The two-party tendency in Poland’s political system: manifestations, causes and prospects
The article analyses the Polish political system and the increasing role of two political parties in it. This tendency has been observed in Poland for more than 15 years. We can draw a conclusion that two-and-a-half-party system has formed in Poland. Using Duverger’s phrasing, there is a “two-party tendency” in the functioning of the Polish model. The study analyses the facts that firm up this conclusion: not only the distribution of seats in the Sejm (the main criterion) but also many other...
The modern economy of Russia’s Baltic regions in the municipal context
This article analyses the differentiation of municipalities at the municipal and urban district levels in the Kaliningrad and Leningrad regions based on their economic development and the response of their economies to the crises of 2020 and 2022. Emphasis is placed on the possibilities of conducting such assessments by merging Rosstat statistics with publicly available accounting and tax reporting data from the Federal Tax Service. The contribution also assesses the role of small businesses in municipal...
Mathematical modeling of synthesis technologies of powder materials for the space robotics
The production process is analyzed and a brief description of the main theoretical models of spark plasma sintering (SPS) is given. The experience of the use of numerical modeling by the finite element method (FEM) using specialized software for the study of SPS is examined. Goals and objectives of numerical simulation of the process are formulated. The main shortcomings and limitations of known methods of modeling are outlined.
1. Suárez M., Fernández A., Menéndez J. L. et al. Challenges...
Military and political cooperation between Germany and Lithuania in the late 2010s to early 2020s
Since the mid-2010s, Germany has significantly adjusted its approaches to the use of the Bundeswehr, pivoting its strategic focus from regions distant from the Euro-Atlantic community to those within or near it. This has underscored the pressing need to address issues related to securing steadfast allies in Eastern Europe and enhancing cooperation with them. This article aims to explore the current evolution of German-Lithuanian relations in both political and military domains. The approach of...
Sanctions risks and regional development: Russian case
Economic sanctions and countersanctions are expanding worldwide, posing spatially heterogeneous threats to most countries. The study aims to develop and test a methodology for assessing regional exposure to sanctions risks using Russian data. The share of foreign trade with the countries that introduced restrictions can be used to evaluate the exposure to new trade barriers. In several cases, this share exceeded 50 %, necessitating a rapid reorientation of product flows in Nenets, Khanty-Mansiysk...
Evaluating the efficiency of the research sector in Russian regions: a dynamic data envelopment analysis
The nonparametric method of dynamic data envelopment analysis (DDEA) has become increasingly popular for conducting comparative efficiency evaluations. In recent years,
dynamic data envelopment analysis (DDEA), a variant of this method, has gained significant attention. This article applies dynamic analysis to evaluate the efficiency of the research sector in Russian regions. Traditional input variables such as the number of research staff and R&D expenditure are considered, while publication and...
Geopolitical regionalisation of the Baltic area: the essence and historical dynamics
The article discusses a theoretical framework for investigating regionalisation and geopolitical regionalisation, employing the activity-geospatial approach. The main theoretical foci of this study are system-forming, or region-building, socio-geo-adaptation and geopolitical relations. The article examines various types of transboundary and transnational geopolitical regionalisation as manifestos of geopolitical relations. These types are categorised based on scale, functional area, historical and...
Social and Economic Space Compression in Border Areas: the Case of the Northwestern Federal District
The so-called “compression” of social and economic space has been the subject of quite a few studies in the past decades. There are two principle types of compression: communicative, that is, associated with the development of transport and information systems, and physical, manifested in the rapid decrease of the number of new territories to explore. While physical and communicative compression are interrelated, they have different spatial expressions depending on geographical conditions, economic...
Evangelical Lutheran church of Denmark: socio-economic and territorial-organisational aspects
The study exemplifies the use of an institutional-territorial approach for a comprehensive description of a national denominational landscape. The article aims to provide such an account by analysing relevant official data and performing statistical processing using computational tools. The focus is on the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Denmark and its administrative-territorial structures. The study places emphasis on the financial aspect, one seldom discussed in academic discourse. The denominational...
The Accession of Finland and Sweden to NATO: Geopolitical implications for Russia’s position in the Baltic Sea region
The article examines Sweden’s and Finland’s motives for ending their long-time non-aligned policies and joining NATO after Russia had launched a special military operation in Ukraine in February 2022. The two countries’ decision is shown to be in the interest of the United States, which has always sought to fill the geopolitical vacuum reigning after the collapse of the opposing Soviet bloc and the Soviet Union itself. Finland and Sweden were the missing links for Washington and NATO in the...
The geopolitical effect of the maritime factor on the spatial development of post-Soviet Russia: the Baltic case
The article explores the impact of geopolitical processes on the spatial organisation of society, a matter that has gained increasing importance in Russia. It focuses on the utilization of the World Ocean and its coastlines for resource extraction, logistics, military-strategic purposes, and settlement. Methodologically, this study combines modern socio-geographical approaches emphasising the role of the maritime factor in spatial development with classical geopolitical ideologemes drawing a line...
Population change and the settlement system transformation in Poland, as revealed by the 2021 census
This article aims to analyse current geodemographic changes in Poland, based on the data of the 2021 National Population and Housing Census. Methods, traditional for socioeconomic geography, such as zoning, were employed. Poland’s population decreased during the inter-census period (2011—2021), with the urban population declining faster than its rural counterpart. The large voivodeships aligned along the Vistula ‘axis’ — Mazowiecka, Lesser Poland and Pomerania — outperform other Polish...
Features of professional teacher training: Singapore experience
The article presents an analysis of the features of teacher training in Singapore, a country that has high international acclaim for the achievements of schoolchildren. The goals of pedagogical education focus on social values and ethical principles, while technologies and methods are aimed at pedagogical reflection and practical preparation of students for various educational situations. A separate aspect of the digitalization of teacher education is highlighted, i. e., the format and purpose of...
Economic development of Russia’s north-western regions and migration to the St. Petersburg agglomeration
This article aims to analyse the development of Russia’s North-Western Federal District (NWFD) regions between 1998 and 2021, based on data from Rosstat. It focuses on how the territories responded to migration to the St. Petersburg agglomeration in the early 21st century and compares their progress with the cores of the St. Petersburg, Moscow, and Helsinki agglomerations. For building the models, regions with similar development dynamics were divided into four sectors: St. Petersburg, the Leningrad...
The Visegrad Group and the Baltic Assembly: coalitions within the EU as seen through Russian foreign policy
Today Russia has difficulty doing business-as-usual with EU states. It seems that the countries of the Visegrad Group (V4) and the Baltic Assembly/Baltic Council of Ministers (BA/BСM) have contributed substantially to this state of affairs. Overall, the tensions between Russia and the EU are building up – another tendency that did not arise on the Russian initiative. This article aims to address the question of whether Russia should establish direct relations with the V4 and the BA/BCM as tools...
Societal security in the Baltic Sea Region: the Russian perspective
This study discusses whether the concept of societal security is embedded in the Russian formal and informal discourses as well as in the Russian strategic documents on national security and the Baltic Sea region. Particularly, the paper describes four paradigms of international relations (neorealism, neoliberalism, globalism and postpositivism) and theoretical approaches to the concept of societal security formulated in them. On a practical plane, Russia has managed to develop — together with...
Priorities for the development of manufacturing industries in the Kaliningrad region
The Kaliningrad region is a socio-economically developed area with a steadily increasing population. Its economy is predominantly influenced by manufacturing industries, whose growth is supported by the region’s strategic geographic position on the Baltic coast and the Special Economic Zone (SEZ) regime. However, the region’s exclave status, which makes it reliant on external factors, hinders its development. Any change in these external factors could necessitate a restructuring of manufacturing...
The sea factor in the federal regulation of Russia’s spatial development: post-Soviet experience and current priorities
Current geoeconomic and geopolitical transformations project on Russian society and its spatial organisation, highlighting the problems of spatial socioeconomic development and its governmental regulation. This article examines the theoretical and applied aspects of the incorporation into the national regional policy of the sea factor, understood as a combination of location and resources, which is determined by a country’s jurisdiction over coasts and waters, its maritime activities and coastalisation...
The role of the European Central Bank in ensuring the financial stability of the EU
The Declaration of the Heads of State and Government of June 29, 2012 was the birth of the European Banking Union. It demonstrated considerable and, in some ways, unprecedented support by the member states of the European Union to each other. This move was highly questioned by the public. In addition to eloquent statements about the need to break the adverse interdependence of sovereign risks and risks of the banking sector, this Declaration included two specific legal obligations. Firstly, the creation...
Knowledge and innovation dynamics of the Northwest Russia under geopolitical changes
Over the past 25 years, Russia has faced several economic and geopolitical challenges, including the 2008 global financial crisis, sanctions imposed in 2014, and the COVID-19 pandemic. To remain resilient in the face of these challenges, Russia needs to adopt a flexible development strategy and transition to a new path of development. This transition requires the development of new knowledge-intensive industries, expansion into promising markets, strengthening trade and economic partnerships, and...
The Swedish institute’s scholarship policy as a soft power instrument
This paper examines how soft power, nation branding and academic cooperation came together in the scholarship policy pursued by the Swedish Institute (SI) from 1995 to 2023. An investigation of the organisation’s materials, scholarship statistics and feedback interviews with SI programme alumni suggests that the implementation of the scholarship policy was erratic during the study period. A comprehensive analysis of the Institute’s efforts was carried out to describe the relationship between...
Expansionism in Poland’s strategic culture: historical retrospective and variations
This article deals with the problem of assessing and interpreting expansionist elements in Poland’s international political behaviour. The problem is approached using the concept of the strategic culture of states, which covers beliefs, perceptions, and the language states use to describe their own and other countries’ actions. The study examines what expansionist types of strategic culture have developed in Poland, how relevant they are in the current political landscape, and describes their...
Photoluminescence of the 15NV–-center created by implantation
We study the properties of the spin states in single diamond 15NV–-center at the ground state level anti-crossing. Our approach uses a complete set of commuting operators. We have shown that under certain conditions in 15NV–-center it is possible to obtain a 100 % transfer of polarization from the electron spin to the spin of the 15N nucleus. We believe that these conditions can be satisfied for 15NV–-centers obtained by implantation.
1. Jelezko F., Gaebel T., Popa I. et al. Observation...
The problem of hereditary sin in F.M. Dostoevsky’s novel The Brothers Karamazov
The analysis of the problem of “hereditary sin” in Dostoevsky’s novel The Brothers Karamazov is considered in the light of the discussion on the theory of “hereditary sin” within modern Orthodoxy. The author examines the “threshold situations” faced by the novel’s characters and ...
University performance and regional development: the case of Russia’s North-West
The role of universities in regional socio-economic systems is pivotal. However, despite the overall trend of GRP growth, regions of Russia’s Northwestern Federal District underperform on education-related measures. These include the share of education in GRP, the percentage of individuals employed in the education sector and the number of universities and students. These trends pose a substantial challenge to regional development, especially in the context of the fourth industrial revolution and...
Models for countering the segregation of ethnoreligious immigrant areas in Denmark and Sweden
The article explores the immigration and integration strategies of Denmark and Sweden while assessing their efficacy. The two countries, sharing historical, cultural, social and economic similarities, face a common challenge: the formation of ethnoreligious enclaves primarily inhabited by individuals with a Muslim background. Due to the recent European migrant crises, there has been a notable increase in the number of migrants, leading to stricter integration policies in the Scandinavian countries...
Confiscation Estonian style: legal and political aspects of potential seizure of Russian assets in EU countries
The possible confiscation of Russian assets by Western countries is one of the serious challenges to modern international law and the system of international relations. Since the greater part of the frozen assets is under the jurisdiction of EU countries, special attention should be paid to studying mechanisms for the use of Russian assets within the EU. The purpose of this article is to identify the key characteristics of the EU’s approaches to the use of frozen Russian assets, determine their...
Geography of the mobile internet in the border and interior regions of Russia
Digital transformation of socio-economic processes is the basis for sustainable development of regions in the digital age. The foundation for such a transformation is the information and communication infrastructure and, first of all, the mobile Internet. The technological growth of mobile networks has provided a rapid increase in the number of users around the world, contributing to further digitalization. With the development of digital technologies, research in the field of human geography has...
Information and propaganda strategies in German non-state media discourse during the COVID-19 pandemic
This study aims to analyse the strategies supporting the German Government’s biopolitical health and life protection practices and how they were promoted in the discourse of non-state media outlets during the COVID-19 pandemic. It is assumed that non-state media used various pandemic communication strategies to achieve common biopolitical goals, striking a balance between propaganda and outreach. A comparative analysis was conducted of German publications that focused on the pandemic and appeared...
Reputation and status in Denmark’s strategic culture
The primary objective of the article is to evaluate the significance of status and allied reputation within Denmark’s strategic culture. Amongst Danish international relations scholars, there is a well-established notion that one of the key motivations for the use of military force in Danish foreign policy was the aspiration to cultivate special relations with the United States and achieve the status of a privileged ally. This status would confirm guarantees for Denmark’s national security, provide...
The impact of the food embargo on consumer preferences and cross-border practices in the Kaliningrad region
The Russian food market has been a fascinating subject for researchers investigating food security risks and ways to mitigate them since the embargo was imposed in 2014. The Kaliningrad region, an exclave of Russia, responded more sensitively to the restrictions than any other territory of the country due to the heavy dependence of its food market on imported finished products and raw materials, as well as the transit from Russia via third countries. This study aims to explore how the consumer preferences...
Migration distances in Russia: a demographic profile of migrants
The distance of migration is closely linked to life course events, which are, in turn, marked by age. It serves as a criterion for distinguishing migration from other forms of spatial mobility. This paper aims to calculate the average distance of domestic migrations in Russia between 2011 and 2020, considering various migrant profiles such as sex, age, and type of residential registration. The Euclidean distance between 130,000 geocoded Russian settlements was computed to estimate migration distances...
France’s strategy in the Baltic region: military and political aspects
This article examines the current military-political strategy of France in the Baltic region. This area has not traditionally been among the main priorities of French diplomacy. However, under President Emmanuel Macron, France pays closer attention to the Baltic Sea due to the growing tension between Russia and the West. According to France’s key strategic documents, the government assesses the present-day situation mainly in a negative way, considering Russian actions as the main reason for the...
Territorial structure of inbound and domestic tourism in the Baltic States
This paper examines the transformation of the territorial structure of tourism in Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania. The spatial and temporal organisation of tourism in these countries has undergone significant changes since they became independent and joined the EU. These changes have affected the geography of tourist flows and destinations of interest. This study aims to define the geographical and economic peculiarities of the development of tourism in the Baltic States and to identify the central...
Internet diffusion and interregional digital divide in Russia: trends, factors, and the influence of the pandemic
The demand for digital technologies has been growing due to a shift in the technological and economic paradigm. The need for online services has increased since the beginning of the COVID pandemic. There are significant disparities between Russian regions in the digital technology accessibility and the development of computer skills. In 2020, the Internet diffused rapidly in most regions, although previously, there had been a slowdown. As markets got saturated with digital services, the digital divide...
Raum- und Zeitkonzeption bei Kant
Die Grundsätze der Philosophie Kants, nach denen die sinnlichen Wahrnehmungen von Raum und Zeit, insofern sie die Wahrnehmungen des Grenzenlosen, des Allgemeinen sind, sind nicht empirischen, sondern apriorischen Charakters. Denn nur dem Apriorischen sind die Allgemeinheit und die Notwendigkeit immanent. Raum und Zeit als physische Erscheinungen interpretiert Kant als empirische, d. h. durchaus nicht grenzenlose, sondern als begrenzte und lokalisierte Phänomene. Die Drehung der Erde um ihre Achse...
Distribution of NQR relaxation times in the rotating frame of reference in micro-sized crystallites
This article presents the results of an experimental study into the effect of powder crystallite size on spin-lattice relaxation times in a rotating frame for 35Cl NQR in potassium chlorate, as well as the nutation interferograms. To obtain the distribution of relaxation times, a multi-exponential decay inversion of the longitudinal component of the nuclear magnetization in a rotating frame was used. The multimodal nature of distributions is explained by the influence of surface irregularities and...
Enhancing the effectiveness of singlet-triplet energy transfer in a donor-acceptor pair of phosphor molecules under the influence of an external spin-orbit perturbation
This article studies the effect of an extern heavy atom (KI salt) on the effi-ciency of nonradiative spin-forbidden singlet-triplet (S-T) transfer of elec-tronic energy between the rhodamine 6G (donor) and acriflavine (acceptor) dye molecules in polyvinyl alcohol films. The delayed fluorescence intensity enhancement and an increase in the lifetime of the acceptor triplet states in the presence of KI have been established. The constant rates of deactivation of the singlet and triplet states of dye...
The ontological argument: an “office” solution
... исследования модальной и интенсиональной логики. М., 1982. С. 12—22.
9. Allen R. E. The Ontological Argument // The Philosophical Review. 1961. Vol. 70, № 1. P. 56—66.
10. Carter W. R. Omnipotence and Sin // Analysis. 1982. Vol. 42, № 2. P. 102—105.
11. Malcolm N. Anselm’s Ontological Argument // The Philosophical Review. 1960. Vol. 69, № 1. P. 41—62.
12. Pike N. Omnipotence and God’s Ability to Sin // American Philosophical Quarterly....
The Problem of the Possibility of an Artificial Moral Agent in the Context of Kant’s Practical Philosophy
The question of whether an artificial moral agent (AMA) is possible implies discussion of a whole range of problems raised by Kant within the framework of practical philosophy that have not exhausted their heuristic potential to this day. First, I show the significance of the correlation between moral law and freedom. Since a rational being believes that his/her will is independent of external influences, the will turns out to be governed by the moral law and is autonomous. Morality and freedom...
The adaptation of Russian regions’ economies to the rupture of relations with Europe: the case of Baltic Sea ports
Despite the sweeping economic sanctions imposed by Western countries, Russia has managed to avoid a significant recession, experiencing recovery growth. The situation in the regions earlier involved in cooperation with Europe was more complicated. Yet, these territories have also succeeded in reviving their economies and returning to growth. A number of growth areas have emerged in the Russian regions, which continue to develop under sanctions. A prime example of this is Russian seaports. This article...
From the editor
Russia’s Baltic regions have received considerable scholarly attention throughout the country’s contemporary history, with recent years being no exception. Yet, the year 2022 — probably for the first time since the demise of the USSR — saw dramatic changes in the geopolitical standing of Russian regions, particularly the northwestern ones lying on the shores of the Baltic Sea.
Despite the many years of cooling in relations between Russia and the West, Russian Baltic regions continued to function...
The peaks and troughs of Russian-Estonian relations
The world is witnessing the most profound changes of recent decades: a severe economic crisis, the COVID-19 pandemic, climate change, and the bitter confrontation between Russia and the West, to name a few. At the core of Russia’s foreign policy is indubitably the conflict with the West, centred around Ukraine. The member states of the EU and NATO that share a border with Russia adopted the most hard-line position, and Russia’s relations with its western neighbours have always been strained....
A typology of the Baltic region states according to excellence in science and technology
Global manufacturing systems function in such a way that countries develop industrial specialisation, which leads to territorial disparities. The countries of the Baltic region are no exception despite their strong economic ties and developed industries. A significant element of any manufacturing system is its scientific and technological subsystem, which is described in this article for ten countries (Germany, Sweden, Denmark, Norway, Finland, Poland, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania and Russia)...
The coasts we live in: can there be a single definition for a coastal zone?
Throughout the history of humankind, people have settled along seashores. The gradual accumulation of population and industrial activity in coastal areas has created preconditions for coastalisation — the movement of people and socio-economic activity to marine coasts. To date, coastal areas have a higher rate of economic development, fostering migration and an influx of capital across the globe. Scholars and policymakers voice concerns about the asymmetry of regional development and the increasing...
Watershed or Cul-de-Sac? Disputes in the Theological Reception of Kant’s Philosophy
Kant’s turn to the subject has changed the epistemological conditions for theology. Four intellectual backgrounds of objections are examined: an Aristotelian and Thomistic teleological order of nature (1); Augustinianism based on original sin in which human agency is completely attributed to God’s grace (2); a Hegelian critique of the deontological conception of an “unconditional ought” which also puts Kant’s postulate of the existence of God into question (3); the combination ...
What is Kantian Philosophy of Mathematics? An Overview of Contemporary Studies
This review of contemporary discussions of Kantian philosophy of mathematics is timed for the publication of the essay Kant’s Philosophy of Mathematics. Volume 1: The Critical Philosophy and Its Roots (2020) edited by Carl Posy and Ofra Rechter. The main discussions and comments are based on the texts contained in this collection. I first examine the more general questions which have to do not only with the philosophy of mathematics, but also with related areas of Kant’s philosophy, e. g. the...
Kant über inneren Sinn, Zeitanschauung und Selbstaffektion
The aim of this research is to explore what relations self-affection bears to the intuitions of inner sense. I propose that self-affection makes some contribution to formal intuitions and empirical consciousness by arguing that the functions of self-affection consist respectively in conceptualising and conscious-making. I begin by examining Kant’s concept of inner sense and point out that inner sense as a receptive faculty depends on self-affection. In so doing, I emphasise that self-affection...
The concept “people” in A. S. Shishkov’s manifestoes in the discourse of the Patriotic War of 1812
The Patriotic War of 1812 is an event that influenced the formation of the Russian national consciousness. At that time, imperial and class identities coexisted. With the de facto ban on discussing the idea of a civil nation, Russian intellectuals focused on the cultural and linguistic components of nationalism. The aim of this study was to identify the content of the concept of ‘people’ in the manifestoes by Shishkov. These texts expressed the official position of the supreme authority...