The proposed work analyzes a monograph published in 2021 by Evgenii A. Markov, Doctor of Political Sciences, Professor of the Department of Social Communications and Media of Cherepovets State University. In the monograph, he made an attempt to explain the role and importance of the mass media in the communication system "the State – Mass Media – Society." The importance of the work under review lies in a comprehensive insight into the problems of transformation of communicative and informational relations between the state and society as well as factors that influenced the formation of the present-day system of interaction between the authorities and society, which generally allows not only seeing the ongoing political processes in proper perspective but also predicting their further development. The author's research interest has been associated with this problem for quite a while, and he devoted his new work to identifying the origins, traditions, and modern trends that influence the process of communicative interaction between the government institutions, mass media, and society in modern Russia.
Denmark upholds high standards of human rights as long as the interests of its citizens are concerned but erects barriers for migrants of a different cultural background who might threaten the security of the national community. The Danish tradition of liberalism, humanism and the welfare state coexists with one of Europe's most restrictive policies towards third-country immigrants. The article traces the evolution of management approaches to developing the immigration policy and integrating foreign cultural migrants in Denmark. It describes the value determinants of these changes. Using the neo-institutional methodology, the authors analyse the evolution of the value determinants of Denmark's immigration policy and look at the national norms and practices of integrating migrants from a different cultural background. A restrictive immigration policy became possible due to a consensus between the main political forces, the left Social Democratic Party and the right Liberal Party Venstre, both willing to keep in check electoral support for the radical right-wing parties (the effect of 'contagion from the right' in Maurice Duverger's terms). The object of Denmark's restrictive integration policy is migrants from a different cultural background (mainly from Muslim countries). The government takes systematic measures to restrict their access to the country. As to migrant integration, the focus has shifted to 'hard' assimilation of civiс democratic values, benefits linked to employment, and deportation of migrants who have committed crimes.
The purpose of this work is to explore the ways of perception and analysis of geopolitical processes in the Caspian area. At the centre of the analysis is the nature of the intellectual efforts behind knowledge production and representation of the Caspian. This brings our study to the problem of geopolitical positioning of this mesoregion with the prospect of putting forward a new cognitive perspective. The article not only reveals the pernicious nature of the widespread explanatory cliches regarding the Caspian, but tries to answer the question whether it makes sense to talk about a separate Caspian region? If so, in what terms and within what explanatory model can it be explored? Based on the geopolitical significance of the region, this area can be defined as the "Great Caspian", located in the centre of the Eurasian continent. The driving forces behind the formation of the independent significance of this mesoregion are natural resources, trade and transport communications, geopolitical drivers and management of regional conflicts.
The article examines how migration processes to the Far North regions have led to the creation of Islamic communities, Muslim infrastructure and new identities in cities in the regions of the Russian Arctic. The work is based on a number of field studies conducted by the author in 2018, 2019 and 2022 in Russian polar cities, as a result of which valuable empirical materials were obtained. It is important to emphasize that Muslim communities in the cities of the Russian Far North do not give the impression that they are a part of the global Islamic Ummah. Connections with the rest of the Muslim world are limited. This does not mean that the Islamic communities of the Far North are autonomous. As in the Soviet period, control of the state over the religious space is still powerful. The authors show that Muslim communities are gradually adapting religious practices to circumpolar conditions. For many Muslim migrants, it is extremely important to be a part of Islamic networks and communities in order to survive and adapt to new conditions. These studies indicate the plasticity of the emerging identity in the minds of the Muslims in the Arctic. What is new is that the "Northerner" factor occupies a certain place in the scale of identification features of polar Muslims. The analysis shows that integration into the large northern community is a more appropriate concept than extremism or resistance when it comes to Muslims in the Russian Arctic. This is due to the fact that Islamic identity includes a fairly wide range of socially possible practices related to adaptation to northern conditions.
The article analyzes the public political reactions of the leaders of the European Union and the leading political forces of various European states regarding the Russian "Sputnik V" vaccine. The position of key European states in relation to the Russian vaccine are considered. This study is based on open sources and does not provide a comprehensive or complete overview of the available estimates. It focuses mainly on the problems of information support of political decisions regarding Russian means of combating the coronavirus pandemic. The refusal of the European Commission to recognize the Europeans' right to use the Russian "Sputnik V" vaccine suggests that ideological prejudice and protectionism are put ahead of pragmatism and public health.