The Journal: General Info and Mission

Vostok. Afro-aziatskie obshchestva: istoriia i sovremennost', or Vostok (Oriens) is the leading peer-reviewed Russian academic journal in Asian and African studies.

It was founded in 1955 by the Academy of Sciences of the USSR and has been published by the Institute of Oriental Studies and the Institute of African Studies under the titles Sovetskoe vostokovedenie (1955–58), Problemy vostokovedeniia (1959–60), Narody Azii i Afriki (1961–1990), and Vostok Afro-aziatskie obshchestva: istoriia i sovremennost' since 1991.

The Journal’s founders are the Russian Academy of Sciences, the Institute of Oriental Studies, and the Institute of African Studies, Moscow. The Journal is an organ of the Department of History and Philology of the Russian Academy of Sciences.

Publication frequency is 6 (six) issues per year. ISSN 0869-1908. Russian Catalogue Number 70600. The Journal is distributed through subscription only. It also may be purchased online in the GAUGN-Press.

The Journal Mission

The Journal’s aim is dissemination of original scholarly researches of Asian and African history, philology, philosophy, area studies, cultural studies, economy, politics, social studies, cultural anthropology, and political anthropology primarily conducted in Russian Federation. The journal aims to enlarge visibility of Russian scholarship as well as to facilitate communications between scholars of all the nations.

The Journal’s scope is Asian and African affairs since the dawn of civilizations in Egypt and Mesopotamia up to day. The Journal covers various aspects of Asian and African history, culture, politics, economy, linguistics, and economy.

The Journal’s special task is to elucidate current geopolitics and interactions between Russia and Asian and African nations and peoples throughout history.  

The Journal publishes papers on China, Japan, North Korea, South Korea, Mongolia, Southeast Asia, India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Near and Middle East countries, and African nations. It also publishes articles on the foreign policy of the Russian Federation and history of its “Oriental” regions, i.e. its Buddhist and Moslem regions.

The main languages are Russian and English.

The Journal also publishes book reviews concerning the Asian and African studies. Please visit the Guide for Authors section for more information on the general submission guidelines.

The Journal shares the international principles of publication ethics as they are stated by the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE).

Vostok. Afro-aziatskie obshchestva: istoriia i sovremennost' is a peer-reviewed academic edition adhering to the standards and regulations stipulated by the Russian state tenure committee (VAK). All the manuscripts are submitted to double anonymous peer-reviewing. The journal articles do not necessarily reflect the official views of the Institute of Oriental Studies or the Institute of African Studies, as well as of the editorial board and editorial staff. Only the authors are responsible for the information they report in their articles or reviews.