Articles

In the 1950s the Soviet Union was gradually establishing relations with many Asian and African countries, including India. A significant event in the life of the Soviet citizens was the VI World Festival of Youth and Students in Moscow. In 1957 the “Iron Curtain” was lifted for tens of thousands of foreign visitors in the hope of attracting young people from the other countries. The VI World Festival of Youth and Students in Moscow helped to create a positive image not only for the guests from the Western and highly developed countries, but for the countries of the Non-Aligned Movement. The festival was supposed to demonstrate the accomplishments of the Soviet Union in the field of science, culture and economy. The Moscow festival received the large delegation from India and showed the foreign guests, including students, the Soviet way of life. This festival not only had a propaganda effect, but also allowed to strengthen and expand links with many countries, including India. From the 1950s scientific, cultural and economic relations with India begin to improve. The festival allowed a large number of people to discover the socialist country. The article considers in detail the archival documents, that have not previously been used to examine the participation of the Indian delegation in the festival.

On modern Indian meeting websites (for example, MatrimonialsIndia. com ) the user page, in addition to other information, contains an indication of who created the profile. Among these persons, in addition to the user himself (or herself) and their close relatives (parents, brothers, sisters), some «friends» are mentioned. Not only in the early periods of history, but also in modern India, the institution of marriage remains extremely conservative. This circumstance raises the question: why do people who are not relatives of the potential bride and groom take part in creating a family? The analysis of sources from different eras shows us that contexts of this kind have been encountered before. So, for example, in the notes of Lutheran missionaries who worked in Southern India at the very beginning of the XVIII century, there are indications of the participation of some «friends» in the planning of marriage unions. There are also references to certain «friends» as the participants in the search for a bride for a young man in the monuments of ancient Indian didactic literature (Kāmasūtra). The analysis of texts and cases of the use of the term «friends» both in ancient Indian texts and in later sources shows that, most likely, it is not just about friendly ties. «Friends» most likely refer to members of the same caste group to which the potential bride and groom belong.

The Emergency declaration was a major landmark of the 1970s in India. The task of the regime introduced in 1975 by the Indian National Congress under the leadership of Indira Gandhi (1917–1984) was to save democracy from anti-Indian elements and to pave the way for further structural changes and reforms. But on the contrary, it resulted in the total dissatisfaction with the extraconstitutional restrains and, as a result, sowed the seeds of disdain and distrust among the population of India. As images of a bright future started to fade away, the INC saw a significant decline which eventually resulted in the party’s defeat at the 1977 general elections and the transfer of power to the Janata Party. The article examines the Emergency (1975–1977) in the current political rhetoric of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in India. In BJP’s view, the emergency declaration and the formation of the first non-Congress government was the victory of democratic values over the “dictatorship” of Indira Gandhi, or the triumph of good over evil and light over darkness. The regime, which gained notoriety among the people of India due to the unpopular socio-political course and unbalanced economic regulations of the government, did not only become a symbol of restriction and deprivation: it also made the people question the very essence of India’s democracy and the legacy of its “Founding Fathers” among whom was Jawaharlal Nehru (1947–1964), the first prime minister of India. Although almost five decades have passed since the infamous 1975, the ghost of the Emergency still haunts the contemporary Indian society and dominates BJP’s political rhetoric.

The Muˁdjam al-buldān (Reference-Book on Countries and Settlements), a mediaeval geographical encyclopaedia by Yāḳūt (1178–1129), contains a story in which Sasanid king Shapur ‘Piercer of the Shoulders’ moved Arabs from the region of al-Anbār (near present-day al-Fallujah), built there the town of Pērōz-Shāhpūhr (Peroz-Shapur) and appointed a certain Shīr Farrokhzādān as its governor. There are grounds to believe that the story in question was a part of a family history which descendants of Shīr Farrokhzādān kept through centuries, including in Islamic times. Yāḳūt quotes the story on the authority of Abū-l-Faḍl al-Ṣūlī who wrote at the end on the 9th or in the first half of the 10th century and was, by the criteria of mediaeval Islamic literature, a fairly early writer. The fact that story goes back to Sasanid times and is related by a relatively early writer seems to indicate its general reliability in the presentation of the events. However, the story also shows that it was re-worked in the Arabic cultural milieu. Shapur I, who actually built Misikhē (Pērōz-Shāhpūhr), is replaced by King Shapur II ‘Piercer of the Shoulders’ (307/8–379/80), probably because the latter, known by his fierce struggle against Arabic tribes, seemed to Arab story-tellers to be the one who would cause the forced migration in question rather than anyone else.

Realization of the central Zionist idea, known in Judaism as the “gathering of the exiles” (קיבוץ גלויות), caused one million Jews’ immigration to Israel in the 1950s and became a significant challenge for the country: Jews who came from different countries did not have a single culture and language, a common historical memory and generally accepted social habits. The way to achieve national unity was the “Melting Pot” policy, known in Israeli discourse as “mizug galuyot” (מיזוג גלויות) — “the mixing of exiles”, — aimed at forming a single Israeli nation. Despite the declared nature of the policy of cultural mixing, the practice of implementing “mizug galuyot” continues to be criticized by many researchers, who often characterize it as the forced assimilation of new immigrants by old-timers — the Jews, who arrived before 1948. This article aims to contribute to the study of Israel’s nation-building policy in the 1950s. based on archival documents.

The article focuses on the analysis of the impact of the Wahhabi movement on the emergence of the First Saudi State in the 1740s. Special attention is paid to the investigation of the distinctive features of the Wahhabi doctrine and the socio-political transformation of the Emirate of Diriyah under its direct influence. The study is based on the chronicles of the early Wahhabi theologians and historians — Hussein ibn Ghannam (d. 1811) and Usman ibn Bishr (d. 1871/72), as well as the anonymous work “The Shine of the Meteor in the Life of Muhammad ibn ‘Abd al-Wahhab”. The treatises of the founder of Wahhabism Muhammad ibn ‘Abd al-Wahhab (1703–1792) serve as a source of information about the early ideology of the movement. A comprehensive study of the listed sources makes it possible to reconstruct the social and political processes in Najd of the mentioned period, and also to draw a conclusion about the leading role of the Wahhabi doctrine in the emergence of Saudi statehood and the absence of other socio-political factors in this process.

The article deals with a notable episode within the phenomenon of the so-called “itinerant court” that includes performing pilgrimages (ziyarat) to the shrines of Muslim saints by the Timurid ruler Shahrukh. The study is based on the materials of dynastic chronicles and considers the most significant pilgrimage routes for the sovereign, its stages, as well as the purposes of these visits. Priority is given to the most frequently visited Sufi communities and the peculiarities of Shahrukh’s interaction with their leaders and other inhabitants. At this point an important question considering what was primary for him — the idea of ruler’s personal piety or utilitarian motives — arises. A thorough analysis of the chronicles demonstrates that the pilgrimage not only provided spiritual satisfaction, but also contributed to the growth of the ruler’s political significance.

The article centers upon the final, third, period of biography of outstanding Dutch Javanist Johann Gericke. It summarizes the results of his scientific and social activity, influencing a lot on the formation of Javanese studies as an academic discipline in the Netherlands in the first half of the 19th century. This subject is yet to be studied in our country being an extremely important matter for understanding the specifics of the development of Indonesian studies within Oriental studies in Russia and abroad.

Based on the materials from Pakistani military journals the article analyzes strategies used by the Pakistan Army in Kashmir from 1947 to the present. Indian-Pakistani disagreements over the territory of Kashmir have caused large-scale wars as well as local border conflicts and still remain a source of tension between the two nuclear powers. A new round of tension in Indian-Pakistani relations is associated with revocation of article 370 of the Constitution of India in 2019, which provided the state of Jammu and Kashmir with the autonomy. However, due to the military superiority of India Pakistan has focused on non-traditional methods of solving the Kashmir problem since the early years of independence. Irregular forces became her main weapon and the methods of using them have been improving over decades. Great importance was also given to the buildup of conventional weaponry and the development of nuclear weapons. Thus, the Pakistan Army has shown interest in such strategies as guerrilla warfare, asymmetric conflict, state terrorism, proxy war, low-intensity conflict, limited and non-kinetic warfare. One of the results of the application of these strategies was the growth of terrorism not only in India but in the region as well. However, in recent years, in the conditions of hybrid warfare nuclear weapons as well as superiority in conventional weapons have ceased to be considered by the Pakistan military leadership as necessary factors for achieving victory in Kashmir. This initiated the search for new approaches to confrontation with India. Military experts consider non-kinetic methods of hybrid warfare to be the most advantageous strategy for the Pakistan Army.

The Institute of Asian and African Studies has been a leading institution for decades in the training of specialists across a broad spectrum of knowledge related to the development of Asia and Africa. IAAS serves as both a symbol and a reflection of the evolutionary trajectory of Soviet and Russian Oriental Studies. The Institute’s primary function is the preservation of classical Oriental Studies traditions, while concurrently addressing contemporary needs, providing in-demand, scientifically rigorous training, expanding its program offerings, reinforcing its position as a leading center for Asian and African Studies expertise, fostering robust academic and applied collaborations, and fulfilling Russia’s national development objectives.

The head of all secret services of the Chinese Communist Party, Kang Sheng (1898–1975), served as the deputy head of the CCP delegation to the Comintern and as a member of the Presidium of the Comintern Executive Committee (ECCI) from 1933 to 1937. However, until recently, little was known about his life in the Soviet Union, as his personal file, held at the Russian State Archive of Recent History (RGANI), was not accessible to researchers. Only now has it become possible to introduce readers to documents from this file, shedding light on Kang Sheng’s political and organizational activities during that period. The presented information is complemented by materials from the personal file of Kang Sheng’s wife, Cao Yi’ou, also housed at RGANI, as well as from a range of lesser-known collections at the Russian State Archive of Social and Political History (RGASPI), including the personal files of the CCP delegation head to the Comintern Wang Ming, his wife Meng Qingshu, and many other Chinese communists. All these documents indicate that Kang Sheng was not an independent figure in organizing repressions against Chinese communists working in the USSR. The leading role in such activities was undoubtedly played by Wang Ming, while Kang mostly served as his subordinate.

The article examines the features of the religious and intellectual activities of a group of reform-minded Muslim scholars (ulama) led by Jamal al-Din al-Qasimi (1866–1914) in Ottoman Syria at the end of the 19th century, as well as the reaction to their activities by conservative supporters of Islamic traditionalism (taqlid) and the Ottoman authorities. The key historical event in the focus of the study is the so-called The “Mujtahids Incident” of 1896, when al-Qasimi and a number of his supporters were summoned to a judicial instance in Damascus for a public trial of their religious views and academic studies, where they were forced to respond to accusations, made against them by the Hanafi Mufti, of disloyalty to the authorities and independent arbitrary interpretations of the Koran and Sunnah. The study and discussion of sacred texts in the circle of Jamal al-Din al-Qasimi became an occasion for attacks from conservative-minded ulama, who were afraid of competition from Islamic intellectuals who did not consider themselves obliged to unconditionally accept all the conclusions of one or another of the four madhhabs (religious and legal schools). And although the participants in the “Mujtahids Incident” managed to justify themselves to the authorities in 1896, in the future until the Young Turk revolution of 1908–1909 they could not openly declare that they were practicing ijtihad, i.e. independent formulation and clarification of Islamic religious and legal conclusions based on direct reference to the Koran and the Sunnah. Both the formal and informal influence of conservative ulama in Ottoman Syria during the reign of Sultan Abdul Hamid II (1876–1909) remained virtually undeniable.

In the article some features of the development of the territorial problem in Indonesia — Malaysia relations in the late XX — early XXI centuries are revealed, in particular the recent dispute over the islands of Sipadan and Ligitan is reviewed. The author emphasizes the importance of the issue for the development of bilateral cooperation between Indonesia and Malaysia and for the process of interstate border final delimitation in today’s conditions. In conclusion, the author attempts to identify possible ways to solve the problem taking into consideration its historical and legal background.