Ukraine

The place of Europe in post-Cold War national mythologies of different countries varies widely. In three arguably most dramatic examples, Poland rethought itself as “the somehow decentred heart of Catholic Europe” (Dayan & Katz, 1994, p. 166), while Russia gave reasons to conclude it “leaves the West” (Trenin, 2006, p. 87) and Ukraine stuck with its view of Europe as a normative example (Orlova, 2010, p. 26). To what extent this remains true if one is to look empirically at the discourses that currently inhabit news media? This paper points out to how narratives of Europe are instrumentalised in political discussions in the three counties that followed very different paths since the collapse of the communist bloc. The presentation includes results of qualitative analysis based on an open coding approach; the focus rests on the most prestigious news outlets (Rzeczpospolita, Gazeta wyborcza; Izvestiya, Kommersant; Dzerkalo tyzhnia, Korrespondent) but also includes important online blog platforms.

"The scholars of Central and Eastern Europe have long noticed that the place of Europe in post-Cold War national mythologies of different countries varies widely if not wildly. In three arguably most dramatic examples, Poland rethought itself as “the somehow decentred heart of Catholic Europe” (Dayan & Katz, 1994, p. 166), while Russia gave reasons to conclude it “leaves the West” (Trenin, 2006, p. 87) and Ukraine stuck with its view of Europe as a normative example (Orlova, 2010, p. 26). However, to what extent this remains true if one is to look empirically at the discourses that currently inhabit news media and public discussion? This paper points out to how various narratives of Europe are instrumentalised in internal and regional political discussions in the three counties that followed very different paths since the collapse of the communist bloc to which they once belonged, and whose relations have always remained defining to the structure of the region(s). The presentation includes results of qualitative analysis based on an open coding approach that discerns different narratives of Europe in the media discourses of the Polish, Russian and Ukrainian press. The focus of the analysis rests primarily on the most important and prestigious news outlets (Rzeczpospolita and Gazeta wyborcza in Poland; Izvestiya and Kommersant in Russia; Dzerkalo tyzhnia and Korrespondent in Ukraine) but also includes the most prestigious online blog platforms where opinion leaders set the principal frames for narrating Europe; such as Ukraine’s most read blogs section at Ukrayins’ka pravda or Russia’s Snob.ru. This will arguably give a more valid and up-to-date overview of what could be thought of as the three countries’ public spheres and Europe’s place in them.

Keywords: Europe, public sphere, Poland, Russia, Ukraine"

""This article examines policies and public attitudes concerning the issue of Soviet and Nazi genocides in Ukraine after the 'Orange Revolution'. The central question is whether such factors as regional political culture affect contemporary policies and public attitudes towards these important historical issues. The article uses a 2008 survey conducted for this study by the Kyiv International Institute of Sociology to analyse determinants of public attitudes concerning the question of whether Soviet and the Nazi policies were genocidal. It finds that regional political culture is the most significant factor affecting policies and attitudes towards the Soviet genocide in Ukraine.

Europe-Asia Studies, 62, 6, 2010, 973-997""

Caecus and pygmaeus groups of species of the genus Arrhopalites Börner, 1906 are discussed and redefined. Separate generic status for pygmaeus-group sensu lato under the name Pygmarrhopalites is proposed. Five new species and one new subspecies of family Arrhopalitidae from 38 caves of 4 karstic massifs of the Crimean Peninsula are described, illustrated and compared with similar species: Arrhopalites karabiensis, A. peculiaris, Pygmarrhopalites tauricus, P.  kaprusi, P. pseudoprincipalis and P. principalis skelicus. A key to the species of the family occurring in Crimean caves is given.

"Discussion of a small Bronze Age sickle hoard. The type is foreign to Romania (the find region) and can be traced back to the Eurasian steppes of Russia and the Ural foreland.
Bronze Age economy is discussed - although sickles are found all over the steppe belt, pollen analyses do not indicate cereal cultivation. The possibility that sickles were used for harvesting grass (hay) is argued. This would allow winter stall-keeping of livestock."

This paper analyzes the role of different forms of social capital in privatization in regions of Ukraine. Several recent studies linked regional government performance and economic development in Italy, Germany, Poland, and other countries to social capital, which is associated with different historical experiences. In post-communist Ukraine, regional political cleavages are also often traced to historical divisions. This paper examines whether different historical experiences in two groups of regions, those which were under Russian and then Soviet rule, and those which were under Austro-Hungarian, Polish, Romanian, and Czechoslovak rule until World War II, contributed to variations in the rate and quality of privatization. This study distinguishes between quantitative and qualitative aspects of social capital and privatization in industry and agriculture in Ukrainian regions. Statistical analysis of the 1995 World Values Survey data and aggregate data are used to analyze effects of historical experience and other direct and indirect measures of social capital, such as membership in voluntary organizations, interpersonal trust, importance of family and friends, and crime and divorce rates, on privatization in Ukraine. The role of social capital in privatization is compared to the role of other factors including economic policy, industrial structure, human capital, and ethnic cleavages.

"У розлогому інтерв’ю трьом українським телеканалам, яке вийшло в ефір у п’ятницю 24 лютого 2012 року на ICTV, Віктор Янукович серед основних своїх здобутків на посаді Президента України назвав відновлення економічного зростання.

Наскільки обгрунтованими є такі заяви Януковича? Чи справді теперішня укранська влада сприяє розвитку економіки?

Цей текст є спробою аналізу окремих економічних процесів в економіці України за перші два роки президенства Януковича."