Academic literature on the topic 'Central and Eastern European literature (incl. Russian)'

The history of imperial science has been a growing topic over recent decades. Overviews of the imperial history of science have rarely included the Russian, Habsburg, and German empires. The history of Central and Eastern Europe has embraced empire as an analytical and critical category only recently, having previously pursued national historiographies and romanticised versions of imperial pasts. This article highlights several key narratives of imperial sciences in Central and Eastern Europe that have appeared over the past twenty years, especially in anglophone literature. Interdependence between national and imperial institutions and biographies, the history of nature as an interplay of scales, and finally, the histories of imagining a path between imperialism and nationalism, demonstrate how the history of imperial science can become an important part of the discussion of Central European history from a global perspective, as well as how the history of science can be factored into the general history of this region. Finally, I argue that the imperial history of science can play an important role in re-thinking the post/decolonial history of Central and Eastern Europe, an issue that, since the Russian invasion of Ukraine, has become the centre of intellectual attention.

Steppificated oak forests — the unique relic natural complexes of the Eastern Europe remained in Central Russia by small fragments. These forests are important elements of forest-steppe natural complexes and the reserves of rare plant species. In the European scientific literature the questions of their syntaxonomy, features of structure and dynamics are discussed (Mucina at al., 1993; Chytrý, 1997; Chytrý, Horak, 1997; Roleček, 2005, 2007; Kevey, 2008; etc.). The data on phytocoenotic diversity of such forests in Central Russia were obtained only recently but they are fragmented and insufficient. According to the Braun-Blanquet approach these forests belong to the subcontinental forest-steppe alliance Aceri tatarici–Quercion Zólyomi 1957. Such forests are described within the areas of distribution of two important edificator species — Acer tataricum and A.campestre which the northeast areal border generally corresponds to the northeast border of the forest-steppe zone. On the basis of geobotanical data collected by the authors on the Middle-Russian Upland (Belgorod, Kursk, Tula regions) the 4 new associations within the alliance Aceri tatarici–Quercion Zólyomi 1957 are described. Floristic differentiation of new syntaxa from the Central-European syntaxa is demonstrated by the DCA-ordination. Authors propose an original combination of the diagnostic species for this alliance, for the area studied. Taking into account the floristic specificity of the forests of the region, we suggest uniting of the established associations into the new suballiance Crataego curvisepalae–Quercenion roboris. This alliance represents the East European mesoxerophyte broad-leaved (with Quercus robur) forests of forest-steppe zone of the Middle Russian subprovince of the East European forest-steppe province. The diagnostic species of the suballiance are following: Quercus robur, Acer platanoides, Chamaecytisus ruthenicus, Crataegus curvisepala, Frangula alnus, Melampyrum nemorosum, Sorbus aucuparia, Tilia cordata, Vibur­num opulus. The suballiance is diagnosed by absence of thermophilous ous Quercus species, in particular, Q.petraea, Q.pubescens, Q.cerris, etc., their hybrid forms, and also some Central European and Sub-Mediterranean trees and shrubs: Acer pseudoplatanus, Carpinus betulus, Crataegus laevigata, C.monogyna, Cornus mas, Fagus sylvatica, Ligustrum vulgare, Sorbus aria, S.tomentosa, Tilia argentea, T.plathyphyllos, Viburnum lantana, Ulmus minor. Results of the research spread our knowledge on distribution of the steppificatedbroad-leaved forests in the Central Russia. and geography of the alliance Aceri tatarici–Quercion in Eastern Europe.

Stock market comovements between developed (represented in the article by markets of Austria, France, Germany, and the UK) and developing stock markets (represented here by three Central and Eastern European (CEE) markets of Slovenia, the Czech Republic, and Hungary) are of great importance for the financial decisions of international investors. From the point of view of portfolio diversification, short-term investors are more interested in the comovements of stock returns at higher frequencies (short-term movements), while long-term investors focus on lower frequencies comovements. As such, one has to resort to a time-frequency domain analysis to obtain insight about comovements at the particular time-frequency (scale) level. The empirical literature on the CEE and developed stock markets interdependence predominantly apply simple (Pearsons) correlation analysis, Granger causality tests, cointegration analysis, and GARCH modeling. None of the existent empirical studies examine time-scale comovements between CEE and developed stock market returns. By applying a maximal overlap discrete wavelet transform correlation estimator and a running correlation technique, we investigated the dynamics of stock market return comovements between individual Central and Eastern European countries and developed European stock markets in the period from 1997-2010. By analyzing the time-varying dynamics of stock market comovements on a scale-by-scale basis, we also examined how major events (financial crises in the investigated time period and entrance to the European Union) affected the comovement of CEE stock markets with developed European stock markets. The results of the unconditional correlation analysis show that the developed European stock markets of France, the UK, Germany and Austria were more interdependent in the observed period than the CEEs stock markets. The later group of countries exhibited a lower degree of comovement between themselves as well as with the developed European stock markets during all the observed time period. The Slovenian stock market was the least correlated with other stock markets. By using the rolling wavelet correlation technique, we wanted to answer the question as to how the correlation between CEE and developed stock markets changed over the observed period. In particular, we wanted to examine whether major economic (financial) and political events in the world and European economies (the Russian financial crisis, the dot-com financial crisis, the attack on the WTC, the CEE countries joining the European union, and the recent global financial crisis) have influenced the dynamics of CEE stock market comovements with developed European stock markets. The results show that stock market return comovements between CEE and developed European stock markets varied over time scales and time. At all scales and during the entire observed time period the Hungarian and Czech stock markets were more interconnected to developed European stock markets than the Slovenian stock market was. The highest comovement between the investigated CEE and developed European stock market returns was normally observed at the highest scales (scale 5, corresponding to stock market return dynamics over 32-64 days, and scale 6, corresponding to stock market return dynamics over 32-64 and 64-128 days). At all scales the Hungarian and Czech stock markets were more connected to developed European stock markets than the Slovenian stock market. We found that European integration lead to increased comovement between CEE and developed stock markets, while the financial crises in the observed period led only to short-term increases in stock market return comovements.DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5755/j01.ee.23.1.1221

Both the official army music and combatants’ informal folk songs have always played a noteworthy role in their respective societies regardless whether this music was created as means of actual propaganda or subsequently as part of reinvented commemorative culture. This article focuses on comparison of the two most recent European armed conflicts, namely 1) the ethnically motivated conflicts in former Yugoslavia between 1992 and 1995/1999, and 2) the interethnic violence followed by Russian military intervention in Ukraine in 2014; the Russo-Ukrainian conflict has not yet been settled and still threatens to escalate. Building on wide range of primary and secondary sources (mainly of Western, Central and South-Eastern European provenience) that has been ignored by a regional scholarship, the paper seeks to provide a contextual background behind the war songs and to compare their prevalent patterns and typology of their inner dynamics and transformations. This paper will not inquire into international, economical or military implications of the aforementioned armed conflicts; it will focus specifically on textual and contextual analysis of those songs. Study brings completely new insights on phenomenon of war songs in East European and former Yugoslav environment and brings much-needed light on the intertwined social, cultural and identity relations that can be established between the former Yugoslav and post-Soviet countries. This topic is very important since state doctrine, national narratives, historical memory affect current and also future development of both regions what is clearly visible on elaborated material.

Purpose: The purpose of the article is to compare the theoretical assumptions of Gray’s model based on Hofstede’s cultural dimensions and the actual evolution of accounting sys-tems in Russia and the Baltic countries, as former Soviet republics (which implies decades of functioning within the same legal and economic system, as well as the financial market). Methodology: A critical analysis and comparative analysis of the literature. Results: The initial characteristics of the Russian accounting subculture were characterized by a strong inclination towards conservatism and discretion, preferring statutory control and uniformity. This is also true of the accounting subculture of the Baltic countries − conserva-tive, but with a tendency towards transparency and professionalism, but at the same time appreciating the role of statutory control, with an ambivalent approach to flexibility. An analy-sis of the development of accounting systems in these countries revealed general compli-ance with the theoretical assumptions of Gray's model, and highest in the case of Russia. Originality/value: The article confirms the correctness of the assumptions of Gray's model regarding the evolution of selected countries’ accounting systems. It fills the existing cognitive gap, because former Soviet republics’ accounting systems are rarely studied in a cultural con-text, especially compared to Russia. Typically, a comparison is made between Russia/the former Soviet republic and Western European countries or another Central/Eastern European country.

The paper is dedicated to outlining the main specific features of the spread and reception of Russian language in Hungary, with attention paid to the chronological perspective and the current situation. The text aims at revealing the factors, institutional and personal agents that fuel the interest to studying and teaching Russian in the atmosphere of Hungary. Russian history, culture, literature, traditions, and, consequently, the Russian language have always been of interest in Hungary. The Hungarian national culture developed in parallel with the rise of enthusiasm toward Russia — and in 1849 the Department of Slavic Philology was introduced at the University of Pest. Russian was popularized and spread in Hungary by textbooks and translations of famous oeuvres of Russian writers. The turn of the 19th century and the beginning of the 20th marked the growing interest of students to Russian, with the First World War, the October revolution in Russia and the subsequent Russian exodus intensifying mundane interactions. The Second World War, its outcomes and the split of Europe into two zones showed the clout that the Russian language acquired. In 1949, Russian became the only compulsory foreign language at school; Russian was introduced in higher educational institutions on a broader basis, including pedagogical institutes which were training Russian teachers for middle schools. After 1989, Hungary, like other Central and Eastern European countries, saw a sharp decline in the number of Russian language learners due to geopolitical reasons. The current stage of the spread of the Russian language in Hungary is characterized by positive changes: strengthening of economic relations between the countries, expansion of cultural and educational ties that is gradually leading to an increase in emphasis on the Russian language. In particular, it is owed to the liberalization of book industry and publishing of new Russian textbooks, digital promotion via Internet, construction of the Baksi nuclear power plant, and numerous exhibitions and festivals. What can be concluded is that cultural bonds connecting the Hungarians and the Russian language have a long path dependency relative to the post-1917 diaspora, the period of socialism and favourable relations with the USSR. Their effect is maintained by modern funds and associations. Economic ties that have foundation in both historical industrial cooperation and modern projects also foster attention to maintaining closer cultural interactions — and, thus, to studying Russian.

Based on the study of various types of sources and analysis of Russian and foreign literature, the author conceptually substantiates an approach to the study of the Balkan region / South-Eastern Europe. One of the main problems considered in the article is the change in the course of the history of the 19 th-21 st centuries the ratio of the concepts of «Balkans/South-Eastern Europe», «Eastern Europe», «Central-Eastern and South-Eastern Europe», «Western Balkans», «Western Balkan countries» and «European Western Balkans». The author characterizes various historical stages of the development of the region in the context of world wars and revolutions of the 20 th century, shows the specifics of political and ethnic processes, the internal political situation in each country and relations between the states of the region, the correlation between the processes of regionalization and globalization. With the disappearance of Eastern Europe in the form in which it existed in 1949-1991, after the anti-communist social and national revolutions in the former socialist countries of Europe in 1989-1992, an integral part of the process of national self-determination was the change in the regional self-identification of each people, society and state. If in the 2000 s, positive dynamics prevailed both in terms of internal political development, intraregional and global international relations, then in the 2010 s, the forward movement has stalled in terms of both the internal economic, social and political development of the states of the region, and the settlement of interethnic and interstate conflicts in the region against the background of a general aggravation of international relations. The article examines the role of regional identification and self-identification as elements of national self-awareness. The author also characterizes the challenges facing the countries of the region in the short, medium and long terms and indicates that the choice of the Balkans / South-Eastern Europe, despite the specificity caused by their historical fate, and all the difficulties of development and conflicts, has already been made: the Balkans (like Russia as well) is an integral part of Europe.

The article focuses on the basic directions and subjects of the scientific activity in the Bohemian studies at Kyiv University within the context of formation and development of historical Slavic studies. In particular, general laws and specific features during different development stages have been emphasized, so was the contribution of each individual university departments to the Czech history and culture studies. The establishment of the domestic Slavic studies as a whole and Czech studies in particular is related to a great extent to the scientific activity of the universities of the Russian Empire. In the 1830s – 1840s, the Department of History and Literature of the Slavonic Dialects, and later – Slavonic Philology were founded. The famous Professor of Medieval history A. M.Yasynsky was among the pioneers of Ukrainian Czech studies. The traditions of the university’s Czech studies have been shaped by the work of the Department, wich was established on the Faculty of History in 1967 (Department of History of Slavs since 1996). The brightest representative of this institution and specialist in the foreign policy of Czechoslovakia in the eve of the Second World War was Professor A. F. Kithchenko. Nowadays the Department of History of Central and East Europe, established in 2016 within the framework of the new educational program «Eastern European historical studies», has a wide range of research subjects and interests. Newertheless, in spite of the years of research and the established historical tradition, no center able to stimulate systematic theoretical and practical explorations in this field hasn’t been created so far.

The research deals with recent invasions of bird-dispersed shrubs in specially protected natural reservations of St.Petersburg and Leningrad Region. The results of bird-dispersed woody species inventory in 5 partial nature reserves and nature sanctuaries of the area (See Fig. 1), based upon the extensive phytocoenological research data of 2014-2018, are given (See Table 1). Out of the adventive shrub species listed, the two most aggressive invaders were chosen according to their constancy and abundance in natural forest communities. These are Lonicera nigra in Komarovskiy Bereg [Komarovo Coast] Nature Sanctuary and Amelanchier spicata in Lisinskiy [Lisino] Partial Nature Reserve. For this purpose, distributions of these species are traced along with different forest types they invade, paying attention to species constancy and projective cover in different layers of forest communities (See Tables 2 and 4). Values of intralandscape species activeness, based upon the proper relevé sets, were also calculated for both aboriginal and adventitious plant species from different community types in each study area (See Tables 3 and 5). Lonicera nigra has never been detected as an invader before. It is presumably dispersed by robins, thrushes, and warblers, also by means of barochory and secondary hydrochory. The latter is proved by the occurrence of the oldest shrubs in riverine Norway spruce and Scots pine forests on the Littorine terrace of the Gulf of Finland within Komarovo Coast Nature Sanctuary. The results of secondary bird dispersal of this species are observed in sorrel spruce forests where the untypical low shrub layer is being formed (See Fig. 2). These plants are remote form brooks or drainage channels (See Table 2). L. nigra acts as one of the most active species in the sanctuary forest coenofloras studied (See Table 3). Nevertheless, floristic composition of these forest communities remains yet unchanged in its main features. The invasion of L. nigra in the sanctuary area was first mentioned in literature by NN Tzvelev in 2000 but it took place much earlier, as the ancestral plant specimens were likely to grow in a transplant nursery near the present-day sanctuary north-eastern border in the early XX-th century. According to Komarov Botanical Institute Herbarium (LE) data, the secondary area of L. nigra in Russia is restricted to several findings in the Karelian Isthmus. Amelanchier spicata, the June berry, listed among the most aggressive plant invaders in European Russia, is dispersed by thrushes along roads in forests and then invades sorrel and horsetail-peatmoss spruce and pine forests on southern-boreal watersheds in Lisino Reserve, often as a gap-filling species. It is less common and abundant in secondary birch and aspen forests. In contrast to Lonicera nigra, it is infrequent and never abundant in riverine forests (See Table 4), the fact probably explained by difference in prevailing bird distributor species. A. spicata is never found in feathermoss pine forests on fluvial-glacial sand as well as in dwarfshrub-peatmoss pine bog forests. The invasion of this species in the reserve area probably took place after 1984-1987 when the species was not registered in forest communities of the area according to the author’s personal observations. In 2017, the activeness of A. spicata is low in all the forest types it inhabits, being compared to that of the dominant aboriginal species (See Table 5). As follows from the correlation analysis results, no one of the discussed invaders affects the projective cover of any of the native plant species in both protected areas significantly. Speaking of Amelanchier spicata, it is in fact far less aggressive than in the more southern areas of Central and Southern Russia where the species transforms forest communities actively and affects aboriginal field- and ground-layer plants negatively, even as far as to the extinction of some of the latter, as it is well-known from the literature on the subject. We are just at the beginning of the invasion process in the forests of the Russian North-West yet. The invasion of both species studied is likely to be connected with the climate change processes. The research reveals that a neglected adventive species, persisting long within a given area, may also suddenly become an aggressive invader (the case of Lonicera nigra). The invasion of adventive shrubs into the paludified forest communities, including those of the boreal peatmoss spruce forests which served as etalons of floristic stability quite recently, is also alarming.

In the history of the Dostoevsky’s and Tolstoy’s reception in modern philosophical thought, a philosophical tradition of German-Jewish origin has a prominent role. Product of a singular “spiritual synthesis”, as observed by Michael Löwy, the thought of Franz Kafka, George Lukács, Ernst Bloch, and Walter Benjamin has appeared in modern times as the sign of messianic claim for a libertarian, radical, and revolutionary socialism. Bearing in common the experience of not being reconciled with the world and history, this generation of intellectuals from Central Europe had “Jewish messianism” and “German romanticism” as privileged sources of their world-view. The religious concept of redemption and the political notion of libertarian utopia were combined in the trajectory of this German-Jewish intelligentsia that promoted an unprecedented reconfiguration of philosophical thought. It is well-known that the works of Dostoevsky and Tolstoy traverse the messianic and utopian imagery of this generation of revolutionary intellectuals and, as professor Michael Löwy assertively stated, “the utopian Bloch finds in Dostoevsky elements that legitimize The Principle of Hope: Aliocha Karamazov would be a precursor to the ‘religious kingdom of justice’…”. Such an observation is at the heart of a critical fortune accumulated in the works of Löwy and opens paths of analysis that have yet to be made in relation to the reception of Russian literature in modern Jewish philosophy. Michael Löwy is director of research at the Centre national de la recherche scientifique (CNRS-Paris) and is one of the most significant and creative intellectuals of today. The Marxist philosopher’s work offers a rare intertwining of socialism and surrealism, and establishes a meticulous approximation between philosophy and literature. The acuity with which Löwy interprets the German-Jewish messianism and romanticism, the tragic negativity and the ethical and human claims brought to light by such a tradition presents us with a revolutionary and libertarian state of being that only has equivalents in the utopian-messianic glimpses we find in the great Russian novels. The concept of “Romantic anti-capitalism”, which made it possible to read the romantic tradition in a revolutionary way, can be interpreted as the fil rouge that connects the world of Tolstoy and Dostoevsky to the messianic utopianism of modern Judaism. The reception of Russian literature in the philosophical thought of the 20th century was complex and polyphonic, and the example of Dostoevsky, a thinker who, for Löwy, “is clearly situated on the grounds of the romantic world-view”, becomes significantly emblematic. Although a conservative romanticism has found in the author of The Brothers Karamazov elements that could legitimize the nationalist desire for roots arising from a conservative tradition (Moeller van den Bruck, Goebbels, Heidegger), the utopian-revolutionary interpretation of the Russian writer made by “Jews of German culture” is among the most creative pages of modern philosophy. The set of analyses offered by Michael Löwy on the Jewish and neo-romantic tradition represented by authors such as Kafka, Lukács, Bloch, and Benjamin is an essential material for those who seek to better understand the reception and influence of Russian literature, especially Dostoevsky and Tolstoy, in the philosophical constellation of Judaism in the first half of the 20th century. The elective approximation carried out by the Franco-Brazilian philosopher between the “spiritual culture” expressed in the works of Dostoevsky and Tolstoy and the historical condition of Jewish intellectuals in Central Europe appears here as an essential element. An anecdote told by Emmanuel Levinas during an interview with François Poirié reveals that, during the visit of an Israeli from Eastern Europe to his home, the visitor noticed the complete works of Pushkin on the bookshelves and stated: “One immediately sees that we are in a Jewish house”. In the interview we present here and, above all, in the greatness of Michael Löwy’s works, we can find fundamental clues to interpret the spiritual proximity between a Central European Jewish tradition and the great Russian literature. This “attractio electiva”, coming from a neo-romantic Jewish intelligentsia in relation to the theological and utopian residues that are embodied in the works of Dostoevsky and Tolstoy (residues that may be essentially Jewish), can be interpreted as the most explosive element of modern philosophical messianism.

AbstractDue to demographic changes all European countries face significant challenges concerning the provision of home and community care for older people. While challenges in organising care services seem to be generally similar, the resources, values and responsibilities are different across countries. The purpose of this chapter is to investigate current knowledge and patterns concerning exclusion from home care services in Central and Eastern European countries, focusing especially on Hungary as a central EU member state and the Russian Federation, as a non-EU Eastern European country. As existing international research typically focuses on Anglo-Saxon contexts, this chapter draws on the national language literature of these two nations as sources of empirical data for the analysis. Our analysis indicates that there is a long-standing risk of exclusion from home care services in both countries, with a need for reform to existing provisions to address this exclusion. Despite this a differential impact of macro-level policy is evident within the two jurisdictions, with some new innovations within the Russian Federation.

According to Max Weber, protestant ethics with its active secular asceticism had a decisive impact on the development of capitalist economics whereas the contemplative Orthodox tradition did not favor the idea of active domination of the world. The economic discourse of the Russian nineteenth century literature reflects the widely spread discussion about the future of Russia, which, compared to advanced Western capitalism, was in the position of periphery. On the one hand, authors are aware of the fact that the adoption of certain Western economic concepts is inevitable in Russia, yet on the otherhand they fear the loss of cultural identity. Gogol and Goncharov, the authors of such famous works as The Dead Souls or Oblomov, are inclined to approve certain elements of capitalist economy – they will be treated under the catchword «economize» –, whereas the idea of anti-economic «spending» of money is characteristic of Dostoevsky´s novels such as The Gambler or The Adolescent. A special position may be ascribed to Tolstoy’s economic «minimalism» which has its roots in peasant ideas of natural economy and Western authors like Proudhon or Rousseau.