A. Z. YEGORIN. MUAMMAR GADDAFI, Moscow: IV RAS, 2009, 464 p. (East: historical portraits)

Russian orientalists have significantly expanded the field of research covering such an important aspect as the role of personality in the history of Eastern countries. This is evidenced by the publication of a new series of scientific papers "The East: Historical Portraits", launched by the Institute of Oriental Studies. The book by A. Z. Egorin is the second work published in this series. This is not a biography of the leader of the Libyan revolution. Based on the author's historical, economic, sociological and political analysis, the author describes the path that Libya took under the leadership of Muammar Gaddafi after the September Revolution of 1969. The study sums up the large and painstaking work of A. Z. Egorin, who wrote a number of works on this country2. A well-published monograph is easy to read and interesting. The presentation of the material is based on the chronological and thematic principle. Chapters I and X deal with the personality of the Libyan leader, chapter II with his rise to power, chapters III and IV with the internal politics of the Libyan leadership, and chapters VII and VIII with foreign policy, including relations with our country, while chapter VIII describes the modern Great Socialist People's Libyan Arab Jamahiriya (LPA).

The author thoroughly examines the" third world theory " of Muammar Gaddafi, according to which the main political problem facing humanity is the problem of power, which always ends up in the hands of an individual, group, party or class. As a result, the government turns into an instrument of oppression of the people. To avoid this, the Libyan leader believes, instead of the existing state systems, it is necessary to introduce "direct democracy", which is carried out by the entire population of the country, united in popular assemblies.

Analyzing the dynamics of the development of the "power of the people" established in Libya in March 1977, A. Z. Yegorin notes the growing role of local people's assemblies over time, all of which are now being used as a tool for the development of the state.

1 The first book: S. N. Uturgauri, N. Y. Ulchenko. Turgut Ozal-Prime Minister and President of Turkey, Moscow, 2009.

"The Libyan Revolution" 2 (Moscow, 1989), " The History of Libya in modern times "(Moscow, 1992), " Libya. Textbook "(Moscow, 1995), " History of Libya. XX century" (Moscow, 1999), " Senussis in the history of Libya "(Moscow, 2000; co-authored with G. V. Mironova).

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more thoroughly worked out draft legislative acts, taking measures to expand the powers of executive authorities - local people's committees, as well as to clarify the functions of the revolutionary committees that carried out the "leadership of the revolution". The author does not hide the difficulties encountered in implementing the theoretical postulates of the Libyan leader in practice, referring in this regard to the words of the head of the Gaddafi Foundation, Seif al-Islam Gaddafi, who believes that the Jamahiriya system has led the country to anarchy, in which there is no place for democracy or a developed economic infrastructure. At the same time, A. Z. Yegorin shows that although the Libyan leader always had a decisive ideological and practical impact on what was happening in the country, he could not completely ignore the decisions of the authorities created on his own initiative. In particular, in March 1977, at an extraordinary session of the General People's Congress (GPC), Gaddafi had to abandon the idea of dissolving the Revolutionary Command Council (SRC) and give consent to its transformation into the General Secretariat of the GPC, and in March 2009, Gaddafi had to give up the idea of dissolving the Revolutionary Command Council (SRC). The GNC rejected the proposal of the leader of the Libyan revolution to distribute oil export revenues among the country's population.

Considering socio-economic issues, A. Z. Yegorin notes such indisputable achievements of the regime as improving the welfare of the majority of the population, creating modern health and education systems, and significantly smoothing material inequality. At the same time, it shows how the fall in oil prices in the 1980s forced the Libyan leadership to go to some recovery of the private sector, allowing the opening of shops, restaurants, and hotels.

Analyzing the foreign policy of Libya, the author was able to identify the most significant, characteristic and relevant for the course of this country in international affairs at various stages. The research on this topic is complex, covering all the main areas of the country's activity in the international arena. The author analyzes the theoretical justification of the foreign policy of the Jamahiriya, examines its strategic goals and specific steps of the Libyan leadership in the field of international relations, shows what impact subjective factors had on its course. It proceeds from the organic interrelation of the ideological attitudes of Gaddafi and his domestic policy with the foreign policy actions of the Libyan leader. The book, in particular, demonstrates how the measures taken by the IKS LAR to eliminate the military presence of the United States and restrict the activities of oil concerns marked the beginning of a long-term US-Libyan confrontation. The author did not lose sight of such an aspect as Libya's support for various extremist organizations, including terrorist ones, along with national liberation movements. "The leadership of the Libyan Jamahiriya focused its main efforts on the fight against" imperialism, colonialism and racism.".. At the same time, left-wing extremism, which "corroded" Gaddafi's foreign policy until the end of the 1980s, objectively did not strengthen, but eroded the peacemaking efforts to stabilize the situation" (p.272).

Considerable attention is paid in the book "the Lockerbie case" - the explosion in December 1988 over Scotland of an American airliner en route Frankfurt-London-New York. The author emphasizes that various versions were put forward about the organizers of the terrorist act, but only one of them was actually developed, which placed responsibility on the Libyans. At the same time, he emphasizes that Russia has also suffered from the international sanctions imposed on Libya.

The paper examines in detail the subsequent adjustment of the NAFLD's foreign policy course - ending support for extremist groups, normalizing relations with Chad, abandoning plans to create weapons of mass destruction, and rapprochement with the United States and Western European powers. According to A. Z. Yegorin, Gaddafi did this out of fear that he might suffer the fate of Iraqi President Saddam Hussein. In addition, he was afraid that he might be eliminated by the followers of W. bin Laden. "Caught between two threats, he chose to cooperate with the United States" (p. 335).

The topic of foreign policy is organically connected in the monograph with the topic of Russian-Libyan relations. Describing their state both in the Soviet and post-Soviet periods, A. Z. Yegorin managed to avoid stereotypical assessments, avoid one-sided approaches and, by giving a complete and objective picture of the formation and strengthening of ties between the two countries, reveal the complex and, in some cases, contradictory nature of Soviet-Libyan relations. He convincingly shows that the confrontation between Libya and the United States would have been impossible without the support of the Soviet Union, but at the same time does not hide the fact that the interaction between the two countries would have been impossible.

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The situation between the two countries has developed unevenly. Noting the curtailment of Russian-Libyan cooperation in the 1990s, the author notes with satisfaction its revival in the current decade, pointing out that a breakthrough here was achieved during the visit of Russian President Vladimir Putin to Tripoli in April 2008. Of considerable interest is the article by M. Gaddafi about the greatness and identity of Russia, in which he presents his views on our country.

Finally, attention is drawn to the description of the personality of the Libyan leader, compiled by A. Z. Egorin, his political portrait. The author describes Gaddafi as a "messenger of the desert" and at the same time a" revolutionary autocrat "(p.30)," a revolutionary, philosopher and fighter for complete individual freedom " (p. 41). He also tells about the literary work of the leader of the Libyan revolution, who published several collections of short stories that reflect his "peculiar worldview" (p. 42).

Unfortunately, there are some factual inaccuracies in the book. So, the author of this review had a conversation with Gaddafi about the essay "Death" written by the Libyan leader, which took place not before, but after the publication of this story. In March 1972, in the office of the Chairman of the Council of Ministers of the USSR A. N. Kosygin, not the Prime Minister of the LAR A. S. Dzhellud, but the Deputy Chief of the General Staff M. Harrubi prayed. It should also be noted that in the description of Muammar Gaddafi given on p.379, for technical reasons, a fundamentally important explanation fell out that this is not the author's point of view, but Radio Liberty's.

The statement contained in the book is not indisputable: "in 1992-1995. Libya demonstratively supported the Dudayev regime in Chechnya " (p. 313). It seems that the Libyans, although they established secret contacts with the Chechen separatists (to understand the current situation), did not provide them with any support. On the contrary, in a message sent to the Russian leadership in December 1993, Gaddafi stressed the importance of preserving the territorial integrity of the Russian Federation, while at the same time expressing fears that "the killings of Muslims in Chechnya would not lead to a complication of Russia's relations with the Islamic world."3
These inaccuracies do not reduce the overall high level of the monograph, which is based on a solid methodological base and differs in the depth of analysis. The book provides an insight into the dramatic events that have taken place in Libya over the past 50 years. The approach proposed by the author to the analysis of Gaddafi's activities is very productive and, I think, can be used in works devoted to statesmen of Eastern countries.

Ash-Shams. 3 28.12.1423 after the birth of the Prophet.

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