Housing Issue and Attempts to Solve it During the “Khrushchev Thaw”: a View From the Province (on the Example of the Mordovian ASSR)

Introduction. The relevance of the work is due to the demand for Soviet experience in implementing large-scale state projects, in particular in the field of housing construction, at the present stage of Russian modernization. Methods. The factual material available in the work is drawn from the funds of the Central State Archive of the Republic of Mordovia, as well as from published sources. During the research, the following methods were used: comparative-historical, problem-chronological, historical-cultural, historical reconstruction. Results. The dynamics of all types of housing construction in the republic during the study period received the maximum turnover. Discussion. One of the reasons for significant success in the field of housing construction in the republic was the reform of the country’s economic system. Sovnarkhoz turned out to be more flexible and adapted to the conditions of planned administering as management structures, which in particular manifested itself in the field of housing construction. Other reasons for success were a kind of “revolution” in the development of housing construction methods, when, along with the state, the “people’s construction” and the cooperative method began to be widely used, as well as the industrial basis of construction, albeit not always consistently implemented. At the same time, the speed of construction generated a lot of problems in hastily constructed standard small cars, which became the reverse side of Khrushchev’s housing policy. Conclusion. The housing policy pursued by the Khrushchev leadership was one of the indisputable social conquests of the time under study, when a significant part of people from barracks and communal apartments moved to separate apartments intended for settlement by one family. However, when solving this most important problem, the authorities placed special emphasis not so much on the development of new construction technologies, as on managerial reorganization, leading ultimately to a simple increase in the workforce and organizations involved in the construction of residential facilities.

The Bolsheviks in Eastern Ukraine and their Competing State Projects (1917-1918): The Case of the Donets-Krivoi Rog Soviet Republic

After the Russian Revolution of February 1917, the definition of the Ukrainian territory became an important issue. One of the major controversies concerned the territorial affiliation of the eastern part of the country, a highly industrialised region located halfway between the Russian core and the Ukrainian periphery of the empire. This article focuses on the split within the Bolshevik Party between supporters of Donbass belonging to Ukraine and defenders of a Donets-Krivoi Rog republic attached to Russia. We show that this was not so much an ideological conflict between the "pro-Russians" and the "pro-Ukrainians" as it was a difference of views on the military and political strategy to be implemented in order to preserve the gains of the revolution and make its expansion possible. Moscow's decision to support the project of a Soviet Ukraine, thereby ruling out any possibility of separation of its eastern region, can be explained both by the desire to solve immediate problems (circumventing the provisions of a peace treaty, strengthening control over local Soviet institutions) and by the search for long-term solutions (advancing the world revolution, guaranteeing the stability of a multiethnic state that emerged from the disintegration of the Russian Empire).

Восприятие общегражданских ценностей студентами Москвы и Кировской области

В конце 2020 г. в рамках исследования восприятия общегражданских ценностей и российской идентичности было проведено анкетирование студенческой молодежи Москвы и Кировской области. В качестве оснований для гордости за свою страну рассматривались представления молодых людей об объектах культурного и природного наследия России, значимых исторических событиях и текущих направлениях деятельности нашего государства. В перечень объектов культурного достояния, по мнению учащихся, входят: особенности языка и речи, эпос народов России, народные промыслы, предметы быта, блюда национальной кухни. В список важнейших памятников природы, как считают наши респонденты, следует включить: Байкал, Алтай, Камчатку и Карелию. Подавляющее большинство опрошенных в первую очередь гордится победой в Великой Отечественной войне и достижениями советской космонавтики. По результатам работы может быть сделан вывод о первостепенной значимости научных открытий, культурных и спортивных событий для возникновения патриотических чувств у современной студенческой молодежи. При сохранении единства мнений о наиболее принципиальных российских ценностях в массовом сознании молодежи одновременно присутствуют различия в выборе ответов в зависимости от территории проживания. Это может свидетельствовать об особенностях политических настроений, реакций на внешние угрозы, ориентаций на первоочередное участие в проектах регионального или государственного уровней, которые свойственны для молодых людей каждого конкретного региона. На разницу в суждениях студентов в определенной степени могут также влиять содержание учебных программ и качество образования столичных и провинциальных вузов. At the end of 2020, a students’ survey in Moscow and Kirov region was conducted to study the perception of civic values and Russian identity. Young people’s perceptions of Russia’s cultural and natural heritage, significant historical events, and current activities of the state were examined as foundations for pride in their country. According to the students, the cultural heritage of Russia includes language and speech, epics of the peoples of Russia, folk crafts, household items, and national cuisine. The most important natural monuments as seen by students included Baikal, Altai, Kamchatka, and Karelia. The vast majority of respondents are primarily proud of the victory in the Great Patriotic War and the achievements of Soviet cosmonautics. The results revealed that scientific discoveries, cultural and sports events are of paramount importance for the patriotic feelings among the modern student youth. While the opinions on the most fundamental Russian values in the mass consciousness of young people mostly coincide, there are certain differences in the choice of answers depending on the territory of residence. This may indicate that political sentiments, reactions to external threats, and orientations towards participation in regional or state projects of young people differ in each region. To a certain extent, the students’ judgments can also be influenced by the curricula and the quality of education in metropolitan and provincial universities.

Geographies of infrastructure III: Infrastructure with Chinese characteristics

For 25 years, China has staked its development on domestic and global infrastructure expansion. This third progress report on geographies of infrastructure explores what China’s far-reaching infrastructure venture means for critical infrastructure studies. Reviewing China’s infrastructure-driven urban growth, the Belt and Road Initiative and their links, three recommendations are advanced: (1) a reengagement with the state that takes its geographical and temporal diversity seriously, (2) an approach to infrastructure as part of a complex network of state projects with long-term ends, and (3) a concern with infrastructures of repression and confinement in wider processes of making things ‘flow’.

‘We Are Poor, So We Keep Quiet’

Since 2006, the Rwandan government has been implementing policies to modernise the agricultural sector in a top-down manner. Small-scale subsistence farmers, making up the vast majority of Rwandans, are compelled to leave their traditional farming behind, form co-operatives and take up ‘modern’ farming techniques based on irrigation and state-approved crops. For my interlocutors in a Rwandan village, this policy resulted in reduced crop yields, difficulties in putting food on the table and a visible degradation of their lives. Yet people complied. They did not rise up in protest. They sought to meet the authorities’ demands. Although ‘government authoritarianism’ explains much of the lack of open resistance, Rwandans had their own ideas, values and practices which at times overlapped with oppressive state projects and ended up supporting the state’s agricultural modernization scheme. Here, compliance is part of how villagers wanted to project themselves to others and to themselves and how they pursued their aspirations for the future.

PEASANT UTOPIAS OF THE ALTAI TERRITORY IN RUSSIAN PROSE OF 1960s–1980s

In the late 1960s and early 1970s, the CPSU and the Soviet government, implementing a program of building communism in a short time, launched the process of industrialization of agriculture and proletarization of the peasantry. Writers of rural themes perceived this movement as a threat to the national identity of the Russian people and tried to contrast the state projects with the historical experience of the grassroots peasant initiative in creating rural communities of high productive labor, class equality, abundance, and original culture. The article considers two types of artistic models of the peasant world order: “closed”, focused on the centuries-old traditions of the Russian peasant community (V. Lichutin, V. Rasputin), and “open”, characteristic of the utopias of the Altai chronotope, focused on the post-revolutionary new peasantry order (S. Zalygin, V. Shukshin). The problem is in the degree of the utopian and the real in models of both types and their relevance in the modern search for the Russian way of revival and development of the peasant world. The scientific basis of this work is the research of the history and theory of the utopia genre and its modifications in Russian prose of the second half of the twentieth century: K. Chistov, Ya. Lurie, V. Shestakov, E. Shatsky, V. Grikhin, V. Chalikova, K. Parte, A. Gulygi, N. Tsvetnoy, N. Kovtun, A. Razuvalova, etc. We used sociological, comparative-historical, comparative-typological, and motivic methods

VALUATION OF THE EFFECTIVENESS OF IMPLEMENTED STATE PROJECTS TO INCREASE THE LEVEL OF ACTIVITY IN THE FIELD OF PHYSICAL CULTURE AND SPORTS AMONG CITIZENS OF THE COUNTRY

The development of physical culture and sports involves significant financial costs. The state is interested in promoting a healthy lifestyle among the population, since physical activity has a positive impact on health and increases life expectancy. The most relevant today are innovations related to information technologies. However, their implementation requires large financial expenses. The study assessed the existing planning within the framework of the Federal program "Sport-norm of life" as one of the indicators of measures taken by the state to increase physical activity among the population. The results of the study showed that the tasks set are insufficient for a full-fledged modernization of the sphere of physical culture and sports. The main problem is the lack of funding. It was found that in modern conditions, athletes need to use expensive innovative equipment in the implementation of their activities, which will contribute to faster achievement of results. The assessment of the situation showed that the state is trying to improve the health of citizens of the country. Draft laws are being introduced that plan activities aimed at increasing the availability of sports for everyone, increasing the number of followers of a healthy lifestyle, and creating additional motivation for people. To achieve the intended results, certain amounts of investment are allocated, which are distributed among the tasks. However, this money is not enough for the implementation of major projects, including ideas related to the development and implementation of innovative sports technologies.

THE ROLE OF STATE INVESTMENT IN INFORMATION TECHNOLOGIES AIMED AT THE DEVELOPMENT OF PROFESSIONAL AND AMATEUR SPORTS

The development of physical culture and sports has a direct impact on the quality of life of the population. How active the country's residents are determines their physical and mental health, and increases their performance. In the context of the development of modern society, the only effective way to develop and promote sports is to introduce innovations and information technologies. So far, the discoveries of science and technology allow us to use only these tools. Perhaps this is not the only way to help a person improve their body and physical abilities, but it is still the most affordable, safe and legal. Many experts believe that athletes are at the limit of people's capabilities, each new record is given with difficulty. However, the implemented systems help to find new potentials and ways of training. Therefore, you can't do without them in modern sports. But when buying technology, there is a significant problem. A large amount of investment is needed to put one serious sports complex into operation. Any budgetary sports institution can implement it only at the expense of state financial assistance. The government understands the scale of the problem and the relationship between the number of citizens involved in sports and the development of the material and technical sports base. Therefore, state projects are being developed that sponsor planned activities to address the main issues of concern. According to the documents, most of the investments are based only on state funds without attracting private commercial investors.

The minimal state in Ukraine as a progressive ideal of the historical criterion of the legal approach to the typology of the state: functional aspect

The article is devoted to the minimal state in Ukraine as a progressive ideal of the historical criterion of the legal approach to the typology of the state. The main attention, at the same time, is paid to features of its functioning. It is this type of state that must overcome the shortcomings of the state of the modern bureaucratic type. It seems that the need for its introduction in Ukraine is influenced by two factors: globalization and a significant increase in the role of civil society. At the same time, despite COVID-19, the processes of globalization have not decreased and the significant narrowing of state influence on economic processes, which is characteristic of globalization, is still continuing. As for civil society, in Ukraine it has gradually begun to realize itself as an important "player" within the country, which not only becomes more independent of the state, but also, to some extent, begins to influence it. Thus, the combination of globalization processes in the world and a powerful "burst" of selfconsciousness of domestic civil society necessitates the introduction in Ukraine of the concept of "minimal state", that is a state whose activities are aimed at implementing as few functions as possible. However, this type of state does not imply an anarchic ideal with its abolition at all. It seems that within the framework of a minimal state, the latter should be deprived of the functions it has assumed for a long historical period, leaving only the fiscal, the function of ensuring the safety of citizens from internal and external threats and the function of organizing work. At the same time, in the conditions of the minimal state the organization of works is transformed into the organization of realization of national and state projects when the state acts only as the coordinator and the financier of work which is carried out by numerous enterprises and corporations. As for the fiscal function, in our opinion, it should be somewhat transformed: the tax system should be enshrined in the principle of one tax, and the budget system should consist of three parts: "expenditure budget", "development budget" and "reserve budget". Regarding the security of citizens, society and the state from external and internal threats and dangers, such activities should take two forms: justice and law enforcement (security within the country) and war and peace (security outside the country). Thus, in the conditions of a minimal state, only the organization of national and state projects, budgetary and financial function, as well as ensuring the security of citizens, society and the state from external and internal threats and dangers should remain behind the latter.