Przedmiotem mojego zainteresowania jest przedstawienie najważniejszych uwarunkowań polityczno-ekonomicznych relacji pomiędzy Federacją Rosyjską a Koreą Północną. Głównym celem niniejszej pracy jest opisanie obecnego stanu rzeczy we wzajemnych kontaktach oraz próba odpowiedzi na pytanie, czy w najbliższym czasie Rosja będzie odgrywała istotną rolę w wydarzeniach, mających miejsce obecnie na Półwyspie Koreańskim. Na wstępie zamierzam odnieść się do historii relacji obu krajów, datowanej na okres powstania komunistycznego państwa w Azji i zainstalowania przez Moskwę przywódcy kraju, Kim Ir Sena, który z czasem zdecydował się na ogłoszenie doktryny samodzielności (Dżucze) i uniezależnienie się od sowieckiego protektora. Ponadto odnoszę się do zagadnień związanych z upadkiem ZSRR i znacznym ograniczeniem wzajemnych stosunków w czasie prezydentury Borysa Jelcyna. Następnie chciałbym opisać najważniejsze wydarzenia w kontaktach Rosja–KRLD za rządów Władimira Putina aż do chwili obecnej, skupiając się na założeniach polityki Moskwy wobec Dalekiego Wschodu oraz kryzysie nuklearnym i dążeniach reżimu w Pjongjangu do uznania go przez społeczność międzynarodową jako państwo atomowe. Dodatkowo poruszę kwestie ekonomiczne we wzajemnych relacjach, próbując odpowiedzieć na pytanie, czy w najbliższym czasie należy się spodziewać zwiększonej kooperacji gospodarczej Moskwy i Pjongjangu w dobie stopniowego przeorientowania polityki zagranicznej Kim Dzong Una na inne kraje Azji oprócz Chin. W podsumowaniu uwypuklam perspektywy na przyszłość i postaram się stwierdzić, czy obecne relacje obu krajów przypominają formę „ograniczonej współpracy”, czy w rzeczywistości mają charakter strategicznego partnerstwa.

W artykule została przedstawiona ewolucja stosunków Rosji ze Stowarzyszeniem Narodów Azji Południowo-Wschodniej ASEAN, ze szczególnym uwzględnieniem relacji współczesnych. W drugiej dekadzie XXI w. Rosja zintensyfikowała kierunek azjatycki swojej polityki zagranicznej. W opinii wielu ekspertów ta polityka przekłada się w zbyt oczywisty sposób na relacje z Chinami, przez co Rosja może uzależnić się od tego mocarstwa i być postrzegana jako niesamodzielny gracz regionalny. Podejmowane są zatem działania, aby zdywersyfikować partnerów. ASEAN jest jednym z bardziej perspektywicznych, choć jednocześnie trudnych kierunków. Perspektywicznych ze względu na dynamikę rozwoju oraz aktywne uczestnictwo w regionalnych, jak również transregionalnych działaniach, trudnych, bowiem mimo deklaracji rozwój stosunków między ASEAN i Rosją postępuje powoli. Nową koncepcją rosyjską, która ma ożywić współpracę a jednocześnie pokazać, że Rosja może być niezależnym graczem regionalnym, jest projekt Wielkiej Euroazji, który jest zgodny z aktualnymi trendami „nowego regionalizmu”.

The turbulent changes in the Middle East which were seen at the very beginning as good news for Israel, at the end of the day became more ambiguous. The Arab Spring and then the war in Syria that had erupted along with massive social protests ended up with regime changes, but what was crucial, the primary success of the Arab awakening was captured by Islamist movements. The changes in the Middle East were even deeper due to at least two factors – Russia „coming into” and the United States „going out” of the region. These new regional circumstances combined with the geopolitical shift in the Middle East and a crumbling American supervision made Israel conclude that its security has become more complex and the U.S has no more been the only significant great power player in the region. Hence the difficult political and military situation around Israel has created a need to adapt to security challenges and simultaneously, to take political opportunities. The goal of this paper is to highlight basic ramifications for Israeli security and diplomacy of the American and Russian factors in the current Middle East politics. The key questions are: How to secure Israeli interests in these new circumstances? How to assess, on the one hand, the risk of the ongoing decline of American interests in the region and, on the other hand, the complexity of the Russian strategy in the Middle East? Finally, whether Israel might be able to gain recognition by the Arab world, not to mention to keep its strategic domination in the region which is already being challenged by the Islamic Republic of Iran and its nuclear ambitions.

Terrorist attacks in the Russian Federation

The high level of terrorist threat to the security of the Russian Federation, which has been persisting for decades, is a process of many aspects. The conducted internal policy, involvement in armed conflicts in Ukraine and in Syria, the unstable situation in the Caucasus and the undertaken international co-operation have a significant impact on the activation of terrorist groups in Russia. Already in 2012, before the series of attacks in the French Republic, the on-going conflict in the North Caucasus was described as the most brutal in Europe. Since 2007, Russia has started to cope with international terrorism. What is even worse, it has undergone evolution, permanently destabilizing the internal security of the state. The recent attacks have been associated with the emergence of extremist groups from the Middle East, such as Al-Qaeda and the Islamic State, and their cooperation with rebels from the South and North Caucasus. International terrorist groups began their expansion into the whole territory of the Russian Federation, mobilizing the local government to undertake activities counteracting terrorism. Nowadays, the situation is slowly returning to normal, but new threats are still worth noting. The past experience and new threats of attacks urge us to re-analyse the current situation and define the goals of the anti-terrorist actions of the Russian Federation. This is also important in view of the consequences for other countries which are immediate neighbours of Russia, including possible terrorist consequences for Poland.

Onomastikon Polish surnames in documents of modern history of the Yaroslavl region

The article is devoted to the study of Polish and polonized surnames of the Yaroslavl region of Russia on the basis of a database formed from diverse documents of recent history, mostly modern authors. A range of sources of information about contemporary surname carriers is consecrated; an etymological analysis of the surnames is carried out, they are graded according to special features. The history of the repressiveness of the Soviet system in relation to the carriers of Polish surnames is traced. The conclusion is made about the strength of the essence and purpose of the foundations of Polish surnames as the most resistant element among the bearers of historical memory to the aggressive totalitarian environment.

Orthodoxy and catholicism in Ukraine in 1989-2014 - a quantitative approach

The complex reality of religious and institutional situation in Ukraine (three orthodox churches; two catholic churches), imposed on ethnic relations, has a significant impact on the balance of power in Ukraine, reinforcing existing divisions: between Ukrainians and Russians, between west and east Ukraine, between Orthodox and Catholics. Ukrainian Orthodox Church (Moscow Patriarchate) is the most conservative force, with canonical and political ties (specially part of hierarchy) with Russia. It is the best organized religious structure in Ukraine with 12485 parishes and 10068 priests. Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the Kyiv Patriarchate (4536 parishes and 3141 priests) and the Ukrainian Autocephalous Orthodox Church (1205 parishes, and 731 priests) are much more related to Ukrainian statehood and are supported by the Ukrainian state and the Ukrainian political parties on their road to autocephaly and canonical independence from Moscow Patriarchate. The most aroused nationalist forces (the All-Ukrainian Union “Svoboda”, Right Sector) are often associated with the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church (3734 parishes and 2594 priests), the main supporter of the Ukrainian nationalism.

„Negative Identity” and Russian Political Thinking

The purpose of the article is to describe contemporary Russian political strategies revitalizing the image of an external enemy. Whereas, according to the concept of Carl Schmitt, the binary opposition „enemy-friend” is the essence of politics, it will be examined how the vision of the enemy in the form of the symbolic West helps the Rusisan ruling elite to mobilize society, unite it and gain public approval for their activities on the international arena.

Azerbaijani Support for the Chechen People on the Example of the First and Second Chechen War

In this article, the autor shows the level of Azerbaijan’s support for Chechnya and Chechens during the first and second Chechen wars. The author analyzed the body of literature and the body of literature sources, which provided the answer that Azerbaijan’s support for Chechnya and Chechens in the 1990’s was very varied and did not last for long.

Russia’s Foreign Policy. Determinants, Interests, and Measures

The paper addresses the conditions, objectives, and measures of the foreign policy of the Russian Federation. The first part of the paper presents - both in theoretical and practical terms - foreign policy’s determinants. In particular, it addresses their following types: internal objective, subjective internal, objective external, as well as subjective external ones. The second part of the paper uses the example of Russia to present interests and foreign policy goals constituting an extension of these interests. The author attempts to answer the question how to identify the interests, goals, and values of modern Russia. The final part of the paper presents - again both in theoretical and practical terms - the instruments for achieving the foreign policy objectives.

Jadidism and the Reform of Muslim Education in Russia at the Turn of the Nineteenth and Twentieth Centuries

The concept of Jadidism - the reform movement among Muslims in the Russian Empire - at the turn of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries and to the present day has beeen of interest to researchers. Scientists discuss it not only the issues of terminology, but also in regard to determining the exact date of the occurrence of this phenomenon and determining its most important stages. Representatives of this movement have been recorded on the pages of history, and their achievements today are an extremely rich source for analysis, mainly due to the ideas they proclaim, which at the turn of the centuries were courageous, and sometimes innovative. The article aims to present the concept of Jadidism in the context of socio-religious changes among the Muslim (Tatar) community in the Russian Empire at the turn of nineteenth and twentieth centuries.

Przedmiotem mojego zainteresowania jest przedstawienie najważniejszych uwarunkowań polityczno-ekonomicznych relacji pomiędzy Federacją Rosyjską a Kazachstanem. Głównym celem niniejszej pracy jest opisanie obecnego stanu rzeczy we wzajemnych kontaktach i ich znaczenie dla bezpieczeństwa na terenie byłego ZSRR. Ponadto istotna będzie próba odpowiedzi na pytanie, czy w najbliższym czasie Rosja będzie odgrywała dalej istotną rolę jako partner gospodarczy i polityczny Kazachstanu po ustąpieniu w marcu 2019 r. prezydenta Nursułtana Nazarbajewa. Na wstępie zamierzam odnieść się do historii relacji obu krajów, datowanej na czasy istnienia Związku Socjalistycznych Republik Radzieckich i kontroli Kazachskiej Socjalistycznej Republiki Radzieckiej przez władze komunistyczne na Kremlu. W dalszej części rozważań przedstawiam stosunki obu podmiotów bezpośrednio po upadku sowieckiego imperium i dojściu do władzy Nazarbajewa, który mimo chęci prowadzenia niezależnej polityki zagranicznej, utrzymywał ścisłe polityczne i gospodarcze więzi z Rosją, a także więzi wojskowe. Następnie poruszam problem kontaktów Moskwa–Nursułtan po aneksji Krymu, oraz więzi Kazachstanu ze Stanami Zjednoczonymi oraz Chinami. Chciałbym też odnieść się do implikacji wyboru na prezydenta Kasyma Tokajewa dla relacji z Rosją, Chinami oraz światem zachodnim. Dodatkowo prześledzę zależności ekonomiczne i kulturalne, występujące pomiędzy Rosją a Kazachstanem. W podsumowaniu uwypuklam perspektywy na przyszłość i staram się odpowiedzieć na pytanie, czy obecne relacje obu krajów ulegną intensyfi kacji w obliczu objęcia urzędu prezydenta przez Tokajewa, a także w jaki sposób wpływają one na bezpieczeństwo na obszarze postradzieckim.

Celem artykułu jest charakterystyka stanowisk: Federacji Rosyjskiej, Mołdawii i nieuznawanej Naddniestrzańskiej Republiki Mołdawskiej wobec obecności rosyjskich sił zbrojnych na obszarze Naddniestrza oraz motywacja działań podjętych w tej kwestii. W pierwszej części pracy skoncentrowano wysiłki na przedstawieniu genezy powstania państwa nieuznawanego w granicach Mołdawii i znaczenia dla tego procesu formacji rosyjskich. Następnie zaprezentowano podejście zainteresowanych stron do problemu alokacji sił rosyjskich w Naddniestrzu. Ponadto uwzględniono głos szeroko pojętej społeczności międzynarodowej (rezolucja ZO ONZ). Zaakcentowano również uwzględnienie tego zagadnienia w nowej strategii obrony Mołdawii (2018). Za priorytet uznano wydarzenia zaistniałe w drugiej dekadzie XXI w.

This article reviews the academic literature on the regional security complex of the South Caucasus, which has been drawing the attention of the academic community for a long time. The paper aims to examine the security dynamics in the South Caucasus with a focus on Azerbaijan and a way in which domestic security is interconnected and linked to the region`s neighborhood and global arena. The conceptual framework for the paper is the regional security complex theory, elaborated by Barry Buzan and Ole Wæver. South Caucasus is an unstable region with several secessionist conflicts and interstate wars, exposed to the influence of its neighbors, which shape the regional security environment. Besides, the region is riven by geopolitical fractures as regional states have various foreign policy orientations, which hampers the resolution of regional conflicts and complicates cooperation. The research is carried at three levels of analysis - the domestic level, reviewing internal vulnerabilities and state to state relations, interregional level, examining dynamics between regional and neighboring states, and the last level - global, considering the interplay between regional and the world-leading powers. Correspondingly, sections of the paper study internal challenges and threats of the regional states, examine relations between Azerbaijan, Armenia, Georgia, and their neighborhood - Turkey, Iran, Russia, as well as global powers - the EU and the US to analyze similar and conflicting interests and patterns of influence. The article concludes that the South Caucasus security environment is unstable, hampered by the failure of democratic transformation and unresolved conflicts, namely Nagorno-Karabakh, which Russia uses as a tool to keep Caucasian states in a sphere of its influence. It is evident that Azerbaijan plays a vital role in the production and transit of hydrocarbons from the Caspian region to Europe. Therefore, it is crucial to eliminate threats coming from the region and to ensure the security of energy infrastructure, carrying energy resources westwards.

Recent years the growing confrontation between the Russian Federation, the United States, and the EU is accompanied by Moscow’s searching the alternative allies for its diplomatic support. Iran is called one of such allies today. The Russian-Iranian relations are interesting both in terms of sectoral and geographical fields. The region of Central Asia is of particular importance. The need to consider such aspects is explained by the strengthening of Iran’s position in Central Asia as a direct zone of Russian interests in a sense of its economic, cultural, and religious presence.

China as a Strategic Economic Partner in the Concepts of Russian Foreign Policy in the 2020s

The article presents an idea of the possible Russian - Chinese strategic economic partnership at the beginning of the 21st century. The author indicates the main factors influencing Russian Federation foreign policy towards China from the perspective of a neoclassical realism.The author stands that according to J. Rosenau, the main factors determining the Russian foreign policy are idiosyncratic and role. Then he analyses the Russian documents of foreign policy, economic data and geopolitical ideas. On that ground, he makes a simple analyse using the neoclassical realism model, that’s integrates Foreign Policy Analyse and International Relations Theory, joining independent and intervening variables, to support the article’s hypotheses. That hypotheses say that, firstly, The Peoples Republic of China (PRC) plays a role of diversification of Russia’s international economic ties; and secondly, The PRC status as a Russia’s strategic partner is at issue, despite the official declarations of both sides.

The Federal State of Iraq as a Solution to the Ethnic and Denominational Problems on the Example of Kurdistan

Federalism is one of many political solutions to the situation in the Iraqi state. The reason is that it was a political solution most frequently used in the world. It was applied mainly in multicultural countries. The complex political and administrative situation compels to look for a political compromise that will find justification and legal basis in the constitution of a given country. The federal system appears to be the compromise. Meanwhile, the Russian model can be used as an example for Iraqi Kurdistan, particularly in the case of Dagestan. In the early twentieth century, the newly established Iraqi state incorporated a part of the Kurdish region, while at the same time there were plans to create the Kurdish state. The difficulties would not let up. Problems related to nationality were becoming more acute. The second phase of the Iraqi problem arose after the collapse of Saddam Hussein’s regime. A diversified country was beginning to face a problem not only on national, but also religious grounds. The Russian model, predominantly exemplified by Dagestan, could prove successful in Iraq. Both ethnic and religious similarities speak for it.

Imperialism in the foreign policy of Tsarist Russia and the USSR

The aim of this article is to take a synthetic look at Tsarist Russia (from the 17th century onwards) and the USSR through ideas and deeds which marked Russian political thinking and action and involved an intent to extend the influence to other countries or territories.

This work presents the methodology of the Russian impact on Latvia after 1991. It defines and specifies the scope of methods concerning both the hard and soft power in international relations in the 21st century, particularly the ones used to implement the Russian Federation’s foreign policy. The implemented strategies and impact models are described. The work is also focused on certain indicators used in global rankings by experts worldwide. In the 21st century, it is no longer enough to employ the hard power methods as it is advisable to use the soft power ones, which may bring about much better results than the hard ones.

Russia’s intervention in Syria in 2015 marked the Russian Federation (RF) return as a key player in the Middle East and North Africa. In this context, the relations between Russia and the UAE are of utmost importance for both entities, for the region, and globally. This article seeks to fill a gap in scholarly knowledge by answering questions about the nature of the emerging cooperation between Russia and the UAE. How Russia seeks to use the UAE to expand its sphere of influence in the MENA region and how the UAE uses this cooperation to achieve its foreign policy goals. The article applies protocooperation (an analogy to the ecological relationship) as a model for the Russia-UAE partnership. The RF is strengthening its position in the MENA regarding the UAE as a key partner for regaining its political, economic, and military influence in the MENA region. Russia-UAE’s partnership aims at achieving conjunctural geopolitical interests benefiting from diminished Western, mainly the US, presence in the region.

Borderization in the politics of Georgian and South Ossetian power elites

The dissolution of the Soviet Union led to both the restoration of independent states and the emergence of entities with the status of unrecognized states. In the aftermath of the five-day Georgia-Russia conflict of August 2008, the borderization incidents have intensified. The process involves the installation of barbed fences along the Administrative Boundary Line (ABL) between Georgia and South Ossetia, and shifting border marks deep into the Georgia-controlled territory to transform the official ceasefire line into an international border by the Russian FSB border guards. The paper aims to examine how ‘borderization’ activities have affected the politics of Georgian and South Ossetian ruling elites. By becoming a part of the political and social debate, border incidents have allowed victimization the Georgian nation to be presented to the world. However, especially in 2012-2013, the two main political parties in Georgia differed in their perceptions of borderization. From South Ossetian perspective, in turn, the process has served as a manifestation of strengthening national identity, independence from Georgia, and above all, the belief in Ossetian statehood guaranteed by Russia’s military presence and the growing importance of the military elite. The methodology of the work is based on the case study approach, as well as critical analysis of literature, documents, web content and a review of archival materials. The paper also includes data obtained during the 2018 and 2019 field research in Abkhazia and in the IDPs camp in Shavshvebi, near the Georgian-Ossetian border.