Construction and Application of the Evaluation System of Natural Resources Asset Accountability Audit of Officials: A Case Study of Jiangxi, China

At the Third Plenary Session of the 18th Central Committee of the Communist Party of China, the Central Committee first proposed the establishment of the Natural Resources Asset Accountability Audit of Officials, which not only marked a new stage in China’s ecological construction, but also triggered many scholars’ discussion on the accountability audit evaluation indicator system of natural resources assets. In this paper, the combination of entropy weight method and TOPSIS method is introduced into the natural resource asset accountability audit evaluation system for the first time, and a system based on energy subsystem, economy subsystem and environment subsystem is constructed. The system is used to evaluate the performance of leading officials of Jiangxi Province, one of the first batch of national pilot zones for ecological conservation in China, in the responsibility of natural resource asset management from 2015 to 2019. The evaluation result indicates that the overall situation of natural resource assets in Jiangxi Province shows a steady upward trend, and the overall performance should be affirmed. The practical application of this evaluation system in the national pilot zone for ecological conservation will enlighten other provinces in China to improve the leading officials’ accountability audit of natural resource assets.

Organization of economic activity of the Mari, Mordovia and Chuvash economic councils in the first year of their existence: successes and failures

In the article, the author investigates the insufficiently studied topic of transformation of the organization of economic activity of the economic councils of individual territories at the suggestion of N.S. Khrushchev at the Presidium of the Central Committee of the CPSU in 1957 using comparative historical, quantitative methods, analysis and synthesis. As a result, on the basis of the adopted Law On the further improvement of the management of industry and construction, a territorial management system was created, suggesting that the management of industry and construction should be implemented on a territorial basis on the basis of economic administrative regions. Initially, 70 economic administrative regions were formed, including Chuvash, Mari and Mordovia, in each of which a Council of National Economy was created. The economic councils were state bodies for the management of enterprises, construction projects and organizations of the Union-republican industry located on the territory of the economic administrative region. The article defines the first results of the activity of the Union of National Economy of the Mari, Mordovian and Chuvash ASSR in 1957; the personnel situation, which has become one of the main problems in the development of economic councils, is presented; disclosed the main planned performance indicators of the SNKh, which, on the whole, received a satisfactory assessment. However, despite the positive growth of the main economic indicators, serious difficulties and miscalculations were observed in the work of the economic councils, which were indicated, among other things, by the Council of Ministers of the RSFSR. On the basis of documents from the State Archives of the Russian Federation, regional archives and research literature, the author of the article highlighted the main successes and failures in the activities of the SNKh of the republics of the Middle Volga region. The author concluded that for the national regions, the period of activity of the economic councils was a breakthrough in the national economic complex. The Mari, Mordovian and Chuvash economic councils have done significant work to develop the industry in the peripheral regions of the country, significantly enlarging the existing ones and building new powerful and promising enterprises.

Payment system of agricultural workers of Donetsk and Luhansk regions in 1965 – 1985

The article considers the organization of the system of remuneration of agricultural workers in Donetsk and Luhansk regions in the mid-1960s and mid-1980s. The main role in the income of the Soviet people was played by wages. It was the main lever of material incentives for the population to work. Its changes directly affected the well-being of the region's residents, as wages were the main source of livelihood for the Donbass population. The main component of the salary was the tariff rate. The authorities systematically reviewed the system of rates and salaries, believing that this would help achieve the main goal to ensure the optimal share of the tariff part in wages. The search for the most rational ways to create an effective system of material remuneration of workers in the 1960-80s continued quite actively. In general, wages in the country were regulated mainly by the state, market mechanisms were not involved in this process. Much attention is paid to the legislative justification of the formation and changes in the system of remuneration of their labor. In particular, the relevant resolutions of the Central Committee of the CPSU, the Council of Ministers of the USSR and the Ukrainian SSR, decisions of the Plenums of the Central Committee, local authorities, etc. are traced. On the basis of the above documents, the level of salaries of agricultural workers, the procedure for calculating various types of surcharges and bonuses, their differences in the years and main positions under study are analyzed. For almost the entire period under study, there has been a relentless search for optimization of wages in rural areas, but this search has had almost no effect on a significant improvement in the living standards of peasants. Different forms of wage distribution are also considered, salaries of management and agricultural specialists are analyzed and compared. The aspect of the existence of homesteads as a means of additional income is studied. The author gives a generalized description of the changes in the system of remuneration of rural workers during 1965 1985, following it from archival materials. The main attention is paid to the shortcomings in the system of wages in agriculture, reveals the unfair distribution of monetary expenditures on the wage fund.

Federalists and the Beginnings of the Council of Europe: Converting Institutions and Opinion to Supranationality (1949–1951)

In 1949, it seemed that Western governments were ready to accept some delegation of sovereignty, which met the ambitions of increasingly well-organised Europeanists. One of the most ambitious advances was the proposal for a European Assembly, which could have heralded the beginning of an integration process. However, on this point, as on many others, there was not total agreement between the unionists and the federalists: for some, the Assembly was simply a co-operation structure, while others thought it should be a constituent body. The federalists—who had been united since December 1946 within the European Union of Federalists (EUF), which claimed to have no fewer than 150,000 members—were very demanding. After the adoption of the Statute of the Council of Europe on 5 May 1949, the EUF Central Committee approved a “motion on the Consultative Assembly” in which it openly demanded the drafting of a federal pact that would lead to real European power. Faced with the modest intergovernmental status of the Council of Europe, the EUF proposed that the Assembly of this Council should be transformed from a “consultative” to a “constituent” assembly, which amounted to condemning any kind of conciliatory attitude. Therefore, the constituent path was becoming more and more important within the federalist organisation: it was now a matter of pressing, without restraint, for the triumph of ideals freed from initial reluctance, in the most diverse forums. The most important of these remained the Council of Europe, which was, in the eyes of the federalists, an institution that could be improved. Defending an integrated Europe, the federalists called for the creation of a democratic power on the scale of the challenges of the time, which seemed to them to exceed that of the nation states. To achieve this, they defended a “political” vision of integration, of which the Council of Europe could be the spearhead. It is this struggle, which took place at a time when the construction of Europe seems to be based on a simple but firm act of will, that this article will examine.

THE ROLE OF THE SECRETARIAT OF THE CENTRAL COMMITTEE OF THE AUCP(b) AND THE CENTRAL SOVIET BODIES IN PREPARING MOBILIZATION RESERVES FOR THE ARMY IN 1918–1945

One of the important directions in the Russian history is studying the system of state authorities in the Soviet period. Despite a relatively short period of time separating modernity from the Soviet past, this topic remains as relevant as ever. Of particular interest are the Secretariat of the Central Committee of the AUCP(b) and other state bodies in preparing the army for war conditions, discussed in this article. The study highlights the role of the Secretariat of the Central Committee of the RCP(b) – the AUCP(b), and other state party bodies in preparing mobilization reserves for the army during the Civil and the Great Patriotic Wars. The article shows the participation of V.I. Lenin, L.D. Trotsky, N.I. Podvoysky, Y.M. Sverdlov, I.V. Stalin in the Red Army formation. It is proved that at the stage of the struggle against the Nazi invaders, the main economic and administrative body was the State Defense Committee of the USSR, its operational management was carried out by I.V. Stalin, who was in charge of all military and economic issues in the country. The purpose of the article is to study the specifics of government authorities in preparing the army for combat operations. The scientific novelty lies in the fact that the study, based on a wide range of diverse sources, carried out a comprehensive analysis of the organization and activities performed by the authorities in preparing mobilization reserves for the army. The highlighted scientific problem is developed for the first time in the proposed formulation and in the specified chronological framework. Conceptual approaches proposed by the Russian historians, as well as a set of principles and methods of historical research were used in the preparation of the article. The theoretical part is based on the principles of historicism and scientific objectivity. The materials and conclusions of the article can be applied in research activities, when creating generalizing and special works on the history of Russia of the XX century. The main results of the study can be used in educational and pedagogical work, in the preparation of teaching aids and lecture courses. The practical significance of the article and the prospects of the study lie in the fact that the materials may be of some interest to modern public officers, as well as when reforming the system of executive authorities. Based on the results of the study, it can be concluded that the documents and other materials collected and analyzed in this work are valuable for studying the functioning of power in the USSR of the pre-war period.

The Politics of Russian Memory: The Great War in the European Context

This article examines how the historical memory of World War I emerged and developed in Russia, and also compares it to how Europeans have thought about the conflict. The author argues that the politics of memory differed during the Soviet and post-Soviet periods. In the wake of the 1917 Revolution, Bolshevik efforts to re-format the memory of the Great War were part of its attempt to create a new society and new man. At the same time, the regime used it to mobilize society for the impending conflict with the 'imperialist' powers. The key actors that sought to inculcate the notion of the war with imperialism into Soviet mass consciousness were the Central Committee of the Bolshevik Communist Party, the Department of Agitation and Propaganda, and, in particular, the Red Army and Comintern. The latter two worked together to organize the major campaigns dedicated to war anniversaries, which were important both to reinforce the concept of imperialist war as well as to involve the masses in public commemorations, rituals and practices. The Soviet state also relied on organizations of war veterans to promote such commemorative practices while suppressing any alternative narratives. The article goes on to explain how, under Stalin, the government began to change the way it portrayed the Great War in the mid-1930s. And after the Second World War, Soviet politics of memory differed greatly from those in the West. In the USSR the Great Patriotic War was sacralized, while the earlier conflict remained a symbol of unjust imperialist wars.

The Smell of Factionalism: Left Opposition in the Vyatka Provincial Organization of the Bolshevik Party in 1923-1924

The activity of the Vyatka left opposition that arose during the internal party discussion in the fall of 1923 and the spring of 1924 is studied. The work is based on archival documents from the Central State Archive of Kirov Region, as well as on materials from the Vyatka Pravda party newspaper. The platform of the local opposition opposed the formation of factions but insisted on clarifying what factionalism is supposed to mean. The Left Opposition united the party community of the provincial city and adjacent working areas. Most party members initially expressed full confidence in the partys Central Committee. An analysis of archival material shows that the Vyatka opposition tried to establish a broad discussion of problems in internal party life. In the provincial center there was a party discussion club that organized heated discussions. The focus on clarifying the concepts of factions and groups reflected the desire of opposition supporters to avoid being accused of betraying the party and the cause of the revolution. Remarkably, until early January 1924 the left opposition had absolute support among party members in Vyatka. The article analyzes the Central Committees suppression of the local opposition in January - February 1924, and in particular the skillful techniques of Aron Solts and his supporters. At the final stage of the struggle, a group of conciliators arose among the members of the opposition, and contributed to the victory of the Central Committee line. The article clarifies reasons and circumstances of the defeat of the opposition, none of whose representatives openly stood in opposition to the majority of the Central Committee or called on ordinary members to protest. The authors demonstrate that the local left opposition was a situational unification of diverse forces, dissatisfied with the bureaucratization of the party, the growing dictatorship of the Central Committee, the newcomers, as well as the dominance of appointees from the Party and the Soviets. During the discussion in the organizations of the Party, the need for developing internal party democracy and a free discussion of the problems emerged, showing that there was a potential alternative to Stalinism. The main feature of the left opposition was that it formed and temporarily won the predominantly non-proletarian Vyatka, where before the 1917 revolution the zemstvo and city democratic self-government has gained roots; this is interpreted as a preservation of the demand for freedom and democracy in local society.

Understanding the China miracle from the paradigm of realm economics

PurposeThe core of the micro–macro paradigm of mainstream Western economics is the assumption that a rational economic man with complete freedom of economic behaviors living in a fully competitive, free-market economy pursues maximum personal benefits. The purpose of this paper is to show the reasons for failure of mainstream Western economics explaining the “mystery of China’s economic growth” and the necessity of understanding the mystery from the paradigm of realm economics.Design/methodology/approachThe system of socialism with Chinese characteristics led by the Communist Party of China (CPC) and the local governments that play a crucial role in the reform and opening-up has the realm attribute. It is necessary to develop a new paradigm for realm economic analysis and promote the creation of new economic globalization and international political and economic order.FindingsAccording to the fourth plenary session of the 19th CPC Central Committee, “Since the New China was founded 70 years ago, our Party has led our people to create the rarely-seen miracle of rapid economic development and miracle of long-term social stability”. The authors find that it is effective and necessary to explain the miracle of China’s economic growth from the paradigm of realm economics.Originality/valueAs proven by practice, the system of socialism with Chinese characteristics and the governance system of China are guided by Marxism, rooted in China with a deep Chinese cultural foundation, and sincerely supported by the people.

THE "GREAT TERROR” AS A CONSEQUENCE OF THE STRUGGLE WITHIN THE CENTRAL COMMITTEE OF THE CPSU

В статье рассмотрена одна из причин начала «Большого террора». Противостояние Сталина с другими представителями ЦК КПСС, а также внезапное убийство С.М. Кирова привели к «чисткам» внутри политического и военного руководства Советского Союза. Поиск виноватых продолжился и среди простого населения, поскольку в стране отмечалось невыполнение «планов» чистки. Также проанализирована отечественная историография 1950-2000-х гг. по проблеме «Большого террора». Сталинская система опиралась на механизм «чрезвычайщины» на всем протяжении своего существования: волны террора прокатились в 1930–1932 гг., в 1932–1934 гг., в 1936–1938 гг., в 1939–1945 гг., в 1946–1953 гг. С точки зрения автора, масштабы массового террора в 1930–1932 и в 1936–1938 гг. сопоставимы по своей ожесточенности, скоротечности и количеству репрессированных. Историографический анализ показал, что российские историки достигли консенсуса по базовой структуре «Большого террора». Ряд аспектов проблемы сохраняет свою дискуссионность: предпосылки и причины, периодизация, причины завершения; другие требуют дополнительного исследования: роль культурного генотипа и социальных настроений общества, последствия террора. Автор, вопреки преобладающему мнению, включает в содержание «Большого террора» репрессии против элиты наряду с массовым террором, «антикулацкой» и «национальными» операциями. Применение методов новейшей социальной истории заставляет глубже задуматься о социокультурных основаниях террора. Акцентируя внимание на исключительной роли Сталина в организации «Большого террора», не следует забывать, что диктатор действовал, находя опору в утопических социальных ожиданиях и ментальности крестьянских масс, «комбатантной брутальности» своих сподвижников, порожденной опытом Гражданской войны. The article discusses the reasons for the beginning of the "Great Terror". The influence of the NKVD № 00447, which was one of the main regulators of the terror of the late 30s, is comprehended. The position of the "triples" in sentencing on the basis of the report of the Prosecutor's Office of the USSR has been studied. The severity of the sentence received is determined depending on belonging to a certain category in the gradation of the accused. The influence of the local leadership on a significant increase in the number of repressed citizens is considered. The domestic historiography of the 1950s-2000s on the actual problem of the "Great Terror" is also analyzed. The Stalinist system relied on the mechanism of "extraordinary" throughout its existence: waves of terror swept in 1930-1932, in1932-1934, in1936-1938, in1939-1945, in1946- 1953. From the author's point of view, the scale of the mass terror of 1930-1932 and 1936-1938 are comparable in their bitterness, transience and the number of repressed. Historiographical analysis has shown that a consensus has been reached among Russian historians on the basic structure of the "Great Terror". A number of aspects of the problem remain controversial: prerequisites and causes, periodization, reasons for completion; others require additional research: the role of the cultural genotype and social attitudes of society, the consequences of terror, etc. The author, contrary to the prevailing opinion, includes in the content of the "Great Terror" repression against the elite along with the mass terror of "anti-Kulak" and "national" operations. The application of the methods of modern social history makes us think more deeply about the socio-cultural foundations of terror. Focusing on the exceptional role of Stalin in the organization of the "Great Terror", we should not forget that the dictator acted, finding support in utopian social expectations and the mentality of the unbridled masses, the "combatant brutality" of his associates, generated by the experience of the Civil War.