Drawing on the analysis of discursive shifts in the constructions of teachers' roles during the twentieth century in the Russian Federation, this paper argues that pedagogy becomes redefined based on the political elites' vision for the society's future. During the Soviet era, teachers were expected to play a key role in social transformation. In…

This paper explores language ideologies and attitudes among both urban and rural speakers of Sakha (Yakut) in the Far Eastern region of the Russian Federation. Like other non-Russian languages in the Soviet era, Sakha was subject to many repressive and often contradictory policies; while today there is a sizeable, growing population of speakers…

The teaching and public dissemination of Russian history in post-Soviet historiography has been shaped by a variety of approaches, including state-sponsored interpretations, views expressed in mass culture, and the work of academic historians. In this article, the author employs a specific method of differentiation to distinguish his present…

The extremely complex relationship between mental and spatial boundaries in Eastern Europe is visible in the matter of the border between Belarus and Poland, between Eastern and Western Europe, between the European Union and the Russian spheres of influence. Historically, Russia's imperial policy towards to North-Western Province (nowadays…

Historically, the university was an alien establishment for Russia, reflecting the political ambition of its leadership, not the organic impetus of Russian society. In Soviet academia, the notion of university education was replaced by the concept of vocational-technical training. As a creation of the Soviet government, Soviet higher education…

Historical, philosophical, and social perspectives concerning the development of Soviet society are presented. The concepts of orthodoxy, autocracy, and nationalism that were integral to Russian life for nearly one thousand years of history are discussed, and principles of socialism and communism that were inaugurated in November 1917 in…

Changes in educational research in the last years of the Soviet Union occurred because research could no longer serve as a branch of total planning in an engineered society. Researchers floundered when faced with new forms of political authority and social relations, but then addressed new questions of teaching and learning. This process may have…

Until the 1960's, the writing of Russian history in America was greatly concerned with intellectual history. However, once more sources became available in the mid-1950's, other approaches and techniques were applied. Similar trends were perceptible among Soviet historians. Although Western and Soviet historical inquiry has been hampered by the…

Essays address the relationship between second language education and intercultural communication in several countries. Following an introduction are the following papers: "Second Language Learning in Belgium" (Ludo Beheydt); "Foreign Language Education in Bulgaria: Present-Day Situation and Future Tendencies" (Madeleine…