The XII Duke of Osuna, between aristocratic spirit and Dandy. The Russian embassy as a matter of honor

Russia and Spain re-established relations in 1856 after a two-decade diplomatic crisis caused by disagreements over Carlism. The appointment of Mariano Téllez-Girón, XII Duke of Osuna, as the plenipotentiary minister in the Russian court signaled a friendly reconciliation between the two countries. However, it meant above all the reaffirmation of the Spanish nobleman, who left his mark on the Russian royal and public sphere. The Duke of Osuna knew how to gain the Tsar’s trust and displayed his sense of honor, imbued with the aristocratic spirit and the European dandy. This work provides a portrait of the Duke of Osuna during his embassy in Saint Petersburg, against the backdrop of the ideal of Spanish liberalism, and of the dandy as a new archetype of bourgeois honor. The Letters from Russia, by Juan Valera, secretary of that embassy, help to understand the controversial image displayed by Osuna in the Court of Alexander II. The Duke not only adapted to the Russian noble and autocratic customs, but also presented a very particular way of understanding the figure of the nobleman, which allowed him to refute the existing stereotypes around Spain, as well as reinforce the prestige of Queen Elizabeth, formally recognized not only by Russia, but by the rest of the powers.

The ambassador of Spain to the Russian Empire Anibal Morillo y Pérez del Villar and his “Memories”

The article examines the memoirs of a Spanish diplomat Anibal Morillo and Perez del Villar, the Count of Cartagena. He held the post of the Spanish ambassador in the Russian Empire in 1914-1916 when World War One broke out. “Memories of my Embassy in Russia” by Morillo is a specific source that shows the life of the zarist court and diplomatic circles of St. Petersburg in that period. The Count of Cartagena’s activity has not been considered much in Russian historiography. Based on the analysis of his memoirs, the author of the article suggests that Morillo considered the Russian revolution to be brought in from outside. A study of the memoirs showed that the Spanish ambassador at St. Petersburg preferred German diplomacy and had a peculiar notion of the role of Russia in unleashing the war. The author of this article concludes that Morillo’s ideas were partly shaped by the internal problems and the international situation of his own country at the beginning of the 20th century and that the Spanish ambassador was one of the Spanish Germanophiles. Spain maintained strict neutrality throughout the war. The Spanish embassy in Russia carried out important humanitarian mission and active mediation activities, supporting Russian citizens on enemy territory and trying to improve the situation of Russian prisoners of war and facilitate their return. The issue of the personal participation of Anibal Morillo in mediation is also touched upon in this article.

Evolution and perspectives of Spanish in Russian school system

The article examines from various points of view the role of the Spanish language in the Russian system of primary and secondary education, both public and private, paying special attention to the experience of schools participating in the Bilingual Sections program of the Spanish Ministry of Education and Training. The article compares Spanish with other foreign languages in the Russian school system, and considers its evolution in the timeline and the impact on its status of migration movements in connection with political events, commercial and student exchange, tourism; as well as the impact of certain measures taken both in Russia and in Spain. Institutions in both countries have established links to promote mutual development in terms of learning Spanish and Russian, and the diplomatic corps has become the catalyst and manager of this dynamic. Despite the fact that the reactions of educational actors (institutions, civil society, students and teachers) are varied, they reinforce different mechanisms to gain access to Spanish culture and business, as well as to other Spanish-speaking countries. The article also demonstrates the current statistics and describes the trend that the teaching of Spanish may follow in the coming years due to positioning of Spanish among the main foreign languages studied in Russian schools.

Latin America in the fight against the Coronavirus crisis: The impact on economic and political stability in the region

The world has entered the third decade of the century, gripped by the global crisis and the COVID-19. These specific conditions have undermined the development and sustainability of the less prepared countries of Latin America and the Caribbean (LCA). The authors show that the COVID-19 pandemic was the largest shock for the LCA countries in the social and economic spheres. Before the pandemic, the LCA states had rather modest indicators of economic development. They were strongly influenced by external factors of protectionism opposition to the free trade and the looming global economic crisis. They have accumulated deep internal contradictions of social inequality and low domestic demand. The economic situation in the LCA countries has become even more complicated due to the development of a pandemic in 2020-2021: it was characterized by a halt or decline in economic activity, growing budget deficit and public debt, decline in domestic demand for goods and services, decreasing export revenues, declining investments, businesses closure, rising unemployment and poverty. To contain the spread of coronavirus, prevent overstrain of health systems and reduce human losses, the LCA governments took a number of measures to overcome the COVID-19 crisis, which came down to general measures of population social support and direct measures against the spread of the pandemic, including vaccination which has become an issue of utmost importance in the absence of local vaccines and a shortage of purchased vaccines or delivered under the COVAX program. However, as it is shown in the article, the measures taken by the LCA states to protect the population and the economy from the strikes of the pandemic are insufficient; vaccination programs are almost completely dependent on external vaccine manufacturers and international assistance.

The impact of COVID-19 on trade relations between Russia and Spain: contributions from the Iberian country

It is undeniable to note that the ties between countries, especially cultural, historical, economic and geopolitical, are rooted in the political foundations that have been laid between nations and countries throughout the process of shaping what today is known as international relations, a discipline that has become one of the most relevant for understanding the contemporary world. Starting from the premise that human groups, and hence the forms of their organization, permanently establish social links and interactions that constitute the dynamic substrate of all societies, it would be appropriate to analyze how they materialize in a specific bilateral sphere, for which a key aspect of mutual economic interests between the Russian Federation and Spain has been chosen. From an economic perspective and through the analysis of statistics on foreign trade of goods, foreign investment and trade barriers, this research will address the evolution of trade relations over the last five years, focusing on the international trade situation that has occurred since the global COVID-19 pandemic and created a multiplicity of opportunities and challenges for trade and investment between the two states in health sector.

Relations between Brazil and Spain under the Bolsonaro’s government

In this article the author examines in detail the bilateral relations between Spain and Brazil during the presidency of Jair Bolsonaro. In addition, the subject of this article is the opposition of EU governments to the environmental policies of the South American country and the disastrous policies of the Brazilian authorities in the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic. President Bolsonaro’s negligence of climate change and Amazon deforestation has prompted European governments to openly oppose the ratification of the Mercosur – EU Free Trade Agreement, which was signed in 2019 after 20 years of negotiations. In May 2016, the parties agreed on reciprocal terms, resulting in signing of the agreement. It also included the exchange of goods and services, essential investments and public procurements. All this was done in the context of a global policy of protectionism amid a weakening role of the WTO as a supporter of the trade liberalization process. Despite its success, countries such as France, Austria and the Netherlands stand against the Mercosur – EU trade deal, which can halt its ratification. The Spanish government, on the contrary, is lobbying for ratification of the agreement. Madrid, interested in benefiting from the Bolsonaro government’s liberal economic policies, maintains strong ties with its South American partner. The author analyzes the transformation of Spain from a relatively irrelevant partner of Brazil in the 20th century to one of the main investors directing significant resources to the Brazilian economy. We also assess the results and challenges of the Brazil – Spain strategic partnership in a broader context of the Brazil – EU relations.

“The Great Mistake of the Republic”: Why was the military uprising of July 17-18, 1936 not averted?

Book under review: Vinas, Angel. El gran error de la Republica: Entre el ruido de sables y la ineficacia del Gobierno. Barcelona: Critica, 2021.

Constitutional transition to democracy in Spain

In this article the author analyses formation of the country's constitutional legislation system. In the 20th century Spain experienced three different periods: the years of the Second Republic in 1931-1939, the Franco's dictatorship of 1939-1975 and the period of transition to democracy or, as it is called ‘constitutional transit' of 1975-1980, when the basic laws and regulations of democratic Spain were adopted. Each of these periods corresponded with fundamentally different lawmaking processes, based on different legal judicial norms that were strongly influenced by the peculiarities of the political situation in the country. This article examines the background of the creation of Spanish constitutions in a particular historical period, the domestic and international situation and its influence on the peculiarities of lawmaking process. The author studies the history of the constitutional documents' adoption, considers and examines their structure and content in a highly detailed way. The author scrutinizes not only the logic, but also the sequence and reasons for the adoption of all Spanish constitutional and legal acts, as well as their meaning and influence on the legal system of the state. The Fundamental Laws of Frankish Spain, as well as the Spanish Constitution of 1978, the Political Reform Act, the rulings of the Spanish Constitutional Court and other acts, the peculiarities of the transition process to democracy and the legal break with the Frankish epoch and its system of lawmaking are studied in the article. It is worth noting that, at a time when the exist opinions that the Spanish Constitution is outdated and needs reforming, the conclusion about its fundamental role for the peaceful transition to a new Spain at the end of the 20th century and its legal relevance is the issue of utmost importance.

Nicaragua: power crisis and elections in 2021

The article is devoted to the current internal political situation in Nicaragua. The author analyzes the reasons for the acute socio-political crisis that arose in April 2018, presenting a detailed analysis of a historical background of these events. The author notes that a regime of personal power of President Ortega has been established in the country, relying on bureaucracy and power structures, since it is them playing a key role in preserving Ortega as the country’s President. The paper assesses the alignment of political forces and the general political situation in the opposition camp. The author analyzes the reasons for a number of existing contradictions that plague the opposition bloc of Nicaragua. An analysis of political potential and electoral possibilities of the opposition forces is given. The author predicts a possible scenario for the development of events within the framework of internal political situation in connection with the upcoming elections to be held in November 2021. The author comes to conclusion that the regime of Ortega is weakening and losing its positions, but still retains a margin of safety, which allows him to remain in power. As one of the scenarios for the development of events, the author predicts the possibility of a ‘compromise figure’ coming to power, which, however, does not imply a change in the real balance of power and dominant political figures in state politics.

Teoría de la dependencia: desarrollos y contribuciones de las Relaciones Internacionales

Actualmente varios investigadores han señalado que las Relaciones Internacionales (RRII) es una disciplina formulada principalmente a partir de la experiencia política europea moderna y los desarrollos filosóficos, sin embargo, se propone abordar asuntos internacionales. Varios críticos señalan que la naturaleza eurocéntrica de la Teoría de las Relaciones Internacionales (TRI), dentro de la historia de Europa, no puede dilucidar adecuadamente el pasado y el presente de las regiones no occidentales. En un intento de convertir las RRII en una disciplina netamente internacional, los especialistas de las regiones no occidentales han proporcionado sus propias definiciones locales (por ejemplo, conceptos, experiencias históricas, filosofías, etc.). Asimismo, se tiene como objetivo dar una mejor explicación de cada región. Aunque la Teoría de la dependencia de América Latina no es ampliamente reconocida como una TIR propia, este artículo argumenta que puede contribuir a ella. El artículo se divide en tres secciones. La primera sección desarrolla dos críticas al enfoque eurocéntrico de las RRII y sus teorías. La segunda presenta brevemente el pensamiento de los dependentistas (Fernando Henrique Cardoso y Enzo Faletto, Ruy Marini, y Samir Amin, aunque el último dependentista es franco-egipcio), así como CEPAL. Y la tercera argumenta que la Teoría de la dependencia podría contribuir a la TIR de tres maneras: (1) al reconocer que los problemas, y los intereses, no son homogéneamente universales, enfatizando la necesidad de dar soluciones locales para los problemas locales; (2) susceptibilidad a los actores no tradicionales, como las empresas multinacionales y los grupos económicos nacionales; (3) entendimiento del escenario internacional y constituido jerárquicamente por una rivalidad de la estructura centro-periferia.