The Specifics of the Partnership between Russia and the Republic of Korea in the Economic Development of the Arctic

Since 2013, when the Republic of Korea (ROK) was admitted in the Arctic Council as an observer and issued its first Arctic policy, Seoul has strengthened its engagement in the Arctic and revealed its strong interest in expanding the economic cooperation in the Arctic with Russia. Seeing Arctic cooperation as mutually beneficial and further advancing the bilateral relations, Russia and the ROK have made a number of policy statements on their intentions to develop cooperation in the Arctic. This paper reveals the specifics and current scale of Russia’s cooperation with the ROK in the development of the resource base of the Arctic zone of the Russian Federation and the Northern Sea Route.

Russian-Korean Regional Cooperation (the Case of Twinned Regions – Irkutsk Region and Gyeongsangbuk-do Province of the Republic of Korea)

The purpose of the article is to study the history of the cooperation between twinned regions – the Irkutsk region and the Gyeongsangbuk-do province, which has lasted for 25 years. The data on the activities and projects organized during this period has been provided. Regional cooperation plays an important role in international relations. One of its purposes is to expand and strengthen interaction between two countries. The article examines the experience of cooperation between twinned regions – the Irkutsk region and the Gyeongsangbuk-do province – and studies the role of interregional interaction in relations between the Russian Federation and the Republic of Korea. The regions cooperated actively in 2016–2018 and later the cooperation was suspended due to the spread of COVID 19. Most of bilateral contacts have been in cultural and educational sphere. At the same time, there is a predominance of the events organized by the Korean side, which is along the lines of the “soft power” strategy of the Republic of Korea. And although the Irkutsk region and the Republic of Korea cooperate in economy, tourism, education and other fields, the role of the Gyeongsangbuk-do province is very insignificant in this process. Despite the fact that at each privat meeting the heads of the regions declare their intention to implement joint projects in the economic and medical sector no significant results have been achieved in this direction so far. Thus, the current relations between the regions do not play a significant role in the development of relations between the Russian Federation and the Republic of Korea and are mainly aimed at promoting the culture of their own country in the territory of the partner region.

Axiological Attitudes in the Interpretation of the Rational and Irrational in the Works of Latin Apologetics Scholars

The article aims at demonstrating significant differences in the perception of rationality and irrationality in the works of ancient Greek philosophers and philosophers of the period of Latin apologetics. The authors conducted a comparative analysis of the works of ancient and Latin philosophers. The analysis revealed that the Greeks solved the problem of the ratio of the rational and the irrational in an ontological way, while the Latins shifted the focus on the problem to the axiological dimension. The article presents the correlation of three examples of ontological orientation of pagan philosophy with three examples of axiological orientation of Latin theology of the apologetic period. The research methodology is based on the combination of historical-functional and comparative analyses. The works of N. S. Mudragey, where the validity of the use of the concepts "rational" and "irrational" in relation to ancient philosophy was proved, provided the methodological basis of the study, as well as the works of G. G. Mayorov, who actually was the first to consider Latin apologetics as a system with a clear tendency from hellenophilia to hellenophobia. The works of ancient Greek philosophers provided the theoretical basis of the study, as well as the works of Lactantius, Arnobius, Tertullian, and Minucius.

The Attitude of Student Youth to Manifestations of Various Types of Extremism (the Case of the Saratov Region)

The article is concerned with the phenomenon of extremism among youth. Analyzing the features of modern youth extremism the authors substantiated their conditioning by social, age, historical, and cultural factors. Young people tend to protest and reject the existing system, all-or-nothing thinking. While the phenomena identified as extremism today, repeatedly arose in the process of historical social development. A distinctive feature of the majority of extremist organizations at the present time is their focus on the issues of national identity or the political structure of the Russian society and state, using the principles of a totalitarian sect. In their activities destructive religious organizations themselves are also, as a rule, based on radical ideas, which is why they are recognized as extremist. The article presents the findings of the sociological study conducted in Saratov’s higher educational institutions. Based on the analysis of the study results the authors came to the conclusion that extremist sentiments among student youth are growing towards representatives of various nationalities and religions. The authors assumed that in order to successfully counter youth extremism, first and foremost it is necessary to clearly distinguish its causes, rooted in the society itself and shortcomings of state youth policy, from the forms of its manifestation that have social and group specific features.

Youth of Irkutsk Region: Protest Potential and Attitude toward the Political Opposition

The article analyzes a protest activity as one of the areas of political activity of young people in modern Russian society. The purpose of the study is to explore the attitude towards the opposition and the oppositional potential of the youth of the Irkutsk region. The authors revealed that the portrait of an average young man in the Irkutsk region (in terms of his attitude to the opposition and protest potential) is as follows: he or she is a person who latently criticizes the authorities and expects changes, but whose political activity is below the average level.

Manifestation of the Internal Systemic Conflict in Mongolia

The article deals with the issue of Mongolia's foreign policy during the Cold War. This period is divided into two parts. The first period, 1945-1960s, is a period of conflict between two systems: socialism and capitalism. In this first period of the Cold War Mongolia managed to establish diplomatic relations with socialist countries of Eastern Europe, as the “system allowed”. The second period, from the mid-1960s to the mid-1980s, is the period of the conflict of the socialist system, the period of the Soviet-Chinese confrontation. During this period Mongolia's foreign policy changed dramatically and focused on the Soviet Union. This was due to the Soviet investment «boom» that began in 1960s and the entry of Soviet troops on the territory of Mongolia in 1967. The Soviet military intervention into Mongolia was one of the main reasons for cooling the Soviet-Chinese relations. And military withdrawal contributed to the improvement of Soviet-Chinese relations until the mid-1980s and one of the conditions for improving relations with their neighbors. The internal systemic conflict had a serious impact on Mongolia's foreign policy over those years.

Theological and Philosophical Views of Muslim Theologians of the Volga Region to the Heterodox Environment in the 18th – Early 20th Centurу

The relevance of the study is due to the study of the Russian model of interfaith relations, the evolution of which occurred as a result of the socio-cultural development of Russian society in the 18th – early 20th centuries. The article shows a range of theological and philosophical views of Muslim theologians to the heterodox environment, which is reflected not only in legal issues but also in the issues of confessional exclusivity. At the same time, the position of the majority of Muslim theologians should be primarily considered not as a manifestation of religious intolerance but as an attempt to consider these relations in a scientific focus.

The Geopolitical Identity of the Bulgarian Nation

The article considers the issues of the nature and conditions of the formation of the geopolitical identity of the Bulgarian nation. The author analyzes the specifics of geopolitical thinking in Bulgaria as a small state in South-Eastern Europe associated, on the one hand, with the approval of the “central”, “core” position of Bulgaria on the Balkan Peninsula, and with belonging to “Intermediate Europe” (“Wide South-Eastern Europe”) along with all other Balkan countries on the other hand. It has been shown that the fundamental Bulgarian geopolitical notions are not part of any clearly articulated doctrine, as was the case in neighboring Greece or Serbia, but are the result of a number of political events, due to which the modern Bulgarian national identity begins to take shape. First of all, we are talking about the firman of the Ottoman Sultan, according to which the Bulgarian Autocephalous Church – Exarchate was founded on March 11, 1870, and after that the draft about autonomous Bulgaria worked out at the Istanbul Conference of Ambassadors of the Great Powers (December 1876), and finally – San - Stefan Peace Treaty of 1878, which completed the formation of the national geopolitical ideal of "Greater Bulgaria."

The System of Qualification Examination at Public Schools in Eastern Siberia at the turn of the 19th – 20th Centuries as a Result of Education Policy of the Russian Autocracy

The article deals with peculiarities of the organization of end-of-year and final examinations at public schools in Eastern Siberia at the turn of 19th – 20th centuries in connection with the problems of formation and development of the content and mechanisms of realization of the State Final Certification in the practice of modern national education.

General Principles of S. L. Frank’s “Mystical Realism” as a Method of Knowing the Absolute

This article attempts to analyze S. L. Frank’s philosophy to identify a distinct concept – “mystical realism”. Two key works on the ontology of the thinker have been considered: “Subject of knowledge” belonging to the early period of his creative work, and “Incomprehensible” written in the late period. The tradition of Frank’s intellectual heritage analysis is represented by the works of I.I. Evlampiev, P.P. Gaidenko, P. Elen, A.M. Khamidulina and other professionals aimed at finding elements of intuitive (mystical) cognition of the Absolute in the context of objective being. It resulted in the idea that “mystical realism” is based on the combination of rational and irrational knowledge aimed at acquiring the Absolute. S.L. Frank shows the presence of something mystical (Absolute) in the context of objective being, and further he reveals the presence of something mystical (Absolute) in the spiritual being of a person. The presence of something mystical within reality is represented by two main transcendence ways: “outward expression of a spirit” and “inward expression of a spirit”. It allows the philosopher to speak about the Absolute as a fundamental principle that created the uni-verse and at the same time as a call of eternity coming into an objective world through a spiritual life of a person.