We kindly inform you that, as long as the subject affiliation of our 300.000+ articles is in progress, you might get unsufficient or no results on your third level or second level search. In this case, please broaden your search criteria.
The processes occurring in the world politics of the first half of the 20th century, which were the result of the First World War serious consequences, were reflected in Transcaucasia, including Georgia. Even in the course of peace conference new tendencies were outlined in Batumi. The imperialistic policy of Turkey became unacceptable for Germany. Such changes in foreign policy of Germany had been caused by the fact that Georgia carried out the function of the bridge between Europe and Asia.on June 4, 1918 an agreement on peace and cooperation was signed between the governments of the Democratic Republic of Georgia and the Ottoman Empire in Batumi In it the Georgian-Turkish border was determined in accordance with the state borders existing before the Russo-Turkish war in 1828-1929. The Turkish government took the advantage over the hard political situation in Europe caused by World War I and having violated the international Law and the Brest-Lithuanian Treaty taxed Georgia with hard conditions. As a result 9500 sg.m. of the area with 350 000 population was cut off the entire territory.With the assistance of the German government Georgia achieved its way in the results of the Batumi conference to be reconsidered. However, the conference was finally never held. The reason was the defeat of Germany and its alliance. The Turkish government well knew that on the coming place conference its territorial claims would appear inconsistent and it would have to cede most of its occupied territories.Consequently it applied to certain diplomatic methods. Namely, in order to make the union of Batumi-Karsy-Artaani regions a legal document, the Turkish government decided to hold a referendum in these regions.The referendum was held but with significant violations. According to the data of the Turkish side 83 thousand people voted in their favor but only 2 thousand-against them. On the other hand, according to the data of the Bolshevik press of that periods, 11 thousand people participated in the referendum, out of which 8500 voted in favor of the Turkish government.Today it is difficult to trust either of these data but one is clear – neither of them expressed the will of the population or the real situation.
More...
The US - Turkish relations are more important, more difficult and simultaneously less predictable in the modern stage than before. Today the relationship between the two countries is characterized by prevailing uncertainty, which is caused by the following circumstances:1.the political views of Turkey-the USA on the ways and methods of such conflict resolutions as, for example, the Cypriot conflict, or contradictions existing between Greece - Turkey and Turkey – Armenia;2. Turkey has shown that it will not support the US on the issue with Syria, as well as the war in Iraq and the Kurdish conflict;3. Turkey tries to implement a foreign policy independent fromWashington.Nevertheless, the interests of the United States and Turkey are very close to each other or just coincide. Geenerally, the Turkish-US cooperation is based on the following:1. It should become the force restraining Russian and Iranian geopolitical ambitions in the region, what is unanimously recognized by the Turkish elite;2. Ankara is interested in participating in the development of European Defence System.It strives to become a full-fledged member of the EU and it is greatly supported by the US;3. The US-made weapon comprises 80 percent of Turkey's military arsenal, what indicates to a close cooperation of these countries in this field;4. By cooperating with America Turkey tries to ensure successful implementation of such big projects as "Baku-Ceyhan", at the same time it strives to increase its influence on the region between the Black Sea and the Caspian Sea, which is quiet rich with energy deposits;5. Turkey is ready to install the US missile defense system on its territory, as it will not only provide additional resources in the country and increase its military security, but also strengthen its importance in the region.Assessing Turkish-American relations, it is better to mention the term "strategic partnership". For example, since 2002 Turkey has been trying to conduct "zero problem with neighbors" policy and in this context it took steps of friendship and economic cooperation towards Syria and Iran, to which America is not so well-disposed.These steps do not exclude a strategic partnership, but in 2003 Turkey did not allow the US armed forces to use the Turkish military bases for Iraqi warfare, which is essentially contradicting the basic principle of "strategic partnership".After this fact, Americans did not mention the "strategic partnership" for a long time. And after the warming of relations, American politicians started using this term again. On November 5, 2007 during the visit of the Prime Minister of Turkey Recep Tayyip Erdogan in the US, the President of America George Walker Bush mentioned this term again.However, an attempted coup d'etat,committed on 15 July 2016 in Turkey, caused the period of uncertainty between the two countries.In general, it is interesting to observe how the current policy of Turkey is reflected on the relations with the US. Erdogan's foreign policy almost questioned the issue of partnership between Turkey and the United States.And nowadays, when the relations with Russia have almost been regulated, Turkish policy towards Russia is largely dependent on the cooperation the United States will have with Ankara. We consider that stable relations with the US will not cause Turkey the desire to seek such an ally as Russia.On the issue of the Middle East, regarding to the Syrian problem, Turkey has become an involuntary participant of the big countries - on the one hand, the United States, and on the other hand, Russia. After the US recent bombardment in Syria the positions of Turkey tend toward the US.In this case, we could say, Turkey fixes an indecisive position. However, in the Syrian war, due to the problem with the Kurds, Turkey has its own interests, which are the part of the Ankara new course.Turkey could not manage to gather Turkish-speaking countries around it and head them; it also failed neither tobe the leader of the Islamic world, nor to accelerate the adoption to the EU. Nevertheless, it coulduse the problem of refugees in relations with the European Union, but there is still a lot to do and not everything is clear.If Turkey aims to become a country of "the first world economy" and liberal democracy, it should strengthen ties with the US, which would partly demand to alter its foreign policy priorities and to keep some distance from the Muslim world.
More...
After the end of the Cold War, within the the new international order, Turkey has chosen a joint move with America. Moreover, there was no anymore such a dangerous force like the Soviet Union. In the process of globalization the balance of economical and political partnership with US and the European Union became a necessary condition, in order to maintain the competitiveness. Thus, in order to get closer to the West, Turkey has come to the need to transform its own internal and external system.If in 90’s of XX century the relations between Turkey and America continued within the framework of a common strategic partnership, after the event of 11th September 2001, this relationship developed in to the fight against international terrorism and the strengthening of democratic ideas. It should be noted that during this period, this relationship was asymmetrical. The term "asymmetric" implies a two-sided concept of relations. An excellent example of political asymmetry is Turkish-American relations. Since Turkey is asymmetric for America, America is asymmetric as well for Turkey.An important element of the foreign policy of the Republic of Turkey is stability in relations with America. The guarantees offered by the United States of America, which affecting the course and the rhythm of Turkey's foreign and domestic policies, are crucial for the country. The interest and desire of the Republic of Turkey to participate in the international system as an active world power is directly proportional to the attitude of the United States. In addition, Turkey's strategic position provides perspectives for meeting these requirements.Turkey and USA has common or personal interests in the many regions of the world. For both country, depending on their own interests, priority is to provide peace and stability in the region. for example Turkey and USA has common mission to solve in Caucasus Region the key conflicts in a peaceful way, provision of territorial integrity in the countries of the region and deterrent of Russia as aggressor, because there is common interests for oil extraction and its transportation. Of course, the different opinions in this kind of issues are inevitable, but to accomplish and reach common goals by the method of mutual understanding gives ability to make other agreements easier in future . In spite of periodical disagreements, key issues such as Iraq, Caucasus, Afghanistan, Middle East and other conflicts, both countries have a vital potential. This great potential determines the clear perspectives of common partnership on their path of future relation between Turkey and the United States.
More...
The article addresses some aspects of the organization of German espionage in the Grand Duchy of Finland (1915–1916). The author substantiates the hypothesis about the insignificant role of Sweden in Germany’s intelligence plans. The use of unpublished documents from Russian archives enables to further detail and develop the ideas about German-Swedish espionage that already exist in Finnish and Russian historiography. It is concluded that there were a number of factors that hindered the effectiveness of the Northern Front counterintelligence struggle against German agents in Finland. The most serious obstacles included the forced reorganization of the Finnish police (its renewal with radical national cadres), the lack of real intelligence capabilities of the counterintelligence of the 6th Army, the use of most secret officers of the counterintelligence department in the Finnish region for other purposes (to track revolutionary sentiments in the Baltic Fleet). The analysis of these factors led to the conclusion that the military and political special services were unable to foresee and prevent the difficulties that had arisen in the fight against a more experienced and pragmatic enemy, and to inflict an adequate counterstrike.
More...
The Revolution in February of 1917 gave an opportunity to fulfill the long-standing request of the Russian Orthodox Church for independence from the state. Cultural, church and public figures started a discussion about the new status of the church and models of interaction between the church and the authorities, which revealed the readiness of the enlightened circles of Russian society for the separation of church and state. The objective of the article was to analyze all the models of church-state relations proposed in the first half of 1917 and to track the evolution of the request. The purpose of the article was to answer the question, what models of church-state relations were presented in the first half of the year, and how the emphases and priorities were set. The answer would help to suggest that the decree of the Council of People’s Commissars on the separation of church and state and the separation of school and church (1918) only consolidated the internal readiness of many people to make religion a private matter of citizens, with the Orthodox Church being only one of public organizations. Today, it is important to restore religious consciousness in society as a guarantor of social stability, morality and traditional ethics, so, there is a search for mechanisms of interaction between the church and state structures. This indicates the need to address the question of what contributed to the destruction of the church-state union that existed before 1917. The sources were books and articles of cultural, public and church figures published in the first half of the XX century. The study methodology included the problem-based chronological method, the genetic historical method and narrative analysis. The analysis of the content of the proposed church-state interaction models in republican Russia of 1917 showed that from March to June the theocratic model of the early century disappeared from public view. It also confirmed that during the discussion the request for church independence was replaced with the idea of the complete separation of church and state with the gradual expulsion of church beyond cultural and social boundaries
More...
The text is devoted to the choice of the paradigm of discussion on the right of Poland to obtain compensation from Germany in connection with the Second World War. In the opinion of the author the main failure of the hitherto discussion on the rights of Poland vis-a-vis Germany is a very infrequent reference to the rules on state responsibility. They are simple and lead to a very simple conclusion – namely the obligation of international law to pay a compensation which would wipe out all the consequences of the breach of international law. The author analyses in more detail the influence of the Potsdam Agreement and the 1953 declaration of the government of the Polish People’s Republic. In his opinion the Potsdam Agreement had no adverse effect on the scope of the Polish rights. While it is impossible to deny such an influence of the 1953 declaration, the author shows that even on a very wide interpretation it cannot be seen as a definitive end of all rights of Poland. The main message is that it is the set of psychological errors on the Polish side which make the discussion on the Polish rights so difficult and unfruitful.
More...
The article gives an overview of relations between Ukraine and countries of the Balkan region from the early 1990s to present day with a focus on the former Yugoslav republics. The level of intensity and substance of Ukraine-Balkans (ex-Yugoslavia) relationship varied during this period. Ukraine’s activity in the region reached its peak with direct military-political support provided to Macedonia during the Macedonian-Albanian armed conflict in 2001. Since then, the Balkans has never been a priority for Ukrainian authorities. However, the Balkans, especially the countries of ex-Yugoslavia, is an important region for Ukraine as a source of experience in ending armed conflicts and successful Euro- and Euro-Atlantic integration.
More...
Review of: Andrzej Kastory - Andrzej Mania, Department of State i Foreign Service w polityce zagranicznej USA w latach gorącej i zimnej wojny 1939–1989, Kraków 2019, Wydawnictwo Uniwersytetu Jagiellońskiego, ss. 763 Paweł Perzyna - Jerzy Bednarek, Wokół pamięci i historii. Działalność archiwalna Instytutu Pamięci Narodowej w latach 2000–2016, Warszawa 2021, Instytut Pamięci Narodowej, ss. 342
More...
The article presents the image of Stefan Bogoridi (1775–1859), which Christine M. Philliou builds in monograph “Biography of an Empire. Governing Ottomans in an Age of Revolution”. A little-known study in Bulgarian historiography. The sources used by the author are considered, as well as the theses, protected by her about the personality of the Bulgarian, who has risen to the rank of High Turkish Dignitary. In the article is paid special attention to discovered by Philliou coded documents written by Bogoridi in the early 1850s.
More...
General Ion Mihai Pacepa, the operative chief of the Romanian Intelligence, vanished in the evening of 28 July 1978 from a hotel in Köln. A few days later, the west german press announced that the general had been taken over by the CIA for which he had worked for several years and was taken in to the United States where he was offered political asylum. This article reproduces the only two existing transcripts of discussion at the level of Communist leadership regarding Pacepa’s case on 14 and 16 August 1978. The 14 August transcript contains the assurances provided by the American government that they will not use Pacepa case in a mediatic campaign against Romania and President Ceauşescu. The article presents Pacepa’s case evolution, Nicolae Ceauşescu’s first reactions, the Romanian-American talks in August-December 1978 on the matter. In 1987, the American government broke the agreement and allowed Pacepa to get involved in the mediatic campaign against Romania. The author presents the context of this decision and what justified it.
More...
Middle Ages was par excellence the religious man's age, the individual relating to the religious community to which he belonged. Relations between different faith communities in a state were governed by political power in the interests of time. In case of Moldavia, the Reign defeated the Orthodox Church of a majority, establishing tolerance relations between subjects of different religions/confessionals. In the sixteenth century, following changes in perception, the high clergy could influence an intolerant attitude towards non-Orthodox.
More...
List of publications on Wadowice and the surrounding area, which appeared in 2017.
More...
In the nineties of the 20th century, the relations between the Polish People’s Republic and the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea were visibly intensifying. One of the evident levels of this intensification were inter-party relations. The objective of this article is to discuss the nature and main areas in which the Polish United Workers’ Party and the Workers’ Party of Korea maintained contact and organised visits in their countries in 1980–1989.
More...
The presence of the Bulgarian authorities in Vardar Macedonia during the Second World War impresses with the scale of its financial and social framework. Data on its short existence and form of establishment do not prove to be decisive for imposing restrictions and socioeconomic constraints on the local population. The Bulgarian state did not spare resources and potential for the economic and overall social development of the district, on the contrary, this turned out to be an argument in the possible future talks about the fate of the district within the boundaries of Bulgaria. The huge investments made by the state were aimed at trying to help the local population adapt to the life of Bulgaria – the country which they perceived as their homeland.
More...
The presence of the Bulgarian authorities in Vardar Macedonia during the Second World War impresses with the scale of its financial and social framework. Data on its short existence and form of establishment do not prove to be decisive for imposing restrictions and socioeconomic constraints on the local population. The Bulgarian state did not spare resources and potential for the economic and overall social development of the district, on the contrary, this turned out to be an argument in the possible future talks about the fate of the district within the boundaries of Bulgaria. The huge investments made by the state were aimed at trying to help the local population adapt to the life of Bulgaria – the country which they perceived as their homeland.
More...
The relevance of the study is dictated by the intensification of relations between the Russian Federation and Asian countries. Vietnam in this context is one of the positive examples of bilateral cooperation. Vietnamese school history books, popular science publications, comics and video materials are used as research sources. Methodologically, the study is carried out within the framework of the concept of sociocultural interaction between the two states. For the Vietnamese authors, the continuity of key state officials and Russia’s historical eras is important. In school textbooks, comics and videos, one can trace the unity of perception of Russia through evaluating Ivan IV, Peter the Great, Catherine II, Vladimir Lenin and Vladimir Putin (representing modern Russia) as the organizers of a strong state. For the authors of comics, it becomes mandatory to illustrate Russia’s policy in the Far East: Peter the Great’s advance to Kamchatka, trade with China, the development of Siberia by Catherine II, the expansion of the territory of the Russian Empire to Alaska, the organization of a trading mission to Japan. Promoting a positive image of Russia in Vietnam, in particular through the image of Peter the Great, is productive and can bring positive results for the bilateral relations. This is an important and time-consuming process in the era of information pressure on people, when positive images are used for various purposes
More...
From eight travel journals that were written between 1880 și 1940 we chose only six, which, in our opinion, can offer relevant information concerning the mentalities and how was understood and presented in that time Romanian and Serbian nations within Romanian and Serbian mentalities. Each book represent itself a historic and cultural micro‐monograph between 1880 and 1940. The manner in which these are presented in Romanian sociographs is quite different but, the conclusions are somehow a real fondness . We can observe a Romanian admiration about the Serbian endless struggle against Ottoman Empire and after during the First World War. The Romanian authors constantly remember the ancient historic, cultural and political ties between Serbs and Romanian. Concerning the Serbs image within Romanian mentalitaty ascertain that Serbs nation is presented in a favorable light if we think at the end of XIX and the beginning of XXth century and these perception hasn’t anything to do the authors only with the political, religious and social realities of the time. The negative image of Romanian people into Serbian mentality is doubled even by their custom and traditions especially underlined by some authors . Concerning these Serbian attitude on Romanian population from Timok region we can say that underline the ticklish and never solved problem of the ethnic and religious minorities civil rights in Serbia before and after the Versailles and even Moscow politic and diplomatic treaties.
More...
The publication is a collection of previously unpublished reports from Russian military agents in the Balkans, dedicated to the problem of Bulgarian-Turkish cooperation between the Balkan wars and the First World War. In the published array of sources, two main storylines can be distinguished. The first concerns information about the political rapprochement between Bulgaria and Turkey and the negotiations between them on the conclusion of a secret military convention directed against Greece and Serbia. The second block of questions concerns cooperation between the Internal Revolutionary Macedonian-Adrianople Organization (IMARO) and the Young Turks’ leadership in organizing sabotage and chetnik attacks on the Greek and Serbian territory of Macedonia. The cited material demonstrates, on the whole, the high efficiency of Russian intelligence, which managed to catch the vector of Bulgarian-Turkish interaction and supply the Foreign Policy Department in St. Petersburg with valuable information obtained through intelligence. The Russian authorities were informed about the main stages of the Bulgarian- Turkish negotiation process, as well as about the eventual plans of Bulgaria and Turkey regarding the revision of the Bucharest Treaty. The published documents allow us to conclude that, despite the presence of tangible contradictions between Sofia and Constantinople, the negotiations between them in 1913-1914 paved the way that led to the signing in August 1914 of the Bulgarian-Turkish Union Treaty, which hastened Turkey’s entry into the World War and securely fastened Bulgaria to the camp of the Triple Alliance powers.
More...