Risk Factors Associated With Various Severities of Suicidal and Non-Suicidal Self-Harm Among Israel Defense Forces Soldiers—A Nested Case–Control Study

ABSTRACT Objective Severe suicide attempt is a major risk factor for completed suicide. The aim of the present study was to focus on suicide behavior and timing to gain better understanding of these populations. Method The nested case–control retrospective study based on medical records of 246,866 soldiers, who demonstrated suicide attempts of varying severity, including death by suicide were compared with soldiers who did not demonstrate such behavior. Results Risk for death by suicide was associated with males, military seniority of less than 12 months. High frequency of visits with mental health care professionals was associated with being severe suicide attempters (SAs). Moderate suicide attempts were associated with being a male, visiting a primary care physician frequently, and belonging to one of the two latest immigrant groups in Israel (Ethiopians and former Soviet Union). Mild suicide attempts were associated with having a psychiatric diagnosis on the enlistment day, visiting a mental health care professional at high or average frequency, visiting a primary care physician at high or average frequency, being a male, and being born in the former Soviet Union. While the proportion of males demonstrating suicidal behavior was higher than the females’, severe SAs were higher among females. There was a clear tendency of female suicide attempters at all levels to act toward the end of their military service. Conclusions Although half of the SAs were females, their characteristics may be similar to those of the male SAs, contrary to the sex differences in suicide behavior among civilians.

“Doomed to Good Relations”

This article sheds new light on the end of the Cold War and the fate of anti-imperialism in the twentieth century by exploring how the Soviet Union and the Islamic Republic of Iran achieved a rapprochement in the late 1980s. Both the USSR and Iran had invested significant resources into presenting themselves as the leaders of the anti-imperialist movement and “the global movement of Islam,” and both the Soviet and Iranian governments sought to export their models of anti-imperialist postcolonial statehood to Afghanistan. However, by the mid-1980s both the Soviet Union and revolutionary Iran were forced to confront the limits to their anti-imperialist projects amid the increasing pull of globalization. Elites in both countries responded to these challenges by walking back their commitments from world revolution and agreeing to maintain the Najibullah regime in Afghanistan as a bulwark against Islamist forces hostile to Marxism-Leninism and Iran's brand of Islamic revolution. This joint pragmatic turn, however, contributed to a drought in anti-imperialist politics throughout the Middle East, leaving the more radical voices of transnational actors as one of the only consistent champions of anti-imperialism. Drawing on new sources from the former Soviet Union and Eastern Europe, as well as sources from Iran, Afghanistan, and the “Afghan Arabs,” the article sheds empirical and analytical light on discussions of the fate of anti-imperialism in the twilight of the Cold War.

Die Geschichte in der Gegenwart sehen. Überlegungen zum Begriff der „kontaminierten Landschaften“ [Seeing History in the Present: Reflections on the Concept of “Contaminated Landscapes”]

Seeing History in the Present: Reflections on the Concept of “Contaminated Landscapes”The essay takes the 2014 book Kontaminierte Landschaften [Contaminated Landscapes] by the Austrian journalist and writer Martin Pollack as an opportunity to explore relationships between landscapes, (marked) places, and memory. In considering the relationship between the metaphorical (literary) image of contaminated landscapes and the actual crime scenes, I focus on the mass shootings of Jews by the German Nazis and their local supporters in the former Soviet Union. These specific crime scenes are used to explore the limits of Pollack’s metaphor and the problems it causes. The central arguments are presented using concrete examples provided by seven photographs.Widzieć historię w teraźniejszości. Refleksje nad pojęciem „skażonych krajobrazów”W artykule książka Skażone krajobrazy (2014) austriackiego dziennikarza i pisarza Martina Pollacka staje się punktem wyjścia do badania związków między krajobrazami, (naznaczonymi) miejscami i pamięcią. Relacje między metaforycznym (literackim) obrazem skażonych krajobrazów a realnymi miejscami zbrodni rozważam na przykładzie masowych rozstrzelań Żydów dokonanych w byłym Związku Radzieckim przez niemieckich nazistów i ich miejscowych stronników. Te konkretne miejsca zbrodni pomagają zbadać granice zastosowania metafory Pollacka i powodowane przez nią problemy. Najważniejsze wnioski zaprezentowałam na konkretnych przykładach siedmiu fotografii.

Die Geschichte in der Gegenwart sehen. Überlegungen zum Begriff der „kontaminierten Landschaften“ [Seeing History in the Present: Reflections on the Concept of “Contaminated Landscapes”]

Seeing History in the Present: Reflections on the Concept of “Contaminated Landscapes”The essay takes the 2014 book Kontaminierte Landschaften [Contaminated Landscapes] by the Austrian journalist and writer Martin Pollack as an opportunity to explore relationships between landscapes, (marked) places, and memory. In considering the relationship between the metaphorical (literary) image of contaminated landscapes and the actual crime scenes, I focus on the mass shootings of Jews by the German Nazis and their local supporters in the former Soviet Union. These specific crime scenes are used to explore the limits of Pollack’s metaphor and the problems it causes. The central arguments are presented using concrete examples provided by seven photographs. Widzieć historię w teraźniejszości. Refleksje nad pojęciem „skażonych krajobrazów”W artykule książka Skażone krajobrazy (2014) austriackiego dziennikarza i pisarza Martina Pollacka staje się punktem wyjścia do badania związków między krajobrazami, (naznaczonymi) miejscami i pamięcią. Relacje między metaforycznym (literackim) obrazem skażonych krajobrazów a realnymi miejscami zbrodni rozważam na przykładzie masowych rozstrzelań Żydów dokonanych w byłym Związku Radzieckim przez niemieckich nazistów i ich miejscowych stronników. Te konkretne miejsca zbrodni pomagają zbadać granice zastosowania metafory Pollacka i powodowane przez nią problemy. Najważniejsze wnioski zaprezentowałam na konkretnych przykładach siedmiu fotografii.

On the works of Nicholas K. Roerich in the Primorye State Art Gallery

В статье, основанной на материалах многолетних исследований автора, рассматриваются два произведения Николая Константиновича Рериха из собрания Приморской государственной картинной галереи. Внимание заостряется на причастности пейзажа «Туман» (1907) к серии «Финляндских этюдов» художника, а этюда «Дорожка» (1908) — к известной петербургской коллекции, в 1910-е годы принадлежавшей А.В. и Е.Л. Румановым. В настоящее время коллекция Румановых рассеяна по двадцати пяти государственным музеям бывшего Советского Союза. Больше всего произведений входит в собрание Русского музея. В Приморской картинной галерее хранится всего одна работа — этюд Рериха «Дорожка», и по ней довольно сложно судить о масштабе коллекции Румановых и месте данного этюда в числе других работ художника, входивших в ее состав. Уточнение истории создания и бытования обоих пейзажей Н.К. Рериха из собрания Приморской картинной галереи имеет важное значение для их изучения и научной каталогизации, а также для просветительской деятельности галереи. The article, based on the materials of the author's long-term research, examines two works by Nicholas Konstantinovich Roerich from the collection of the Primorye State Art Gallery. Attention is focused on the involvement of the landscape “Fog” (1907) in the series of “Finnish sketches” by the artist, and the sketch “Path” (1908) — in the famous St. Petersburg collection, in the 1910s owned by A.V. and E.L. Rumanov. Currently, the Rumanov collection is scattered across twenty-five state museums of the former Soviet Union. Most of the works are included in the collection of the Russian Museum. The Primorye Art Gallery has only one work — Roerich's sketch “The Path”, and it is quite difficult to judge the scale of the Rumanov collection and the place of this sketch among other works of the artist that were part of it. Clarification of the history of the creation and existence of both landscapes by N.K. Roerich from the collection of the Primorye Art Gallery is important for their study and scientific cataloging, as well as for the educational activities of the gallery.

The Health Status and Healthcare Utilization of Ethnic Germans in Russia

Ethnic German resettlers from the former Soviet Union are one of the largest migrant groups in Germany. In comparison with the majority of the German population, resettlers exhibit worse subjective health and utilize fewer preventive measures. However, there is little evidence on health among ethnic Germans who remained in Russia. Hence, the objective of this study was to determine the differences in subjective health, diabetes, smoking, and utilization of health check-ups between ethnic Germans and the majority population in Russia. We used data from the Russian Longitudinal Monitoring Survey II from 1994 to 2018 (general population of Russia n = 41,675, ethnic Germans n = 158). Multilevel logistic regression was used to calculate odds ratios (ORs) adjusted for age, sex, period, and place of residence. Analyses were furthermore stratified by the periods 1994–2005 and 2006–2018. Ethnic Germans in Russia rated their health less often as good compared with the Russian majority population (OR = 0.67, CI = 0.48–0.92). Furthermore, ethnic Germans were more likely to smoke after 2006 (OR = 1.91, CI = 1.09–3.37). Lower subjective health among ethnic Germans in Russia is in line with findings among minority populations in Europe. Increased odds of smoking after 2006 may indicate the deteriorating risk behavior of ethnic Germans in Russia.

Language Ideologies and Multilingual Practices of Post-Soviet Migrants in Western Europe from a Translanguaging Perspective

The main point of this paper is to describe, discuss and analyse multilingual practices of non-Russian migrants from the former Soviet Union from a translanguaging perspective uncovering language ideologies underpinning these practices. Using data collected through a 3-month linguistic ethnography supplemented by linguistic analysis of informal online communication, the Author found that fluid, translingual practices are generally not characteristic for the majority of well-educated post-Soviet migrants. Instead, we observe in the normative linguistic behaviour a lack of need or unwillingness to cross language boundaries and create hybrid linguistic forms.

Redescription of Minosiella intermedia Denis, 1958 (Araneae: Gnaphosidae) withfirst description of the male

Minosiella Dalmas, 1921 is a small genus of Gnaphosinae spiders comprising only six species known from western Palaearctic, ranging from Algeria to Afghanistan (Platnick, 2009). Males of this genus can be easily recognized thanks to strong cymbial spines (Figs 1–3, 9–11). Four species of Minosiella are known from both sexes, and two from females only. One of the latter, Minosiella intermedia Denis, 1958 was reported from Turkmenistan and from the Aral Sea (Ovtsharenko & Fet, 1980; Krivokhatski & Fet, 1982; Mikhailov, 1997). Although this species was reported several times from the former Soviet Union and not less than 450 specimens of M. intermedia have been collected in Karakum Desert (Krivokhatski & Fet, 1982), the male of this species was not described yet.

Inequality of children’s opportunities in extracurricular education in post-Soviet countries

The article considers the problem of inequality of opportunities for children’s participation in extracurricular education in the countries of the former Soviet Union. The differences in the general coverage of extracurricular education and the peculiarities of participation due to the territory of children’s residence (urban and rural) are presented and analysed. There is also a discussion of the trends and causes of changes in extracurricular education’s availability in the post-Soviet period. The article analyses the legislative regulation of the issues of extracurricular education’s accessibility and the content of national policies to ensure the fair and inclusive nature of extracurricular education. An attempt is made to correlate the level of institutionalisation of national regulation of extracurricular education with the participation rate. The article is based on quantitative and qualitative data collected during a two-year study of the institutional transformation of the extracurricular education sector in the countries of the former Soviet Union.