Mariya Dmitrievna Kovrigina (1910–1995) — a prominent organizer and head of Soviet healthcare

The article is dedicated to Mariya Dmitrievna Kovrigina. She was a prominent organizer of Soviet healthcare, the Honoured physician of the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic (RSFSR). During the Great Patriotic war and the post-war period M.D. Kovrigina for 17 years held many leading posts of Deputy Minister and Minister in the apparatus of Ministry of Healthcare of the RSFSR and USSR (1942-1959). Then for 27 years, she worked as the rector of the Central institute for Advanced Training of Physicians (1959-1986). The article provides some little-known facts from the biography of M.D. Kovrigina, which allows showing her contribution to the development of Soviet healthcare, as an experienced and professional organizer and as person sincerely sick soul for the work entrusted to her.

In Mao’s Beijing

In 1950, Yuan-tsung embarked on her literary career in the Scenario Department of the Central Film Bureau, where the man who supervised the department was a Party heavyweight, Zhou Yang, the executive deputy minister of culture, Mao’s culture czar. She attracted his attention by discussing the books of Tolstoy and Lunacharsky. She sought to understand his complexity—the public man, who spoke out firmly for Mao’s demand that literature and art serve the Party, and the private man, who told his friends and cronies that Mao’s ideas were out of date. Her naive conviction was that her literary ambitions would bloom under Zhou Yang’s guidance.

PERFORMANCE OF UMNO AND PARTI AMANAH NEGARA (AMANAH) IN THE GE-14 AND POST GE-14

The 14th General Election, 2018 (GE-14, 2018) has taken place and is finished with calm and full of surprises. For the first time, the Barisan Nasional (BN), which was promoted by the United Malays National Organization (UMNO), has lost its main opposition party, namely Pakatan Harapan (PH) using the Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR) logo along with the Parti Warisan Sabah (WARISAN). Thus, BN/UMNO also failed to defend its power after 63 years of mastering the rule of the Federal Government. The atmosphere of euphoria or the feeling of excitement among the people in this country is the result of the GE13 2018 demands for the necessity of a new Federal Government regime that is different from the previous BN government rule. The new atmosphere is also called ‘New Malaysia’. The results of the 2018 General Election can be highlighted in the performance of political parties competing in the GE. In the context of this article, UMNO and AMANAH were chosen to analyze the performance of the political party in the 2018 General Election because of UMNO’s status as an old political party (founded in 1946) while AMANAH is a newly formed political party in 2015 which is a PAS splinter party. It is important to see the old party's performance experienced in the political and governance (UMNO); and realistic, professional, progressive, and dynamic new party (AMANAH) formed as a result of the original party (PAS) was not suitable for mixed ethnicity in this country and seen as a conservative party. The writing of this paper uses primary data (the result of GE2018) and secondary data processing (information from published sources) that are critically and rationally analyzed and based on current ‘real politics’ in the country. The findings show that although UMNO as a spear in BN has lost federal and state levels the political party still retains control over the majority of Malay ethnic voters in rural areas. UMNO managed to dominate Pahang and Perlis State Governments in addition to being the majority opposition in parliament. AMANAH, however despite not contesting many parliamentary and state seats resulting from the distribution of election seats among the parties in PH but still managed to win seats in urban and semi-urban areas composed of mixed ethnic groups. People's representative from AMANAH also managed to oversee the post of the Chief Minister in the State of Malacca besides receiving the post of EXCO in several State Governments as well as the post of Minister and Deputy Minister at the Federal level. After the PRU 2018, it appears that there are some scenarios in the current issue that involve the continuity of UMNO and AMANAH politics which may affect the direction of the two parties towards the next general election.

Collaborations towards scientific breakthroughs

Dar-Bin Shieh is Deputy Minister of The Ministry of Science and Technology (MOST), Taiwan, which supports and promotes innovations in science and technology. Before assuming his current position, Shieh previously occupied roles including; distinguished professor in the College of Medicine at National Cheng Kung University (NCKU); attending physician at NCKU Medical Center; Director of University Development at NCKU; and Founding Chair of the International Institute of Macromolecular Analysis and Nanomedicine Innovations (iMANI). Shieh and the MOST believe that science and technology should be developed for people, responding to society's needs, with a view to promoting the local economy and improving quality of life. The MOST is working towards a long-term national science and technology development roadmap that can assist with national development. The MOST is a proponent of the importance and value of international collaboration and has restructured its funding system to further encourage these collaborations. It also encourages cross-disciplinary collaboration, with a view to sparking innovation. Talent cultivation and recruitment are key challenges in scientific advancement and the MOST has initiated two talent recruitment programmes, including the Einstein and the Columbus programmes, to help encourage, foster and develop scientific talent in Taiwan.

Driving Taiwanese science and technology research

Professor Dar-Bin Shieh, Deputy Minister at the Taiwan Ministry of Science and Technology, shares with us details of the efforts undertaken at the Ministry to promote and support scientific and technological research and development in Taiwan, including his response to the COVID-19 pandemic

Times of change. A roundtable in memory of Yuri Dubinin

The roundtable in teleconference format dedicated to the 90th anniversary of a renowned Soviet and Russian diplomat Yuri Dubinin was held at MGIMO University on October 7, 2020. The event was organized by the Department of Diplomacy of the Moscow State Institute of International Relations, the family of Ambassador Dubinin, as well as by the MGIMO Student Union and MGIMO Diplomatic Club. Yuri Dubinin, MGIMO graduate, has made a great contribution to promotion of Russia’s interests on the world stage, contributed to expansion and strengthening of ties between the Soviet Union (and later Russia) and the Western countries. During his professional career Yuri Dubinin held a number of high-level positions at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the USSR and Russia, namely those of Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary to Spain, USA, France and Ukraine, Permanent Representative of Russia to the UN, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of Russia; at the final stage of his career Ambassador Dubinin shared his professional experience with the future generation of diplomats serving as a Professor of the Department of Diplomacy of MGIMO University. The roundtable presentations were made by Yuri Dubinin’s colleagues from diplomatic corps who are currently serving as diplomats, representatives of other Russian state authorities and academic community, as well as members of Ambassador Dubinin’s family.

Galina Aleksandrovna Kubrina and the State art museum of Altai Territory: reconstruction of the museum and new forms of activity

The article is dedicated to G. A. Kubrina, Deputy Minister of Culture of the Altai Territory. Galina Alexandrovna died in a car accident on January 29, 2021 during a working trip. Her extraordinary personality and huge contribution to the development of museum activities areconsidered by the author. The main attention focused on the Galina Alexandrovna’s participation in the reconstruction of the State Art Museum of the Altai Territory and the development of the interregional project «Borunov’s Palette». The article highlights the peculiarities of communication and leadership style of G. A. Kubrina.

WHAT IS “STRATEGIC COMMUNICATIONS”?

Strategic Communications, (contracted to “StratCom”) as a separate field/profession, is still in the process of formation and, consequently, is not fully studied yet, especially in Georgia. Moreover, even the individuals working in this field find it difficult to properly understand the importance and functions of “StratCom” and, in general, to distinguish it from communication and information disciplines such as “public relations”. Despite the importance and urgency of the issue (especially in today’s information-laden environment), this topic has not been studied in depth. The present paper directly and clearly confirms that the current definitions of “Strategic Communications” and the authors’ reasoning do not form the basis for creating an independent theoretical framework for the profession, which in turn, would end any professional misunderstandings and also no longer mislead individuals or educational institutions. Some experts in this field have been trying for years to create a theoretical framework for “Strategic Communications”, which, as a rule, should be a sharp separation of “StratCom” from other related disciplines and set a different scope, goals or objectives for this new discipline. Nevertheless, the above-mentioned attempts fail to lead us to the desired result. The use of “Strategic Communications” as an information discipline in professional, educational institutions or government agencies is done by “individual” interpretation of certain persons and/or groups. A good and clear example of this issue is the statement made by the Deputy Minister of Defense of the Czech Republic, Jan Havranek, noting that strategic communication is often confused with “public relations” or even political technologies. Compared to the complicated situation in the “West”, the case is even worse on its periphery, for example in Georgia, where the import of knowledge and experience on the “StratCom” started from the “West”. The purpose of this paper is to provide the public with a critical understanding of the existing definitions of “strategic communications” and, secondly, to share with them a discussion of the relevance regarding our vision of strategic communications. The paper uses all the basic literature that would more or less enable us to discuss the existing terms, show us the essence of the problem and help us to achieve the purpose of the publication: to explain the “Strategic Communications”, to establish/understand the relevance of the vision.

Driving Taiwanese science and technology research

Professor Dar-Bin Shieh, Deputy Minister at the Taiwan Ministry of Science and Technology, shares with us details of the efforts undertaken at the Ministry to promote and support scientific and technological research and development in Taiwan, including his response to the COVID-19 pandemic

Driving Taiwanese science and technology research

Professor Dar-Bin Shieh, Deputy Minister at the Taiwan Ministry of Science and Technology, shares with us details of the efforts undertaken at the Ministry to promote and support scientific and technological research and development in Taiwan, including his response to the COVID-19 pandemic