Philosophy in Post-Soviet Russia (1992--1997)

The author argues that the decline of philosophical thought and research in Russia is over. He describes the state of present-day philosophy in Russia, its background, and prospects for development citing concrete examples and little known facts.Any survey of the state of the philosophy in post-Communist Russia is a complicated task requiring accuracy and completness. Whether I succeed in this task remains to be seen, although I shall be content if I manage to present a clear picture. It will of course be subjective and reflect my interests and preferences, remaining in this sense quite incomplete. But I aim to present a concise survey, identifying the most important trends, personalities, and topics of discussion.I shall focus on changes with respect to the following issues: 1) the state of research in philosophy, in particular noticeable shifts in problematics, geography, and management; 2) philosophical education, i.e., noticeable development in problematics, approaches, geography, and management. Moreover, I shall examine the origin of these shifts and assess whether they are of a qualitative character.     

Psychological Determinants of Entrepreneurial Success and Life-Satisfaction

The presented study focused on different stages of the entrepreneurial process. The first group comprised those starting a new business and the second group those who have been through the whole process of creating a new business and have now been operating in the market. The general aim of the article was to examine the relationship between action orientation, hope, goal commitment, entrepreneurial success, and life satisfaction, and to determine the role of psychological characteristics (hope, action orientation) in the entrepreneurial process. The hypotheses were tested on a sample of 344 potential entrepreneurs in the prelaunch stage and 127 actual entrepreneurs in the post-launch stage. To analyze these relationships, multiple-group analysis was conducted.     

The Impact of Social and Political Changes on Survivors of Political Persecutions in Rural Russia and Ukraine

Differences in depressive symptoms and attitudes about political and social changes were examined for individuals with and without family histories of Stalinist persecution in several small villages in Russia and Ukraine. In a sample of 422 villagers, there were 37 family members of survivors of Stalinist purges. In comparison to villagers with no family history of persecution, those who had such history perceived their social life with other villagers and their life in general to be much improved in the late 1990s. They also reported much lower levels of depression than those without a history of persecution. Differences that were discovered could not be accounted for by demographic characteristics of the respondents. The results suggest that individuals with a history of family trauma related to political persecution may perceive their environment as more positive as a result of political changes and may cope with political transitions differently than persons who have no history of family persecution.     

Premigration ethnic and national identities: Jewish adolescents planning emigration from Russia and Ukraine to Israel

The ethnic and national identities of Jewish high‐school adolescents planning emigration from Russia and Ukraine to Israel were investigated about six months before their emigration. The national identities of adolescent emigrants (n = 243) were compared with those of non‐emigrant Russian and Ukrainian adolescents (n = 740). The emigrants’ attitude to their country of origin was less positive and their identification with Russians and Ukrainians was weaker as compared with the non‐emigrant adolescents. In addition, the attitude of the emigrants towards Israel was more positive than their attitude to Russia or Ukraine. Finally, the emigrants’ strongest identification was with the Jewish people, followed by identification with Israelis, while their weakest identification was with Russians and Ukrainians. Israeli and Jewish identities of the emigrant adolescents were positively correlated, and they were independent of the Russian and Ukrainian identities. Perceived discrimination was negatively correlated with the emigrants’ attitude to Russia or Ukraine, and it was positively correlated with the emigrants’ identification with Israelis and with the Jewish people. Jewish ethnicity was correlated with identification with Jewish people; however, it was not correlated with any component of the Israeli or Russian/Ukrainian identities. The study results indicate that in the premigration period emigrants form a multidimensional system of ethnic and national identities, which reflects their partial detachment from their homeland and affiliation with the country of provisional immigration. This premigration identity system may be termed “anticipatory” (cf. Merton, 1968), because it is not based on real contact with the country of provisional immigration, but rather on the emigrants’ expectations. On the other hand, the premigration identities are reactive, in the sense that they reflect the emigrants’ reaction to the perceived discrimination they experience in their country of origin. The results of the present study are discussed in light of social identity theory.     

The relationship between different components of national identities and psychosocial adjustment among high-school adolescent immigrants from Russia and Ukraine in Israel

This study investigated the relationship between different components of national identities of immigrants (related to both the country of origin and host country), and psychosocial adjustment in pre-migration and post-migration periods. Adolescents who immigrated from Russia and Ukraine to Israel (N = 151) completed questionnaires at four time points: about six months prior to, and in the first, second, and third years after, immigration. At each point, adolescents were assessed on degree of identification they felt with the citizens of their country of origin and Israel and on their attitudes towards the two countries. Five indexes of psychosocial adjustment were measured: emotional and behavioural problems, self-esteem, social competence, school competence and loneliness. Adolescents' positive attitudes towards the host country were associated with higher psychosocial adjustment, both before and after immigration. Positive attitudes towards the country of origin were associated with higher psychosocial adjustment in the post-migration period. Degree of identification with either nation was not related to psychosocial adjustment. Findings suggest that it may not be identity per se that is the critical factor for adjustment for adolescent immigrants, but rather the extent to which they feel affirmation, pride and positive regard towards the two countries. For adolescent immigrants, idealization of origin and host countries may fulfil an important developmental role allowing them to de-idealize parental figures and create new objects of idealization.     

后苏联时期俄罗斯心理学的现状

苏联解体后, 进入后苏联时期的俄罗斯心理学出现了一些新的动向, 主要表现为重新评价和审视苏联心理学的原则立场, 纠正十月革命后心理科学发展出现的偏差, 活动概念和文化历史理论仍具有生命力, 理论研究未见重大进展但工作仍继续进行, 心理科学的研究越来越贴近社会生活与实践等。当前俄罗斯心理学已成为一门深受大众青睐的科学, 它对当代各种形式的社会实践均产生了重要影响。     

Culture,Contexts, and Directions in Russian Post-Soviet Philosophy

Studies in East European Thought - The author examines, historically and theoretically, issues related to the state and current tendencies of post-Soviet Russian philosophy. The accent falls on the...     

Maternal and Paternal Parenting Styles in Adolescents: Associations with Self-Esteem,Depression and Life-Satisfaction

Our study examined variations in adolescent adjustment as a function of maternal and paternal parenting styles. Participants included 272 students in grades 9 and 11 from a public high school in a metropolitan area of the Northeastern US. Participants completed measures of maternal and paternal parenting styles and indices of psychological adjustment. Authoritative mothering was found to relate to higher self-esteem and life-satisfaction and to lower depression. Paternal parenting styles was also related to psychological adjustment, however, although the advantage of authoritative mothering over permissive mothering was evident for all outcomes assessed, for paternal styles the advantage was less defined and only evident for depression. Our study highlights the importance of examining process-oriented agents as part of the broader interest in well-being variations in adolescents.     

Religion and the crisis in Ukraine

This article investigates religious nationalism in the Russian–Ukrainian conflict, which has appeared in political and popular rhetoric and has been expressed through violence. From the Tsarist era, Kyiv and Crimea have featured centrally in Russian national mythology as the cradle(s) of Russian Christianity. This nationalist conception of space persisted after political borders changed with the collapse of the Soviet Union, as has the Russian Orthodox Church's historic jurisdiction in Ukraine. As a result, Russian Orthodox believers retain a special affinity for Kyiv and Crimea, and many Ukrainian citizens have looked to Moscow for matters of faith. Subjects of inquiry include religious nationalism, the baptism of Slavic Prince Vladimir (Volodymyr), Orthodox holy places in Crimea and Ukraine, Patriarch Kirill's Russian World concept, and religious violence in Ukraine and Crimea.     

Gender Studies in Post-Soviet Society: Western Frames and Cultural Differences

This article is devoted to theexploration of some trends in gender studies incontemporary Russia and is based on ourresearch and teaching in the field over thecourse of seven years. The main concepts ofgender research – gender, feminism,women's subjectivity – were introduced to theRussian public early in 1990s; Russian genderstudies began to develop as a whole due to theapplication of Western concepts and theories.The article examines the growth of genderstudies over the last 10 years, contextualdifferences as well as theoretical approachesin Russian gender studies as these have arisenin the context of the `Russia – West'dichotomy.     

布兹加林及其“后苏联的马克思主义”学派

进入新世纪以来,俄罗斯著名经济学家、莫斯科大学经济学系教授布兹加林创建了后苏联的马克思主义学派,又称批判的马克思主义学派。在对前苏联的现实社会主义制度、当代俄罗斯的资本主义制度、以及人类目前所身处的全球化发展进程展开全面批判的基础上,布兹加林提出了"社会主义——作为向自由王国过渡和转变历史进程"的明确思想主张。     

Anxiety and watching the war in Ukraine

On 24 February 2022, Russia attacked Ukraine. Millions of people tuned into social media to watch the war. Media exposure to disasters and large-scale violence can precipitate anxiety resulting in intrusive thoughts. This research investigates factors related to anxiety while watching the war. Since the war began during the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, threat from COVID-19 is seen as a predictor of anxiety when watching the war. A theoretical model is put forward where the outcome was anxiety when watching the war, and predictors were self-reported interference of watching the war with one's studies or work, gender, worry about the war, self-efficacy and coronavirus threat. Data were collected online with independent samples of university students from two European countries close to Ukraine, Germany (n = 348) and Finland (n = 228), who filled out an anonymous questionnaire. Path analysis was used to analyse the data. Findings showed that the model was an acceptable fit to the data in each sample, and standardised regression coefficients indicated that anxiety, when watching the war, increased with interference, war worry and coronavirus threat, and decreased with self-efficacy. Women reported more anxiety when watching the war than men. Implications of the results are discussed.     

Post-Soviet academia and class power: Belarusian controversy over symbolic markets

The article demonstrates that post-Soviet academic debates about theoretical concepts and visions of truth can be usefully interpreted in terms of different “class positions” of knowledge producers. One academic faction is interested in academic freedom, autonomy, and corporate solidarity, as the social and cultural capitals of its members are involved with the global symbolic market. The capitals of the other group are invested into the slightly modified Soviet academic system and local symbolic fields. Intellectuals necessarily are aligned with more powerful social actors and thus become involved in divisions and struggles that they cannot escape.     

Monetary Primes Increase Differences in Predicted Life-Satisfaction Between New and Old Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs)

Dynamics between money and happiness has attracted many scholars due to its importance in everyday lives but there is no study on the psychological consequences of priming money on life-satisfaction judgments. We examined whether students report life-satisfaction of themselves and that of others differently, after being reminded of money and whether such judgments differ for new versus old institutes of higher education. Students from a new Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) at Gandhinagar and from an old IIT at Bombay were asked to rate how satisfied currently they are with their lives in general and were also asked to predict how satisfied students are at other new and old IITs. Exposure to money did not affect self-reported satisfaction ratings and predictions of life-satisfaction for other students at old IITs. However, predicted life-satisfaction for students at new IITs reduced in presence of money. This made the difference in predicted student life satisfactions between old and new IITs more pronounced after priming money. Money selectively affects life-satisfaction predictions depending on the context and social value of an institution, probably because money makes the market-pricing mode of thought salient. These findings have important implication for education both in Asia and other countries.     

Unemployment Needs Context: How Societal Differences between Countries Moderate the Loss in Life-Satisfaction for the Unemployed

The notion of voluntary unemployment held by orthodox economic theory could be refuted by happiness research, showing that those unemployed experience a persistent loss in life-satisfaction. However, most current research addressing this question is conducted at the individual level or takes into account only simple economic aggregate indicators, such as unemployment rates or inflation. The effects of unemployment on life-satisfaction however are likely to vary between societies depending on factors beyond the economic realm. This paper demonstrates the need to consider a wider set of country-level characteristics, including economic, demographic and attitudinal indicators, if the relationship between unemployment and life-satisfaction is to be understood adequately. Using data from the World Values Survey multi-level models are computed for up to 40 European and Anglo-Saxon societies. While economic indicators such as GDP per capita and income inequality appear to be relevant, unemployment rates seem to not affect the relationship greatly, contrary to results from several previous studies. Other factors however do, either mitigating the loss in life-satisfaction when becoming unemployed (such as the mean level of the perception of autonomy in a society), or further depressing life-satisfaction (such as the mean emphasis of work in a society, the age-dependency ratio or the proportion of women in the labour force). Possible explanations are discussed and suggestions for improved further research made.