The conference on the subject of military Oriental studies has been regularly held at the Institute of Oriental Manuscripts RAS since 2015. The first and second conferences were dedicated to the outstanding military commander and Orientalist A.E. Snesarev (1865–1937). This year’s conference marks the 80th anniversary of Victory in the Great Patriotic War (1941‒1945). Dealing with practical matters of foreign policy and defence, Russian military Orientalists made a great contribution to world science and development of Oriental studies. In the course of three centuries, military Orientalists have been creating a unique archive, a priceless treasury of information on different subject areas (geography, social and economic history, ethnography, linguistics, material and spiritual culture of Oriental peoples). The conference will present scholarly results obtained by Russian military Orientalists and will also outline future prospects of this unique branch of Russian scholarship that has been formed in the process of implementing foreign policy and defence policy of the Russian state.

The following topics will be discussed at the conference:

- the history of military Oriental studies in Russia;
- interaction of Russian military Orientalists with the Russian Academy of Sciences and academic societies;
- activities of military Orientalists before and during the Great Patriotic War;
- biographies of military Orientalists and their research;
- scholarly heritage of military Orientalists and its role in the development of Oriental studies in Russia;
- current development prospects of military Oriental studies.

The main goal of the conference is to present to Russian and international scholars biographies and research achievements of Russian military Orientalists as well as recent research results in the field of military Oriental studies; to publicize unknown manuscript works, archival, museum and library collections; and to identify prospective research areas and new approaches in current military Oriental studies.

Working languages: Russian, English.

To participate in the conference please send applications to Yelizaveta Yu. Yanushkevich (email: 80voenvost@mail.ru) by May 1, 2025. The application should include the following information: full name, academic degree, academic title, affiliation and position, e-mail address, phone number, presentation title and a brief abstract (800 characters maximum).

The second information letter will be sent after May 10, 2025. Transportation and accommodation expenses of participants are not covered. Publication of an edited volume of conference materials is planned for 2026.

Organizing Committee Co-Chairs:
I. F. Popova, Corresponding member of the RAS, Doctor of Sciences in History, Director of the Institute of Oriental Manuscripts, RAS
A. A. Kolesnikov, Doctor of Sciences in History, Director of the Center of Eurasian Studies of the Saint Petersburg State University

Organizing Committee Secretary:
I.V. Kulganek, Doctor of Sciences in Philology, Chief Researcher, IOM, RAS

Organizing Committee Members:
D. V. Zaytseva, Junior Researcher, IOM, RAS
M. A. Kozintcev, Candidate of Sciences in History, Junior Researcher, IOM, RAS
S. A. Michanovich, postgraduate student, IOM, RAS
A. M. Smirnova, Junior Researcher, IOM, RAS
Ye. Yu. Yanushkevich, Junior Researcher, IOM, RAS

Address of the Organizing Committee:
The Institute of Oriental Manuscripts, RAS
18, Dvortsovaya embankment, 191181, Saint Petersburg, Russia.