Soviet and Post-Soviet Studies Commons^™

Human Trafficking, Susan Freese

Human Rights & Human Welfare

Human trafficking is one of the greatest, yet little known problems facing Russia and the former Soviet Republics. The most pertinent aspects of this topic include: who is trafficked, causes of trafficking, and the steps that have been and need to be taken to combat trafficking. Following coverage of the preceding aspects, this bibliography will include a brief section on prominent trafficking in specific countries.

Human Rights In Russia And The Former Soviet Republics: Introduction, Arianna Nowakowski

Human Rights & Human Welfare

Following the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991, a state of political, economic, and social disarray was accompanied by a renewed hope for improved human rights conditions in Russia and the former Soviet Republics. However, transitions toward more democratic forms of governance and market economies have faced many obstacles, and have not necessarily facilitated the protection of such rights. As this eclectic compilation of essays and bibliographies in the current digest reveals, many legacies of Soviet rule persist and continue to plague the region today.

Human Rights And The War On Terror: Complete 2005 - 2007 Topical Research Digest, Jack Donnelly, Simon Amajuru, Susannah Compton, Robin Davey, Syd Dillard, Amanda Donahoe, Charles Hess, Sydney Fisher, Kelley Laird, Victoria Lowdon, Chris Maggard, Alexandra Nichols, Travis Ning, Toni Panetta, Greg Sanders, James Smithwick, Angela Woolliams, Chris Saeger, Sarah Bania-Dobyns, Eric Dibbern, David Gillespie, Latife Bulur, Katie Friesen, Arika Long, Arianna Nowakowski, Joel R. Pruce

Human Rights & Human Welfare

“9/11 changed everything.” Not really. In fact, there has been far more continuity than change over the past six years in both international and domestic politics. Nonetheless, human rights often have been harmed—although not by terrorism but by “the war on terror.”

Political Repression Of Islam, Amy Swift

Human Rights & Human Welfare

Central Asia, once one of the least known regions in the world, has become important to the United States since 9/11, the resulting U.S. invasion of Afghanistan, and the new “War on Terror.” Tajikistan, often considered the poorest and most obscure of the five Central Asian “Stans,” was thrust into the public view when it became useful to the United States in its 2001 invasion of Afghanistan.

Civil Society And Human Rights, Ken Bonneville

Human Rights & Human Welfare

A dynamic civil society is essential to a functioning democracy. After the fall of the Soviet Union there was hope that Russia could create a robust civil society to compliment its burgeoning democracy, but 15 years after the fall neither occurrence appears to be the case. Instead of an open society, Russian civil society faces challenges of oppression, threats of violence, an overbearing bureaucracy, and a constitution open to interpretation. The following research outlines some of the obstacles facing Russia’s civil society and addresses how the government is restricting civil society functions.

Disability Rights, Annika Johnson

Human Rights & Human Welfare

Disability rights are often ignored in discussions of human rights. Recently, however, scholars and activists have begun producing a body of literature on disability rights in Russia and the former Soviet bloc states. Much of the literature focuses on children’s rights with an emphasis on the right to inclusive education. The literature addressing adult issues includes articles considering civil society, civil rights, and community integration. Finally, several articles address the intersection of disability rights with gender rights and ethnic minority rights.

Gender And Human Rights, Lisa Weilminster

Human Rights & Human Welfare

Russia’s historical transition from a communist society to a system of democracy and free market practices has resulted in major social changes affecting the rights of men and women. Analysis of gender and human rights in Russia requires an evaluation of the changing social relations within post-Soviet society, which are shaped by the complex factors of ethnicity, economic class, gender norms, and the role of the state in shaping present gender inequities that hinder the realization of universal human rights. Looking particularly at how gender issues relate to changing identities, employment opportunities, health care and conditions, and public and private …

Violations Of Human Rights In The Russian Military, Cathy Smith

Human Rights & Human Welfare

In 2005, an estimated 450 deaths were caused by injuries due to internal military violence. The degradation inflicted on Russian soldiers within their regime necessitates reformation by the government and implementation of resolutions. Since the collapse of the Soviet Union, the Russian military has been experiencing heightened levels of personnel decline despite the compulsory draft. The prestige that the Soviet Army of the 1950s received through the late 1980s is dwindling rapidly. Despite the military code of conduct, today’s army is afflicted with perpetual violations of human rights. For the future of the Russian military, extensive action must include systemic …

The Roma: During And After Communism, Florinda Lucero, Jill Collum

Human Rights & Human Welfare

The Roma are an interconnected ethnic and cultural group that migrated out of India more than ten centuries ago. In the Czech Republic, they may have been present since the 15th century. Although relations within Czech lands began honorably, they quickly disintegrated into enmity and within a century Czechs could kill the Roma with impunity. Legislation restricting Roma movement came about in 1927 with Law 117: the “Law on Wandering Gypsies,” which stated that the Roma were now required to seek permission to stay overnight in any given location. In the run-up to World War II, parallel restrictions to those …

Totalitarianism: The Case Of Turkmenistan, Hayden Gore

Human Rights & Human Welfare

With the disintegration of the Soviet Union in 1991, Saparmurat Niyazov, the former First Secretary of the Communist Party of Turkmenistan and self-styled “Turkmenbashi” (Father of All Turkmen), became the country’s first president, quickly fashioning Turkmenistan into one of the most repressive regimes in the world. Declared president-for-life after a dubious parliamentary election in which he selected all of the candidates, Niyazov has created a Stalinistic personality cult to glorify his image and to solidify his control over the state. His “reforms” have outlawed political dissent, marginalized ethnic and religious minorities, gutted the public health system, and enforced a campaign …

Ethnic Conflict, Kristina Libby

Human Rights & Human Welfare

Since the fall of the Soviet Union, Russia has experienced high levels of ethnic conflict with regard to exit claims by former satellite states that no longer want to be part of the federation. Exit claims often antagonize the state. However, political leaders of titular ethnicities maximize ethnic revivals to keep traditions alive, and to minimize the amount of exclusion vis-à-vis the center. Massive human rights violations have resulted because of misperceptions between the center and the periphery, especially in Chechnya, the Volga-Ural’s Region and Eastern Siberia.

The Health Crisis In Russia, Christine Danton

Human Rights & Human Welfare

A health crisis has emerged in Russia due to declining health and inadequate health care. The crisis is so severe that the term “disappearing population” has been applied to Russia due to a high death rate, low birth rate, and low life expectancy among its people. These factors continue to worsen due to inefficiency and a lack of resources throughout the health care system. The government has been slow to respond to the current crisis, often ignoring calls to reform the system and sometimes passing inappropriate measures. Non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and medical professionals report there is an urgent need to …

Book Review. Boundary Issues In Central Asia By Necati Polat, Elizabeth Larson Goldberg

Articles by Maurer Faculty

No abstract provided.

United States Military Forces In The Balkans: Ending The Deployment, Ibpp Editor

International Bulletin of Political Psychology

This article explores the political psychological implications of ending the deployment of United States (US) military forces in the Balkans.

Trends. Sending Messages: The Fate Of Slobodan Milosevic, Ibpp Editor

International Bulletin of Political Psychology

As President Vojislav Kostunica continues to attempt to consolidate his political power throughout Yugoslavia, controversy still rages as to the fate of the former president, Slobodan Milosevic. Of special interest is whether he should be forced to stand trial at The Hague as an indicted war criminal.

This article discusses arguments for and against Milosevic standing trial.

Trends. After The Election: Milosevic Myths, Ibpp Editor

International Bulletin of Political Psychology

This article discusses the defeat of Slobodan Milosevic in his re-election attempt in 2000, as well as the subsequent political balance in Yugoslavia.

Uzbekistan: Islam, Communism, And Religious Liberty--An Appraisal Of Uzbekistan's 1998 Law "On Freedom Of Conscience And Religious Organizations", Grant Garrard Beckwith

BYU Law Review

No abstract provided.

Racial Profiling In The Persian Gulf: Ethical, Moral, And Legal Implications, Ibpp Editor

International Bulletin of Political Psychology

This article describes attributions about race and ethnicity that color the discourse on the ethics, morality, and legality of profiling.

Balkanizing The Balkans, Paul L. Atwood

New England Journal of Public Policy

This article seeks to place the North Atlantic Treaty Organization's Kosovo war in the context of the larger issue of NATO expansion. It argues that the question of ethnic cleansing in that province of Serbia was largely exploited by the United States, the creator and most powerful member of the alliance, to break up the former Yugoslavia, to divide it, and to make it more manageable for Western interests. In the guise of stopping Serb repression, NATO seized an opportunity to build more bases throughout southeastern Europe, including those being constructed in NATO's newest member states, Poland, the Czech Republic, …

Religion In Kazakhstan: A General View, Roman Podoprigora

BYU Law Review

No abstract provided.

Reforms In Legislation Governing Judicial Organization In The Soviet Union And In Present-Day Russia: The New Law “On The Status Of Judges In The Russian Federation”, Jason Jeremy Kilborn

Presidential Scholars Theses (1990 – 2006)

Much scholarly work has been done in the area of Soviet-era law and legal procedure, and this paper attempts to make a continuing contribution to that effort in the new era of the Russian Federation. Drawing upon first-hand experience in the Kuibyshevskii court, this paper will attempt to shed some light on the recent reorganization of the judiciary in Russia by revealing and analyzing very recent changes in the new law concerning the status of judges in Russia. Along the way some speculations on the initial and continuing impact of these reforms on Russian criminal justice will be offered as …

Marxism And The Failure Of Environmental Protection In Eastern Europe And The U.S.S.R., Daniel H. Cole

Articles by Maurer Faculty

No abstract provided.

China's Use Of International Law In Border Disputes: The Cases Of India And The Soviet Union, Larry R. Schreiter

IUSTITIA

Despite American "containment" in the fifties and sixties, China was nevertheless a major actor on the international scene. The loci of China's practice of international politics ranged from the Bandung Conference to its ideological foray into European politics following the Hungarian rebellion in 1956. Along with this activism in the international environment, China turned her attention in the late fifties to the question of gaining mutual agreements with her neighbors on the delineation and regulation of the boundaries. This concern brought about some marked changes in bilateral foreign policy, and required dealings of both an ideological as well as technical …

Book Review. Law In The Soviet Society (Wayne R. Lafave, Ed.), Jurij Fedynskyj

Articles by Maurer Faculty

No abstract provided.

Sovietization Of An Occupied Area Through The Medium Of The Courts (Northern Bukovina), Jurij Fedynskyj

Articles by Maurer Faculty

No abstract provided.