Some Soviet works on modern middle eastern history

Abstract

Sustained Soviet interest in the Middle East is expressed in numerous published Soviet works on the area's modern and contemporary history. Much literature has been published on the history of individual countries in this region, as well as on specialised topics. In addition, a considerable number of monographs have appeared on modern Middle Eastern History as a whole as well as on several selected topics (sometimes only tenuously related). They vary in scope, comprising parts of books on the history of the East, Asia and Africa, the Near and Middle East, of the Arab East or the Maghrib. We have selected several of the more characteristic works, attempting to pinpoint the main topics of interest and the methodology of their research. Soviet historical works frequently distinguish among 'novaya istoriya; ('modern history'), 'novyeyshaya istoriya' ('recent history'), 'sovryemyennaya istoriya' ('contemporary history'), and 'aktual'niye problemi' ('current problems'). In the context of the Middle East, it is not always clear how this division works nor is it evident when one period begins and another ends. Let us begin with a text book written by A. A. Guber, G. F. Kim and A. N. Kheyfyets, entitled Novaya istoriya stran Azii i Afriki (The Modern History of the Countries of Asia and Africa), Moscow, Oriental Literature Press, 1975, pp. 544. This is the completely-rewritten second edition of a text book written by Guber and Kheyfyetz in 1961. Intended for the Faculties of History and Institutes of Pedagogy at the University of Moscow, it is divided into two parts: mid-seventeenth century to 1870 and 1870 to 1918. A special section (pp. 503-41) discusses the teaching and research concerning the history of Asia and Africa in czarist Russia and in the Soviet Union. The scope is very wide, as the book's title implies, covering the area from Japan and China, via Indonesia and India, to Iran, the Ottoman Empire and the Arab countries; Africa, by comparison, gets considerably less attention. The emphasis is on political history; economic and other developments are presented in their political context. Not unexpectedly, the entire book follows official doctrine; great stress is placed upon the development of capitalism and colonialist penetration into the areas under discussion. The next heading is 'The Awakening of Asia' in the early twentieth century (pp. 406-99), pertaining chiefly to Iran, the Ottoman Empire, China, the Mongols and India. Attempts to show the influence of the Russian Revolution of 1905 upon other countries, such as Iran (pp. 408 ff.) are made. Following the practice of most Soviet history textbooks, the material is presented in brief, oneor two-page sub-chapters under appropriate headings. This volume includes numerous maps, although virtually no footnotes (except for a few which quote from Lenin, Marx and Engels), nor a suggested bibliography. The facts are presented clearly and precisely, although their