Angelina Vashchuk, Institute of History, Archaeology and Ethnology of the Peoples of the Far East, FEB RAS, Vladivostok, Russia. E-mail: va_lina@mail.ru.
Based on the history of the Far Eastern Russian seaports, this study explores a current issue in contemporary historical science: the connection between perestroika and the radical post-Soviet reforms. The economic reform of the late 1980s was defined as a historical prerequisite for market reforms and as a stage in preparing managers for radical changes in state property management. The methodological basis of the study included the classical principles of historical science and the methods developed by Russian and foreign researchers specializing in state property privatization. The synthetic approach made it possible to make some conclusions. The state, having given the "green light" for the implementation of various local initiatives during the perestroika period, already defined a strategy for the economic bureaucracy - making a profit. Labor collectives mainly chose the second option of corporatization which allowed them to retain 51% of the shares. In the 1990s and early 2000s, the state's share in the ownership structure of maritime transport enterprises in the Far East still remained. The widespread use of bankruptcy procedures for state-owned enterprises became an effective instrument for forced changes of ownership. The reformers introduced a new mechanism for the distribution of power. The process of corporatization of Far Eastern ports influenced not only the decline in statistical indicators but also created a situation that diminished the historical Russian symbol - the achievements of great Russian explorers and sailors and the contribution of Soviet builders to the development of ports. The port business emerged through both legal grounds and destructive practices.
Keywords: USSR, maritime transport, perestroika, reforms, privatization, corporatization, seaports, Russian Far East, port business.

Svetlana Kovalenko, Institute of History, Archaeology and Ethnology of the Peoples of the Far East, FEB RAS, Vladivostok, Russia. E-mail: ostina@list.ru.
The paper analyzes the policy of glasnost during perestroika. It is shown that in the absence of a reform plan within the party elite and Mikhail Gorbachev, the criticism of the Soviet legacy very quickly turned into the denial of the existing system. These processes developed actively at the regional level. According to M. Mann's theory, there are four sources of power: ideological, political, economic and military. The destruction of one of them, the ideological one, led to irreversible consequences for the country. This study analyzes the role of ideology during perestroika. It shows how glasnost exposed the failure of the Soviet leadership to sustain its authority after the disintegration of the previous ideological foundation. The inability of the ruling elite to adequately respond to the devaluation of ideological values resulted in the loss of public trust in the party as a leading force in society. The negative assessments of the party's activity were growing across the country and eventually, most citizens ceased to perceive it as "a leading and guiding force". Initially, openness caused genuine public resonance, awakening interest in political life, historical past and current social issues. Over time, however, the broader population influenced by glasnost began to lose confidence in the possibility of ideological renewal and its value for the changes in the country. This process led to complete desacralization of the CPSU' authority. In the region, both the protest movements, which emerged rapidly when it became possible, and ordinary communists dissatisfied with the party policy and their position played a significant role in this process.
Keywords: reforms, perestroika, glasnost, criticism, the Far East, Mikhail Gorbachev, sources of power, bifurcation point.

Nikolay Vorontsov, Institute of History, Archaeology and Ethnology of the Peoples of the Far East, FEB RAS, Vladivostok, Russia. E-mail: nsv91@yandex.ru.
The paper examines the genesis of the movement for the establishment of the Russian Academy of Sciences that emerged in the academic environment and received support from the regional branches of the USSR Academy of Sciences and the Academy of Sciences of the RSFSR at the final stage of perestroika (1989-1991). Based on archival documents and periodicals, the author analyzes the position of the leadership of the Far Eastern Branch of the USSR Academy of Sciences: chairmen, Presidium, general assembly, and representatives of institutes and scientific departments who expressed their opinions on this issue. The author studies coordination with other departments of the USSR Academy of Sciences, government and administrative bodies, and public organizations. The stages of the development of the movement for the creation of the new academy were identified from the first proposals in the second half of 1989 to the completion of the transition of the Far Eastern Branch from the USSR Academy of Sciences to the Russian Academy of Sciences in December 1991. The paper examines the contribution of Far Eastern scientists to the discussion on the advisability of establishing the Russian Academy of Sciences and the principles of its establishment, the participation of the Far Eastern Regional Committee in the organization of the Russian Academy of Sciences and the elections to the Russian Academy of Sciences. The paper reveals the spectrum of opinions, views and expectations of the scientific community of the Far East. The author concludes that the process of the development of the movement was non-linear and included serious disagreements and doubts at different stages.
Keywords: USSR Academy of Sciences, Russian Academy of Sciences, perestroika, collapse of the USSR, Far Eastern Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences

Yuliya Kovalevskaya, Institute of History, Archaeology and Ethnology of the Peoples of the Far East, FEB RAS, Vladivostok, Russia. E-mail: tupa67@mail.ru.
The paper compares the characteristics of the social time during the late USSR (1970-1980s), perestroika (which is considered as a turning point between stable and transitional periods) and the 1990s. The theoretical framework is based on the theory of everyday life and the comparative historical approach. The sources include essays and interviews from the current SPRD archive. The comparative analysis revealed that perestroika is typologically related to other eras of great hopes and great disappointments, which regularly repeat in Russian history at a turning point between periods of relatively slow and accelerated social dynamics. During the Soviet period, the general historical scale began in the primitive past and went into the communist future using 1917 as the point of origin. Everything before the revolution was marked as profane and criticized from various perspectives (political, moral, economic). The Soviet period, especially the revolution, belonged to sacred time and was perceived dogmatically. Perestroika changed this type of perception of history: the zero point seemed to have moved from 1917 to 1985, and the entire Soviet period became available for "glasnost", i.e. criticism. The social time during the Brezhnev era had signs of reification when the multiplication of political and everyday rituals is both a way and a symptom of social stagnation. During perestroika, the speed of social change gradually increases, but along with the Soviet project of the future, the idea of the desired direction disappears. The standard labor rhythms of the Soviet period during perestroika underwent the same revision as the Soviet historical scale. There was a trend towards rejection of the unification of working hours and de-institutionalization of employment. Perestroika started the gradual erosion of all elements of Soviet life trajectory (from birth to retirement and funeral), which then reached its peak during the crisis years of the 1990s.
Keywords: social time, Brezhnev period, perestroika, 1990s, Russian Far East, reification, transitional period.

Elena Volkova, Institute of History, Archaeology and Ethnology of the Peoples of the Far East, FEB RAS, Vladivostok, Russia. E-mail: elenavolkova1@yandex.ru.
The author aims to analyze the use of the term "perestroika" in the Far Eastern fiction, its semantic content, associated definitions, evaluations and emotional reactions. This is important for revealing the attitude of society towards perestroika transformations. All poets and prose writers mentioned in the paper are contemporaries of that era. The study showed that hopes and euphoric moods in society were quickly replaced by disappointment, confusion and disorientation. Many literary heroes associate perestroika with the name of Mikhail Gorbachev, blaming him for the failure of reforms. During the post-Soviet period, the fiction authors inevitably view perestroika through the prism of the collapse of the USSR and the subsequent period of radical market reforms, considering the decline in production, the destruction of social infrastructure, criminalization of society, severe social stratification, falling living standards of the population and the identity crisis experienced by millions of citizens as direct consequences of perestroika; hence, the predominance of negative assessments. Moreover, the term "perestroika" in Far Eastern fiction is often used to describe later events and processes - right up to the beginning of the new century. A similar trend was discovered by Far Eastern historians during field research in the region, which allows us to conclude that perestroika and the "turbulent nineties" merge in the public consciousness into a single process of the destruction of the familiar Soviet world and fundamental transformations in all spheres.
Keywords: Russian Far East, perestroika, 1980s, 1990s, Far Eastern fiction, Far Eastern writers.

Liliia Larina, Institute of History, Archaeology and Ethnology of the Peoples of the Far East, FEB RAS, Vladivostok, Russia. E-mail: lilylar25@mail.ru.
The paper is based on the data obtained from the sociological survey of schoolchildren in Vladivostok in April - May 2025. The study focused on personal interests and moral values of young people, their attitudes toward family and social values, education and future careers. The results of the study allow us to draw a generalized portrait of a high school student in Vladivostok. Among the main features are the desire for personal happiness and the realization of his or her potential, the confidence that their own perseverance, responsibility and the ability to interact with people are the key qualities that can help them find a proper place in life. In other people, schoolchildren value primarily loyalty, intelligence and a sense of humor, but they are intolerant of drug addiction, corruption and drunkenness. Most of all, they are concerned about the high cost of living and military conflicts. At the same time, they believe in love, are attached to their families and are optimistic about the future. More than half of the boys would like to receive an engineering and technical education, while girls are focused on the humanities and cultural spheres. Moreover, more than half of both groups intend to get higher education in Moscow, St. Petersburg or abroad.
Keywords: schoolchildren, interests, value orientations, sociological survey, Vladivostok.

Elena Chernolutskaya, Institute of History, Archaeology and Ethnology of the Peoples of the Far East, FEB RAS, Vladivostok, Russia. E-mail: chvalery@mail.ru.
The paper analyzes how Western expert community perceived Mikhail Gorbachev's speech in Vladivostok in July 1986, in which radically new initiatives for the development of the Far East aimed at integration with the countries of the Asia-Pacific region were announced. Analysts carefully studied and evaluated the main ideas of this speech and their implementation. They revealed that the new Far Eastern policy had a prolonged but ambiguous effect on the region both in the last Soviet years and in the first decade of the existence of the Russian Federation. The study identifies the specifics of the assessments in English-language historiography during two periods - from 1986 to 1991 and in the 1990s - analyzing the prospects, results, and degree of continuity of the "new Eastern policy" from Mikhail Gorbachev to Boris Yeltsin. It is shown that initially researchers viewed the prospects for the development of the Far East positively, and the proximity of the Russian region to the countries of the Asia-Pacific region was an advantage. However, over time, scholars discovered numerous negative factors, which led to more pessimistic assessments of the policy's effectiveness due to doctrinal reasons (the focus on exporting raw materials), political reasons (confrontation among influential groups at the national and regional levels) and practical reasons (underdeveloped infrastructure, lack of a well-established legislative framework, etc.). Analysts concluded that the establishment of cooperation between the Far East and the countries of the Asia-Pacific region developed not as a result of Moscow's "new Eastern policy" but due to the necessity of simple economic survival. The expected breakthrough in the region's development did not occur.
Keywords: Russian Far East, regional policy under M. Gorbachev and B. Yeltsin, English-language historiography.

Dmitry Lukashevich, O.E. Kutafin Moscow State Law Academy, Moscow, Russia. E-mail: kremlin2024@mail.ru.
In connection with the 40th anniversary of the beginning of the radical political and economic transformation in our country (which was also of global importance), the paper analyzes the genesis of existing approaches to understanding the essence of the perestroika policy (and related processes including the collapse of the USSR) in Russian historical and legal science, as well as in public consciousness over the past four decades. In particular, the following approaches to understanding perestroika are critically analyzed: "perestroika as a mechanism for integrating the USSR into the world community, as a policy of overcoming the Soviet totalitarian system"; "perestroika in the USSR is a series of mistakes and omissions but committed with initially naively good goals". It is shown that perestroika should not be taken out of the historical context. Its evaluation should take into account not only the preceding events but also the subsequent development of Russia and the world. Many events in the post-Soviet countries strongly resembled what happened in the USSR between 1985 and 1991, which allows us to look at perestroika as an element of a broader chain of events, as a specific policy pursued under the auspices of Western elites during the globalization process. It is concluded that perestroika in the USSR should be considered as one of the first experiences of a successful "color revolution", the mechanisms of which were subsequently applied in other countries.
Keywords: perestroika in the USSR, color revolution, collapse of the USSR, M.S. Gorbachev, B.N. Yeltsin, the GKChP, the Belovezha Accords.

Yu Hantao, Heilongjiang University, Harbin, China. E-mail: m18003656695@163.com.
The study focuses on the overview and assessment of information collected by the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) on the Soviet Union during the period that became pivotal and transformative in Soviet history. In the 1980s, CIA intelligence activities concerning the USSR were divided into two categories. Special investigations were conducted regarding the major and extraordinary events such as the Chernobyl nuclear accident, the KAL007 flight incident, the war in Afghanistan, etc. These assessments were characterized by particular attention to fact-finding, a comprehensive approach to the research and analysis of events, a policy-oriented focus and short-term policy recommendations. Macro-analysis and assessment of the internal conditions of the Soviet Union were aimed at long-term monitoring of various aspects of the USSR's development, particularly related to Gorbachev's economic reforms, Soviet military strength, and interethnic tensions and conflicts. The emphasis was on the long-term trend extrapolation and the in-depth forecasting of Soviet strategy. In the final days of the Soviet Union, the CIA had a relatively clear foresight of the significant economic difficulties, political turmoil, and major shifts in military and foreign policy diplomacy that this power had to face. However, despite the CIA's accurate predictions regarding the crises facing the Soviet Union, there is a general belief that the CIA "failed to anticipate the collapse of the Soviet Union". The study of CIA intelligence reports helps to explain why this misunderstanding arose. It also provides an opportunity to reconsider and analyze the history of the Soviet Union during Mikhail Gorbachev's leadership from the perspective of the Unites States in the 1980s.
Keywords: collapse of the USSR, CIA, Cold War, intelligence, 1980s.

Ivan Zuenko, Institute of History, Archaeology and Ethnology of the Peoples of the Far East, FEB RAS, Vladivostok, Russia. E-mail: ivanzuwei@gmail.com.
The paper analyses the dynamics of the perception of Soviet perestroika in the PRC over the past forty years (1985-2025). A number of monographs written by leading Chinese specialists in Russian studies that examine the experience of the USSR are used as source material. It is concluded that Chinese scholars consistently interpreted the processes happened in both countries as follows: Soviet perestroika and the Chinese reforms of the 1970-1980s had common goals - to modernize the socialist model, catch up with the West and strengthen the power of the ruling parties. China carefully studied the Soviet experience, especially after the crisis of the late 1980s, seeing perestroika as a "counterexample" in certain aspects of reforms, primarily political liberalization. The attitude towards it in China changed and was used in the domestic political struggle in the late 1980s and early 1990s. A new round of interest in perestroika, caused, first of all, by the analysis of the reasons for the collapse of the USSR, occurred in the 2010s and was associated with Xi Jinping's rise to power. During this period, the analysis of the perestroika experience of the USSR was increasingly integrated into state propaganda aimed at strengthening social and political stability in the country. At present, the sharpness of criticism of perestroika has softened, and in a number of aspects - such as assessments of Mikhail Gorbachev's personality - there has been a noticeable shift toward a more complex and balanced analysis.
Keywords: perestroika, USSR, M.S. Gorbachev, collapse of the Soviet Union, Chinese reforms.

Liu Xun, Russian Language Institute of Heilongjiang University, Harbin, China. E-mail: 2018046@hlju.edu.cn.
The Soviet Union and China were socialist countries. The old economic system of the People's Republic of China was borrowed from the USSR, and both systems were extremely similar. To overcome the shortcomings of the traditional Soviet model, both the Soviet Union and China carried out comprehensive socialist transformations in the 1980s, among which economic reforms played an important role. However, these reforms differed significantly in terms of their initial conditions, their development at the highest level of government, and the implementation process, which ultimately led to completely different historical results. It can be said that both the failure of reforms in the Soviet Union and the success of reforms in China is the inevitable result of the combined action of many subjective and objective, internal and external factors. The purpose of this paper is not to prove that the Soviet model of reforms is better or worse than the Chinese one but to systematize the current knowledge of Chinese researchers on this issue by comparing the experience of reforms in the Soviet Union and China, which is of great importance for a deeper understanding of the modernization processes in both countries. The author concludes that the necessary conditions for the success of reforms in China were strong political leadership, proper understanding of national characteristics, social stability, and fulfillment of the real needs of the people.
Keywords: Soviet Union, China, M.S. Gorbachev, Deng Xiaoping, economic reforms, comparative analysis.

Ivan Danilin, Primakov National Research Institute of World Economy and International Relations, Russian Academy of Sciences (IMEMO), Moscow, Russia. E-mail: danilin.iv@imemo.ru.
Sergey Lukonin, Primakov National Research Institute of World Economy and International Relations, Russian Academy of Sciences (IMEMO), Moscow, Russia. E-mail: sergeylukonin@mail.ru.
The traditional Chinese model of economic development based on cheap labor, exports and investments in fixed assets is gradually losing its effectiveness. It should be replaced by a new one based on domestic consumption and scientific and technological progress. Based on this, Beijing uses many mechanisms to stimulate the development of national science. One of them is the formation of scientific and technological clusters. According to the Global Innovation Index for 2024, Chinese Shenzhen ranked second in the world in terms of overall development indicators. The paper examines the process of formation of the Shenzhen science and technology cluster. Its current state, potential directions and development challenges are analyzed. Important factors that had a positive impact on the establishment of Shenzhen as a scientific and technological hub were: its proximity to potential sources of capital, a diverse policy of the city authorities to stimulate the formation of a cluster, the establishment of headquarters of Chinese leading high-tech companies in the city, etc. The limitations include the lack of strong research centers and fundamental scientific schools in the early stages of development. This disadvantage is being overcome gradually. Additional challenges for the development of Shenzhen are the US‑China trade war and the likely restrictions on exports of local products that can be imposed by other countries. At the same time, certain elements of the Shenzhen science and technology cluster development policy can be used in other countries.
Keywords: China, scientific and technological development, scientific and technological clusters, Shenzhen.

Elena Shitova, Institute of History, Archaeology and Ethnology of the Peoples of the Far East, FEB RAS, Vladivostok, Russia. E-mail: eas208@yandex.ru.
Along with the development of Russian-Chinese relations, trade between the two countries has expanded significantly. Raw materials occupy the most prominent position in Russia's exports to China. However, Russian food products are present in Chinese online and physical stores. A certain degree of recognition of Russian goods and the Chinese tendency to ‘copy' has led to the phenomenon of "Russian" goods - products not manufactured in Russia but positioned as Russian. Packaging design plays a crucial role in this positioning as it serves to construct the perception of a product's "Russianness" among consumers. This paper examines the contemporary image of Russia in China through the visual strategies used to construct the country's image on the packaging of such goods. Having analyzed the appearance of "Russian" products on the Tmall platform of the Chinese online store Taobao, we identified the following categories of such products: products designed to visually copy a particular Russian brand; products manufactured in China under a Chinese brand name but using raw materials imported from Russia; products manufactured in China under a Chinese brand name using non- Russian raw materials. Examples of products from each category are provided, their packaging design and the most common visual solutions are analyzed. It is concluded how visual representations of Russia are constructed in China, what associations Russia generates among Chinese producers and consumers, what perceptions and knowledge of Russia exist among Chinese people.
Keywords: Russia, China, China-Russia relations, China-Russia trade, the image of Russia in China.