The annual scientific conference-School of Young Africanists (on the topic "Problems of studying Africa in Russia and abroad") was held on November 14-15, 2012 in Kazan. At the invitation of the management of the Institute of Oriental Studies and International Relations of Kazan (Volga Region) Federal University, 62 participants of the conference - students, postgraduates and young scientists from universities and academic institutes in Moscow, Kazan, St. Petersburg and Yaroslavl-arrived here.

This is a traditional forum held by the Institute of Africa of the Russian Academy of Sciences and the Scientific Council on African Problems of the Russian Academy of Sciences with the assistance of the program of the Presidium of the Russian Academy of Sciences "Support for Young Scientists" together with universities in various cities of Russia.The main goal is to attract the widest possible range of young researchers from the African continent and support this area in Russian science.

The plenary session was opened by L. N. Latypov, Director of the Institute of Oriental Studies of KFU, President of the Society of Oriental Studies of Russia. He recalled the history of the formation of the School of Oriental Studies at Kazan University, about well-known scientists who left the walls of this university, and especially focused on the current stage of development of Oriental studies at the Institute of Oriental Studies of the KFU MO. In this regard, L. N. Latypov emphasized the special importance and relevance of African studies. The Institute of African Studies of the Russian Academy of Sciences, the Department of African Studies at the ISAA of Moscow State University and St. Petersburg State University count on the assistance and support of such recognized centers of African studies as the Institute of African Studies of the Russian Academy of Sciences. Therefore, holding the XI School of Young Africanists of Russia in KFU, the director concluded, is a significant event for the university.

Professor R. I. Bekkin, Deputy Director of the Department of Regional Studies and Islamic Studies, told about the efforts made by the university's management to develop African studies in Kazan. Doctor of Historical Sciences V. G. Shubin (IAfr RAS) noted the importance of the fact that the School of Young Africanists is held in Tatarstan, one of the key regions of Russia. He noted the growing role of Africa in the world, describing the place of this continent in the foreign policy of the Russian Federation.

The business part of the School was opened by Associate Professor of the Faculty of International Relations of St. Petersburg State University, Doctor of Political Sciences, PhD A. Panzerev with a report "Africa in the digital age: the problem of equal integration into the global information society". For all its relative success, he said, Africa is still a continent with an impressive "digital divide" between large industrial centers and remote rural areas. The current level of development of information technologies (IT) in most African countries does not allow them to count on rapid equal integration into the global information and communication space. The majority of African countries have been forced to carry out economic and political transformations that are profitable for Western investors, which actually means selling the African information space to foreign entrepreneurs. South Africa and North Africa have made the most impressive progress in IT development. In West Africa, Senegal and Nigeria are leading, while Guinea and Liberia are far behind; in East Africa, the Internet is most widely used in Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania and Ethiopia. The most underdeveloped region is Central Africa (Chad, CAR).

At the plenary session, the Head of the Department of Law of the University of Management "Tisbi" (Kazan), PhD in Law, A. B. Mezyaev made a report "The latest history of Africa in the decisions of international judicial institutions". Taking as an example three courts - the International Tribunal for Rwanda, the Special Court for Sierra Leone and the trial of Charles Taylor, as well as the work of the International Criminal Court - the speaker raised the problem of the reliability of sources and the objectivity of judges, taking into account the strong political pressure and attempts to falsify recent history by various political forces.

The conference was held in four sections.

Section " International Relations, Foreign Policy and Law "(head-Doctor of Historical Sciences

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V. G. Shubin, IAfr RAS) became one of the busiest, 11 reports were read.

A. Kashnikov (P. G. Demidov YarSU, Yaroslavl) analyzed the situation in Nigeria during the reign of General Sani Abacha (1993-1998), the domestic and international consequences of his policy. O. Kulkova (IAfr RAS) considered the main directions of modern British policy towards African countries. Special emphasis is now being placed not on aid issues, but on developing trade and business with Africa, on promoting pan-African trade. The British government believes in the huge economic potential of the continent. Great Britain helps individual African states, contributes to the fight against climate change on the continent, and strengthens food security. D. Popova (St. Petersburg State University) considered in her report the worldview models of the peoples of Tropical Africa, pointed out both differences and "common denominators" that can become the basis for interaction on the way to ensuring life well-being of the peoples of the region. T.'s report Kurmaeva (YVES MO KFU) "Coup d'etat in Mali" was devoted to the analysis of the impact of the "Arab Spring" in general and the Islamic factor, in particular, on the disturbing events of the last year in Mali-one of the few countries in Africa whose political leadership has not changed for several decades. The situation in Zimbabwe became the subject of another young scientist, E. Salakhetpdinov (IAfr RAS). Despite the economic and political crisis in the first decade of the 2000s, as well as pressure from Western countries and institutions, President Mugabe's regime managed to stay in power, overcome the crisis, and gain new partners in China and Asian countries.

The scientific discussion revolved around one of the most turbulent regions of Africa in recent years - Sudan, in particular Darfur, and the young state-the Republic of South Sudan. If the report of A. Zhukov (IAfr RAS) was devoted to the history of the struggle for independence in South Sudan in 2005 - 2011, then the report of the conference guest from Germany, Dr. A. Ylonen (Peace Research Institute, Frankfurt), was of a comparative nature. He compared the political processes in South Sudan and Eritrea. Dr. N. S. Kostelyanets (IAfr RAS), in his report "Arms transfers to Darfur as a factor of conflict escalation", concluded that one of the reasons for the ongoing Darfur conflict is the availability of weapons and ammunition for both the army and other pro-Government forces, as well as for rebels and tribal militias. He calls into question the effectiveness of UN sanctions, which did not solve the tasks set and did not prevent the escalation and continuation of the conflict. L. Romadan (YVES MO KFU) spoke about the history of the conflict in Darfur in the historical context and possible ways to resolve it.

At the section "Resources and economic potential of Africa" (head - PhD N. A. Zherlitsyna, IAfr RAS) 7 presentations were made. Three of them were devoted to one of the most developed and promising economies of the African continent - South Africa. A. Hamatshin (IAfr RAS) presented an analysis of the current agricultural policy of the Republic of South Africa, evaluated the results of land reform both in South Africa itself and in some countries of the South African Development Community (SADC). The report of V. Sidorov (IAfr RAS) "South Africa - the locomotive of the African economy" contained rich statistical material that made it possible to highly assess the importance of the South African economy for the economies of sub-Saharan Africa. For Southern Africa and many other African countries, South Africa is the main source of foreign investment, which creates jobs, trains local personnel and replenishes the state treasury through taxes and licensing fees. Another aspect of the functioning of the South African economy - the activities of trade unions - was considered in the report of S. Tishchenko (IAfr RAS). To date, 197 trade union organizations are registered in the country, the most numerous and influential of them are in the mining, metallurgical and construction industries. The young researcher examined their history, functioning characteristics, internal and external connections, and level of activity.

I. Zakharov's report (Moscow State University, Moscow) was devoted to one of the most painful African problems - the marginalization of the urban population and the emergence of" poverty belts", or slums, around the largest African cities. In some African countries, the proportion of slum dwellers exceeds 50%, and in such countries as Sudan, Chad, Sierra Leone, and the Central African Republic, it reaches 90%. False urbanization hinders the economic growth of African States. Although some African Governments and the United Nations are taking some measures to combat this scourge, they are clearly insufficient. S. Tretyakova (YarSU) - economic problems as a factor of the 2011 revolution in Egypt. Due to recent events, the country's economic growth rate has sharply worsened - from 7-8% to 1%. Foreign exchange reserves decreased by 40%. The flow of tourists from abroad has sharply decreased. Political and social instability of the Oka-

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They have had a negative impact on the economy, and the outlook is not yet clear.

The most numerous section was "Social and cultural studies" (head-Doctor of Economics R. I. Bekkin), where 16 reports were made. A number of presentations of the section were devoted to the mutual influence of African and European cultures, the problem of self-consciousness of Africans who found themselves in Europe. E. Blinova (YarSU) drew attention to the "African" London of the second half of the XX century and spoke about the three main waves of emigration from Africa to the UK. The African communities of Great Britain in the first decade of the XXI century became the object of research by another young scientist - G. Karpov (IAfr RAS). Africans were, and still are, one of the youngest and fastest growing groups in the UK. Between 2001 and 2011, the number of migrants from sub-Saharan Africa in the UK doubled, according to official figures. Currently, there is an absolute increase in the influence of Africans on the life of British society. Reality shows that a fundamentally new approach to migrants is needed, since the policy of multiculturalism pursued in the second half of the 20th century has not fully justified itself.

African art and cultural aspects of socio-political processes were studied in the reports of E. Danilov (YarSU) "Ancient Personifications of Africa", V. Semenova (MAE RAS, Kunstkamera, St. Petersburg) "On the role of icons in Ethiopian spiritual culture" and P. Popov (IAfr RAS) " Cinema in colonial Zimbabwe: ideology or art?"

A. Banshchikova (IAfr RAS) paid attention to the reflection in the works of the Egyptian writers N. Mahfouz and T. Al-Hakim of the ideas of the nationalist intelligentsia of the 20s-30s of the XX century, which declared continuity in relation to the ancient civilization of Egypt - the Pharaohists saw the origins of the identity of their homeland in ancient Egypt. V. Kruchinsky and A. Panov (IAfr RAS) ' s reports on contemporary political cartoons and comics in South Africa and East Africa received an active response from the audience. The speakers accompanied their presentations with rich illustrative material.

The diverse forms of mutual knowledge and influence of the African world and Russia in different periods of history were the focus of such speakers as D. Gilmutdinov (Center for Islamic Studies of the Academy of Sciences of Tatarstan, Kazan), A. Ryzhov and E. Tsvetkov (YarSU). D. Gilmutdinov spoke about the travel notes of the Tatar politician and publicist G.-R. Ibrahim, who visited in 1912. North Africa. The report of A. Ryzhova - "Africa through the eyes of Russian volunteers who participated in the Anglo-Boer War of 1899-1902" - was based on the memoirs of Second Lieutenant E. Augustas, Lieutenant A. E. Edrikhin, Lieutenant Colonel I. V. Romeyko-Gurko, Staff Captain M. von Siegern-Korn, sisters of mercy of the Russian Red Cross sanitary detachment S. V. Summing up the results of interviews conducted with Yaroslavl residents who visited Africa in the 1960s and 1980s, E. Tsvetkov presented a complex, diverse and sometimes contradictory image of Soviet-African relations.

A number of reports of this section were based on the results of field ethnographic expeditions, in which young researchers of Africa participated. O. Ivanchenko (IAfr RAS) spoke about the results of a field study in Tanzania in February-March 2011. The purpose of the expedition was to organize communities in major cities-Dar es Salaam, Arusha and Zanzibar. N. Steblin-Kamensky (European University, St. Petersburg) paid attention to the anthroponymy of Northern Wollo (Ethiopia) and showed extensive photographic material taken during the trip.

The business part of the conference was completed by the section "Research in African Linguistics and Philology" (headed by Candidate of Historical Sciences N. A. Zherlitsyna). Phraseological turns in the Hausa language became the object of research by L. Litvinova (St. Petersburg State University). While traditional phraseology reflects the long-standing culture and way of life of the Hausa people, modern phraseology is a way to introduce new concepts, phenomena, terms, and ideas into the language. They reflect completely new and unfamiliar phenomena for the Hausa people. The main political, legal, economic, technological and other concepts are often presented in the form of phraseological units. E. Shevchuk (St. Petersburg State University) presented a report describing the type-time system in the Amharic language.

The results of the conference were summed up by N. A. Zherlitsyna, Scientific Secretary of the Scientific Council on African Problems of the Russian Academy of Sciences, V. G. Shubin, and Deputy Head of the Russian Academy of Sciences. Director of the Institute of Information Technology of the KFU Ministry of Defense R. I. Bekkin. They noted the high level of reports presented, the great interest shown by the conference participants in the scientific discussion, and the creative approach and enthusiasm of scientific youth in studying Africa. The XII School is scheduled for November 2013.

The review was prepared by N. A. ZHERLITSYNA, Candidate of Historical Sciences

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