The military-political situation in Central Asia in the context of the growing instability in Afghanistan

The Central Asian region due to its economic potential and strategic signifi -cance has traditionally been of particular importance for Russia’s foreign policy. It was therefore not surprising that a serious deterioration of the political situation in Afghanistan in summer-autumn 2021 caused by the military defeat and the subsequent collapse of the pro-Western regime followed by the seizure of power by the Taliban raised serious concern of the Russian leadership. The developments in Afghanistan have attracted an increasing attention of the expert community, prompting a fl urry of comments and forecasts. Although many of these papers were published hastily, their assessments and conclusion were usually based on the long-term observations. This paper attempts to provide an overview of the military-political situation in the Central Asian region as it was caught by a new crisis in Afghanistan and as it is seen by both Russian and foreign experts. The fi rst section outlines positions and interests of the key regional and non-regional actors that have a signifi cant impact on the military-political situation in Central Asia. The second section examines the response of the Russian Federation to the situation in Afghanistan after the Taliban took power. Finally, the third section provides an overview of the latest expert comments and reports that attempt to assess possible implications of those events for the regional military-political dynamics and the national security interests of the Russian Federation.

Las amarguras de un intelectual republicano en Checoslovaquia

The historian, journalist and professor from La Coruña Francisco Fariña, of whom we now celebrate the 130th anniversary of his birth, came to Czechoslovakia in 1933. He collaborated with the Spanish and Ibero-American Institute and the Schools of Languages of Charles University in Prague and Masaryk University Masaryk in Brno. His students played a key role in Spanish and Ibero-American studies becoming a university degree. The political situation in Spain and professional jealousy clouded his stay in the Central European country and forced him to exile in Germany, where he died in 1955.

Piśmiennictwo religijne polskich Tatarów w okresie powojennym (1945–1989)

Religious Literature of Polish Tatars in the Post-War Period (1945–1989)The article opens with a general overview of the socio-political situation of the Tatars and the specificity of their religiosity in the People’s Republic of Poland (1945–1989), leading to the main part: an analysis of ephemeral religious prints created and distributed by Polish Tatars. The description of the sources is introduced with a presentation of the broad socio-political context which determined the functioning of this minority after World War II. The study characterises the basic types of religious literature of the Tatars: (a) traditional manuscripts, (b) periodicals and publishing activities, (c) ephemeral prints. It also considers the significance of these types of literature in the period between 1945 and 1989. The analysis of seven prayer books and three teaching materials provides the basis of general observations concerning ephemeral religious prints created by Polish Tatars after World War II. The analysed sources have not as yet been studied by researchers. Piśmiennictwo religijne polskich Tatarów w okresie powojennym (1945–1989)Artykuł rozpoczyna się od przybliżenia położenia społeczno-politycznego Tatarów w PRL-u oraz specyfiki ich religijności, by dojść do szczegółowych kwestii, związanych z analizą religijnych druków ulotnych opracowanych przez polskich Tatarów. Charakterystykę opartą na źródłach poprzedziło zatem przedstawienie szerokiego kontekstu społeczno-politycznego, który determinował sposób funkcjonowania tej mniejszości w Polsce po II wojnie światowej. Autorzy scharakteryzowali podstawowe typy piśmiennictwa religijnego Tatarów: a) tradycyjne rękopiśmiennictwo, b) czasopiśmiennictwo i działalność wydawniczą, c) druki ulotne. Zwrócono przy tym uwagę na znaczenie poszczególnych rodzajów piśmiennictwa w okresie 1945–1989. Charakterystyki religijnych druków ulotnych, opracowanych przez polskich Tatarów po II wojnie światowej, dokonano na przykładzie 7 modlitewników oraz 3 materiałów dydaktycznych. Dokumenty te dotąd nie były przedmiotem badań naukowych.

Regulacja prawna pomocy społecznej w Polsce w okresie powojennym do 1989 roku

The article’s aim is to examine the legal regulation of social welfare in Poland after World War II up to the year 1989. The article analyzes the legal position of beneficiaries of social welfare benefits in that period. The political situation in Poland after the end of World War II introduced changes in the perception of the pre-war system of social welfare. In the period of the Polish People’s Republic, social welfare was based on an incorrect legal basis and the legal position of beneficiaries of social welfare was not protected by law. Social welfare was transferred to the Ministry of Health and its organizational system was centralized. Such a situation lasted until the Act of 29 November 1990 on Social Welfare was passed. Theoretical and historical methods of legal research were used in this article.

THE POLITICAL SITUATION IN TATARSTAN AND THE REPUBLIC’S RELATIONS WITH THE FEDERAL CENTER IN 2010 – 2020

The article examines the political situation in Tatarstan, including the results of the elections to the republican and all-Russian authorities, and also shows some aspects of the relationship between the Republic of Tatarstan and the federal center in 2010-2020.

Behind the Cancellation of Green Refinery Cooperation Between Pertamina and Eni

Pertamina and Eni faced double strike problems. The Italian government did not grant the license for building Indonesian crude palm oil (CPO) based green finery to Eni-Pertamina as most Indonesian CPO producers do not possess RSPO certificates and the EU restricts the use of CPO. The policies resulted in opportunities loss for Pertamina and Eni in 2019. This qualitative paper examined the logical reasons behind the Italian government decision by two levels of analysis, domestic and regional locus. The finding shows that domestically, political circumstances among parties and figures, other than CPO commodities farmers, played a significant role in the cancellation. The historical instability in Italy domestic political situation also brought it closer to revocation. On another level, the ups and downs of Italy-the EU relations before and during Conte I and Conte II government were a regional reason behind it.

Communication Routes of Upper Irtysh Region of 17th — Early 18th Centuries in “Horographic Book” and “Drawing Book of Siberia” by S. U. Remezov

The characteristics of land communications of the Upper Irtysh region in the structure of communications in the south of Western Siberia at the turn of the 17th—18th centuries, is described in the article according to the chorographic drawings of S. Remezov. The source corpus of the study is based on the atlases of the Tobolsk isographer, which retain heuristic significance, and the published information of Russian diplomats. The increasing importance of traffic routes in the Upper Irtysh region is considered in the context of the dynamics of the ethnosocial and political situation in the region. Special attention is paid to the correlation of specific trajectories of movement with physical-geographical (hydrological, geomorphological) and sociopolitical (monasteries, rulers’ rates) terrain objects. The authors propose their own interpretation of the category “way”, present an original map-scheme of communication routes in the upper and part of the middle reaches of the Irtysh. The existence of two key trajectories of movement in the Upper Irtysh region in early modern times is proved: the caravan paths that left the Irtysh and connected in the upper reaches of the Chara; the way from the Kalbinsky ridge along the western plain of the Zaisan past the Ortentau mountains to the Tarbagatai ridge and the Emel River.

Bezpieczeństwo ekonomiczne Republiki Białoruś w dobie kryzysu polityczno-gospodarczego lat 2020-połowa 2021

Republic of Belarus begins the third decade of the 21st century with numerous problems, which include the unstable socio-political situation, broken dialogue and relations with the international environment, and Western sanctions. All these factors have caused a lot of turbulence in the Belarusian economy. This article is an attempt to examine the economic security of Belarus in the period of the depletion of the current economic model, the reduction of Russian energy subsidies, the Covid-19 pandemic and the political crisis resulting from the rigged presidential elections in August 2020. Data from the Belarusian Bielstat database, the National Bank of the Republic of Belarus, the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund, and rating agencies will be used as source materials.