The Russian Oriental studies are rich and diverse in their disciplines. The focus of research activities conducted mainly at the university centres of St. Petersburg, Moscow, Kazan, and during Soviet times in the capitals of some republics (Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, etc.), was largely determined by the domestic political and geopolitical interests of the Russian Empire. Thus, a philosophical aspect in oriental studies, as well as university philosophical education practical^ did not exist. The changes brought by the revolution of 1917 have greatly affected all fields of social life, including the academic milieu. The article examines a complex and contradictory path of development of the national philosophy, on the example of the Institute founded in 1921 by Gustav Gustavovich Speth (1879-1937), nowadays the Institute of Philosophy of the Russian Academy of Sciences. The latter has become the main focal point of the philosophical research activities in the former Soviet Union. Particular attention is paid to the liberation from the Eurocentrism inherited from imperial times concerning the spiritual heritage of the peoples of the East as a whole, and in philosophy in particular. The pivotal points of its activity became “History of Philosophy” in 3 Volumes (19411943) and “History of Philosophy” in 6 Volumes (1957-1966). The real breakthrough was the encyclopedias, such as: “The New Philosophical Encyclopedia” in 4 volumes (2001); “Indian philosophy. Encyclopedia” (2009); “The Philosophy of Buddhism: Encyclopedia” (2011). The Orientalist aspect in higher philosophical education nowadays becomes more visible. The recent international recognition of the achievements of the Russian Orientalist philosophical studies regardless of a relatively small number of specialists is largely due to their collective efforts and close cooperation.
REVIEW OF THE BOOK: Mosyakov, D.V. (2016). New and recent history: modernization and globalization of Eastern societies. Moscow: Institut of Oriental Countries, Institut of Oriental Studies, Russian Academy of Sciences. (in Russ.)