RUSSIAN POLITY ON THE EVE OF THE 1999-2000 ELECTORAL CAMPAIGNS
The leading experts of the Center of Political Technologies consider the political situation in Russia on the threshold of a two-year long electoral marathon – the Parliamentary electoral campaign for the State Duma of the RF in December 1999 and the Presidential elections in summer 2000. The authors analyze the legal and political framework of the electoral campaigns, describe the balance of political forces and their respective leaders, give forecasts concerning their electoral strategy and assess the potential results of the parties.
DOI: 10.30570/2078-5089-1998-9-3-5-20
Pages: 5-20
Andrei Neschadin, Mikhail Malyutin
THE SOCIAL CONTEXT AND THE PERSPECTIVES OF THE PARLIAMENTARY ELECTIONS
The leading specialists of the Expert Institute give their forecast of the procedure of the Parliamentary Elections of 1999 and their results considering the ongoing economic and political crises in Russia. According to the authors, this year the political events will to a great extend dominate over the economic component, though the crises state of the economy in its turn will influence the electoral battles and introduce certain limitations. The previous forecast by the same authors, prepared in 1995, appeared to be absolutely correct as far as the «party lists» are concerned and rather accurate as applied to the one-mandate constituencies.
DOI: 10.30570/2078-5089-1998-9-3-21-41
Pages: 21-41
POLITICAL CULTURES
IMPERIAL POLITICAL CULTURE UNDER MODERNIZATION
The article analyses the imperial political tradition in the context of Russian modernization. The author shows that it is principally impossible to reanimate traditional empires in the modern world, but at the same time his thesis is that a partial use of the imperial political technologies can be functional. The imperial tradition can be monopolized by some champions of a radical nationalistic state program (though there can be substantial differences among them); this scenario pre-supposes short term functional benefits, but will aggravate the ethno-political situation on the post-imperial territory. At the same time the elements of the imperial tradition can be instrumental in case the intercivilizational conflicts scenario (S.Huntington) is implemented which is already the case in the modern world. The Russian politics has not yet defined its attitude to those perspectives, but there is no doubt it will have to do it.
DOI: 10.30570/2078-5089-1998-9-3-42-57
Pages: 42-57
RELIGION AND CHURCH IN THE MODERN WORLD
THE RELIGIOUS FOUNDATIONS OF THE ECONOMIC ACTIVITY (FORMULATING A PROBLEM)
Given all the differences in traditional religious systems, none of them denies the economic activity of the human beings, because there are no religions that lack common sense, religions, where everyday life practical elements are missing. However, there are religions where this element is more vivid and clear cut. In different ways, directly or indirectly, vividly or discretely, sometimes in a peculiar way do religions influence the economic life and the spiritual forces engaged in the economic activity. At the same time the specific needs of the business life often influence the religion by amending the interpretation of the Sacred Commandments.
DOI: 10.30570/2078-5089-1998-9-3-58-73
Pages: 58-73
A BREAK, A BREAKDOWN, A BREAKTHROUGH: TO THE POSITION OF THE CHURCH IN POLAND
In the Polish Church the confrontation between the proponents of the conservative and liberal Catholicism on major issues of political life is getting ever sharper; it refers to such issues as matters as political involvement, religious education at schools, interpretation of the notions of patriotism and nationalism, attitude to Europe, including the membership in the European Union. The author concludes that the Catholic Church is trying to win a battle of yesterday using the weapons of the day-before-yesterday, and thus faces the risk of loosing tomorrow.
DOI: 10.30570/2078-5089-1998-9-3-74-82
Pages: 74-82
ESSAY
AUTHORITARIAN RULE OR DEMOCRACY: A DIFFICULT CHOICE FOR RUSSIA
The article, that presents a synopsis of the book by the same authors «Russia on the Crossroad: Authoritarian Rule or Democracy: Possible Models of Development» (published in 1998) analyses the reasons for the growth of autocratic tendencies in the Russian political elite and the society in general and considers the negative consequences of a potential autocratic evolution of the political system. This scenario is counterbalanced by still non-exhausted possibilities of the democratic development of Russia.
DOI: 10.30570/2078-5089-1998-9-3-83-95
Pages: 83-95
TOTALITARIANISM AS A SOCIAL PHENOMENON
THE PERSPECTIVES OF COMING TO A TOTAL AGREEMENT
The international conference: «Russia and Germany in the XX-the century: towards anti-totalitarian accord; experience and goals» (Moscow, May 1998) organized by the Institute of Universal History of Russian Academy of Sciences, the Center for the European Integration Research under the Bonn University, the Mulheim Initiative and the «Russia-Germany» Society brought together the leading specialists in the above-mentioned field from Russia and Germany. The Conference discussed the anti-totalitarian consensus problems and its perspectives in Europe, the democratization of the Justice and of the educational system, etc. The participants of the Conference also had a number of discussions with Moscow students. Since the conference was scientific and practical, it is no wonder that all its participants were deeply concerned with the question, why the democratization process in Russia was so difficult and ambiguous.
DOI: 10.30570/2078-5089-1998-9-3-96-100
Pages: 96-100
W.Leonhard, a prominent German publicist had an outstanding life story. He was a son of a German anti-fascist mother and a witness of the events that took place in the USSR in the 30-s. Later he participated actively in the arrangement of the post-war life in the Eastern part of Germany. Having lost all illusions about the political regimes of the USSR and the Eastern Germany, he immigrated to the Western Germany in the 50-s and published a number of books devoted to the nature of the totalitarian regimes in those two countries. These books – «The Revolution Lets its Children Go» in the first place – have become political best-sellers.
DOI: 10.30570/2078-5089-1998-9-3-101-111
Pages: 101-111
SCIENTIFIC HERITAGE
The article analyses the presentations of the speakers who represented different disciplines at the conference. Special attention is given to the problem of the continuity of scientific schools in Russia ( Porshnev’s activity being used as an example) that vividly declared itself in Russia on the turn of this century.
DOI: 10.30570/2078-5089-1998-9-3-112-114
Pages: 112-114
B.PORSHNEV’S HERITAGE AND ITS IMPORTANCE IN OUR DAYS
The article reviews the heritage of a scholar-encyclopaedist Boris Porshnev (1905–1972). Porshnev’s heritage includes practically every branch of the social and political science and some natural sciences. Porshnev’ s research was mainly directed at the problem of the origins of Homo sapiens, for which he tried to get a more reliable scientific foundation, that had been proposed before and at reconsidering the whole course of human history from the point of view of its origins. In Porshnev’ view this would allow to lay the basis to a synthetic science about Homo socialis and about the human society. Some aspects of Porshnev’s heritage are known to specialists, each knowing his or her particular narrow branch. The author offers the first full review of the heritage in general.
DOI: 10.30570/2078-5089-1998-9-3-115-163
Pages: 115-163
CHRONICLES
POLITICAL PARTIES AND MOVEMENTS OF RUSSIA: (AUTUMN, 1998)
The author analyses the processes that were going on in autumn 1998 in different parts of the political spectrum of Russia; the analyses is supplemented with the chronicle of the main events.
DOI: 10.30570/2078-5089-1998-9-3-164-185
Pages: 164-185