Vol 13, No 1 (2021): Oriental Studies: History, Politics, Culture

The author considers the position of Iran regarding the Afghan armed conflict (1978-1979) before the Soviet troops entered Afghanistan, as well as the consistent evolution of this position and the involvement of Iran in internal Afghan events. The author relies mainly on documentary sources, but also attracts scientific works in Russian and English (including the works of Iranian authors). According to the author, the analysis and study of Iran’s position on Afghanistan and the evolution of this position deserve a separate article because, firstly, the religious factor began to especially influence Iran’s foreign policy after the events of the Islamic Revolution of 1979; secondly, for the two years chosen for consideration in an article in Iran, the political regime has radically changed, and it is useful to consider the transformation of Iran’s foreign policy from the reign of the shah to the theocratic regime. In the first part of the article, the author analyzes the position of the Shah of the Iranian regime regarding the April Revolution of 1979 and the political changes that took place in Afghanistan after the revolution. The second part is devoted to the policy of Iran with respect to Afghanistan in 1979, and in this part the author argues that the Herat rebellion, which took place in March 1979, became the main trigger for transforming Iran’s attitude towards Afghanistan from a wait-and-see attitude to active involvement. The author also notes, that Iran’s policy towards Afghanistan in 1978-1979 developed sequentially, despite the radical transformation of power in Iran itself during this period.

The article analyzes the role of ethno-confessional factor in the social and political life of two Eastern Mediterranean Arab countries - Lebanon and Syria. It is emphasized that ethnic and confessional diversity in combination with cultural and civilizational specifics predetermines the peculiarities of political processes in the countries and their foreign policy orientations. The authors note the tendency of wide involvement of various ethnic and confessional groups in political processes. The authors come to the conclusion about significance of ethnic and confessional factors in the development of traditional societies in the Middle Eastern countries, including Syria and Lebanon. The ethno-confessional factor can both consolidate and mobilize society, as well as increase the potential for conflict and complicate the settlement process in multi-ethnic and multi-confessional countries of the region.

The Article is devoted to the humanitarian cooperation between Russia and Vietnam in 1991-2019. Currently, Russia and Vietnam are united by the desire to structure the regional subsystem through joint participation in economic integration and strengthening the security system in the Asia-Pacific region. In this regard, the question of how Russia and Vietnam build bilateral relations, characterized as a “comprehensive strategic partnership”, is becoming more and more relevant. The most interesting is the humanitarian aspect of relations, since in the modern realities of globalization, in addition to the military and economic aspects of bilateral interaction between States that claim a significant role in the system of international relations, it is humanitarian imperatives that acquire special significance. By promoting their national culture in the partner country and developing bilateral ties in the fields of education, science, information, sports and tourism, the countries strengthen their bilateral relations, which allows them to coordinate their actions more confidently and realize their national interests at the global and regional levels. The purpose of the article is to identify trends in Russian-Vietnamese humanitarian relations in 1991-2019. To achieve this goal, an analysis of the legal framework of humanitarian relations between Russia and Vietnam was conducted, as well as the content of humanitarian relations between the two countries in the field of education, culture and humanitarian contacts. The authors considered the significance of the studied segment of bilateral relations in the national political and expert-analytical discourses of Russia and Vietnam. The article notes the existence of historical and organizational potential necessary for implementation in the Russian-Vietnamese humanitarian dialogue. The authors conclude that the humanitarian aspect plays an important role, since it is an integral part of bilateral relations and a promising component of the implementation of national interests.

The present work is a continuation of two previously published articles in which the biography of Zhao Rugua 趙汝适 (1170-1231), the author of Zhufan zhi 諸蕃志 (“Records of Foreign Peoples”; 1225) an important historical geographical source about the foreign lands during the Song dynasty (960-1279), was studied through the usage of the text of his funeral epitaph as well as other historical sources. They also included the translation of the text of inscription into Russian and English [1; 2]. The goal of this article is to deepen the study of Zhao Rugua’s funeral epitaph by researching the material features of the source, analyzing the structure of the text and comparing it with other similar sources of Medieval China. In contrast with the previous works the inscription in this article is analyzed both as a textual source and as an object of material culture which enables to understand the context of the creation of the source as well as the extent of detalization of the deceased’s biography.

The article is devoted to the issue of repatriation of Ainu ancestral remains, collected by Japanese researchers in the second half of the 19th - 20th centuries. It is the most crucial current issue for many Ainu people who are trying to regain the language, the distinct culture, and identity. The article analyzes the positions of the Japanese Government, the Hokkaido Ainu Association and Ainu rights activist groups and movements. The article examines the contradictions that arose in Japanese society concerning the process of repatriation. Discussions in Japanese society during this problem were analyzed, and its significance for the Ainu communities is revealed. It was found that the discussions mainly arise in connection with the idea of transferring the remains to the memorial hall located in Symbolic Spaces for Ethnic Harmony, which was opened in July 2020. Research also showed that the problem under study is largely related to limitations in ethnic policy implementation and realization of indigenous peoples’ rights in Japan. In addition, the process of repatriation of Ainu ancestral remains is compounded by the lack of unity of the Ainu as a community. Therefore, reaching agreement between the government, the academic community, and critical Ainu rights activist groups proved extremely difficult. However, it was concluded that there is a potential to resolve the issue and consensus could be reached in the near future.