In the Bear’s Shadow? Russia’s International Image and Its Influence on Investments of Russian Companies in Post-Socialist Europe

The paper examines Russia’s international image and its influence on investment by Russian companies in post-socialist Europe. Findings are based on the cases of Gazprom’s South Stream Pipeline project, and Sberbank’s acquisition of Volksbank’s Central and Eastern European assets in Hungary and Serbia. The paper demonstrates that international positions and economic interests of two countries determinate decisions regarding investments of Russian companies, while Russia’s image to some extent accelerates these decisions in Serbia. The paper is based on the results of interviews with representatives of business communities conducted in Hungary and Serbia in 2012–2017, professional reports, and official documents.     

Gender differences in Russia's job mobility and its rewards*

This article considers age and gender differences in the probability and consequences of job mobility in Russia. Little is known about who is mobile and whether mobility impacts wages once the characteristics of movers are controlled for. Results show a gender difference in the likelihood of exit but not promotion. Results also show that promotions have a positive effect only on the wages of young women, but young men's wages are not affected. Further, young men see a significant decrease in wages following an exit, while young women are not affected by firm exit. The article shows that early mobility is particularly important for women, who earn less overall. Results help to understand processes of inequality in wages and conditions that occur due to sorting, and the importance of promotions as ‘life chances’ which lead to ‘career-track jobs’. Gender differences in securing such life chances may help to understand gaps in earnings, which emerge later.     

新形势下加快推进河北省民营经济高质量发展的路径选择--基于俄罗斯中小企业发展的得失分析

当前,大众创业、万众创新已是时代最强音,论文通过对俄罗斯政府推进中小企业发展相关做法的得失进行评析,提出河北发展民营经济的路径和方法,力求为河北省民营企业高质量发展提供有益借鉴。     

The gap not only closes: Resistance and reverse shifts in the digital divide in Russia

The reduction of the digital divide due to the availability of the Internet and the improvement of skills is accompanied by reverse and resistance trends associated with the influence of socio-demographic and economic characteristics of users. In this paper, we estimate the volume and dynamics of the digital divide in access and use of the Internet in Russia by key social groups according to a longitudinal survey for 2008–2018. We found that along with the reducing of the digital divide, its gaps still remain. The greatest polarization is associated with the income, age, and type of residence of the respondents. The most vulnerable social groups on access to ICTs and Internet use are the low-income, the elderly, citizens with disabilities, and those living in rural areas. The reverse shifts in the digital divide were recorded mainly in relation to the Internet usage by age between the middle-age and youth and by gender. In addition, we pointed out the most resistance social groups to reduce the digital divide in the period under review, in particular, by income and type of residence of the respondents. The findings contribute to an understanding of the dynamics and social consequences of the digital divide and can be taken into account in social policy and measures.     

Introduction to symposium: Smallholders in communist and postcommunist societies

The primary contributions of smallholders during the communist and early postcommunist periods have been food production and labour for large farms. Those conditions are changing, however, as modern farms require less labour and food supply may be imported. For most smallholders in Central and Eastern European and former Soviet Union countries, the postcommunist neoliberal environment has not brought significant improvement, and strong arguments can be made that land grabbing, social and economic exclusion, and rural poverty are worse than regime bias during the communist period. Cooperatives, which have empowered smallholders in other parts of the world, have not been as well developed in postcommunist nations.     

俄罗斯国家经济安全对中俄经贸合作的影响

20世纪以来,俄罗斯经历了乌克兰危机、西方经济制裁、国际油价下跌等外部因素的冲击,经济安全遭受严重威胁,在此背景下的俄罗斯政治经济战略势必波及中俄经贸合作,进而影响丝绸之路经济带建设。本文从贸易合作和对外直接投资合作方面,基于计量模型剖析俄罗斯国家经济安全对中俄经贸合作的影响过程及关联因素。研究表明俄罗斯国家经济安全危机提升了中国在俄贸易伙伴国中的地位,促使俄与中国产能合作的意愿强烈,直接投资和产能合作逐渐成为推动中俄经贸合作向纵深发展的强劲动力;俄罗斯国家经济安全危机对中俄罗贸易有显著负向影响,中俄政治关系对贸易合作有显著正向影响。这是提高中国对俄罗斯投资、提升高新技术产品在俄罗斯进口比重的机遇期,亦是推进丝绸之路经济带的重要机遇期。经济强势崛起的俄罗斯和经济体系全面崩溃的俄罗斯对丝绸之路经济带的推进均有重要影响,在与其发展战略协作伙伴关系过程中,中国恰到好处地拿捏平衡其中的大国利益边界至关重要。     

俄罗斯“博物馆保护区”的发展、特征及其启示

俄罗斯博物馆保护区兼顾有形与无形文化遗产保护的综合管理，关注人文环境与自然环境的整体保护问题。通过对俄罗斯文化遗产保护体系的梳理，基于博物馆保护区在俄罗斯文化遗产保护体系中的地位，对俄罗斯博物馆保护区的基本概念、分布特征、保护区划和基本分类等内容进行研究。最后，从整合机制和管理机构设置两方面分析中国历史文化街区保护存在的问题，提出作为文化机构的博物馆保护区制度，将为完善中国历史文化街区的保护制度提供必要的借鉴和启示。     

油气产量略有增长 未来发展面临严峻挑战--2019年俄罗斯油气工业综述

2019年,俄罗斯油气工业发展基本平稳,原油产量为5.60亿吨,比上年增长0.8%;原油一次加工量为2.85亿吨,比上年减少0.4%,出口量为2.68亿吨,比上年增加2.8%。天然气产量为7376亿立方米,比上年增加1.7%;天然气出口量为2199亿立方米,比上年减少0.3%;LNG产量和出口量分别达到2950万吨和2900万吨,较2018年分别增长47.4%和76.2%;天然气出口管道建设取得突破,中俄东线天然气管道和土耳其流天然气管道建成投产,实现出口供气。俄政府批准新版的《俄罗斯能源安全论》,明确了能源安全的目的、原则及重点方向与任务;批准车用天然气燃料市场发展规划,加快推动俄国内车用天然气燃料市场发展;通过《俄罗斯2035年能源发展战略》,明确了俄能源战略的5个关键目标。     

Estimating and interpreting internal migration flows in Russia by accounting for network effects

The present article follows two objectives. First, to apply a recently developed spatial interaction model and discuss its power in explaining social developments. Second, to obtain information on internal migration's determinants in Russia by taking into account that its eastern and western regions differ in many respects. Two alternative panel specifications are considered, labelled “spatial interaction specification with exogenous spatial lags” and “gravity-type specification with network effects”. While both specifications are designed to capture the impacts of neighbouring regions in migration dynamics, they differ with respect to the implementation of fixed effects. It is argued that neighbourhood impacts manifest themselves either as spillover effects, which amplify a variable's impact, or competition effects, which attenuate them. The results show that variables indeed differ from each other in these respects, demonstrating how migration patterns are subject to events beyond the directly involved regions, and that these are furthermore influenced by the distances between regions. In addition, the results provide further evidence that migration determinants differ for Eastern and Western Russia.     

Ecological tourism in the state image policy structure. Experience and problems of modern Russia

The article deals with the problems of ecological tourism in Russia. The authors give various approaches to the understanding of ecological tourism in modern science, analyse the reasons of interest in this kind of tourism, consider its types and identify specific features. The article provides an overview of the main regions and countries where ecological tourism is developed at a high level and considers some national policy models in the field of ecological tourism. Specific attention is paid to the analysis of the development of ecological tourism in Russia and its current status; the examples of different programmes aiming at support of ecological tourism are given. Specific impetus is given to Russia's resources for the development of ecological tourism, for example, natural landscapes, national parks and nature heritage sites. The authors explore the main challenges to ecological tourism in Russia, identify factors that hinder its development and suggest measures to improve the ecological tourism in the Russian Federation. The authors focus on the projects that promote the improvement of Russia's image as an eco-touristic destination. The authors pay specific attention to the analysis of international cooperation in this field. The article discusses various projects carried out within the framework of bilateral cooperation. The article discusses the role of ecological tourism as a tool for image policy. The article analyses in detail which elements of the Russian image are under the influence of ecological tourism and what are the future prospects of ecological tourism.