On May 14, 2012, the annual conference on Kurdish studies - the third "Lazarev Readings" - was held by the Kurdish Studies and Regional Problems Section of the Center for Near and Middle East Studies.

The conference was opened by the Deputy Director of the Institute of Oriental Studies of the Russian Academy of Sciences, head of the Center for the Study of the Near and Middle East V. Ya. Belokrenshky, who stressed the importance of holding this event, which allows scientists to share their achievements in the field of Kurdish studies. The second issue of the collection of readings is planned to be published. The publication of the first issue of the collection was timed to coincide with the beginning of the current conference. It contains three essays by a prominent Russian Kurdish scholar and historian, Professor M. S. Lazarev, as well as articles by his colleagues, young researchers and graduate students.

The conference was attended by employees of the Kurdish Studies Sector, the Institute of Oriental Manuscripts of St. Petersburg, representatives of Moscow research institutes (IMEMO, Institute of the Middle East), foreign participants and the Kurdish public, a representative of the Iraqi Kurdistan Democratic Party B. Hoshavi and employees of the website kurdistan.ru. In addition, reports sent by scientists from Krakow (Poland) were read out.

The conference covered a wide range of issues of history, historiography, culture, language, economy, the current state of the Kurdish issue in West Asian countries, etc.

The conference was opened with a report by a prominent Kurdish scholar from the St. Petersburg Institute of Oriental Manuscripts, Z. A. Yusupova, in which she drew attention to the problem of Kurdish identity that is currently being discussed by world science. Z. A. Yusupova noted that the self-identification of modern Kurds is connected not only with the name of the tribes and the area of their residence. It is often associated with the name of a dialect, such as kurmanji, khalaji, etc. Despite the fact that the Kurdish language exists in a variety of dialects, they all have the same phonetic and grammatical structure. The Kurdish language, according to the researcher, can be considered as a single whole, which is important for analyzing the consolidation processes in Kurdistan. The expert also noted the difficult self-identification of Yezidis, some of whom associate themselves with the Kurdish religion - Yezidism. Although their ethnic origin, way of life and culture go back to Kurdish roots, they prefer religious grounds. At the same time, among Kurds there are Yezidis by faith, who, when self-identifying, give preference to ethnicity, calling themselves first Kurds, and then Yezidis.

In a report by M. Rzepka from the Paul John II Pontifical University of Krakow (Poland), " Between reality and imagination. Kurdish language in the descriptions of Protestant missionaries in the 19th century, " it was said that at that time Kurdistan attracted the attention of Protestant missionaries primarily due to the presence of Assyrian and Armenian Christians living there, among whom missionary activities were launched, which, however, contradicted the activity of Catholic missionaries who tried to create a union of Eastern Christians with Rome. Kurdistan was becoming an area of rivalry between them. Later it was joined by the Russian Orthodox Church. The expert analyzed part of the extensive missionary literature of that time, which allows us to reconstruct the history of the mission and its purpose, as well as the relationship between different religious and ethnic groups, missionaries with Christians and Muslims, and especially with Kurds. The attitude of missionaries to the Kurds was determined by political events related to the Kurdish-Christian clashes. Due to

thus, the Kurds were portrayed as "cruel" in the missionary literature, which, according to the expert, also influenced the description of the Kurdish language, which was perceived by missionaries as a distorted form of Persian. The speaker tried to answer a number of questions: what languages were spoken by the missionaries themselves, who wrote about the Kurdish language, how they defined the Kurds and their language, whether the Kurdish language was the language of communication with Armenians and Assyrians, etc. As a result of a thorough analysis, the speaker came to a number of conclusions. The missionaries themselves spoke not only Christian languages, but also Persian, Turkish, and Arabic. They learned the Kurdish language, which was used rather sparsely, and perceived it as an inferior language. The Armenians and Assyrians who lived together with the Kurds not only used the Kurdish language, but also considered it their native language in the mountainous regions. In 1872, Bishop Shevris of Urmia attempted to translate the Bible into Kurdish for Kurdish-speaking Armenians. It was written in the Nestorian alphabet and has not been published. In general, missionary texts are an interesting material for studying linguistic stereotypes. But the Kurds did not succumb to the influence of Western culture, which suggests that there was no "linguistic colonization" by Protestant missionaries. Later, representatives of the Kurdish intelligentsia (for example, Bedir Khan) participated in the translation of the Bible, considering it more as a cultural interaction than an element of missionary influence.

The report of A. Yamaguchi (Japan) "The Iranian Kurds (Akrad-e Iran) in Sharafnam: the policy of integrating the Safavids and the forced relocation of Kurdish tribes to Khorasan" was accompanied by an interesting presentation. Analyzing the process of migration of Kurdish tribes in the XVI-XVII centuries to the Iranian Khorasan, the researcher tried to find out how they managed to advance in the political and administrative hierarchy under the last Safavids. It divides the Kurdish tribes into two categories. Some of them rebelled in the middle of the 17th century against the Safavid rule, which did not express loyalty to their overlords and their desire for independence. But there were also more compliant tribes who called themselves" Iranian Kurds " (Akrad-e Iran). These are small tribes that accepted the Safavid rule without resistance and became their loyal servants. They had no ancestral land and moved easily to Khorasan. The radical reforms introduced by Abbas I gave the displaced leaders a chance to rise in the political arena in the Safavid state. Some of them were appointed governors in Khorasan, as well as in other border regions such as Kerman and the Persian Gulf zone. Others have made successful careers in the central administration. These processes were of great importance for the history of Iran. Over the course of two centuries of its existence, the Safavid state gradually turned from a Turkmen state into a multi-ethnic one. Although prejudice against Kurdish tribes persisted among the Safavid ruling elite, the participation of Kurds in central and local administration led to a general understanding that political power in Iran could also be vested in persons of Kurdish origin.

The reports of O. I. Zhigalina (Institute of History of the Russian Academy of Sciences) "The uprising of the Kurds under the leadership of Khodou in Iran's Khorasan in 1920" and T. Abak (Turkey) on the policy of the Young Turks in the Kurdish question in the first years of their rule were devoted to the problems of the history of the Iranian and Turkish Kurds.

O. I. Zhigalina analyzed the causes, course and results of the insurgency of Kurds in the Iranian province of Khorasan in 1920. Despite the fact that it received some coverage in the works of Soviet authors (X. Ataev, B. Hommadov), as well as in new works of Russian historians (V. Genis), the author managed to collect interesting information in the Main Archive of the Russian Federation about Khodou's relations with the Revolutionary Military Council of the First Army of the Turkestan Front. This allowed us to reconstruct the causes, course and results of the uprising. The Bolsheviks wanted to use this anti-government uprising, which had an anti-English orientation, to their advantage. They counted on the help of Khodow and his associates in the Sovietization of Northern Khorasan. However, neither Hodow nor his associates were Bolsheviks: they did not put forward any political or social demands due to the low level of national consciousness and the continued traditionalism of social relations. Realizing that Khodow had not become a Bolshevik and his worldview did not coincide with the ideas about the future of Iran, representatives of the military-political circles of Soviet Russia and the Revolutionary Military Council refused to help Khodow, who after long wanderings was executed by the Iranian authorities.

T. Abak prepared a report on the policy of the Young Turks in the Kurdish issue in the first years of their rule. He noted that a great contribution to the development of this topic was made by Russian scientists, in particular M. S. Lazarev. At the same time, the materials collected in the Ottoman Archive in Istanbul allowed him to identify new aspects that had not previously been covered in the literature. The speaker stressed that at first the Young Turks were in favor of bringing the peoples of the Ottoman Empire closer together.

The introduction of the principle of equality in the Constitution and the Legal Code was aimed at combating ethnic clashes, as well as strengthening the dependence of national minorities on the State. However, Kurdish sheikhs and tribal leaders expressed dissatisfaction with the proclamation of the constitution, which limited their unlimited power in the region, and unleashed inter-ethnic conflicts.

K. V. Vertyaev (IB RAS) spoke about the Kurdish philosopher and prominent religious and political figure S. Nursi (S. Kurdi) and his position on the Kurdish issue. An analysis of a large volume of various publications about this popular public and political figure in Kurdistan revealed that S. Nursi was not a supporter of the creation of an independent state by the Kurds, did not support "Kurdism" (Kurdish nationalism), but sought to harmonize the lives of Kurds and Turks, to become an intermediary between the Kurds and the government in resolving disputed issues. The speaker considered in detail the religious and political views of S. Nursi, noting his commitment to multipolar Islam, the power of the Caliph, on the one hand, and on the other, the spiritual support of the Sheikh Said movement, although he did not participate in it.

I. Bohenska's report (Poland) was devoted to the analysis of the life and work of the talented Kurdish film director Bahman Kubadi (Gobadi). As a documentary filmmaker and author of short films, he often used the stories of local residents in them. The speaker elaborated on the analysis of the film "Crescent Moon" (2006), which reflects the philosophical and mystical tradition of the Kurds, dating back to the Kurdish literary classics of the XV century, which differ from the samples of Islamic culture. The speaker stressed that Kubadi protested against Islam as a tool of the regime, opposing it with a simple and deep faith in the name of Allah, truly " Merciful and Merciful." The symbol of this faith in the film is the main character, composer Mamo. Kubadi's work, although not a direct quote from the Kurdish classics and traditions, undoubtedly continues it in many ways in ideological terms. It should be considered "as a whole that evolves, adding to the range of values and questions." The director takes not the last place in the world cinema. He draws inspiration from the people of Kurdistan, whom he loves, with whom he is emotionally connected, and for whom he makes his films. His films reflect the rich and distinctive Kurdish culture. Their goal is to arouse the interest of the world community in it.

The political and economic situation of Iraqi Kurdistan was highlighted in the reports of S. M. Ivanov (IMEMO) and G. I. Starchenkov (IV RAS).

S. M. Ivanov focused on the issue of declaring independence of Iraqi Kurdistan, which is actively discussed by the Kurdish and international community. There are practically no supporters of this idea from the outside. Turkey and Iran are playing a complex political game in Baghdad and Erbil. On a number of issues, Turkey acts with an eye to Baghdad, and on issues of border trade, economic and trade relations with Iraqi Kurdistan, Ankara acts without restrictions. Iran prefers relations with Baghdad. Although the United States declares its commitment to the territorial integrity of Iraq, it re-equips it to protect it from external threats, and not to suppress the Kurds. If a unilateral decision on independence is made, Erbil may find itself in a political, trade and economic blockade. The expert expressed the hope that the Kurds and the ruling Arab-Shiite majority of Iraq will still be able to reach a mutually acceptable compromise on key political and economic issues.

The report by G. I. Starchenkov supplemented the previous report, as it analyzed the reasons for disagreements between the leadership of the Kurdistan region of Iraq and the central government on the issue of oil - the conclusion of contracts with foreign firms by Erbil without consulting Baghdad, the distribution of oil revenues and some other aspects of this topic. Having considered the essence of the conflict between the Kurds and the Arab-Shiite ruling majority, the expert concluded that the escalation of this conflict is not in the interests of both sides. The Kurds want stability. They are interested in strengthening the industrial development of their region, which is artificially constrained by the center. The Kurdistan region of Iraq, having great potential opportunities for the development of the oil and gas industry, is not yet ready for the declaration of independence of the region due to the state of its economy.

All participants of the conference took part in the discussion. Summing up, O. I. Zhigalina noted that the project "Lazarev Readings", covering historical and contemporary issues, will be continued next year. She thanked the Institute's directorate for its assistance and support in publishing the first issue of the collection of readings. The second issue of the collection is being prepared for publication.

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