Freedom, Compassion and Creativity

2020 ◽  
Vol 14 (3) ◽  
pp. 255-275
Author(s):  
Joshua T. Searle
Keyword(s):  
Soviet Union ◽  
Former Soviet Union ◽  
Soviet Society ◽  
Public Issues ◽  
The Public ◽  
Church And Society ◽  
National Boundaries ◽  
Christian Leaders ◽  
The Church ◽  
The Revolution

Abstract The response of the Church to the Revolution of Dignity (Революція гідності) in Ukraine in 2013–14 signalled a seismic shift in Christian public engagement with post-Soviet society. The implications and significance of the Revolution extended beyond the national boundaries of Ukraine. The revolutionary events became a symbol of hope for the church and society. Theologians and Christian leaders throughout the nations of the former Soviet Union began to reconsider the public witness of the church. This article uses the notion of public theology to explore how Ukrainian evangelical Christians can engage with matters of public significance in the aftermath of the Revolution of Dignity. I conclude with a proposal for the application of three principles (freedom, compassion and creativity) as appropriate points of departure for evangelical theological reflection on public issues in Eastern Europe and the former Soviet Union today.

scholarly journals Inverse modelling of the Chernobyl source term using atmospheric concentration and deposition measurements

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nikolaos Evangeliou ◽  
Thomas Hamburger ◽  
Anne Cozic ◽  
Yves Balkanski ◽  
Andreas Stohl
Keyword(s):  
Soviet Union ◽  
Former Soviet Union ◽  
Source Term ◽  
Main Direction ◽  
Inverse Modelling ◽  
Spent Fuel ◽  
Atmospheric Concentration ◽  
The Public ◽  
The Usa ◽  
Modelling Techniques

Abstract. The present paper describes the results of an inverse modelling study for the determination of the source term of the radionuclides 134Cs, 137Cs and 131I released after the Chernobyl accident. The accident occurred on 26 April 1986 in the Former Soviet Union and released about 1019 Bq of radioactive materials that were transported as far away as the USA and Japan. Thereafter, several attempts to assess the real magnitude of the emissions were made that were based on the knowledge of the core inventory and the levels of the spent fuel. More recently, when modelling tools were further developed, inverse modelling techniques were applied to the Chernobyl case for source term quantification. However, because radioactivity is a sensitive topic for the public and attracts a lot of attention, high quality measurements, that are essential for inverse modelling, were not made available except for a few sparse activity concentration measurements far from the source and far from the main direction of the radioactive fallout. For the first time, we apply Bayesian inversion of the Chernobyl source term using not only activity concentrations, but also deposition measurements from the most recent public dataset. These observations refer to a data rescue attempt that started more than 10 years ago, with a final goal to give such kind of measurements into anyone interested. As regards to our inverse modelling results, emissions of 134Cs were estimated to be 80 PBq or 30–50 % higher than what was previously published. From the released amount of 134Cs, about 70 PBq were deposited all over Europe. Similar to 134Cs, emissions of 137Cs were estimated as 86 PBq, in the same order with previously reported results. Finally, 131I emissions of 1365 PBq were found, which are about 10 % less than the prior total releases. The inversion pushes the injection heights of the three radionuclides to higher altitudes (up to about 3 km) than previously assumed (≈ 2.2 km) in order to better match both concentration and deposition observations over Europe. The results were of the present inversion were confirmed using an independent Eulerial model, for which deposition patterns were also improved when using the estimated posterior releases. Although the independent model tends to underestimate deposition in countries that are not in the main direction of the plume, it reproduces country levels of deposition very efficiently. The results were also tested for robustness against different set-ups of the inversion through sensitivity runs. The source term data from this study are made publically available.

Veterans, Organization, and the Politics of Martial Citizenship in China

2008 ◽  
Vol 8 (1) ◽  
pp. 119-158 ◽  
Author(s):  
Neil J. Diamant
Keyword(s):  
Soviet Union ◽  
Former Soviet Union ◽  
Military Veterans ◽  
The State ◽  
Ruling Elite ◽  
Fraternal Organizations ◽  
Chinese Military ◽  
The Revolution

This article examines the organizational origins of political vulnerability among Chinese military veterans between 1949 and 2006. Recently declassified sources from urban and rural archives show that many veterans, even as they were officially considered core members of the ruling elite and hailed as the “flesh and blood of the revolution,” nevertheless experienced frequent humiliation and discrimination; few citizens sympathized with their plight. The argument here is that much of this mistreatment can be traced to the failure of the state to provide veterans with the opportunity to organize in the context of either fraternal organizations or quasi-autonomous federations. In this respect, their predicament is notably different from their counterparts in democratic, fascist, or corporatist systems, or in other Leninist regimes. Why have veterans in Taiwan, Vietnam, and the former Soviet Union been allowed to form veterans organizations but veterans in the PRC—to their misfortune—have not? This article explains this anomaly.

History, Villagers, and the Social Scientists: Wrestling with the Past in the Present

2012 ◽  
Vol 81 ◽  
pp. 149-162
Author(s):  
Tracy McDonald
Keyword(s):  
Soviet Union ◽  
Former Soviet Union ◽  
Rural Life ◽  
Soviet Society ◽  
The Urals ◽  
Social Scientists ◽  
Historical Ethnography ◽  
The Past ◽  
The Social ◽  
The Relationship

What is the relationship between the historical Soviet countryside and the post-Soviet present both for the scholars who study them and for the population that inhabits them? Together Margaret Paxson, Solovyovo: The Story of Memory in a Russian Village; Jessica Allina-Pisano, The Post-Soviet Potemkin Village: Politics and Property Rights in the Black Earth; and Douglas Rogers, The Old Faith and the Russian Land: A Historical Ethnography of Ethics in the Urals create a rich, nuanced portrait of contemporary rural life in parts of the former Soviet Union. When one reads the three books together, one finds evidence of interesting continuity alongside dynamism and change that varies depending on the region and on the questions that motivated the researcher. The three works ask in varied ways how individuals in post-Soviet society perceive their world and attempt to live in it. The three studies extend far and wide across the territory of the former Soviet Union: Solovyovo, three hundred miles north of Moscow; the Black Earth, more than four hundred miles to the south; and Sepych, about one thousand miles to the east.

scholarly journals Theology in the Public Sphere in the Twenty-First Century

Horizons ◽  
2016 ◽  
Vol 43 (2) ◽  
pp. 351-356
Author(s):  
Bryan N. Massingale
Keyword(s):  
Public Sphere ◽  
First Century ◽  
Public Theology ◽  
The Public ◽  
Theological Discourse ◽  
Church And Society ◽  
Twenty First Century ◽  
The Public Sphere ◽  
The Church

Several decades ago David Tracy wrote that theologians speak to three publics: the academy, the church, and society. Since then many theologians have exhibited, in Tracy's words, “that drive to publicness which constitutes all good theological discourse[,] … a drive from and to those three publics.”1 Our four roundtable authors discuss how and why theologians engage the public sphere in the twenty-first century. In arguing for the necessity of such engagement, they also draw attention to the promise and perils of doing public theology today.

scholarly journals Christian leadership in a South African township community: A reflection on nepotism and its impact on society

2020 ◽  
Vol 76 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Kasebwe T.L. Kabongo
Keyword(s):  
South African ◽  
Common Good ◽  
Negative Impact ◽  
Positive Impact ◽  
Christian Leadership ◽  
Church And Society ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Christian Leaders ◽  
South African Township ◽  
The Church

The author reflects on the reality of nepotism in Christian leadership as he has observed in the township of Soshanguve and many other African poverty-stricken communities he has lived in. The leadership of churches in those areas seems to run in the family. This model tends to have a disempowering effect on the other church members in terms of taking responsibility or initiating projects that could expand the impact of the church beyond the borders of its walls. This article recognises the positive impact of nepotism, but it mostly stresses on the negative impact of nepotism on the democratisation of power in the church and society. It uses music, a critical vehicle of knowledge acquisition in Africa, to stress upon the fact that Christian leaders should be equipped to participate in the common good, help in the empowerment of ordinary people around them, starting with their members and be altruistic, like Jesus, and work beyond the boundaries of their families.

scholarly journals The Possible Potentials of Astrotourism in Caucasus

2020 ◽  
pp. 127-132
Author(s):  
Mohammad Javad Torabi
Keyword(s):  
Soviet Union ◽  
Former Soviet Union ◽  
Light Pollution ◽  
High Altitudes ◽  
Science Centers ◽  
The Caucasus ◽  
The Public ◽  
Caucasus Region ◽  
The Soviet Union ◽  
The World

Astrotourism is not a new topic, but it is certainly a title that has been in the forefront of tourism and astronomy for less than two decades. For nearly half a century, observatories and science centers have been opening their doors to the public on special occasions, such as Astronomy Day. However, for less than a decade, astrotourism has been the constant presence of tourists alongside professional astronomers, especially on weekends. They have made it possible by following all the principles. Until the early 1990s, one of the most important countries in the world to host the world's largest astronomical observatories was the Soviet Union. The Caucasus region in the former Soviet Union hosted very important observatories due to its high altitudes, pure nature, and very low amount of light pollution and, of course, the proper weather in warm seasons. Byurakan in Armenia, Abastumani in Georgia, Shamakhi in Azerbaijan, and BTA-6 in Russia are the four main collections left from that period. Fortunately, nearly two decades after the independence of the countries in the region, the restoration and updating of these observatories have been on the agenda. One of the helping arms to accelerate the revival of these observatories is to take advantage of the potential of astrotourism; especially with the location of these three countries near Iran, which has one of the largest astronomy enthusiast communities in the region.

scholarly journals Perichoretic interaction within the Trinity as a paradigm for fostering unity in the Public Affairs Committee (PAC) in Malawi

2018 ◽  
Vol 4 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Eugene Fortein
Keyword(s):  
Holy Spirit ◽  
Church And State ◽  
Public Affairs ◽  
National Unity ◽  
The Public ◽  
The Holy Spirit ◽  
Doctrine Of The Trinity ◽  
Church And Society ◽  
The Church ◽  
The Trinity

The revival of the patristic doctrine of perichōrēsis in relation to the Trinitarian framework has received overwhelming support in modern theological discourse. From Anagorous to John of Damascus, and from reformation to the 21st century theological scholarship, the doctrine of perichōrēsis has been viewed by many as a palatable approach and a suitable paradigm in addressing various challenges affecting the church and society globally, because it is out of this patristic doctrine that the entire doctrine of the Trinity is sustained. If it was not for perichōrēsis neither nature, personal, or salvific doctrine of Trinity would have no value. If not for perichōrēsis, Arianism, encompassing all aspects of modalism with various assorted gods within Christianity, would be a global phenomenon. This article presents perichōrēsis as the paradigm in advancing a national unity agenda within the Church and State in conjunction with a case study of the Public Affairs Committee in Malawi, which is a representation of the voice of the faith community in addressing the national unity agenda and other governance issues. The main argument in the paper is that adoption and emulation of the immanent Trinitarian perichoretic life experienced within the Trinitarian community of the Father, Son and the Holy Spirit is the best way forward in bringing meaningful unity in society today. This is because perichōrēsis, which flows within the Trinitarian framework, is the model and an example of what humans and society must emulate to enhance unity and togetherness.

scholarly journals Revitalization of (Post-) Soviet Neighbourhood with Nature-Based Solutions

2020 ◽  
Vol 23 (2) ◽  
pp. 76-80
Author(s):  
Aleksandr Shchur ◽  
Nadzeya Lobikava ◽  
Volha Lobikava
Keyword(s):  
World War Ii ◽  
Soviet Union ◽  
Former Soviet Union ◽  
Leisure Activities ◽  
Public Spaces ◽  
Arterial Streets ◽  
The Public ◽  
Residential District ◽  
Basic Services

AbstractThe neighbourhoods in the former Soviet Union were after the World War II often planned according to the self-consistent microdistrict concept similar to Clarence Perry's neighbourhood unit. Each residential district was based on the walkable community centre in the middle whereas the area itself was surrounded by arterial streets as the main transport routes with basic services. However, the recent situation of many of those neighbourhoods is rather dim – the bad condition of housing, faded public spaces and unorganised greenery systems are between the most crucial issues. The results of the research made on the case study of the Jubilejny district in the city of Mogilev, Belarus, show that population ageing is the main threat for these areas. Residents are dissatisfied with uncertain housing situation besides inappropriate parking options and lack of opportunities to spend a leisure time outside. Therefore, our proposal to the future development of the Jubilejny district includes short term improvements such as leisure activities within the public spaces or regeneration of green spaces as well as long-term designs regarding a community garden and other nature-based solutions.

scholarly journals The Excluded: Begging in the Postwar Soviet Union

2013 ◽  
Vol 68 (02) ◽  
pp. 259-288
Author(s):  
Elena Zubkova
Keyword(s):  
World War Ii ◽  
Soviet Union ◽  
Public Discourse ◽  
Social Classes ◽  
Soviet Society ◽  
World War ◽  
The Public ◽  
The Soviet Union ◽  
Standards Of Living ◽  
The 1960S

To what extent was the Soviet state able to control (and oppose) the process of social exclusion and to what extent was Soviet society ready to integrate social outcasts? This article attempts to answer these questions by analyzing the phenomenon of begging in the Soviet Union between the 1940s and the 1960s. The article begins by studying the phenomenon of begging as a reaction to poverty, serving as a survival strategy for the lower social classes who were excluded from society due to poor standards of living. A brief historical overview of the campaign to combat begging in the the USSR from the Revolution of 1917 until the mid-1950s shows both the continuity and shifting perspectives of state reaction to this social problem. This article also analyzes begging, which was an important social phenomenon in the USSR after World War II, through the specific biographies of actual beggars. The article concludes with an examination of the public discourse on poverty in the 1950s and early 1960s, which reveals how both society and the state viewed the issue.

scholarly journals Under Lenin’s watchful eye: Growing up in the former Soviet Union

2017 ◽  
Vol 15 (3/4) ◽  
pp. 529-534
Author(s):  
Marina Levina
Keyword(s):  
Soviet Union ◽  
Everyday Life ◽  
Former Soviet Union ◽  
Authoritarian Regimes ◽  
Public Institutions ◽  
Growing Up ◽  
Black Markets ◽  
The Public ◽  
The Everyday ◽  
Soviet Ideology

Using autoethnography as a primary methodology, I draw on my experience growing up in the former Soviet Union in the late 1970s and 1980s to illuminate the everyday life in the authoritarian regime and its surveillance apparatus. At that point, the corruption of the regime was evident to most citizens as black markets flourished; illegal monetary exchanges were widespread, and bribery became a legitimate and widespread institution.  However, as the economical sector was slipping out of Soviet control, the public institutions such as media and education were still in business of propagating Soviet ideology. That ideology permeated every aspect of culture, however, it was not enforced through a top-down surveillance, but rather through an internalized surveillance based in belief and faith in authoritarian institutions of power. As a result, it produced individuals torn between faith in the ideals and the reality of the everyday life. In the essay I plan to examine my own experiences through theoretical lens of self-surveillance to make an argument about the production of subjectivity in authoritarian regimes. 

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