Scientific journals in the post-Soviet states: the place in the national and international information space

Introduction. The objective of the paper is to analyze scientific journals published in the post-Soviet states, as well as to identify the role of scientific journals in the information and analytical support for the adoption and implementation of decisions related to the management of scientific activities and socio- economic processes in countries and regions. Analysis of scientific journals based on a set of indicators will make it possible to identify the place of these publications in the national and international information space. Materials and Methods. The authors have analyzed available information about scientific journals published in the post-Soviet states and indexed by Scopus and Web of Science as well as information about such journals given on the website of the Higher Attestation Commission of Russia, data from the website of the Russian Science Citation Index and information from the official websites of the journals and from other sources. To obtain quantitative indicators related to the journals, standard means of search engines provided by the abovementioned resources were used. Data on the population of the countries and the number of researchers in them were taken from official statistics. Results. Data about the number of journals published in the post-Soviet states and indexed by Scopus, Web of Science and the Russian Science Citation Index, as well as those included in the list of the Higher Attestation Commissiop of Russia have been analyzed. Information on the publication activities of authors from the post-Soviet states has been evaluated as absolute and relative indicators. A number of common features of the editorial policies and practical activities of the considered journals have been identified as well as their approaches to the use of publication languages, to the issue of translated editions, to the formation of editorial boards and to the involvement of national and foreign authors. Discussion and Conclusion. Electronic repositories of scientific information play a crucial role in the formation of international and national scientific spaces. The materials presented in this article may be useful for coping with research tasks related to scientific periodicals as well as to support decision-making by heads of scientific units, editorial and publishing complexes.