The purpose of this study is to investigate and document the connections between recent dynamics of development and identity construction in two Russian regions: Novgorod the Great and Kaliningrad. The range of primary (books, flyers, photographs and documentaries) and secondary (newspaper, magazine and electronic articles) material produced in the regions is utilized to identify and examine common themes and topics that have emerged in the course of the pre-anniversary 'marketing' campaigns undertaken by these regions nationally and abroad. Some of the previous work on the topic of regional political and socio-economic development has taken into account the impact of local identities for creating favourable climates for regional development. This analysis examines the practices of re-interpretation of local histories in the contexts of national and international ones, the groups of local actors creating such interpretations, and the potential effect of such exercise. In my analysis, working from the social constructivist perspective, I utilize Ray's theory of the dialectic in local development, the concept of the invention of tradition, the elements of Bourdieu's social theory and Dovey's premise of the political role of architecture in social life to demonstrate: 1) that interpretation of historical facts is being strategically used to promote political, economic and cultural ideas and to imply the continuity of history and tradition with the past; 2) that certain groups in scientific and cultural circles are more than others involved in the processes of interpretation; 3) that the process of interpreting and reviving regional histories has an impact on territorial identity and local development projects. After the collapse of the Soviet Union, many if not all Russian regions were left in disarray. In an effort to facilitate regional development, they have been trying to create and develop various industries, to attract investment, and simply draw attention to their regions with their existing problems. Some of them sooner than others came to realization that creating an attractive "image" might be the key to successfully competing for resources nationally and internationally. One of these regions was the Novgorod oblast. According to the series of studies, in the 1990s regional elites created there such positive environment for collaboration between various governmental structures, local intelligentsia and NGOs, that the region, without having much of an investment potential, became one of the country's leaders in attracting foreign investment. The second region, Kaliningrad oblast, was chosen for comparative purpose because of its extraordinary Prussian-German background and its unusual present-day positioning as the Russian semi-exclave and the enclave of the European Union. This oblast', in the not so remote past commonly portrayed as the "black hole" of the Russian Federation, has more recently become the focal point of the Russian-European relations. Both regions under study have been attempting to create favourable images of themselves and to promote local development. And for both regions local histories and identities have proven crucial in the image-creating exercise. It is particularly interesting to study territorial identity re-creation in these two regions because, within national and international contexts, certain historical facts and perspectives have been either emphasized or overlooked depending on the goals and motivations of the responsible regional players. Secondly, accents and emphases on historical meanings are being directly influenced by the political, socio-economic and cultural conditions each of the regions faces. Thus, officially accepted territorial identities and their connections to respective historical representations are said, often times, to influence and be influenced by the goals of regional development. The work begins with the outline of historical, political and socio-economic backgrounds of Novgorod the Great and Kaliningrad It is followed by the explanation of the theoretical and methodological approaches used to analyze the data. The main part of the thesis is thereafter dedicated to the analysis of the collected data using these concepts and methods and is concluded with the summary of the findings and some recommendations for further research on the subject.

This study examines the rise and fall of the modern Belarusian national movement during the quarter century between 1906, the year when the first Belarusian paper appeared, until its demise around 1931, as a result of political repression in the Soviet Union and Poland. While the first steps towards a modern, ethnic definition of the nation, were taken around the turn of the century era, the February Revolution and the German occupation energized the national movement. The 1920s Soviet nationalities policies brought about a Belarusian cultural renaissance, but also highlighted the difficulties of introducing new concepts of nationality in a relatively underdeveloped region. The results of these experimental policies were not what Moscow had expected. In the BSSR the local population often misunderstood the Soviet nationalities policies, resisting the new and unknown taxonomies. While the Belarusization had strengthened the nationally conscious elites in the republic, it failed to generate popular support for Soviet rule among the Belarusian peasantry. In Western Belarus, which was under Polish rule from 1921 to 1939, the peasantry was often alienated from the nationalist intelligentsia. After Pilsudski's coup d'etat established authoritarian rule in Poland in 1926, the Soviet government again became concerned about the threat of a Polish invasion. After a brief experimentation with liberalization of its nationalities policies, the Pilsudski's regime stepped up the efforts to Polonize Western Belarus. At the same time, from 1927 it suppressed, jailed and deported to the Soviet Union many leading Belarusian activists, accusing them for irredentism and pro-Soviet sentiments. By 1929-1930, opposition to unpopular Soviet polices brought the borderlands of the BSSR close to a popular uprising. This, in turn prompted Moscow to crack down on the national communists in Minsk. The purges of the BSSR elites were more thorough than in any other republic, leading to the demise of 90 per cent of the Belarusian intelligentsia. The national mobilization was interrupted. For the next six decades the Soviet Belarusian nation building was carried out from above, increasingly in the Russian language, and with little autonomy for the government in Minsk.

<p> Bulgaria has repeatedly been ranked as 1 of the most pessimistic and unhappy nations in the world in surveys conducted over the last 15 years. The transition to a democratic form of government and a free market economy that began in 1989 has been difficult, even traumatic. Young urban adults who have grown up during this period of uncertainty were the focus of this study. Because of Bulgaria's extremely low birth rate and high rate of emigration, this generation is small in demographic terms, but their contribution to the country's future is critical. </p><p> The purpose of this grounded theory study was to explore and describe the sources of hope that enable these young Bulgarians to survive and cope. Data were gathered through focus group discussions that involved the viewing of a contemporary Bulgarian film. 3 major themes emerged from the focus group data: power, the nature goodness, and the act of believing (as opposed to belief in a supernatural or religious object). Analysis of these themes and an extensive review of available literature, including many local Bulgarian-language sources, led to the development of a theory of disempowerment as the best explanation of participants' perception their environment, themselves, and how they choose to cope. Participants' primary coping strategy is withdrawal. Because they are convinced that their environment is hostile and unjust and that they do not possess sufficient power to protect themselves, their primary source of hope is to avoid further loss through maintaining a limited number of close personal relationships, avoiding civic involvement, and utilizing the act of believing as a form of rationalization. Participants show virtually no interest in or reliance on religious faith, belief in supernatural power, or existential meaning as sources of hope for their lives. </p><p> Though the theory of disempowerment is helpful in describing and understanding participants' lives, the sources of hope identified are ineffectual. This study suggests potential paths of application for churches and Christian organizations and recommends further research concerning the form that the search for existential meaning may take in the Bulgarian context.</p>

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Abstract not available.

No description available.

<p> This dissertation investigates how the Holocaust and postwar sovietization shaped the dynamics of Jewish communities and ordinary life in southwestern Ukraine. I examine the relationship between state policy and the sphere of Jewish religious practice. Two research questions motivated this study: (1) What was the trajectory of the lives of Eastern European Jews who came back from Nazi concentration camps? and (2) How did Jews negotiate their religious and public identities in an everyday setting? To examine these questions, the study illuminates the postwar life of one group of Jewish Holocaust survivors in the periphery of the Soviet Union. Literature on postwar Soviet Jewry has focused almost exclusively on the lives of elites in the center. This study enhances our understanding of Jewish integration into Soviet society. </p><p> I used oral history, collected during my own ethnographic fieldwork in Israel and Ukraine, as well as state archives to analyze processes of return and integration. Interviews with ordinary people permit a social perspective on political developments and communal reconstruction. Statistical data and official communication provide the framework necessary to show the dynamics of Jewish life. Combining archival material with oral history demonstrates that the impact of Soviet rule on Jewish life after World War II is more complex than previously portrayed. Topics examined include the liberation from Nazi concentration camps, arrival experiences in Transcarpathia, the reconstruction of private and public Jewish life in the late 1940s and everyday Jewish practice in the 1950s and early 60s. </p><p> Ordinary Jews fully integrated into society, succeeded in their careers and expressed their Jewish identity through religious practice. The findings include individual negotiation of demands in secular society and the methods of circumventing obstacles that restricted religious practice. The analysis of the interviews, however, prompts a reconsideration of postwar Soviet Jewish life with regard to persecution and emigration narratives.</p>

What factors motivate members of minority groups to vote based on an ethnic attachment? What motivates candidates and political parties to make appeals to specific ethnic groups? I argue that ethnic voting is more likely to emerge when individual socialization experiences and dissatisfaction increase the salience of ethnic identity, contextual factors serve to politicize this salient identity, and the mobilization potential of the ethnic group is high, making it more likely that an ethnic-based appeal will be successful. I test this theory with a combination of regional-level large-N statistical comparisons, case studies, and individual-level survey data. / I primarily examine party voting in the Baltic Republics and Ukraine. In these systems, I contend, ethnic voting may manifest support for traditional ethnic parties but also support for more mainstream but ethnically inclusive parties. These inclusive parties, generally overlooked in the ethnic politics literature, are an important component of ethnic representation and an important addition to research on ethnic voting. While in this work I focus on the Russian minority in the countries of the former Soviet Union, the general theory I develop may be applied to ethnic minorities in other political environments.

<p>Through comparative case studies of Slovakia and Hungary, I explore the competitive relationship between governing parties and radical right parties in post European Union accession parliaments. This research highlights the roles of ethno-nationalism and populism and employs Slovakia&rsquo;s ethnic Hungarian minority, as manifested through the 2009 Slovak language law and the 2010 Hungarian citizenship law, as a focal point of competition between party groups. I argue that this competition reveals a more influential role than typically attributed to radical right parties. The first half of the article tests these cases against Meguid&rsquo;s (2008) position, salience, and ownership theory of competition between unequals. The second half of the article analyzes this competition and points to electoral strategies, coalition and opposition policy payoffs, governing party reputations, and each country&rsquo;s legal landscape as areas affected by the radical right&rsquo;s presence. </p><p> <i>Keywords</i>: Radical right; Hungarian minority; language; citizenship; accommodation, issue ownership, issue salience; competition. </p>

<p> This thesis explores the distinct two-part polyphonic patterning in Lithuanian Sutartines to reveal how singers shape and/or experience their songs as musical weaves. The findings are based on original fieldwork as well as old ethnographic sources, which are (re)examined and interpreted through the lens of metaphor as a methodology.</p>