scholarly journals The accounting subculture of Russia and the Baltic states in the light of Hofstede and Gray’s concept

2021 ◽  
Vol 45 (3) ◽  
pp. 51-68
Author(s):  
Małgorzata Czerny
Keyword(s):  
Eastern European Country ◽  
Cultural Dimensions ◽  
Eastern European ◽  
Accounting Systems ◽  
Baltic Countries ◽  
Theoretical Assumptions ◽  
The Baltic ◽  
Statutory Control ◽  
Former Soviet Republics

Purpose: The purpose of the article is to compare the theoretical assumptions of Gray’s model based on Hofstede’s cultural dimensions and the actual evolution of accounting sys-tems in Russia and the Baltic countries, as former Soviet republics (which implies decades of functioning within the same legal and economic system, as well as the financial market). Methodology: A critical analysis and comparative analysis of the literature. Results: The initial characteristics of the Russian accounting subculture were characterized by a strong inclination towards conservatism and discretion, preferring statutory control and uniformity. This is also true of the accounting subculture of the Baltic countries − conserva-tive, but with a tendency towards transparency and professionalism, but at the same time appreciating the role of statutory control, with an ambivalent approach to flexibility. An analy-sis of the development of accounting systems in these countries revealed general compli-ance with the theoretical assumptions of Gray's model, and highest in the case of Russia. Originality/value: The article confirms the correctness of the assumptions of Gray's model regarding the evolution of selected countries’ accounting systems. It fills the existing cognitive gap, because former Soviet republics’ accounting systems are rarely studied in a cultural con-text, especially compared to Russia. Typically, a comparison is made between Russia/the former Soviet republic and Western European countries or another Central/Eastern European country.

External Threat and Democracy: The Role of NATO Revisited

2006 ◽  
Vol 43 (4) ◽  
pp. 413-431 ◽  
Author(s):  
Douglas M. Gibler ◽  
Jamil A. Sewell
Keyword(s):  
Regime Type ◽  
Baltic States ◽  
Democratic Transitions ◽  
Territorial Sovereignty ◽  
External Threat ◽  
The Baltic ◽  
Threat Levels ◽  
Determining Factor ◽  
Former Soviet Republics

This article examines the role of NATO in aiding democratic transitions and survival in the former Soviet republics. The authors argue that the level of external threat is a determining factor in centralization, militarization, and ultimately regime type. States tend to be democratic or are likely to make the transition toward democracy when threat levels are low, while autocracies are more likely to be found in states targeted by higher levels of threat. Building on recent findings examining the link between democracies and alliance, the authors demonstrate that NATO has been an effective guarantor of territorial sovereignty and independence in the Baltic states, Ukraine, and Moldova, reducing the level of threat experienced by each state, thus assuring the survival of decentralized and democratic governments. Former Soviet republics targeted by high levels of threat have reverted to or maintained centralized, autocratic forms of government.

Intergroup Communication: The Baltic Countries

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Martin Ehala
Keyword(s):  
Soviet Union ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Positive Role ◽  
Intergroup Communication ◽  
Baltic Countries ◽  
Russian Speakers ◽  
The Soviet Union ◽  
Urban Minorities ◽  
The Baltic

The focus of intergroup communication research in the Baltic countries is on interethnic relations. All three countries have Russian-speaking urban minorities whose process of integration with Estonian, Latvian, and Lithuanian majorities has been extensively studied. During the Soviet era when the Russian-speaking communities in the Baltic countries were formed, they enjoyed majority status and privileges. After the collapse of the Soviet Union, there was a status reversal as Russian speakers become minorities in the newly emerged national states. The integration of once monolingual Russian-speaking communities has been the major social challenge for the Baltic states, particularly for Estonia and Latvia where they constitute about 30% of the population. Besides the Russian-speaking minorities, each of the Baltic countries has also one other significant minority. In Estonia it is Võro, a linguistically closely related group to Estonians; in Latvia it is Latgalians, closely related to Latvians; and in Lithuania, it is the Polish minority. Unlike the Russian-speaking urban minorities of fairly recent origin, the other minorities are largely rural and native in their territories. The intergroup communication between the majorities and Russian-speaking minorities in the Baltic countries has often analyzed by a triadic nexus consisting of the minority, the nationalizing state, and the external homeland (Russia). In recent analyses, the European Union (through its institutions) has often been added as an additional player. The intergroup communication between the majorities and the Russian-speaking communities is strongly affected by conflicting collective memories over 20th-century history. While the titular nations see the Soviet time as occupation, the Russian speakers prefer to see the positive role of the Soviet Union in defeating Hitler and reconstructing the countries’ economy. These differences have resulted in some symbolic violence such as relocation of the Bronze Soldier monument in Estonia and the riots that it provoked. Recent annexation of Crimea by the Russian Federation and the role of the Ukrainian Russian speakers in the secessionist war in the Eastern Ukraine have raised fears that Russia is trying to use its influence over its compatriots in the Baltic countries for similar ends. At the same time, the native minorities of Võro and Latgalians are going through emancipation and have demanded more recognition. This movement is seen by some among the Estonian and Latvian majorities as attempts to weaken the national communities that are already in trouble with integrating the Russian speakers. In Lithuania, some historical disagreements exist also between the Lithuanians and Polish, since the area of their settlement around capital Vilnius used to be part of Poland before World War II. The Baltic setting is particularly interesting for intergroup communication purposes, since the three countries have several historical parallels: the Russian-speaking communities have fairly similar origin, but different size and prominence, as do the titular groups. These differences in the power balance between the majority and minority have been one of the major factors that have motivated different rhetoric by the nationalizing states, which has resulted in noticeably different outcomes in each setting.

scholarly journals The Role of the Elites in Choosing the Foreign Policy Priorities of the Baltic States

2020 ◽  
Vol 22 (4) ◽  
pp. 603-616
Author(s):  
Vadim A. Smirnov
Keyword(s):  
Foreign Policy ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Soviet Period ◽  
Political Elites ◽  
Baltic States ◽  
Political Transformations ◽  
Baltic Countries ◽  
Political Interaction ◽  
The Baltic

The author analyzed the role of the elites of the Baltic countries in the choice of foreign policy priorities in the period after the declaration of independence. The process of determining the course towards the Euro-Atlantic is inscribed in the sub-regional context, taking into account the current Russian-Baltic political interaction. The study of power groups was carried out on the basis of an examination of large-scale socio-political transformations along with an analysis of individual practices. A comprehensive study of the transformation of the political elites of Baltic states as small countries, involves consideration of both the domestic and foreign policy aspects. The thesis is put forward that, despite a number of differences in the Baltic states, since the 1990s there were similar processes of transformation of political elites. The elite formation was due to the principle of state continuity as continuity with the pre-war regimes of Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia and as a break with the Soviet period, including the EuroAtlantic course as the key priority of the foreign policy. The consolidation of deep divisions in the societies of the Baltic states - ethnic, linguistic, political - was the result of the elite struggle for power in the 1990s. After the implementation of the idea of Back to the West the elites of the Baltic states replaced it with a Russian threat, which made it possible to postpone overcoming internal divisions fraught with weakening of their power.

scholarly journals The Encounter Between Forest Lithuanians and Steppe Tatars in the Time of Mindaugas

2006 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-16
Author(s):  
Darius Baronas
Keyword(s):  
Fourteenth Century ◽  
Thirteenth Century ◽  
Political Influence ◽  
Radical Change ◽  
Baltic Countries ◽  
Historical Literature ◽  
Contemporary Christian ◽  
Main Target ◽  
The Baltic

This article investigates the first contacts between the Lithuanians and the Tatars in Mindaugas’ time (ca. 1240-1263). In this period the role of the Tatars seems to be underestimated in historical literature. A study of the situation in the aftermath of the Tatar invasions into Rus’ in 1238-1240 reveals that Lithuanian warlords exploited the chaos there by intensifying their plundering assaults. Such Lithuanian behaviour shows that they did not try to clash with the Tatars, instead, like the Germans or the Swedes, the Lithuanians also sought to strengthen their political influence in Rus. The study also reveals that the Tatars were aware of the Lithuanians, whose lands were not the main target of their aggression. A radical change in the relations between the Lithuanians and the Tatars is obvious in connection with King Mindaugas’ policy (from 1253) characterised by the idea of a crusade against the Tatars, popular in contemporary Christian Europe. The nearness of the Tatar world to the Baltic countries shows that the contacts established in the thirteenth century would yield fruit only in the fourteenth century.

US military spending will increase for NATO’s east

2017 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Nuclear Weapons ◽  
The United States ◽  
Eastern European ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Cross Border ◽  
Baltic Countries ◽  
Us Military ◽  
The Us ◽  
Incompatible Cross ◽  
The Baltic

Significance The United States has stationed 600 paratroopers in the Baltic countries and will defend their airspace for the duration of the Zapad-2017 exercise in a bid to reassure NATO allies of Washington’s commitment to their security. Longer term, Washington's European Deterrence Initiative (EDI) is paying for a forward presence of additional US forces in Europe, construction of additional infrastructure and upgrades to existing facilities. Impacts The US military will seek to conclude detailed hosting agreements with Eastern European NATO countries. Poland and South Korea are likely candidates for an expanded permanent US forward presence. Repeated US congressional budget standoffs will worry allies awaiting longer-term infrastructure projects. Stationing US tactical nuclear weapons on NATO’s eastern borders would be more provocative to Moscow than EDI-funded rotations. Replacing incompatible cross-border railway gauges between the Baltic states and Poland will take over a decade.

scholarly journals Socio-spatial polarisation and policy response: Perspectives for regional development in the Baltic States

2021 ◽  
pp. 096977642110235
Author(s):  
Thilo Lang ◽  
Donatas Burneika ◽  
Rivo Noorkõiv ◽  
Bianka Plüschke-Altof ◽  
Gintarė Pociūtė-Sereikienė ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Regional Policy ◽  
Local Development ◽  
Comparative Perspective ◽  
Negative Consequences ◽  
Baltic Countries ◽  
Political Debates ◽  
Current Trends ◽  
The One ◽  
The Baltic

Based on a relational understanding of socio-spatial polarisation as a nested, multidimensional and multi-scalar process, the paper applies a comparative perspective on current trends of socio-spatial development in Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania. Comparing current scholarship and data on demographic and economic processes of centralisation and peripheralisation, we also examine political debates around issues of polarisation in different scholarly national perspectives. Despite variations in national discourses, our comparative perspective conveys strong similarities between the three Baltic countries in terms of socio-economic and demographic concentration in the capital regions to the disadvantage of the rest of the country. The analysis of regional policies further points to tensions between a concern for territorial cohesion on the one hand, and an adherence to the neo-liberal logic of growth and competitiveness against the backdrop of post-socialist transition on the other hand. An overview of case studies in the three countries shows a common reliance on endogenous resources to foster local development, conforming to the neo-liberal logics of regional policy. However, these strategies remain niche models with different levels of success for the respective regions and also among the populations in the region. As a result, we argue for a stronger role of regional policy in the Baltic countries that goes beyond the capital regions by better addressing the negative consequences of uneven development.

scholarly journals Some Comments on the Assessment of the Potential Role of Transit from China through the Baltic States

2022 ◽  
pp. 10-16
Author(s):  
V. A. Shamakhov ◽  
N. M. Mezhevich ◽  
Shuhong Guo
Keyword(s):  
Economic Development ◽  
Potential Role ◽  
Previous Model ◽  
Baltic States ◽  
Alternative Models ◽  
Baltic Countries ◽  
World Economic ◽  
The Baltic

At present, with the opportunities of the previous model of world economic development exhausted, only countries building alternative models of global cooperation will have good economic prospects. In this conditions the new role of Russia, China is traced. This article examines the experience and prospects of cooperation between Beijing and the Baltic countries, including within the framework of the well-known project “One Belt — One Way”.

scholarly journals ASSESSMENT OF THE PROSPECTS FOR THE DEVELOPMENT OF TRADE RELATIONS OF THE BALTIC COUNTRIES AND SOUTHEAST ASIA

2020 ◽  
Vol 6 (2) ◽  
pp. 54-60
Author(s):  
Inna Stecenko
Keyword(s):  
Southeast Asia ◽  
Empirical Studies ◽  
Economic Relations ◽  
Trade Relations ◽  
Baltic Countries ◽  
2030 Agenda ◽  
The Baltic ◽  
National Programs ◽  
The Eu

In the presented article, the author conducts research of export – import operations between the Baltic countries and the countries of Southeast Asia from 2016 to 2018, since the goal for the EU countries is to deepen economic relations between the countries of Asia; however, there has been no serious analysis of the potential of trade relations between the regions. Based on empirical studies, the countries of Southeast Asia are identified by the volume of export – import, which is significant in the economy of states. It has been revealed that the Baltic countries import more products from the countries of Southeast Asia; however, the increase in the competitiveness of the industries is related to the volume of exports as well. To strengthen trade relations between the regions of Asia and the EU, the implementation of the adopted UN resolution on the Transformation of our world: The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, the national programs on the development of the economy of countries, the author identified the potential for exports of the Baltic countries to the corresponding countries of Southeast Asia. The analysis of the number of tourists from the countries of Southeast Asia is carried out, the results of which show the potential for the growth of this industry and the strengthening of trade relations between countries. Taking into account the volume of trade between the Baltic regions and the countries of Southeast Asia, the role of small and medium-sized enterprises is shown. The author carries out the analysis of the conditions for the registration of SMEs in the Baltic countries, the number of employees in SMEs.

‘Unwilling’: The One-Word Revolution in Refugee Status, 1940–51

2014 ◽  
Vol 23 (3) ◽  
pp. 429-446
Author(s):  
ANDREW PAUL JANCO
Keyword(s):  
Political Conflict ◽  
Eastern European ◽  
Refugee Status ◽  
Human Right ◽  
Baltic Countries ◽  
Soviet Invasion ◽  
Post War ◽  
The One ◽  
The Baltic ◽  
East West

AbstractThis article details the origins of the human right to international asylum. While previous works locate its beginnings in East–West political conflict in the 1950s, I note the importance of American opposition to the Soviet invasion of Poland and the Baltic countries in 1939–40 and its later consequences for relief work with post-war Displaced Persons from those countries. Given that Eastern European states at the UN claimed to protect people displaced from these non-recognised territories, British and American delegates were forced to create a new refugee definition that allowed DPs to reject state protections and to seek asylum as refugees.

scholarly journals Trends in confidence in public institutions: A comparative analysis of the Baltic countries

2017 ◽  
Vol 13 (1) ◽  
pp. 7-33 ◽  
Author(s):  
Liutauras Gudžinskas
Keyword(s):  
Comparative Analysis ◽  
Financial Crisis ◽  
Rule Of Law ◽  
Political Leadership ◽  
Public Institutions ◽  
Historical Approach ◽  
Baltic Countries ◽  
Critical Junctures ◽  
The Baltic

AbstractThe paper focuses on the variation of institutional confidence in the Baltic countries. Within of framework of qualitative comparative framework, it employs a historical approach to detect causes of divergence of trust in rule of law institutions between Estonia vis-à-vis other two Baltic states. While it observes a range of variables that could affect the differences, it emphasises the role of political leadership during critical junctures, which might explain both why Estonia forged ahead at the outset of the post-communist transformation and most recent positive developments in the Baltic countries since the financial crisis in 2008–2010.

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