It is undeniable to note that the  ties  between  countries, especially cultural,  historical,  economic   and   geopolitical,  are   rooted    in the  political foundations that have been laid  between nations and countries throughout the  process of  shaping what today is known as  international  relations,  a  discipline that  has  become  one  of the  most relevant for understanding the  contemporary world. Starting from  the  premise that human groups,  and hence the  forms  of their organization,  permanently  establish  social  links  and  interactions that constitute the   dynamic substrate  of  all  societies, it would  be appropriate to analyze how  they materialize in a specific bilateral sphere, for which a key aspect of mutual economic interests between the Russian Federation and Spain has been chosen. From an economic perspective and through the  analysis of statistics on foreign trade of goods, foreign investment and trade barriers, this research will address the  evolution of trade relations  over  the  last five  years, focusing on the  international trade situation that has occurred since the  global COVID-19 pandemic and created a multiplicity  of opportunities and challenges for trade and investment between the  two states in health sector.

The world has entered the third decade of the century, gripped by the global crisis and the COVID-19. These specific conditions have undermined the development and sustainability of the less prepared countries of Latin America and the Caribbean (LCA). The authors show that the COVID-19 pandemic was the largest shock for the LCA countries in the social and economic spheres. Before the pandemic, the LCA states had rather modest indicators of economic development. They were strongly influenced by external factors of protectionism opposition to the free trade and the looming global economic crisis. They have accumulated deep internal contradictions of social inequality and low domestic demand. The economic situation in the LCA countries has become even more complicated due to the development of a pandemic in 2020-2021: it was characterized by a halt or decline in economic activity, growing budget deficit and public debt, decline in domestic demand for goods and services, decreasing export revenues, declining investments, businesses closure, rising unemployment and poverty. To contain the spread of coronavirus, prevent overstrain of health systems and reduce human losses, the LCA governments took a number of measures to overcome the COVID-19 crisis, which came down to general measures of population social support and direct measures against the spread of the pandemic, including vaccination which has become an issue of utmost importance in the absence of local vaccines and a shortage of purchased vaccines or delivered under the COVAX program. However, as it is shown in the article, the measures taken by the LCA states to protect the population and the economy from the strikes of the pandemic are insufficient; vaccination programs are almost completely dependent on external vaccine manufacturers and international assistance.

In this  article the   author examines in detail the   bilateral relations between Spain and Brazil during  the  presidency of  Jair Bolsonaro. In addition, the subject of this article is the opposition of EU governments to the   environmental  policies of  the   South  American country and the  disastrous policies of the  Brazilian authorities in the  fight  against the    COVID-19   pandemic.   President   Bolsonaro’s   negligence   of climate change  and Amazon deforestation has prompted European governments to openly oppose the  ratification of the  Mercosur – EU Free Trade Agreement, which  was signed in 2019 after 20 years of negotiations. In May  2016, the   parties agreed on  reciprocal terms, resulting in signing  of the  agreement. It also  included the  exchange of goods and services, essential investments and public procurements. All this was done in the  context of a global policy of protectionism amid a weakening role of the  WTO as a supporter of the  trade liberalization process.  Despite its  success,  countries such  as France,  Austria  and the  Netherlands stand against the  Mercosur – EU trade deal, which can halt  its  ratification. The  Spanish government, on  the   contrary, is lobbying for  ratification of  the   agreement. Madrid,  interested in benefiting from the  Bolsonaro government’s liberal economic policies, maintains strong ties  with  its  South  American partner.  The  author analyzes  the   transformation  of  Spain  from   a relatively  irrelevant partner of  Brazil in the   20th century to one of  the   main  investors directing significant resources to the Brazilian economy. We also assess the  results and challenges of the  Brazil – Spain strategic partnership in a broader context of the  Brazil – EU relations.

The article examines the  memoirs of a Spanish diplomat Anibal Morillo and Perez del  Villar, the   Count of  Cartagena. He  held  the   post of the  Spanish ambassador in the  Russian  Empire in 1914-1916 when World War  One  broke out.  “Memories  of my Embassy in Russia”  by Morillo is a specific source that shows the  life of the  zarist court and diplomatic circles of St. Petersburg in that period. The Count of Cartagena’s activity has not been considered much  in Russian  historiography.  Based on the analysis of his memoirs, the author of the article suggests that Morillo considered the  Russian revolution to be brought in from outside. A study of the  memoirs showed that the  Spanish ambassador at St. Petersburg preferred  German diplomacy and had a peculiar notion of  the  role of Russia  in unleashing the  war.  The  author of this  article concludes that Morillo’s ideas were partly shaped by the  internal problems and the international situation of his own country at the beginning of the 20th century and that the  Spanish ambassador  was one of  the  Spanish Germanophiles. Spain maintained strict  neutrality throughout the  war. The  Spanish embassy  in Russia  carried out  important humanitarian mission  and active mediation activities, supporting Russian  citizens on enemy territory and trying to improve the  situation of Russian  prisoners of war and facilitate their return. The issue of the  personal participation of Anibal Morillo in mediation is also  touched upon in this article.

Russia   and  Spain re-established  relations  in  1856  after a  two-decade  diplomatic crisis  caused  by disagreements  over   Carlism. The  appointment of  Mariano  Téllez-Girón,  XII   Duke  of  Osuna,  as the  plenipotentiary minister  in the  Russian  court signaled a friendly reconciliation between the  two  countries.  However, it meant above all the  reaffirmation of the  Spanish nobleman, who  left his mark  on the  Russian  royal  and public  sphere.  The  Duke of Osuna knew  how to gain the   Tsar’s trust and displayed his  sense of  honor,   imbued with   the   aristocratic  spirit   and  the   European  dandy.   This  work provides a portrait of the  Duke of Osuna during  his embassy in Saint Petersburg, against the  backdrop of the  ideal of Spanish liberalism, and of the  dandy as a new  archetype of bourgeois honor.  The Letters from   Russia,   by Juan  Valera,  secretary of  that embassy,  help   to understand the  controversial image displayed by Osuna in the  Court of Alexander II. The Duke not only adapted to the  Russian  noble and autocratic  customs,  but   also   presented a very  particular way   of understanding the  figure of the  nobleman, which allowed him to refute the  existing stereotypes around Spain, as well as reinforce the  prestige of  Queen Elizabeth,  formally  recognized  not only  by Russia,  but  by the  rest of the  powers.

In this article the author analyses formation of the country's constitutional legislation system. In the 20th century Spain experienced three different periods: the years of the Second Republic in 1931-1939, the Franco's dictatorship of 1939-1975 and the period of transition to democracy or, as it is called ‘constitutional transit' of 1975-1980, when the basic laws and regulations of democratic Spain were adopted. Each of these periods corresponded with fundamentally different lawmaking processes, based on different legal judicial norms that were strongly influenced by the peculiarities of the political situation in the country. This article examines the background of the creation of Spanish constitutions in a particular historical period, the domestic and international situation and its influence on the peculiarities of lawmaking process. The author studies the history of the constitutional documents' adoption, considers and examines their structure and content in a highly detailed way. The author scrutinizes not only the logic, but also the sequence and reasons for the adoption of all Spanish constitutional and legal acts, as well as their meaning and influence on the legal system of the state. The Fundamental Laws of Frankish Spain, as well as the Spanish Constitution of 1978, the Political Reform Act, the rulings of the Spanish Constitutional Court and other acts, the peculiarities of the transition process to democracy and the legal break with the Frankish epoch and its system of lawmaking are studied in the article. It is worth noting that, at a time when the exist opinions that the Spanish Constitution is outdated and needs reforming, the conclusion about its fundamental role for the peaceful transition to a new Spain at the end of the 20th century and its legal relevance is the issue of utmost importance.

The article examines from various points of view the  role of the  Spanish language  in   the    Russian    system   of    primary    and  secondary education,  both  public    and   private,  paying   special   attention to the  experience of  schools participating in the  Bilingual  Sections program of the  Spanish Ministry of Education and Training. The article compares Spanish with other foreign languages in the  Russian  school system, and considers its evolution in the  timeline  and the  impact on its status of migration movements in connection with political events, commercial and student exchange,  tourism;  as well as the  impact of certain measures taken both in Russia  and in Spain. Institutions in both countries have established links to promote mutual development in terms of learning Spanish and Russian,  and the  diplomatic corps has become the   catalyst and manager of  this  dynamic.  Despite the   fact  that the   reactions  of  educational  actors  (institutions, civil society, students  and  teachers) are  varied, they  reinforce different mechanisms to gain access  to Spanish culture and business, as well as to other Spanish-speaking countries. The article also demonstrates the  current statistics and describes the  trend that the  teaching of Spanish may  follow in the  coming years due to positioning of Spanish among the  main foreign languages studied in Russian  schools.

Book under review: Vinas, Angel. El gran error de la Republica: Entre el ruido de sables y la ineficacia del Gobierno. Barcelona: Critica, 2021.