Shifting Memorialization of WWII in Latvia
After the USSR re-occupied Latvia from Nazi Germany in 1944, they constructed a narrative that framed the USSR as a welcome liberator. This was designed…
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Holodomor Remembrance and Ukrainian Nation Building
The memory of the Holodomor has become integral to modern Ukrainian identity. Having lived through that tragic and horrible event as a nation, it is…
Book Review of Defining Latvia: Recent Explorations in History, Culture, & Politics.
Loader, Michael, Hearne, Siobhán, and Matthew Kott. Defining Latvia: Recent Explorations in History, Culture, & Politics. Central European University Press, Budapest, 2022. 364 pp., $9.99…
Examining the Threat of the Azov Movement in Ukraine
The Azov movement has gained in reputation and power, not only in their home country of Ukraine, but across the world. The group, which began…
The Theories of the Slavophiles: on the Relationship between State and Society in Russia
This essay considers the Slavophile conception of the state and its relationship with society as part of the wider Slavophile program of the 1830s-1850s, which…
Responding to the Dual Threat to Kazakhness: The Rise of Alash Orda and its Uniquely Kazakh Path
In 1917, following the fall of the Russian empire, Alash Orda, a provisional Kazakh government formed by members of the Alash nationalist party, partially filled…
Nationalism as a Political Factor in Late-Soviet Kazakhstan
“Nationalism is a political principle which maintains that similarity of culture is the basic social bond.” – E. Gellner[1] “Казахстан в современных границах исторически был территорией…
Nationalist Thought in Contemporary Russia
The Russian nationalist movement came to prominence in the late Soviet era and the early years of the Russian Federation. Russia had never existed as…
A Vision and a Guiding Light in an Age of Disunity: A review of Theodosius’ contributions to Vladimir I’s vision
Артельный горшок гуще кипит “With a helper, many things are possible” – Russian Proverb ‘Let us seek a prince who may rule over us, and…
Environmental Policy and Politics of Lake Baikal: A review of physical, psychological, and political contexts
Lake Baikal in Siberia has a rich biological and cultural history. It is highly valued for its aesthetic qualities and rich biological diversity. In addition,…
A Comparative Look at Hate Crime in Russia and the U.S.
In recent years, as an important issue in foreign relations between the United States and Russia, the United States has focused on bringing attention to…
Russia Day Evolves
Russia Day is one of the country’s newest holidays and many are still at a loss as to how it should be celebrated. However, the…
Mandate of the Fatherland: Denis Fonvizin’s Translation of Neo-Confucianism into the Politics of Enlightened Absolutism under Catherine the Great
Born in 1745, Denis Fonvizin was one of eighteenth-century Russia’s premier playwrights, and among the reform-minded intellectuals and future statesmen educated at the University of…