The Potential for Reducing Mortality in Russia

This article attempts to assess current national and regional reserves for reducing the mortality rate in Russia. It explores the potential to reduce the mortality rate in comparison to comparable international benchmarks in rates of growth and gains in life expectancy at birth, identifies a range of circumstances that have an adverse impact on the population’s health in post-Soviet Russia, and shows that the main reserve for reducing mortality remains the “lost health capital” that preceded the collapse of the Soviet Union and continued in the 1990s. Finally, it assesses the current regional potential for lowering the mortality rate, which is “hidden” in differences between regions leading in life expectancy (with the exception of extremes) and the country’s remaining territories. The conclusion presents data revealing the life expectancy of men and women.     

Demographic changes in East European countries and Russia

The authors outline demographic trends in Eastern Europe and Russia since 1970. Aspects considered include population size, birth rate and number of births, marriage and divorce, death rate, infant mortality, natural increase, sex ratio, and life expectancy.     

The Banality of the Past: A Sociological Perspective on Popular Russian Historical Novels of the 1990s

Abortion has always been a significant form of birth control in Russia, and currently the replacement of abortion by contraceptive devices is proceeding very slowly. The high incidence of abortion in adolescents and women who are pregnant for the first time poses the threat of future infertility and worsening health. Russia still has a high level of maternal mortality; one out of four cases is linked to the consequences of abortion, especially criminal abortion.     

Popular Humor in the Post-Soviet Period

The question of the uniqueness [svoeobrazie] of Russian philosophy and its distinctive features has been around for more than a century. Since the 1840s, when Russian philosophers set about studying the history of philosophical thought in Russia, the question immediately arose as to whether one could speak of Russian philosophy as a distinctive [samobytnoe] and original phenomenon, or whether it would be more correct to speak of philosophy in Russia, i.e., the existence in Russia of philosophical ideas whose roots lay not in Russia but beyond its borders, while in Russia they are merely disseminated, but not born.     

Russia 2020

The authors describe four idealized alternative scenarios for Russia in 2020—Kremlin Gambit, Fortress Russia, Russian Mosaic, and New Dream—and analyze the views of focus-group participants concerning their probability and desirability. They find that these views are influenced only marginally by electoral preferences.     

A Socialist Orientation

Today it seems that humanity has finally bid farewell to the greatest of delusions—the idea of constructing an ideal society in accordance with a specific model, a kind of paradise on earth. Of the once-powerful socialist camp (community), only Cuba and North Korea, both currently experiencing a deep crisis, as well as China and Vietnam—where economic achievements are attributable more to the logic of capitalist development—remain. But as long as one socialist country is left in the world, there are no adequate grounds for us to say that we have once and for all put an end to the phenomenon of alternative development (in this case, the phenomenon of Marxist-Leninist socialism)—or, as F[rancis] Fukuyama so loudly declared, that the "end of history" is upon us.¹     

Four Problems of the SCO in Connection with Its Enlargement

One of the main issues facing the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) is its enlargement. Traditionally, this issue has been viewed in terms of practical policy. The longer this dispute over enlargement drags on, however, the greater the depth it acquires. The enlargement debate reflects the unique political culture of the SCO. Another issue well-known from other organizations also arises—“different levels” in the admission of new participants. But the question of the organization’s future is emerging in discussions of enlargement as the main matter in dispute: is it to be a global future (as Russia is more inclined to see it) or a regional future (as China is more inclined to see it)? Thus, the SCO faces one of the most important conflicts of today’s world—that between globalization and regionalization. While debates about these trends and the relationship between them continue in the political, economic, and social sciences, the SCO has to make a practical choice in favor of one of the trends or find a way to combine them in determining its work priorities. The authors reformulate the issue of enlargement as a problem of finding a balance between globalizing and regionalizing trends in the SCO strategy. At the practical level this will make it possible to reconcile the basic interests of Russia and China in Eurasia.     

Mass Protests in the Context of the Russian Power Regime

The mass protests in Russia in late 2011 and early 2012 can be seen as a reaction to the prevalence of a special model of power relationships—the Russian power regime. This article discusses scenarios in which the mass protests are a first step toward the transition from the equilibrium of the Russian power regime to the equilibrium of a democratic regime, with an emphasis on the reform of municipal and regional governance and of university life.     

Revisiting demand,politicization and externalization in authoritarian political regimes: policy advisory system in Russian practices

ABSTRACT

This study contributes to debate on three related questions in Policy Advisory System research. Is the Policy Advisory System concept applicable in countries other than developed democracies? How does it function in a state-centred authoritarian regime? How does the authoritarian environment affect tendencies such as “politicization” and “externalization”? These questions are addressed using materials on the current Russian governance structure and advisory practices, focusing on two broadly defined “governance subsystems” in the Presidential Administration of Russia, “Political Bloc” and “Economic Bloc”, both acting as regular customers for advisory communities. One finding is the phenomenon of “Dual Demand” from the same centre of power—“stability” for “Political Bloc” and “innovation” for “Economic Bloc”—which contributed to creation of two different clusters of policy advisory agencies with different statuses. Other findings include transformation of “politicization” to policy control mechanisms and attempted “externalization” turning into the reverse—“internalization”—bringing independent advisory organizations under the supervision of government structures.     

Characteristics of the Way of Life of Adolescents

The way of life, intentions, and values of the adolescents of Russia have been written about extensively both in the mass publications and in specialized youth journals. For the most part, these writings have to do with a group that is not very large—the young people of the capital city, who have considerably more opportunities for entertainment and education than their peers elsewhere in Russia and are better informed about world trends in music, fashions, and cinema. An article was published last year that described the plans and aspirations of the upper-grade students of schools in Moscow. The present article continues the topic, analyzing generational attitudes and values. The article makes use of the findings of an all-Russian survey which was conducted by the All-Russian Center for Public-Opinion Research in June 1998 among adolescents between the ages of sixteen and nineteen; 419 people were surveyed.     

Political information,gender and the vote: the differential impact of organizations,personal discussion,and the media on the electoral decisions of women and men

Although there are many demonstrated ways in which men and women approach politics differently, we know very little about how sources of political information, e.g., mass media, political organizations, differentially influence the vote choices of men and women. Using a rich, contextual dataset containing measures not only of respondent perceptions of political information, but actual content coding of those sources of political information, we estimate how television, newspapers, personal discussants, organizations, and political parties may have impacted the voting of men and women in the 1992 U.S. presidential election. We find that women’s vote choices are more likely than men’s to be influenced by the organizations to which they belong. Women are also more likely to respond to television news with a hostile media bias—they see television newscasts as definitively favoring the candidate that they oppose. We address possible explanations for these patterns of results and point towards directions for additional research.     

Outside the Law: Russian Detective Stories

The traditional detective story—not a crime novel but precisely a detective story—has not really adapted to Russia. To realize the longing for Truth and Justice, normal to any average person, we must still identify ourselves with the heroes of Dick Francis or Agatha Christie. And it is not that the detective story in its classical form is outdated; actually, it is one of the youngest genres and flourishes quite well in the West on a par with the crime novel.     

中俄在朝鲜半岛问题上的战略协作

中俄对朝鲜半岛的政策同大于异,在政策目标和基本内容上,中俄具有很多一致性;在政策的演变过程与限制因素方面,两国间又存在差别.中俄朝鲜半岛政策的相近是两国在朝鲜半岛问题上战略协作的基础.两国在朝鲜半岛问题上的协作是东北亚局势发展的需要,也是为了减少中俄间矛盾,促进两国关系全面发展的要求.尽管面临挑战,但中俄在朝鲜半岛问题上的战略协作前景乐观.     

世纪告别--文学规律性现象的思索

回思刚刚过去了的百年特别是八九十年代的文学思潮 ,有一些现象值得反思 :如“文学回归文学”的提出 ,纯而又纯的文学 ,失去了价值意识系统的支柱 ,文学的归属与定位陷入了迷惘 ;又如文学与道德的关系 ,道德对于文学不仅仅是一个“主题” ,而且是文学的依托 ,文学需要道德的“中介”作用实现审美化 ;再如 ,文学写生存状态与人之存在意义的质疑 ,二者不是对立而是在融会中诞生杰作 ;还如 ,文学的新思维 ,不但要面对家族、社会之人际关系 ,今天尤应面对人类与日趋恶化的自然生态环境的关系 ,迟来的环境文学不仅仅是一个“题材” ,而且是拥抱全人类、拥抱整个地球的未来文学。     

Is Combat Pay Effective? Evidence from Operation Desert Storm*

Objective. To determine whether combat pay for U.S. Army officers has been adequate to maintain troop strength during wartime in the all‐volunteer military. Methods. Data from a panel survey of 3,800 officers collected one year prior to Operation Desert Storm and again during the Iraqi engagement are used. The primary economic indicator of work disutility—the marginal rate of substitution (MRS) or tradeoff of time for money—is estimated; and the MRS‐hourly pay relationship in both time periods is determined. Results. Combat pay was found to be generally adequate to offset increases in wartime disutility. Additional payment was required for male officers in only two branch groups, and these involved relatively small numbers of personnel compared to the larger Combat Arms branches. Conclusions. We find no evidence that a market‐oriented volunteer army could not maintain adequate troop strength during wartime, at least in environments similar to that of the early 1990s when these data were collected.     

The relation between population and health in a crisis

This work argues that the economic crisis in Latin America resulting from structural adjustment programs and recession has had deleterious effects on the relationship between demographic factors and health. 2 works presented at the 1989 International Union for the Scientific Study of Population meeting in New Delhi considered the difficulty of demonstrating unambiguously the demographic effects of the economic crisis. This work, instead of looking at overall rates which may not have been greatly affected, focuses on 3 specific areas that reflect the relationship between population and health in the context of the crisis. Although the infant mortality rate has continued to decline in almost all countries and regions of Latin America during the crisis, the decline has been unequal in different sectors. A comparison of data from the 1987 National Survey of Fertility and Health in Mexico with that of the 1982 National Demographic Survey shows that rural infant mortality declined by only 1% between the 2 surveys, while urban infant mortality declined by 21%. An indicator of available services in the household showed the same increase inequality. Disaggregation of infant mortality data for Mexico suggests that even a presumably biological determinant, maternal age, loses much of its weight when socioeconomic factors are considered. Other studies, on the impact of maternal education, similarly indicate that the relationship is different for different social sectors. The infant mortality data taken together suggest that infant mortality continues to ba a valid indicator of social inequality, and that the crisis has had the effect of increasing inequality and worsening the relative conditions of the least advantaged. In the area of fertility, data from the 1989 National Survey of Fertility and Health in Mexico are used to argue that family planning programs are integral components of an authoritarian governmental political style. The survey indicated that sterilization is now the most commonly used contraceptive method in Mexico and that fully 12.4% of sterilized women did not make the decision to be sterilized themselves. 34% of illiterate women who were sterilized did not make the decision themselves. 14% of all the women but 33% of illiterate women reported they would not be sterilized if they could make the decision again. These data and others on the high proportion of women who undergo sterilization at young ages and low parities and without being informed of other methods suggest that the attitude of the official family planning program is becoming more authoritarian and less respectful of human rights as it seeks to curb population growth. The area of health effects has usually been ignored in migration studies. The phenomenon of Mexican migrant workers in the US who return to Mexico after contracting AIDS is an obvious example of the link between population variables and health.     

The Media Environment and Media Consumption in Contemporary Russian Society

Russia is experiencing the "mediatization" of society as electronic communication technologies penetrate everyday life. This has contradictory effects since it increases the means of manipulation of and access to information at the same time that people can expand and personalize their use of media. The functioning of technical innovations in Russia is determined by social factors, by the relations of power established in society, by social and individual resources, and by the level of culture and education.     

The Reformed National Health Service: A Commentary

This article presents an overview of the current state of the reforms of the British NHS instigated by the NHS and Community Care Act (1990) following the White Paper Working for Patients (1989) and introduced in England and Wales in 1991 and in Scotland and Northern Ireland in 1992. The reforms were not only wide ranging—affecting virtually all aspects of health care organization and delivery—but also ongoing. Moreover, there has been little systematic evaluation of the impact of the reforms. While making reference to other aspects of the reforms this survey article concentrates on two important issues of central concern to the NHS—efficiency and equity—and highlights some of the associated research and literature.