PÁLFFY, Géza: Hungary between Two Empires 1526 – 1711. Bloomington : Indiana University Press, 2021. 284 s. ISBN 978-0-253-05464-7 (S. Danková)

KODAJOVÁ Daniela a kol.: Živena. 150 rokov spolku slovenských žien. Bratislava : Slovart, 2019. 304 s. ISBN 978-80-556-4149-2 (J. Golian)

Správa z konferencie Digital humanities – nástroje sprístupňovania historického dedičstva (M. Smida)

Neustála snaha rušiť Vedeckú grantovú agentúru MŠVVaŠ SR – SAV

NORBERT KMEŤ
Ústav politických vied, Slovenská akadémia vied, v.v.i.

Unceasing efforts to do away with the Scientific Grant Agency of the Ministry of Education, Science, Research and Sport of the Slovak Republic and the Slovak Academy of Sciences

Abstract: Currently, a significant proportion of scientific and scholarly outputs are produced within the framework of grants awarded by a specific scientific agency. There are a number of grant schemes in Slovakia that support science and research. The resources used are mostly state, public, European and, to a certain extent, private. The bulk of the projects undertaken at scholarly institutes are backed by the Scientific Grant Agency (VEGA), whose funds are provided by the Ministry of Education, Science, Research and Sports of the Slovak Republic (MŠVVaŠ SR) and the Slovak Academy of Sciences (SAV). Any attempt to „transform/reform“ a functioning basic research support scheme naturally provokes negative reactions in the scholarly community. These also include the material entitled „Proposal of VEGA action alternatives (/KEGA)“. It comes as a surprise, or even a shock, to read that some of the proposals for the elimination of VEGA come from the Ministry of Education and Culture of the Slovak Republic and from other supreme state administration bodies. What is invariably used as an argument is the need to make the system more efficient. It is usually emphasized, with regard to the science-support agencies, that their number does not agree with the needs, or that their centralization would enhance the quality of scientific outputs. Yet, it should be noted that centralization as such is the easiest way to administer a process and thus to assume complete control over it, allowing one to push forward their own interests. Regarding VEGA, there are constant controversies about whether it is a grant agency or just a mechanism for redistributing institutional funds. Scientific results suit politicians only when the latter wish to prove the country’s advancement level or when a specific problem is considered to be such that it could jeopardize the system’s stability. Unlike these, other research results are neglected, and, before long, the declared support is forgotten again because soon new political, social, economic or other interests of the state are found more important.

Keywords: Scientific Grant Agency (VEGA), Ministry of Education, Science, Research and Sports of the Slovak Republic, Slovak Academy of Sciences, Slovak Research and Development Agency (APVV), politicians, centralism, sciences.

Практика идей унионизма в политике памяти Республики Молдова (2009-2020 гг.)

НИКИТА КОСЯК
Белорусский государственный университет, Минск, Беларусь

The practice of Unionism ideas in the memory policy of the Republic of Moldova (2009–2020)

Abstract: The article deals with the ideas of unionism, which advocated early integration with Romania. The key attention is paid to the „renewal“ of the concept of Romanianism in order to adapt to the modern political image of the Republic of Moldova. The foreign and domestic political component of the concept at the present stage is analyzed. The role of unionism in Moldova’s memory policy through the prism of Moldovan identity is emphasized. The author suggests the periodization of the main periods in the development of the concept of Romanianism in 2009–2020. Considerable attention is paid to political parties and public associations that support one of the variants of the concepts. The role of the Party of Socialists of the Republic of Moldova with the aim of restoring Moldovan statehood based on the concept of Moldovenism is emphasized. It is concluded that unionism, since 2009, has been a full-fledged concept of state building of the republic, based on the ideas of close cooperation with Romania.

Keywords: Identity, «Moldovenism», Party of Socialists, Politics of Memory, «Romanianism», «Unionism».

«Третій шлях» хліборобів у поглядах Мілана Годжі та В’ячеслава Липинського: спроба компаративного аналізу

СЕРГІЙ КОРНОВЕНКО
Черкаський національний університет ім. Б. Хмельницького, Україна

„The third way“ of farmers in the views of Milan Hodža and Vyacheslav Lypynsky: an attempt at a comparative analysis

Abstract: The article formulates the author’s definition and reveals the essential features of „the third way“ − an alternative to the left (socialism and communism) and right (liberalism, capitalism and fascism) development models of the agrarian countries of Central and Eastern Europe, which was formulated and justified by the ideologues of agrarianism at the end of 1910s – in the 1920s.Using the example of the views of the classics of Czechoslovak (M. Hodža) and Ukrainian (V. Lypynsky) agrarianism, the common and different views of the thinkers on the theory and practice of the „third way“ are clarified. It is substantiated that the ideology of agrarianism in the vision of M. Hodža and the „wheat ideology“ of V. Lypynsky are almost identical phenomena in terms of their content. In both cases, their fundamental principle is the recognition of the peasantry as a force capable of creating a new, fairer social order thanks to its special social, spiritual, moral, and economic qualities. The views of M. Hodža and V. Lipynsky are similar in the issues of „agrarian democracy“, defense of the economic and moral advantages of agriculture, small private ownership of land, cooperation, as well as state regulation of the economy. The essential differences in the views of the two intellectuals lie in belonging to different forms of agrarianism − radical-conservative (V. Lypynsky) and moderate, parliamentary-oriented (M. Hodža), as well as in fundamentally different approaches to the perspective of the internationalization of the agrarian movement. The thesis that the Ukrainian version of agrarianism was a self-sufficient and organic component of Central and Eastern European agrarianism received further development.

Keywords: Agrarianism, Milan Hodža, Vyacheslav Lypynsky, „Agrarian Democracy“, Peasantry, „The Third Way“.

Paradox latentnej etnicity: ukrajinský prípad obdobia stredoveku a raného novoveku

VITALIY MASNENKO
Čerkaská národná univerzita Bohdana Chmelnického, Ukrajina

Latent ethnicity paradox: Ukrainian case of the Middle Ages and the Early Modern Period

Abstract: The author of the article focuses his attention on the latent (implicit) ethnicity paradox, the essence of which lies in the fact that the ancient phenomenon of ethnicity has not yet been articulated and reflected on the social level. But definite ethnic groups and ethnicities did really exist. In the pre-modern period ethnicity articulation was realized on either a personality level or the family societal one. The specificity of the Ukrainian case lies in the fact that nation considered itself to be separate from neighbours and this approach originated in the Southern area of Eastern Slavs in the early Middle Ages period when tribe names disappeared. Since then, Kyivan Rus’ ethnic group that is the initial form of the Ukrainian community came into existence. In the course of time its ethno-cultural, ethno-social and ethno-national strata were transformed. Collaboration of historians, ethnologists and social anthropologists is necessary for the optimization of latent ethnicity research.

Keywords: latent ethnicity, ethnic group, Middle Ages period, pre-modern period, early modern period, Ukrainian case.

Československo-sovětská hospodářská spolupráce v období Gottwaldovy éry

ONDŘEJ FIŠER
Department of General History, Faculty of Arts, University of Geneva

Czechoslovak-Soviet Economic Cooperation in the Gottwald era

Abstract: Czechoslovak-Soviet economic cooperation in the years 1948-1953 is hitherto a rather marginalized facet of contemporary historiography. The limited secondary literature on this topic, especially from Czechoslovak economists and historians, published both during the communist regime and after the Velvet Revolution, is characterized by a rather strong pro/anti-communist bias limiting its objective insight into the various technical aspects of intra-bloc cooperation. The major aim of this study is therefore to use the newly accessible fonds of the Czech National Archives at Chodov and the Archives of the Czech Ministry of Foreign Affairs at Czernin Palace to construct a more holistic portrayal of Czechoslovak cooperation with the Soviet Union, its largest trading partner. The hypothesis is that although under the influence of the authoritarian regimes of Stalin and Gottwald, trade relations between the two countries were rather politicized at the turn of the 1940s and 1950s, they were nevertheless to some extent guided by the practical needs of the national economies. It was the clash between political and economic reasoning and the quest of the communist leadership of both states to achieve their mutual equilibrium that was characteristic of the Gottwald era. The present work also seeks to highlight the crucial role of the Third Republic (1945-1948) in the economic integration of Czechoslovakia into the Eastern Bloc. Specific space is then devoted to the negotiation processes of individual trade agreements, their content and their impact on the development of the Czechoslovak economy.

Keywords: Klement Gottwald, Anastas Mikoyan, Mikhail Menshikov, Czechoslovakia, Soviet Union, economic cooperation, trade, trade agreement, foreign trade, intra-bloc cooperation, CMEA.

Issue of Czechoslovak radio in struggle against Hungarian
and German propaganda

Milan Olejník
Institute of Social Sciences of the Center of Social and Psychological Sciences SAS in Košice, Slovakia

Abstract: Radio as a tool of political propaganda had introduced a new dimension in ideological struggle between Czechoslovak Republic (CSR) and neighbouring countries. Since its establishment, CSR became a target of hostile propaganda spreading namely by Hungary. Technological progress during the second decade of 20th century enabled the radio to become increasingly popular influencing growing segment of population. Caustic relations between both countries had resulted from reluctance of Hungary to accept the Treaty of Trianon. Hungarian authorities determined to reverse inclusion of Slovakia to Czechoslovak Republic, focused foreign policy and state propaganda upon goal to achieve revision, which would result in establishment of status quo ante. This aim was supported by a significant number of Hungarians living in the Southern Slovakia. Therefore, political and cultural activities of ethnic Hungarians were judged by Czechoslovak authorities with suspicion and in cases when they were classified as irredentist, state security agencies suppressed them. On interstate level both countries waged ideological war, accusing each other of hostile acts. In this state of affairs radio gained an increasing importance. Constant improvement of quality and decreasing price made radio a valuable tool of political propaganda. Unlike other forms of propaganda (newspapers, leaflets, books, public speeches, etc.), radio broadcast was impossible to stop from penetrating state boundary. Significance of radio propaganda between Czechoslovakia and Hungary was increased by geographical closeness of both countries which facilitated spreading of radio signal. In addition, radio broadcast was not limited strictly to political issues. Popularity among population was reinforced by its ability to provide a broad scale of various programs such as music, sport, religion and others, which had been influencing ideological outlook listeners. Submitted paper analyzes various aspects of role of radio in Hungarian cross-border propaganda and endeavours of Czechoslovak security authorities to minimize its impact. The paper is mainly composed of documents deposited in Slovak and Czech archives complemented by Czechoslovak contemporary press.

Keywords: radio propaganda in context of Czechoslovak – Hungarian relations, measures of Czechoslovak authorities to curb irredentist Hungarian radio programs, impact of radio upon political development during third decade of twentieth century.