bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Associations between leaf structure, orientation, and sunlight exposure in five Western Australian communities
Authors: Smith William K. , Bell David T. , Shepherd Kelly A.
Published: April 2006

Five plant communities in Western Australia, as well as selected desert and Rocky Mountain species of the western USA, were surveyed to evaluate associations among leaf structure, orientational properties, and the sunlight exposure and precipitation characteristic of each community. Selected leaf structural features have been associated previously with photosynthetic function and included shape, thickness, the ratio of thickness to width, stomatal distribution, leaf surface coloration, and the number and distribution of palisade cell layers. Decreases in annual precipitation (<4 to over 15 cm/yr) and increases in total daily sunlight (4.2 to 29.2 mol photons/m2) corresponded strongly to an increase in the percentage of species in a given community with more inclined (more inclined than ± 45° from horizontal) or thicker leaf mesophyll (>0.4 mm) leaves. Also, the percentage of species with a leaf thickness to width ratio >0.1, which were amphistomatous, or which had palisade cell layers beneath both leaf surfaces, increased from >20% in the highest rainfall and lowest sunlight community to >80% in the community with least rainfall but greatest sunlight exposure. Over 70% of the species in the most mesic, shaded community had lighter abaxial than adaxial leaf surfaces (leaf bicoloration). All of the above structural features were positively associated with a more inclined leaf orientation (r2 = 0.79), except for leaf bicoloration, which was negatively associated (r2 = 0.75). The ratio of adaxial to abaxial light was more strongly associated with leaf bicoloration (r2 = 0.83) and the presence of multiple adaxial and isobilateral palisade cell layers(r2 = 0.80) than with total incident sunlight on just the adaxial leaf surface (r2 = 0.69 and 0.73, respectively). These results provide field evidence that leaf orientation and structure may have evolved in concert to produce a photosynthetic symmetry in leaf structure in response to the amount of sunlight and other limiting factors of the community. This structural symmetry may serve fundamentally to regulate the distribution of both light and CO2 levels inside the leaf and, thus, increase photosynthetic CO2 uptake per unit leaf biomass.
Efficiency of insect capture by Sarracenia purpurea (Sarraceniaceae), the northern pitcher plant
Authors: Newell Sandra J. , Nastase Anthony J.
Published: April 2006

Pitcher plants (Sarracenia purpurea L.) attract insects to pitchers and then capture them in fluid‐filled, pitfall traps, but how efficient are pitcher plants at capturing prey in their natural environment? We monitored insect activity by videotaping pitchers and analyzing videotapes for several variables including identity of each visitor and outcome of each visit (e.g., departure or capture). Efficiency of capture (i.e., number of captures per number of visits) was low. Overall efficiency of capture was 0.83–0.93%, depending on whether potential prey were broadly or narrowly defined. Ants constituted 74% of the potential prey. Efficiency of capture of ants was even lower at 0.37%. Potential prey were more likely to visit pitchers with greater red venation and less water in the pitcher. There was no correlation between number of potential prey visiting a pitcher and pitcher age, length, or mouth width. Also, number of potential prey visits did not correlate with plant size, air temperature, time of day or date of videotaping. While the overall efficiency of prey capture was very low, pitcher plants may still benefit from the additional nutrients. However, the relationship between ants and S. purpurea remains an enigma, since it is unclear whether the plants capture enough ants to compensate for nectar lost to ants.
Molecular evidence for polyploid origins in Saxifraga (Saxifragaceae): the narrow arctic endemic S. svalbardensis and its widespread allies
Authors: Brochmann Christian , Xiang Qiu‐Yun , Brunsfeld Steven J. , Soltis Douglas E. , Soltis Pamela S.
Published: April 2006

The recently described polyploid Saxifraga svalbardensis is endemic to the arctic archipelago of Svalbard. We investigated relationships among four closely related species of Saxifraga in Svalbard and tested three previously proposed hypotheses for the origin of S. svalbardensis: (1) differentiation from the morphologically and chromosomally variable polyploid S. cernua; (2) hybridization between the diploid S. hyperborea and S. cernua; and (3) hybridization between the tetraploid S. rivularis and S. cernua. Fifteen populations were analyzed using random amplified polymorphic DNAs (RAPDs) and nucleotide sequences of the chloroplast gene matK and the internal transcribed spacers (ITS) of nuclear ribosomal DNA (rDNA). RAPD and matK data suggest that S. svalbardensis has originated from a hybrid with S. rivularis as the maternal parent and S. cernua as the paternal parent, possibly a single time, whereas ITS data could not be used to discriminate among the hypotheses. The data also suggest that the diploid S. hyperborea is a progenitor of the tetraploid S. rivularis. The four populations examined of S. svalbardensis were virtually identical for RAPD and ITS markers, whereas S. cernua showed high levels of variation, suggesting that the latter polyploid either has formed recurrently or has undergone considerable differentiation since its origin.
Morphological variation of henequén (Agave fourcroydes, Agavaceae) germplasm and its wild ancestor (A. angustifolia) under uniform growth conditions: diversity and domestication
Authors: Colunga‐GarcíaMarín Patricia , May‐Pat Filogonio
Published: April 2006

Extant variants of henequén (Agave fourcroydes Lem.) and wild populations of its putative ancestor A. angustifolia Haw. were grown in the Mexican state of Yucatan for 10 yr under homogeneous conditions. A statistical and numerical analysis of their patterns of morphological variation was performed as part of broader research to provide evidence of its genetic diversity, evolutionary relationships and changes under human selection. A comparison with results of a similar analysis under natural growing conditions was also made. The study indicated the following. (1) Under natural growth conditions, the three putative wild ecotypes are morphologically distinct, but under uniform conditions only populations growing in Tropical subdeciduous forest may be distinguished from the other two, thus indicating the probable existence of only two ecotypes: one growing in Coastal dunes and Tropical subdeciduous forest, and the other growing in Tropical deciduous forest. (2) This last ecotype is the most similar to cultivated variants. Within its populations, the most similar to the cultivated is that known as Chelem White, gathered by artisans for its textile use. (3) The cordage‐cultivated Sac Ki and Yaax Ki differ from wild populations in four syndromes of domestication: gigantism, greater fibrosity, less thorniness, and less reproductive capacity. The lower cv of their characteristics compared with those of wild populations suggest less genetic diversity. (4) Kitam Ki is probably a textile‐cultivated variant of recent introduction and/or a variant in which the artificial selection process has had different direction and intensity. (5) Improved growth conditions in the botanic garden resulted in a decreased cv, an increase in size and fiber content, and a reduction of thorniness for both wild and cultivated variants. Given that wild populations with desirable characteristics exist and that these characteristics are highly plastic and respond positively to cultivation, then selection and cultivation of populations such as those from Tropical deciduous forest may well have been the path taken by the ancient Maya during henequén domestication.
Molecular evidence for a Mediterranean origin of the Macaronesian endemic genus Argyranthemum (Asteraceae)
Authors: Francisco‐Ortega Javier , Santos‐Guerra Arnoldo , Hines Ayelet , Jansen Robert K.
Published: April 2006

The internal transcribed spacers (ITS) of nuclear ribosomal DNA were sequenced for 52 species from 32 genera and eight subtribes of Anthemideae. Phylogenetic analyses of ITS data generated trees that are largely incongruent with the recent classification of Anthemideae; most of the subtribes examined are not resolved as monophyletic. However, ITS trees are congruent with morphological, isozyme, phytochemical, and chloroplast DNA (cpDNA) restriction site data in supporting a Mediterranean origin for Argyranthemum, the largest endemic genus of the Atlantic oceanic islands. A combined analysis of ITS sequences and cpDNA restriction sites indicates that Argyranthemum is sister to the other three genera of Chrysantheminae (i.e., Chrysanthemum, Heteranthemis, and Ismelia). Times of divergence of Argyranthemum inferred from the ITS sequences ranged between 0.26 and 2.1 million years ago (mya) and are lower than values previously reported from isozyme and cpDNA data (1.5–3.0 mya). It is likely that rate heterogeneity of the ITS sequences in the Anthemideae accounts for the low divergence‐time estimates. Comparison of data for 20 species in Argyranthemum and Chrysantheminae indicates that the cpDNA restriction site approach provided much more phylogenetic information than ITS sequences. Thus, restriction site analyses of the entire chloroplast genome remain a valuable approach for studying recently derived island plants.
Resiliency and response to hurricane disturbance in a tropical shrub, Ardisia escallonioides (Myrsinaceae), in south Florida
Authors: Pascarella John B.
Published: April 2006

The resiliency to hurricane disturbance and the response to posthurricane environmental conditions were examined in the tropical shrub Ardisia escallonioides (Myrsinaceae). Hurricane Andrew struck three of four study sites in subtropical hardwood forests in south Florida on 24 August 1992. Posthurricane understory light levels in the disturbed sites ranged from 21 to 53% of full light in 1993 and remained high in 1994; in contrast, light levels averaged only 9% in the undisturbed forest. Significant differences in mortality, damage, and defoliation were observed among the three hurricane‐damaged populations. Mortality was low, but adults suffered high levels of damage and defoliation. Following the hurricane, populations in the most severely disturbed forests had more growth than populations in lightly damaged or undamaged forests. Seed germination and seedling growth were not associated with light availability. No long‐term seed dormancy was observed. The observed response to posthurricane environmental conditions is consistent with understory species that show release following canopy opening, but are able to persist under periods of canopy closure. The local dominance of this species in many coastal forests in south Florida may be due to the high frequency of hurricane disturbance.
Reconstruction of the Jurassic conifer Sewardiodendron laxum (Taxodiaceae)
Authors: Yao Xuanli , Zhou Zhiyan , Zhang Bole
Published: April 2006

Compressed seed cones and pollen cones of Sewardiodendron laxum are described from the Middle Jurassic of Yima, Henan, central China. They are either organically attached to or associated with leafy shoots. Seed cones are terminally borne. Each cone is ovate to elongated, up to 6.5 cm long and 3.5 cm wide, and consists of a stout axis and numerous helically arranged bract–scale complexes. The bract protrudes beyond and is partially fused with the reduced ovuliferous scale. The ovuliferous scale bears approximately six inverted, small, and flattened seeds. Pollen cones are borne in terminal clusters. Microsporophylls are helically arranged, each bearing three abaxial, basally fused pollen sacs. Pollen is assaccate, rounded, and with an inconspicuous pore. Morphological, structural, and cuticular features of seed cones, pollen cones, and leafy shoots of S. laxum are compared with those of fossil and extant conifers. S. laxum is included in Taxodiaceae and believed to have its closest affinities with a Mesozoic conifer Elatides and a group of Cunninghamia‐like conifers. It is reconstructed as a half‐evergreen tree that lived in a humid, warm‐temperate climate.
Secret Soviet-Polish Peace Talks in 1919
Authors: Wandycz Piotr S.
Published: April 2006

History sometimes has its simple moments, and it is tempting to draw the early struggle between the Bolsheviks and the Poles in terms of a clash between Red Russia and White Poland. Most Soviet and some Western historians see it only as a fragment of the general conflict between revolution and reaction. Closer scrutiny, however, belies the seeming simplicity of dialectics. The story is tortuous and involved; moves behind the scenes accompanied the fighting at the front. The gulf which separated the Bolsheviks from the Entente and from Poland did not preclude clandestine contacts, and Poland's leader Józef Piłsudski played his own game with the Soviet regime.
Crypto-Christianity in the Balkan Area under the Ottomans
Authors: Skendi Stavro
Published: April 2006

Little study has been devoted to the phenomenon of Crypto-Christianity. While some attention has been paid to the Crypto-Christians of Asia Minor, who were numerous, lived in groups, and endured a long time, the Crypto-Christians of the Balkans have been largely neglected, with the exception of an occasional work referring to only a single nationality, particularly the Greeks.
Between Author and Reviewer
Authors: Żantuan Konstanty
Published: April 2006

Though vigorously pursued since the turn of the century, Western studies of the Renaissance, including those in this country, have not hitherto encompassed eastern Europe. Therefore, the appearance of the first comprehensive assessment of Slavic literatures of the period, by I. N. Golenishchev-Kutuzov (Ital’ianskoe Vozrozhdenie i slavianskie literatury XV-XVI vekov, Moscow, 1963), should be welcomed by Slavicists and by students of the Renaissance and the Reformation as an event of considerable significance.
German-Soviet Relations and the Anglo-Soviet Break, 1927
Authors: Dyck Harvey L.
Published: April 2006

In May 1927 Sir Austen Chamberlain precipitated the first great international crisis of the post-Locarno period by denouncing the Anglo-Soviet trade agreement and severing Britain's diplomatic relations with the Soviet Union. Although Germany was not directly involved, the dispute nevertheless was to have a profoundly disturbing effect on German-Soviet relations. By raising the possibility of a wide-ranging diplomatic, economic, and perhaps even military confrontation between London and Moscow, it strained Germany's diplomatic system, which rested on the Locarno Pact (1925) and the Treaty of Berlin (1926). Thus it posed some fundamental questions for the German Foreign Ministry: Were the policies associated with those agreements compatible with each other only in fair weather? Did Germany have the freedom to remain neutral if the dispute should deepen? In short, was it still realistic to believe that Germany could maintain equally intimate ties with London and Moscow? Because Foreign Minister Gustav Stresemann had previously denned a balancing role as the sine qua non of Germany's international revival, the imbroglio soon led to a great debate in the Wilhelmstrasse. The issue on which it turned was, as a leading participant observed, “whether Germany's ties with Russia are worth enough to our present and future political interests so that it pays to assume the political expenses and risks involved in maintaining them.”
Narodnichestvo: A Semantic Inquiry
Authors: Pipes Richard
Published: April 2006

It has been said of so-called old English traditions that on closer scrutiny they usually turn out to date back no further than Queen Victoria. Mutatis mutandis, the same observation can be made about the terminology and concepts of modern Russian history. Closer inves- tigation reveals that in a surprising number of instances they are the product of political polemics of the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, and especially those involving the Marxists. They are not only neologisms, as historical terms and concepts often are, but neologisms devised for specific political purposes and never subjected by historians to critical appraisal.
The Dialectical Materialism of Lenin
Authors: Jordan Z. A.
Published: April 2006

Whether Marx and Engels jointly or Engels alone originated dialectical materialism, there can be no doubt that only Engels should be credited with its codification. This was recognized implicitly by both Plekhanov and Lenin, for they based their accounts of what they regarded as the Marxian philosophy on the works of Engels, above all, Anti-Dühring and Ludwig Feuerbach. They adopted this course because they believed—and impressed this belief upon the world—that there was a complete identity of views between Marx and Engels on all philosophical matters. As far as the conception of materialism is concerned, this meant in fact the substitution of Engels’ views for those of Marx.
On Tolstoi, Prophet and Teacher
Authors: Lampert E.
Published: April 2006

It is difficult to decide what is of the greatest Importance in all the vast mass of diaries, reminiscences, biographies, and other books about Tolstoi—the fantastic drama of his life, his extraordinary character, the effect of this character upon his magnificent art, or the projection of his prodigious mind on his philosophy and belief. The fact that Tolstoi himself was a living contradiction of the separateness of experiences and ideas is a sufficient reason for not attempting to isolate any one of them from all the rest. But, whether because his understanding of himself fell short of that of other human beings or because he was forced by the very power of his understanding to turn about and attend to his other task—that of understanding how to live with himself and with his fellow men—Tolstoi chose to divide his life into independent periods. The fourth and last one, in which, he said, he “hoped to die,” enlarged (or, as some would have it, narrowed) his understanding until it became prophecy, or religion, or a huge moral ax which he leveled against himself and the surrounding world.
Ideological Conflicts in Russian Populism: The Revolutionary Manifestoes of the Chaikovsky Circle, 1869-1874
Authors: Miller Martin A.
Published: April 2006

During the first half of the 1870s the character of the revolutionary movement in Russia changed considerably. At this time the movement spread its base of operation and its organizational effectiveness beyond the confines of St. Petersburg. The idea of a widespread revolutionary movement led by radical circles operating in several large cities was not a new conception in the 1870s. The efforts of Zemlia i Volia, Velikoruss, Ishutin, Karakozov, and Nechaev are all testimony to the emergence of a permanent underground opposition aimed against the ruling tsarist regime. Between 1869 and 1874, however, this process reached a new level with the activities of the Chaikovsky Circle, which managed to survive for five years under various names and in spite of even more various ideological approaches to the problem of revolution. This circle succeeded in building a truly nationwide network of affiliated groups which provided the initial revolutionary experience and loyalty to radicalism for many later members of the second Zemlia i Volia, Narodnaia Volia's executive committee, and the growing ranks of young Russian Marxists in the 1880s.
The Social Characteristics of the Early Nineteenth-Century Russian Bureaucracy
Authors: Pintner Walter M.
Published: April 2006

Serious scholarly study of the imperial Russian civil service is almost entirely the product of the past decade, and although several important works have appeared, virtually no quantitative material on the social characteristics of the bureaucracy is available. The imperial government did not publish and probably did not compile statistics on such matters as the social origin, wealth, religion, or education of its civil employees, but the raw data for a partial compilation are available in personnel records (formuliarnie spiski) of individual officials, which are preserved in the Central State Historical Archive in Leningrad.
Military Self-Sufficiency and Weapons Technology in Muscovite Russia
Authors: Esper Thomas
Published: April 2006

A state's power, indeed its very survival, is closely related to the adequacy of its military organization to meet foreign policy needs. Not only is this adequacy dependent upon manpower and other economic resources, plus efficiency, training, and morale factors; it is also greatly affected by weapons technology.

Alexander Gerschenkron has noted that the requirements of external war compelled Russia to seek the most advanced military techniques even though it lacked a comparable level of economic and technological development. Russia's attempts to meet these needs deeply involved the government in the country's economic development, with the result, Gerschenkron argues, that this development was “peculiarly jerky,” because the government's intervention in the economy fluctuated according to military exigencies. During periods of great military need the government would place heavy burdens on the population; then, when the emergency passed, the government would relax its intervention in the economy, leaving the country disorganized and exhausted.
The Russian Past and the Socialist Future in the Thought of Peter Lavrov
Authors: Kimball Alan
Published: April 2006

The major ideological challenge faced by Russian revolutionists in the half century prior to 1917 was to find a way to adapt the principal tenets of West European socialism to Russia. The difficulty of answering this challenge lay in Russia's unique historical development and the consequent differences between Russia and the West. The proper adaptation of socialism required an understanding of these differences and their significance.
The Outlook for Regional Development in the Soviet Union
Authors: Hooson David
Published: April 2006

The natural inclination of most “area” scholars—not to mention others—is to become preoccupied with the personalities, institutions, and achievements of the dominant culture, through the nationally aggregated values and norms. The justification for this approach is a belief in the supposedly inexorable process of the “homogenization” of the national culture and the inevitability of greater centralized control as a result of the technology of mass communications and organization. But it is increasingly apparent that even in “developed” countries, such as the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom—let alone Italy, Nigeria, or Pakistan—some of the more insistent and intractable “national” problems turn out to be basically regional in origin and character. At least as important in the long run as conflict of ethnic or religious origin is the increasingly familiar deepening of regional inequalities in the richer nations as a result of more perfect interregional competition, diffusion of information, and the high potential mobility of educated and affluent populations. At first glance the Soviet Union, with its traditional practice of centralized control over the bodies and souls of its citizens and the all-pervading pressure toward national coherence and uniformity, might appear more appropriate than most countries for study as a national system with national character and goals. Yet here, too, some of the more interesting and thorny problems facing the Soviet leaders and planners concerning the health and general viability of their country resolve themselves into essentially regional ones.
Estimates of Changes in Real Wages in Poland During the 1960s
Authors: Mieczkowski Bogdan
Published: April 2006

“The productive effort of society,” Communist mythology avers, “has as its goal the provision of increasingly abundant amounts of consumer goods. Moreover, that is the ultimate aim of all production. It should be noted that in a socialist economy, in contrast with systems based on private ownership of the means of production, it becomes a direct goal.” It is also said that “the aim of the socialist economy is full satisfaction of the needs of the population.” One would expect that the fulfillment of this aim would be accompanied by a substantial rise in real wages. The purpose of this note is to check whether that logical conclusion applies to changes in real wages in Poland, by comparing two recent independent estimates—one by W. Krencik, published in Gospodarka Planowa, the Polish economic journal devoted to problems of planning, and the other by the present writer, published in Soviet Studies.
The Kokovtsov Commission: An Abortive Attempt at Labor Reform in Russia in 1905
Authors: Snow George Edward
Published: April 2006

The labor unrest that spilled out onto the streets of St. Petersburg in January 1905 and shook the autocracy was hardly a new phenomenon in Russia. Historiography— both Western and Soviet—has shown persuasively that labor discontent was widespread in Russia’s industrial centers for at least the preceding two decades. An explosive combination of miserable working and living conditions and repressive regimentation was further aggravated by only partially redeemed hopes of government-sponsored reforms in the 1880s and 1890s. Moreover, reform legislation was vitiated from the start by the government’s desire to keep the workers under strict control. This aim not only took precedence over the wish to see their grievances redressed, but amounted to a philosophy running through the whole corpus of Russian labor law and virtually institutionalized in the Department of Factory Inspection, created by a decree of July 1, 1882. Designed originally to seek out infractions of the labor laws, it soon became a policing agency for the factory owners.
Toward a National Hungarian Army: The Military Compromise of 1868 and Its Consequences
Authors: Rothenberg Gunther E .
Published: April 2006

In discussing the Ausgleich of 1867 historians generally focus on the complex political and economic arrangements and pay little attention to the military controversy over the problem of restructuring the Habsburg army. Yet this problem almost prevented conclusion of the political agreement and greatly endangered its implementation. Count Julius Andrassy, one of the leading Hungarian negotiators, called it the “sword of Damocles suspended over our heads,” and the common war minister, Franz Baron Kuhn, believed that “the future existence of the monarchy” depended on “a successful solution of the army question”.
The Peasant Revolt of 1846 in Galicia: Recent Polish Historiography
Authors: Simons Thomas W.
Published: April 2006

In February 1846 Polish-speaking peasants in the western districts of Galicia, the Austrian part of partitioned Poland, struck down a national uprising composed largely of Polish nobles (szlachta) and joined Austrian troops marching on the tiny Republic of Cracow, where a Polish National Government had been established. Between four hundred and five hundred manors were sacked and over a thousand Poles killed. This peasant revolt is’ the point at which the national and social problems cross most strikingly in Polish historiography. Every historian of these events must explain how Polish peasants could rise against Polish patriots seeking to free Poland from the foreign yoke.

Controversy began immediately, but for almost a century, until World War II, debate was confined within fairly narrow interpretive limits. All the major treatments were based on one or another version of an “outside agitator“ thesis.
Problems of Form and Literary Influence in the Poetry of Karamzin
Authors: Cross Anthony
Published: April 2006

Although his poetry enjoyed considerable contemporary popularity, Nikolai Mikhailovich Karamzin belonged to the generation of poets characterized by Ivan Rozanov as “interesting precisely for its attempts and strivings: we find almost no attainments here.” Despite the curious fact that Karamzin's verse has been reprinted in the present century more frequently than his prose, its interest for the modern reader is of an essentially historical nature. Professor Iurii M. Lotman, editor of the recent authoritative and complete collection of Karamzin's poetry, has stressed in his excellent introduction that “it is impossible to understand Karamzin the prose writer and ignore Karamzin the poet,” but his ultimate conclusion that “his poetic gift, perhaps, manifested itself with even greater force in his prose” reestablishes the primacy of the prose. Karamzin in his poetry was a stikhotvorets rather than a poet—a conscious craftsman who introduced new themes, brought a fresh approach to traditional subjects and genres, and experimented with language, form, and meter.
Categorizing Soviet Yiddish Writers
Authors: Choseed Bernard
Published: April 2006

Soviet discussions of what is meant by “socialist in content, national in form” in literature invariably approach the second half of the slogan by saying, “First of all, of course, the language” a work is created in. Beyond this point there is often less agreement, but there is no questioning the validity of having a person who writes in Chechen called a “Chechen writer.” Biographical notes on Soviet writers generally follow such an identifying procedure, except in apparently touchy cases, like that of Wanda Wasilewska, whose description consistently reads: “Soviet writer. Writes in Polish.” No such problems beset writers working in most of the other “languages of the peoples of the USSR.” The second edition of the Bol'shaia sovetskaia entsiklopediia (BSE; 1949-58) everywhere uses national qualifiers on the order of: Panch—“Ukrainian Soviet writer“; Aibek —“Soviet Uzbek writer“; and Gafurov—“Lak Soviet poet.“
Financial Innovation in Contemporary Soviet Agricultural Policy
Authors: Millar James R.
Published: April 2006

At a very early stage of the Bolshevik experiment with economic planning it became obvious that the economy could not be made to function without the use of money and other financial instruments. In fact, a financial history of the Soviet economy would show a gradual but relentless expansion in the number and functions of financial instruments. This expansion has been gradual largely because Soviet economists, planners, and administrators have had both ideological (theoretical) and practical reservations about the appropriate uses as well as the potential abuses to which financial instruments can be put. The process has been relentless nonetheless, because for a number of essential economic functions the possible substitutes or alternatives to financial instruments are either impractical or nonexistent. Let me attempt to explain briefly the fundamental reasons for the ambivalence in Soviet financial policy.
Russian Manipulation of the French Press, 1904-1906
Authors: Long James William
Published: April 2006

The Russian government had at various times subsidized the French press before 1904 but not for any long period or on such a large scale as was attempted from 1904 to 1906. During these critical two years the tsarist government appropriated over two and a half million francs for the French press. The French government acted as the catalyst by demanding that Russia “subsidize” the French press every time disturbing news reached Paris.

The Franco-Russian alliance suffered serious stresses and strains from 1904 to 1906, mainly because of divergent foreign policy objectives. French policy directed by Foreign Minister Théophile Delcassé aimed at the preservation of the European balance of power and the advancement of French imperial interests in the Mediterranean.
Narrative Technique in Chulkov’sPrigozhaia povarikha
Authors: Garrard J. G.
Published: April 2006

The first part of Mikhail Chulkov’s short novelThe Comely Cookwas published in 1770 and appears to have enjoyed a considerable success with the Russian reading public of the eighteenth century, including the great military hero Alexander Suvorov. The work soon became a bibliographical rarity, and it was not until this century that it was reprinted. Given the embryonic state of the prose genres in Russia at the time Chulkov’s novel appeared, it is not surprising to find that much attention has been paid to the possible sources upon which he might have drawn. Toward the end of the nineteenth century there was a tendency to stress West European influences on Chulkov. In the Soviet period several Russian scholars have played down these influences and have sought to demonstrate that the novel was essentially a home-grown product written by araznochinetsin opposition to the neoclassical theories of noble writers.
Social Mobility and the Russian Parish Clergy in the Eighteenth Century
Authors: Freeze Gregory L.
Published: April 2006

The eighteenth century marked a crucial new period in the history of the Russian Orthodox Church. In Muscovy the church had been an institution of paramount importance: it possessed enormous wealth, exercised considerable influence on the theocratic politics of Muscovy, and held a virtual monopoly over culture and art. During the eighteenth century, however, this awesome power and wealth all but vanished. The secularized state wrought fundamental changes in the church: it replaced the patriarch with a more tractable Synod, gradually exploited and finally sequestered the church's lands and peasants, and in general transformed the church into an “integral part of the Russian state structure and administration.” The church's ascendancy was correspondingly weakened in both society and culture. The ecclesiastical leadership made little headway against the abiding problems of superstition and paganism, and it failed to stem the spread of the Old Belief and of secular culture throughout the population.
Additional Notes on the Beseda Circle, 1899-1905
Authors: Emmons Terence
Published: April 2006

A previously untapped source of evidence about the Beseda circle, a seminal institution in the development of the Russian opposition movement on the eve of the 1905 Revolution, has come to the author's attention since the appearance of his article on Beseda in the Slavic Review (“The Beseda Circle, 1899-1905,“ September 1973, pp. 461-90). This is the unpublished personal notes of Prince D. I. Shakhovskoy, a member of the circle throughout its existence. Although Shakhovskoy's transcriptions of the circle's discussions are much less systematic and detailed than those preserved in the circle's papers in the Maklakov archive which served as the basis for the Slavic Review article, his notes are of considerable value because they are devoted precisely to those early years of the circle's existence (1899-1903) which are poorly represented in the Maklakov papers. (The transcripts of only two meetings prior to 1904 are preserved there.)
Kheraskov’s Gonimye : Shakespeare’s Second Appearance in Russia
Authors: Green Michael
Published: April 2006

Some seventeen years ago, P. N. Berkov wrote: “The least-known aspect of the still comparatively unexplored field of Anglo-Russian cultural relations in the eighteenth century is that of the history of the stage and of stage-plays.“ The statement is hardly less true today. Berkov went on to say that a single question—“that of how far the Russian reader and theatergoer was familiar with Shakespeare’s work“—had attracted the lion’s share of scholarly attention. Even in this area, however, work remains to be done, and it will be the aim of the present essay, by demonstrating the relationship between Kheraskov’s drama Gonimye and Shakespeare’s The Tempest, to add a small but necessary link to the chain of our knowledge of Shakespeare in Russia.
Rumanian Socialists and the Nationality Problem in Hungary, 1903-18
Authors: Hitchins Keith
Published: April 2006

The history of the Rumanian socialists of Hungary in the decade before the outbreak of the First World War and during the final crisis of the Dual Monarchy in 1918 offers a striking illustration of the importance of national feeling in socialist and working-class movements of peoples who had not yet achieved their national-political emancipation and who were still overwhelmingly agrarian. In seeking support, Rumanian socialists had to compete with the middle-class Rumanian National Party, which was well established as a staunch defender of Rumanian rights against the aggressive nationality policies of the Hungarian government, and the church, which maintained a strong hold over a devout and traditional peasantry. They were hampered also by having only a modest constituency of their own. Not only was the Rumanian working class small, but in those places where Rumanian factory workers had congregated in significant numbers—Budapest, Arad, Timisoara—they were swallowed up in the greater masses of Magyar and German workers.and were in danger of losing their national identity. They provided only a fragile base for an independent socialist party. Until the First World War, Rumanian socialists developed their activities under the aegis of the Social Democratic Party of Hungary (MSZDP). In time, they found ideological and financial subordination to the MSZDP to be a serious handicap in efforts to recruit new members. At a time of growing national tension, they were hard put to explain how a party dominated by Magyars, even socialists, could benefit Rumanians. Yet, in spite of their protestations of socialist internationalism and their open disdain for nationalistic impulses, they could not ignore nationality. Indeed, the idea of nationality lent their movement a distinctiveness that set it apart from the other socialist movements of Hungary and, in the end, gave it its reason for being.
Politics and the War Effort in Russia: The Union of Zemstvos and the Organization of the Food Supply, 1914-1916
Authors: Fallows Thomas
Published: April 2006

Russian liberals can easily be cast as weakhearted idealists, devoted to Western notions of fair play and moderation and naively optimistic of the chances of seeing those principles brought to life in their own country. As the opposing forces of the state and the revolution build toward their climax in 1917, the liberal Hamlets often appear incapable of seizing the moment. Yet consider the efforts of the “public organizations”—the War-Industry Committees, the Union of Zemstvos, and the Union of Towns, as well as the Progressive Bloc in the Duma—to take over the practical matter of running Russia's war effort during the First World War. Prince George Lvov, head of the Provisional Government until the July Days of 1917, seems to personify this stereotype of well-meaning yet tragically ineffective liberalism on the eve of the Bolshevik Revolution, but it was this same figure who energetically directed the Union of Zemstvos during the war.
Notes on Literary Life in Petrograd, 1918-1922: A Tale of Three Houses
Authors: Scherr Barry
Published: April 2006

The Bolshevik Revolution had little immediate effect on the periodicals, news-papers, and publishing houses that were already in existence in 1917. During the first few months after the takeover, Communist Party papers appeared along with satirical journals, such as The Scourge (Bich) and The New Satyricon (Novyi satirikon), that remained steadfastly opposed to the new regime. Then, in the middle of 1918, the government ordered the closing of all opposition news-papers and magazines, and authors suddenly discovered that the places where they could publish were limited. The civil war brought further hardships; shortages of food and firewood plagued everyone in the cities, but writers also suffered from the paper shortage that made publishing virtually impossible.

Despite the harsh material conditions of the next several years, a vigorous cultural life endured in Petrograd, thanks in no small part to a number of organizations that aided artists, musicians, writers, and scholars.
Political Ideals and Loyalties of Some Russian Writers of the Early 1760s
Authors: Gleason Walter
Published: April 2006

During the initial years of her reign, Catherine II had to contend with political criticism and expectation of reform among nobles such as Denis Fonvizin and Ippolit Bogdanovich. Many Soviet scholars, particularly Makogonenko, Gukovskii and Pigarev, argue that the political writings of these critics can be interpreted as the initial evidence of a “constitutional” movement in Russia similar to those of mid-seventeenth century England and late eighteenth century France. The goal was to force Catherine to share political power by accepting “fundamental laws” or a “constitution.” Convinced of the need for such reforms, Fonvizin, Bogdanovich, and several other lesser known writers tried unsuccessfully in 1762 to win Catherine's approval of their projects. Failing to gain Catherine's support, the nobles became her political opponents —consistently and insistently advocating their political principles. This interpretation is valuable for its focus on the question of sovereignty and the individual's relation to the ruler as well as appealing for its attempt to integrate Russian events into a broader, European framework. Yet Soviet historians do not adequately specify and evaluate the theoretical origins of this “constitutional“ opposition. General references to contemporary European thinkers (British, French or German political philosophers) obscure their differences and assume the transfer of western European political ideas into Russia intact and unaltered in content or understanding. It is necessary, therefore, to investigate carefully the theoretical origins of the Russian writers' political ideals, their own version of these ideals, and the implications these opinions had for the writers' relationship to the ruler during the early 1760s.
The Pitfalls of the Theory of Modernization
Authors: Griffith William E.
Published: April 2006

Professor Korbonski has written a thoughtful and thought-provoking essay with which I find myself largely in disagreement, in general and in detail. I hope that the following brief comments will indicate with what, and why, I disagree. But in spite of my disagreements I think that Professor Korbonski’s effort was well worth making. Indeed, I share his view that the study of East European politics can well profit from the study of political development and comparative politics, and indeed already has, for example, from his and Professor Janos’s work.
Armand Hammer, Lenin, and the First American Concession in Soviet Russia
Authors: Gillette Philip S.
Published: April 2006

In 1921 a young American doctor named Armand Hammer went to Russia, met Lenin, and undertook the first American concession in Soviet Russia. Interest in this episode has been heightened by the fact that fifty years later Armand Hammer, as chairman of the Occidental Petroleum Corporation, forged new commercial links between the United States and the Soviet Union. This article provides a new interpretation of Hammer’s meeting with Lenin and his receipt of the first American concession granted by the Soviet government. It throws light on how Soviet national security objectives and personal relations can influence Soviet government decisions on American trade.
Soviet Studies of Organization and Management: A “Jungle” of Competing Views
Authors: Vidmer Richard F.
Published: April 2006

The USSR has entered a new, qualitatively higher stage in constructing a Communist society—“mature” or “developed” socialism. Theorists envision progressively higher developments to occur in this stage and commonly regard the scientific technological revolution as one of its defining traits. Reflecting objective changes that have occurred in society’s production forces, the scientific-technological revolution poses an unprecedented challenge to political leaders: they must now “integrate complexity and manage change through advances in organization and technology.“ This challenge cannot be successfully met without the support and active participation of specialists in administrative policy. While theorists and politicians alike remain convinced that only socialism provides the optimal framework for organizing societal development, they begrudgingly acknowledge that the reputed advantages of the Socialist economy—national planning, public property, class solidarity—do not manifest themselves automatically, but must be brought to life through the creative application of scientific knowledge and organizational skill.
Soviet Criminology: Its Birth and Demise, 1917-1936
Authors: Shelley Louise
Published: April 2006

Shortly after the 1917 Revolution, the Soviet Union developed sophisticated and diversified criminological research. Well-trained lawyers, doctors, and social scientists obtained access to criminal statistics, research facilities, and funding and were unhampered by ideological limitations. The varieties of descriptive, statistical, and experimental research on crime conducted in criminological institutes by government agencies and independent researchers throughout the Soviet Union did much to advance criminologists’ understanding of the personality of the offender and the relationship between crime and social change.
Vladimir Maiakovskii's “From Street into Street” as Cubo-Futurist Canvas: A View through the Art of Kazimir Malevich
Authors: Stapanian Juliette R.
Published: April 2006

The artist Kazimir Malevich once called Vladimir Maiakovskii's lyric “Iz ulitsy v ulitsu” the best example of “versified cubism.“ Although Maiakovskii's early poetry has often been linked to developments in the pictorial arts, the precise nature of this connection requires more detailed examination. Investigation of the role of the visual arts in a literary interpretation appears exceptionally intriguing considering that Malevich, both a contemporary of Maiakovskii and a painter of high caliber, paid special tribute to this poem in painterly terms.
Moscow as City and Symbol in Pasternak’s Doctor Zhivago
Authors: Lilly Ian K.
Published: April 2006

The final subchapter of the prose text of Doctor Zhivago takes the narrative, at least by implication, beyond the Stalin era. In these last four brief paragraphs of the epilogue,1 lurii Zhivago’s surviving childhood friends, Misha Gordon and Nika Dudorov, now at the twilight of their lives, are reflecting on Zhivago’s literary legacy and on what lies ahead for Russia in the 1950s. In the first paragraph they are shown sitting at a window overlooking Moscow as a summer dusk slowly settles. They are reading from an album of Zhivago’s writings that his half brother Evgraf had compiled some years previously.
Missing Female Occupational Categories in the Soviet Censuses
Authors: Sacks Michael Paul
Published: April 2006

The 1959 and 1970 published Soviet censuses list several hundred categories of occupations. Yet far more types of employment exist than are indicated by this number of categories. TheDictionary of Occupational Titlespublished by the U.S. Department of Labor, for example, is composed of approximately 20,000 jobs. The sparsity of categories in any census is a product of the lengthy process in which (1) specific questions regarding employment are designed; (2) respondents interpret the questions and either answer or fail to answer them; (3) answers are coded into specific occupational categories; and (4) these categories are selected and sometimes grouped together for the purpose of the actual census publications. The selection and grouping of categories are of primary concern since here, as at earlier stages, the potential exists for deliberate or inadvertent distortions and for the compromise of the detail and precision of the census.