The Russian-East Arab scientific and educational relationships in the XIX - early XX centuries: study history

Applying the problem-chronological method the author identifies the main approaches to the study of the Russian-Arab scientific and educational relationships. Before the 1917 Russian revolution, the national scholars explored the problems in response to political and religious interests of Russia in the Middle East. The researchers P. Uspenskiy, G.A. Murkos, M.P. Solov’ev, A.A. Dmitrievskiy pointed to the existence of historical ties between Russia and the Holy Land, paying particular attention to the period of Arab enlightenment. During the Soviet period Russian orientalists concentrated on the study of secular contacts. A.E. Krymsky, I.Yu. Kratchkovsky, B.M. Dantsig, A.P. Baziyants summarized factual materials on scientific relationships (particularly Arab scholars and teachers in Russia) and outlined ways of further investigation. In the post-Soviet period, two basic approaches to the study of the Russian-Arab relations in the sphere of science and education prevailed. On the one hand, these were the works focusing on religious and cultural relationships between Russia and the Holy Land (I.A. Vorob’eva, N. N. Lisovoy, N. Yu. Sukhova), on the other hand, the works were focused on the study of biographies and scientific achievements of the Arab scholars in Russia (S.A. Kirillina, M.A. Kostryukov, M.Z. Habibullin). In recent times, Russian scholars have made a significant contribution to the exploration of the Russian-Arab relations both scientific and educational. The author of the article is convinced that a further comprehensive study of the problem involves employment of the combination of scientific approaches.