No 4 (2016)

From the beginning of state-building in North Korea, its ideology has always been developed in line with the theory of Korean revolution. Initially, the conception of the Korean revolution was based on the main postulates of the Marxist-Leninist theory of revolution, implying its development changed from a bourgeois-democratic stage to a socialist one. Regarding North Korea, after its liberation from Japanese colonialism, this conception meant a gradual transition from anti-imperialism to the anti-feudal democratic revolution and then to the current socialist regime. For the implementation of the first stage of the Korean revolution in 1946, a series of laws were adopted, which provided a solid basis for socialist transformations in North Korea. Officially, the anti-feudal democratic revolution completed in 1947 with the establishment of the People's Committee of North Korea; however, this began a transitive period that lasted until 1957. Thus, until the present time, the idea of the Korean revolution has been an essential structure of political discourse and has determined the current tasks of nation-building. During the first and transitive stages of the Korean revolution, liquidation of socioeconomic and political inequality, including gender discrimination, was one of the main tasks of state-building. The liberation of women was understood in terms of the theory of class struggle and exploitation and implied granting women equal civil rights and freedom. Korean women were seen as a significant labor source, whose mobilization could significantly contribute to the establishment of socialism. The gender policy in 1945-1957 was mainly aimed at wakening the political conscience of women and their involvement in industrial production. Hence, the new sociopolitical regime and its policies influenced the transformation of traditional femininity and masculinity, which was primarily determined by the dominant neo-Confucian ideology. This study attempts to answer questions regarding how the theory of Korean revolution has impacted gender politics and to what extent North Korea could break with the traditional image of femininity.

The article describes the view of the Western countries in Japan during the Edo period (1603-1867). The basic source of the research is the treatise «Zo:ho: Kai Tsu:sho: Ko:» by Nishikawa Joken (1648-1724), which has been relatively rarely used by researchers despite its value. The author aimed to give a rational decription of the West, although in fact it approached almost grotesque. Still one should aknowledge that during the age of seclusion the Japanese were rather well informed about the external world. The main source of information were the Dutch living in Nagasaki.

The article deals with the contacts of the Caucasian tribes, the bearers of the Koban archeological culture and population of the Northern part of Black sea and Transcaucasia in the early Iron age, reflected in the number of elements of material culture. On the basis of materials Koban culture monuments of the Piedmont part of North Ossetia, mostly derived from burials excavated and studied by the author (rein, massive plates, oval clasps of the steppe type vulgatae arrowheads, the ornamentation of the bronze plaques, four-armed "Cimmerian" star, ceramic Cup, etc.), there are some connections between the ancient autochthonous of the region and the tribes of the Cimmerian-Scythian cultural circle, as well as the population of the Dnieper. Such material categories of the ancient Koban culture as sets of bronze horse bridle, a local type (two rings bit with various cast bit is found, the bit is provided with one ring prominent bit is found), bronze forged sitoli and mugs decorated with zoomorphic handles, ceramic vessels (some types of pots and mugs), at an early stage of this interaction in sufficiently large quantities to penetrate into the Scythian-Cimmerian environment. Probably, this explains the similar shape, and in some cases, the full analogy of the koban tipe ceramics from villiges Zmeyskaya, Sredniy Uruh, Komsomolskoye, settlements, Elhotovo, Nikolaevskaya, Zhamankul, Komarovo, Mozdok cemeteries found in Scythian burial monuments of the right Bank of the Dnieper and bug, Bielski settlement, Cimmerian and coild graves. Afterwards, in the second stage began the reverse process.The tribes of Koban culture starting to make and use weapons and bridle of the steppe the Scythian style type.

This article examines the historiographical problems related to the literature on Russian-Libyan relations. We analyze main characteristics of Russian literature in the coverage of this issue. The most promising areas for further study of the Russian-Libyan relations are identified.