SCIENTIFIC LIFE

On May 20, 2002, the Pakistan Sector held a round table on "Current Political Issues in Pakistan". Zav. Minister Moskalenko delivered a report titled "Pakistan's Path to Democracy". President Musharraf, he said, managed to get the Supreme Court of Pakistan to set a three-year deadline for the transition from military dictatorship to democracy. As a result of the local government elections, the "division" - the top of local authorities-was eliminated. Power after the election was distributed among provinces and districts. Major cities were transferred to the status of districts, the difference between urban and rural districts was eliminated. V. N. Moskalenko also said that the number of seats in the Parliament of Pakistan increased from 217 to 350 people, the curial system of parliamentary elections was abolished. An educational qualification has been introduced for deputies - all of them must have a higher education. This will make it possible to avoid making ill-considered political decisions. According to V. N. Moskalenko, if a proportional system of elections is introduced, then various social groups of provinces will be represented in parliament most fully.

Pakistan's domestic and foreign policy has changed since September 11, 2001. Official Pakistan refused to support the Taliban, which it had previously helped, and actively develops cooperation with the United States and Western countries. P. Musharraf achieved the lifting of sanctions that imply the cancellation of economic and military assistance to Pakistan from the United States and Western countries, supported the anti-terrorist operation, and took a number of measures aimed at improving relations with Iran. Currently, Moskalenko noted, relations with India have worsened due to the Kashmir issue, Islamist trends have increased. P. Musharraf has banned the use of Islam for political purposes. In addition, he conducted a "purge" of the army and law enforcement agencies in order to get rid of pro-Taliban elements in these structures.

In connection with these changes, protest demonstrations began. There was a possibility of P. Musharraf's removal and Islamists coming to power in Pakistan. But Musharraf still managed to stay in power because, according to V. N. Moskalenko, the president focused on discipline and set as his goal the creation of a strong army. A number of Islamic organizations were banned, and madrassas were taken under control. Before the reshuffle in the army, there were up to 30% of Islamists in it.

According to V. N. Moskalenko, the process of democratization continues in Pakistan. With the help of a referendum held on April 30, Musharraf wants to give his presidential power a legitimate character. Musharraf intends to hold parliamentary and provincial assembly elections in October 2002. Depending on how they pass, Musharraf will decide whether to run for president or not.

O. V. Pleshov (Institute of Internal Affairs of the Russian Academy of Sciences) noted that due to the emergence of the problem of combating terrorism, the severity of Shiite-Sunni relations has subsided. According to O. V. Pleshov, the problem of the role of the army in politics is currently very relevant: will it retain its significance or will it give way to other political forces (for example, Islamists)? Pakistan is on the verge of creating an Islamic state. Paradoxically, the military regime is the guarantor of democracy. Now in Pakistan, according to O. V. Pleshov, there is no political force capable of opposing itself to the military regime.

V. V. Kravchenko (PhD student of ISAA at Moscow State University) in her speech "The Referendum in Pakistan" noted that the referendum decision has the force of law, sometimes even greater than the law of parliament. It is considered that a decision taken by referendum should not be annulled by ordinary law.

The initiative of the referendum (the right to decide on its holding) in Pakistan belonged to the President. The question put to the vote was whether to extend the term of office of the current President of the country, P. Musharraf, for another five years. According to official data, about 51% of the population with the right to vote took part in the referendum. 97.75% of the electorate voted" for "and 2.25% of the electorate voted" against".

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V. I. Sotnikov (IB RAS) devoted his report to the analysis of the cause and nature of the confrontation between India and Pakistan. In his opinion, the political and military leadership of India and Pakistan seek to use this conflict to the maximum advantage for their own state.

V. V. KRAVCHENKO

INSTITUTE OF AFRICA, RUSSIAN ACADEMY OF SCIENCES

On May 23, 2002, within the framework of the IX International Conference of African Studies, a round table "Prospects for cooperation in the Indian Ocean Basin countries" was held. In addition to domestic participants of the conference, representing the Institute of Africa and the Institute of Oriental Studies of the Russian Academy of Sciences, the round table was attended by the Director of the Center for African Studies at the University of Mumbai (India), Professor A. Biswas and Professor V. Sheth from the same research center.

The meeting focused on the fate and development of the Association for Regional Cooperation of the Indian Ocean Basin (ARSIO), established in 1997. This organization, aimed at developing multilateral economic cooperation among the countries of the Indian Ocean zone, remains to this day the only truly functioning pan-Pacific regional forum and unites 19 coastal States.

Opening the round table session, V. Sheth briefly highlighted the history of ARSIO's creation and noted the special role of India and South Africa as initiators of the new Indo-Pacific cooperation in the post-Cold War period. He stressed that the real starting point of plans for the creation of ARSIO should be considered the visit of N. Mandela in January 1995 to India and his support for this idea.

A. Biswas believes that the creation of ARSIO was caused by a new wave of regionalism that began in the world in the mid-80s of the XX century. The principal difference between the new regionalism, according to A. Biswas, is its close connection with the processes of globalization and an integrated approach to development problems, including such aspects as cultural, humanitarian and environmental. In the era of globalization, the nature of regional cooperation is changing, transforming into trans-regional cooperation, the logic of which calls into question the conceptual significance of the concept of "region" for serious analysis. Today, according to A. Biswas, developing countries, including the countries of the Indian Ocean basin, face a dilemma: either create their own regional groupings, or seek admission to the dominant blocs.

N. B. Lebedeva (IB RAS) suggested considering the issue of possible inclusion of security issues in the Indian Ocean basin in the ARSIO agenda. Referring to the experience of sub-regional Indo-Oceanic integration groupings, she noted that any integration initiative sooner or later leads to the need to discuss regional security issues, no matter how this was previously denied. It is in this aspect that N. B. Lebedeva raised the question of the possibility of connecting Pakistan to the activities of ARSIO. It was also noted with regret that the Russian foreign policy has so far practically ignored the existence of ARSIO, which is obviously due to the lack of clear guidelines for the Indian Ocean basin area in the Russian foreign policy and foreign economic departments.

In the discussion that followed Lebedeva's speech, the Indian participants of the round table confirmed their country's position-not to include security issues in the ARSIO agenda and not to allow Pakistan to become a full member of the association. The Russian participants in the discussion generally expressed their understanding of the Indian side's point of view. At the same time, they noted that the exclusion of Pakistan from participating in the work of ARSIO will obviously hinder the development of the association and already negatively affect the processes of Indo-Pacific cooperation.

Deputy Director of the Institute of Africa of the Russian Academy of Sciences V. G. Shubin touched upon the problem of Indian-Pacific regional security in the context of international security after the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001 in America and the beginning of the counter-terrorist operation of the United States and its allies in Afghanistan. In his opinion, there is a serious danger that the United States and other Western countries will use the current situation to extend their military presence in the Indian Ocean and consolidate them on the territory of the former Soviet Central Asian republics. Such a turn of events may permanently undermine the ability of the Indo-Oceanic countries to develop mutually beneficial cooperation, dividing them this time along the line: membership in the anti - terrorist coalition-belonging to the so-called "axis of evil"countries.

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At the meeting, the report of the South African researcher, researcher at the University of Stellenbosch (South Africa) Thean Popgheeter "South African ocean thinking and the Indian Ocean"was read out. He reviewed the history of competition and cooperation in the Indian Ocean in the past and noted its importance for the present and future of South Africa. Despite the existence of serious problems, including those related to the formation of ARSIO, marine interaction in the Indian Ocean, according to the South African researcher, will continue to increase.

V. A. Usov (Institute of Africa) suggested paying attention to the history and experience of the formation of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC), which took more than 40 years to translate theoretical developments into practice. The comparison with APEC is all the more legitimate, V. A. Usov noted, since the initiators of ARSIO themselves largely relied on this experience. Based on the actual existing level of trade and economic ties between the Indo - Pacific states, ARSIO is unlikely to become the main tool for developing cooperation between the countries of the Indo-Pacific basin in the near future. It is likely that a broader dialogue will need to be established, including the development of cultural and humanitarian contacts, and perhaps even the development of some ideological basis for Indo-Pacific cooperation, similar to the ideas of the "coming Pacific Century" or "Greater Europe". One of the most important tasks today, according to V. A. Usov, should be the creation of a sustainable intellectual environment in which to discuss the problems of Indo-Pacific cooperation.

The results of the round table were summed up by the head of the Department. A.V. Pritvorov, who reminded the audience about the deep historical ties between the peoples inhabiting the shores of the Indian Ocean, and expressed the hope that, despite all the difficulties, cooperation between the countries of the Indian Ocean will become a significant factor in world economic and political life.

V. A. USOV

INSTITUTE OF ASIAN AND AFRICAN STUDIES AT MOSCOW STATE UNIVERSITY

On April 1, 2002, a scientific meeting dedicated to the centenary of Academician A. A. Huber was held.

Head of the Department of Southeast Asian History of the Institute D. V. Deopik noted the merits of A. A. Huber in the study of Southeast Asian countries. It was A. A. Huber who came up with the idea of holding regular scientific seminars, which later became known as "Huber Readings" and "Malay-Indonesian Readings", which became traditional.

ISAA Director M. S. Meyer recalled that A. A. Guber was one of the founders of the Institute and did a lot for its formation. M. S. Meyer told about the plans of the directorate to improve the A. A. Guber study and publish a memorable book about this encyclopedic scientist, who deserves to be in the first row of academicians immortalized in the MSU book chronicle, establish a scholarship or grant to them. Huber to encourage students ' scientific activities. A. A. Guber made a great contribution to the development of Russian historical science, directing his efforts to ensure that history did not turn into the stepdaughter of science. But the most important thing in his scientific activity is that he saw a person behind the history, M. S. Meyer noted.

All the speakers at the evening spoke about such distinctive features of a scientist as humanity and encyclopedic knowledge. A student of A. A. Guber, V. A. Tsyganov (ISAA), gave a brief biographical sketch of the hero of the day, and told about his virtuoso teaching style, where the main place was occupied not by lecturing, but by a benevolent conversation with students. A. A. Guber trusted students to use his rich home library, believing that his most valuable capital was students. He gave a start in the life of dozens of young specialists, who then formed the backbone of Russian Oriental studies, Indonesian studies first of all.

Memories of the teacher were shared by: A. S. Teselkin (specialist in Indonesian and Javanese languages), L. M. Demin (journalist, writer, translator), I. I. Kashmadze (translator and writer), S. S. Zakharov (journalist, lexicographer), M. A. Cheshkov (Doctor of Economics), V. V. Sikorsky (PhD). Ph. D.), O. V. Novikova (Vietnamese historian), V. A. Dolnikova (Vietnamese historian), M. N. Pak (Korean historian). Yu. N. Gavrilov said that he was happy to communicate with this interesting and noble person. A former junior colleague of the scientist from the National Committee of Historians of the USSR, now an associate professor of the Department of Philosophy at the Faculty of Public Administration of Moscow State University, I. A. Zhelenina, dedicated her poems to him.

T. V. DOROFEEVA

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NUSANTARA SOCIETY

On April 9, 2002, the Pushkin State Museum hosted a seminar entitled "Pushkin and Malaysia". As O. V. Melnik, an employee of the museum's methodological department, noted, the topic sounds unusual and intriguing for a Russian who is not used to associating the name of a popularly revered poet with such a remote and exotic corner of the earth. B. B. Parnikel, an employee of the Institute of World Literature of the Russian Academy of Sciences, a specialist in Malay literature, who has been the head of the Nusantara Society for many years, made a report at the seminar. He explained that we are talking about translations of Pushkin's works into Malay, and first of all about two books of selected prose and poetry by A. S. Pushkin, published in 2000-2001 in Malaysia on the occasion of the poet's anniversary and served as a direct occasion for this event. These publications are the fruit of cooperation between Russian Malaists and Malaysian writers. They include samples of poetry: poems of different years translated by Malaysian poetesses Zalila Sharif and Ramlah Muhamad, V. A. Pogadaev, A. K. Ogloblin, "The Tale of the Fisherman and the Fish" (translated by V. A. Pogadaev), a small tragedy "Mozart and Salieri" (translated from English by Zalila Sharif). The selected prose is presented by the novels "The Young Lady-Peasant" (translated by V. A. Pogadaev) and "The Queen of Spades" (translated by T. V. Dorofeeva). The forewords to the books are written by the famous Malaysian poet Usman Avang and B. B. Parnikel.

The speaker told about the prehistory of publishing books, about the first experiments in translating Pushkin's poetry in Indonesia (where translations into closely related Indonesian were carried out through European languages) and in Russia. In our country, the Malay philologist V. V. Sikorsky is the only translator who tries to convey Pushkin's poetry to the foreign - speaking reader not by "blank verse", as many translators do, but by using rhyme and conveying the rhythmic and musical features of the great poet's verse. The audience was able to appreciate his authentic translations, which were recited by the translator.

A small exhibition of Pushkin's publications in Malay was timed to coincide with the seminar, which also included translations published by the Soviet publishing house of fiction "Raduga", among them" The Tale of the Golden Cockerel "and" Belkin's Stories " translated by Indonesian emigrants, whose names, unfortunately, do not appear on the covers.

The cultural part of the event was represented by recitation of Pushkin's poems in Russian and Malay languages performed by students of ISAA and the Theater School named after him. Shchepkina Street. Mr. Kamaruddin Mustafa, Ambassador of the Federation of Malaysia to Russia, and the Embassy staff were also present at the evening, who appreciated the recitation skills and artistic skill of translations.

* * *

On May 28, 2002, at the regular "Malay-Indonesian Readings", three prominent Malay philologists who recently celebrated their 70th anniversary were honored: N. F. Aliyeva (Institute of Philology of the Russian Academy of Sciences), V. V. Sikorsky (Institute of the Russian Foreign Ministry), and N. M. Smurova (ISAA at Moscow State University). President of the Society B. B. Parnikel (IMLI RAS), who opened the meeting, spoke about the contribution of the anniversaries to the development of Russian Mala studies. He especially emphasized the merits of N. F. Aliyeva and V. V. Sikorsky, who stood 40 years ago, along with other enthusiasts, at the origins of the"Malay-Indonesian Readings".

N. F. Aliyeva spoke about the three months (January-March 2002) spent in Kuala Lumpur under a grant from the Institute of Language and Literature of Malaysia. In addition to working on her main research topic (polypredicative constructions in Malay/Indonesian), as one of the authors of the grammar of the Indonesian language, she also gave many reports to the local linguistic community on her scientific works published in Russian.

E. S. Kukushkina (ISAA) shared her impressions received during a short stay on Sumatran island. Toba, located in the area where the Indonesian Batak people live.

B. B. Parnikel spoke about N. M. Smurova's scientific activity in the field of Malay folklore. The report was titled " The Inside Story of The Crab That Played with the Sea, or what Rudyard Kipling owed to Walter W. Skeet." In this short literary essay, the speaker traced the fairy-tale motifs that the famous English writer borrowed from the book of his compatriot about Malay folklore.

T. V. DOROFEEVA

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VOLOGDA

On May 21-23, 2002, the Russian Geographical Society and Vologda State Pedagogical University (VSPU) held the First "commemorations in Memory of the outstanding Russian geographer and Africanist Yuri Dmitrievich Dmitrevsky (1920-2001), who worked in this city for many years. The readings were attended by scientists and colleagues of Yu. D. Dmitrevsky from Moscow, St. Petersburg and Vologda. The first vice-rector of VSPU N. N. Shevelev addressed the audience with a welcoming speech.

The plenary session was devoted to discussing issues related to the contribution of Y. D. Dmitrevsky to the development of Russian and foreign geography. Two sections dealt with the geography of Africa and the geography of the Vologda Region. In the first of them, several reports were made and discussed on the social and economic geography of Africa, in particular on those aspects of it that occupied a certain place in the work of Yu. D. Dmitrevsky.

In the report "African Civilization" In d. Sukhorukoe (St. Petersburg) noted that the basis of African civilization is the harmonious coexistence of people with nature. African civilization is not at all like Western culture, which is strongly individualistic, competitive and striving for material success. The ideology of African civilization is negroism, which absolutizes the characteristics of the Negroid race. The links between nature and society in Africa have led to the creation of conditions for the sustainable dominance of such extensive forms of adaptation of the population to the natural environment as gathering (together with hunting) and slash-and-burn agriculture. These types of activities fit into the world around them, almost without changing it, and at the same time prevented the territorial concentration of the population and the formation of complex civilizational structures on this basis. At the same time, Africans have always been able to quickly adapt to a dynamic natural situation and change their lifestyle depending on the state of natural conditions.

Rivers had a great influence on the content and appearance of African civilizations. Their role in the development of the region is constantly growing. The deep connection of man with nature determined the typological features of the African civilization. Its basis remains the protection and multiplication of natural sources of existence (i.e., the natural environment). In the course of the development of their civilization, Africans have worked out the structure and methods of traditional farming that best meet the natural characteristics of the region. Natural conditions also affected humans directly. There are specific features of the African character-sociability and good nature, natural rhythm, but also impulsiveness. This also explains phlegm, indifference, and a weak desire for innovation. Meanwhile, the undoubted value of African civilization is the community of people. A person in African conditions is given an equal place along with traditional realities and other images of civilization.

Over the years of independent development, African countries have not been able to get rid of the main features of the peripheral economy. First of all, they failed to eliminate the fragmentation of their economy. The African economy remains fundamentally undiversified, with the economy producing the same few raw materials as it did in colonial times. The situation is compounded by the fact that new and serious imbalances have emerged in the course of post-colonial development, which have further increased the economic dependence of African countries. Among the new imbalances is the growing lag of agricultural production behind the social needs for its products. As a result, food shortages in the region are constantly increasing and imports are systematically increasing. The lag of the agricultural sector, in turn, complicates the task of industrialization in African countries. Since the domestic market of African countries, whose population is mainly employed in agriculture, remains too limited, ensuring the utilization of production capacities of emerging industrial enterprises becomes problematic. Another new factor in increasing dependency is the deepening technological gap between African countries and industrialized countries. This gap is being replicated in the context of the current process of globalization, which is exacerbating the current socio-economic contradictions.

In conclusion, V. D. Sukhorukoe cited the opinion of the well-known Kenyan publicist A. Mazrui, according to which a significant part of modern Africa is in the process of extinction and disintegration. Even the relative level of dependent modernization achieved under colonial rule is now being lost. The subsequent collapse of statehood in a number of African countries in the early 1990s suggests a hitherto improbable solution: recolonization. For an increasing number of Africans, this is becoming a bitter truth. War, famine, and devastation have become a postcolonial reality for too many Africans. This raises the question of recolonization from the outside, this time under the banner of humanism. Responsible person-

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The responsibility for the future of Africa lies with the entire global community. The time of national interests has passed, but there is one universal interest - the preservation of the world as an existing substance and the self-preservation of humanity.

V. I. Gusarov (Moscow) in his report "Yu. D. Dmitrevsky - an outstanding Russian Africanist" spoke about the life path and creative activity of the scientist. Yu. D. Dmitrevsky's main research interests were country studies and the economy of developing countries, primarily Africa. A significant part of his publications is devoted to theoretical issues of geography-ecology, ocean geography, population, as well as the history of economic and geographical science. In total, Yu. D. Dmitrevsky wrote over 600 works*. The scientific popularity of Yuri Dmitrievich was so great that researchers of his work and biographers already counted about 60 works dedicated to his life, work and scientific creativity by the time of his 75th birthday, celebrated in 1995.

V. Y. Khritinin's report "History of South African Exploration in the second half of the 18th century"aroused considerable interest. The report of D. E. Makhnovsky (St. Petersburg) "Development and deployment of the productive forces of South Africa at the present stage of development"was presented in writing.

A great place in the work of the readings was occupied by speeches at the plenary sessions of Vologda and St. Petersburg colleagues and students of Yu. D. Dmitrevsky, who spoke about him as a scientist, teacher and person (G. A. Vorobyov, P. A. Zimin, V. I. Veselovsky, N. K. Maksutova, Yu. N. Gladkiy, A. A. Sokolova).

The wife of Yuri Dmitrievich N. F. Dmitrevskaya showed the participants of the readings his photos related to various periods of his life.

For the First Readings named after Yu. D. Dmitrevsky, St. Petersburg geographers published a collection "The Meanings of Geography (Economic, social and political aspects)" (St. Petersburg, 2002, 255 p.), dedicated to the memory of the scientist. In Vologda, G. A. Vorobyov, Head of the Department of Physical Geography and Geology, Professor at VSPU, published a paper entitled "Teachers "(2002, 13 p.). One of the chapters of this publication is devoted to Yu. D. Dmitrevsky.

The second reading in memory of Yu. D. Dmitrevsky is scheduled to be held in St. Petersburg in three years.

V. I. GUSAROV

-----

* For more information about Yu. D. Dmitrevsky, see: Vostok (Oriens). 2000. N 4. pp. 174-175; 2001. pp. 215-216.

ELISTA

On April 21-26, 2002, at the initiative of the Council of Young Scientists of the Kalmyk Institute for Humanitarian Studies of the Russian Academy of Sciences, the First interregional scientific and practical conference "Youth in Science: Problems, searches, prospects" was held (within the framework of the program of the President of the Republic of Kalmykia " Young cadres (Give, give the first luck!)"). The events were attended by more than 50 young scientists and postgraduates from various academic research and higher educational institutions in Moscow, St. Petersburg, Kalmykia, Buryatia, Tuva and other regions of the Russian Federation. Senior students of Kalmyk State University and high school students of Elista also took part in the conference.

One of the main goals of the conference was to discuss a wide range of issues studied by young scientists, problems of their formation, as well as the development of relations between young researchers and various academic institutions and scientific and educational institutions of the Russian Federation.

The beginning of the conference was timed to coincide with the celebrations dedicated to the 80th anniversary of the People's poet of Kalmykia, laureate of the State Prize of the USSR and RSFSR, Hero of Socialist Labor D. N. Kugultinov.

The conference was held in three sections.

The section "Language, folklore, literature: traditions and current state" was devoted to research on various aspects of linguistics of Eastern peoples, including Mongolian, Kalmyk, Buryat, Chinese, Korean, etc. In addition, problems of national literature and folklore of small nations were discussed (on the example of the Republic of Kalmykia).

The section "Historical and Cultural heritage of Eastern peoples" dealt with issues of traditional Buddhist culture, Kalmyk ethnography and history.

The section "Socio-economic aspects of modernity and information technologies" included presentations on ecology, pedagogy, law, etc. Were sold out-

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the possibilities of using information technologies in scientific research are demonstrated.

After the conference, a round table" Dialogue of Generations: Traditions and modernity"was held

with the participation of well-known scientists, experts in folklore, carriers of traditional culture of Kalmykia.

Within the framework of the conference, a comprehensive scientific search expedition "Call of April" was also held in the territory of Ketchenerovsky, Maloderbetovsky and Tselinny districts of the Republic of Kalmykia. Linguists, ethnographers, and folklorists met with informants-experts of Kalmyk folklore, got acquainted with original folklore groups, visited memorable places of Kalmykia, and collected ethnographic and linguistic material. They were present at the folk and ethnographic festival "Hymn to the Tulip".

At the final session, the conference participants adopted a number of recommendations, in particular: to appeal to state authorities and the Russian Academy of Sciences to support young scientists; to step up efforts to attract talented young people to science; to hold biannual regional conferences of young scientists on the basis of regional scientific and educational centers; to create a regional council of young scientists that unites scientific structures of the region to establish cooperation with scientists from other regions of the Russian Federation; to promote the implementation of a scientific program to support young scientists, providing for its financing; to create an electronic data bank "Young Scientists of Kalmykia" and other regions of the Russian Federation.

It is gratifying that the first reaction of the state authorities to the appeal of young scientists followed a month later. May 22, 2002 President of the Republic of Kalmykia K. N. Ilyumzhinov issued a Decree "On state support for graduate students and young scientists-candidates of Sciences of Kalmykia".

The conference was attended by Professors O. D. Mukayeva, K. N. Maksimov, People's poet of Kalmykia D. N. Kugulypinov, Academician of the Russian Academy of Sciences G. G. Gamzatov, Professor of Kabardino-Balkar State University S. Efendiev and others.

The conference will certainly help attract talented young people to science, continue the traditions laid down by previous generations of scientists, and unite the efforts of scientists for a comprehensive study of the language, history, culture and folklore of a particular ethnic group.

U. OCHIROV

* * *

The international scientific conference "Material and Spiritual foundations of Kalmyk statehood in Russia (dedicated to the 360th anniversary of the birth of Khan Ayuki)" was held on May 22-25, 2002.

The conference was preceded by a lot of preparatory work. A round table "Kalmyk statehood and Khan Ayuka" was organized on republican television with the participation of scientists, journalists, writers, students and students. In the speeches of D. L. Suseeva "The role of Khan Ayuki in the history of Russia", M. M. Batmaev" The role of Ayukikhan in the creation of the Kalmyk Khanate " and others, the activities of the outstanding political and military figure Khan Ayuki in the history of Russia and the Kalmyk people were evaluated. The following articles were published in the Republican newspapers Izvestiya Kalmykia and Khalmgunn: "Ayuka Khan: a man and a politician "(M. M. Batmaev), "Ayuka Khan and Peter the Great" (D. A. Suseeva), "The Kalmyks' exodus to China: main stages and consequences " (E. V. Dordjieva) and others.

The conference was attended by more than 400 participants, 141 scientists from Russia, China, Mongolia, Japan, the Netherlands, Poland, and the United Kingdom made presentations. Vice - President of the Republic of Kalmykia V. P. Bogdanov, Deputy Prime Minister of the Republic of Kazakhstan A. V. Kozachko, Deputy Chairman of the People's Hural of the Republic of Kazakhstan A. Ya. Sidorenko, People's Poet of Kalmykia D. N. Kugultinov delivered welcoming speeches at the opening of the conference. A welcome telegram from the Minister of Education of the Russian Federation V. M. Filippov was read out.

The following reports were presented at the plenary session: "The role of Ayuki Khan in the formation of the Kalmyks 'national statehood" (Rector of KSU G. M. Borlikov); "Letters of the Kalmyk Khans as a source on the history of the Kalmyks" (D. A. Su-seeva); "Formation of the Kalmyk Khanate in Russia" (M. M. Batmaev); "Kalmyks and the role of their leaders "(Prof. K. Barkman University of Leiden); "Professor V. Kotvich and the Kalmyks "(Prof. L. Antonovich-Bauer University of Warsaw); "Orthographic systems of the Mongols "(Prof. Chuke un-ta K. Tanaka); "Language contacts of the Yuan period in Mongol-Buddhist monuments "(Prof. Ehimi un-ta H. Koichi). "The role of the individual in the history of reform activity in Kalmykia "(M. V. Vorobyova).

Further, the conference was held in four sections: "Socio-economic and political foundations of national statehood", "Languages and culture in a multiethnic environment", "Spiritual foundations of national statehood".

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innovations of national statehood", "Nomad economy: history and modern experience".

At the first section, presentations were made by: A.V. Tsyuryumov- "The Kalmyk Khanate as part of the Russian Empire: features of political vassalage", S. M. Murgaev- "Cultural, civilizational and socio-psychological foundations of the foreign policy activity of the Kalmyk Khanate", R. K. Nadbitov- " Changes in the social structure of Kalmyk society in the first half of the XIX century. B. Ubushaev - "Socio-economic and political conditions of the development of the Soviet statehood of the Kalmyk people", M. S. Goryaev - "Changes in the legal status of the Kalmyk people at the end of the XVIII - first half of the XIX century", S. Yu. Deev - " Organization of governance of the Kalmyk people after the abolition of the Kalmyk Khanate (1771-1825)", K. V. Ubushaev - "Restoration of the national statehood of the Kalmyk people (1957-1958)", S. P. Shirokov - "Formation of the national statehood of the Kalmyk people in the conditions of Soviet power (1917-1920): source studies and historiographical aspects of the issue", S. N. Kekeeva - "Modern system of local self-government in the Republic of Kalmykia", Yu. O. Oglaev - "Formation of the territory of the Kalmyk national statehood in Russia (XVII-XX centuries).) ", M. N. Gilyashaeva - "The rescript of Catherine Pot on October 19, 1771 and its place in the historical fate of the Kalmyks", K. V. Orlova - "Shertnyye gramoty i Christianizatsiya Kalmyks", A. N. Komandzhaev, Yu. V. Nalgirova - " The role of A. Mikhailov in the formation of public thought in Kalmykia at the beginning of the XX century ."etc. E. V. Kusainova's report "Kalmyks, Nogais and Cossacks in the Eastern policy of Russia in the XVII century"was devoted to the relations of Kalmyks with other peoples.

Many of the reports delivered in the second section were devoted to various aspects of Kalmyk linguistics: "Adjectives in the Kalmyk language of the XVIII century "(N. D. Asirova), "Vocabulary of material culture of the Kalmyks of the XVIII century" (D. B. Gedeeva), "On the history of the formation of the Kalmyk language "(P. A. Darvaev). "Problems of Kalmyk writing in 1920" - the topic of the report of the Japanese linguist Arai Yukiyasu. N. O. Kokshaeva considered the features of the language and business correspondence of the Kalmyks of the XVIII century, S. N. Artaev-features of Kalmyk speech etiquette. Several reports were devoted to actual problems of Mongolistics, which were considered on the basis of both the old written Mongolian language and modern Mongolian languages: "Cases with locative functions in the" Hidden Legend of the Mongols "" (I. A. Gruntov), "Reconstruction of the vocalism of the Dongxiang-Baoan subgroup of Mongolian languages "(O. A. Mudrak), "History of studying the language of the Oirats of Xinjiang, China "(N. Sodmon), "A new approach to communication based on the Mongolian language using information technologies" (Dawa Idemukao, Japan), " On the functioning of the Buryat language in the field of culture: current state and problems" (G. L. Dyrheeva), "Phytonyms in the language picture of the Buryat world" (V. D. Pataeva) and others.

Sociolinguistic issues were presented in the following reports: "The role of the national and cultural factor in the speech behavior of bilinguals "(K. L. Dzhushkhinova), "Strong and weak zones of orthoepic variation in the Russian speech of Kalmyks-bilinguals" (N. S. Kugultinova), "Sociocultural aspect of speech etiquette "(T. M. Momoldayeva), "The history of Russian borrowings of the pre-revolutionary period in the Kalmyk language "(L. B. Olyadykova), "Language personality and communication in a non-native language "(T. S. Yesenova, M. A. Prantsuzova), "National and cultural specifics of phraseological units formation" (V. V. Tepkeeva), "Differentiation of the positional characteristics of stress in anglicisms in the speech of Russians and Kalmyks" (E. B. Turdumatova), "National and cultural specifics of speech behavior" (B. A. Ulyumzhanova), etc.

The section "Spiritual foundations of national statehood" presented the following reports: "Description of housing in Kalmyk folklore" (B. E. Amulakova), "Symbolism of the center in the traditional Kalmyks' dwelling: from nomadic to sedentary lifestyle "(E. P. Bakayeva, Yu. I. Sangadjiev), "Shamanistic poetry and its connection with the eagle cult "(E. E. Baldanmasksarova), " The Era of Ayuki Khan in Kalmyk Fine Art "(O. G. Batyreva), "Dzhangar: stadium characteristics and the problem of the" age "of the monument" (N. Bitkeev), "Historical songs: plot and genre" (G. A. Dordzhieva) and others.

In the period of globalization, the problem of preservation and self-identification of ethnic groups, traditional culture of peoples is acute. The following reports were devoted to these issues:" The factor of historicity in the self-identification of an ethnic group living in a multiethnic region " (I. I. Maremshanova), "The problem of ethno-cultural identity in the context of modernization of society "(L. V. Namrueva), "Globalization and the problem of Kalmyks' cultural identity " (S. Z. Sengleeva) and others.

The Kalmyks were nomadic in the past. Currently, efforts to revive pasture animal husbandry are being intensified in the republic. In this regard, topical issues of animal husbandry were widely discussed at the section "Nomad farming: history and modern experience". These issues were presented in the reports of V. I. Adzhaev "History and prospects of pasture cattle breeding in Kalmykia", V. M. Athaev "Kalmyk cattle: ways to improve it", V. E. Baranov "State and prospects of development of animal husbandry in Kalmykia up to 2010", I. E. Bugdaev " Traditional types of Kalmyk cattle in various conditions-

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social and economic development strategies of Kalmykia", M. S. Zulaeva, V. E. Khegai "Traditional animal husbandry of Kalmykia: state and revival", G. M. Lazareva "Impact of climate change on the development of nomadic animal husbandry" , etc.

The speakers paid much attention to issues related to the desertification process: "Pasture digression as a historical factor of desertification of arid ecosystems of Kalmykia" (B. V. Khalginova), "Phytocenotic role of white wormwood in Ergeny" (N. Ts. Lidzhiev) and others.

During the conference, an exhibition of archival documents from the time of Ayuki Khan was organized, an art exhibition of the Kalmyk Art Gallery "Our History in artistic images", an exhibition of the Kalmyk Republican Museum of Local Lore named after N. N. Palmov"Khan Ayuka in the works of Kalmyk artists".

At the end of the conference, the participants came to the conclusion that it is necessary to continue work on identifying, translating and publishing monuments in the Zayapandit script, sources related to the heritage of Ayuki Khan, and introducing into scientific circulation both unique texts in the Tibetan language and monuments recently discovered in the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region of China.

On the eve of the 400th anniversary of the voluntary entry of the Kalmyks into the Russian state, it is advisable to publish a multi-volume academic publication of documents and materials on the history of Kalmykia in the XVII - XVIII centuries from the collections of various archives of the country. It is also necessary to intensify scientific research that analyzes modern socio-cultural phenomena occurring in the republic, support processes that contribute to strengthening the entocultural identity of the people; develop scientific research of the Kalmyk language, search for effective methods of teaching the Kalmyk language; study the history and traditions of pasture animal husbandry, which will allow using traditional technologies at the present stage within the framework of the program for the revival of pasture animal husbandry; In order to generalize and understand the historical path taken by science, Kalmyk State University should create a data bank and a complete bibliographic reference book for the research of outstanding Russian and foreign Mongolian scientists.

T. S. YESENOVA

KUALA LUMPUR (MALAYSIA)

On April 11-13, 2002, the international conference "Language and Power" (Bahasa dan Pemerkasaan) was held. It is organized by the Malaysian Association of Modern Languages (Persatuan Bahasa Moden Malaysia), established in 1986 under the patronage of the Crown Prince of Perak Nazrudin Shah and headed by a prominent Malaysian linguist Prof. Asmahadji Omar. This is the sixth major event of the association.

The conference featured 54 presentations, mostly by scientists from local universities and research centers (University of Malaya, Malaysia University of Technology, Malaysia Putra University, National University of Malaysia, University of Sciences Malaysia, Sultan Idris Pedagogical University, Mara University of Technology, Sabah University of Malaysia, Malaysian Language and Literature Council) and foreign scientists from Brazil, Brunei, Hong Kong, Canada, Russia, USA, Taiwan, Philippines, South Korea, Japan.

The main speaker was Zarit Sofia, the wife of the Crown Prince of Johor, a graduate of Oxford University, who presented a brilliant report on the reflection of the power of language and the language of power in the artistic works of world literature.

A total of fifteen meetings were held, including six plenary sessions, where various aspects of the main topic of the conference were considered. The greatest interest was aroused by the reports of John Edwards (Canada) " Power through language. On the Situation of bilingualism in modern Canada", Anthony Naro (Brazil) "Language Variability and Power", Danton Remoto (Philippines) "The role of short Mobile phone Messages in the People's Revolution in the Philippines in 2000", Haslina Harun (Malaysia) "Language, Translation and Power", D. Newstupni (Japan) "Language and power in the XXI century", V. Bhatia (Hong Kong) "Language and power in the legislative sphere", Asmahadji Omar "Reflection of the struggle for power in the language of parliamentary debates". V. A. Pogadaev (Russia) drew the attention of the audience to the theories of language development in a totalitarian state, including the hypothesis of Professor M. A. Krongauz about the "ritual character" of the official language of Soviet society.

Many reports by Malaysian scholars have expressed concern about the linguistic situation in the country due to the tendency to view English as a more "influential" language than Malay, which, in their opinion, undermines the latter's status as a national language.

V. A. POGADAEV

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