Abstract: The subject of this article is the activity of ethnic entrepreneurs in the capital city of the Republic of Kalmykia – Elista. Based on the data analysis of sociological survey, the author examines the process of formation of the ethnic sectors of urban economy. Particular attention is paid to the entrepreneurial activity among the representatives of ethnic groups, who immigrated to Russia. Their citizenship is not taken into account, emphasis is made on the ethnic and cultural values, i.e. not demarcating the concepts of ethnic affiliation and civic identity. For achieving the set goal, the author conducted an expert survey among the individuals engaged in entrepreneurial activity in the city of Elista. The following conclusions are made: 1) entrepreneurs from among the migrants enter the new market, filling the non-demand niches in the economy, forming ethnic sectors that differ from other communities; 2) examination of the problem allows classifying the ethnic entrepreneurship into business conducted by the ethnic minority, and entrepreneurship based on the peculiarities of national cultures.

Keywords: Republic of Kalmykia, immigrants, migrants, ethnic sectors, urban economy, ethnic identity, ethnic entrepreneurship, historical continuity, South of Russia, migrant entrepreneurs

Abstract: The subject of this research is the concept of social destruction viewed in the sociocultural aspect. During the course of this research, the author reveals the essence of social destruction and autodestruction, analyzes its forms, as well as determines the peculiarities of its manifestation in modern Russian society. Particular attention is given to the non-sexual necrophilia as the desire towards the destruction of everything living, which today’s society becomes one of the ways of self-realization and resolution of controversies. It is defined that destructive activity increases during the crisis periods, when the society loses government control, life-purpose guidelines, and sense of unity. The author provides an original understanding of destruction and determines the sources of its formation. Sociocultural approach allowed determining the essence of the problem of phenomenon of social destruction in modern society, as well as clarify the connection between the sustainable and variable in personality, culture, and society. The scientific novelty consists in revelation of the new form of destructions inherent to the modern society, such as cyber addiction, gambling, mobbing, and trolling. The conclusion is made that destruction attains new forms and scales, begins threaten the existence of human, society and Russian integrity, and thus, the solution of this issue requires efforts of all members of the society.

Keywords: Biophilia, Transformation processes, Necrophilia, Malignant aggression, Immanence of the destructive beginning, Quasi-demands, Autodestruction, Destructive actions, Aggression, Social destruction

Abstract: This article examines the question of origin and nature of sovereignty in the historical and culturological aspects. The common interpretations that connect power with the balance of interests (representativeness is its particular case) are complemented by the outlook upon authority, which originates from its initial functions. Those are justified by cultivating the specific state (pathos).  In this connection power is being defined through the two fundamental and at the same time contradictory tasks: initiation of the specific elevation (revival) that affects the elites, and regulation of activity of the rest of the community. The method of this research is predominantly based on the impartial pursuit of the fact, presented by anthropology and ethnology. On this path, a number of circumstances, in essence ignored by the political science (for example the “sacred nature” of power) attain new interpretation. The scientific novelty consists in the reconceptualization of the established ideas that define power as a organizer of “zero game”, which regulates collisions and the opposing interests of states, groups and individuals, or coordinator who pursues the shared benefits.

Keywords: Balance of interests, Dominating systems, Public agreement, Invisible reality, Mobilization, Human nature, Reflective reactions, Sewer of aggressiveness, Sacred insanity, Initiation

Abstract: The subject under research is the mental representations, evaluations and stereotypes constituting the general image of the ethnic Other in public consciousness. This image is reconstructed through successive fragmentation and description of semantic interactions between attributes relevant to different social roles that may be performed by a representative of the other ethnicity; discovery of the latent factors conditioning the perception of different ethnic images; construction of semantic spaces visualizing categorical structures of the consciousness/ mentality of social groups of different gender, age and region of residence. With the help of the psychosemantic questionnaire developed on the basis of a modifi ed variant of the multiple identifi cation method, semantic differential and repertory grids, 240 people living in the four regions of Russia (the Altai Krai, Omsk Region, Krasnoyarsk Krai and Altai Republic). The role positions included: a signifi cant other of another nationality (a fried or a family member), a representative of another nationality that was born and has been living in the region all this time, a person of another nationality who had to come from another county (a refugee), a foreigner who came to work legally or illegally (a migrant worker), a representative of another nationality who came for educational or cultural purposes (a student, a tourist or a trainee). The reference category was the ‘native resident of Russia’. The received data was evaluated according to the bipolar scales. After that data was analyzed by the means of the variance, correlation, factor and cluster analysis. The results of the research have shown that the image of the ethnic ‘other’ in the Russian mentality consisted mostly of the negative stereotypes projected on representatives of other nationalities. The content of these stereotypes related to, fi rst of all, evaluation of the potential risk and the threat to national security, ethnic confl icts and tension, social inequality and low cultural or intellectual level. The infl uence of these stereotypes is less in close interpersonal relations and is more for a lower social status of illegal immigrants. Self-perception of Russian citizens is rather contradictory. On one hand, native residents of Russia are viewed paternalistically and from the position of their national uniqueness and superiority. On the other hand, they demonstrate a low self-esteem which is usually caused by the low standard of their living and legal and moral disadvantages. Despite general semantic perception mechanisms, regional mentalities are signifi cantly differentiated which is refl ected in social images and stereotypes demonstrated by local residents.

Keywords: International interaction, public consciousness, mental representations, ethnic stereotypes, nationalism, migration, psychosemantics, image of the ethnic other, national consciousness, national security.

Abstract: The author of the article attempts to create a broader view on global phenomena and global problems first of all by extending the spatial and time boundaries of their ‘traditional’ analysis. In this regard, the author uses the definition of means of interaction between nature and society (or ‘mean of socio-natural interaction’) for understanding the nature of these global processes. Noteworthy that a number of global processes, for example, global displacement of population and globalization, has deep information– and innovation-based causes. Global problems (or their previous analogues) foresee and accompany all radical transformations in human history. They arise when there are fundamental contradictions in existence and evolution of homo sapiens which creates a shift to the mean of socio-natural interaction and therefore changes the being of the social stage of evolution. Based on examples from the history and the past, the author of the article describes particular analogues with the modern global situation when particular (mostly socio-cultural) global development processes create global contradictions and all kinds of universal problems. Solution of the latter generate new global processes.

Keywords: globalization, global studies, global researches, global displacement of population, global processes, information causality, Neolithic Revolution, interaction between society and nature, evolutionary global studies.

Abstract: The article analyzes the main methodological, discursive and ideological issues existing in modern sociological researches of ethnogenesis. Describing the history of sociological interest towards ethnogenesis issues including Post- Modern methodological shift, the author underlines the need in deideologization of ethnosocial researches. Post-modern ideologization shows itself in the influence of political correctness on all levels of social research, from choosing the topic of research to the ‘correct’ formulation of conclusions. The other side of formation of the ideological standard in ethnosocial researches is the general Post-Modern critics underlying that ‘objective’ researches are impossible because existing terminology reflects the dominance of the political dominating group over discriminated ethnic groups. From the point of view of the Post-Modern discourse, ethnogenesis is the term loaded with discursive-conceptual and axiological value and different ethnosocial mythologems. Without deideologization of social discourse, methodological framework of theoretical assumptions, hypothesis and researches of ethnogenesis will never expand.

Keywords: ethnogenesis, methodology, ethnicity, identity, ideology, post-modernism, ethnosociology, ethnos, political correctness, mythologem.

Abstract: The author of the article analyzes the influence of the ideology formatting a Soviet person on ongoing ethno-social processes in the Soviet Union. The author stresses out the importance of the Soviet nature as an institutional framework for establishing ethics. By applying the neo-institutional methods, the author underlines that the Soviet identification was used by individuals with a marginal ethic status. Close institutional relation between the Soviet nature and Russian language and identity was one of the reasons of derusification of the post-Soviet ethno-social space.

Keywords: social studies, ethnicity, Soviet nature, institutions, ethno-genesis, conflict, nationality, ideology, ethnos, policy.

Abstract: Historical sources as well as new home and foreign science invistigations allow to assert that “varangian prince” Jakun of Russian chronicle of 1024 is identical with Norvegian Håkon Jarl Eiriksson. And he is really the brother of African - the father of “varangian prince” Šimon who emigrated in 1027 from Scandinavia to Rus’. These conclusions are unique in view of harmonizing of ancient Russian and Scandinavian historical sources.

Keywords: Varangians/vikings in Rus’. Jakun the Blind. Håkon Jarl Eiriksson. Šimon Afrikanovich.

Abstract: The article is devoted to the phenomenon of power from the point of view of its infl uence on inhuman nature. The power hasn’t been viewed from the point of view before; the author of the article also describes the types of the ‘inhuman’. The inhuman is represented from the point of view of existentialism and symbolic structure as well as through the image of metaphysical clock of the European culture. The author of the article successively studies the facts of culture and patters of the inhuman during the epoch of desacralization of power when the sacral is linked with the secular so tightly that it becomes one whole phenomenon. The author studies the ‘golden proportion’ of human and inhuman features in the fi gure of the ruler and underlines the importance of the inhuman areola of relations of power. In the course of discussion it becomes clear that the inhuman factor goes far beyond the sphere of power. The inhuman totally infl uences our whole life.

Keywords: political science, inhuman, metaphysics of power, fi gure of the ruler, sacral and secular, more than human, non-anthropomorphic, oprichnina, semiotics of death, objectivation.

Abstract: The researches and the fans of Russian history know that according to the document of old times, the so-called “Varangian konung Yakun”, who was in 1024 called by Yaroslav the Wise “from over the sea” in order to help against Mstislav of Tmutarakan. Yakun and his people came, but during the fight at Listvyana, Yaroslav and Yakun were defeated and run. This problem is the key subject of this article by G.M. Velyaminov. Keywords: history, anthropology, Varangians, Russia, Russian history

Abstract: The Russian culture once again stands on the crossroads. The situation is somewhat like both the second half of the last century. The author of this article write: “I am trying to obey the law and to take part in the political life “for the public good”, as I understand it. At the dawn of the Perestroika I accepted the idea of “building a jural and democratic society” with the market and social aims. However, now after many years of reforms, I am at confused, and the reasons are the following”…

Abstract: Institituion of knowing persons in the criminal judicial proceedings in Russia have been developing since XI century and gained much detalization. In this article, the author reviews its evolution up to 1917.

Abstract: This article was written by V.S. Nersesyants in 1973, and he sent it to the “Chess” journal in the Baltic Republics, however, the journal refused to take the article. Later on the author had a number of opportunities to publish the article, which was in the form of a phylosophical essay, however, he preferred not to do it…

Abstract: Prohibition of discrimination (also known as a principle of non-discrimination) is undoubtedly an integral part of legal regulation and protection of human rights of any individual. This article contains analysis of development of this principle, of various universal and regional sources, clarifies the definition of discrimination, classification of objects and subjects of regulation. The author also includes the stuyd of mechanisms of practical, consultative, mediatory, quasi-judicial, and judicial mechanisms, aimed to apply the provisions of international law on non-discrimination.

Abstract: The publication of the collective monograph, which is reviewed in this article, was quite an event in the modern history and theory of Russian state and law. It’s a fundamental study prepared by a group of renowned legal scholars and Professors, such as B.S. Ebzeev, I.V. Levakin, V.I. Radchenko, S.L. Krasnoryadtsev…

Abstract: This article by S.G. Vereschagin is devoted to the problem of politization of the budget process and interbudgetary relations. As the author notes, the budget sphere is probably one most politicized part of the financial sphere of the state management, so the unsufficiently concidered policy in this sphere may lead to a systemic crisis in Russia.

Abstract: History of Russian legislation on protection and rational use of argicultural lands formed and developed together with the land law itself. As K.H. Ibragimov, doctor of agricultural sciences, notes, the land law of Russia has unique history and its events and phenomena are characteristic only for our country. This article contains brief historical overview of the development of land relations in Russia from the time of the Ancient Russia till the middle of XIX century.

Abstract: This is a verbatim report of the roundtable, devoted to the issues of religious policy of the Russian Federation prior and after the incident at the synagogue at the Bolshaya Bronnaya in Moscow (when A. Koptsev attacked several people at the synagogue with a knife). The roundtable was held by the independent informational and analytical Internet media on religion “Portal-Credo.Ru” together with the Freedom of Conscience Institute, Moscow Bureau on Human Rights and the “Glastnost” Fund on February 10, 2006. Additionally, the roundtable included discussion of xenophobia in Russia and its expressions based on religious parameters.

Abstract: In the totality of negative signs the condition of the social reality in the Russian state may be evaluated as a “social pre-crisis”. Based upon various polls and evaluations up to 80% of the population live in poverty. The volume of social activity of the state shrinks and the basic social right of its people – a right to a deserving life – is violated. As the author notes, this article deals not only with the theoretical issues of social science, but also with the realistic ways to protect the rights of a particular citizen in Russia.

Abstract: At the verge of the XIX and XX centuries there was a number of “religious cases” in Russia. The first such case was a so-called “Pavlovsky sectarians case”, which caused much social resonance in spite of the fact that it was a “closed” judicial process. This case clearly shows the contradictions between the official government and the various religious movements, and it attracted attention of a famous Russian writer Leo Tolstoy. Y.V. Varfolomeev’s article is devoted to the review of the events, which led to to this process, as well as to the history of the judicial process itself. It also includes previously unknown letters by A.Y. Passover to the “young lawyers”, who handled defence in this case.