520242425
- eISBN:
- 9780520931336
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- University of California Press
- DOI:
- 10.1525/california/9780520242425.001.0001
- Subject:
- History, European Modern History
Drawing from engrossing survivors' accounts, many never before published, this book recounts a heroic yet little-known chapter in Holocaust history. The book chronicles the history of a Communist-led ...
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Drawing from engrossing survivors' accounts, many never before published, this book recounts a heroic yet little-known chapter in Holocaust history. The book chronicles the history of a Communist-led resistance movement inside the Minsk ghetto, which, through its links to its Belarussian counterpart outside the ghetto and with help from others, enabled thousands of ghetto Jews to flee to the surrounding forests where they joined partisan units fighting the Germans. Telling a story that stands in stark contrast to what transpired across much of Eastern Europe, where Jews found few reliable allies in the face of the Nazi threat, this book captures the texture of life inside and outside the Minsk ghetto, evoking the harsh conditions, the life-threatening situations, and the friendships that helped many escape almost certain death. The book also explores how and why this resistance movement, unlike better known movements at places like Warsaw, Vilna, and Kovno, was able to rely on collaboration with those outside ghetto walls. It finds that an internationalist ethos fostered by two decades of Soviet rule, in addition to other factors, made this extraordinary story possible.Less
Drawing from engrossing survivors' accounts, many never before published, this book recounts a heroic yet little-known chapter in Holocaust history. The book chronicles the history of a Communist-led resistance movement inside the Minsk ghetto, which, through its links to its Belarussian counterpart outside the ghetto and with help from others, enabled thousands of ghetto Jews to flee to the surrounding forests where they joined partisan units fighting the Germans. Telling a story that stands in stark contrast to what transpired across much of Eastern Europe, where Jews found few reliable allies in the face of the Nazi threat, this book captures the texture of life inside and outside the Minsk ghetto, evoking the harsh conditions, the life-threatening situations, and the friendships that helped many escape almost certain death. The book also explores how and why this resistance movement, unlike better known movements at places like Warsaw, Vilna, and Kovno, was able to rely on collaboration with those outside ghetto walls. It finds that an internationalist ethos fostered by two decades of Soviet rule, in addition to other factors, made this extraordinary story possible.
Kiryl Kascian
- Published in print:
- 2018
- Published Online:
- May 2019
- ISBN:
- 9781526109095
- eISBN:
- 9781526136008
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Manchester University Press
- DOI:
- 10.7228/manchester/9781526109095.003.0006
- Subject:
- Political Science, International Relations and Politics
Belarus is also an ‘in-betweener’ country apparently caught between the choice of EU and Russia. Kiryl Kascian, however, shows that this is not a choice which the Belarusian authorities wish to make ...
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Belarus is also an ‘in-betweener’ country apparently caught between the choice of EU and Russia. Kiryl Kascian, however, shows that this is not a choice which the Belarusian authorities wish to make - they instead seek a relationship with both the EU and Russia. Belarus provides perhaps the starkest example of the limitations of the EU’s values-based approach to its neighbours. Belarus’ domestic political system and its prioritisation of the relationship with Russia mean that the EU lacks any real impact. Belarus does, however, seek a more pragmatic, interest-based relationship in contrast to the EU’s values-based approach which appears to be going nowhere. The chapter also raises the problems of the perception of European identity promoted through EU-isation. While Belarus considers itself European and at the centre of a wider Europe, EU-isation, as it is currently configured, relegates it to the periphery. This theme of differing perceptions of European identity and the consequences of the narrow application of EU-isation recurs across the chapters and will be re-addressed in the conclusion of this volume.Less
Belarus is also an ‘in-betweener’ country apparently caught between the choice of EU and Russia. Kiryl Kascian, however, shows that this is not a choice which the Belarusian authorities wish to make - they instead seek a relationship with both the EU and Russia. Belarus provides perhaps the starkest example of the limitations of the EU’s values-based approach to its neighbours. Belarus’ domestic political system and its prioritisation of the relationship with Russia mean that the EU lacks any real impact. Belarus does, however, seek a more pragmatic, interest-based relationship in contrast to the EU’s values-based approach which appears to be going nowhere. The chapter also raises the problems of the perception of European identity promoted through EU-isation. While Belarus considers itself European and at the centre of a wider Europe, EU-isation, as it is currently configured, relegates it to the periphery. This theme of differing perceptions of European identity and the consequences of the narrow application of EU-isation recurs across the chapters and will be re-addressed in the conclusion of this volume.
Olga Kuchinskaya
- Published in print:
- 2014
- Published Online:
- January 2015
- ISBN:
- 9780262027694
- eISBN:
- 9780262325417
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- The MIT Press
- DOI:
- 10.7551/mitpress/9780262027694.001.0001
- Subject:
- Sociology, Science, Technology and Environment
Before Fukushima, the most notorious large-scale nuclear accident the world had seen was Chernobyl in 1986. The fallout from Chernobyl covered vast areas in the Northern Hemisphere, especially in ...
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Before Fukushima, the most notorious large-scale nuclear accident the world had seen was Chernobyl in 1986. The fallout from Chernobyl covered vast areas in the Northern Hemisphere, especially in Europe. Belarus, at the time a Soviet republic, suffered heavily: nearly a quarter of its territory was covered with long-lasting radionuclides. Yet the damage from the massive fallout was largely imperceptible; contaminated communities looked exactly like non-contaminated ones. It could only be known through constructed representations of it. The book explores how we know what we know about Chernobyl, describing how the consequences of a nuclear accident were made invisible. The analysis sheds valuable light on how we deal with other modern hazards—toxins or global warming—that are largely imperceptible to the human senses. The book describes the production of invisibility of Chernobyl’s consequences in Belarus—practices that limit public attention to radiation and make its health effects impossible to observe. Just as mitigating radiological contamination requires infrastructural solutions, the production of invisibility also involves infrastructural efforts, from categorical work of redefining the scope and nature of the accident’s consequences to reshaping infrastructures for research and radiation protection. The book finds historical fluctuations in recognition, tracing varyingly successful efforts to conceal or reveal Chernobyl’s consequences at different levels—among affected populations, scientists, government, media, and international organizations. The production of invisibility, the book argues, is a function of power relations.Less
Before Fukushima, the most notorious large-scale nuclear accident the world had seen was Chernobyl in 1986. The fallout from Chernobyl covered vast areas in the Northern Hemisphere, especially in Europe. Belarus, at the time a Soviet republic, suffered heavily: nearly a quarter of its territory was covered with long-lasting radionuclides. Yet the damage from the massive fallout was largely imperceptible; contaminated communities looked exactly like non-contaminated ones. It could only be known through constructed representations of it. The book explores how we know what we know about Chernobyl, describing how the consequences of a nuclear accident were made invisible. The analysis sheds valuable light on how we deal with other modern hazards—toxins or global warming—that are largely imperceptible to the human senses. The book describes the production of invisibility of Chernobyl’s consequences in Belarus—practices that limit public attention to radiation and make its health effects impossible to observe. Just as mitigating radiological contamination requires infrastructural solutions, the production of invisibility also involves infrastructural efforts, from categorical work of redefining the scope and nature of the accident’s consequences to reshaping infrastructures for research and radiation protection. The book finds historical fluctuations in recognition, tracing varyingly successful efforts to conceal or reveal Chernobyl’s consequences at different levels—among affected populations, scientists, government, media, and international organizations. The production of invisibility, the book argues, is a function of power relations.
Nancy Shields Kollmann
- Published in print:
- 2017
- Published Online:
- January 2017
- ISBN:
- 9780199280513
- eISBN:
- 9780191822803
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199280513.001.0001
- Subject:
- History, European Early Modern History, Cultural History
Being an empire is inseparable from modern Russian identity and historical experience: the Russian empire was founded in the early modern era and endures in large part today. The Russian Empire ...
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Being an empire is inseparable from modern Russian identity and historical experience: the Russian empire was founded in the early modern era and endures in large part today. The Russian Empire 1450–1801 surveys how Russia’s many subject areas were conquered and how the empire was governed. It considers the Russian empire a “Eurasian empire,” characterized by a “politics of difference”: the rulers and their elites at the center defined the state’s needs minimally (control over defense, taxation and mobilization of resources, criminal law) and otherwise tolerated local religions, languages, cultures, elites, and institutions. The center related to communities and religions vertically, according each a modicum of rights and autonomies but not allowing “horizontal” connections across social, ethnic, confessional, or other groups potentially with common interest. This book gives detailed attention to the major ethnic and religious groups as it surveys strategies of governance—centralized bureaucracy, military reform, judicial system, tolerance of difference. It pays particular attention to the dissemination of a supranational ideology of political legitimacy in a variety of media, particularly symbolic, such as public ritual, painting, architecture, and urban planning. Beginning with foundational features, such as geography, climate, demography, and geopolitical situation, the book explores the empire’s primarily agrarian economy, serfdom, towns and trade, religions, nobility, and high culture. It tracks the emergence of an “Imperial nobility” and a national self-consciousness that was, by the end of the eighteenth century, distinctly imperial, embracing the diversity of the empire’s many peoples and cultures.Less
Being an empire is inseparable from modern Russian identity and historical experience: the Russian empire was founded in the early modern era and endures in large part today. The Russian Empire 1450–1801 surveys how Russia’s many subject areas were conquered and how the empire was governed. It considers the Russian empire a “Eurasian empire,” characterized by a “politics of difference”: the rulers and their elites at the center defined the state’s needs minimally (control over defense, taxation and mobilization of resources, criminal law) and otherwise tolerated local religions, languages, cultures, elites, and institutions. The center related to communities and religions vertically, according each a modicum of rights and autonomies but not allowing “horizontal” connections across social, ethnic, confessional, or other groups potentially with common interest. This book gives detailed attention to the major ethnic and religious groups as it surveys strategies of governance—centralized bureaucracy, military reform, judicial system, tolerance of difference. It pays particular attention to the dissemination of a supranational ideology of political legitimacy in a variety of media, particularly symbolic, such as public ritual, painting, architecture, and urban planning. Beginning with foundational features, such as geography, climate, demography, and geopolitical situation, the book explores the empire’s primarily agrarian economy, serfdom, towns and trade, religions, nobility, and high culture. It tracks the emergence of an “Imperial nobility” and a national self-consciousness that was, by the end of the eighteenth century, distinctly imperial, embracing the diversity of the empire’s many peoples and cultures.
Ralph S. Clem
- Published in print:
- 2011
- Published Online:
- September 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780813035307
- eISBN:
- 9780813038292
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- University Press of Florida
- DOI:
- 10.5744/florida/9780813035307.003.0007
- Subject:
- Society and Culture, Latin American Studies
This chapter focuses on the counterintuitive strategic alliance between Belarus and Venezuela. The inexorable erosion of human rights in Belarus has resulted in the country becoming a virtual pariah ...
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This chapter focuses on the counterintuitive strategic alliance between Belarus and Venezuela. The inexorable erosion of human rights in Belarus has resulted in the country becoming a virtual pariah state. The Belarusian political and military leadership was quick to realize that much of this weaponry and military hardware could be sold in the global arms trade. Whereas Venezuela stands to gain from technology transfers and licensed manufacturing, Belarus in turn hopes to expand international markets for their manufacturing firms and, if the petroleum joint ventures succeed, recieve a significant infusion of cash as well. The chapter also discusses the scenario of regime legitimacy, economic cooperation, and military assistance, as a result of Belarus-Venezuela ties.Less
This chapter focuses on the counterintuitive strategic alliance between Belarus and Venezuela. The inexorable erosion of human rights in Belarus has resulted in the country becoming a virtual pariah state. The Belarusian political and military leadership was quick to realize that much of this weaponry and military hardware could be sold in the global arms trade. Whereas Venezuela stands to gain from technology transfers and licensed manufacturing, Belarus in turn hopes to expand international markets for their manufacturing firms and, if the petroleum joint ventures succeed, recieve a significant infusion of cash as well. The chapter also discusses the scenario of regime legitimacy, economic cooperation, and military assistance, as a result of Belarus-Venezuela ties.
Olga Kuchinskaya
- Published in print:
- 2014
- Published Online:
- January 2015
- ISBN:
- 9780262027694
- eISBN:
- 9780262325417
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- The MIT Press
- DOI:
- 10.7551/mitpress/9780262027694.003.0007
- Subject:
- Sociology, Science, Technology and Environment
Chapter 6 describes the transformation of Belarusian post-Chernobyl research efforts, from the systematic development of radiological research infrastructures in the last years of the Soviet Union to ...
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Chapter 6 describes the transformation of Belarusian post-Chernobyl research efforts, from the systematic development of radiological research infrastructures in the last years of the Soviet Union to massive restructuring and reframing of Chernobyl-related research ten years later, as a result of changing political and economic interests of the Belarusian government. Infrastructural disruptions to data collection and analysis created the conditions for research relying on theoretically, rather than empirically, driven approaches, and this bias supports minimizing the scope of Chernobyl-related health effects. The chapter observes that restructuring and reframing of Chernobyl-related research led to the near disappearance of the radiation factor as an object of inquiry, and to the greater invisibility of local experts who would claim expertise in the health effects of radiation exposure due to the Chernobyl accident.Less
Chapter 6 describes the transformation of Belarusian post-Chernobyl research efforts, from the systematic development of radiological research infrastructures in the last years of the Soviet Union to massive restructuring and reframing of Chernobyl-related research ten years later, as a result of changing political and economic interests of the Belarusian government. Infrastructural disruptions to data collection and analysis created the conditions for research relying on theoretically, rather than empirically, driven approaches, and this bias supports minimizing the scope of Chernobyl-related health effects. The chapter observes that restructuring and reframing of Chernobyl-related research led to the near disappearance of the radiation factor as an object of inquiry, and to the greater invisibility of local experts who would claim expertise in the health effects of radiation exposure due to the Chernobyl accident.
Jerzy Borzecki
- Published in print:
- 2008
- Published Online:
- October 2013
- ISBN:
- 9780300121216
- eISBN:
- 9780300145014
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Yale University Press
- DOI:
- 10.12987/yale/9780300121216.001.0001
- Subject:
- History, European Modern History
The Soviet–Polish peace treaty of 1921, also known as the “Riga peace,” ended the war of 1919–1920 and may be considered the most important Eastern European treaty of the interwar period. This book ...
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The Soviet–Polish peace treaty of 1921, also known as the “Riga peace,” ended the war of 1919–1920 and may be considered the most important Eastern European treaty of the interwar period. This book offers a post-Soviet account of how Bolshevik Russia and Poland came to sign the treaty—a pact that established the central part of the Soviet western border and provided Eastern Europe with a measure of stability which lasted until 1939. The author draws on untapped materials in Russian and Polish archives to recreate the negotiations and behind-the-scenes maneuvers leading to and surrounding the treaty. He examines the significance of the agreement not only to its signatories but also to Ukraine, Belarus, Lithuania, and Latvia; shows that the Riga peace represented an authentic compromise between Poland and Bolshevik Russia; and offers new interpretations of other crucial aspects of the negotiations as well.Less
The Soviet–Polish peace treaty of 1921, also known as the “Riga peace,” ended the war of 1919–1920 and may be considered the most important Eastern European treaty of the interwar period. This book offers a post-Soviet account of how Bolshevik Russia and Poland came to sign the treaty—a pact that established the central part of the Soviet western border and provided Eastern Europe with a measure of stability which lasted until 1939. The author draws on untapped materials in Russian and Polish archives to recreate the negotiations and behind-the-scenes maneuvers leading to and surrounding the treaty. He examines the significance of the agreement not only to its signatories but also to Ukraine, Belarus, Lithuania, and Latvia; shows that the Riga peace represented an authentic compromise between Poland and Bolshevik Russia; and offers new interpretations of other crucial aspects of the negotiations as well.
Antony Polonsky
- Published in print:
- 2001
- Published Online:
- February 2021
- ISBN:
- 9781874774693
- eISBN:
- 9781800340718
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Liverpool University Press
- DOI:
- 10.3828/liverpool/9781874774693.001.0001
- Subject:
- Religion, Judaism
The Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, created in 1569, covered a wide spectrum of faiths and languages. The nobility, who were the main focus of Polishness, were predominantly Catholic; the peasantry ...
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The Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, created in 1569, covered a wide spectrum of faiths and languages. The nobility, who were the main focus of Polishness, were predominantly Catholic; the peasantry included Catholics, Protestants, and members of the Orthodox faith, while nearly half the urban population, and some 10 per cent of the total population, was Jewish. The partition of Poland at the end of the eighteenth century and the subsequent struggle to regain Polish independence raised the question of what the boundaries of a future state should be, and who qualified as a Pole. The partitioning powers were determined to hold on to the areas they had annexed: Prussia tried to strengthen the German element in Poland; the Habsburgs encouraged the development of a Ukrainian consciousness in Austrian Galicia to act as a counterweight to the dominant Polish nobility; and Russia, while allowing the Kingdom of Poland to enjoy substantial autonomy, treated the remaining areas it had annexed as part of the tsarist monarchy. When Poland became independent after the First World War, more than a third of its population were thus Ukrainians, Belarusians, Germans, Jews, and Lithuanians, many of whom had been influenced by nationalist movements. The core chapters in the book focus especially on the triangular relationship between Poles, Jews, and Germans in western Poland, and between the different national groups in what are today Lithuania, Belarus, and Ukraine. In addition, the New Views section investigates aspects of Jewish life in pre-partition Poland and in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries.Less
The Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, created in 1569, covered a wide spectrum of faiths and languages. The nobility, who were the main focus of Polishness, were predominantly Catholic; the peasantry included Catholics, Protestants, and members of the Orthodox faith, while nearly half the urban population, and some 10 per cent of the total population, was Jewish. The partition of Poland at the end of the eighteenth century and the subsequent struggle to regain Polish independence raised the question of what the boundaries of a future state should be, and who qualified as a Pole. The partitioning powers were determined to hold on to the areas they had annexed: Prussia tried to strengthen the German element in Poland; the Habsburgs encouraged the development of a Ukrainian consciousness in Austrian Galicia to act as a counterweight to the dominant Polish nobility; and Russia, while allowing the Kingdom of Poland to enjoy substantial autonomy, treated the remaining areas it had annexed as part of the tsarist monarchy. When Poland became independent after the First World War, more than a third of its population were thus Ukrainians, Belarusians, Germans, Jews, and Lithuanians, many of whom had been influenced by nationalist movements. The core chapters in the book focus especially on the triangular relationship between Poles, Jews, and Germans in western Poland, and between the different national groups in what are today Lithuania, Belarus, and Ukraine. In addition, the New Views section investigates aspects of Jewish life in pre-partition Poland and in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries.
Jerzy Borzęcki
- Published in print:
- 2008
- Published Online:
- October 2013
- ISBN:
- 9780300121216
- eISBN:
- 9780300145014
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Yale University Press
- DOI:
- 10.12987/yale/9780300121216.003.0005
- Subject:
- History, European Modern History
This chapter discusses the following events: the limited Soviet offensive in Belarus; the Soviet minor offensive in Ukraine; the Soviets and the Ukrainian issue; the Soviet major offensive in ...
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This chapter discusses the following events: the limited Soviet offensive in Belarus; the Soviet minor offensive in Ukraine; the Soviets and the Ukrainian issue; the Soviet major offensive in Belarus; the Spa agreement; the Curzon note; Soviet peace treaties with Lithuania and Latvia; the reestablishment of Soviet Belarus; Soviet military successes and strategic errors; Soviet diplomatic delays and peace proposals; the Battle of Warsaw; and the Minsk peace conference.Less
This chapter discusses the following events: the limited Soviet offensive in Belarus; the Soviet minor offensive in Ukraine; the Soviets and the Ukrainian issue; the Soviet major offensive in Belarus; the Spa agreement; the Curzon note; Soviet peace treaties with Lithuania and Latvia; the reestablishment of Soviet Belarus; Soviet military successes and strategic errors; Soviet diplomatic delays and peace proposals; the Battle of Warsaw; and the Minsk peace conference.
Jerzy Borzęcki
- Published in print:
- 2008
- Published Online:
- October 2013
- ISBN:
- 9780300121216
- eISBN:
- 9780300145014
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Yale University Press
- DOI:
- 10.12987/yale/9780300121216.003.0008
- Subject:
- History, European Modern History
This chapter discusses the following events: the final defeat of Poland's Ukrainian and Belarusian allies; the failure of federalism in Central Lithuania; the recess in negotiations and new ...
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This chapter discusses the following events: the final defeat of Poland's Ukrainian and Belarusian allies; the failure of federalism in Central Lithuania; the recess in negotiations and new delegations; accusations of ill will exchanged by the Poles and Soviets; how Ioffe shored up Dąbski's position; Soviet opposition to international involvement in the Wilno issue; stalemate in the commissions; and Ioffe's frustration with Moscow.Less
This chapter discusses the following events: the final defeat of Poland's Ukrainian and Belarusian allies; the failure of federalism in Central Lithuania; the recess in negotiations and new delegations; accusations of ill will exchanged by the Poles and Soviets; how Ioffe shored up Dąbski's position; Soviet opposition to international involvement in the Wilno issue; stalemate in the commissions; and Ioffe's frustration with Moscow.
Jerzy Borzęcki
- Published in print:
- 2008
- Published Online:
- October 2013
- ISBN:
- 9780300121216
- eISBN:
- 9780300145014
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Yale University Press
- DOI:
- 10.12987/yale/9780300121216.003.0009
- Subject:
- History, European Modern History
This chapter discusses Soviet relations with Lithuania and Belarus; the treatment of prisoners of war; distrust and tension between the Poles and Soviets; stalemate over the gold reserves issue; the ...
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This chapter discusses Soviet relations with Lithuania and Belarus; the treatment of prisoners of war; distrust and tension between the Poles and Soviets; stalemate over the gold reserves issue; the Soviet note to Lithuania; the crisis of the negotiations; Chicherin's struggle with the Moscow specialists; continued crisis in Riga; Krasin's payment schemes; the agreement on repatriation; agreement on the remaining issues; Moscow's attempt to delay the signing of the definitive peace with Poland; and signing of the definitive on 18 March.Less
This chapter discusses Soviet relations with Lithuania and Belarus; the treatment of prisoners of war; distrust and tension between the Poles and Soviets; stalemate over the gold reserves issue; the Soviet note to Lithuania; the crisis of the negotiations; Chicherin's struggle with the Moscow specialists; continued crisis in Riga; Krasin's payment schemes; the agreement on repatriation; agreement on the remaining issues; Moscow's attempt to delay the signing of the definitive peace with Poland; and signing of the definitive on 18 March.
Jerzy Borzęcki
- Published in print:
- 2008
- Published Online:
- October 2013
- ISBN:
- 9780300121216
- eISBN:
- 9780300145014
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Yale University Press
- DOI:
- 10.12987/yale/9780300121216.003.0011
- Subject:
- History, European Modern History
This epilogue presents some final thoughts about the Soviet–Polish peace treaty, which marked the end of a two-year military and diplomatic conflict, with each side getting what it wanted. The Poles ...
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This epilogue presents some final thoughts about the Soviet–Polish peace treaty, which marked the end of a two-year military and diplomatic conflict, with each side getting what it wanted. The Poles obtained what they viewed as Polish ethnic territory in the Borderlands, together with a strategic defensive line. The Soviets secured their power over most of the Ukrainian and Belarusian ethnic territories, which were to be held on their own terms in the absence of any further pressure from Polish federalism.Less
This epilogue presents some final thoughts about the Soviet–Polish peace treaty, which marked the end of a two-year military and diplomatic conflict, with each side getting what it wanted. The Poles obtained what they viewed as Polish ethnic territory in the Borderlands, together with a strategic defensive line. The Soviets secured their power over most of the Ukrainian and Belarusian ethnic territories, which were to be held on their own terms in the absence of any further pressure from Polish federalism.
Agnia Grigas
- Published in print:
- 2016
- Published Online:
- September 2016
- ISBN:
- 9780300214505
- eISBN:
- 9780300220766
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Yale University Press
- DOI:
- 10.12987/yale/9780300214505.003.0007
- Subject:
- Political Science, Russian Politics
This chapter deals with the country case studies of Belarus and Armenia. These states have been among Russia’s closest allies since their independence and offer a unique perspective on how Moscow’s ...
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This chapter deals with the country case studies of Belarus and Armenia. These states have been among Russia’s closest allies since their independence and offer a unique perspective on how Moscow’s compatriot-driven reimperialization policies can be pursued in highly cooperative, dependent and vulnerable post-Soviet states. The analysis demonstrates that such states are less able to resist both Russia’s softer and its more coercive means of influence, so that they are maintained de facto in Russia’s imperial project without the need to resort to outright aggression.Less
This chapter deals with the country case studies of Belarus and Armenia. These states have been among Russia’s closest allies since their independence and offer a unique perspective on how Moscow’s compatriot-driven reimperialization policies can be pursued in highly cooperative, dependent and vulnerable post-Soviet states. The analysis demonstrates that such states are less able to resist both Russia’s softer and its more coercive means of influence, so that they are maintained de facto in Russia’s imperial project without the need to resort to outright aggression.
