On October 27, 2014, the Institute of Oriental Studies of the Russian Academy of Sciences hosted the international round table "Mongolia at the Beginning of the XXI Century: Politics and Society", organized by the Department of Korea and Mongolia of the Institute of Oriental Studies of the Russian Academy of Sciences. The purpose of the event was to discuss topical issues of the socio-political and cultural life of modern Mongolia, its foreign policy and relations with Russia.

The topic of the round table aroused great interest and gathered participants not only from Moscow, but also from Mongolia - representatives of the Ministry of Education and Science. Among the participants were researchers from academic institutions: the Institute of Oriental Studies, the Institute of the Far East, the Institute of Ethnology and Anthropology of the Russian Academy of Sciences, teachers, postgraduates and students of the ISAA educational institutions of Moscow State University, the National Research University Higher School of Economics and the Russian State Pedagogical University, a representative of the Mongolia Department of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation I. S. Mostyka, a representative of the Society of Friends of Mongolia P. N. Chuiko, etc.

The round table was opened by E. V. Molodyakova, Deputy Director of the Institute of Information Technology of the Russian Academy of Sciences. She noted that Mongolian studies play an important role in the work of the Institute, and spoke about the traditionally warm and friendly relations and fruitful cooperation with Mongolian scientists.

A significant part of the reports dealt with Mongolia's foreign policy, Russian-Mongolian relations, and the country's internal political situation.

Elena Boikova (Institute of International Relations of the Russian Academy of Sciences) spoke about Mongolian peacekeepers as one of the new forms of foreign policy activity in Mongolia. The first military observers were sent to the Congo in 2003 The Mongolian contingent participated in a peacekeeping operation in Iraq in 2003-2008 In 2006 - 2011, the Mongolian military defended the International Special Court in Sierra Leone. In 2009, a group of peacekeepers was sent to Afghanistan, where Mongolian instructors had previously worked. In recent years, the country has been actively involved in peacekeeping work in South Sudan. Similar activities were carried out by the UN and NATO (operations in Afghanistan and Kosovo). In 2014, Mongolian General D. Bayarsaikhan was appointed Regional Commander of the UN peacekeeping force. Overall, more than 10,000 Mongolian troops have participated in peacekeeping operations since 2002.

V. V. Graivoronsky (Institute of History of the Russian Academy of Sciences) reviewed the issues of strategic partnership between Russia, China and Mongolia. Strategic partnership a higher level of interaction between countries, which is based on national interests and interest in long-term and mutually beneficial cooperation. V. V. Graivoronsky spoke about the main stages of cooperation between the three countries after 1990 and noted that at the moment the most rich and comprehensive is the strategic partnership between Russia and China, in second place - between Mongolia and China, and in third place - between Russia and Mongolia. The trilateral format of cooperation is used primarily in foreign policy, solving transport problems, nature protection, cultural and scientific contacts, and cross-border cooperation. According to the speaker, the potential of trilateral relations is not sufficiently used - this is hindered by the economic competition of Russian, Mongolian and Chinese companies, the lack of the necessary intergovernmental agreement and a mechanism for implementing agreements, and various domestic political problems.

In these circumstances, the initiative of the President of Mongolia, Ts. is of particular importance, according to V. V. Graivoronsky. Elbegdorj, who in 2014 proposed to hold the first trilateral meeting of the leaders of Mongolia, Russia and China in Ulaanbaatar. It is noteworthy that the initiative belonged to the Mongolian leader, which is the first precedent of this kind in the history of trilateral relations. The purpose of this proposal was to promote the activation of trilateral cooperation in the trade and economic field and promote the development of bilateral relations between the two countries.

transit, strengthening Mongolia's foreign policy position in the region. If in recent years Mongolia has focused mainly on relations with the EU, the United States and Japan, now it is possible to intensify relations with Russia and further strengthen cooperation with China. The leaders of Russia and China responded positively to this proposal. The first trilateral meeting of Russian President Vladimir Putin, Chinese President Xi Jinping and Mongolian President Ts. Elbegdorja was held on September 11, 2014 in Dushanbe during the summit of the heads of the SCO member states. It is obvious that such meetings open up new opportunities for the three States.

The topic of trilateral relations was developed in the report of S. L. Kuzmin (Institute of Internal Affairs of the Russian Academy of Sciences), which formulated the main threats to Mongolia's national security. The first and main threat, in his opinion, is the economic and cultural expansion of the PRC, which may be followed by demographic and territorial expansion. S. L. Kuzmin cited statistics that prove that Mongolia is currently in full economic dependence on the PRC. Cultural expansion is reflected in the fact that many Mongols send their children to study in China, and several Chinese TV channels broadcast in Mongolia. The speaker considers the growing influence of Russia and Japan to be an" antidote " to Chinese expansion. The second threat is the loss of national identity, which is promoted by Western mass culture and Protestant missionaries. The environmental threat is manifested primarily in the deterioration of air quality in Ulaanbaatar. The city is overpopulated, and many residents of the outskirts heat their houses and yurts with coal in winter, causing smoke in the city, which, in turn, leads to an increase in the incidence of diseases. Environmental problems are also caused by an excessive increase in the number of goats, whose grazing destroys the soil; gold mining, which destroys the soil and pollutes water bodies.

The topic of Mongolian-Chinese and Russian-Chinese relations was highlighted by A. A. Sizova (Higher School of Economics), who considered the problem of the formation of Mongolian statehood in the assessments of Chinese researchers. As you know, in the first half of the XX century. Mongolia fought first for independence, and then for legal recognition in the international arena. This process has been studied in some detail, but the position of Chinese scientists has long been extremely ideologized: they did not recognize Mongolia's desire for independence and considered its acquisition as a result of Russia's aggressive policy. Until the mid-2000s, the position of Chinese historians remained the same, despite the changing situation in the region and the strengthening of Russian-Chinese and Mongolian-Chinese cooperation. Chinese scholars still blamed tsarist Russia for the" separation " of Mongolia from China, considering it the result of well-prepared efforts of tsarist diplomats over many years. According to A. A. Sizova, Chinese historians do not take into account the complexity and dynamics of the processes that took place at that time, and exclude the positions of their Mongolian and Chinese participants. The real reasons that pushed the Mongols to leave China and seek help from Russia were not covered by Chinese historiography. The rich factual material and works of Russian historians, which revealed many aspects of the "Mongolian question"in detail, were practically ignored.

Some revision of views can be traced only since the mid-2000s. Chinese scientists are beginning to apply new methods to analyze political processes in the Far East, pay attention to the relations between Beijing and the Mongolian periphery in this period. The assessment of Russia's role is softened: Russia helped Mongolia gain independence, but internal contradictions were crucial. According to A. A. Sizova, the revision of Russia's role in the "Mongolian question" was the result not only of the development of Chinese science, but also of the deepening of the strategic partnership between China, Russia and Mongolia.

The problems of Mongolia's internal political development were discussed in the reports of M. I. Golman and R. T. Sabirov (both from the Institute of Political Studies of the Russian Academy of Sciences). M. I. Golman presented the details of the criminal prosecution of ex-President of Mongolia N. Enkhbayar. R. T. Sabirov spoke about the peculiarities of Mongolian democracy (see also: [Sabirov, 2014]).

Great interest was aroused by the report of our Mongolian colleagues-Zh. Togtoha (Mongolian Studies Foundation under the Ministry of Education and Science of Mongolia) and Oyuntsetseg (Ministry of Education and Science of Mongolia) on the state policy of Mongolia in the field of Mongolian studies. The preservation of the Mongolian language, customs and culture, and the development of Mongolian studies at home and abroad are tasks related to Mongolia's national security. In 2012, in order to support Mongolian studies, an order was issued by the President of Ts. Elbegdorj "On the Establishment of the Mongolian Studies Foundation", a corresponding law was adopted in 2013 and the Foundation was established. In 2014, the National Council of Mongolian Studies was organized and headed by the Prime Minister. The main goal of the Foundation is to finance the development of Mongolian studies.

The peculiarities of the development of modern Mongolian society and culture were described in the reports of Y. D. Lehman (RSUH), K. V. Orlova (IB RAS) and A. D. Tsendina (RSUH).

Y. D. Lehman told about the expedition to the Tsaatan Mongolian reindeer herders. Ethnic Tuvans, Tsaatans, live in the Khubsugul aimag, their total number currently stands at 300-400 people. Far from the main economic and cultural centers of the country, the Tsaatans maintain a traditional reindeer husbandry. In addition, they receive a certain income from the sale of souvenirs made of reindeer antler to tourists, etc. According to the reindeer herders themselves, the word "tsaatan" combines both a profession (reindeer herder) and an ethnonym (Tuvan). A reindeer herder, but not a Tuvan, is designated by the word "tsaachin". Shamanism is another marker of Tsaatan ethnic identity. According to Y. D. Lehman, the Tsaatan culture is an interesting example of a combination of Tuvan and Mongolian elements and languages.

K. V. Orlova presented the results of her expedition to the Kobdo aimag (Western Mongolia). Kobdo University holds valuable manuscripts in Oirat, Old written Mongolian and Tibetan languages. Small but interesting collections have been found among local residents who revere these texts as household shrines. The "Altan Geral Sudar" ("Golden Luster Sutra") is especially revered by the Derbets. The libraries of Somon monasteries contain widely known canonical works "Uliger un Dalai", "Ganjur" and "Danjur", etc. During the expedition, materials were collected on the history and culture of the Oirats of the Kobdo aimag, information was obtained about the pre-Buddhist beliefs of the Oirat peoples, their written tradition, handwritten heritage, the history of Buddhist monasteries, Oirat dialects and dialects, geographical names, Buddhist astrology, calendar, toponymy, songs, musical instruments, anthropology, demography of the Mongolian peoples. Mongolia.

A. D. Tsendina spoke about the current state of publishing historical sources in Mongolia (the beginning of the XXI century). The main place is occupied by the publication of the main sources on Mongolian history, such as "The Hidden Legend", "Shara Tuji", "Altan Tobchi", etc. At the same time, lesser-known but important works are published. This activity involves not only academic institutions, but also the Buddhist Sangha of Mongolia, which publishes valuable materials on the history of Buddhism, works by Mongolian Buddhist authors.

In general, the round table was held at a high scientific level and demonstrated several important trends. First, despite the difficult situation in Russian science, the traditions of Mongolian studies in Moscow are not only alive, but also have good prospects. The round table was attended by young Mongolian scholars: students, postgraduates and teachers of the capital's universities and academic institutes. Secondly, the variety of topics covered in the reports showed that various aspects of Mongolia's history and culture are of interest: political processes, ethnic groups and religions, texts, etc. Materials of the "round table" are published on the website of the Institute of Information Technology of the Russian Academy of Sciences and are available for review at http://ivran.ru/attachments/230_mongolia roundtable_ 2014.doc.

list of literature

Sabirov R. T. Arrest of ex-president N. Enkhbayar and atypical democracy in Mongolia.2014, N 1.

Permanent link to this publication: