Institute of Oriental Studies, Russian Academy of Sciences
Recent publications
This article analyses the current state and trends in the regulation of trading of crypto assets and crypto exchanges at the global level. The enacted laws and regulations of the jurisdictions of the United States of America (herein-after referred to as USA) and the European Union (hereinafter referred to as EU) are indicated. It is emphasised that the regulatory framework of the EU is an example of effective international regulation. It is noted that the legislation in the USA regarding the regulation of the crypto exchanges and crypto assets is at the development stage, and there are contradictions between authorities considering the scope of the necessary regulation. The steps that should be taken at the global level to harmonise regulatory standards are analysed. The key directions for the development of the global regulation of the crypto exchanges include expansion of requirements to combat money laundering and financing of terrorism, introduction of mechanisms for training and protecting investors and information disclosure requirements. The author emphasises the need for interaction between industry representatives and regulators to manage the risks associated with cryptocurrencies, including prevention of market manipulation and fraud. The results of the work will be useful in shaping the concepts of the national and global regular framework regarding the trading of the crypto assets. Methods of analysis, synthesis, formal-logical, comparative, and descriptive analysis have been used as research methods.
This publication continues the study of relevant traditions about the Tabuk expedition (in the ninth year of the Hijra), which was started in the fourth issue of the journal for 2023, as well as the dominant thesis in traditional political and legal theology about the jizya-tribute from infidels, allegedly established by the Prophet Muhammad. Information about the imposition of such a tribute on the Christian city Dumat al-Jandal after the raid on it under the command of Khalid ibn al-Walid is subject to formal (hadithological) and substantive verification. The research is carried out in line with the reformist- modernist orientation towards revealing the truly humanistic, pacifist- pluralistic spirit of the Quranic message and overcoming medieval, exclusivist-militantist interpretations of prophetic Islam.
This publication is intended to be a kind of introduction to the author’s planned translation of a fragment about the comprehension of the separated by the unseparated from the treatise “Long Commentary on Aristotle’s “De anima” written by Ibn Rushd (lat. Averroes; d. 1198). In Falsafa (Muslim peripateticism), the problem of cognition of immaterial substances (especially God and cosmic intellects) by the material, human intellect is of fundamental importance not only for Falsafa’s epistemology, but also for its felicitology, in which the highest happiness of the soul is seen precisely in its conjunction with the intelligible world. The article highlights the relevant aspects of the philosophical psychology of Muslim peripateticism, the foundations of which were laid by al-Farabi (d. 950) and Ibn Sina (lat. Avicenna; d. 1037): cosmology and angelology; the structure of the soul and the architectonics of the intellect; the rational- philosophical justification of intellectual happiness- unhappiness, especially in the afterlife; eschatological optimism — the thesis on the possibility of posthumous spiritual progress and of the final salvation of the majority of the souls.
The article is devoted to the analysis of historical and cultural traditions of depicting the Russian Empire on European satirical maps of the 19th century. The study of this historical and cultural source allows us to identify the origins of critical strategies in visualizing the place and role of Russia in the geopolitical space of Europe and Asia by involving and comparative analysis of such additional documents as medieval and modern world maps. Despite all the differences in motives and interpretations of geographical objects by the creators of maps of different eras, what was common in their goals was the desire to semantize space, to give a significant – in spiritual, ideological, cultural, political, propaganda sense – meaning to the geographical location of that or another country in a global (but more often European) “concert” of countries, peoples, states and cultures. Satirical maps of the world traditionally spoke the language of allegories and metaphors, creating images of “neighbor”, “other”, “stranger”, “enemy” depending on the geopolitical and ideological relevance of the moment, but relying on the deep layers of cultural perception of spatial realities. The image of the Russian Empire, which combined “European-Asian”, “Western-Eastern” identities in both a geographical and cultural-civilizational sense, became for satirists a convenient propaganda method of ideological semantization and critical interpretation of its role in the system of great powers.
Introduction. The article is devoted to the virtual reconstruction of two churches on Mount Anakopia in the Republic of Abkhazia. The project to create three-dimensional models of two churches was preceded by a long period of study of sources of various kinds (archaeological, ethnographic, historical, iconographic, etc.) using complex research methods (iconographic and stylistic analysis, etc.). Methods and materials. In the summer of 2023, additional field research was carried out (ground-based photogrammetric survey, aerial photography, terrestrial laser scanning, etc.). As a result of photogrammetric processing, a surface triangulation model of the Upper and Lower Church, as well as orthophotomaps and digital models of their surfaces, were obtained. Analysis. The data obtained made it possible to create three-dimensional models of the Upper and Lower Churches, as well as, separately, fragments of their architectural decoration. Results. The appearance of these churches was typical of small temple buildings in mountainous regions or fortresses in the Caucasus, starting from the second half of the 10th century. It combined the features of the “severe” style characteristic of western and central Georgia, South Ossetia, etc. (for example, two churches in Akhalsopeli (near the Trialeti range, Kvemo Kartli) and others, Ubisi (Imereti), Armaz, in fragments – Nadarbazev, Kasagina, Kvaisa, etc.) and decorative motifs that were spreading throughout the territories of the Byzantine Empire from the Greek provinces (workshops of Thebes, Skripou, Peloponnese) and Asia Minor (woven ribbon ornaments, as, for example, on the altar barriers from Hosios Loukas), starting from the 9th century.
This article examines the achievements, challenges, characteristics, and future prospects of the higher education system in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, with particular emphasis on potential collaboration with the Russian Federation. The study investigates the activities, structure, and organization of the educational processes at three leading universities in the Kingdom: King Saud University (KSU), King Abdulaziz University (KAU), and King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals (KFUPM). An analysis of documents outlining the prospects for cooperation between Saudi Arabia and Russia in mutually beneficial areas, notably higher education, is presented. Data from major international ranking agencies, including the Academic Ranking of World Universities, QS World University Rankings, Times Higher Education World University Rankings, and Webometrics Ranking of World Universities, are provided. The article characterizes the structure of leading universities in the Kingdom, their funding sources, and distinctive features of their corporate culture. Special attention is given to the developmental directions of these universities, their scientific and educational projects, and their appeal to both Saudi nationals and international faculty and students. Based on an examination of the experiences of interaction between the authorities of the Russian Federation and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, as well as their official statements, prospective areas for collaboration between the educational systems of both nations are highlighted.
Review of the book: Pogadaev V.A. History of Indonesia in Faces (Moscow, 2023). 72 p., ill. (In Russ.). ISBN 978-5-907620-22-3
Быстрый рост китайской экономики должен порождать структурные сдвиги, связанные с насыщением одних рынков и ростом других. Китайская статистика предоставляет возможность наблюдать динамику натуральных показателей, которые отчетливо демонстрируют состояние производства и рынков. В статье на примере производства угля, цемента, электроэнергии, минеральных удобрений, пищевого растительного масла, тканей, бытовых холодильников, автомобилей, выплавки стали, производства металлорежущих станков, сотовых телефонов, интегральных схем за 2010–2022 гг. анализируется динамика изменения трендов в промышленности КНР. Проведенный анализ временных рядов производства промышленной продукции в натуральном выражении демонстрирует, что в китайской промышленности одновременно существуют и развиваются несколько групп отраслей, в которых наблюдаются различные тенденции. В отраслях, работающих на инфраструктуру, наблюдается насыщение, но также и продолжение роста в современной части (электроэнергия), или для новых рынков (добыча угля, цементная промышленность, производство стали). Отрасли, работающие преимущественно для внутреннего рынка, испытывают насыщение и даже спад производства (минеральные удобрения, пищевое растительное масло). В традиционно экспортных отраслях происходит смена лидеров (сокращение производства тканей). Развиваются новые отрасли, работающие на внутренний рынок и экспорт (рост производства автомобилей, насыщение рынка бытовых холодильников). В отраслях инвестиционного комплекса идет замена технологической основы (роботы заменяют металлообрабатывающие станки). Быстрыми темпами развиваются отрасли новейших электронных технологий, наблюдается насыщение в производстве мобильных телефонов, продолжается быстрый рост выпуска интегральных схем. В целом, промышленность КНР работает на три большие и относительно независимые группы рынков: рынки развитых стран, растущий внутренний рынок, а также рынки развивающихся стран.
The essay examines distinct patterns in the evolution and history of contemporary Maghreb Francophone literature (Algeria, Morocco, Tunisia), in which the employ of French language resulted to be a kind of weapon “seized” from the enemy colonizers. Its new forms of understanding reality are both an opportunity to formulate ideals of a better world order for postcolonial and modern times and the need to expose the flaws of the traditional societies, flaws caused by the reception by these societies of new methods of violence over individuals. These are among the main distinctive features of the Maghreb Francophone literature, which not only opposes the extremism of radical Islam and the challenges of the globalization but also reflects hopes for the triumph of Harmony and Justice.
Review of the book: Mosyakov D.V. The Indo-Pacific Region in the Focus of World Politics: Development Trends and Russia (Moscow, 2023). 570 p., ISBN 978-5-907671-57-7
Всеобъемлющее региональное экономическое партнерство (ВРЭП) представляет собой зону свободной торговли с перспективами углубления экономической интеграции. В него вошли КНР, Япония, Республика Корея (РК), все страны АСЕАН, Австралия и Новая Зеландия. Переговоры по созданию ВРЭП начались в 2012 г., соглашение о создании ВРЭП подписано в 2020 г., функционирование организации началось 1 января 2022 г. ВРЭП — крупнейшая в мире по уровню ВВП зона свободной торговли с населением в 2,2 млрд человек. ВРЭП опирается на следующие ключевые принципы региональной интеграции: торговля и инвестиции, основанные на правилах; доступ к рынкам стран-участниц; экономическое сотрудничество; центральное положение АСЕАН; изменение условий и оперативность реагирования, обеспечиваемые его статусом гибкого соглашения. Во ВРЭП на 20 лет сохраняются импортные тарифы, хотя их снижение запланировано. Товарные позиции в тарифах прописаны c большой детализацией для избирательного регулирования таможенной политики. Страны-члены открыты для торговли продукцией высоких технологий (электроника и авиационная техника), не облагают пошлинами импорт тех видов сырья, топлива и продовольствия, которых нет в стране. Наиболее защищаемыми статьями импорта являются товары, обеспечивающие продовольственную безопасность, а также избирательно те отрасли обрабатывающей промышленности, которые обеспечивают внутреннюю безопасность населения и международную конкурентоспособность (автомобильная техника). Из 15 стран-членов на 5 приходится более 90 % суммарного ВВП ВРЭП: КНР — 61 %, Япония — 14 %, РК — 6 %, Австралия — 6 %, Индонезия — 5 %. ВРЭП — первый опыт экономической интеграции столь разных по уровню экономики и технологии стран. Перспективы ВРЭП связаны с большими размерами его экономики и населения и догоняющим развитием отстающих стран-членов. Источники рисков — неравенство стран и конкурентные интеграционные проекты, организуемые США.
Chief Minister of Tamilnadu and President of Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam party M.K.Stalin is one of the key players in modern India’s politics. He has got many supporters in South India states, and his unusual name attracts a lot of interest to him and his activities outside the country. The formation of the Indian Stalin as a political leader, his leadership style, priorities, achievements and problems are the focus of the writer’s attention. Compared to his autocratic and formidable Soviet namesake, the Tamilnadu Stalin is considered to be democratic and pragmatic. He is a proponent of the coalition alliance of parties that oppose to the dominance of Hindu nationalism, the conservative Bharatiya Janata Party with its leader Narendra Modi in the political arena of India. In the interview to The Week, India, in July, 2023, Stalin said that the BJP sought the constitutional review and the destruction of the Indian federation and the union of states to substitute it with the autocratic state with one language and one religion. The BJP leaders accused Stalin’s party of corruption and nepotism in response. During the parliamentary election campaign held in April-June 2024, Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam party under the leadership of Stalin won another victory in Tamilnadu with 22 out of 39 deputy mandates and thus took one more step to the status of the national party. Nevertheless, Stalin’s ambitions do not extend beyond Tamilnadu. He tries not to stand out and prefers to stay in the shadow of more venerable Indian political leaders.
The article analyses problems of China’s social and economic development in the period of the 14th Five Year Plan (2021–2025) by the materials, which were published in October, 2022 at the XX Congress of the CPC and in March, 2023 at the First Session of the National People’s Congress (NPC) of the 14-th Convocation. This article sums up the social and economic results of 2022, when economic growth rates were much less than in the period of economic reforms at the end of the XX century and in the beginning of the XXI century because the COVID-19 epidemic and evident decrease of the world economic development. Never the less a lot of economic indices of China proved to be higher than all over the world, and now China is one of the world economic leaders. The First Session of the NPC planned quite realistic goals of social and economic development of China for 2023. The author considers, if China fulfills its tasks by the end of the 14-th Five Year Plan, it will strengthen its economic potential and promote living standards of the Chinese population.
In modern popular literature, blogs on the Internet and other media aimed at the mass reader one is more and more likely to find an assumption that the famous Chinese admiral of the Ming dynasty, Zheng He (1371—?), could be the prototype of the legendary Arab merchant and traveler Sinbad, whose seven fantastic voyages were subsequently included in the collection of folktales “One Thousand and One Nights”. This article analyzes the historical, textual and linguistic arguments for and against such a presumption from both the Chinese and Arab-Persian sides. The first part presents a general criticism of this hypothesis, after which the three main arguments of its supporters are examined separately. The author comes to the following conclusions: it is most likely that the cycle about Sinbad was formed much earlier than the expeditions of Zheng He on the basis of various myths and a self-sufficient Arab-Persian geographical and nautical tradition; the generally accepted statement that both personalities made seven voyages is in fact very controversial; Sanbao was the name given not only to Zheng He, but also to other officials at the Ming court, including those who were in no way connected with the expeditions to the Western Ocean, and the history of the appearance and use of this expression is very vague. Thus, the desire to see Zheng He as a source of inspiration for the creation of the character of Sinbad the Sailor seems groundless, and the arguments in its favor do not stand up to scientific criticism.
The article analyzes how the Soviet leadership pursued foreign policy objectives in relation to Turkey and the resulting legacy from these pursuits in today’s terms. USSR-Turkey relations in the 1920s were based on the common political interests of the two states, both of which existed in a similar geopolitical environment. The common goal shared by both nations was to overcome international isolation and ensure national security. The view of the Soviet government on Turkey’s role in border safety matters was outlined by People’s Commissar for Foreign Affairs Georgy Chicherin, who considered USSR‒Turkey cooperation a tool for ensuring security of the southern and southwestern borders of the Soviet Union. The Black Sea Straits were a key issue in bilateral relations. As the Straits were considered a “gateway” for an attack on the USSR’s southern borders, the Soviet government tried to revise the Straits regime in a more favorable way. It was assumed that strong economic ties with the Soviet Union and mutually advantageous cooperation in the security sector would become a robust deterrent instrument for Turkey’s leaders. During the Great Patriotic War, the USSR’s policies towards Turkey were aimed at preventing it from participating in the war on the side of a hostile bloc, as well as revamping the 1936 Montreux Convention more favorably for Soviet leadership. The 1939‒1946 attempts to apply pressure on Turkey regarding the Straits issue caused the latter to withdraw from the orbit of Soviet influence and led to almost two decades of hostility and strained relations between the two nations. After the death of Joseph Stalin, particularly in the Khrushchev era, the Soviet government sought to improve bilateral relations, mainly by identifying common ground in military and political spheres, expanding trade and economic cooperation, and building the foundation for the current high level of bilateral Russia-Turkey relations.
В статье проанализированы особенности современных идейно-политических конфликтов в Европе и мире, в частности, процесс кристаллизации идентистской идеологии (идентизма), которая противостоит ценностным установкам «либеральной демократии» (антиидентизму) в преддверии украинского кризиса. Подчеркнуто, что борьба за идентичность стала формой отстаивания привлекательных смыслов и защиты суверенных моделей развития в противовес ультралиберализму. Данный контекст помогает объяснить углубление идейных противостояний во время украинского кризиса. В статье рассмотрены партийно-политические разногласия и идейные конфликты в публичной сфере, описаны истоки зарождения современного антиидентизма, рост идентистских настроений и реакция на этот рост со стороны сторонников антиидентизма. Факторами ослабления идентизма послужили борьба с политическими соперниками, в США против Трампа и трампизма, в Европейском Союзе против партий и движений идентистского толка («популистов»), криминализация идентистских взглядов в рамках насаждения гендерной политики, маргинализация идентистов в ходе пандемии в контексте санитарной политики. Сделан вывод, что в рамках формирующегося полицентричного мира постепенно складывается противостояние двух идеологических систем – идентизма и антиидентизма. Важнейшая особенность этого противостояния – существенное присутствие сторонников тех или иных противостоящих друг другу партий почти во всех странах и регионах мира. Практически все западные идентисты представляю себя в качестве безусловных сторонников демократических ценностей в традиционном понимании классического либерализма – разделение властей, свободные выборы, гражданские свободы. Они осознают себя борцами за их возрождение в Европе и в США в противовес монополии антиидентизма.
The article analyzes the impact of the Ukrainian crisis on the ideological confrontation between identists and antiidentists (ultraliberals, supporters of “liberal democracy”) in the world and the influence of crisis on the prospects of the further consolidation of identism. Identism is considered as the worldview of parties and movements that defend identity and traditions, family values, and criticize immigration to varying degrees and with different accents. It is emphasized that the appeal to identity is increasing in current political decisions and discussions. It raises the question of rethinking the “clash of civilizations” through the dynamics of universalism and particularism, referring to tradition and the protecting identity in the programs of political parties. The analysis of political conflicts and speeches by the leaders of parties and movements demonstrated that anti–Russian policy and the policy of “cancel culture” towards Russia have become a manifestation of a new round of confrontation between mainly Western antiidentism and an emerging global force ‒ traditionalism or identism. Most politicians, public and cultural figures were faced with the dilemma of whether to make a choice in favor of Russia in order to dissociate themselves from antiidentism or to stay away. The logic of confrontation is based on the displacement (in the consistent and harsh application of cancel culture) of one's ideological opponent into a marginal field, if it is not possible to achieve his complete destruction as a social or political player. The Ukrainian crisis has made the confrontation between identitarians and antiidentitarians more pronounced at the international level and opponents of antiidentism have become part of the political space of most countries. The most important feature of the confrontation between the two ideological systems is the significant presence of supporters of various opposing parties in almost all countries and regions.
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