Review of MA Thesis by Ali Emre Sucu, student of the Master program “International relations”, Saint-Petersburg State University Title: Russian Compatriots as an Actor of Russian Politics in Central Asia  1.	Quality of MA Thesis №  	Assessment Criteria	Marks:  •	excellent (5) •	good (4) •	satisfactory (3) •	unsatisfactory (2)	Comments 1.	Relevance of study (АОМ: ОКМ-13, 22; АМ: ОКМ-8,16, ПК-36; ПОМ: ПК-6)	excellent	 2.	Scientific novelty (АОМ: ОКМ-13, 22; АМ: ОКМ-8,16, ПК-36; ПОМ: ПК-6)	good	 3.	The correctness of objective setting, the interconnectedness of goals and objectives (АОМ: ОКМ- 9, 13, 32; АМ:  ПК-10, 11; ПОМ: ОКМ-12)	excellent	 4.	Relevance of the sources and quality of criticism  (АОМ: ПК-17; АМ: ОКМ- 24; ПОМ: ОКМ-18, ПК-13)	good	 5.	Completeness and diversity of the list of used literature (АОМ: ПК-17; АМ: ОКМ- 24; ПОМ: ОКМ-18, ПК-13)	good	 6.	Correspondence of methods of research with the set goals and tasks  (АОМ: ОКМ-2; АМ: ОКМ- 10, ПК-26; ПОМ: ОКМ-11, 14) 	good	 7.	Correspondence of the results with the objective and goals (АОМ: ОКМ-1,7, ПК-33; АМ: ОКМ- 17, ПК-12, 37; ПОМ: ОКМ-14, ПК-14, 17)	good	 8.	Quality of text formalization (АОМ: ОКМ-1; АМ: ОКМ-8; ПОМ: ОКМ-7)	excellent	 Average Mark:	good    2. Conclusion: The research was carried out at a high scientific level. The author uses a wide range of sources and literature. The marks for some parameters were reduced for the following reasons. First, it is still unclear who the author of the work calls the compatriots? Are they ethnic Russians or Russian-speaking people? For example, Ukrainians in Kazakhstan, are they compatriots or not? Or Russian-speaking Uzbek? What is the position of the Russian government on this issue? Secondly, if the author is trying to conduct a historical analysys, then it should first of all explain how, when and why Russian people settled in Central Asia? Why they stayed there after the collapse of the Soviet Union? What are the contemporary conditions of their residence in Central Asia? It is hardly possible to agree with one of the conclusions in the work: "It can be said that the Russian compatriot policy are applying successfully under governmental and institutional bases by using the soft power tools". The latest developments in Central Asia, rather, show the opposite. In addition, the main publications on this topic are made by Russian researchers, and their works were often not taken into consideration by the author. There are some inaccuracies in the formalization of the text. For example, a list of sources and literature should start with sources, not with the title "books".  2.	Recommended Mark: good   May, 31, 2017.  Researcher, PhD (History), Department of Central Asia, Peter the Great Museum of Anthropology and Ethnography (the Kunstkamera), Russian Academy of Sciences  Konstantin S. Vasiltsov