Browsing by master's degree program "Venäjän, Euraasian ja itäisen Euroopan tutkimuksen maisteriohjelma"
Now showing items 1-5 of 5
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(2024)This thesis discusses the construction of church-state relations and Ukrainian nationhood through the memory of the political framing of the Orthodox Church of Ukraine’s Facebook communication. Since the Revolution of Dignity, the autocephalous Orthodox Church of Ukraine became an aspiration for anti-Moscow politicians. Russia’s Russkiy Mir initiative became recognized as a security threat to Ukrainian independence, and the process of gaining autocephaly from the Patriarchate of Constantinople became an attempt to detach Ukraine from Moscow’s imperial narrative. After the autocephaly, the political narratives emphasizing church-state relations became less topical, but the situation changed after Russia’s War Against Ukraine broke out in 2022. Ukrainian politicians and the heads of the Orthodox Church of Ukraine again stressed the church-state connection. The memory political framing of the data suggests that Ukrainian nationhood is being built in relation to the Orthodox Church of Ukraine, two of which are bound together by one inseparable past. This interpretation highlights Ukraine and OCU as heirs to the legacy of Kyivan Rus and the Byzantium tradition, as well as Ukraine’s path as part of European civilization.
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(2024)This thesis explores the public response to Natalya Baranskaya’s novella "A Week Like Any Other", which was first published in 1969. The novella raised the question of the persistence of gender inequality in Soviet society, embodied in women’s ‘double burden’. By analysing unpublished readers’ letters, this thesis provides a detailed discussion of the attitudes toward gender roles and femininity in the Brezhnev period. The research is multidisciplinary; it spans social and cultural history, gender studies, and literary studies. The thesis synthesises the concepts of gender contract, subjectivity, and emotional communities, thereby contributing significantly to our understanding of how late Soviet society functioned. The study applies the inductive thematic analysis of women’s letters. The analysis reveals the centrality of literature for female readers. They perceived it as a means to influence political decisions, viewing writers and editors as mediators between citizens and power. The study finds that while women expressed dissatisfaction with their ‘double burden,’ they were not willing to give up paid work or motherhood. They also recognised the injustice in the gender division of labour but did not see the opportunity to negotiate it with their male partners. In their view, the issue of gender inequality could only be resolved from above, or it was considered insurmountable. The thesis underscores that work and belonging to a collective were essential for Soviet female subjectivity. The study also shows that female readers strongly identified with other women, creating a sense of emotional community.
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(2023)This thesis investigates parental experiences on preterm birth, hospital care, and social support in Russia. The dissolution of the Soviet Union led to dire economic decline and created extensive social problems in Russia. Two simultaneous issues occurred: low life expectancy and low fertility rate, which drastically decreased the nation’s population. This consequently led to a worsening demographic situation as the dependency ratio was unstabilised. Russian Federation started to combat the problem by incentivising the birth rate via financial benefits and pronatalist policies aiming to improve maternal and hospital services. Out of total live births in Russia in 2018, six and a half per cent were preterm births. The percentage is quite substantial from the demographic perspective and makes it worth investing in preterm care. The main research questions of this thesis are “What kind of support parents of preterm children receive in Russia in terms of benefits, healthcare, and social services, how parents evaluate these and what did they expect to get?” This study aims to understand how Russian social and family policies have evolved, starting mainly from 2006 when the national priority projects began and what is their impact on preterm care. The nature of the study is qualitative, and its primary resource are eight semi-structured interviews conducted in March 2021, including seven Russian mothers with preterm children and one expert in the field of preterm care. A theoretical framework is built around welfare regimes, Russian social and pronatalist policies. Interviews are analysed with an approach of phenomenological and thematic analysis. A lot has improved and on a positive note, births – be it preterm or full-term – are free in Russia. Nevertheless, the main results of this research showed that preterm care is having a lack of family centredness and medical staff is expected to be more emotionally supportive. Most of the infants were separated from their parents for long periods, which can be detrimental for both. Regarding post-discharge care, all parents used private services, as for various reasons, there appeared to be distrust towards public healthcare. This thesis describes the struggles parents in Russia experience when having preterm children and ends with potential topics for further studies.
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(2023)This research paper focuses on the challenges faced by the Russian-speaking minority in Estonia and the feeling of ressentiment which members of this group may experience. The background of this situation begins with the minority of Russian speakers who lived in Estonia during the Soviet regime and held key positions in society. After the collapse of the Soviet Union these people were provided with alien’s passports and left in an uncertain position in the Estonian society. Today, Estonia has a large number of Russian-speaking people with the majority being born in Estonia, and others immigrating to Estonia from other countries. The Russian-speaking minority in Estonia includes people from various national backgrounds, but they all share the mother tongue Russian. This research focuses on the feeling of ressentiment and the various experiences which highlight this, where individuals face a wide range of issues in society, such as language barrier and lack of Estonian citizenship. In the theoretical part of this research, the concept of ressentiment is discussed and 5 hypotheses are given based on previous research of the Russian – speaking minority in Estonia. In order to understand the extent of the feeling of ressentiment in the Russian-speaking minority in Estonia, 9 interviews were conducted with informants who shared this background. The hypotheses presented in the theoretical part of this paper were tested and the factors that influence the feeling of ressentiment were identified. This research has revealed that the feeling of ressentiment exists in the Russian-speaking society in Estonia, but it is unevenly distributed and it cannot be claimed that every representative of this society experiences it. This research emphasizes such aspects as the uniqueness of Russian speakers in Estonia and the integration they have experienced in Estonian society. The importance of the cultural background and different attributes of the Russian minority is crucial towards understanding the research conducted and results, since it clarifies the full context of the influence of ressentiment.
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(2024)This thesis explores the evolution of domestic violence legislation in post-Soviet states with a focus on Russia, Belarus, Armenia, and Ukraine, examining the role of traditional values in shaping legal frameworks. The research investigates the impact of cultural sovereignty, political rhetoric, and feminist and patriarchal theories on the modernization of domestic violence laws. The central question addressed is whether reliance on traditional values hinders progress in domestic violence legislation in these countries. The study delves into how traditional values are defined in family codes and interpreted through cultural norms. The analysis extends to concepts and strategies justifying the presence of traditional values in national legislation, evaluating political rhetoric, and examining the implications of relying on such values. A narrative analysis of policy documents explores how traditional values rhetoric is enshrined, followed by an examination of domestic violence protection in national legislation and case law. The research reveals the complex interplay between tradition, governance, and societal evolution, highlighting the tension between cultural sovereignty and the adoption of modern legal standards. The study finds that the reliance on traditional values poses a significant challenge to the modernization of domestic violence legislation in post-Soviet states. The resistance to ratifying international instruments, particularly the Istanbul Convention, reflects a commitment to maintaining cultural autonomy. Despite similarities in cultural and historical backgrounds, the countries exhibit variations in their approach to modernization, with some demonstrating more progressive strides, such as Ukraine, while others resist change, exemplified by Russia.
Now showing items 1-5 of 5