Impact of the “Belt and Road” Initiative on the Natural Environment

The article aims (1) to describe the ambiguities around the definition of BRI; (2) propose a simplified and generalised typology of RDI infrastructure; (3) analyse Chinese documents on “greening” projects under the “Belt and Road” Initiative; (4) describe the initiative’s impact on the environment; (5) describe the role of social and economic factors influencing the environment of RDI and sustainable development policy. The article contributes to the discussion on the environmental impact of the Belt and Road Initiative and further interdisciplinary research – considering the multifaceted nature of this cross-border initiative. It is crucial as the impact of BRI is likely to be felt for generations after it is completed worldwide. The article uses the following research methods: the method of institutional and legal analysis (to present the institutional and legal foundations of the Green Silk Road); the method of collecting and observing facts, as well as the method of synthesis and analysis.

US–Taliban: Difficulties and Prospects for Implementing the Peace Agreement

The article presents an analysis of the peace agreement signed between the United States of America and the Taliban on behalf of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan. This agreement is intended to end the war in Afghanistan, in which the United States, NATO countries, and their allies are participating. The aim of the study was to answer the question: can this agreement lead to peace in Afghanistan? The main research methods were the content analysis methodology and the institutional-legal methodology.

North Korea and Poland: A Cultural Approach to Bilateral Presence

This descriptive article focuses on the cultural relations between Poland and North Korea in 1948–2020. In 1948–1980, bilateral relations were very close due to belonging to the same ideological movement, but economic matters dominated. Subsequent cultural relations became the main area of cooperation. The article focuses on two issues: The spread of North Korean culture in Poland and the place of Polish culture in North Korea. The article presents historical and cultural facts concerning cultural cooperation between the two countries.

Job Satisfaction Among Contemporary Korean Women

The article analyses job satisfaction among contemporary Korean women in correlation with the respondents’ age group. The examined aspects relate to wage levels, working conditions, working hours, and responsibilities. The results indicate that the respondents’ age group has a significant impact on job satisfaction in the aspects under review. The independence test X2 (chisquare) has been applied and the Cramér’s coefficient V and the materiality level (p) have been interpreted. The analysed data are derived from the Korean Longitudinal Survey of Women and Family (KLoWF) of 2007 (Wave 1) and 2016 (Wave 6). Changes in satisfaction are evident in all analysed aspects, in the context of a comparative analysis of both waves. The analysis demonstrated that contemporary Korean women had little job satisfaction in the surveyed aspects in 2016. However, in 2007, the majority did not have any opinion on the subject. The greatest differences in satisfaction relate to working conditions, working hours, and responsibilities. The slightest difference (although still significant) was observed in the wage satisfaction analysis.

“I am Darius, the Great King, King of Kings, Achaemenid”. The Legitimacy of Power During the Achaemenid Period

The article’s subject is the legitimation of the power of the Achaemenid kings, shown on the basis of preserved inscriptions from the era. These inscriptions have been repeatedly analysed in terms of linguistic and cultural studies. According to the author, they can also be helpful for the political science. For the purposes of this paper, legitimation is understood as processes leading to legitimacy, i.e., recognising a political system as proper and valid. The author distinguishes motifs used by the Achaemenids for this purpose. These are: the divine origin of power, references to tradition, the special attributes of the ruler, and the depreciation of political opponents. Among the Achaemenid inscriptions, there is almost always an invocation to the deity – Ahuramazda. This God is shown as the divine legislator and the creator of the material world and mankind. This element is extremely important in the context of the legitimacy of power, as it suggests the origin of royal power from the supreme, divine authority. The deity guides the Persian rulers, supports them in their battles and guarantees their reign. Divine origin makes the power held by the king a sacred gift. The reign and development of the empire thus become the fulfilment of God’s plan. Additionally, Ahuramazda is the creator of the cosmic order arta. Therefore, the ruler allied with him has the mandate to establish order on Earth. Along with the religious sanction of self-legitimisation of power, comes the demonisation of Achaemenid opponents. According to Max Weber, one of the types of legitimising power is “traditional rule” based on referring to the eternal orders. This type of legitimation is discernible in Old Persian inscriptions. In addition to religious and traditional sanction, rulers also made use of other measures to show that they were worthy of the throne. King Darius I has repeatedly indicated his fighting skills and integrity. In other inscriptions, one can find references to Persian beliefs, including the hatred of lies, described by Herodotus.

Aḥmad al-Kardūdī and His Journey to Spain (1885). Political and Cultural Dimensions

The article is devoted to Aḥmad al-Kardūdī, a Moroccan official in the second half of the nineteenth century, and his state and diplomatic activities, with particular emphasis on the account he wrote for Sultan Al-Ḥasan I (ruled 1873–1894) from the 1885 expedition to Spain, which had been published for the first time in 1963 under the title At-Tuḥfa as-saniyya li-al-Ḥaḍra al- Ḥasaniyya bi-al-Mamlaka al-Iṣbanyūliyya [Shining Gift for His Majesty Al- Ḥasan about the Kingdom of Spain]. This report often is included into Arab travel literature. It is not only a report on the tasks that the ruler set before the diplomatic mission of which Al-Kardūdī was a member, but also an image of the social and political consciousness of Moroccan elites associated with power of the West in times of active attempt at reforms undertaken by the ruler. Unfortunately, these attempts had little effect. The delegation was received in audience by Regent Maria Krystyna, also visited the capital of Spain and the most important Andalusian cities, but the author himself, probably on the orders of the Sultan, was also very interested in the military achievements of the Spaniards. The Gift, written in rhyming and rhythmic prose, can be treated as a literary work (although the author probably did not intend to), and simultaneously an example of an original, official, court document in the shape of a diplomatic report addressed to the ruler.

Sinking of the Battleship “Pietropawłowsk” and the Figure of Vice Admiral Stepan Makarov in the Pages of “Kurier Warszawski” in April 1904

The author focuses on one of the finest Russian admirals of the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries – Stepan Osipovich Makarov. The text is split into three parts, presenting several topics discussed in “Kurier Warszawski”, based on historical contents. The Polish press presents, for example, biography of the fallen Russian, and short reports of church devotions dedicated to him. Also included are simultaneously interesting and frightening descriptions of his reactions on losing his family. Another element of the work are his messages concerning the battle between Russian and Japanese fleets and the tragic death of the Russian admiral. The data on the casualties of the officers are the same as historiography presents. In case of navy, the number of the fallen differs from the number presented by Olender and Dyskant. Technical parameters of the sunken Russian ship match the observations made by researchers, although the moment of sinking differs from the findings made by this field’s professionals in the following decades.

Letters of Academician Alexander Samoylovich to Professor Tadeusz Kowalski

Professor Tadeusz Kowalski (1889–1948) corresponded with scholars from practically all over the world. He was interested in the developments of Oriental studies in the Soviet Union. He valued the publications he received from the USSR, as well as all contacts he had with Russian researchers. He sought to cooperate with Alexander Samoylovich (1880–1938) – one of the most eminent Turkologists in the Soviet Union. This goal had been partially achieved. The archives of the Polish Academy of Sciences and the Polish Academy of Arts and Sciences in Kraków now hold, catalogued under ref. No. KII-4, j. 174, just three letters from the Russian Turkologist. Despite their small number, these materials are an engrossing source of knowledge on the state of Soviet Turkish studies in the mid 1920s and the Soviet Oriental studies community. These letters are all the more precious – as the author managed to determine – as the branch of the archives at the Russian Academy of Sciences in St. Petersburg, where the legacy of professor Samoylovich is kept, has no copies. It is interesting that there are no surviving copies of the letters from professor Kowalski to the Russian Turkologist. The article’s purpose is the edition of the letters of Alexander Nikolaevich Samojłowicz – a Soviet turkologist – to Professor Tadeusz Kowalski, including their translation into Polish. These documents constitute a certificate of international academic relations development between scientists from Poland and the Soviet Union in the interwar period.

Cross-Border Cooperation of Polish, Czech, and German Left in Sudety, Mala’Upa’–Okraj, August 28, 2021

Трансграничное сотрудничество польских, чешских и немецких левых в Судетах, Мала Упа–Oкрай, 28 августа 2021 года

Speech by H.E. Xi Jinping President of the People’s Republic of China at the Conference Marking the 50th Anniversary of the Restoration of the Lawful Seat of the People’s Republic of China in the United Nations, October 25, 2021

Выступление Его Превосходительства Си Цзиньпина, Председателя Китайской Народной Республики, на конференции, посвященной 50-летию восстановления Китайской Народной Республики на ее законном месте в Организации Объединенных Наций, 25 октября 2021 года

President of the Republic of Uzbekistan Shavkat Mirziyoyev Statement to the Parliament (Oliy Majlis)

Послание Президента Республики Узбекистан Шавката Мирзиёева в Парламент Страны (Олий Мажлис)

Японоведение в Польше в 1955–2019 гг. Мой личный опыт

Will the XXI Century Be the Age of Asia and Socialist China? (Part 1)

Будет ли XXl-ое столетие веком Азии и социалистического Китая? (часть 1)