Vol 16, No 4 (2024)

One of the directions in Chinese historiography is a research into life and work of outstanding Chinese political figures that might gradually cover “the blank spots” in the history of China. In the spirit of the times, Russian researchers are increasingly turning to the study of archival materials that shed light on the activism of prominent Chinese political activists. Yu Xiusong’s Personnel Files, kept in the collections of Russian State Archive of Socio-Political History, is one of the principal sources on his life and activities. The study looks at Yu Xiusong’s involvement in historical events in China - the CPC foundation, the CPC-Kuomintang United Front, etc. - and refines some well-ingrained views on the history of CPC and national revolutionary movement in China. The study also analyses the problem of initial cooperation between the CPC and the Kuomintang, known as the United Front of Progressive Forces based on cooperation between the CPC and the Kuomintang (1922-1927).

The history of the construction of an important transport artery of the Russian-Persian transborder region - the Tauriz wheel road - is considered within this study. As known, the initially end points of the Julfa - Tabriz route had been planned to be connected by a railway. However, at the turn of the XIX-XX centuries, the Russian government alternatively decided to begin construction first of a wheel road first between the designated sites. The author discusses the history of the construction of the Tabriz wheel road, its quality characteristics, and operational capabilities. The goal is to find out how effective the construction of the Tauriz road was as a temporary measure to increase Russian-Persian trade. The author comes to the conclusion, that, despite the many shortcomings and problems that accompanied the wheel road, both during its construction and operation, the Russian government successfully coped with the task: the constructed wheeled road fulfilled its role as a temporary measure that contributed to the intensification of trade turnover between Russia and Persia.

The history of Buddhism in Middle Asia and its subsequent transition to Russia is rich in every dimension: in peoples and lands, events, processes, which played an important role in the history of religion, etc. This long journey lasted for centuries, when Buddhism managed to enrich local cultures with its ideas, while demonstrating the ability to transform itself, giving new features to its spiritual achievements and at the same time incorporating them into the cultures of nations that accepted the teachings of Buddha later. India, where Buddhism first originated, and Russia are separated by vast distances, and many peoples of Central Asia made their contributions to the development of local forms of Buddha’s teachings. In particular, those were such peoples as Afghans, Parthians, Kushans, Uyghurs, Mongols, Oirats, etc. Buddhism first penetrated into Middle Asia during the era of the Macedonian campaigns and took hold due to its tolerance to and complementarity with the local cults and beliefs. There are two stages in the history of Buddhism in Central Asia: first in its western part (where it would persist until the 7th-9th centuries) mainly among the Turks, then in the eastern part (from no later than the 7th century onwards), when Buddhism would manifest itself among the Zhuzhans (a stele found in the Bulgan aimag of Mongolia). The resettlement of Western Mongolian Oirats to southern Siberia in the second half of the 16th century marks the arrival of Tibetan Buddhism in Russia; however, one can also identify traces of earlier influence of Uyghur Buddhism on these nomads. In addition, the research looks at the way Kalmyks and Indians interacted in the sphere of Buddhism, and at how Buddhism was consolidating its position among the Buryats, Tuvinians and the peoples of Altai. The author mainly focuses on the territory of present-day Russia, although the study of Buddhism history in the territory of the former Russian Empire or the USSR definitely shows a more impressive heritage. The study highlights principal geographical areas and directions of Buddhism advance towards Russia, and indicates the role of certain individuals and peoples.

The study presents the evolution of the Canadian party system in the period from 1993 to 2021. The author believes that the results of the general elections in Canada, from 1993 to 2021, had the most direct impact on the transformation of the party system of this state, forming its parliamentary multiparty system at the national level. According to the author, it is worth highlighting three immediate periods of evolution of the Canadian party system: from 1993 to 2006, from 2006 to 2015, and from 2015 to 2019. According to the author, this periodization reflected not only the evolution of the party system within the framework of Canadian parliamentarism, but also changes in political ideologies themselves. The author emphasizes that the 1993 parliamentary elections were the most important milestone in the entire transformation of the Canadian party system, forming new regional parties in the Canadian parliament. The study notes that the 2006 parliamentary elections were extremely important, since the Conservative Party won the elections for the first time, providing a significant alternative to the liberals. The results of the parliamentary elections were no less significant in terms of influence on the development of leading political ideologies in Canada. The author concludes that the results of the parliamentary elections had the most direct impact on the change of political leadership in the parties. This is indicative of the examples of S. Harper, who led the Conservatives to victory in the 2006 elections, as well as J. Trudeau, who overcame the crisis of liberalism and won the 2015 elections. From the author’s point of view, the elections changed the political landscape, contributed to the strengthening of some parties and the disappearance of others.

The significance of this topic is determined by the crisis of the Western model of “consumer society” and the demand for finding new, different ways of development from previous socio-economic systems. One of which is the “third way” in the countries of the East. Attention is focused on the revival and revival in recent years of the “non-aligned movement” that arose in the late 50s and early 60s of the last century. The leaders of this movement also became the authors of original political and legal doctrines of social development along the “third way”. The research reveals the difference between the concepts of development along the “third way” in the West and in the East. The author pays special attention to the fact that the leaders of the countries of the East, the architects of development concepts along the “third way”, were looking for their own authentic path of development, rejecting the capitalism of Adam Smith and the communism of Karl Marx, that is, refusing to follow both the capitalist and socialist paths of development of minority power over the majority. The purpose of the study is to identify the theoretical sources of the formation of the concepts of the “third way”, to clarify the basic principles underlying the theories of the “third way”, and to carry out their typologization. The study also reveals the relationship and continuity between the ideological principles of the anti-colonial and national liberation movement of the 19th century and the doctrines of the “third way” of the 20th century. The methodological basis of the study is the principles of historicism, scientific objectivity, and a critical attitude to the source base. The main results of the study can be in demand and used within the framework of research activities, during lectures and seminars on the modern and contemporary history of Asian and African countries.

The purpose of the study is to analyze political processes in Bosnia and Herzegovina against the background of deep ethnic and religious contradictions. In this regard, the problem of secession and irredentism in Bosnia and Herzegovina is examined, considered in a broad historical context. The phenomenon of Bosnia and Herzegovina is shown as a result of the influence of liberal ideas, which largely stimulated the disintegration of Yugoslavia. The fierce military conflicts generated by this disintegration led to secessionist-irredentist projects on the part of the Serbian and, partly, Croatian population and Bosniak attempts to reincarnate the previous (Yugoslav) concept based on the primacy of citizenship over other forms of identity. In this regard, the options for a possible state structure are examined: unitarism (which the Bosniaks advocate) or confederation (the position of the Serbian population), in which many see the first step towards secession with the possibility of subsequent entry into a neighboring state. Croatian representatives prefer either a unitary or a confederative theory of state structure depending on the status of the Croatian ethnic group in one or another model. The analysis of the problem under study is based on the theory of the multipolar world by E.M. Primakov, which makes it possible to consider the place of Bosnia and Herzegovina both in the global dimension and on a regional scale. The study also uses the methodology of M. Weber, according to which interethnic contradictions are predetermined by the incommensurability of values, in some cases turning into the reduction of religious dogmas into social norms. The conclusion is that, due to a number of political, religious and cultural reasons considered, secessionism and irredentism are more pronounced among the Balkan peoples than among other peoples. Europe. At present, these processes are far from complete in Bosnia and Herzegovina, and even possible entry into other confederative associations, such as the EU, will not be a reliable guarantee of their cessation.