Demographic dynamics of the Belarusian-Russian border regions

The article deals with the demographic dynamics of the border regions of the Russia and Belarus. The article compares trends in population changes in the border Belarusian (Vitebsk, Gomel and Mogilev) and Russian (Bryansk, Pskov and Smolensk) regions over periods of 1959–1989 and 1989–2019. A comparison of the levels of life expectancy of the population at birth in these regions is given. The characteristics of the depopulation coefficient, as well as the effectiveness of the migration movement of the population are given. Their analysis revealed a higher level of demographic dynamics in the Belarusian border regions compared to the Russian regions. However, in general, the demographic dynamics of both Belarusian and Russian regions are characterised by depopulation trends that are typical of other regions with Slavic populations.

Population Genetics of Latvians in the Context of Admixture between North-Eastern European Ethnic Groups

This article presents a review on population genetics of Latvians, which alongside Lithuanians are the two extant Baltic speaking populations. The article provides a description of genome-wide single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) data and contains a comparative analysis of the results of studies performed on classical autosomal genetic markers, mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) and the non-recombining part of the Y chromosome (NRY), with data on neighbouring populations. The study also covers data of recently performed ancient DNA (aDNA) studies carried out on samples from the territory of today’s Latvia. The results of population genetic studies have shown a mixture of eastern and western genetic traits in present-day Latvians with only small differences between Latvian subpopulations. Studies of the Baltic “tribal gene” LWb, as well as the gene’s SERPINA1 allele PIZ have indicated the presence of a considerable Baltic admixture in the neighbouring Finno-Ugric and Slavic populations. Although mtDNA analyses have shown that Latvians genetically in general belong to the same common gene pool as most of the Europeans, the Y-chromosomal lineage composition suggests that they are most similar to Northern and Eastern European populations of Lithuanians, Estonians, and Eastern-Slavic populations, which are ethnogenetically closest to them. The analysis of aDNA from the Early and Middle Neolithic did not present any genomic evidence of gene-flow from Central European farmers or any mitochondrial or Y-chromosomal haplogroups that are typical for them in the hunter-gatherers from the territory of today’s Latvia and Lithuania.

What Does the Slave Trade in the Saqaliba Tell Us about Early Islamic Slavery?

The Saqaliba—a term that in medieval Arabic literature denoted the Slavic populations of central and eastern Europe (and possibly some of their neighbors)—offer a particularly insightful case study of the mechanisms of the early Islamic slave trade and the nature of the Muslim demand for slaves. What makes them such an ideal case study is their high visibility in texts produced in the Islamic world between the early 9th and early 11th centuries. Arab geographers and diplomats investigated their origins, while archaeological material, primarily hundreds of thousands of dirhams found in Scandinavia and the Slavic lands, contains traces of the trade in them. By combining these strands of evidence, we can build an exceptionally detailed image of slave trade systems that supplied Saqaliba to the Islamic markets, which, in turn, can be used to illustrate more general mechanisms governing the trade in and demand for slaves in the medieval Islamic world.

657del5 mutation of the NBS1 gene in myelodysplastic syndrome

Myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS) are clonal hematologic stem cell disorders with an as yet unknown molecular pathology. Genetic instability has been proposed as a cause of MDS. Mutations in the NBS1 gene, whose product nibrin (p95) is involved in DNA damage repair and cell-cycle control, might be associated with an elevated predisposition to the development of MDS. The aim of the study was to examine truncating 5 bp deletion (657del5), the most frequent NBS1 gene mutation in Slavic populations, in MDS patients. Among 71 MDS patients, we found one case that was heterozygous for the NBS1 657del5 mutation. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report of a NBS1 mutation in MDS.

The Nazi Empire

This articles addresses genocide in the Nazi Empire. Genocide in the Nazi Empire issued from a confluence of traditions: anti-Semitism, racism, imperialism, and eugenics. None of these was unique to Germany, but they came together in a lethal combination in Germany under Nazi rule to provide the ideological underpinnings for three clusters of genocidal projects. The first was the ‘purification’ of the German race through the mass murder of the mentally and physically handicapped within the Third Reich and the expulsion and mass murder of ‘Gypsies’ from the Third Reich. The second was a demographic revolution or ethnic restructuring within the lands deemed to be Germany's future Lebensraum through the decimation, denationalization, and expulsion of the predominately Slavic populations living there. The third was the systematic and total mass murder of every Jew — the Holocaust.