This publication is part of the doctoral thesis, written in German with the title: Die Energiepolitik der Russischen Föderation im Zeitraum 2000–2009 und derem Auswirkungen für die energetische Sicherheit der EU (The Russian energy Policy 2000–2009 and its impact on the European energy security). The article presents how the Russian Federation is using its energy resources to achieve their current and future foreign policy goals. The author makes an attempt to explain a numer of fundamental issues relating on the one hand to the main motives of the Russian Federation in this field and on the other to its methods. He also analyses the Russian energy strategy and its negative impact on the energy security of the European Union. As important elements of this strategy the ”Gas-OPEC” as well as the direct and indirect investments of Gazprom in EU are mentioned. It is claimed that the implementation of pipeline projects by the Russian Federation (Nord-Stream and South-Stream) isn’t carried out at the bilateral relations level randomly – Nord-Stream (Russia-Germany), South-Stream (Russia-Italy) – but rather is seen as an opportunity to strengthen Russia’s relations with selected countries. This can be seen as an attempt to make the European Union weaker as a multilateral organization.

Since the fall of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, the Russian Federation has been trying to regain its importance in the global arena. One way of restoration of influence in the world is to build a multipolar order, including the establishment of regional alliances. Shanghai Cooperation Organization is one of such attempts in the region of Central Asia, and even the entire Asian continent. Therefore, drawing attention to the role of Russian Federation in the development of this structure appears to be important, especially when considering the growing significance of Central Asia as a result of the construction of the New Silk Road. Russian authorities, however, do not limit their involvement to the single structure. At the same time they are working on development of other organizations, aimed at building their influence in the world. By such actions Russian Federation is trying to minimize the significance of the People’s Republic of China, European Union and United States of America, especially in the so-called near abroad.

The LGBT rights are lately one of the aspects of a social and political discourse both in the Russian Federation and in Ukraine. In these countries of a common historical heritage there are some analogies in the perspective on human rights and their realization. It may be also noted that the LGBT rights have become an instrument of politics. In the following article the authors present a comparative analysis of the way in which the LGBT rights are respected in the Russian Federation and in Ukraine. They will depict the similarities and differences between these two countries which result from historical conditions, and will provide an analysis of the current perception of non-heterosexual people in both countries.

Federacja Rosyjska to obecnie największy eksporter gazu ziemnego oraz ropy naftowej na europejski rynek paliw. W skład europejskiego rynku paliw wchodzą państwa zrzeszone w V4. Różnią się potencjałem energetycznym, przyjętą strategią polityki zagranicznej, w tym oceną roli i znaczenia jakie UE powinna odgrywać w ramach prowadzonej przez siebie polityki energetycznej. Elementami wspólnymi w zakresie prowadzonej przez kraje V4 polityki energetycznej pozostają uzależnienie od Federacji Rosyjskiej w zakresie importu ropy naftowej i gazu ziemnego oraz związane z tym obawy dotyczące bezpieczeństwa energetycznego. Wszystko to ma miejsce w obliczu realizowanej przez władze rosyjskiej strategii budowy „mocarstwa energetycznego”, które wykorzystując surowce energetyczne jako źródło kreacji relacji w polityce zagranicznej, wewnętrznej będzie zdolne wpływać na bieg wydarzeń na Starym Kontynencie. Publikacja Strategia energetyczna Federacji Rosyjskiej wobec państw Grupy Wyszehradzkiej ma na celu przybliżenie relacji pomiędzy Federacją Rosyjską a państwami Grupy V4 w zakresie handlu, przesyłu surowców energetycznych jak również przejmowania przez Federację Rosyjską infrastruktury poszczególnych sektorów energetycznych krajów Europy Środkowowschodniej.

The aim of the article is to analyse Russian active measures in the context of psychological warfare. Active measures are defined as the actions of political warfare conducted by Russian secret service. In case of Russian Federation they are the core of psychological operations that are tools of realising international and domestic policy priorities. Active measures include disinformation campaigns and supporting insurgency in opponent states. Regarding the context of psychological operations active measures are designed to model the mental sphere of opponent society. Active measures are aimed at weakening the unity of the European Union as well as common trust in NATO. Creating favourable atmosphere for Russian activity is the main goal of implementing active measures. Therefore active measures are considered as a great part of Russian interpretation of psychological warfare. Although active measures can support the military activity they are designed to influence the mental sphere of opponent society and are used to create opinions and interpretations that match Russian interests. Those measures are difficult to identify and therefore are threats that are not easy to counteract.

Putin’s World Cup – a few words about the 2018 World Cup

This article applies to the Football World Cup, which took place in June 2018. The goal of the Mundial was not only to provide fantastic emotions to fans from around the world, but also – from the point of view of the Russian Federation - it was a tool for building the image of a modern state that is open to tourists and able to welcome them with great hospitality. In this respect, this event can definitely be considered an organizational success. On the other hand, the political actions of the Russian authorities, such as the introduction of a number of negatives commented on by citizens or unmoved matters related to the defense of human rights, have put a shadow over these positive opinions.

The legal framework for the functioning of Muslim community in the Russian Federation

At present, the Muslim community in the Russian Federation grows in importance and strength. The religious freedom, which came as a result of the democratic transformation that took place in the Russian Federation in the late 1980s and early 1990s opened the opportunity for its Muslim residents to develop their own culture, educational system and administrative structure. The freedom of religion was one of the most important elements of perestroika and one of the directions of Russia’s development following the transformation. Here, the freedom of religion can be considered as both an element of liberalization of the Soviet regime, and, after the break-up of the USSR, as a step towards democratization. The article aims to present the most important legal acts and documents that constitute the legal basis for the functioning of Muslims in the contemporary Russian Federation.

The subject of this article is the analysis of the conflict between the Russian Federation and Georgia in 2008. The conflict has opened a new stage in Russia’s strategic drive to make decisions and implement them in areas recognized as important for the security of the country, even if they are outside its borders. The Georgian case clearly indicated that Russia wants to maintain its dominant position in the entire post-Soviet area. The region of the Caucasus remains an extremely important area for Russia, where it wants to maintain strategic control. The author proves in his article that the main determinants influencing the policy of the Russian Federation in the Caucasus region are: maintaining the greatest possible impact on the internal situation of the countries of the region, the maximum hindering possible integration with the Euro-Atlantic structures, the largest economic dependence on Russia, taking control over key sectors of the economy, maintaining military presence, isolation of the North Caucasus from Georgia, maintaining a monopoly on energy supplies, interest in Azeri mineral resources, striving to take over control of natural gas transport.
The Russian-Georgian conflict of 2008 was one of the elements of Russia’s demonstration of the consequences of maintaining its dominant position in the post-Soviet area. The sphere of influence extends not only to Eastern Europe but also to the socalled Putin’s doctrine extends, in fact, to the entire area of the former USSR.

W niniejszym artykule omówiono rosyjską narrację historyczną w rodzimym szkolnictwie. Poruszony temat polega na badaniu polityki historycznej Federacji Rosyjskiej i Związku Radzieckiego. Uwagę skupiono na zawartym w podręcznikach Federacji Rosyjskiej oraz Związku Radzieckiego opisie 17 września 1939 roku. Podstawą analizy stała się szeroko zakrojona kwerenda, w trakcie której zanalizowano teksty obowiązujących od 1954 roku podręczników szkolnych. Główne uzasadnienie podjętej tematyki stanowi cieszący się popularnością w polskiej publicystyce dyskurs nawiązujący do polityki historycznej Rosji. Zgodnie z założeniem artykułu historyczna wiedza przekazywana w szkołach Rosji cechuje się starannym pomijaniem wątków związanych z radziecką agresją na Polskę.

International identity consists mainly of geographical, demographic, historical, political, military, economic, ideological, cultural and psychological factors. After the collapse of the USSR, Russia returned to tradition, not only in the sphere of political, social and philosophical ideas and ideologies, but also in the sphere of culture and religion. In the 1990s, the geopolitics revived. It became the basis for the development of the concept of foreign policy, the National Security Strategy and the Military Doctrine of the Russian Federation. The aim of the research is to analyze geopolitical perspectives in the identity of the Russian Federation and its impact on foreign policy concepts and sources of development of geopolitical concepts in Russia. The post-Soviet area is important for the security of the Russian Federation. Russia perceives armed conflicts in this area as an element of political ‘game’ in its strategic area.

Russian system of local government

Local democracy and local government are popular terms and they are playing as the most important dimensions in the viability of any modern democracy. Alexis Tocqueville, who wrote a major book about democracy, considered local government as the mainstay of local democracy. He also saw local democracy as a school of political education and a safety valve of democracy for the entire nation. Most of the European countries have attempted to incorporate these concepts into their political and development process. In article author analyses the role of local government in Russian political system. Objective of the article is to identify and characterize the main stages of development of local self-government in Russia.

School education in the Russian Federation in the face of terrorist threats

The Russian Federation is the target of religious and separatist terrorism. The threat of terrorism depends on the region in which it occurs. Using a method of analysing the content of programmes and recommendations for teaching subjects on security in Russian schools, it has been found that their content includes elements of anti-terrorist education. In addition, anti-terrorist education is very active in regions exposed to increased terrorism. In addition to practical skills, the introduction of educational elements and education of patriotic attitudes of schoolchildren is a specificity.

Artykuł podejmuje tematykę związaną z pozycją Tatarów krymskich w geopolitycznej rywalizacji mocarstw o Półwysep Krymski. Region ten zamieszkiwany jest przez przedstawicieli różnych kultur, tradycji i narodowości, co ma swoje implikacje polityczne i społeczne. Celem artykułu jest analiza dziejów Tatarów krymskich na przestrzeni 100 lat - od tj. XX wieku do aneksji Krymu przez Federację Rosyjską w 2014 roku. Taki przedział czasowy pozwoli na przedstawienie analizy historycznej dziejów Tatarów krymskich w aspekcie społecznym, politycznym i ekonomicznym, w różnych formach państwowości od ZSRR po Ukrainę, a po aneksji Krymu - również Federację Rosyjską.

Russia’s Constitutional Reform of 2020

In 2020 took place the most serious constitutional reform in the Russian Federation. The amendments result in the strengthening of the President in the political system, enable V. Putin to maintain power until 2034 and introduce some other significant changes. The aim of the following paper is to present the circumstances of the reform, the contents of the amendments, and their overall summary. Particular attention was paid to the following issues: relations among main institutions of state power, the place of international law in the sources of Russia’s law and other amendments related to constitutional identity and axiology. The reform results in strengthening the position of the President, even though still within the semi-presidential model of the political system, the diminished role of the Parliament, local self-government and deprivation of the autonomy of the judiciary.

Language rights in the Russian Federation: commùne bònum or bonorum privata? Language v. Constitution

The article presents the approaches to protecting an individual’s linguistic rights that appear in the literature on the subject and then the method of its implementation in the Russian Federation’s legislation. The conducted research allowed us to identify two ways of qualifying an individual’s linguistic rights as human rights. The first is based on understanding them as one of the rights of national minorities, and the second as a category of personal rights. The approaches interpenetrate each other because the native language of an individual is, on the one hand, an expression of national identity and, on the other, a personal good through which he expresses himself. The analysis leads to the conclusion that the state not only does not guarantee language rights but even that they may be violated. The constitution-maker created the conditions for reconciling this category of rights against international obligations.

The 1993 Russian constitution has been amended many times. The largest amendment was carried out on March 14, 2020. However, this is not a revision of the Constitution. The amendment includes changes strengthening the constitutional position of the President of the Russian Federation, correcting the federal system and the legal status of the bicameral Parliament and the Government of the Russian Federation. A new constitutional body was introduced, the State Council of the Russian Federation, and, for the first time, a provision on faith in God was introduced. Russia’s right not to recognize rulings and decisions of international bodies contrary to the Russian Constitution and the right to support compatriots living abroad in the exercise of their rights to protect their interests were enshrined. The amendment to the Russian Constitution is of fundamental importance for the policy pursued and the implementation of Russia’s national security strategy.

The article analyzes the causes, implementation strategy, and results of vaccine diplomacy of the People’s Republic of China and the Russian Federation in Central and Eastern Europe. In particular, the activities of China and Russia in Serbia, Hungary, Northern Macedonia, Montenegro, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Albania, Moldova, Belarus, and Ukraine are covered. The main directions, tools, and consequences of the activation of the two states in the region are outlined. The article underlines that China is expanding its strategic goals according to the One Belt One Road Initiative through the so-called Health Silk Road, providing a vaccine to low- and middle-income countries. The goals of the Russian Federation are established more in the geopolitical and political spheres. Russia seeks to reduce the influence of the EU and the US in the CEE region from political, economic, and security perspectives. China and Russia are both allies and competitors. The two countries are trying to gain additional leverage in the CEE region by means of political lobbying, investment, finance, propaganda, Euroscepticism, public opinion manipulation, and soft power. For some time, the shortage of medicine for vaccination, which was caused by giving priority to the population of vaccine-producing countries, contributed to a rather increased activity of the PRC and the Russian Federation in the implementation of the strategy of gaining image benefits.

This article presents the research results, which set out to explain the mechanisms leading to the achievement of dominance by the Russian Federation in the international security environment. In the research process, the systemic approach was applied. Analysis and criticism of the literature, non-participatory observation and case study elements were used to solve the research problems. As a result, it was determined that the theoretical basis for the Russian Federation's achievement of international dominance is the concept of new generation war. The model of the strategic influence of the Russian Federation is directed at the shaping of the security environment and includes the synchronisation of kinetic and non-kinetic measures, indirect and direct effects, the blurring of the boundaries between war and peace and the application of pressure and aggression. The Russian Federation achieves strategic dominance through asymmetry, chaos, reflexive control, and strategic deterrence. Armed forces provide a key role in asserting dominance, focused on conducting offensive activities and inflicting losses with conventional and nuclear weapons.

America’s unipolar balance of power created after the end of the Cold War is inevitably coming to an end. The dynamic economic growth of the People’s Republic of China, lasting uninterruptedly since the 1980s, the reconstruction of spheres of influence by the Russian Federation, the world war on terrorism with the accompanying costly wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, economic crises systematically weakening the economies of Western countries in 2001, 2007 and 2020, and the COVID-19 pandemic – these are just some of the many causes of geopolitical changes. Parallel to the weakening position of the United States, countries such as the Russian Federation are increasingly boldly challenging the current balance of power, provoking armed conflicts and destabilizing countries located in Central and Eastern Europe. The purpose of this article is to present the American Multi-Domain Operation concept as a response to the Russian concept of new generation warfare by which the country successfully led to the annexation of Crimea, the war in Donbas, and the political destabilization of Ukraine. The main research problem resulting from the assumed goal was to answer the following question: what is a Multi-Domain Operation and how do the United States intend to compete and win in the armed conflict taking place in Central and Eastern Europe with the Russian Federation? The following research methods were used to solve the research problems: the method of cause-effect and institutional-legal analysis, method of examining documents, and the method of analysis and criticism of literature. The monographic and comparative methods were also used. However, the main role was played by deductive reasoning which enables the identification of facts based on an in-depth analysis of source data. Taking into account the preliminary research, the author proposed the following research hypothesis: a Multi-Domain Operation is another American operational concept describing the security environment, and the Russian and American way of war. The USA will achieve victory in a possible armed conflict by locating and neutralizing the enemy’s anti-access – area denial capabilities, and then destroying its forces in the disputed area.

Russian private military companies and their role in domestic and foreign policy

Russia’s use of private military companies has strengthened in recent years, reflecting lessons learned from past actions, an expansive mindset and a desire for economic, geopolitical and military benefits. Military operations in Ukraine, starting from 2014, were one of the first tests for PMC. Since then, the Russians have perfected their model of operation. Even though the activities of private contractors are illegal under the Russian Constitution, they play an important role in pursuing Russian interests, mainly abroad. They weaken US influence and support Russia’s geopolitical, military and economic interests. They are present in as many as 30 countries on four continents. The purpose of this article is to define the role of Russian private military companies in the internal and external policy of the Russian Federation.