MOSCOW INSTITUTE OF AFRICA RAS

On May 22, 2012, the Institute of Africa of the Russian Academy of Sciences held a solemn meeting dedicated to the Day of Africa. Along with the Institute's staff, representatives of other Russian research centers, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation, ambassadors of African countries, teachers and university students were present.

This year, the traditional meeting of African researchers was devoted to one of the most pressing problems of our time - the formation of the information society on the Black Continent. This choice is not accidental.

Intensive computerization and informatization of the world community in recent decades has had a multifaceted impact on various aspects of human activity and has led to the creation of a global information space. Information has become a powerful strategic resource in the modern world, and the level of involvement of a particular state and its population in the global information space is an indicator of the degree of their development.

Until recently, there was an opinion that information and social media are meaningless and powerless in the African context, since Africa is almost completely absent from the Internet. Now it is clear that Africa is experiencing a real network revolution. All this prompted the Academic Council of the Institute of Africa to choose the problem of the formation of the information society on the continent as the main topic of discussion.

Deputy Director of the Institute I. O. Abramova opened the solemn meeting. She congratulated all those present on the 52nd anniversary of Africa Day and noted the importance of the impact of information globalization on the economic, socio-political and cultural processes taking place in Africa.

Jean-Pierre Louyebo, Ambassador of the Republic of Congo to Russia, spoke on behalf of the African Diplomatic Corps in Moscow. He expressed gratitude to the peoples of Africa for the support and assistance provided by the Soviet Union in the struggle for freedom and decolonization, and noted the invaluable assistance of our country to the young African states in such areas as personnel training, defense and security, agriculture, geology and mining, health care, education, etc. Thanks to cooperation with Russia, Africa has been able to more effectively defend its independence, fight against poverty, maintain its identity and feel more confident on the world stage as one of the poles of a multipolar world.

Touching upon the main topic of the discussion, J.-P. Louyebo noted its importance and relevance for the development of Africa, for its entry into the global information space as a full-fledged participant. He did not ignore the difficulties associated with this, which, in his opinion, can be overcome by further expansion and deepening of Russian-African cooperation. The Ambassador suggested organizing a large-scale conference " Russia-Africa "following the example of the already held conferences" France-Africa"," China-Africa "or" India-Africa", one of the topics of which could be consideration of the possibility of Russian-African cooperation in informatization.

The role of informatization in the dissemination of information in African countries, bringing it to the general public, was discussed in his speech by the Deputy Minister of Education and Science. Director of the Africa Department of the Russian Foreign Ministry V. N. Fedotov. As an example of the use of information technologies for political purposes, he cited the events in the countries of North Africa and the Middle East, called " Arab-

youkaya spring". V. N. Fedotov expressed the opinion that the research and recommendations of the Institute of Africa in this area can be of great practical importance for the implementation of a number of aspects of Russia's foreign policy activities in Africa.

V. V. Usacheva (Institute of Africa) made a detailed report on the integration of modern Africa into the global information space. She outlined the main stages and principles of creating a common information space and joining Africa, developed by the African Regional Organization for the Information Society in 2002. In Bamako, the capital of the Republic of Mali, African Governments responded by creating national strategies for the development of information and communication technologies.

The report examines the features of the current stage of development of information and communication technologies, challenges associated with the integration of African countries into the global information space. Among them are the increased influence of social media in comparison with traditional media, the use of mobile communication tools in managing political and socio-economic processes in African states, etc.

At the end of the first decade of the XXI century, the introduction of digital technologies, the development of mobile Internet and mobile communications, and the creation of social media began to qualitatively change the communication space in the world and in Africa. Many major media outlets seek to accumulate and use African blogs to achieve their own informational and other goals. This practice is viewed ambiguously on the continent. The most radical critics consider it a new kind of colonialism - the so-called information colonialism.

Thus, the introduction of social media brings not only new opportunities, but also new dangers for Africa. One of the most obvious ones is the activity of extremist players in the global information space. Al-Qaeda, the Taliban and other organizations of this kind conduct aggressive disinformation and violence propaganda campaigns on the Internet around the world, including in Africa.

But there is also a downside: by participating in international communication through social networks, representatives of the Black continent gain an unprecedented opportunity to speak on a global level on their own behalf.

The report presented not only qualitative, but also quantitative characteristics of informatization in Africa. This is one of the most dynamically developing regions in the world in terms of Internet usage. Providers expect to increase users in Africa from 139 million currently to 800 million by 2015. Among the most "advanced" countries in this regard are Egypt, Nigeria, and South Africa.

The report drew attention to the age structure of Internet users: mostly young people aged 18 to 25, representing the most active and educated part of African society, open to the modern world.

Further development of technologies provides significant facilitation of communications in the region. Thus, the introduction of satellite communication systems using terminals provides an Internet connection even where there is no electricity. It is predicted that by 2015, sub-Saharan Africa will have more people with mobile phones than with electricity in their homes.

Africa is now experiencing a boom in the mobile industry. In September 2011 It overtook Latin America with more than 620 million mobile connections and became the second largest mobile market in the world after Asia. Over the past 10 years, the number of mobile connections in Africa has grown at an average rate of 30% per year, and at the same rate, it is expected to reach 735 million by the end of 2012.

The mobile industry brings in $ 56 billion. The total investment of the United States in the African economy is 3.5% of their total GDP. However, even in the 25 African countries with the most developed mobile market, 36% of the population does not have access to mobile communications. Estimates show that mobile coverage for the vast majority of Africans would add about $ 35 billion to the region's GDP and generate an additional 2% growth. Mobile communication services have already made a significant contribution to the development of various areas of life in African countries: finance, education, medicine, and agriculture,

they stimulated progress towards gender equality.

Mobile phone adoption in Africa increased from 2% in 2000 to more than 57% in 2010. This year was a landmark in the development of the information society in Africa, as it passed the milestone of 50% mobile audience coverage. By 2015, the total number of mobile users is expected to increase to 84% of the population in Africa.

An important place in the report was given to the role of Internet technologies and mobile services in the development of political processes on the African continent. The Arab Spring has demonstrated new opportunities for interaction between social media, Internet platforms and mobile communications. For example, despite the Egyptian government's restrictions on Internet access, the protesters ' mobilization capabilities were significantly increased when Google launched a special service that allowed them to access the Internet only by having a telephone connection that provided contact with operators. This know-how, emphasizes V. V. Usacheva, has gained a large number of both supporters and opponents, who expressed concern about the fact that the actions of the opposition were actually controlled from the outside.

The topic of the relationship between the formation of the information society and the activation of protest movements in Africa, primarily in the North, was continued in the speech of A.V. Korotaev (IB RAS). The most obvious increase in the risks of socio-political destabilization due to the blurring of information borders was demonstrated in Egypt. With broad access to information via the Internet, the young and educated inhabitants of the world's periphery are beginning to focus on the needs of the middle class of developed countries. Among them, there is a growing contradiction between the high level of material claims that only developed economies can meet, and the inability of their own economies to meet these requirements. Unemployed youth who have received higher education and have access to the Internet have demonstrated a high ability to actively communicate in virtual space, organize numerous rallies and demonstrations, which ultimately shook the existing regime in the country and led to its fall.

In conclusion, the panelists concluded that, like any large-scale social phenomenon, the emergence of the information society in Africa has diverse and sometimes opposite consequences. As the Arab Spring of 2011 showed, this process significantly increases the risks of socio-political destabilization. At the same time, the introduction of modern technologies, the mobile Internet, and the expansion of the mobile services market provide the African continent with unique opportunities for further development and equal participation in the global communication process.

M. N. AMVROSOVA

ULAN-UDE

Ministry of Education and Science of the Republic of Buryatia (RB), All-Buryat Association for Cultural Development, Buryat State University( BSU), National Humanitarian Institute (NGI), Research Institute of Asian and African Languages and Culture of the Tokyo University of Foreign Studies, Foundation for Support of Science and Culture of World Mongols, Committee on Interethnic Relations and Civil Initiatives of the Head of the Republic of Belarus and The Government of the Republic of Belarus organized the IV International Scientific Conference "Past and Present of the Mongolian Peoples", held on August 23-25, 2012.

The conference was opened by Professor of the Mongolian University of Culture and Arts Zh. Baatartsogt and Head of the Department of Buryat Literature of NGI BSU L. TS Khalkharova. Three sections were organized: "Mongolian languages and dialects: current state", " History, Culture, ethnography, nomadic economy and ecology "and"Artistic literature of the Mongolian peoples in the context of the East-West dialogue: mythology, folklore, literature".

Several reports were presented at the plenary session. Ayuuryn Sambu (Mongolia)-" Buryat - Mongols as uncles of the golden family " - cited mythological data from the life of Alan-gua, the mother of Genghis Khan, who came from Khori-Buryats.

"Buryat shamanism and its religious rituals: a Linguistic aspect", Hirogii Futaki (Japan) explained the origins of pan-Mongolism. Tsedenzhavyn Tsolmon (Inner Mongolia, China) spoke about the origin of fiction among the nomadic Mongols. Ts. - Kh. Syrtypova (Moscow) examined the sacred objects of the nomads of Transbaikalia in the light of the ancient and medieval history of Mongolia. The topic of the report of P. P. Dashinimaev (BSU) is "Language exhaustion: basic principles of psychoneurophysiology".

This review covers the work of the section "Mongolian Languages and Dialects: Current state" (headed by Tokusu Kurebito, University of Foreign Studies, Tokyo and B. B. Budain, BSU). Sampilyn Gardi (Inner Mongolia, China) reported on the phenomenon of the loss of some suffixes in the ancient and Middle Mongolian language, T. Kurebito (Japan) explained the nature of the time category in Mongolian languages. Borjginy Oyun (China) analyzed the contents of Uyghur-Mongolian written monuments found in the Donghuang Cave. Luvsanzhavyn Chuluunbaatar (National University of Mongolia, Ulaanbaatar) in his report "Mongolian writing at the present stage" spoke about the measures that will contribute to the restoration of the Uyghur-Mongolian script. E. V. Afanasyeva (BSU) spoke about the status of the Bargut language, Zh. P. Badagarov (BSU) spoke about the rock inscription discovered in the city of Ulaanbaatar. O. Sambuudorj (Institute of Language and Literature of the Academy of Sciences of Mongolia, Ulaanbaatar) made a report on "Contribution of L. A. Shishkin". Mostaert's contribution to the study of the spoken Mongolian language", in which he described the scientist as a major dialectologist and ethnologist based on his fundamental works: "Dictionnaire ordos" (Dictionary of the Ordos dialect of the Mongolian language). Beijing, 1941, 1942, 1944, and " Texts Oraux Ordos "( Texts on oral creativity of the Ordos population). Peking, 1937. A. Mostaart, living in Ordos during 1906-1925, collected a wealth of material, examined the language of the population in the south-west of the Otog area and in the south of the Ushun area. The speaker examined the dialectological heritage of the scientist from the point of view of phonetics, orthoepy, morphology, syntax and vocabulary. L. D. Radnaeva (BSU) in the report "The sound form of the modern Buryat language (based on experimental data)" presented the results of the study of the flow of natural speech. L. V. Ayusheeva (BSU) in the report " Problems of the categorical pronoun of the Buryat language B. B. Budain (BSU) revealed the nature of the Buryat worldview on the basis of kinship terms. Mansheeva (BSU) spoke about the experience of experimental study of the Tunka and Shenehen dialects of the Buryat language in comparative terms. D. D. Sanzhina (BSU) spoke about the forms of interrelation of language and culture. D. V. Dashibalova (IMBT SB RAS) described the composition of the archive fund of N. N. Poppe: letters, lectures and articles. His scientific heritage was completely forgotten in the post-war period of Soviet Mongolistics, which caused great damage to Buryat linguistics. E. F. Afanasyeva (BSU) in her report "Evenks in the modern world" defined the role and living space of Evenks in the post-Soviet period. V. E. Radnaev (Moscow, Institute of Linguistics of the Russian Academy of Sciences) in his report focused on the role of Evenks in the modern world. L. Ts. Khalkharova (BSU) in her report "Buryat literature in the early XX century as an artistic phenomenon" considered the issues of modern Buryat literature.

The participants of the conference exchanged views on topical issues of public life of Mongols not only in Mongolia itself, but also in neighboring countries - Russia and China.

* * *

September 20, 2012 An international scientific conference "Banzarov Readings" was held, dedicated to the 190th anniversary of the birth of world-class Buryat scientist Dorji * Banzarov. The conference was organized by IMBT SB RAS, Faculty of History of Buryat State University (IF BSU), Municipal Entity "Dzhidinsky district" of the Republic of Buryatia (RB).

A. A. Burkin, Dean of the Faculty of Physics of BSU, and Deputy Head of the Department of Physics of BSU addressed the audience with greetings. head of the Ministry of Defense "Dzhidinsky district" N. N. Sukharev.

The conference was attended by scientists from Mongolia, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Hungary, Moscow, St. Petersburg, and Yakutsk.

* During his lifetime, D. Banzarov called himself Dorji, which is confirmed by the documents of the scientist in the Kazan and St. Petersburg periods of his activity. It is advisable to keep this spelling of his name.

S. G. Zhambalova (Ulan-Ude) in her report "Dorji Banzarov in historical memory: on the 190th anniversary of the first European-educated Buryat scientist of the world level" spoke about the Buryat scientist as a phenomenon of Mongolistics in the first half of the XIX century. Famous orientalists of that time V. V. Grigoriev, P. S. Savelyev, V. P. Vasiliev and others noted that his scientific heritage meets the world standards of scientific research in its level.

V. E. Radnaev (Moscow) in the message " D. Banzarov and Ch. Valikhanov" told that the Kazakh traveler and scientist Chokan Valikhanov was familiar with the works of D. Banzarov, under whose influence he wrote the article "Traces of shamanism among the Kyrgyz".

D. Ts. Boronoeva (Ulan-Ude) in her speech "The works of Dorji Banzarov in the context of modern humanitarian knowledge" noted that D. Banzarov was a linguist, historian, ethnologist, religious scholar and philosopher, whose small but valuable scientific heritage marked the beginning of the main directions of humanitarian knowledge in Mongolistics and religious studies in Buryatia. AD. Gomboev (Ulan-Ude) in his report "Dorji Banzarov in European historiography" analyzed articles, reviews, essays of Professor V. Schott of the University of Berlin (1807-1877), reviews of Banzarov's work written by his curator at the Asian Museum, Sanskrit scholar O. N. Betlingk, and others by G. S. Mitypov (Ulan-Ude) in the following sections: The article "Dorji Banzarov in cultural artifacts" examined how the image of the scientist was reflected in Buryat fiction (poems and drama by N. G. Damdinov, novel-dilogy by Ch. Tsydendambaeva, a historical drama by P. Malyarovsky), theatrical art and sculpture.

A number of reports were devoted to the issues of science studies and the organization of science in Buryatia: O. N. Polyanskaya (Ulan-Ude)" The role of O. M. Kovalevsky in the formation of D. Banzarov"; S. Andrievskaya (Ulan-Ude) " N. Ya. Bichurin (O. S. Bichurin)". Iakinf) and D. Banzarov"; N. M. Gudeeva (Ulan-Ude) "D. Banzarov-mentor of the first Buryat scientists"; Ts. P. Vannikova (Ulan-Ude)"Buryat-Mongolian Scientific Society named after D. Banzarov and academic science in Buryatia". They were joined by the report of V. Y. Myasnikov (Ulan-Ude) "Dorji Banzarov on the origin of the names of some Russian items of defensive and offensive weapons", in which he noted the scientific significance of the scientist's article, his contribution to the Russian lexicography of the XIX century.

There were presentations of religious studies, for example, the report of L. K. Shetbakova (Karaganda) "Tengrianism in Kazakhstan: on the role of non-traditional religions in shaping the worldview of the peoples of Central Asia". G. A. Serkina (St. Petersburg) considered the question of the origin of shamanic terminology in the Turkic languages and the cult of the bear, and A. Zhambal (Ulaanbaatar) - questions of the history of beliefs and religion of Kazakhs in Mongolia. A. S. Suvorova (Ulan-Ude) made a presentation on the topic "Specific forms of burial of shamans in Buryats".

Other presentations were also noteworthy, such as the report by N. Grigorieva "Museification as a way to preserve the historical and cultural heritage of D. Banzarov", reports by D. Gunzenova about the D. Banzarov school museum and T. B. Baldanova (MBOU Secondary School "Gegetuiskaya"), who collected interesting information about the pedigree of the first Buryat scientist.

F. F. Tolipov (Tashkent) made a report on "Comparative analysis of integration in Central Asia and Eurasia", Hungarian scientist O. Kapolnas (Budapest) - " Who was the father of Genghis Khan? (according to Mongolian historical sources)", V. V. Ushnitsky (Yakutsk) - "Ethnogenesis of the Sakha Republic: the problem of participation of the Mongolian component", K. I. Bashanova (Ulan-Ude) - "Problems of kinship and borders of the Mongolian-speaking peoples of the XVI-XVII centuries in Russian historiography", J. Urangua (Ulaanbaatar) - " Great Tea path: formation of the Khutukhta rate in the city", R. Y. Pochekaev (St. Petersburg) - "Features of the development of Mongolian law at the turn of the XVI-XVII centuries".

The 200th anniversary of the scientist's birth will be celebrated by IMBT SB RAS, BSU and other institutes in Ulan-Ude. The conference participants came to the conclusion that it is advisable to apply to UNESCO in order to declare 2022 the year of Dmitry Banzarov.

V. E. RADNAEV

SUDAK (CRIMEA)

The XXII Conference of the Institute of Oriental Studies of the Russian Academy of Sciences "Man and Nature. Problems of socio-natural history". Its participants were scientists representing research centers in Russia, Poland and Ukraine, as well as representatives of the Crimean public. The organizer of the annual conference for more than twenty years is the head of a new scientific direction, an employee of the Institute of Oriental Studies of the Russian Academy of Sciences, editor-in-chief of the journal "History and Modernity", Head of the Department of Oriental Studies of the Russian Academy of Sciences. Department of History of MIPT E. S. Kulpin-Gubaidullin. Financial, organizational and informational support for the conference was provided by the Institute of Sociology of the Russian Academy of Sciences, the Institute of Energy Strategy, the Moscow Institute of Physics and Technology, the Uchitel Publishing House (History and Modernity magazine), the Karadag Nature Reserve of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine, the Central Museum of Taurida, and the Crimean Engineering and Pedagogical University. The conference covered a wide range of issues related to the interaction and harmonious coexistence of man and nature in history and modern times. Most of the reports corresponded to articles published in the journal" History and Modernity "in 2011-2012 and the collection of the series" Socio-natural History " in 2012.

Traditionally, the conference was opened by E. S. Kulpin-Gubaidullin, member of the Scientific Council on Problems of Civilization of the Presidium of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Chairman of the Scientific Council on Problems of Socio-Natural History. He spoke about research in this area in the last two years, touched upon the history of the scientific direction and the role of a member of the SEI Council V. L. Glazychev, who passed away prematurely this year.

On the first day of the conference, most of the reports were devoted to theoretical aspects of socio-natural history( SEI), which is located at the intersection of social and natural sciences and studies the relationship between nature, technology and mentality. They talked about the changing place and role of a person who has turned from a subject of social action into a "social cyborg", when a person and technology are already inseparable. In the report of O. V. Aksenova (IS RAS), read by I. A. Khaliy, it was described how the transition from anthropocentrism to the equality of man with things took place. In the modern world, due to the complexity of technologies (including political and social ones), a person is forced to integrate into the system, become a part of it, and be dependent on it in order to serve them.

V. V. Bushuev and V. S. Golubev, authors of the report "On the problems of SEI from the standpoint of ergodynamics" (both at the Institute of Strategy, research), proposed a mechanism for calculating the evolutionary age of countries in the world. In the report of D. S. Zhukov, V. V. Kanishchev and S. K. Lyamin (Tambov State University), the interaction of agricultural society and nature was evaluated using fractal geometry methods.

In the report of the corresponding member. RAS V. V. Klimenko (co-speakers V. V. Matskovsky, L. Yu. Pakhomova, A. G. Tereshin) "New comparative chronology of climatic and historical events in North-Eastern Europe" was, in particular, told about the pros and cons of various methods for analyzing the age of historical and climatic events. E. S. Kulpin made a report on the problems of time measurement nature and society, using the seven-generational cycles discovered by them. In the speech of A. P. Nazaretyan, Head of the Center for Megahistory of the Institute of Information Technology of the Russian Academy of Sciences "Modeling the future: degree of nonlinearity", the question was raised: is the current level of development of the Earth's civilization the limit? Science has not yet given an unambiguous answer. One thing is clear: humanity has no natural guarantees of its existence.

The round table discussed the reports of B. S. Golubev "On the problem of the quality of scientific work", E. I. Grigorieva (IS RAS) "On the quantitative and qualitative assessment of a scientist's work" and E. I. Grigorieva, Z. R. Zaripova "Scientific publications on the Internet".

The second day of work was devoted to the problems of interaction between an ethnic group and its ecological niche on the example of China, Crimea and Russia. I. A. Khaliy (IS RAS) made a report on how the ecological movement in Russia has developed and what problems it is currently facing. Unfortunately, state environmental organizations and non-governmental environmental movements have different goals and objectives, mostly directed in opposite directions. E. A. Sinetskaya (Institute of Ecology of the Russian Academy of Sciences) spoke about the formation of ecological consciousness in China on the example of the popular literary work of the Chinese author "Totem of the Wolf". Second part of the ABM session-

It was held in the Karadag Nature Reserve, where the head of the lab. L. P. Mironova spoke about the state of nature of the Eastern Crimea in the post-Soviet period and the problems that the reserve faces in its struggle for existence.

The history of civilizations was discussed on the third day of the conference. A. I. Kobzev (IB RAS, MIPT) made a report "Numerological atomism in the ancient world". The interest in this topic was caused by the fact that the atomistic idea is "the most capacious", "the most authoritative and long-playing". A. R. Vyatkin (IB RAS) in his speech "Sima Qian and the depths of the social structure of the Han Empire" spoke about the difficulties of translating Chinese texts and the resulting different interpretations in evaluating the social structures mentioned in ancient literary monuments. layers. The report of V. L. Dyachkov and V. V. Kanishchev (both Tambov State University) "The Russian demographic model of the XX century: the transition from natural to regulated processes" highlighted the tragic nature of the Russian demographic depopulation trend. Today, Russia is experiencing a collapse of the previously dominant population and the liberation of territories for other peoples. The role of climatic rhythms in the dynamics of archaeological cultures in the landscapes of the Pozen region is the topic of the report by I. V. and N. O. Kovalev (both MSU). Using the latest methods of analysis, they found that the boundaries of climate episodes clearly coincide with the change of historical cultures. A. I. Kogan's report "Kashmir and its neighbors in the XI-XTH centuries"was devoted to the history of Kashmir and the influence of climatic and demographic aspects on it. In the speech of B. M. Kondorsky (Donetsk), the belonging of the Crimea to the sixteen civilizational ecumenes was considered.

The report "On natural, technological and mental factors of Russia's modernization in the early 18th century" was read by E. S. Kulpin. He assessed the causes of the Russo-Swedish war from the standpoint of socio-natural history and came to the conclusion that this war was in no way necessary for Sweden, but was necessary for Russia as an indispensable condition for the implementation of rapid technological restructuring.

The "round table" held on this day was devoted to the problem of anthropogenization of the natural landscape: report by G. Y. Orlov (MARKHI) "Noble estates" was supplemented by N. O. and I. V. Kovalev with a report on the environmental impact of modern and cottage settlements.

On the fourth day of the conference, various aspects of the interaction between nature and society in the XXI century were discussed. The presentations focused on climate change, environmental issues and environmental policies in various countries. The evolution of views on climate change in Central Asia was discussed in a report by E. A. Borisova (IB RAS). M. V. Gurdzinski, a Polish graduate student, made a presentation on "Environmental problems in the Polish oil sector". E. Solyazh raised the issue of urban rehabilitation in Poland. I. Skuba (Poland) presented the topic of values in the EU-Russia political dialogue. O. A. Mashkina (MSU) spoke about trends in the Chinese education system. S. Y. Malkov (Moscow) made a report on "The role of the natural environment in Russian development in the first half of the XXI century", S. K. Kostovska (IG RAS)- "Ecotonization of space and its factors".

At the evening round table, O. Y. Tsitser (Department of International Cooperation of the Ministry of Natural Resources of the Russian Federation) and A. Kh. Burganov (RSUH) presented reports on the problems of environmental policy of the Russian Federation in connection with Russia's accession to the WTO and ways to overcome the global impasse in society.

On the final day of the conference, a round table "Crimea Today" was held. The article considers the current political situation in Crimea, which is characterized by the presence of three forces: adherents of the Western European path of development, an Islamic party aimed at developing Islamic values, and "dreamers" focused on development within the Eurasian space. Presentations were made by: Sh. U. Mustafayev, Yu. F. Komov, A. R. Vyatkin.

The cultural program of the conference included visits to the Karadag Nature Reserve, the Genoese Fortress, the New World, and the Voloshin House Museum in Koktebel.

E. A. BORISOVA

DUBLIN

Since 1986, the European Association of the Southeast Asian Archaeologists (EurASEAA) has held biannual conferences bringing together leading Southeast Asian archaeologists from Europe, the United States, Australia, and Region ¹ countries.

The 14th International Conference of the European Association of Southeast Asian Archaeologists was organized by the University College Dublin School of Archaeology and was held on September 18-21, 2012. The Organizing Committee of the conference was headed by the School's lecturer Helen Lewis (Ireland).

More than 230 scientists from Great Britain, France, Germany, the Netherlands, Italy, Ireland, Russia, Hungary, Poland, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand, Cambodia, Vietnam, the Philippines, Myanmar, Japan, Australia, New Zealand, the United States, Taiwan and other countries of the world took part in the conference. The conference website is dedicated to http://www.ucd.ie/ archeology/euraseaa14/

H. Lewis, Director of the Chester Beatty Library (Dublin, Ireland) F. Croke and her former collaborator M. District delivered welcoming speeches at the plenary session. Two presentations were made: "Changing Paradigms in Southeast Asian Archaeology" by J. White (USA) and "The Future of Khmerological Research" by C. Jacques (France-Hungary).

The conference consisted of 19 sections. Two of them were devoted to the study of prehistoric cultures: "Hunter-gatherer interaction with the environment in prehistoric Southeast Asia" and "Living and Dying in Prehistoric Southeast Asia: regional advances in human bioarchaeology". Archaeological research of individual countries and regions was presented in three sections: "Historical Archeology of the Khmer Empire: Challenges and New Perspectives"; "Latest developments in Taiwan Archaeology"; "New Myanmar Studies". Separate groups of historical sources were discussed in the sections "New studies of old images: Rock art of Southeast Asia" and "Epigraphy of Southeast Asia".; "Stone materials on Khmer Art and Architecture"; " New Research on Southeast Asian Manuscripts and Handwritten Cultures: Reports in honor of X Understanding Southeast Asian Ceramics: Reflections on the Past, Current Research, and Future Directions.

The search for new, usually interdisciplinary approaches was conducted in the following sections: "Archaeobotanical analysis in Southeast Asia: recent studies, comparative methods and interpretation procedures";" Archeology and its significance for modern societies in Southeast Asia";" Art, Iconography and Monument in Southeast Asia"; "Living History". Tradition: Ethnoarchaeology of South and Southeast Asia: Knowledge, Expression and Technology"; "New Approaches to Trade and Exchange in Insular Southeast Asia"; "Southeast Asian Geoarchaeology - Understanding Monuments and landscapes through taking into account the contexts of real monuments"; "Marine dimension-Navigational Approaches to Southeast Asian Archaeology"; " Passage under the Himalayas: what is happening in Northeast India now?"; "Theoretical and methodological approaches to understanding the early Civilizations of Southeast Asia".

The author of the review participated in several sections. The first of them, "Theoretical and methodological approaches to understanding the early Civilizations of Southeast Asia", was organized by S. Murphy and M. Gallon (USA). C. Higham (New Zealand) highlighted "Excavations of Non Ban Jak: results of the 2011 season". B. Bellina (France) and her colleagues in the report " Population and the environment: interaction and evolution in relation to regional and inter-regional exchange in the Thai part of the Malacca Peninsula (1st millennium BC-1st millennium AD) " described the studies of the Savi Highlands that began in 2012. Naizatul Akma Mokhtar, Mokhtar Saidin and Geoffrey Abdullah (all from Malaysia) in their report "Iron Smelting technology in the Bujanga Valley Civilization" based on the findings of the Sungai Batu 2A monument suggested that in the first centuries AD, societies living in the territory of the modern Malaysian state of Kedah knew the technique of smelting iron into the house-

¹ For a review of previous conferences, the 12th and 13th, see: Zakharov A. O. The Twelfth International Conference of the European Association of Archaeologists of Southeast Asia / / Vostok (Oriens). 2009. No. 1; Zakharov A. O. 13th International Conference of the European Association of Archaeologists of Southeast Asia. 2011. № 4.

A. Carter (USA) in the report "The role of trade in the emergence of social stratification (complexity) in the Mekong Delta" put forward a hypothesis about the existence of competing networks of beads trading in the second half of the 1st millennium BC. BC-early 1st millennium AD

M. Gallon, in his report "Dwaravati Urban Landscape: A View from Kampheng Saen, Nakhon Pathom Province, Central Thailand", spoke about the excavation of a moated 1st millennium CE settlement in Kampheng Saen. S. Murphy, in his report "Measuring Mandalas ² in Early Southeast Asian Art of Government: A Study of the Chi River System in Northwestern Thailand".- East of Thailand, VII-XI centuries AD " showed the hierarchy of settlements in one of the river valleys of Thailand. K. Tovara and M. Yamagata (Japan) in the report "Crossing the "border"? Some archaeological aspects of the cultural transition from the Han Empire to Linyi/Champe" suggested a connection between the emergence of statehood in the northern part of Central Vietnam in the second century AD and the influence of Chinese statehood. Bishnupriya Basak (India) in her report "Understanding the Politics of Champa from archaeological and epigraphic data - a critical review" summarized recent trends in the interpretation of the history of Champa, a country in Central Vietnam.

M. Santoni (France) in her report "Excavations in 2011 at Nong Moung, a pre - Angkor temple in the "old city" near Wat Phu, Laos" reported on the archaeological study of a brick Shiva temple, probably built in the early 7th century. J. Guy (USA) in her report " Garudasana-Vishnu and other pre-Angkor sculpture Champasaka, and the possible origins of Chenla " spoke about Hindu statues of one of the provinces of Laos dated to the VII-VIII centuries M. Lorillard (France) in the report "A new chapter in the history of Laos - Mon Buddhist culture in the 1st millennium" summarized data on the presence of Mon culture in the Vientiane region and on the left bank of the Mekong in Laos K. Havisbrok (France) in her report "From the treasury to the city-excavations in Nong Hua Thong" reported on the study of a French archaeological mission in Southern Laos of a walled city on the banks of the Se Bang Phai River, 15 km from the Mekong in the Lao province of Savannakhet, where more than two hundred gold and silver objects were found in 2008.

The second section, which was attended by the author of these lines, "The Marine dimension-navigational approaches to the archaeology of Southeast Asia", was organized by Sh. Pham (Australia), W. Walker Vadillo, and J. Craig (both Great Britain). P.-I. Mangin (France), in his report "The Southeast Asian tradition of stitched-plank and lashedlug tradition-new archaeological data", reported on recent finds of ship remains and their parts in Southeast Asia, including the excavation of a ship wreck at Purjuharyo near Rembang in Central Java in 2009-2010. (Great Britain) presented a paper entitled "Computer reconstruction of the Nanhan or Cirebon shipwreck", which occurred 60 nautical miles north of Cirebon in Central Java around 970.

The third section "Epigraphy of Southeast Asia" was organized by A. Griffiths and A.-W. Schweyer (both from France) .A. O. Zakharov (Moscow) in his report "Early Tsarist epigraphy of Southeast Asia in the V-VIII centuries" identified three types of texts of early Sanskrit inscriptions in the region: poetic, prose and historical. mixed. All the early poetic inscriptions of Southeast Asia are composed of different poetic dimensions, which indicates different sources of borrowing of Indian poetics. The ancient Malay inscriptions of Srivijaya are written in prose. S. Ghosh (India) in the report "Ministers and nobles in the kingdom of Champa: a look through epigraphic glasses (- 909-919)" suggested the existence of powerful families comparable in position to the kings of Champa and held the highest state positions from generation to generation. A.-V. Schweyer in her report "Epigraphy of the Po Klaung Garai monument, Champa, Vietnam", she presented the results of research on Cham inscriptions

^{Mandala -2} skt. "circle; circle of kingdoms". O. W. Walters suggested using this word to denote a specific form of traditional state in Southeast Asia, characterized by the unification of various political units under the authority of the supreme ruler with unstable borders (Woltcrs O. W. History, Culture, and Region in Southeast Asian Perspectives. Singapore: Institute of Southeast Asian Studies, 1982). S. Murphy, without taking into account both the Indian context of the concept of "mandala" (an empire with a universal ruler in the center), and the use of the word O. W. Waltsrs, in fact turns it (the word) into a designation of a society with a certain hierarchy of settlements. The nature of connections between settlements, interaction with surrounding areas, as well as the difference between the concept of "mandala" and the concepts of principality, kingdom, chiefdom, state, empire are completely ignored in his approach.

Deopik D. V. Socio-economic structure of the Tyampa state in the III-XV centuries according to the quantitative analysis of types of inscriptions and their spatial and temporal distribution / / Quantitative methods in the study of history Moscow: Nauka Publ., 1986). K. Jacques (France-Hungary) in the report " Kamrateni jagat ta raja vs. Kamraten jagat ta rajya " suggested on the basis of inscriptions from the Koh Ker monument of the X century that the first term means "god of the king", and the second - "god of the kingdom".

J. Lowman (USA) in his report "The identity of Champeshvara in the inscriptions of Cambodia" summarized the data on the word campesvara in Cambodian epigraphy, suggesting that it meant a temple of Vishnu and was located in the territory of the Cambodian province of Siem Reap. J. Esteve (France) in the report "On the "recently found in Angkor yantra"" reported the finds of stones with alphabetic names. diagrams called prastara (at least three such types of stones are now known). A. Griffiths in his report "Epigraphic study of Ancient Javanese stoves" systematized 112 gold, silver and bronze stoves known today with texts of the XI-XIV centuries by external and internal features. A. T. Gallop (Great Britain) in his report " International epigraphic references on the early Muslim seals of Southeast Asia" revealed the Ottoman and Gujarati influence on the writing form and symbolism of Muslim seals of the XVI-XVII centuries.

Titi Surti Nastimi (Indonesia) in her report "East Javanese inscriptions of the IX-X centuries" examined five inscriptions: Pu Tunggal, Haringing, Dinoyo II, Timang and Nganjuk from the Mpu Tantular Museum; some of them are dated. A. Griffith, N. Rawir (France) and Rajat Sanyal (India) in the report "Inscribed Bronze age". Buddha in Bhadrasana from the Ranggawarsit Museum in Semarang (Central Java, Indonesia) " stressed that it is not possible to determine which Buddha (Amitabha, Vairochana or others) is depicted on the statue sitting in the throne position (bhadrasana) - the state of the Buddha is depicted, "buddhetvo". The inscription on the statue is quite rare-it is the jinajik mantra. K. Bauer (Germany) in the report "A new look at Old Thaton" spoke about the inscriptions of the Burmese cities of Thaton, Bilin and Pha-an. T. Frash (Great Britain) in the report "Pilgrim inscriptions and the question of pilgrimage: the Pagan case" reconstructed the pilgrim paths to Pagan, to Sri Lanka and India.

The next conference of the European Association of Southeast Asian Archaeologists will be held in 2014.

A. O. ZAKHAROV

PAVIA (ITALY)

An International Conference on African Studies was held in Pavia (Italy) on September 18-20, 2012. It was organized by the Faculty of Political Science of the University of Pavia, which has a Master's degree in Oriental and African Studies. In addition to university teachers and students, the conference was attended by scientists from other cities and research centers in Italy, as well as researchers from Europe, Asia, Africa and the United States. Russia was represented by T. L. Deitch, O. S. Kultova, A. E. Zhukov, and A. Lapushkina, an employee of the Center for International Relations at the Institute of African Studies of the Russian Academy of Sciences. An important role in organizing and holding the conference was played by the Italian Association for African Studies, whose next meeting was held at the end of the conference.

About 50 sections were organized within the framework of the conference. The range of issues discussed was extremely wide: African identities, languages and rituals, traditional medicine, African video and oral sources, African migration, the role of Islam, the role of the working class, problems of land use, problems of democratization and constitutional development, issues of political history, ideology, colonialism, etc. Since the majority of the conference participants were Italians, most of the sections were conducted in Italian. However, in a number of sections, the working language was English, and in two cases - French.

T. L. Deitch and O. S. Kulkova participated in the section devoted to international problems of African countries. The moderators of this section, entitled " Africa in the global system. Topics and strategies of the new diplomacy", presented by Italian scientists: Anna-Maria Gentili (University of Bologna), Maria-Cristina Ercolessi (University of Naples Oriental, L'orientiale), Maria-Stella Rononi (University of Florence), Liliana Mosca (University of Naples im. Frederick II). The section discussed a fairly wide range of issues, including: a nuclear-weapon-free zone in Africa; the forecast of Africa's role in the international system in 2050; foreign policy of post-conflict Angola, etc. Maria-Stella Rononi's presentation on regional and international aspects of the conflict in the Democratic Republic of the Congo in the period 1999-2012 caused a lively discussion. The topic raised by Nigerian scientists Miya Falaye and Samuel Babatunde Jegede, "Africa and the World: the Globalization of Inequality", attracted the audience's interest.

The topic of Africa's marginalization in the modern processes of globalization became the subject of increased interest at the section. Moderators pointed out that sub-Saharan Africa had paid a heavy price during the period of colonial rule, and its wealth had been plundered. However, even in the post-World War II world order, it has played a kind of marginal role, which it retains to this day. Italian researchers have noted the weakness of scientific analysis of the practical consequences of globalization at the micro and macro levels: how it affects the development of the state and social system of African countries and their position in the world. For many Africanists, globalization is simply a disguised new phase of colonialism, leading to the loss of sovereignty by African Governments and their greater accountability to external creditors and donors. External recommendations to African Governments and forced compliance with them are considered by these scientists as the main source of African problems. For another group of researchers, the priority is the question of what opportunities modern globalization opens up for African countries, as well as the newly emerged interest of the world, especially from China, India, and Brazil, in the resource potential of Africa in terms of the possibility of solving problems of poverty and inequality, and to what extent the right of ordinary Africans to a decent share of

Presentations at the section focused on how over the past two decades the political leadership of African countries and African diplomacy have developed an understanding of their own problems, what strategies they have been able to develop to establish relations with external partners and strengthen dialogue with their neighbors on the continent.

The audience was very interested in the topic of China's policy in Africa, which is quite "hot" today, and to which the American scientist J. R. R. Tolkien devoted his speeches. Roquen and T. L. Deutsch. At the same time, the views of the speakers on the assessment of China's activities on the continent differed. While Rokuen, in his report "The Chinese neo-colonial Paradigm in Angola 1975-2012", regarded China's activities in Angola exclusively in a negative way, as a manifestation of "new colonialism", T. L. Deitch, whose topic was "China and Africa in the XXI century", tried to give an objective assessment of Sino-African relations, which aroused interest among many people. T. L. Deitch was asked questions about the policy of not only China, but also Russia in Africa.

Olga Kulkova made a report on the UK's African policy under the Cameron government, in which, in particular, she identified the role of Britain in the NATO operation in Libya. This issue aroused the interest of Italian colleagues, partly due to the fact that Italy traditionally has fairly close relations with Libya, and the situation in this country has become complicated, including due to the conflict of interests of Western countries.

Alexey Zhukov moderated the section "Prospects for Peace and State-building in Africa", dedicated to the current problem of conflict situations on the African continent and ways to resolve them. He presented the report " Ensuring or undermining State-building? The policy of suppressing insurgencies in South Sudan on the eve of independence (2005-2011)". A. Lapushkina made a report "Possible ways to reduce the level of aggression among modern Ghanaian youth".

The section "African Lions: State-building, Natural Resources, sustainable Development, Sustainable Development"was of great interest.

democracy?" Topics of the reports: "Fighting corruption as a key factor of good governance: Rwanda's success story?!", " Structural change or the path to addiction? The entry of sub-Saharan African economies on the path of growth at the beginning of the XXI century", " Are the Lions Democrats? The impact of democratization on economic growth in Africa in 1980-2010", etc. Although there were more questions than answers in the titles of the topics, as well as in the presentations, it is already worth addressing such complex but vital issues in Africa.

The conference included lectures by well-known Western scientists. Salvatore Bono (University of Perugia) gave a lecture in Italian on "Shiavi in Europe and the Mediterranean in the 16th and 19th centuries", and Claude-Helene Perrault (University of Paris) gave a lecture in French on "Using oral sources of African history after independence". Thomas McCaskey (School of Oriental and African Studies, London) presented a paper in English entitled " African Studies over 50 Years. Personal view". Finally, at the closing plenary session, Tekeste Negash from Uppsala University (Sweden) delivered a lecture in English on " Italian Studies in Africa: a bridge for intellectual dialogue or a tool of neocolonialism?"

During the conference, participants were shown documentaries and feature films on the problems of African countries and various aspects of the life of African societies.

T. L. DEITCH, O. S. KULKOVA

MALAYSIA KUALA LUMPUR

September 26-27, 2012 International poetry readings and a seminar "Poets of the world, civilization and the crisis of the XXI century", organized by the literary association "Great Malay Nusantara" (abr. Number)*. The event was attended by over 50 poets, writers, translators, scientists from seven countries (Bangladesh, Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, Russia, Singapore, Thailand), including the outstanding poet and translator of Bangladesh Aminur Rahman, Indonesian veteran poet from Aceh L. K. Ara, National Writer of Malaysia Ahmad Kamal Abdullah (South-East Asia Award winners Brunei poet Zefri Arif and Malaysian poets Siti Zainon Ismail and Abdul Gafar Ibrahim (AGI), Awang Saryan, Director General of the Language and Literature Council of Malaysia, Mior Kamarul Shahid, Editor-in-Chief of Berita Harian newspaper, and Salih Salih, President of the National Writer Organization of Malaysia (PENA). Rahamad. The Minister of Federal Territories, Senator Raja Nong Chik, was the guest of honor at the seminar. During the readings and the seminar, participants expressed concern about the tension in the world and stressed that poets, as the most sensitive stratum of society, should be at the forefront of the struggle for peace, progress and prosperity.

V. A. POGADAEV

* The Nusantara Melayu Raya Organization was established in 2011 on the initiative of the famous Malaysian poet, winner of the Southeast Asian Literary Award, holder of the title of National Writer of Malaysia, Ahmad Kamal Abdullah (Ksmala). He supports the cooperation of writers from all Malay countries (Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, the Philippines, Southern Thailand) and the promotion of Malay literature on the world market.

Permanent link to this publication: