Russian Economy Research Paper Essay Example

Russian Economy Research Paper Essay Different Periods in Russian Economy In this research paper I will shortly cover general features of economy during the periods from industrialization of Stalin till present Medvedev’s government. Stalin had great influence on the economy of the Soviet Union in 1920s. It was he, who launched industrialization process, and who knows where could be Russia now, if he did everything right and succeeded. From one hand his actions were directed on the overall well-being of the Soviet Union and its people. He was a real patriot who wanted to see USSR on the top of the world. On the other hand he was ruthless to common people and in every second person envisioned the enemy of the nation. Obviously, all public enemies had to stay in convict colonies and camps (Barbusse 42-44). We will write a custom essay sample on Russian Economy Research Paper specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now We will write a custom essay sample on Russian Economy Research Paper specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer We will write a custom essay sample on Russian Economy Research Paper specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer During the period of the Stalin’s government country was facing a depression. Stalin considered fast and efficient industrialization the only way to take the country out of the crisis and to raise it to unknown previously economic heights. He started with the agricultural sector by introducing the notion of collective and state farms. He was against private property of any kind. In 1928 he introduced the first five year plan with set standards of production that seemed quite unachievable. People should sacrifice everything, including personal interests for the common goal, for their native country, for its future and prosperity. Later on, he decided to speed up the timing of this plan, not taking into consideration that there were no factual prerequisites for it. It is difficult to underestimate the impact of Stalin’s industrialization on the economy of the USSR. It was the period when huge plants appeared along with thousands of new enterprises. USSR was at that time absolutely self-sufficient. It became almost as powerful as the USA and of course the most powerful in Europe in terms of gross output. During years of his government, Khrushchev tried to conduct a reform in several fields. Soviet agriculture had serious problems and it was the main Khrushchev’s concern. In the previous years of Stalin leadership, it attracted the attention of the collective households, which introduced considerable innovations in this field of the Soviet economy. The state motivated peasants to grow more on their private plots, raised payments for crops grown on the collective farms, and invested more in agriculture. In the middle of 1950s virgin land campaign took place. Khrushchev introduced to farming vast areas of land on the north of the Kazakh Republic and neighboring territories of the Russian Republic. These new farmlands appeared to be exposed to droughts, but in some years they produced amazing harvests. Later innovations by Khrushchev were however counterproductive. His USA inspired plans for growing maize and increasing meat and dairy production failed, as well as his collective farms reorganization gave rise to confusion in the countryside. Khrushchev’s reforms in administrative organization and industry were even more problematic (Keep 81-91). In 1963 Khrushchev’s special seven-year economic plan (1959-65) was abandoned two years short of its completion due to serious economic problems in the country. By 1964 Khrushchev’s popularity and prestige teetered, as industrial growth decreased and agricultural sector showed no new progress. There was no wheat and no bread in the country. Long lines were near groceries. At this point Khrushchev decided to buy wheat from the USA, taking the easiest possible path. He was stimulating demand and economy of the other country instead of making corrections, improvements and reforms in his own agricultural sector. When the General Secretary of the country became Leonid Brezhnev, USSR’s economy was not in its best condition. Dramatic reduction of the economic growth was observed. That doesn’t mean that the economy was truly weak, this meant that it was slowing down and not working for all it is worth. USSR still could afford itself supersonic planes, spacecrafts , rockets, space station MIR, etc. The problem lied in the fact that consumer market was not balances and it was a period of time when goods and products just disappeared from the market shelves. There was real deficit of particular goods and net surplus of others. The same situation was at the labor market, as there was a shortage of workers in some fields, and mainly in agricultural sector. People in the villages did not get enough compensation for their work and therefore were moving to larger cities to get some money. Brezhnev continued the policy of Khrushchev of wheat import, but it was not very helpful. Product shortage problem still was very critical. When Gorbachev became the Secretary General, his main goal was to bring back to life Soviet economy after stagnation. Gorbachev is prominent for introduction of the following reforms: free speech or openness, restructuring, democratization and acceleration of economic development of the country. Gorbachev was clever enough to understand that revival of Soviet economy is almost impossible task without reorganization of bureaucratic apparatus, of political and social structure of the nation. During the time of his leadership all goods were approved by the state that significantly improved the quality of production and maintained quality of the produced goods. Gorbachev was the author of anti-alcohol campaign due to wide spread alcoholism in the country that could have been the obstacle to rapid economic revival. Therefore, prices were raised and sales of beer, vodka and wine were restricted. But I appeared to be the double edged sword, as revenues of the budget drastically decreased a nd USSR budget lost almost 100 billion rubles. It had a positive outcome, as people were able to buy more of other goods. In 1986 Gorbachev introduced the new policy of reconstruction that was aiming to create efficient mechanism for economic and social progress of the country (Kelley 81, 109). This policy supported democracy, improvement of discipline and order, socialist self-government, etc. In 1988 Gorbachev proposed to reduce the control of the party of the government. He introduced presidential system and new legislative element. In 1990 Gorbachev was elected the President of the Soviet Union. This event was strongly criticized and Boris Yeltsin was the main critic (Chafetz 54; 61). After the collapse of the USSR, Boris Yeltsin, as the new President of Russian Federation, immediately started radical economic reforms. His aim was to transform the command market of the country to the free-market. Yeltsin followed the policy of microeconomic stabilization, simultaneously ordering liberalization of prices, foreign trade and currency. In order to stabilize economy, Yeltsin increased taxes; cut government subsides, as well as state welfare spending. Later, Yeltsin started the process of privatization, but due to the fact the beginning of 90s was a very fraudulent time in Russia, it was not very successful. Or it is better to say that it was successful mainly for oligarchs, as assets of state companied were just given away. It is important to mention that Yeltsin supported private property and viewed it as the basis for the developing economy of the country (Steen 92). In 1999 Putin became the president of Russia. During Putin’s leadership the economic situation in the country significantly improved. He increased Russia’s purchasing power, GDP and overcame the consequences of 1998 financial crisis. He also increased amount of investment for about 120%, industry grew by 76%, doubled real incomes and seven timed increased average monthly salary (Rose 98). Putin increased amount of people in the middle class (from 8 million to 55 million) and the number of people living below the poverty line from 30% to 14%. He carried out such important reforms as retirement reform in 2002, banking and tax reforms, etc. Putin was a great supporter of business and introduced the flat tax of 13%, as well as reduced corporate tax rate from 35% to 24%. Putin also significantly decreased Russia’s external debts (Steen 67). In 2008 Dmitry Medvedev was elected as the president of the country. At the same year a great financial crisis started, but Medvedev claimed that it was provoked liquidity crisis in the USA. Technological innovation was named as the key priority of his presidency. Due to world crisis it is difficult to estimate Medvedev’s presidency, but he is very optimistic and claims that situation in Russia is stabilizing along with its currency. Deforestation, Acid Rain and Desertification DeforestationForest degradation and deforestation, in particular, are outcomes of changes of climate. Plants use carbon dioxide for their growth through absorption. When plants delay or are being burnt, this dangerous chemical is released again. Plants that decay also release methane, which even more dangerous and potent than carbon dioxide. Deforestation makes double damage, because of the release of greenhouse gasses, as well as because of the reduction of the amount of carbon dioxide that is absorbed. During last 150 years more than 30% of carbon dioxide that was added to atmosphere came from deforestation. Even though this amount can seem very big, it is nothing compared to what is still stored in forests. Russian forests (along with Canadian) hold almost the half of the world’ carbon stock. In order to understand reasons of deforestation, it is essential to analyze what can do harm to forests. At first, temperature ranges changes, as well as precipitation. Due to climate change, secondly, forest fires and drought scan increase. Though, forest fires can be good to forests, as they clear dense brush and can be included in the lifecycle. Forests also suffer a lot from activity of humans, as well as drought. Insects that are invasive can also damage health of the forest, but they play an important role in boreal ecology, as they supply food for birds, decompose litter and eliminate trees’ diseases. Of course, increasing urban areas have a very negative impact on the forests, as they are replayed with buildings and pavements (Vajpeyj 20; 193). Acid rainSpeaking of the acid rain, there are many forms of it. There can be acid rain, acid fog or acid snow. There can be also acid gas and acid dust (in the countries with dry climate). It is needless to say that acid rains to a lot of harm to environment. They do not act immediately, but after some time period and make living organisms in the environment die. In the next paragraph I am going to discuss the substances that cause acid rain. These substances are being released into the air. Carbon dioxide is the main substance. It is released to the air by burning oil, coal and natural gas. If a person inhales carbon dioxide, which is toxic, it can be the reason for serious health problems. Carbon monoxide is the other dangerous substance that is released with burning oil, wood and gasoline. When carbon monoxide gets to humans body, it goes directly to the bloodstream and subsequently slows down oxygen delivery to the body with possible fatigue, headaches and dizziness (Vajpeyj 48). Chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) are widely utilized in air conditioning systems, refrigeration, and industry and consumer products. When they are released into the air, the reduce ozone layer of the stratosphere that protects surface of the Earth from harmful sun rays. Hazardous air pollutants (HAPS) are released into the air with motor vehicles, printing plants, chemical plants and dry cleaners. They can cause cancer, problems with nervous system, birth defects and even deaths. Lead is released with car and house paint, as well as with fishing lures, lead batteries, particular ceramic ware, fixtures and water pipes. It is very dangerous especially to children, as it can cause damage of the nervous system and some learning problems. Nitrogen Oxides are released into the air by coal and gasoline. Ozone is released by industries, motor vehicles, gasoline, burning coal, hairspray and paints. Particulate matter (PM) is another substance that is released by trucks, buses, cars fertilizers, road construction, pesticides, mining, steel making, wood stoves, etc. When mixed with air and inhaled, PM particles stuck in the lung tissue. Sulfur dioxides can be released by paper production, melting metal and burning coal. It significantly harms vegetation, metals and can cause problems with lungs. And finally volatile organic compounds (VOCs) are released by burning coal, wood, natural gas, gasoline, paints, glues and solvents. There are definitely much more harmful substances that release into the air and cause acid rains. Automobiles are the main source for those pollutants. DesertificationDesertification is the degradation of formerly productive land and is a very complex process (Vajpeyj 118). It has many causes and it can occur differently in different climates. It can influence general climatic trends towards greater aridity or just change the local climate. It is not that easy to follow and describe the common pattern of desertification. On the main causes of desertification can be increased population, as well as increased pressure of livestock. In other words, when the land is being devastated an all her resources are being taken- the process launches. So causes of desertification are overpopulation, over-cultivation, overgrazing, deforestation, increasing water salinity, changes of global climate, etc. Major Landforms and Hydrography of North Eastern Eurasia North Eastern Eurasia can be fairly called one of the largest and least-populated regions in the world. This region is very rich on natural resources with diamonds, lead, gold and manganese as an example. There can be found steppe, taiga and tundra in North Eastern Eurasia. There are mountain ranges, which are very high. Eastern Siberia is defined geographically by most contemporary Russian sources as including the Yenisei River system in the west and ending at the Pacific watershed in the east. It is differentiating from the Siberian Federal District, a political unit created in 2000 that does not contain the Sakha Republic and does incorporate few provinces attributed to geographic West Siberia – a transaction that may have been made to improve vast mineral wealth of the region. However, if the topography and hydrography of the region are be viewed, which two of the most essential factors in determination the flow of economy, migration, warfare, and history, it is possible to see that Eastern Siberia should extend significantly to the east from the federal district, even though where it exactly it should end- can be a real question for long discussion (Mote 44). The landscape of the region is much diversified – there are spanning arctic desert in the north, steppe in the south and humid taiga in the central region. Nomadic groups such as the Tatars, Huns, Mongols and Manchu inhabited the region about 300,000 years ago. While Siberia was under the Tatars’ control, western Siberia saw some development with the founding of cities and forts. Eastern Siberia, however, was mainly left to nomadic lifestyles. Russia’s conquest of Siberia was amazingly fast, sweeping from the Urals to the Pacific in just over a half century, by creating the Russian Empire. Settlement was then supported with a series of forts for protection and soon settlers, hunters, and even fugitives became those crossers of lands, who started and founded new settlements, as well as trading communities. They would also found lead, silver, and copper mines about three centuries ago, and later practiced intense gold mining (Kotkin 75).

File Sharing Software essays

File Sharing Software essays One of the most controversial technological innovations of the past decade or more, file sharing software applications have transformed the ways people view intellectual property. In fact, intellectual property has only recently been a subject of popular debate, since the newsworthy demise of Napster. With the advent of the Internet and subsequent software developments, computer users worldwide have been able to upload, download, and share files, many of which contain copyrighted material. In some ways, this type of file sharing seems to fall under the "fair use" clauses in copyright laws, which dictate that individual consumers are free to make a few personal copies of material for limited use. However, file sharing software calls into question the extent of "fair use" because potentially millions of people could have access to one copyrighted file. File sharing therefore raises a host of ethical and legal conundrums. First, the creators of the copyrighted material: musicians, writers, or software engineers, are potentially losing money. After all, they are receiving no revenues from the freely distributed materials. On the other hand, sharing files via the Internet may not be damaging creative professionals as much as we think. File sharing applications and the compressed material that is being shared is imperfect: MP3 files will never approach CD quality sound and will never come replete with the glossy books or other presentation material that a store-bought product contains. Moreover, most music connoisseurs don't mind forking over a few bucks to support their favorite artists. Similarly, pirated software is unusable much of the time, as the "cracks" don't always work and the software itself comes with glitches due to the reproduction process. In general, file sharing is a fun and exciting technological development but poses little actual threat to professionals who rely on intel...

20 Largest Book Publishers in 2019 That Every Author Should Know

20 Largest Book Publishers in 2019 That Every Author Should Know The Largest Book Publishers in 2019 Modern publishing is a tricky game - especially when trying to figure out the biggest names within that game. Most major publishers are part of a larger media conglomerate, and a search for the year's largest book publishers will often yield companies that work with  other forms of content rather than books.So to help you zero in on the prize, we've published this guide to the largest contemporary book publishers - i.e. no companies that mainly publish magazines or highly specialized materials, such as instruction manuals. We have included educational and journal publishers, which are often linked to traditional literary publishers and may be relevant to our readers. But other than that, all these companies work with the kinds of books you’d find in bookstores.Without further ado, here they are: the 20 largest book publishers in 2019 according to recent data, along with brief profiles of who they are and what they do. (To learn how to get published by one of them, check ou t this post.) Who are the biggest book publishers in the game? Find out here!  Ã°Å¸â€œâ€" The 20 largest publishers in 20191. Penguin Random House (Big 5 Publisher)💠° Annual revenue: $3.3 billion 📇 Notable imprints: Alfred A. Knopf, Crown Publishing, Viking Press 📚 Biggest titles of 2018: Becoming by Michelle Obama, Educated by Tara Westover, and  Born a Crime by Trevor NoahFormed in 2013 through the merger of Penguin Books and Random House, Penguin Random House (PRH) is not only a Big 5 publisher - it's considered to be the biggest publishing house in the industry. It has over 200 divisions and imprints, in addition to those listed above. PRH itself is jointly owned by multinational companies Pearson PLC and Bertelsmann, accounting for a rather substantial sum of their finances each year. In terms of actual publishing stats, PRH puts out over 15,000 books a year and sells about 800 million copies of print, audio, and ebooks annually.2. Hachette Livre (Big 5 Publisher)💠° Annual revenue: $2.7 billion 📇 Notable imprints: Grand Central Publishing, Little, Brown and Company, Mulholland Books 📚 Biggest titles of 2018: The President is Missing by Bill Clinton and James Patterson, Calypso by David Sedaris, and In Pieces by Sally FieldHachette Livre is another Big 5 publisher, the largest in France and one of the most prominent publishers in all of Europe. It’s owned by the Lagardà ¨re Group and encompasses over 150 imprints. Hachette Livre was officially formed in 1992, when the publishing assets of Hachette SA (its former parent company) were collected into a single subsidiary. HL has been growing ever since and currently publishes about 20,000 books a year - even more than PRH, for those keeping score.3. Springer Nature💠° Annual revenue: $1.9 billion 📇 Notable imprints: BioMed Central, Nature Research, Palgrave Macmillan 📚 Biggest titles of 2018: Academic journals on a range of scientific topicsSpringer Nature is a research and educational publisher formed through the merger of several groups, including Macmillan Education and Springer Science + Business Media. For those who think the former sounds familiar, Macmillan is another Big 5 publisher, just like the first two entries on our list. That’s why Springer’s assets are so sizable, despite being so recently established.Springer mostly publishes academic journals, but as with many educational publishers, it’s still closely linked to traditional publishing - namely, in the form of Macmillan Publishers proper (see #10 on this list).

The Effect of the Paywall Strategy on News Corp Company Essay

The Effect of the Paywall Strategy on News Corp Company - Essay Example The newspaper industry earns the majority of its revenue through advertising from other companies who pay to depend upon the number of circulations. The advent of internet gave rise to electronic news where advertisers pay depending upon the page views. The paywall strategy implemented by News Corp by putting WSJ, The Times and The Sunday Times behind the strategy has resulted in a downfall in the number of monthly page views. However it is pertinent to mention here that availability of free content online and decline in the circulation of newspaper prompted the management to put online content behind paywall so that it may increase the newspaper circulation and at the same time generate revenue from subscriptions (Salmon, 2010). The objective behind the paywall strategy is to identify the customer and their wants and interests more clearly and build direct customer wherever possible. It further makes it clear that advertising alone will not bear the operational costs of print news a s successful newspaper of the future will charge for their content (News Corp, Annual Report, 2009). The strategy worked for Wall Street Journal as it provided editorial content, analysis and expert articles on topics which attracted certain target groups for subscription (Drury, 2010)2. According to comScore, the readership of Times UK website declined from 4 million unique visitors to 2.4 million, a 62% drop in the readership whereas page views came down by 90% from 41 million views in May 2010 to 4 million in September 2010 (Schonfeld, 2010)3. a) According to first quarter report for the fiscal year 2011, the newspaper businesses achieved an average 13% increase in advertising revenue with gains as compared to quarter in the previous year (News Corp, 2010). As paywall strategy was implemented in early June 2010, the results published in the report reveal positive results with an increase in the revenue, which means that company is making substantial profits through subscriptions. However the drop in the page views will be a big blow to the company as advertisers would not want to invest their money on a place where they could not get more visitors. Though the annual reports show marginal profits in newspaper segment, drop in page views from 21 million to 2.7 million will definitely have an impact on online revenue generation (Salmon, 2010).     

Sustainability Project Spain Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words - 1

Sustainability Project Spain - Research Paper Example This has lead to use of sustainable designs whose goals are to expose architectural solutions that guarantee the coexistence of inorganic and living organisms. Conceptual framework informs architects on the various ways to meet the goal of sustainable designs. In undertaking sustainable projects, three principles are used. The first principle aims at economizing on the resources for the architects to reduce the use of the non-renewable materials in the establishment and operation of the building. In a construction site, materials continuously flow in and out of the building. The flow incorporates the movement of materials from the industries that provide the building materials throughout the life span of the building to get a good nature that support continuation of humans as well as their activities. The second principle is the life cycle model has the support on the usefulness of resources where resources are useful depending on the area of application. The third concept of sustain able design is the humane design probably the most important of all three principles. The concept has an emphasis on the respect towards other living organisms within the ecosystem and these include plants and animals. The other two principles are not considered highly valuable in comparison to the humane design idea because they require more on the efficiency and conservation than on the ecosystem. The paper will discuss the sustainability project in Spain and the various features of the building and standards instituted by the Spanish building standards as well as the importance of sustainability in construction. In the sustainable project, in Barcelona, the building standards have to be taken into consideration, and these standards have an emphasis on the protection of the ecosystem. The standards include the energy standards, which have elevated Spain to higher grounds in terms of solar energy all over Europe.

TV and Radio Essay Example for Free

TV and Radio Essay There are many mediums for information, entertainment and communication purposes. Such as internet, TV, radio, newspapers, magazines and others. In this individual talk I’m going to discuss two of them. That is- TV and Radio. First I’m going to start with TV. The TV is one invention, like the car, computer and wheel which has changed mankind and the way that we do virtually everything. The TV was invented in the early part of the twentieth century and was only available in black and white. And in nowadays almost every household owns at least one TV set. Flat screen television is occupying many of the homes and digital TV is not a miracle anymore as well. Viewers can just sit there, flick through channels and choose anything they like- documentaries, soap operas, talk shows, sports, sitcoms, various foreign language programs and many more. With technology becoming more and more advanced TV watchers after paying a little extra can have such options as recording favourite shows, sports games, films etc. f they don’t have time to watch it while they are broadcasted. With the press on remote controller people can create their own watch list, participate in various live contests, donate money, order food, buy certain items that they see on the infomercials, they can even forward the commercials or skip them at all while watching an interesting movie. Consumer is given a greater power of control, but does it make him or her happier? I really doubt it. I have a friend who once said that the main evening question in their family is TV3 or LNK? Instead of talking in candle lights she and her husband are arguing over which politician is right and which is wrong, which TV celebrity is entertaining, and which is not. Instead of visiting places they are becoming more and more of the couch potatoes and not because they really want to but because it is an easier option. I personally don’t own a TV and the only time I miss it is when the football is on Which as a consequence just means an extra pleasant visit to see my friends. Another very popular media is radio. The creation of radio started in the mid 1800s with the theoretical discussions of electricity and magnetism being related to each other. Scientists who contributed to the development of radio were James Maxwell, William Henry Ward, Mahlon Loomis, Thomas Edison and Marconi. The 1920s truly were the birth years of modern radio, the mass development of radios made it possible for almost every home to own a radio. In our days many devices are created to catch radio waves such as mobile phones, mp3 players, CD players and others. It is possible to listen to the radio online, however, most of the people are listening to the radio while driving or at their work places. As far as the programs are concerned many of them are very similar to what TV is showing, except that with radio you can’t see anything so you have to use your imagination. News, various live talk shows and quizzes, interviews, games, voting contests are very popular on radio channels. It is possible that radio is more based on a dialogue and television on a monologue. All in all, I think that both mediums are fascinating and equally important to technological, cultural, economical and social development. However, I prefer to listen to the radio than watch TV. Except for the news program, radio channels usually concentrates on positive shows, positive messages, one can hear a lot of laughing during those shows. And of course singing in high squeaky voice while travelling to work does put me in a better mood. What is more radio is eye friendly and less time consuming.

Crohns in College Students :: Crohns Disease Health Essays

Crohn's in College Students Avi Michael absentmindedly plays with his lip piercing, his thin frame draped casually over his bed. His wall is covered with posters of Bob Dylan and Modest Mouse; two guitars are propped up on a stand next to his closet, another lies on the vacant bed across from his. â€Å"I want to be a rock star,† said Michael, a 20-year-old history and film major at Northeastern University, and front man for the band, The Sex and Murder. However, touring with his band would be difficult, Michael says. He suffers from Crohn’s disease, a chronic and often debilitating ailment that causes inflammation in the digestive system, primarily the large and small intestines. Symptoms include rapid weight loss, abdominal pain or cramping, and rectal bleeding. Michael was diagnosed as a senior in high school at the age of 18. â€Å"I was really sick for a while. It got to the point where I would get sick and throw up after everything I ate,† he said. As a result, he lost a lot of weight; at 5’8†, Michael weighs only 128 pounds. The average weight for a male of his height is closer to 160 pounds. Over 200,000 Americans suffer from Crohn’s, according to Dr. Richard Curtis, chief of gastroenterology at Newton-Wellesley Hospital. Though the disease does not target a specific age group, certain risk factors do exist. People who have a genetic predisposition to it are more likely to develop Crohn’s, said Dr. Curtis. For example, people who have a close relative with Crohn’s have a 20 percent chance of being diagnosed with it themselves. Crohn’s is more common in Jews than in non-Jews; it is most common in Ashkenazic Jews than any other group. â€Å"Crohn’s is usually thought of as an old person’s disease,† said Michael. The harsh reality is that many Crohn’s sufferers are college-aged teens, many of whom were diagnosed as young children. Caitlin*, a 16-year-old sophomore at the Boston Latin School, was diagnosed at the age of 11. Trying to complete her schoolwork while maintaining her health is often difficult, Caitlin said. â€Å"When I feel good (almost all the time), Crohn’s doesn’t affect school at all,† she said in an e-mail. â€Å"It’s when I get so exhausted that I have to miss a day of school. I feel guilty missing school, and depending on the time of year, I get so much work the next day that I have to make up.