scholarly journals Bulgaria’s geopolitical and geoeconomic reorientation (1989–2019)

2019 ◽  
Vol 9 (4) ◽  
pp. 12-23
Author(s):  
Valentin Mihaylov
Keyword(s):  
Soviet Union ◽  
Cultural Development ◽  
Political Elite ◽  
Eastern Bloc ◽  
The Political ◽  
The Soviet Union ◽  
Starting Point ◽  
Distribution Of Power ◽  
Political Economic ◽  
Near Future

Until the late 1980s and the dawn of the end of the Eastern Bloc, communist Bulgaria was considered to be the closest ally of the Soviet Union. Now, 30 years later, the Bulgarian state has been integrated into the main Euro-Atlantic organisations. Taking these radical changes as its starting point, this article outlines the process and consequences of post-1989 geopolitical and geoeconomic reorientation of Bulgaria. The aim was also to present the main geopolitical challenges in Bulgaria’s relations with Russia and Turkey. These states have been influencing the political, economic and cultural development of Bulgaria for centuries. The effects of their influence have remained problematic to this day. As Bulgaria remains a country with a complex geopolitical position, it continues its twentieth-century strategy and tries to maintain balance between its own national interest and the influence of the main centres of power. The author draws particular attention to the fact that the model based on the variability of geopolitical priorities was once again confirmed in the analysed period. This model is not only based on pragmatism in relations with the outside world, which is traditional for the Bulgarian political elite, but is also dependant on the temporary distribution of power within the Balkan geopolitical knot. It seems that the model will continue to be valid, at least in the near future.

The Collapse of East European Communism and the Repercussions within the Soviet Union (Part 1)

2003 ◽  
Vol 5 (4) ◽  
pp. 178-256 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mark Kramer
Keyword(s):  
Soviet Union ◽  
Eastern Europe ◽  
Political Elite ◽  
Eastern Bloc ◽  
Mikhail Gorbachev ◽  
Coup D'etat ◽  
East European ◽  
The Soviet Union ◽  
Soviet Foreign Policy ◽  
Collapse Of Communism

The largely peaceful collapse of Communism in Eastern Europe in 1989 reflected the profound changes that Mikhail Gorbachev had carried out in Soviet foreign policy. Successful though the process was in Eastern Europe, it had destabilizing repercussions within the Soviet Union. The effects were both direct and indirect. The first part of this two-part article looks at Gorbachev's policy toward Eastern Europe, the collapse of Communism in the region, and the direct “spillover” from Eastern Europe into the Soviet Union. The second part of the article, to be published in the next issue of the journal, discusses the indirect spillover into the Soviet Union and the fierce debate that emerged within the Soviet political elite about the “loss” of the Eastern bloc—a debate that helped spur the leaders of the attempted hardline coup d'état in August 1991.

scholarly journals Отражение событий августа 1991 года в Мурманской области.

2020 ◽  
Vol 11 (1-2020) ◽  
pp. 140-149
Author(s):  
Alexander V. Shekh ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Soviet Union ◽  
Political Elite ◽  
The Political ◽  
State Of Emergency ◽  
Political Situation ◽  
The Soviet Union ◽  
Electoral Support ◽  
Murmansk Region ◽  
History Of ◽  
Wait And See

The attempt to remove from power in August 1991, M.S. Gorbachev actually marked the end of the history of the Soviet Union. The August events forced the peoples of the republics of the USSR to unite around republican elites who defended the achievements of perestroika. The socio-political situation in the Murmansk region in August 1991 is considered on the material of the regional press.It reflects a specific feature of those events in the region. Despite the differences in the positions of different groups of the population, in General, electoral support for the legitimate authorities was reflected. The highest degree of tension in the labor collectives of the region fell on the morning of August 21. The political elite of the region took a wait-and-see attitude. The Soviet authorities in one of the militarized regions of the country managed to prevent clashes, not to give reasons to the top leadership to enter troops in localities, and to declarea state of emergency in the region.

Moscow and Tokyo: An Uneasy Peace

1985 ◽  
Vol 481 (1) ◽  
pp. 61-69 ◽  
Author(s):  
HIROSHI KIMURA
Keyword(s):  
Foreign Policy ◽  
Soviet Union ◽  
The Political ◽  
Soviet Policy ◽  
The Past ◽  
The Soviet Union ◽  
Northern Territories ◽  
Political Economic ◽  
The Relationship

This article examines why Soviet-Japanese relations since 1945 have been so poor at the political, economic, and military levels. It first analyzes recent changes in Moscow's foreign policy toward Japan and then looks at the major determinants shaping this policy. Kimura assesses recent Soviet policy and concludes that the Soviet Union has few diplomatic options open to improve the Soviet-Japanese relationship. Soviet diplomacy in the past has been heavy-handed, clumsy, and inflexible, especially as regards the so-called Northern Territories. Soviet attitudes must evidence greater flexibility and a willingness to negotiate before the relationship can be significantly improved.

scholarly journals The United Nations and the Soviet Union: Diplomacy and Propaganda in the Twilight of the Cold War

2020 ◽  
Vol 8 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Julia Zapariy
Keyword(s):  
Soviet Union ◽  
The United States ◽  
Political Elite ◽  
The Political ◽  
Berlin Crisis ◽  
The Soviet Union ◽  
Russian State ◽  
Specific Material ◽  
Multilateral Diplomacy ◽  
The Cold War

Referring to the preparation of Soviet diplomacy for the 3rd session of the UN General Assembly, this article examines the process behind the development of the political line of the Soviet delegation, as well as the principles of covering the “UN” theme by the press, informing the population and shaping public opinion on major international problems. On the basis of specific material, the author demonstrates the principles of Soviet diplomats’ work on the preparation of analytical materials, the development of recommendations, and the implementation of propaganda measures at the UN in response to the changing international situation. Archival materials allow us to understand the attitude of the Soviet political elite to multilateral diplomacy and reconstruct the USSR’s assessment of the effectiveness of the organisation’s activities both in the field of maintaining international security and in the non-political sphere. Referring to the analysis of materials from the Russian Foreign Policy Archive (AVP RF) and the Russian State Social and Political Archive (RGASPI), the author reconstructs the rationale behind the propaganda campaign in the Soviet press against Trygve Lie, the first UN Secretary-General, in connection with the publication of the annual report on the organisation’s work between 1947 and 1948. Coordinated criticism of the world’s highest-ranking diplomat became an integral part of the political game in connection with the settlement of the Berlin crisis, as well as an important element in the strategy of a massive propaganda offensive against the United States, aimed at portraying the Truman administration as the culprit of the imminent split in Europe and Germany.

scholarly journals Regime and state breakdown: dissolution of the Soviet Union

2020 ◽  
pp. 309-322
Author(s):  
Fei Haiting
Keyword(s):  
Soviet Union ◽  
Political Science ◽  
The State ◽  
Political Elite ◽  
Political Regime ◽  
The Political ◽  
Loss Of Control ◽  
National Interests ◽  
The Soviet Union ◽  
State Breakdown

The mechanism of causality between the breakdown of political regime and the disintegration of a state is an important topic in political science. The dissolution of the Soviet Union is a typical example. The aim of perestroika was the transformation of the political regime by renewing the top elite and inclusion of mass groups in the system of government. The initiators of the reform planned to achieve their goals through the general reconstruction of relations between the CPSU and the Soviet state, the redistribution of power from the party elite to the Soviet one concentrated in the Councils of People’s Deputies at various levels. In practice, the implementation of two reforms at once (distancing the party from the authorities and optimizing governance) led to the split of the entire political elite. The struggle of opposing elite groups for dominance led to the paralysis of state power, the loss of control over what was happening in the country. As a result, the interests of elite groups began to prevail over the national interests and ultimately led to the destruction of the state. Thus the authorsubstantiates the thesis that the destabilization of a regime as a result of the inter-elite struggle leads to the destruction of a state. The problem of elite renewal and consolidation and the transfer powers from the party elite to the state one becomes important.

Cuba's Perilous Political Transition to the Post-Castro Era

2015 ◽  
Vol 47 (2) ◽  
pp. 377-405 ◽  
Author(s):  
WILLIAM M. LEOGRANDE
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Soviet Union ◽  
Political Elite ◽  
Political Transition ◽  
The Political ◽  
Socialist Economy ◽  
Major Transitions ◽  
The Soviet Union ◽  
Political Challenge ◽  
Social Autonomy

AbstractIn the years since Raúl Castro took office as president following Fidel Castro's illness and retirement, Cuba has embarked on four major transitions almost simultaneously: a restructuring of elite decision-making; a transformation of Cuba's centrally-planned economy into a market socialist economy; a relaxation of tight social control, providing greater social autonomy for civil society and even a degree of political decompression; and, a transition from the founding generation of the political elite (los históricos) to a successor generation, when neither Castro will hold power. Each of these processes by itself entails political risk; unfolding together, they constitute the greatest political challenge the Cuban regime has faced since the collapse of the Soviet Union.

scholarly journals The Impact of Democratic Changes in Poland Upon the Political Transformation and Breakup of the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia

2021 ◽  
Vol 30 ◽  
pp. 143-157
Author(s):  
Redžep Škrijelj
Keyword(s):  
Soviet Union ◽  
Catholic Church ◽  
Eastern Bloc ◽  
Soviet Bloc ◽  
The Political ◽  
Political Transformation ◽  
Berlin Wall ◽  
National Pride ◽  
The Soviet Union ◽  
The Impact

The fall of the deeply rooted communism in the countries of the Eastern Bloc in the 1980s has differed according to the level of achieved rights and freedoms, especially in Poland, as it was finalized with the breakup of the Soviet Union. The changes announced with the foundation of “Solidarity” – the first independent syndicate – which spread to the factories and enterprises across Poland beginning in the Lenin Shipyard. The staunch national pride and freedoms, empowered with the strength of the Catholic Church effectively eliminated the weak Soviet-imposed communism. The foundation of the first independent and free Polish syndicate in the strong Soviet Bloc catalyzed the initiation of abrupt and serious reforms in the countries of the Eastern Bloc. The fall of the Berlin Wall intensified the initiated processes of reintegration and independence from external political torture and poverty. The initiated processes intensified amplified changes in SFR Yugoslavia even though the breakup of this country in the early 1990s cost more than its establishment.

The abuse of psychiatry

2021 ◽  
pp. 143-156
Author(s):  
Robert van Voren ◽  
Robert Keukens
Keyword(s):  
Mental Illness ◽  
World War Ii ◽  
Soviet Union ◽  
Nursing Staff ◽  
State Policy ◽  
Eastern Bloc ◽  
The Political ◽  
World War ◽  
Republic Of China ◽  
The Soviet Union

Abuse of psychiatry was in the Soviet Union, for several decades, a State policy to quell dissent, and was carried out in collaboration with the then leadership of Soviet psychiatry. Approximately one-third of all political prisoners were subjected to this practice. The Soviet case has been taken as the main example. However, this branch of medicine has been misused elsewhere, in particular, in the Eastern Bloc in the 1980s, and in the People’s Republic of China in the late 1990s. Before World War II, on the pretext of setting up a merciful euthanasia programme, the Nazi regime made medical and nursing staff kill, by injection and gassing, tens of thousands of patients suffering from an incurable physical or mental illness. The chapter ends with thoughts on how the political abuse of psychiatry can be prevented.

Disjuncture in Ethnicity: Negotiating Circassian Identity in Jordan, Turkey and the Caucasus

1995 ◽  
Vol 12 ◽  
pp. 79-95 ◽  
Author(s):  
Seteney Shami
Keyword(s):  
Soviet Union ◽  
Nation Building ◽  
The Political ◽  
Nation State ◽  
The Caucasus ◽  
The Soviet Union ◽  
Break Up ◽  
Post Colonialism ◽  
Political Economic

Theorizing about nationalism must now incorporate phenomena brought about by the break-up of the Soviet Union, the disintegration of formerly socialist states and the emergence of so-called “ethno-nationalisms”. Previously, nationalism was mostly addressed in terms of modernization, nation-building and post-colonialism. In these interpretations, the presence of a modernizing state was a given, although the success or failure of these states in mobilizing the loyalties of their populations was seen to vary. What is now troubling to the older paradigms is how to interpret the phenomenon of nationalism sans state, or at least in the absence of the political, economic, ideological construct of the nation-state.

The Limits of Forced Economic Growth in the USSR

1964 ◽  
Vol 16 (3) ◽  
pp. 407-417
Author(s):  
Leon M. Herman
Keyword(s):  
Economic Growth ◽  
Soviet Union ◽  
Political Elite ◽  
The Political ◽  
Rapid Rise ◽  
Economic Output ◽  
The Soviet Union ◽  
International Power ◽  
Soviet Russia ◽  
Power Position

Official economic doctrine in the Soviet Union continues to hold fast to the view that growth conquers everything. A rapid rise in the level of economic output remains the magic key to the solution of all problems facing the Soviet Union, large and small alike. First of all, of course, economic growth at the highest possible rate remains an indispensable goal, in the official viewpoint, if the USSR is to be assured a firm position in the forefront of major world powers. There was surely no doubt in Stalin's mind that only a forced pace of growth in the economic capabilities of the Soviet state could prevent a dangerous backward drift in the international power position of Soviet Russia. This theme, as we know, was utilized by the former dictator to the hilt in his fierce drive to mobilize the physical and human resources of his country, and to motivate the political elite, for an all-out campaign against the strategic threat to the survival of the state that he considered to be inherent in economic backwardness.

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