A major contribution to the development of this issue was made by the Gender Research Group established 25 years ago at the Institute of Africa of the Russian Academy of Sciences, under the leadership of Doctor of Historical Sciences N. L. Krylova and Candidate of Historical Sciences N. A. Ksenofontova. They gathered around them colleagues not only from the Institute of Africa, but also from other scientific and educational institutions in Russia, near and far abroad, and African countries that study gender issues.

The group was among the first scientists to develop gender issues and use gender as a new method of scientific knowledge. A significant difference between Russian researchers and many Western feminologists is that Domestic scientists actively respond to the demands of the time and take into account social, racial, and ethnic factors in their practice and in the construction of scientific concepts. The Group has prepared more than a dozen individual and collective monographs, collections and reports, including the series "Gender Studies of the Institute of Africa of the Russian Academy of Sciences" (18 volumes were published by 2015).

Most international conferences and socio-political forums include gender issues in their agenda as a prerequisite for a full and in-depth knowledge of modern realities of life. Among them is the XIII International Conference of Africanists " Society and Politics in Africa. Immutable, changing, new", held in Moscow at the IAfr RAS in May 2014.

The reports made at the gender section of this conference formed the basis of the monograph "Social, Political and cultural life of African countries in the gender dimension", published by the IAfr RAS in 2014 (ed. by N. L. Krylov and N. A. Ksenofontov, 397 p).

This paper contains sections prepared by Africanists from research centers in Moscow, St. Petersburg, Yaroslavl, from African countries (Zambia, Nigeria, Ivory Coast), France and the United States. Therefore, the published book can be considered as a kind of international project.

Most of the chapters are written on the basis of original materials collected by the authors on research trips and expeditions in Africa. At the same time, the main focus is on a complex and diverse set of issues related to gender relations in various spheres of human activity: from the family to political structures, from the economy to culture and literature, from ecology to interethnic relations. The presented studies are characterized by a departure from the description of purely "women's stories", an enlargement of problematic topics, and a desire for multidimensionality in the description of reality.

The first chapter is devoted to one of the most relevant topics - the problem of power relations, revealed through the prism of gender relations. The authors of this chapter (PhD L. M. Sadovskaya, PhD N. A. Zherlitsyna, PhD L. Ya. Prokopenko, PhD V. V. Belyakov, PhD V. Y. Sarkisova-Kuale (Ivory Coast) They presented a broad picture of the relationship between the sexes on a vast historical and temporal field: from the specifics of gender relations within the royal power structure of the Baule of Ivory Coast to the family clan of former Tunisian President Ben Ali; from gender features of the formation of political leadership in Southern Africa to the influence of women on socio-political processes in modern Egypt.

In the second chapter, researchers (N. E. Khokholkova, Doctor of Historical Sciences N. L. Krylova, Candidate of Historical Sciences O. S. Kulkova, Candidate of Philos. n. A. N. Moseyko, I. G. Tatarovskaya, S. M. Tishchenko) focus on the issues of lifestyle, aesthetic and social stereotypes in the context of struggle and interaction traditions and innovations. It covers such interesting topics as the formation of standards of femininity and masculinity through the prism of female and male symbols in the cosmogonic myths of the peoples of Tropical and Southern Africa, Madagascar, and also analyzes those modern processes in African society that affect the change in value systems, the deformation of men and women's awareness of their identity and their place in the sociogender structure. twenty-first century societies

All these processes are especially pronounced in those individuals who find themselves in a different socio-cultural environment, populated by representatives of other races, as, for example, happened with Africans who came to the territory of the Russian Federation and the former national republics of the USSR. A similar collision of different

cultures and psychotypes contribute to the emergence of new ideas about the attractiveness, beauty of a person, about the standards of masculinity and femininity on both sides entering into interracial contact.

Interesting observations about the formation of identity in Mestizo children, whose father is African and mother is Russian. In this case, teenagers, boys and girls develop aesthetic tastes that are closer to the stereotypes of European culture. This shows the attempt of Mestizos to get rid of the instability of their position as a "racial hybrid" by identifying themselves with the majority of the dominant race.

In chapter three, representatives of foreign schools of African studies (Teresa Loko, M. Muwaga-Sau (France), Krishna Kamim (Zambia), Osondu Adiora (Nigeria)) analyze in detail the specifics and difficulties of everyday life of Africans during the XX century, highlighting the particularly heavy share of women with their daily responsibilities in the family and in agricultural production. The main emphasis is placed on those changes in everyday life and in public consciousness that give hope for a better future for both individual residents of Africa and the countries as a whole.

The theme of the emancipation of individuals, the awakening of the activity of the modern inhabitant of the African continent was further developed in chapter four, the authors of which (N. Z. Fakhrutdinova, Candidate of Historical Sciences I. G. Rybalkina, G. Ayo-Pimanova (Ivory Coast), Candidate of Historical Sciences N. A. Ksenofontova, Candidate of Historical Sciences T. S. Denisova, K. politN. S. V. Kostelyanets) give portraits of prominent public and political figures, outstanding personalities in the field of culture and other professions who have become idols of more than one generation of compatriots. The biographies of these people, especially women, attest to the huge shift in the life of African countries that took place in the last decades of the twentieth and early twenty-first centuries, when the public space for social and political activity of African women expanded, when they "came out of the shadows", starting active actions in all areas of social and private life.

Researchers come to an indisputable conclusion: only the active position of women themselves can make society address their problems and see them as global challenges to modern world development. In the same chapter, for the first time in our literature, scientists turned to the biographies of outstanding women-representatives of the white race, who are connected with the African continent by their origin, upbringing, and entire fate.: Doris Lessing - winner of the Nobel Prize in Literature (2007), whose childhood and youth were spent in Southern Rhodesia (present-day). Zimbabwe), pilot Veril Markham, traveler Mary Kingsley.

As indicated in the monograph, in the context of globalization, African women who have gained access to education and socially significant professions have successfully integrated into the intellectual environment both in their own countries and abroad (especially in the United States and Europe). They join the circle of doctors, teachers, researchers, and lawyers. They gained great popularity in the literary and artistic environment (writers, poets, artists, theater and film figures).

In the fifth chapter, Doctor of Historical Sciences T. M. Gavristova, Doctor of Philology S. V. Prozhogina, Candidate of Philology N. Yu.Ilina, Candidate of Philology N. S. Naidenova give vivid portraits of women writers who have received wide recognition both in their homeland and in other countries of the world. As the researchers note, at present, gender issues, increased attention to women's emancipation and self-sufficiency are at the center of the works of many African authors. Their main task is to create a positive image not only of the African woman as such, but also of Africa as a whole with its rich traditional culture.

A significant place in the sixth chapter of the book is devoted to such an important topic as the problem of migration of Russian women to Africa, and African women-to Europe and the USA. Nemata Blyden (USA) examines how migrants have integrated into local cultures, how they are looking for opportunities to realize their active life position, while maintaining their identity and connection with their homeland. At the same time, it is noted that for a significant part of Russian compatriots, the main task is to focus on harmonious integration into the society of the country of residence for successful self-realization and in the interests of the family, and without giving up their own identity, cultural heritage and the best traditions of Russian society. At the same time, the unprecedented increase in female migration from Africa to Europe is accompanied by a conflict between traditional and modern - African and European - lifestyles.

The authors conclude that these migrations lead to the loosening of centuries-old traditions and the lowering of the role of the family as the basis of society. People find themselves at a kind of crossroads: it becomes impossible for them to lead their usual way of life in the recipient country and at the same time completely abandon their cultural traditions.

The monograph ends with the seventh chapter (Candidate of Historical Sciences O. B. Gromova), devoted to the most important area of activity of African women - their peacekeeping activities, which can be considered as the most relevant for modern Africa.

The published book aims to introduce a wide range of readers to all the diversity and complexity of the problems facing the inhabitants of the African continent.

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