Articles

The construction of international transport corridors connecting the Asia Pacifi c region and the European Union certainly contribute to integration processes as well as stimulate the development of states along these routes. At the same time, it is obvious that the international transport corridors pose a distinct threat to small states, since they are a tool of infl uence or control. In particular, plans to build a China–Kyrgyzstan–Uzbekistan railroad, which have been discussed periodically for more than 20 years, may be considered in this light. This article addresses the main challenges and prospects for the Kyrgyz Republic related to the implementation of the China–Kyrgyzstan–Uzbekistan railroad project. In addition, the author discusses the results of other international transport projects implemented in the territory of the Kyrgyz Republic. Two conclusions represent the main fi ndings of the study: (1) The construction of the China–Kyrgyzstan–Uzbekistan railroad will give impetus to the development and modernization of the transport infrastructure of the Kyrgyz Republic, notably in the context of breaking out of possible transport isolation; and (2) Special attention should be paid to the ecological and security issues connected with the construction and operation of the China–Kyrgyzstan–Uzbekistan railroad.

In this article the author examines the process of formation of a regional political order during the 17th–20th centuries in the territories whose population adhered (and adheres) to the traditions of Mahayana Buddhism. Analyzing the process of statehood formation in Bhutan, Tibet and Khalkha-Mongolia, the article traces the infl uence of Buddhism on the formation of state institutions and the determination of the head of state — the monarch. A provisional conclusion is advanced to the eff ect that, unlike the Theravada tradition, the monarch could fulfi ll both the role of head of state and the functions of a spiritual leader. This appeared particularly rational in Tibet, which since the middle of the 17th century was ruled by the Dalai Lamas. The institution pf the Dalai Lamas, which arose in the Gelug School of Buddhism, envisioned in the Lamas the embodiment of the Bodhisattva of compassion, Avalokiteshvara, which organically fi t into the concept of theocratic power. At the same time, a civil administration was created in both Bhutan and Tibet, with powers corresponding to its status. The transfer of supreme power was associated with reincarnation, which subsequently caused serious problems and created political crises. The stabilization and achievement of the peak of power of Tibetan statehood is associated with the name of the Dalai Lama XIII, who, fl eeing the invasion by British troops, hid for two years in Khalkha-Mongolia and thereby ensured the legitimacy of the supreme power of Bogd Gegeen VIII, who became the last Great Khan of Mongolia after the fall of the Qing Empire. In 1912 an agreement was concluded between the two monarchs, and the tendency toward the rule of Buddhism in the region, not only in the spiritual but also in the secular sphere, was dubbed pan-Buddhism. The author also cites data on polities that did not receive full development: the Kudun state within one of the Buryat aimaks in 1919 and the theocratic movement in the Khorchin lands of Inner Mongolia in the 1930s. The article concludes that despite its significant encompassment of the population, Buddhism did not become a driving force that would compete with the two leading powers of the region — Soviet Russia and the Japanese Empire — which maintained more radical views on the political order in the region and more eff ective tools for its construction.

This article analyzes the systems of public service management in a number of developed and developing countries, substantiating the relationship between the level of development of society and the complexity of the system necessary to manage the bureaucracy. The transformation of subjects of management by the state service of Russia in the course of its post-Soviet institutionalization is considered, and problems and contradictions in this sphere are treated. Taking into account historical practice and advanced scholarly concepts, the author offers proposals to improve the bureaucracy management system at the federal level: the solution lies, the article maintains, in the area of intersection of centralization and denationalization. It is necessary to expand the legal content of the civil service, the author proposes, gradually turning it into a public service aimed at solving the tasks of the country’s social and economic development.

The article’s conclusions were substantiated during the author’s participation in the work on the draft of the project Strategy for Social and Economic Development of Russia through 2030.