Proceedings of Topical Issues in International Political Geography

There have been debates about how the pandemics will set off unprecedented events that possibly lead to a new world order. Therefore, Eurasian countries need to implement efficient policies and strategies not only to overcome the effect of the pandemics but also to find a good place in post-pandemic geopolitics. This presentation analyzes similarities and differences in domestic factors that have led Eurasian countries like Russia, Belarus, Ukraine, Turkey, Azerbaijan and the Central Asian states to give various responses to the pandemics. The paper assesses possible outcomes of these various policies and strategies on geopolitical future of these countries. In this framework, a special emphasis will be placed on digital transformation, health care and migration in order to see whether Eurasian countries take measures to adapt to changes in post-pandemic geopolitical order.

The economic revolution that world is experiencing now promises to change the traditional service sector in economics to a different one with computer machineries that will take unmanned decisions. New technologies that appeared in the era of technical and economic revolutions have become of crucial importance in the innovative global economy. The nearest years promise that 5G network will be widely incorporated into technologies and economics. Unmanned data exchange is a basic ideology of 5G technology, which is supposed to substitute 4G. 5G may be used to develop different innovations such as self-driving cars, smart cities and drones for postal delivery. IoT technology is highly discussed in this respect.

Climate change is one of the main challenges and threats of the 21st century. Accordingly, the analysis in this study is based on the conceptual economic strategy of the United Nations Green Economy. Attention is paid to topical issues on the problem of climate change, since the COVID-19 pandemic has significantly affected human economic activities. For this study, three European Union member states have been selected for their economic performance and economic development: Germany, France and Italy. According to the statistics of the International Monetary Fund for 2020, the data on the GDP of these countries is the highest. Compared to other member states, the selected countries have the largest population. Moreover, the leaders of the three states have repeatedly expressed their concern about the problem of climate change. The paper provides a brief analysis of the most important international conferences devoted to the climate problem, as well as a comparison of the main approaches in relation to anthropological factors causing climate change. Unfortunately, the climate agenda is still viewed by some industrialists, government elites and energy sector businessmen as less significant than economic benefits. Academic circles are also divided and many believe that the transition to “green rails” is not feasible at the moment and the climate issue can be postponed. Thus, economic reforms, compliance with environmental recommendations, the introduction of legal and institutional mechanisms and methods remain under the responsibility of each state separately. The avoidance and reluctance of transformations allows us to speak about the initial stage of the formation of awareness of the climate threat.

In May 2021, the chairmanship of the international forum Arctic Council has passed to the Russian Federation. This is Russia’s third chairmanship since the Forum was established. Russia has successful experience of cross-boundary cooperation with other members of the AC. In 2020, the “Strategy for the Development of the Arctic Zone of the Russian Federation and Ensuring National Security for the Period up to 2035” (hereinafter S.) and “Fundamentals of the State Policy of the Russian Federation in the Arctic for the Period up to 2035” (hereinafter F.) were adopted, which nowadays are the pillars of current Russia’s chairmanship. With a purpose to forecast Russia’s chairmanship, it is necessary to examine the features of the Its policy-making. The paper includes a timeline and key issues of the main stages of Russia’s work in the AC, an evaluation of the strategic documents of the Russian Federation’s policy in the North region for the next 15 years and also contains prognosis of the Russian Arctic program of the chairmanship.

This paper is dedicated to the study of the political-geographical determinants of international cooperation in the evolution of international transport corridors, specifically the Northern Sea Route (NSR). To achieve this goal, the paper analyzes the measures taken earlier for the growth of the NSR, the current geopolitical situation in the Arctic region of Russia‚ and the projections for the growth of the NSR in connection with recent events.

The emergence of a Kurdish political entity in the north of Iraq can be dated back to the aftermath of First Gulf War. When the coalition forces stopped short of destroying Saddam’s War machine in 1991, the Iraqi Army advanced north to crush the Kurdish rebels. A coalition force led by US declared a “no-fly zone” on the north of 36th parallel in order to create a safe haven for the Kurds. Second Gulf War further consolidated Kurdish autonomy in the region following the melt down of central Iraqi government while the peshmerga forces advanced south to control the abundant oil resources of Kirkuk province that has been contested by Baghdad and the Kurds for decades. Control of those underground resources enabled the Kurdish entity to pursue a more independent policy as well as providing financial resources for centralization of political power. The disputes with Baghdad government still are not over but a petro-state seems to be taking shape despite those political uncertainties. This new political entity shares many similar traits with other states in the region that rely on rents from fossil fuels. Underlying economic conditions are an important determinant of the political system of Erbil government.

The objective of this paper is to study the UN Charter interpretation issues in settlement of regional conflicts. The Charter was approved unanimously at the United Nations Conference on International Organization in San Francisco in 1945. However, there were quite a lot of ambiguities and legal gaps in the definition of powers of the entire UN, its individual bodies and the Secretary-General, which had to be filled in during the practical activities of the UN. The UN has a fairly wide range of legally defined tools, but not all of them can be used or have been used in the history of the Organization. On the other hand, there are many tools and patterns that have entered into the practice of the UN, which are not reflected in any way in the main documents. This opens the possibility for certain UN members for manipulating the legal norms of the UN. This also allows the UN to work in a more efficient way in the situation of disagreements between its members. One of the most ambiguous issues is the one of the roles of regional international bodies, especially in the settlement of international conflicts. Here the powers of the UN have come into conflict with ambitions of regional organizations and their leading nations. The research based on the case-study of the Guatemala crisis shows the specific features of the UN Chapter interpretation in settlement the modern regional conflicts from foreign policy directions and national interests of the external actors.

The paper is devoted to the interaction of the Russian Federation and the People’s Republic of China within the SCO. It analyzes the main activities of all participating countries, as well as the role of Russia and China in the organization. This paper highlights the main projects that were carried out during the existence of the SCO. It also outlines Sino-Russian relations within the organization. In this paper, an attempt is made to give an understanding of China’s activities in relation to the Central Asian countries. The paper focuses on the results and prospects of this project.

In this paper, I tried to explore what China is aiming for by analyzing the content that was brought to public at the 100th anniversary of the founding of the Communist Party of China in July 2021 and the essence of a long-term plan presented for the 2035 future vision. The Chinese government defined it as ‘getting up’ in the Mao era, ‘getting rich’ in the Deng Xiaoping era, and ‘getting stronger’ in the Xi Jinping era. Xi Jinping also declared that China would stand proudly against anyone in the world that would challenge the country and achieve a victory by using strong military power accumulated through socialist modernization. He also stressed that China would contribute as maintaining an order in the international community by forming new global power relationships.In response to China’s challenge, the United States is essentially adopting a policy of containment of China. Although US China policies slightly very depending on a American regime in power, the policy will to maintain the US-centered world order has not changed. Under these circumstances, it is expected that China’s responsible international role could influence China’s status in the future.

This paper argues that the body politic metaphor requires rethinking and updating in order to represent the evolving realities of global governance. It situates the BRICS within political discourses by offering an alternative analysis on how this international forum recasts the notion of body politic in global politics. Through analysing the materials from the first decade of BRICS Joint Statements (2009–2020), this article offers a critical analysis of how The BRICS challenges the traditional body politic by the shift of sovereignty from the nation-state toward global governance. Particular attention is given to how BRICS norm-making acts serve as symbiotic energy that maintains the political health within the global political ecosystem. This re-imagination takes place in four ways: co-governance, interdependence, balanced gatekeeping, and pragmatic agenda. The BRICS’ vision of interdependence involves acknowledging that cooperation takes place because of diversity, not despite it, reflecting a re-imagined symbiotic body politic. Re-imagining the body politic that does not necessarily weaken the nation-state but rather make nation-states evolve through a symbiotic process coming from a rather small emerging power in the international arena rather than the dominant Global North. The discussions raised in this work speak more broadly to the field of international relations and political sciences to put into dialogue abstract frameworks and contemporary political events.

A number of axioms related to the ontological status of the so-called “social energy”, which remains a controversial area of scientific knowledge, are postulated. Such energy cannot be measured either in amperes or kilocalories, but the energy costs that manifest themselves in social communities in the form of enthusiasm, enthusiasm, aggression, bitterness and other forms are not only special, but sometimes colossal. According to the authors, the energy of “red-hot” political and administrative borders, as well as the energy of cross-border contacts in the modern world, is associated with social energy. Attention is focused on the fact that the concept of “state border” is not limited to the legal meaning. It is also a social and political structure, which is associated with the emotions of people living on both sides of it, especially in cases of contradictions between neighboring ethnic groups. Geoeconomics and geopolitics were chosen as the “polygons” of the study. The marginal stratification of society is also considered as a generator of social energy, when large social groups find themselves “on the borders”, “on the fields” or between strata. It is noted that the centers of marginality have their own boundaries, possess with their own boundaries, have a boundary energy, which is reflected in the specifics of frontier communication. The contradictory connection of geopolitics and geo-economics is fixed, which generates social energy with a “minus” sign. An increase in the “degree” of social tension often occurs with the so-called “border trade” practiced by the population of neighboring states. The development of this type of trade in Russia was strongly influenced by the worst financial and economic situation of the neighboring countries, the depressive nature of their economies. The stated problem is directly related to military conflicts between states and other armed conflicts (“energy of war”); tribal separatism and intertribal clashes (tribalism in Africa); territories not controlled by former metropolises, etc.

The problem of the survival of humankind has acquired a new relevance. If recently the whole world was horrified by the prospects of a nuclear war, now the value priorities have shifted from the technogenic forms of struggle of some states and peoples against others to bio-political constants. Although the issues of viral infection, as well as the social consequences of the use of AI technologies concern all 8 billion earthlings, however, the biopolitics in the era of coronavirus and AI reflects all the same patterns: not solidarity in research and solving problems, but rivalry and absolutization of national interest.

Internet fragmentation is a popular topic of the scientific research; specialized terms, such as “Internet Balkanization” and “Splinternet” appear, which describe the new state of the de-globalized information space. This de-globalization is associated with the emergence of digital borders and territorialization of the global Internet. At the same time, according to UNCTAD statistics, the volume of data crossing the borders of states continues to grow. Thus, globalization at the level of data coexists with the fragmentation and digital borders at the policy level.Methodologically the paper is based on the critical geography approach. Critical geography allows to study digital borders as social constructs, discursive practices that reflect the nature of power relations in the international arena and are a source of power for those who create and control them. Digital borders, due to their social nature, are not impenetrable and the construction of digital borders, therefore, does not mean the end of information globalization.The article identifies two levels of digital geography and digital borders–discursive and ontological. At the discursive level, they reflect the securitization of the information space and at the ontological level, they are designed primarily to protect against cybersecurity threats.However, the erection of borders on the discursive level does not imply the end of information globalization on the ontological level of the digital geography. States are interested in the economic benefits that the global connected Internet provides. Global connectivity is the result of business activities, which creates new global digital spaces, contributing to the globalization of the market in order to increase profits.

The article examines the sociological and political-legal issues of the implementation of the principles of tolerance in modern Russian society. The forms and causes of intolerant behavior, problems of migration processes, interethnic extremism are analyzed. The issues of the spread of political radicalism and extremism in the modern world are considered. The statistical data reflecting the indicators of the number of terrorist acts carried out on the territory of the Russian Federation and the number of terrorist acts prevented are given. The conclusion is made: in the total number of crimes committed on the territory of the Russian Federation, the quantitative indicator of extremist crimes is small. However, each such crime can cause an increased public response and destabilize the internal political and social situation both in a particular region and in the country. Interethnic relations and the causes of xenophobia are analyzed. It is indicated that a significant number of radicalist and extremist manifestations are associated with the peculiarities of interethnic relations. Thus, the study of this problem requires close attention to the norms of international law that ensure sustainable development, global peace and security. From the point of view of the psychopathology and political psychology of extremism, its socio-cultural prerequisites, the influence of extreme social and psychological attitudes on the growth of violence in society, the influence of extreme ideological attitudes that find their expression in ideological disputes and have a wide public resonance is considered. It is concluded that extreme social and psychological attitudes, extreme ideological attitudes in themselves do not cause violence in society. The grounds, principles and boundaries of tolerance are revealed. It is pointed out that the state security system and the life support structures of society are ineffective without special adaptation to the conditions of the fight against political extremism and terrorism. This explains the success of the extremists and the wide range of their actions. Therefore, conducting special research on the problems of extremism is important for ensuring state security and preserving socio-political stability. It is concluded that the boundaries of tolerance are determined by the boundaries of conscious freedom. The issue of defining the boundaries of the freedom of society in countering extremism is considered. It is concluded that the use of emergency means in such situations may pose a threat to the realization of the purpose for which they are intended—the protection of the rights and freedoms of citizens. Thus, the only arguments against extreme methods of combating extremist activity are arguments that appeal to values. This means that one of the most important criteria for assessing the development of civil society is the level of legal awareness and legal culture of society. Legal attitudes should be based on a positive image of law and on the idea of legal behavior as the only way to realize freedom in modern society.

In higher educational institutions, the concept of professional ethics is regarded to be of utmost significance in achieving the desired goals and objectives. The paper discusses the significance, relevance, and usefulness of professional ethics in the context of higher education. It highlights the pivotal role of professional ethics in offering teachers a better understanding of their responsibilities, duties, rights, and institutional obligations as they work to provide quality education. As the individuals grow, they are provided with information in terms of professional ethics. When the individuals are able to understand the meaning and significance of professional ethics and implement them, they are able to bring about improvements in their lives and achieve personal and professional goals. Within the course of pursuance of higher education, it is necessary for the students to take into account professional ethics. This concept is vital not only for students, but also for other members of the educational institutions as well, including directors, heads, professors, and staff members. In the effective implementation of professional ethics, it is vital for the individuals to ensure that they communicate effectively, form good terms and relationships with others, depict honesty and righteousness and carry out their job duties in a well-organized manner. The paper discusses meaning and significance of professional ethics, objectives of professional ethics, types of professional ethics, and measures to improve professional ethics.

I argue that Thomas Hobbes presaged the current concerns with language in International Relations (IR) and Political Geography, and that he and these concerns present, perhaps unexpectedly, similar promises and problems. In spite of the views limiting Hobbes to materialism, naturalism, individualism, or separating his science and rhetoric, language was key for him. The humans construct their reason and society (notably, the state) in language, it also influences their extra-social interactions; and the humans are themselves constrained and, in a sense, created by language. Intellectuals are tied to the construction of social reality. These basic ideas are widely shared by the current views of language in IR. Both Hobbes and they can be seen as stressing collective freedom, pluralism and responsibility. But the analysis of Hobbes also draws attention to ontological, epistemological and ethical problems that he and the current theories share due to relativist conceptions of language and rationality.

The article focuses on the history of the events of the 18th century related to the development of trade and economic relations between Russia and Sweden. The stages of development of political and economic ties throughout the century are traced. The history of the origin of political and economic relations dates back to the period of the formation of statehood in Russia. According to one version, the Scandinavian tribes were related to the unification of the East Slavic tribes and the formation of the state of Ancient Russia. At that time, foreign trade exchanges were also established. One of the first known trade routes passed through the Baltic Sea, and through the territory of the Russian state. The route went to the Black Sea. It is well-known as the Trade Route from the Varangians to the Greeks. In the Tale of Bygone Years (the oldest Russian chronicle), the Baltic Sea was called the Varangian Sea, and the Scandinavian tribes were called the Varangians. Gradually, Sweden gained a dominant position on the Baltic Sea.The article considers the causes and consequences of military conflicts, their interdependence with economic and trade relations. Based on the scientific literature of various historical periods and the sources, examples of the nature of trade relations between Russia and Sweden are given. The place of these states in international (European) trade is determined. The role of the government policy of both states in the implementation of foreign trade relations is analyzed. The role of the St. Petersburg port in the development of trade with Sweden is indicated. The article provides examples of the participation of private Swedish companies and individual merchants that traded in Russia.

In the article, the authors investigate bilateral relations between St. Petersburg and African countries, and also try to explain the reasons for the strengthening of these contacts, primarily at the level of the legislative branch. The authors of the article substantiate the hypothesis of the greatest influence of the historical factor on the process of modern political relations between St. Petersburg and Africa. According to the authors, the geographical factor is important, but not decisive in the establishment and development of bilateral relations. It is argued that personalities play an important role in strengthening international contacts. In particular, former African students of St. Petersburg higher educational institutions, who have achieved success in politics, business and science, use their previous contacts to consolidate their success in interaction with St. Petersburg. Even during the existence of the Soviet Union, a tradition of an individual approach to teaching and educating African students was formed with the hope of promising cooperation with Africa. The authors conclude that the political system of African states is not of fundamental importance for the development of bilateral ties with St. Petersburg. The city on the Neva builds its international relations from the position of its economic interests. The authors believe that the weak point of modern relations between St. Petersburg and Africa is the narrowness of economic and cultural ties, aimed mainly at trade, tourism and education. The development of interaction in the areas of heavy industry and new technologies remains outside the political and economic interests of St. Petersburg.

Mass media occupy an important position in the political life of society. Therefore, in carrying out their functions, they are significantly influenced by various state institutions. In various countries, the position of the media is characterized by the fact that they are to some extent dependent on the authorities or have a greater degree of freedom in carrying out their activities. It can be noted that in numerous countries, the media are state-owned, their subordinate position does not allow them to properly cover problems that directly affect the well-being of the national society, namely the problems of corruption, if this information contradicts the interests of certain sociopolitical structures. The connection of the media with the ruling political elites is a factor that determines a negative or positive impact on the processes in the political life of the society. Using a regional approach, methods of analysis, comparison in the states of different regions, a negative dynamic can be traced, namely that in whole regions of the world, low levels of press freedom correlate with high levels of corruption and as a result with low living standards of the population. A direct correlation between the level of corruption and the status of the media can be observed. In regions without freedom of the press, this instrument is not used for the benefit of public interests. Thus, by modernizing the position of this instrument, it is possible to conduct anti-corruption policy much more effectively. The status of the media in the political system as a special social institution and instrument of influence on societies is determined by the degree of their independence from political elites and, therefore, the state faces the task of ensuring true freedom of speech, implemented, among other things, in the fight against corruption at the national level.

This article describes the main stages of formation and development of management accounting. The specifics of formation and the factors that influenced the allocation of management accounting as a separate subsystem in the field of accounting are explained. A logical chain of development of management accounting concepts has been carried out. The author notes the features of the use of terms in different countries. The complexity of the translation, similarities and differences in interpretation, character and content were also noted. Analysis of interpretations of management accounting allows us to judge the influence on their content of historical, economic factors, national characteristics.Particular attention is paid to the history of the emergence and formation of management accounting. Various points of view on the classification of stages of development of management accounting are given.The article outlines both the main theories of cost management in the enterprise, and modern concepts of management accounting, which include: the theory of constraints, the just-in-time system, total quality management, operations-based management, benchmarking, balanced scorecard. In international practice, integrated systems are often used.The influence of the processes of globalization and integrated internationalization of markets on the way of doing business by modern corporations is noted.The main parameters of the development of the management accounting system for the successful functioning of the company have been determined. The importance of management accounting in the development of enterprise and the main advantages of its application are noted. Further prospects for the development of the management accounting system are indicated. The main ones are: adaptation of best practices, modernization of educational programs, further evolution of management and business tools, development of a methodological base.

The author tries to deal with such phenomena as political and non-political ideology. The author’s thesis is that even in non-ideological states there are non-political ideologies, which, in the case of bureaucracy, manifest themselves as an ideology of service, service to society and the common good. The paper provides a comparative analysis of the regulatory documents of Russia and China. The author finds strengths and weaknesses in both countries. The main conclusion of the work is that even in a non-ideological state, civil servants need a clear formalization of the ideology of serving the society.

The article analyzes the verb representation of information sources in the political media discourse of the Chinese language, dedicated to the implementation of the Chinese foreign policy strategy One Belt, One Road (OBOR). The purpose of the article is to reveal the peculiarities of the verb representation of information sources in the OBOR Chinese political media discourse. Methods of discourse analysis, componential analysis, structural-semantic, descriptive, interpretive methods, as well as continuous sampling method were used to implement the objectives. The main material for the study was articles united by the “OBOR” topic presented on the pages of the online platform of The Zhenmin Zhibao 人民日报 - The Zhenmin Wang 人民网. The first stage of the study is related to the identification of information sources characteristic of the Chinese media discourse, and covering the topic of OBOR. The second stage of the study was the sampling of examples of verb combinations that represent sources of information within the meaning of indirect evidentiality ‘quotative’ and full citation. The third stage of the research was the identification of the verbs with which Chinese publicists formalize sources of information of indirect evidentiality. As a result, the study showed that the main sources of information in Chinese media texts can be divided into several groups: (1) persons (politicians and representatives of various organizations); (2) organizations (financial and trade, mass media); (3) documents (research results and statistics). The study showed that the OBOR Chinese media discourse is dominated by the references to the source of information related to the first group - persons (politicians, representatives of various organizations). Speeches of Chinese government officials and public agents play a significant role in the information support of the OBOR media discourse. Their representation in the text is carried out mainly by means of verbs of speech and mental activity. It is concluded that statements with the evidentiality meaning of ‘quotative’ is the most common way of presenting information in the OBOR Chinese-language discourse.

This work is dedicated to analysis of an opinion expression as a basic category when studying online deliberative practices. The author investigates (1) what opinion people do express on D. Trump and his second impeachment in the discussions on Facebook pages of politically polarized American media outlets; (2) how people characterize D. Trump as a brand in these Facebook discussions. The empirical material is online discussions on D. Trump and his second impeachment conducted on the pages of four American media outlets distributed by political affiliation to parties: conservative Washington Times and Fox News; liberal New York Times and MSNBC. To achieve research objectives, systemic content analysis on opinion expression is used. The paper concludes that (1) the more negative attitude to D. Trump and more support for his second impeachment are expressed in the discussions on Facebook pages of liberal media rather than conservative media. In political online conversations, Donald Trump as a brand (2) is predominately described by the following categories: in toilet/trashed; liar/cheater; traitor; destroyed; loser; mentally ill/sociopath; toast; domestic terrorist; dead; narcissistic; toxic.

The characteristics of the electoral process in European countries affected by the COVID-19 pandemic are described in this article. Following the pandemic, the world has been adjusting to changes in the social and political realms that have occurred over the previous year. Because political institutions are accountable for decisions made, restrictions put on businesses and citizens, and the efficiency of the coronavirus fight, the electoral institutions, which face challenges in all European nations, receive the most attention. To do this, the author provides an outline of electoral geography as a popular tool for understanding political processes, analyzes elections as a credible institution required for power legitimization, and identifies electoral practices in the COVID-19 pandemic. Electoral geography methods and a comparative analysis of electoral practices are used in the research. Trust, it is decided, creates a climate in society, which contributes to the development and successful settlement of problems. In a trusting society, residents can choose from a variety of voting options, and elections become the most crucial measure of that trust. Electoral practices have been reflected in the pandemic restrictions. However, there is a clear trend toward the active implementation of remote electronic voting, which isn’t flawless yet but is a strategic goal in current election campaigns. Simultaneously, greater demands are placed on the election process’ security, control, openness, and transparency.

Digital ecology has recently become a conceptually new branch of knowledge and research. The development of digital ecology as a separate direction is explained due to the rapid transformation of the technosphere in the twenty-first century. This article examines the development of the digital ecology concept and introduced two theoretical approaches to the concept’s understanding resulting in separation digital ecology associated with mobile technologies, IT technologies and services from digital ecology as a product of the information systems functioning. The article investigates the synthesis of sustainable development and digitalization as the key features of the modern states’ environmental agenda. This paper analyzes the measures that are already undertaken in this field on the example of the Federal Republic of Germany and contains the study of such German projects within the digital agenda as ProgRess and Digital Product Passport. The central pillars for the implementation of the planned programs are outlined and the general recommendations for promoting digital ecology are developed.

The paper under study is based on the information gathered and reveals the main trends to form the policy of regionalism which has become the official post-soviet ideology in the Altai Republic. The research confirms the postmodernist theory saying that in today’s world the public is influenced through the past and future images created to meet powerful structures’ demands. The idea of republican sovereignty and statehood as “our” revived achievements, that should be asserted and consolidated for the Altai peoples’ benefit, is maintained in public mind. The paper shows reasons to build “memorial places” in the centre of the capital city of Gorno-Altaysk where some memorials were erected to political figures: to G.I. Gurkin, who came up with the idea to form a republic in Gorny Altai in the early 1900s, and to V.I. Chaptinov who became the Head of the Republic. Political mythology in the region refers to social memory as a political resource to form the ideology of regionalism.The information gathered lets the authors conclude that the key role in organizing national societies is played by ethnical elite – elected tribal zaisans with the southern Altai, the chairmen of public associations with the northern Altai, teachers, journalists and other representatives of symbolic elite. The paper covers the way the regional authorities take revived zaisanate: as a rival and/or as an alternative non-governmental structure inspiring national movement. The dominating mythologeme of regional uniqueness and necessary political and cultural autonomy is the idea of Altai antiquity and its being ancestral home of turkic-speaking nations. One of the reasons to make up symbolic attributes of Altai Republic is the elite’s desire to extend history and to add the region to the global association where the pasyryc style is considered presentable. The griffin on the emblem of the Altai Republic is not accidental.

The paper is devoted to creating a centralized system that ensures the processing of opinions and claims against regional and municipal officials expressed by citizens in social networks, which began in 2020. Previous authors’ studies of Russian systems that ensure the interaction of authorities with citizens made it possible to identify six channels of electronic participation at the regional and municipal levels. However, the development of social networks and the emergence of new technologies for involving citizens in public politics have created the prerequisites for the transformation of electronic participation systems. This was reflected both in scientific research and in practice. For example, in the Russian Federation in 2020 a new channel of electronic participation was launched. A network of Regional Control Centers (RCCs) has been created and is being developed, one of the components of which is the Incident Management system, which allows real-time monitoring of the reaction of users in social networks and ensuring the processing of messages or claims of citizens to the authorities. The article presents the results of a pilot study that made it possible to identify the heterogeneity of new structures in terms of institutional affiliation and data from monitoring e-participation channels in the context of centralization processes.

The paper discusses such phenomena as equality, respect and fairness as the basis for creating a global future worth having. The investigation deals with the concept of a new vision for higher education and analyzes the process of change management. Change leadership—the management of significant change and the ability to focus and align their colleagues on needed change—has become the key work of leaders. The context of a new vision for education which calls for mindset shift from reading and writing to skills acquisition with relevance for daily life and society becomes imperative. Ethics education is the opportunity for a new value orientation. Such education ensures the training of both the teacher and the student, develops new technologies and conclusively allows a new vision, a new policy, a new market, new resources and a new system. The multi-cultural university of the 21st century, as a center of thought leadership that creates and imparts conceptual and practical knowledge, is by its very nature ethical. The paper highlights such phenomena as equality, respect and fairness as the basis for creating a global future worth having. The conclusion of this paper is the fundamental idea that education does not happen in isolation but is carried out through societal, environmental and human channels.

Soft power has already become an interior tool of any international actor. Hardly can one disagree with the fact that any state should definitely incorporate it in foreign policy institutions so as to utilise corresponding political potential within the framework contemporary system of international relations. NGOs become an evident central player in this effort. It is of prior importance to mention that the issue of formal multiple diversity of miscellaneous NGOs provides states with an opportunity to pursue long-run goals without a distinct affiliation to aforementioned organizations. This article is devoted to Russian path and its attempts to create semi-government soft power “NGOs” and their influence in Ukraine within a period between 2007 and 2014.

Modern relations between Russia and European countries are going through a rather difficult time, which is marked by the severity of political confrontation, the pressure of sanctions and mutual claims. In such contexts, the importance of cultural interaction has grown, which, due to a certain specificity and inertia, continues in conditions of political confrontation. Sport is a part of human culture and has exceptional opportunities in the development of relationships between countries, peoples and entire continents. Sports interaction is able to bring international dialogue to a new level, unite a wide audience of participants and contribute to solving various pressing problems of our time, which go beyond traditional competition. Sports relations today are the most important political resource that is used both by individual states and by political associations to solve various urgent problems. The possibilities of modern sports and international sports cooperation have become the basis of an independent direction - sports diplomacy, the potential of which in international relations is steadily growing, and the spheres of influence are consistently expanding. This study examines sports relations between Russia and Europe through the lens of sports diplomacy. The authors pay attention to both theoretical issues and directly to practical aspects of sports diplomacy in Russia and European countries. Today, relations between the Russian Federation and European countries are going through real tough time. Significant changes and transformation of traditional forms of cooperation in the field of sport are taking place, the political influence on the sphere of culture, sports and sports games is increasingly felt. The COVID epidemic also had a negative impact on the cooperation in the field of sport. This article examines the documentary basis, practical examples and acute problems of sports relations between Russia and European countries. The conclusions of this study can be used in the development of the regulatory framework for sports cooperation and the preparation of projects and programs in the field of modern sports interaction not only in Europe and Russia, but also in other countries of the world.

This paper is aimed at the analysis of how Russia and its close neighbours – the five post-Soviet Central Asian states – cooperate in the area of sport. Sport becomes a topic of interest due to forming a meaningful aspect of humanitarian cooperation, one of the sources for the development of extensive people-to-people exchanges and informal communication between the respective societies, as well as an instrument for enabling the self-empowerment of states at the international level. Russia’s partnerships with Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan are discussed to identify what sporting formats are involved in each relationship and whether these arrangements are implemented by the countries in the form of bilateral agreements. In addition, the development dynamics of the cooperation over the recent decade are traced in terms of what benefits accrue to each of the partner states.

This work is devoted to the prospects for the recovery of the tourism industry after the Covid-19 pandemic in the context of the transformations of this industry, which are the consequences of the pandemic. The theoretical significance of the work is determined by tracing in it the patterns of recession and recovery of the globalized sphere of the world economy in the context of the global crisis, which has several dimensions, within the framework of a specific case. The practical significance of the work is due to the fact that, on the basis of identifying short and medium-term trends that contribute to the recovery of the tourism industry, recommendations are proposed to accelerate the latter and deepen the positive trends associated with it. The relevance of this work is due, on the one hand, to the need for the most effective means of restoring global tourism, on the other hand, the need to understand the impact of multidimensional crises on a global scale (such as the Covid-19 pandemic) on the globalized economy of the modern world and its individual industries. The world tourism industry as a part of the global economy was selected as the object of analysis. The subject of the study is the recovery process of the global tourism industry after the recession caused by the Covid-19 pandemic.

The paper discusses the geographical imaginaries framing and shaping the migration decision-making process in the case of academics. Based on two qualitative studies focused on international academics employed in Poland (100 individual in-depth interviews) and Polish-born academics in the UK and the US (40 interviews), it demonstrates how the objective working conditions and common-sense knowledge translate into the imaginaries of higher education systems. The article suggests that vivid and positive imaginaries of Western higher education (“West is Best” narrative) contrast with blurred and ambiguous imaginaries of Poland, a semi-peripheral country (“in-between” narrative). The analysis of life and career stories problematises two common assumptions on academic migration. The first one is that “science has no nationality”. It is very difficult to defend it as some academics had a strong sense of place. The second one is the idealised and romanticised image of the West. The analysis suggests that the narrative of Western superiority is, at least partially, inadequate because international academics, over the years, start to re-work their imaginaries. The paper concludes with broader implications of geographical imaginaries for the power inequalities in global academia.

This article examines the problem of human trafficking in modern times through the example of the female population. The influence of standard factors under the influence of which one or another population group becomes particularly vulnerable to abduction and subsequent exploitation is currently becoming particularly acute due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The article examines and analyzes the significant aggravation of the problem of trafficking in women at the present stage. Despite the fact that the UN recognizes this problem as very significant, there is still a lack of targeted solutions to the problem. It is also worth noting that the current situation can be improved not only by the results of specific programs, but also by the efforts of the international community aimed at achieving the SDGs, which will help to eliminate the impact of factors that increase the likelihood of being trafficked.

Examining the statistics of tourism, of real estate sales to foreigners and statistics of mixed marriages, the authors argue that Russians’ interest to Turkey has steadily increased not only as a tourist destination but also as an emigration country for Russians. Many Russian citizens who visit Turkey for tourism purposes think about settling down in the country, and some of them buy real estate there. The second main period of the Russian immigration to Turkey is 1990s, after the collapse of the Soviet Union. Due to the number of mixed marriages increased as a result of irregular migration, a new generation grew up with two common cultures. In general, the gender factor appears more prominently in the marriage and migration, and the mixed marriages point out the unimportance of social-cultural differences such as language and religion. After 1980, an increase in foreign population was observed in Turkey especially in coastal areas such as Aegean and Mediterranean regions with tourism activities, and from 2000, these locations, mainly Antalya, have become popular in international migration. Main changes in Turkish legislation on citizenship are closely linked to the economic migration process, including quantitative limits set forth for investments in capital and real estate were dramatically decreased. Turkey has really become an immigration country while before it was an emigration one. The statistical data collected from different sources prove some surveys’ conclusions that economic factors are less important than social and geographical ones in the decisions of Russian citizens to migrate to and settle down in Turkey.

Nowadays labor migration level is growing exceptionally fast and influences states’ migration policies significantly. Finland has prioritized labor migration encouragement as facilitating high-qualified labor migrant’s inflow will bias the country’s economy, industry, and demography favorably.Finnish migration policy places a particular emphasis on integration aspects as it aims to attract and retain labor migrants in the country. In order to achieve needed labor migration increase, the Talent Boost program was developed. The aim of the program is to establish conditions under which international specialists, graduated international students and qualified labor migrants would like to work and stay in Finland.While performing the program, integration phase has a particular significance to retain specialists in Finland and to make Finnish labor market more competitive on the global market. In this regard, Finnish municipalities create various integration projects aimed to tailor municipal’s specific circumstances and facilitate international specialists’ integration and to elaborate the most efficient national-wide integration policy.The article explores Finnish integration policy aims and methods and particular emphasis puts on the examination of the Talent Boost program and instruments it uses.

The paper analyzes the main aspects associated with the migration of the Vepsian population of the Vologda region in the XX–XXI centuries. The Vepsians are one of the indigenous Finno-Ugric peoples that originally inhabit the northwestern regions of Russia - the Leningrad and Vologda regions, as well as the Republic of Karelia. Over the past century, the Vepsian population has significantly decreased in all regions of their residence. The key factors that influenced the decline in the number and movement of the Vepsian population within the Vologda region and to adjacent territories are considered. The influence of the state national policy on the processes of forced migration of Vepsians is assessed. The dependence of the dynamics of the number of Vepsians in the Vologda region on the intensity of their migration is revealed. An analysis of the negative factors that caused the decline in the number of Vepsians in recent decades is carried out. The prospects for the preservation of the ethnic self-identification of the Vepsians, the implementation of programs in the field of culture in places of compact residence of the Vepsian population of the Vologda region, which could expand the tourism potential of the region and serve to preserve the original culture of the indigenous people, are assessed. In the conclusion of the study, measures are proposed to stimulate the development of infrastructure in places of compact residence of Vepsians in the Vologda region, which will help to improve the quality of life and stabilize the dynamics of the population of this people in the region.

The paper considers the most tragic period in the history of the Cham minority in Cambodia. Like the Indian culture in Champa, Islam there had to adapt to local conditions that is also demonstrated by the modern Cham communities in the border provinces of Cambodia and Vietnam. A specific feature of the Cham community is that they still retain elements of matrilocal relations. The author proves that the resistance of the Cham (both in Cambodia and Vietnam) has been at least threefold: aspiration to regain state or religious autonomy, escape from the state, discerning mobility within its territory. The Cambodian Cham as a minority of immigrant descent have reinvented their identity on the basis of Islam, while their ethnic identity is at a secondary position. The Cham and Malays (“Khmer Islam” community) are the ethnic and religious minority most affected by the genocide under the Khmer Rouge regime. Today, a majority of Cambodia’s Cham population has felt the urge to belong to the wider Islamic world ever since.