Kovalenko Valeriy Ivanovich

This article offers an analysis of the reasons, character and historical lessons of the 1917 revolution in Russia. A century after the fact, these issues not only remain relevant, but are in fact at the center of current theoretical and political discussions. Despite the multiplicity of conspiratorial interpretations of the Russian revolution, the defining factor in understanding its meaning remains the identification of its objective conditions, systemic contradictions, the logic of the political process in the country, and the nature of the ideas held by the leading political forces of ways to reconcile the nation’s pressing political and social transfigurations. This was the reason for the revolution’s abrupt and dramatic course. Despite all the ambiguity of the historical consequences of the Russian revolution, it became a truly epoch-making event that has had a tremendous impact on the destiny not only of Russia, but of the entire world.

In an article dedicated to the 50th anniversary of the journal “Moscow University Bulletin. Series 12. Political Sciences”, we examine the history of its formation and development from 1971 to the present. Despite the changes in the name, caused by cardinal changes in the political life of the country, the journal is characterized by a historical relationship that expresses the logic of political development and its scientifi c understanding. Since the introduction of political science into university education in Russia, the development of the foundations of political science in close connection with the study of topical issues and the development of political science education has become a priority in the journal’s activities. The creation of the Faculty of Political Science at Moscow State University strengthened the role of the journal as a venue for research and the application of results into the practice of pedagogical work. The focus of the journal constant attention is the topic of the domestic and foreign policy of Russia. In this regard, the problems of the transitional nature of the current stage of world development, ways of overcoming its inherent contradictions, dangers and crises are investigated. Another group of questions concerns the relations between the state and the market, the state and civil society, ways to preserve sovereignty and political stability in its diverse dimensions. An important place is given to issues of information and cybersecurity, digital society and the political aspects of social networks. Topics related to ideological currents and the competition of traditions, interests and values are also widely presented in the journal. The combination of academic emphasis with constant attention to topical issues of domestic and world politics, mutual enrichment of theoretical and empirical approaches, theoretical research and applied analysis allowed our journal to achieve good results in domestic and world rankings of journals with the topic “Politics. Political Sciences”, which, of course, is not a reason for slowing down, but instead, an incentive for further development.

The article is devoted to the analysis of the doctrinal foundations and political practice of Bolshevism towards social groups. The first part of articles deals with the engineering and technical intelligentsia. The content of disputes within the Bolshevik Party on this issue is revealed. In this context, the views of the party leader V. I. Lenin on the content of the tasks of the transition period as aimed at implementing, first of all, transformations in the material and technical base of society, under which, in the conditions of monopoly political power and the preservation of the “commanding heights” of the economy in the hands of the state, it was possible and necessary to “revive” capitalism, and entrepreneurship. It is emphasized that the creation of a diversified economy in the USSR opened up prospects for sustainable economic growth, ensuring greater social stability in the country. The second part of articles deals with the clergy, religion and the church as a whole. The political foundations of the anti-clericalism of the communist party are revealed. The scale of the persecution of the church, persecution of clergy and laity is determined. The reasons and forms of tactical changes in the policy of the authorities in relation to religion are analyzed. The role of the clergy in educating the patriotism of Soviet citizens, its role in the spiritual life of the country as a whole, is highlighted. The problems of relations between the church and the political elite in the period of “perestroika” are noted. More generally, the article sets out the task of significantly intensifying the efforts of the political science community in the field of historical politics.

The formation and functioning of various models of the world order has a deep and complex history that does not fit into the traditional chronologically consistent scheme, and these models themselves did not inherit each other, but were combined in varying degrees of harmony. The dynamics of international relations, at least in the medium term, will be determined by the trends observed over the past decades — such as inequality in the levels of economic development, the redistribution of shares of world wealth, the rivalry for global dominance between the United States, gradually losing its position as sole leader, China, Russia and other global players, and finally, the search for new tools balancing the global status quo.
Expansion geopolitics will also remain the dominant trend in the short- to medium-term perspective. One of its striking manifestations is the Belt — Road Initiative, implemented by the PRC. Expansion geopolitics seems to get start most intensively in West Africa. The region, on the one hand, needs large infrastructure investments, on the other hand, — has a number of advantages that could create a production and logistics hub in it, the starting point of a project similar to the Chinese Belt — Road initiative.

The formation of a global world order in the short and medium term proceeds in several ways: through the creation of systemic alliances organized on a multilateral contractual basis (for example, the European Union, NATO), membership in which may imply the cession of a share of state sovereignty, and through the creation of informal "spontaneous" (situational) alliances. Current trends in international relations show that the systemic path is less effective. In unions of this kind, contradictions between individual members make it difficult for the entire structure to function, making it impossible for it to carry out coordinated joint activities. Spontaneous unions are more stable in times of crisis, as the dynamics of individual members' relationships do not immobilize the entire union. In this regard, informal cooperation between the United States and India, on the one hand, and Russia, China, and Iran, on the other, looks like the foundation of the future. The role of global supranational regulators, including the UN, tends to weaken.
Until any of the global players have military technologies at their disposal that qualitatively surpass the current level of weapons development, i.e., reducing the advantages of nuclear weapons to zero, the importance of logistical factors will be decisive for shaping the contours of a new world order. Depending on which of the competing models will be able to make the most of the geo-economic advantages of West Africa, the contours of the global world order will take one shape or another.

The article is devoted to identifying the features of Russia as a state of civilization, its inherent system of political and spiritual ideas and values. The emphasis is on the contemporary sound of this concept, its role in upholding the national sovereignty of Russia, its correlation with the general historical imperatives of social development. On the eve of the 270th anniversary of Moscow University, attention is also drawn to the ongoing development of the problems of civilizational characteristics of Russia by political scientists of Moscow State University, who have always sharply opposed the view of Russia as a meaningless geographical space that can be filled with any economic, political, mental form, for whom today the main thing is to rely on domestic traditions, consistently uphold national interests, and create nationally oriented schools in science and education.