Actors without Society. The role of civil actors in the postcommunist transformation

Author(s): Srđan Dvornik / Language(s): English

This study is primarily based on experiences during activist commitments and in my working with international foundations. The encouragement to undertake the study came from Dr. Azra Džajic´-Weber, the director of the Regional Office of the Heinrich Böll Foundation in Sarajevo from 1998 to 2007. The work was originally conceived as a collection and interpretation of the experiences of a broad variety of civic actors in Bosnia-Herzegovina, Croatia, and Serbia. In the early stage, however, it became obvious that it was necessary first to examine, and even “deconstruct,” the fundamental concepts that have framed the original approach. Rather than assuming that building democracy and rule of law was already underway – as well as the development of civil society – it turned out that many problems lay in those very assumptions. The most important is the problem of overlooking the fact that in the postcommunist transformation, society itself had yet to be established. // Therefore, the work in its final outcome is mostly dedicated to the very meaning of the basic determinants of the postcommunist transformation, in order to fathom the civic actors’ place within the newly defined framework. They are not referred to as a “civil society” but as civil actors, because it is they who, together with other factors, develop a society as a complex of autonomous relations and transactions, as well as a field for civic commitment.

O nekim aspektima i mogućnostima revizije bosanskohercegovačke prošlosti

Author(s): Azem Kožar / Language(s): Bosnian Publication Year: 0

Cover-up (concealment) of the historic truth for the sake of “higher interests” of own party, nation, political option, is one of the most important root-causes for the war conflicts among the Yugoslav peoples in the period 1991-1999. In the days of the Socialist Yugoslavia such an approach was, in certain amount, was determined by the Yugoslavia’s Communist Party leadership (Union of Yugoslavia’s Communists) even though it rated it to be condemned in conflict resolution in the Yugoslav society. Also, the Party conducted these premises through the institutions of culture and science, all of which left trace on their overall vocational and scientific results. At the time of dissolution of the socialist Yugoslavia, the nationalistic civil and military structures undertook a number of activities in order to wipe out the written evidence about their practice. After the war, their “merit” was not to have in place the national systems of protection of the culture pieces as sorted (as the reference point), compatible with the international regulations. These new modes of cover-up of the historical truth are being transformed into the “enclosed national systems”, directly and absolutely confronted to the need of obtaining the scientific perception regarding the war and other dissolution occurrences. Even the international community (UNESCO, European Union, etc.) have not recognized the full weight of these acts to the possibility of finding out the scientific truth, in the sphere of historiography and other scientific disciplines. By doing so, advisedly or not, narrows down the possibility of finding the scientific truth about the causes of South Slavic conflicts, contributing to resumption of existing and emanating of the new conflicts with even more pernicious consequences. Basically, all of these means that the creation of the certain presumptions to revise scientifically the past - the period of the socialistic Yugoslavia dissolution is a very complex issue, not to mention the relatively short time span, making this matter more political and less scientific issue. Nevertheless, the fact that this is still the “hot cookie”, i.e. it still might be compensated, collected and preserved from destruction, the significant portion of the primary historic sources, above all the archival material, should have the mobilizing effect on all the progressive forces in the science and society in general, to urgently start with making and realization of the concrete scientific projects of historiographical and multidisciplinary character.

Сећање на зло

Author(s): Danilo Trbojević / Language(s): Serbian

Problem evropskog identiteta

Author(s): Ivana Gačanović / Language(s): Serbian

Identităţile Chişinăului. Ediția a treia

Author(s): Virgil Pâslariuc,Sergius Ciocanu,Sergiu Tabuncic ,Vlad Vornic,Ion Ciobanu,Sergiu Bacalov,Teodor Candu,Viorel Bolduma,Bo Larsson,Anatolie Gordeev,Mariana Şlapac,Alla Ceastina,Lucia Sava,Natalia Derevenco,Diana Ețco,Ivan Duminica,Olga Garusova,Iurie Colesnic,Lucia Argint,Tamara Nesterov,Ion Ștefăniță,Silvia Scutaru,Dinu Poștarencu,Maria Danilov,Adrian Crăciunescu,Iulian Rusanovschi,Lidia Prisac,Alexandru Corduneanu,Sergiu Musteaţă,Alexandru Chîșlari,Oleg Copceac,Vlada Afteni,Natalia PODLESNAIA,Aurelia Carpov,Angela Munteanu / Language(s): Romanian

The book is a collection of papers on history, culture, architecture, heritage and urban development of Chisinau

Istoria Mănăstirii Hâncu (1677-2010)

Author(s): Alexei Agachi / Language(s): Romanian

The book on history of one monastery from Moldova - Hancu (1677-2010)

Procesele etno-culturale din spaţiul carpato-nistrean în secolele II-XIV. Istoriografia sovietică

Author(s): Sergiu Matveev / Language(s): Romanian

The book on soviet historiography of the ethnocultural processes in the Carpathian-Dniester

Of Red Dragons and Evil Spirits. Post-Communist Historiography Between Democratization and New Politics of History

Author(s): / Language(s): English

The collection of well researched chapters assesses the uses and misuses of history 25 years after the collapse of Soviet hegemony in Eastern Europe. As opposed to the emphasis on the recovery of memory or revival of national histories that seemed to be the prevelant historiographical approaches of the 1990s, the last decade has seen a particular set of narratives equating Nazism and communism and so providing opportunities to exonerate wartime collaboration, cast the nation as victim even when its government was allied with Germany, and acknowledge the Jewish Holocaust while obfuscating its meaning and significance.In their comparative analysis the authors are also interested in new practices of performing ‘Europeanness.’ Therefore their presentations of Slovak, Hungarian, Romanian, Bulgarian, Serbian, Bosnian, Croatian and Slovenian post-communist memory politics move beyond the common national myths in order to provide a new insight into transnational interactions and exchanges in Europe in general. The juxtaposition of these politics, the processes in other parts of Europe, the modes of remembering shaped by displacement and the transnational memory practices enable a close encounter with the divergences and assess the potential of the formation of common, European memory practices.

Najnovšia ruská historiografia o dejinách Československa

Author(s): L'ubica Harbuľová / Language(s): Slovak Publication Year: 0

Spoločensko-politické zmeny v Sovietskom zväze v polovici 80. rokov minulého storočia a následný zánik Sovietskeho zväzu začiatkom 90. rokov predstavujú dôležité medzníky vo vývoji ruských dejín 20. storočia. Zmeny v ruskej spoločnosti zasiahli aj do vývoja historiografie, priniesli nové metodologické postupy, ale aj nové tematické zameranie výskumov, čo súviselo so sprístupnením mnohých archívnych fondov. Historikom sa tak otvorila možnosť spracovať dovtedy tabuizované témy nielen z ruských, ale aj zo svetových dejín a z dejín medzinárodných vzťahov. Nové poznatky umožnili tiež nové interpretácie tém, ktoré v druhej polovici 20. storočia podliehali deformáciám a tendenčnosti v súlade s vtedajšími politickými požiadavkami. K takýmto témam patrila aj problematika vnútropolitického vývoja krajín strednej a juhovýchodnej Európy po roku 1945 a proces ich začleňovania do sovietskeho mocenského systému. Výnimkou neboli ani dejiny Československa.

The Portrayal of Peter in Modern Historiography

Author(s): Jan Mikołaj Wolski / Language(s): English Publication Year: 0

Руска револуција 1917. у очима Краљевине Србије - Русская революция 1917 г. глазами Королевства Сербии

Author(s): Aleksej J. Timofejev,Milan Piljak / Language(s): Russian,Serbian

Oči pamte

Author(s): Jelena Radošević / Language(s): Serbian

Više je razloga zašto sam pisala ovu knjigu, osnovni je da se čita o Zapadnoj Slavoniji. Ne mogu da podnesem, naprosto sam ljubomorna dok čitam zapise, knjige, feljtone, ispovijesti o Vukovaru, Sarajevu, Benkovcu, Posavini, a Zapadna Slavonija se spominje tek povremeno, silom, ne sa žaljenjem, nego nekako sramežljivo. A Zapadna Slavonija je postojala i još uvijek postoji, kao što postoji i moj Voćin i bol za njim. Za Podravskom Slatinom. Sve dok se ne počne pisati zašto smo pobjegli, i da li smo pobjegli, da li smo se predali ili se i to moralo dogoditi, kao riječ Božja – sve dotad želim da se o Zapadnoj Slavoniji čita onako kako sam ja znala da za-pišem. Kad se o nama prestane šaputati, nego se počne glasno govoriti i pisati, tada više neće biti bitno tko je kriv za odlazak mog naroda. Tada će se emocije stišati, zaboravićemo koliko nam je bilo hladno kad smo u decembru 1991. prelazili Papuk, Psunj i rijeku Rogoljicu dok se u prostorijama gdje je tog istog mjeseca potpisivan Vensov plan živa penjala i preko 25 stupnjeva.

СРБИЈА ПРЕ СТО ГОДИНА

Author(s): Tihomir Đorđević / Language(s): Serbian

published by PROSVETA (Belgrade 1946). // This book is a selection from those articles by Tihomir Đorđević which present mostly cultural opportunities in Serbia a hundred years ago. The articles are taken from the books "Our People's Life", "The Serbia of King Milos" and from a literary supplement "Politika". All articles were published as published by Tihomir Djordjevic; only a few shorter places have been left out, which have a very close character. As the book is intended for a wider circle of readers, references and sources are reduced to a minimum.

THE STRUGGLE of the SERBS. With a Foreword by Field-Marshal Lord Milne

Author(s): K. St. Pavlowitch / Language(s): English

This book has no pretence of being merely a dry historical record of events. It is rather in the nature of a series of historical pictures, sketching in broad outline the times of stress and danger through which Serbia has passed, and the stand she has invariably made for her own rights and those of others. A plentiful suppy of ‘Notes’ helps to fix in the mind the historical background. // This is not a book to skim and then to discard. It is rather a book to browse on at leisure, to help us probe into the history and ideals of a small nation, ignorant for the most part of our nation, but which places an almost childlike faith on our sense of honesty and fair-dealing: a country which has won the right of being judged by the actions, past and present, of her heroic inhabitants, today risking their all for freedom to five. The author of this book, who is a Serb and knows his people well, in quoting Mr. Churchill’s words „Yugoslavia found her soul,“ added that the Serbs had never lost it. May I express the wish that it is for us to help them guard it. (from Lord Milne's foreword)

YUGOSLAVIA

Author(s): / Language(s): English

FIFTEEN historians, political scientists, and other scholars have contributed chapters to this book, designed to introduce contemporary Yugoslavia to the general reader. The result is uneven. This reviewer feels that bad judgment has occasionally been displayed in the choice of materials. Many of the individual chapters, on the other hand, are highly rewarding. // The historical chapters, by R. J. Kerner, B. E. Schmitt, and J. C. Adams, resemble tightly packed summaries of these authors’ previous books and articles. These were important contributions but were intended for specialists. The impropriety of including them here in this form is glaring, since their inclusion has apparently necessitated the exclusion of material more important for the beginning student of Yugoslavia. Of the seventy pages on “historical background” more than fifty deal with the origins, course, and aftermath of the First World War. Almost no space is devoted to the medieval period or to the period of Turkish domination: nowhere in the book, for example, can one find a clear statement of what happened at the battle of Kosovo, June 28, 1389, or of the implications of the Serbian defeat, though scholars generally agree that this is the critical moment of Serbian history from the psychological as well as from the military point of view. Nowhere is there an analysis by a historian of the Byzantine influence on the Serbs (although we are repeatedly told that it existed), nowhere a full discussion of the role played by the Orthodox Church in the development of nationalism. Yet we have a full statement of the types and quantities of ammunition available to the Serbian army in July, 1914, and a rehearsal of differences of opinion between the “academic” and “nonacademic” members of the American delegation at the peace conference. Some of this distortion is removed by the excellent brief chapter of Alex Dragnich, on “Social Structure”, which, alone in the book, gives due weight to the earlier period. (REVIEW by ROBERT LEE WOLFF in The American Historical Review, Vol 55, 1 [1949])

100 of the most pressing Issues in the Republic of Moldova in 2007

Author(s): Ion Marandici,Dumitru Lazur,Ion Guzun,Stela Guzun,Nadejda Caprar,Diana Cheianu-Andrei,Olesea Cruc,Alexandru Lesanu / Language(s): English

The peculiarity of 2007 was the fact that it was the last year of the implementation of the EU Action Plan by the Republic of Moldova facing a severe drought. In 2006, the authorities of the Republic of Moldova had put forth the efforts to convince the European officials and the western partners of the possibilities of the country to implement the stipulations of the Action Plan RM-EU, the efforts have been materialized by the creating and sending reports regarding the implementation of the RM-EU AP. In 2007, the Moldovan authorities are facing the situation when they have to prove to the citizens and to themselves that the implementation of the Action Plan RM-EU did not represent just efforts but also clear results in bringing Moldova closer to EU. Or the implementation of this very document represented a capacity and availability test of the Republic of Moldova to approach the European Union. // This smart product offers comparative and analytical elements for the adoption of some superior techniques of evaluation of some decisions that involve important costs for our society. Meanwhile, the intention of the authors of this study is to encourage critical thinking and comparative approach regarding drafting of efficient and effective public policies as well as qualitative growth of the level of public debates on these issues of interest.

Situaţia Populaţiei Evreieşti în Transnistria, Reflectată în Arhivele De Stat Ale Regiunii Odessa (1941 ‑ 1944)

Author(s): Irina Motornaia / Language(s): Romanian Publication Year: 0

Una dintre cele mai tragice pagini din istoria celui de-al Doilea Război Mondial este fără îndoială Holocaustul suferit de poporul evreu. În cele ce urmează, dorim să prezentăm o serie de fonduri documentare păstrate în arhivele statului din Odessa (Ucraina), în care se vorbeşte despre situaţia populaţiei evreieşti deportată în regiunea Transnistriei, despre situaţia ghetourilor organizate de autorităţile române care administrau zona în acea perioadă şi multe alte aspecte legate de viaţa populaţiei evreieşti din teritoriul dintre Bug şi Nistru în anii celui de-al Doilea Război Mondial.

Юридическо и политическо значение на Санстефанския предварителен мирен договор

Author(s): Georgi Spasov / Language(s): Bulgarian Publication Year: 0

After the cessation of hostilities in the Russo-Turkish War of 1877-1878, with the signing of the Treaty of San Stefano, some factual frameworks are outlined that affect the territory inhabited by ethnic Bulgarians, but whether they are legally sufficient to claim that there is already a new subject of international law, a new state, to celebrating its liberation on the third of March?

SURVIVING THE WAR: RUSSIA-WESTERN BALKAN TIES AFTER THE WAR IN UKRAINE

Author(s): Maxim Samorukov / Language(s): English

Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 pushed Europe into a new era of instability. The fundamentals of the continent’s political and economic order are shifting as Russia’s brutal methods of war undermine the prospects of the slightest cooperation between Moscow and European states. Decades-old trade links have been severed, transport corridors rerouted, and people to people contacts have become more scarce than ever. Europe is reshaping its security architecture around Russia as the main threat, while Moscow frames its aggression against Ukraine as an existential defensive war with a duplicitous West. The only European region that stands out in this process of growing mutual alienation is the Western Balkans. More than a year into the war, Russia’s relations with several Balkan states appear to have undergone little change. Serbia is eagerly continuing with energy deals with Gazprom, Bosnian Serb leaders frequent Moscow on official visits, and some leading Montenegrin parties are sticking to pro-Russian slogans. It would appear that time stands still in the Western Balkans, with petty local grievance sover riding major global developments. Yet the veneer of continuity conceals mounting challenges to the status quo that has served local elites so well for so long. Russia’s attack on Ukraine under the pretext of protecting the self-proclaimed Donbas republics alerted Europe to the reality that even a frozen conflict may quickly spiral out of control if manipulated by a hostile external power. This gave an extra impulse to the EU’s determination to put an end to the long standing disputes in the Balkans. New sticks and carrots are in use to push local leaders toward mutual accommodation. The EU has also become more assertive in insisting that European integration is incompatible with preserving close ties to Russia. In the Balkans, meanwhile, the war is diminishing the benefits of cooperation with Russia. With a vast part of its resources and international clout consumed by the aggression, Moscow can hardly remain as attractive a partner for the Balkan states as it was prior to 2022.Russia’s deepening economic rift with the EU countries is driving it out from the Balkan markets. Even the region’s traditional dependence on Russian hydrocarbons is on its last legs, and the reluctance of several Balkan states to join anti-Russian sanctions does little to change that. Moscow’s shocking brutality in Ukraine and flagrant denial of its own aggression have put an end to its role as a co-mediator in the settlement of the Balkan conflicts. Now, even pro-Russian forces in the region refrain from pleading for the Kremlin’s diplomatic assistance, striving instead to diversify their ties in favor of other international allies. The only sphere in which Russia-Balkan cooperation continues to thrive is propaganda. Moscow needs its Balkan allies in order to claim that its isolation in Europe is far from complete and that there are places where it is still welсomed as a partner. A number of Balkan politicians, for their part, have invested too much in cultivating and manipulating pro-Russian sentiment in the region to be able to wean themselves off this PR-dependency without sustaining any losses themselves. The propaganda cooperation is asymmetrical, with Moscow having little control over its Balkan partners and the ways they exploit Russia’s image to advance their own agenda. Nevertheless, the Kremlin appears to have no issue with that, viewing other options as too risky and costly. As a result, Russia is likely to retain a semblance of presence in the Western Balkans for years to come, even if it is confined to pronouncements in the local media. The PR interdependency between the Kremlin and Balkan leaders may prove too elusive to be curbed by sanctions or other formal commitments.

Георги Федотов и Pax Atlantica: идеологическото конструиране на Студената война

Author(s): Darina Grigorova / Language(s): Bulgarian Publication Year: 0

The article focuses on the main Cold War ideologemes constructed in the Russian émigré press of the 1930s, before, during and immediately after World War II. The main source is the journalism of Georgy Fedotov in a comparative analysis with that of Nikolai Berdyaev. The article traces the construction of Fedotov's concept of Pax Atlantica as an ideological ideal and counterpoint to the Soviet Union. Fedotov's main ideologem is the alignment of fascism and national socialism with Stalinism in a hybrid "communofascism" in order to blur the boundaries between defeated and victorious after the war and leave the only victor, the Atlanticist world.