On April 13-15, 2009, the Institute of Oriental Studies of the Russian Academy of Sciences hosted the VII Conference of Arabists of the Institute of Oriental Studies of the Russian Academy of Sciences "Arab Countries in the Modern and Medieval World (assessment of the role and place of Arabs in world history in the Middle Ages, in modern and modern times)".

Both in terms of the number of participants and the variety of issues and topics discussed, the conference lived up to its name. The work was conducted in three sections: "Modern and Contemporary History, Political Science and Culture", "Medieval and Modern History" and "Economics". More than 40 people made presentations. Among the participants were not only employees of the Institute of Information Technology of the Russian Academy of Sciences, but also scientists from other academic institutions: the Institute of Africa of the Russian Academy of Sciences, the Institute of General History of the Russian Academy of Sciences, the Russian State University for the Humanities, Moscow State University, Moscow State Pedagogical University, the Institute of Asian and African Countries of Moscow State University and the Peoples ' Friendship University of Russia.

The speakers paid much attention to the problems of political development of the Arab world states, the stability of ruling regimes, and the problems of democratization in the context of the strong influence of the political culture of Islam and various elements of traditional society. A number of reports were devoted to conflicts in Arab countries and problems of internal political instability.

A special feature of the conference was that many of its participants touched upon the economic problems of Arab countries in connection with the global financial crisis. In addition, speakers expressed interest in international relations in the Middle East region and geopolitical issues, summarizing in their reports the results of US policy during the presidency of George W. Bush and analyzing the changes in Washington's approach to Arab countries since President Barack Obama came to power.

The conference discussed the culture of Arab countries, their literary monuments and historical sources on medieval and modern history. A lively discussion was held between experts on the Middle Ages, dedicated to the works of Arab historians and geographers as sources on the early Medieval history of the Slavs.

B. G. Seyranyan, Chief Researcher of the Institute of Arab Studies of the Russian Academy of Sciences and organizer of the conference, V. A. Isaev, Deputy Director of the Institute of Arab Studies of the Russian Academy of Sciences, and V. V. Naumkin, Head of the Center for Arab Studies, delivered speeches at the plenary session. One of the first speakers was the Ambassador of Kuwait to Russia, Nasser Haji Ibrahim Al-Muzayan, who dedicated his speech to Kuwait's view on the problems of economic development in Arab countries. Currently, he noted, the main task of the Kuwaiti authorities is to turn Kuwait into a trade and financial center of the region.

In his report "The Arab world in the global system of economic coordinates of the XI-XXI centuries: achievements, problems, prospects" V. A. Melyantsev (ISAA) emphasized that Arab countries are experiencing considerable difficulties due to the global financial crisis. They entered it weakly industrialized, with an insufficiently diversified structure of production and exports, undeveloped agriculture, and, in fact, worse prepared than many other countries in the developing world for the information and innovation revolution. This is compounded by high rates of demographic growth and high unemployment, which, given the unresolved Middle East problem and the technological "separation" from Western countries, creates a sense of frustration in many Arab countries, fraught with far-reaching consequences. V. I. Gusarov (Institute of Africa) also devoted his report "The latest trends in the economic development of Arab countries" to economic problems the region.

A. B. Podtserob's report "The place of Arab countries in the system of international relations" noted that the geopolitical situation in the Middle East and North Africa is formed under a three - way influence-from local "players", Middle Eastern states and extra-regional powers. In addition, according to the speaker, the region is less important for Russia from a geopolitical point of view than for the United States and the European Union, since it, unlike them, is itself an oil and gas exporter, and therefore access to Arab hydrocarbons is not vital for it yet. The Middle East is not of such great interest to the Russian Federation as a transport hub connecting Europe with Asia. Finally, after the end of the Cold War, this region

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It has ceased to be one of the main theaters of confrontation with the West for Moscow. But at the same time, unlike the Soviet Union, Russia is not able to claim any special role in the affairs of the Arab world.

In the speech of G. G. Kosach (RSUH) "The Arab geopolitical system: center and periphery", it was emphasized that the Arab world is a multi - layered and multi-level space with a vaguely distinguishable central link and an equally multi-layered"periphery". Its special feature is that this space is conditional and unstable. It is capable of creating numerous competing "centers of power" that do not belong not only to the States that created the League of Arab States (Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Syria, Iraq), but also to their immediate periphery, which confirms Qatar's role in resolving the intra-Sudanese and intra-Palestinian situation. The issues of international relations in the Middle East world were also considered by E. S. Melkumyan (Institute of International Relations of the Russian Academy of Sciences) in the report "GCC as one of the centers of influence in the Arab political space".

The reports of R. G. Landa "Muslim Aragon and Castile in the XI-XV centuries", D. V. Mikulsky "The Algerian folk poem Khiziyya: the socio - cultural aspect of existence" and R. M. Sharypova "Arabs in interfaith dialogue" (all-IB RAS) were devoted to historical and cultural issues of Arab countries ' development.

The most numerous in terms of the number of participants was the section "New and recent History, Political science and Culture", where 16 reports were heard.

The problems of the modern development of the Arab world were considered in the report of I. A. Malkovskaya (RUDN University) "The Arab world facing the challenges of the modern era". She paid particular attention to the challenges that globalization and the cultural influence of the non-Western world pose to the Arab world.

B. V. Dolgov (Institute of Political Science of the Russian Academy of Sciences) emphasized that Islamism (except for its radical trends) as a trend of Islamic social thought, it does not contradict the general democratic principles. Further successful democratization of the majority of Arab societies, given their traditionally Muslim nature, is possible with the participation of socio-political forces that support moderate Islamism. At the same time, each society must find its own form of democratic organization, which is most acceptable and corresponds to its historical experience. According to the speaker, if modern Western democracy was formed largely on the historical basis of Christianity, then democracy in the Arab-Islamic world can develop on the basis of Muslim culture.

A number of reports of the section were devoted to the problems of political development of individual Arab countries.

E. V. Pavlutskaya (IV RAS) in her report "Fundamentals of political stability in Morocco" noted that the Moroccan monarchy uses the norms of modern political life (constitution, parliament, etc.) to consolidate its regime in a changing society. The task of the Moroccan monarchs in the second half of the twentieth century was to strengthen society from above in order to ensure its modernization in spite of existing sentiments. The modernization of the political system was carried out in the interests of creating a national-integral state with a strong central government, overcoming feudal fragmentation and Berber particularism.

Features of the development of Lebanon, related to its unique ethno-confessional diversity, were considered in the speeches of M. V. Nikolaeva (IB RAS) "Lebanon: poly-linguism or multiculturalism?" and K. E. Kulikova (RSUH) "Orthodoxy in Lebanon: the search for identity". D. R. Zhantiev (ISAA) "Features of modern political movements in modern Yemen" and S. N. Serebrov (IB RAS) "Yemen in the modern world"discussed the internal political situation and foreign policy of Yemen in their reports.

I. M. Mokhova's presentation "Immigration: the kharaga phenomenon in North African countries" was devoted to illegal emigration from the Arab countries of the Maghreb to Europe, primarily to France, Italy and Spain. Against the background of the reduction of legal opportunities to enter Europe, illegal channels for transporting people across the Mediterranean Sea have become widespread. The main reasons for this phenomenon are related to the socio-economic problems of North African countries, which force young people to leave for Europe. At the same time, the Arab States recognize that they cannot find an adequate solution to this problem.

A number of reports at the section focused on the problems of ethno-political and ethno-confessional conflicts in Arab countries.

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I. H. Minyazhetdinov (IB RAS) 'US policy in post-war Iraq: Some aspects of the forceful transformation of Iraqi society' concluded that the US attempt to forcefully transform Iraqi society after the American invasion of the country in 2003, including through the artificial formation of intra-state territorial communities based on ethnic and religious grounds, led to the following changes in the situation in Iraq. The country's inter-communal and inter-ethnic space has become a major factor in the reproduction and spread of violence in post-war Iraq.

In the report "Sudan between the North and the South", E. N. Panfilenko (Institute of International Relations of the Russian Academy of Sciences) emphasized that Sudan is currently going through a difficult period, which requires the mobilization of efforts of the entire international community to overcome the crisis in relations between the North and the South. The use of the country's resource potential (primarily oil) will be possible only if the internal political situation in the country stabilizes after the 2011 referendum on the independence of Southern Sudan.

T. V. Nosenko's report "Shrines in Jerusalem: History of creation and significance in the modern Islamic world" noted that for Palestinians, Al-Quds (the Arabic name for Jerusalem) is the third holiest site in Islam after Mecca and Medina. The formation of the Palestinian people as a national community is closely linked to Jerusalem. The realization of the idea of their own statehood has always been directly correlated by the Palestinians with the recognition of their national sovereignty over Jerusalem.

A. V. Demchenko's report " Salafists and Jihadists in the West Bank and Gaza: new players in the Palestinian arena "was devoted to radical Islamist organizations in Palestine - Hizb ut-Tahrir and groups that have declared their connection with Al-Qaeda. The author stressed that the Hamas movement, which controls the Gaza Strip, and Israel, despite all the failures of its policy towards the occupied territories in recent years, will actively oppose the strengthening of such organizations.

B. G. Seyranyan spoke about the previously unknown pages of the history of the establishment of Soviet-Egyptian diplomatic relations. Issues of culture and philology were discussed in the speeches of V. E. Chagall (Institute of History of the Russian Academy of Sciences) "On the study of the Arabic language in some European countries", E. M. Mustafina (Kazan) " Main trends in the development of fine arts in Egypt (the beginning of the XXI century)" and I. E. Bilyk (RSUH) "On the question of mythological archetypes in Arabic literature of the XX century".

In the reports of the section "Medieval and Modern History", a comparative interdisciplinary approach prevailed, in which the history of the Arabs is studied in a broad historical context, in relation to other cultures. It was mainly about the interaction of Arabs with other peoples, civilizations and political trends, and the time span was wide - from ancient and early Christian authors of the first centuries of our era to the Zionists of the XIX - early XX centuries. This made it possible to trace how the Arabs and other peoples "saw" each other, which is very important when studying their interaction.

The report of A. A. Voitenko (IVI) "News about the Arabs in two Early Byzantine hagiographic monuments (IV-V centuries)" was devoted to the consideration of information about the Arabs in Egypt and Sinai in two works of Byzantine hagiography: "The Lives of St. John the Baptist. St. Anthony of Egypt " and "The Story of the murder of monks on Mount Sinai". An attempt is made to locate the "Saracens" mentioned in the "Life of..." in Egypt at the beginning of the fourth century, and suggestions are made regarding their penetration into the region of Middle Egypt. Among the information about the Arabs of the Sinai Peninsula contained in the "Story...", the emphasis was placed on the reliability of information about their religious beliefs (the custom of camel sacrifice). It was noted that in the light of new research on the reliability of the events described in the "Story...", the former hypercritical attitude to the description of the camel sacrifice can be revised.

I. E. Ermolova (RSUH) analyzed the information about the "Saracens" in the" Acts " of Ammianus Marcellinus. The Acts of Ammianus is the most informative late antique source on these Arab tribes, which suggests that it was in the fourth century that the Romans began to actively use them as federates. Ammianus 'work gives an idea of the traditional description of the nomadic image of the "Saracens".

D. E. Mishin's report "Participation of the Arabs in the campaign of the Roman Emperor Julian the Apostate (361-363) against Persia (363)" was also devoted to the events of the fourth century. Information about the campaign was considered in the general context of the historical situation in the middle of the fourth century in the Middle East, and the policies of the Roman Empire and Sasanian Iran in relation to the Arabs.

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During the war, some Arabs fought for the Romans, others first went with them, but later joined the Sassanids, and others sided with the Persians. The reasons for this are revealed in the report: if Julian's actions alienated the Arabs at a certain stage, then the Persian king Shapur II pursued a more flexible policy, which attracted them even despite the fierce opposition at the beginning of his reign.

The report of Z. A. Harutyunova-Fidanyan (IVI) "On the Arabs of Sebeos and John Draskhanakertzi" was based on the information of Armenian authors. It has been shown that the image of the Arabs is unambiguously and invariably negative for the historiographers Sebeos (7th century) and John Draskhanakertzi (first quarter of the 10th century), contemporaries of the beginning and end of the Arab presence in Armenia. With the intensity of political and other contacts, the distance in culture, religion and mentality was too great. Pro-Byzantine ideologists of the Bagratid House, which was revived at the end of the 9th century. The Armenian kingdom, on the crest of the anti-Arab uprisings, constantly used two instruments of alienation - the state and the denomination.

The study of sources was continued in the report of T. M. Kalinina (IVI) "Khazars-descendants of the Bint Maktouf Cantura - "the purest Arab woman"". In the writings of Arab authors of the IX-X centuries. Ibn Sa'ad, at-Tabari, and Ibn al-Faqih contain a legend that goes back to the Bible, about the migration of one (or more) of the six sons of Abraham (Arab. - Ibrahim) and his wife Hettura (Arabic. - Kantury - "the purest Arab woman") to Khorasan. They believed that the Khazars came to Khorasan, mixed with the Khorasan Turks and thus turned out to be descendants of the" purest Arab " Kantura.

The topic of interaction between the Arab world and Eastern Europe was covered in the report of E. S. Galkina (Moscow State Pedagogical University) "On the River Slavs in the Arab Geography of the Middle Ages". In her opinion, the hydronym nahr as-sakaliba (river of the Slavs) in Arabic medieval geography was originally not a book construction, but referred to the Lower and Middle Volga. In the first half of the eighth century, when the mass migrations of the Bulgars to the Volga region had not yet taken place and the Slavs of the Imenkov culture had not yet been assimilated, the Volga in the lower and middle reaches was perceived by the participants of the Arab campaigns against Khazaria as a "Slavic River", and this name was fixed in literature; from the chronicles of the Arab-Khazar wars, Ibn Khordadbeh and Ibn al-Faqih; during the next two centuries, when the main role on the Volga was played by the Khazars and Bulgars, and travelers arriving in Volga Bulgaria no longer met among the local inhabitants of the Slavic enclave, Nahr al-sakaliba moved to the Upper Volga and Oka (al-Garnati), and then disappears from the pages of geographical works.

Interaction between the Arabs and Byzantium - the topic of the report by I. G. Konovalova (IVI) "Mention of the" Fatimid family " by Konstantin Porphyrogenitus (comment. 15 "On the administration of the Empire"). This source discusses the controversial issue of the interpretation of the term "Fatimids". The term "Fatimids" usually refers to the dynasty of Ismaili caliphs that ruled North Africa since 909 (on the basis of which this chapter is recognized as a later insertion). The author of the report proposed a new interpretation of the term. She concluded that in this case we are talking about Hashemites, which, in turn, allows us to consider the 15th chapter as a logical link in the work of Konstantin Bagryanorodny.

The report by T. K. Koraev (ISAA MSU) examines a number of problems related to ethnic processes in Iraq in the 7th-17th centuries, and the dynamics of self-identification of the local population during the "pre-national" era. An attempt is made to highlight the main stages of migration from Arabia to Mesopotamia during the period of Islam's rule (VII-VIII centuries, XI-XII centuries, XVII century) and to clarify the features of ethnic changes at each stage. The features that are specific in comparison with other parts of the Arabic-speaking area are highlighted: the early character, continuity, duration, and uniformity of Arabization in the presence of an Aramaic substrate that dynamically interacted with the Arabic superstratum and was almost completely absorbed by it from a cultural and linguistic point of view.

The Epoch of Modern Times was presented by A. E. Lokshin's report "Perception of the Arab question in Early Zionism: 1887-1917". The author noted that the Zionist movement's attitude towards Arabs in this era was characterized by complexity and ambiguity. The positions of Zionist figures were greatly influenced both by their views formed before coming to the Middle East, and by their direct impressions of the region. The political conclusions regarding cooperation with the Arabs were equally ambiguous.

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The Economics section presented six reports by the staff of the Center for Arab Studies of the Institute of Economics of the Russian Academy of Sciences, united by a broad theme - an analysis of current problems of the modern economy of Arab countries against the background of the impact of the global financial and economic crisis on the development of the region as a whole, as well as individual Arab countries, including Egypt, Tunisia, Sudan, Saudi Arabia and Oman.

I. P. Ivanova's report "Arab economic integration in the context of modern regionalization" considered the issues of updating the study of Arab integration in the context of the global global crisis in two aspects. On the one hand, regional integration is presented in the generally accepted interpretation as a way to overcome differences and contradictions in the development of the Arab world and resist the increased onslaught of globalization, and on the other - its real transformation into one of the forms of development of globalization itself.

B. N. Gashev's report "The Arab World and the global financial crisis" outlined general trends in reducing the inflow of foreign direct investment to the region's economy and exacerbating the problems of budget deficits and employment. In the context of these negative trends, the issues of establishing a mechanism for expanding domestic demand are highlighted, taking into account the strengthening role of the private sector in the formation of a national market economy.

These problems were discussed in more detail in relation to the group of countries in the Arab region that are most advanced in the field of economic market reforms. G. L. Ghukasyan's report "Economic Diversification in the GCC countries: Problems and results on the example of Saudi Arabia and Oman" illustrates in detail the features of industrialization at the present stage in the Persian Gulf countries, within the framework of the GCC as the most successful experience of economic integration in the Arab countries.

L. P. Zudina's report "Tunisia and the global economic crisis" highlights the specifics of the current situation in the Tunisian economy. Having the closest trade and economic ties with the European market, but at the same time experiencing the negative impact of the crisis in the sphere of foreign trade, labor migration and foreign transfers, the country's leadership managed to stabilize the situation, despite the traditionally underdeveloped financial sector in Arab society.

L. N. Rudenko's report "The impact of the global economic crisis on economic reforms in Egypt" notes Egypt's successful progress on the path of market reforms and further liberalization. Although the reformers failed to fully protect the Egyptian economy from the negative impact of the global crisis, they managed to ensure its stability during this period, partly due to the timely reform of the banking system and a set of incentive measures to prevent a sharp aggravation of the social problems characteristic of Egyptian society.

G. I. Smirnova's report "Some results of economic development of the Republic of Sudan (1998 - mid-2000)" supplemented the picture of modern problems of the Arab region. It provides an analysis of the development of one of the most backward countries in the Arab world, which is deeply mired in a financial crisis associated with huge external debt and insolvency problems in the context of a multi-year civil war. The Sudanese authorities have tried to use the country's large oil reserves and the expansion of trade, economic and financial ties with China to stabilize the domestic political situation in the country.

When discussing the reports and during the discussion, the participants of the economic section came to the conclusion that the diversity of forms and levels of economic development of national economies remains the main feature of the development of the modern Arab world.

Thus, the conference continued the traditional discussion by Arabists of the Institute of Oriental Studies and their colleagues from other organizations of topical problems of the history and modernity of the Arab East, which has become traditional since 1995. Its participants examined various aspects of the development of the countries of the region using a comprehensive interdisciplinary approach, which is inherent in Arabic studies and Oriental studies in general. Speakers and panellists concluded that the Arab world has not developed in isolation throughout its history. It has played and continues to play a significant role in the world's political, economic and cultural processes, influencing and itself being affected by other regions of the planet.

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