International Affairs No. 5, 2022 – Table of Contents

Keywords: international justice, Nuremberg Tribunal, ICC, ECHR, ICTY

THE WEST’S judicial and legal activities, including efforts to give the military conflict in Ukraine the semblance of an international criminal procedure – putting Russia as a whole, its military, and top officials on trial, as it were – are inevitable and predictable. In the past, international law in its traditional form (and at some point, since World War II, also in the form of criminal procedure) used to take center stage only after the cessation of hostilities, as the victors’ right to define a new international order, but these days, it tends to accompany military actions and sometimes even precede them. This has to do with, among other things, the transformation of classical wars into “hybrid” ones that include not only military but also information, economic, and other components and feature no less fierce and crucial legal battles. It also has to do with the unwillingness of certain Western elites to risk their lives on the actual battlefield, participating instead in armchair battles and seeking to appropriate the morally unchallenged legacy of World War II while demonizing the enemy who will allegedly be put on trial at a new Nuremberg tribunal, etc. …

Keywords: military operation, Antarctic Treaty, legal principles, pandemic, destabilization, maintaining control

TRANSIENT changes in the modern world order have a significant impact not only on the foreign and domestic policies of individual states, even the most isolated ones, but also on vast geographic regions of our planet. One of them is Antarctica, which occupies about 52.5 million square kilometers, or one-tenth of the Earth’s surface, around the South Pole. This area of the planet, which has no state or customs borders and no permanent population, industry, agriculture, transport communications, urban settlements, or military bases, is under international control. This control regime was established by the Antarctic Treaty of December 1, 1959 (hereinafter referred to as the Treaty), and other regional acts of international law included in the Antarctic Treaty System. Despite its uniqueness and natural isolation, Antarctica continues to be influenced by world politics and economics. …

Keywords: China, West, hybrid warfare

THE TERM “warfare” has increasingly blurred boundaries in the 21st century, with countries coming up with new forms of conflicts against adversary states. This has led to the emergence of new terms such as “postmodern wars” [16], “mutiny wars” [4], and “network-centric warfare” [2]. The best-known of these new terms is “hybrid warfare,” which came into being between the late 1990s and early 2000s. It is believed to have emerged in the US. Frank G. Hoffman was one of the first to write about changes to methods of warfare and to give a definition of hybrid warfare: “Hybrid threats incorporate a full range of different modes of warfare including conventional capabilities, irregular tactics and formations, terrorist acts including indiscriminate violence and coercion, and criminal disorder…. These multi-modal activities can be conducted by separate units, or even by the same unit, but are generally operationally and tactically directed and coordinated within the main battlespace to achieve synergistic effects in the physical and psychological dimensions of conflict” [19, p. 8]. Characteristics of a hybrid conflict arguably include: …

Keywords: bioethics, biohistory, biopolitics, biopower, international relations

THE PRESENTATION of Biblioteka bioetiki [The Library of Bioethics] at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation offered an occasion to return to the discussion of the global challenges facing humanity amid unprecedentedly rapid and radical changes to the world and international relations. This unique 10-volume publication, prepared on the initiative of Academic Alexander Chuchalin, chairman of the Russian Committee on Bioethics, draws upon the creative legacy of outstanding thinkers of the past and inspires contemplation of the present in which the range of bioethical problems is constantly expanding and occupying an increasingly important place in anxious reflections on the future of civilization. …

On the 50th Anniversary of the Stockholm Conference and the 30th Anniversary of the First Earth Summit

Keywords: United Nations (UN), sustainable development, Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), Agenda 2030, environment …

Keywords: multipolar world order, crisis of globalization, scientific and technological revolution, cultural and civilizational factor, Russian Federation foreign policy concepts, strong Russia, new international relations infrastructure

OUR COUNTRY is experiencing yet another turning point in its more than 1,000-year history. We are having to deal with the aggressive response of certain foreign players to our absolutely justified actions to protect our vital interests along our western borders. The world is facing an artificially created crisis of European security and of the entire post-World War II international order. …

Keywords: oil, gas, energy sources, coal industry, oil and gas market

DREAMS of a rapidly dawning age of carbon-free energy are not yet lost in Europe. But today, in anticipation of the inevitable cold, this topic has been put on the back burner. The German government has voiced concern that a shortage of gas this winter could lead to crisis in regions across Germany. Meanwhile, in France, heads of industry have serious concerns about the rising cost of gas. They are not ruling out the most grievous consequences, including a total collapse of industry. …

“As you name the yacht, so it will sail.”

Captain Christopher Vrungel …

On the 30th Anniversary of the Representative Office of the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Kaliningrad

Keywords: Representative Office of the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Kaliningrad, Kaliningrad Province, Kaliningrad, public diplomacy, Russia, Poland, Lithuania, European Union …

Keywords: science communication, India, scientific temper, science literacy

HUMAN WELL-BEING is inseparable from science, technology, and innovation. The impact of science on society can hardly be overestimated, yet the impact of society on science is also growing. Science is no longer a field accessible to and understandable by only a limited number of specialists. It is becoming clearer that society wants to understand the results of scientific and technical achievements and their potential impact on life. Science communication is thus playing a greater role in society. …

Keywords: Ethiopia, Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD). hydroelectric power plant, Egypt and Sudan

WITH THE ARRIVAL of summer, the long-running dispute over the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD), seen as one of the main challenges to stability on the African continent, came back into focus. On June 13, 2022, the president of Egypt said that no one would “touch Egypt’s water,” indicating a readiness to protect the country’s share of Nile River water from encroachments by Ethiopia.¹ Later, he repeated that water is a matter of national security and reiterated his position on protecting Egypt’s water rights through a binding agreement.² That statement came only a few days after an interview given by GERD Project Manager Kifle Horo, who said that the filling of the dam was an “automatic process” that could not be stopped. Sudan, along with Egypt, reacted sharply to Horo’s statements, calling them “irresponsible” and condemning Ethiopia for unilateral action.³ What is the reason for this new escalation, and how might the situation develop? …

Keywords: cybercrime, Budapest Convention, Comprehensive International Convention on Countering the Use of Information and Communications Technologies for Criminal Purposes

THE open-ended Ad Hoc Committee to Elaborate a Comprehensive International Convention on Countering the Use of Information and Communications Technologies for Criminal Purposes held its first session in New York from February 28 to March 11, 2022. …

Keywords: Africa, information and communications technology (ICT), China, African Union (AU), Huawei, European Union (EU), Internet of Things (IoT), smart city

THE SECURITY of the Internet and telecommunications networks has been an increasing national security concern for most nations in recent years, due to the development of 5G and Internet of Things (IoT) technologies, the digitalization of a whole range of governmental and commercial services, the surging popularity of various online services largely because of the COVID-19 pandemic, and the mounting scale of cybercrime, including phishing attacks and financial fraud. …

Keywords: Stalin and India, establishment of diplomatic relations, first ambassador to India Kirill Novikov, Russian-Indian cooperation

RUSSIA and India have a unique, trusting, and mutually beneficial relationship with a rich history of cooperation on politics and strategic planning, economics, energy, military and security, science and technology, culture, humanitarian cooperation, and other issues. Neither the coronavirus pandemic nor the unprecedented pressure on India from the US and its allies in connection with the special military operation launched by Russia in Ukraine on February 24, 2022, could undermine and disrupt them. …

Keywords: Orthodox civilization, modern times, spiritual life, religious worldview, priests, deacons

Partenit, Republic of Crimea, October 18, 2021 …

Keywords: Byurobin, People’s Commissariat for Foreign Affairs. Great Patriotic War, Moscow conferences, Yalta Conference

GENEROSITY and concern for foreign counterparts have always been hallmarks of Russian diplomats. In no other country have members of the diplomatic corps and official delegations been given so much attention and been received with such splendor and truly imperial grandeur. The traditions of hospitality passed down through the generations were fully inherited and developed by the Soviet foreign policy service. And it never deviated from those traditions. …

Keywords: Averell Harriman, Lend-Lease, second front

INAUGUST 1942, British Prime Minister Winston Churchill and US special envoy Averell Harriman left the Soviet Union, basking in what seemed to them a great political victory. Stalin had agreed, albeit grudgingly, to their decision to postpone the opening of the second front until 1943. In other words, he had accepted their obvious political perfidy that would prolong the war and cost many millions of Soviet lives. The Soviet leader, however, had not broken off allied relations, a step that [London and Washington] feared more than anything else. He was obviously determined to fight until the enemy was routed. The Soviet Union had no other option: To survive, it had to continue fighting with all available resources. …

A study of the Diplomatic Activity of Archbishop John Pommers

Keywords: Archbishop John (Pommers), ROC, LOC, Russian World …

Keywords: Ottoman Empire, Funj Sultanate, 16th-18th centuries, sultanate in Sennar, Suakin, eyalet of Habeş, Sudan, Selman Reis, Evliya Çelebi

AFTER THE FALL of the Mamluk Sultanate in Egypt, the most powerful states of Northeast Africa at the beginning of the 16th century included the Ottoman Empire, the funj sultanate,¹ the Adal sultanate, and Ethiopia. …