Russian Orientalistics (Vostokovedenie) From the Eastern Question of the Ottoman Empire to Modern Russia

Iran and the Caucasus. 2024. Vol. 28. No. 4-5. P. 478–489.

Evgenij Zelenev

This article examines the history, current state and prospects of Oriental and African Studies (oas) in modern Russia. It explains why there are several educational models of oas at bachelor’s and master’s degree in Russia and describes the current situation where 22 Russian universities offering oas programmes produce graduates with mostly only two majors, i.e., historians and philologists. The article addresses the position of oas among modern Russian scientific disciplines. Another aim is to trace the histori- cal logic of the development of Oriental Studies and related African Studies in Russia, placing the discourse in the context of the Eastern Question, or the political fate of the Ottoman Empire. Finally, it identifies and justifies some current alternative trends in the development of oas in Russian education and science.

Keywords: orientalism, Ottoman Empire, Education in Russia, Oriental and African studies, Eastern question, Russian academic specialities, Education in the Soviet Union