![Books & Periodicals](/api/image/getissuecoverimage?id=picture_1965_3222.jpg)
focus on: English books from 1964 about the history of Russia and the Soviet Union
More...Keywords: hyaena; corocotta; leucrocota; bestiaries; medieval texta
Real and mythical creatures were described in medieval bestiaries, including hyena, crocotta and leucrotta. The authors obtained information about them from ancient works. Similarities in descriptions and iconography suggest that the same animal, perhaps a real species, not a fantastic creature, is hidden under these names. Based on the analysis of the descriptions of ancient authors and preserved iconographic images, it becomes apparent that the morphology, behaviour of the described creatures clearly indicates that in their texts ancient and later medieval authors described the striped hyena and the spotted hyena. Fantastic elements about this animal, emphasized in antiquity and theMiddle Ages, were largely due to misinterpretation of the information heard and the fact that most of the writers describing it have never seen an animal of this species. Scientific interest in hyena falls only in the eighteenth century.
More...Keywords: refugee crisis; Croatia; Homeland War; collective memory; cultural trauma;
This paper focuses on the discursive framing of the ‘refugee crisis’ in Croatian online media in order to examine the extent to which discourses about refugees crossing borders in 2015/2016 were informed by Croatia’s recent history and collective memory of the 1990s war. The paper is particularly interested in the local population’s perception of and reactions to the arrival of refugees. The analysis shows that the so-called refugee crisis, which dominated the European and world media in 2015/2016, triggered memories and narratives of the Croatian population’s own experience of displacement and forced migration, due to its own - not so distant - experiences of war. These local discourses defy the usual pro- and anti-refugee discourses that were present in other societies in Europe where refugees were arriving, due to a different historical memory and experience.
More...Keywords: space militarization; Star Wars Program; reconnaissance satellites; Russian orbital service station; Artemis Accords; Outer Space Treaty;
The competition for the military conquest of outer space dominated the public agenda during the Cold War. It was the spatial side of the geopolitical competition between the capitalist West and the communist East. It started with the researches for the development of strategic armaments and it ended with the military space programs launched by the great powers of the post-war era, which transformed the outer space into a real theater of operations. A theater currently relieved, by the Cosmic Space Treaty, of weapons of mass destruction. However, the unregulated military action in outer space, and especially the problems of defining the boundary between outer space and atmospheric space, can become explosive at any time. This article aims to present the main space powers, the space military programs they run and the potential security impact of the militarization of outer space.
More...Keywords: criminalisation; marginalisation; beggary; expulsion from public spaces; punishment;
A Romanian Roma community has been present in the largest Polish cities since the beginning of the 1990s. Although their presence was initially perceived as temporary, some members of this group have now been living in Poland for more than 20 years. However, for much of that time they have been invisible to the authorities, with only occasional exposure, and the main reasons for intervention were an attempt to remove them from the country, or from territory they were living on. In this paper, I would like to describe the situation of Romanian Roma in one Polish city, Wrocław. On their example I present different levels of exclusion from the community and space, describe the process of marginalisation (as a part of anti-Roma practices), as well as the tendency to use criminal law to discipline behaviours which society considers to be inappropriate and which it does not want to see. I’m thus presenting problems of evictions from public and private spaces, cases of prejudice followed by xenophobic attacks performed by representatives of Polish society and general lack of support neither from the general public, social institutions or police. Those practices lead to dep ravation of sense of security of the Roma population in Wrocław as police officers are perceived by them (and behaves) rather as oppressors who chase beggars away, fine them and confiscate money they earned on the street. And they fail in protection Roma community against xenophobic violence form the host society – or to be more precise they decided to abdicate from this role. The control of and state’s violence against the Roma community is made possible by labelling them as non-members of society, as strangers – persons to whom we can apply different rules than to ourselves.
More...Keywords: domestic violence; close person; protection of the victim;
The text includes a description and analysis of selected changes in the approach to controlling domestic violence, taking into account the latest legislative proposal. The text focuses on the most important, selected amendments and successively introduced institutions and procedures which on the one hand increase the scope of state interference in relations between close relatives, and on the other hand increase the possibility of persons affected by violence utilising the available protection. The individual amendments have aroused, and their proposed provisions are still arousing a great deal of controversy of a legal, social, cultural and ethical nature.
More...Keywords: juveniles; juvenile courts; supporting institutions; adjudication process; diagnostic teams; juvenile justice history in Scandinavia;
The article gives an overview of the development and distinct features of Scandinavian youth justice in Finland, Denmark, Norway and Sweden. The author presents a short case study of the birth of the Nordic model. This is followed by an overview of the major phases in the evolution of Nordic youth justice from the beginning of the last century until the most recent reform period around the turn of the millennium. In the next two sections the author gives a summary of the contents of the present criminal sanctions and their implementation practices. Ten the role of child welfare interventions is discussed in more detail, using Finland and Sweden as examples. The author’s conclusions follow in the final section.
More...Keywords: pre-trail detention; purposes and functions of detention; overused pre-trial detention;
In recent years, Poland has observed an increase in the number of people in pre-trial detention. At parallel, crime rates are not high and are on declining trend. There is therefore a tendency which defies the logical, natural justification that the number of pre-trial detentions should increase in line with the growth of crime, especially the most serious types of crimes. The article discusses purposes and functions of detention in Polish criminal procedure. The analysis of them indicates that the illegal use of non-procedural functions, which is facilitated by certain factors, may lead to overused pre-trial detention in Poland.
More...Keywords: restorative justice; restorative city; mediation; conflict; urban planning;
The concept of a restorative city is one of the most recent successful developments in the field of restorative justice theory and practice. Despite the lack of universal standards of implementation, a restorative city can be defined as a process that aims to shape both community life as well as urban space through the lens of restorative justice philosophy, values, and standards. The purpose of this article is to discuss the results of the analysis of how this concept has been implemented in the following cities: Hull (United Kingdom), Bristol (United Kingdom), Brighton & Hove (United Kingdom), Leuven (Belgium), Como (Italy), Tempio Pausania (Italy), Whanganui (New Zealand) and Oakland (United States). The article concludes with a brief summary of activities that have been undertaken in Wrocław in order to gain the status of a restorative city.
More...Keywords: Debray;transmission;medium;cultural memory;Kosovo and Metohija;
One of the basic theoretical attitudes of Debray’s mediological theory is deep interdependence of form and content of transmission (communication through time), i.e. carriers of the message and the message itself. Starting from that attitude and the hypothesis that change in the carriers of certain elements of cultural memory also leads to the change in its content, we have applied Debray’s analytical model of transmission elements in the analysis of different carriers of cultural memory in Kosovo and Metohija. The aim of the research is to determine necessary changes in the content of transmission process already caused as a consequence of the changed form of transmission, i.e. to detect, by applying the comparative method, whether part of the cultural heritage is lost in that manner or whether new media are suitable carriers of transmission.
More...Keywords: auditorium culture sector; public policy; COVID-19 pandemic; industry framework; culture; anti-pandemic policy;
The article deals with the policy against the COVID-19 pandemic conducted by the Polish state in the period from March 2020 to February 2021 in terms of its impact on the activities of the auditorium culture sector, i.e. theatres, cultural centres, cinemas, museums, art galleries, libraries, archives, historical sites, creators and audiences of this sector. The auditorium culture sector in the industry frame has been defined. It has been characterized in terms of essential activity and in the perspective of leaf data. Systematization of anti-pandemic policy tools introduced by countries worldwide, which had a significant impact on economic processes and the condition of individual national economies, was presented. The legal instruments of the Republic of Poland's anti-pandemic policy, i.e. laws and regulations, as well as limitations important for the auditorium culture sector, which were identified in the course of the juridical exegesis, were presented. In the analyzed period, seven phases of the policy towards the auditorium culture sector were distinguished as an element of the Polish policy against the COVID-19 pandemic.
More...Keywords: semiotic ideology;collective unconscious;posthumanism;information hazards;academy;
Aspects of human behavior usually ascribed to the modern age remained fundamentally inviolate during the past several hundred thousand years, but the globally accessible technology of the modern age creates a platform for the emergence of novel selection pressures on the human species, thereby allowing for modification of not only the genetic makeup of a human being, but its phenomenal experience. The globally accessible technology enables semiotic amplification and propagation of an implicit posthumanist ideology, threatening to alter the human being and its consciousness on a phenomenal level. In this paper, I derive an analytical argument that indicates an endangerment of the shared human phenomenal experience, exemplified by analyzing the endangerment of the academic ideal, under the premise of ethical and ontological relevance of phenomenal experiences.
More...Keywords: Second World War; January 1945; Red Army; Mława–Elbląg offensive operation; conquest of the cities
More...Keywords: Judicial Inspection; judicial corruption; inter-institutional collaboration; human rights;
The present paper contains arguments referring to the fact that the Judicial Inspection, as a body with attributions of analysis, verification and control in particular areas of manifestation of Justice and exponent of the judicial self-government, should acquire the status of authority with express competencies in the fight against judicial corruption. Such an approach reflects the essence of good judicial self-government and of the Rule of Law, where Human Rights and Freedoms are Fundamental Values. In order to achieve this purpose, the necessity to strengthen the functional status of the judicial inspection body is argued and the ways of enhancing the capacities of the judicial self-government in preventing judicial corruption are generalized.
More...Keywords: holy wells; curing wells; mineral water; balneology;
Traditional Russian worldviews explained healing from water sources in terms both Protestants and Catholics would have used elsewhere in Europe: as the grace of God or as the intervention of saints through associated relics or wonder-working icons. Holy wells were freely venerated within parishes until the eighteenth century when Peter the Great and the Holy Synod (the Russian Orthodox Church’s highest governing body) forbade pilgrimage to holy wells in a reformist drive to eradicate religious “superstitions.” This essay employs primary sources to consider how nineteenth-century developments at Russian holy wells and mineral springs related to social class, economics and those eighteenth-century reforms that merged the church with government structures. While liturgical activities at holy wells and the designation of new holy wells was criminalized, mineral springs gained appeal for “scientific” cures and as resort enterprises for the upper classes.
More...Keywords: Russian Federation; security policy; military doctrine;foreign policy concepts;
Russia’s great-power ambitions are reflected in strategic documents,which, depending on the events affecting its security. These documents evolvedand took on a more confrontational character, emphasizing Russia’s desire to introducea new architecture of international security. The actions taken by Russiaclearly demonstrate its ambitions to change the world order and order created afterthe collapse of the Soviet Union. The Russian authorities use a number of differenttools in their actions, and military power is not necessarily the key factor.The article presents the Russian strategic thought which defines the main directionsof the Russian foreign and security policy. The reasons for changes in the approachto the post-Cold War international order in the light of which changes weremade to the “Concept of the foreign policy of the Russian Federation” were presented.The main goal of the concept was analyzed, which “persuades” the West to makeconcessions, thanks to which it would enable the end of the conflict with Russiaon its terms and the re-normalization of mutual relations. The issue of the Russianunderstanding of geopolitics and the geopolitical code of the Russian Federationwas raised. Documents of military doctrines closely related to the conducted policyhave been indicated. It should be emphasized that the new Military Doctrineof the Russian Federation is part of the entirety of Russian strategic thinking, whichis aimed at revising the post-Cold War international order.
More...Keywords: Julius Zigeuner Edler von Blumendorf; Vilhelm Libkowitz; Zagreb; Vienna; Villa Zigeuner; Amateur Photographers’ Club Zagreb; Voluntary Fire Department Zagreb; Libkowitz affair;
The article brings highlights from a hitherto almost completely unknown biography of the Viennese nobleman Julius Zigeuner Edler von Blumendorf, mostly from the time of his stay in Zagreb (1878-1894). Since there is almost no mention of him in scholarly literature, basic biographical data have been collected from newspaper articles and archival sources, and a part of his life has been reconstructed. Thus, his life can be followed from the beginnings of service industry in the Croatian capital, through his acquisition and spending of a large inheritance, all the way to his financial ruin caused by gullibility and reckless financial investments. Zigeuner’s life story is told through twelve sections dealing with various aspects of his diverse activities. After an introduction, information is provided about his life from his birth on June 5, 1852 until his arrival in Zagreb in 1878, his first Zagreb deals, his acquisition of the rich inheritance of the Viennese industrialist Alfred Skene, his charity work, business investments, construction of a villa in Zagreb, activities in Zagreb’s Voluntary Fire Department, short-term involvement in photography and the founding of the Amateur Photographers’ Club Zagreb, his debauched life and spending of inheritance, and the lawsuits that largely marked his life after leaving Zagreb, up to his death in Vienna on January 19, 1897.
More...Keywords: Samnites; Third Samnite War; Linen Legion; escape from the battlefield (desertion in the face of the enemy); military oath; sacramentum; military discipline; rituals of war; punishment for desertion
In the account of the Third Samnite War (298–290 BC), Livy records a special commitment of the Samnite Linen Legion that faced the Romans at Aquilonia in 293 BC. The oath of this élite formation required discipline and sacrifice to a greater extent than the obligations of the other Samnite troops and the Roman military oath of these times. According to Livy, the Linen Legion’s soldiers swore not to flee the battlefield and to instantly kill anyone from among themselves who would try to run away. Threatening soldiers to kill them on the spot in case of desertion in the face of the enemy and issuing such an order during battle was a widespread practice in the Roman army as well as in other armies of different epochs. It appears that in the Samnite picked troops, it was the military oath itself that included the obligation to punish the fugientes immediately. Strengthening military discipline and soldiers’ sworn commitments was a systemic solution aimed at enhancing combat effectiveness of the army in situations of extreme danger. Analogies can be drawn between the Samnite case and examples of Greek and Roman military oaths reinforced in the face of an invader. The peculiar clause of the Linen Legion’s oath may be seen as one of such systemic measures. The article examines the reasons for its use by the Samnites and attempts to demonstrate the credibility of this detail given by Livy.
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