Sergei Pestsov, Institute of History, Archaelogy and Ethnology of the Peoples of the Far East, FEB RAS, Vladivostok, Russia. E-mail: skpfox@yandex.ru.
With the election of Narendra Damodardas Modi as prime minister in 2014, India’s foreign policy has undergone a marked change. One of its important elements is the “Neighbourhood First” policy, the purpose of which is to strengthen the regional and global status of the country. On the one hand, this policy is a continuation of India’s persistent efforts to streamline its regional environment. On the other hand, the strategy proposed by N. Modi is distinguished by a number of specific features that reflect both changes in India’s global environment and its changing perception of its own place and role in the modern world. Numerous discussions by Indian and foreign researchers on India’s new approaches to organizing and streamlining its neighbourhood environment allow us to highlight several important and topical issues that are discussed in the paper. The first issue is related to understanding the historical experience of the India’s neighborhood policy identifying the main stages of its development, advantages and limitations. The second issue concerns the analysis of the features of N. Modi’s “Neighborhood First” strategy, which accumulates both India’s previous experience in building relations with its neighbours and changing ideas about the country’s place in the world. The third issue stems from the need to conceptualize the new India’s neighborhood policy within the general theoretical model that explains the specifics of regional policies used by contemporary rising powers
Keywords: South Asia, India, Narendra Modi, foreign policy, strategy, neighbourhood, region, regionalism, regional organizations.

Elena Garbuzarova, Kyrgyz-Russian Slavic University, Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan. E-mail: play_elenag@mail.ru
This paper is devoted to India’s policy aimed at expanding its geo-economic and geopolitical influence in Central Asia, a region with rich resource potential that has recently attracted increased attention from global and regional centers of power. It is noted that it is not only the desire to ensure its energy security through the oil and gas of Central Asian states that forms the spectrum of India’s strategic interests. The intention to become a strong regional player is also part of New Delhi’s policy objectives in this foreign policy area. The paper analyses India’s significantly increased activity in Central Asia, the extent of its involvement in geo-economic and geopolitical regional processes as well as India’s initiatives aimed at creating conditions for the development of closer ties with the republics in various fields despite their geographical remoteness. In the light of the transformation of the world order, New Delhi looks for effective ways to strengthen its position through different mechanisms of influence and puts hopes on a multilateral format of economic, political and security cooperation with the countries of Central Asia. However, the China factor is one of the main constraints on India’s implementation of its foreign policy strategy in Central Asia.
Keywords: India, Central Asia, diplomacy, trade and economic relations, security cooperation, transport and logistics, geopolitics

Vitaliy Boldyrev, Institute of History, Archaeology and Ethnology of Peoples of the Far East, FEB RAS, Vladivostok, Russia. E-mail: boldyrev89@list.ru.
In recent years, the term “Indo-Pacific region” has become increasingly common placing India at the center of the emerging political and research narrative. Taking into consideration this trend, the paper analyses the foundations of New Delhi’s current foreign policy and the discussions of Indian scholars, both at home and abroad, on the country’s Indo-Pacific course. They are unanimous that as the global system of international relations is transforming, the foundations of India’s foreign policy are changing: the centuries-old pillars of the national culture are being adapted and certain elements of British influence are being absorbed. At the same time, the opinions of experts and researchers are diametrically opposite on the primacy of the cultural and historical basis and political practice in the context of New Delhi’s modern course. In terms of practical course, the attention of the academic community is primarily focused on political, security and economic issues. China is indicated as a key threat in all the fields while smaller threats and challenges remain debatable depending on the specific functional area. Politically, the cooperation with the US is a problem, which, on the one hand, can act as a counterbalance to the PRC but, on the other hand, promotes areas of cooperation that are alien to Indian political tradition. In terms of security, the partnership with Washington is viewed more favorably, and the criticism of the American threat to Indian interests is a rare exception. In the economic field, the key criticism is related to the government’s planning process and bureaucratic practices. As a result, the intended goals do not usually face the facts, and the projects are implemented slowly.
Keywords: India, the Indo-Pacific region, non-alignment, multi-alignment, economics, policy, security

Larisa Garusova, Institute of History, Archaeology and Ethnology of the Peoples of the Far East, FEB RAS, Vladivostok, Russia; Far Eastern Federal University, Vladivostok, Russia. E-mail: lgarusova@mail.ru
The paper deals with the question that the nature of modern international relations largely depends on the interaction of world powers in the Indo-Pacific region (IPR). India is one of such great powers. Rivalry, cooperation or balance of power in the Indo-Pacific depends on relations, including the military field, in the India-US-China triangle. Based on the analysis of government and departmental documents of the United States and India as well as the works of Indian and American authors, it is proved that the goals, structure and features of military cooperation between the two states changed at different stages. The China factor (the growth of global and regional economic and military influence) and its perception as a threat and a strategic competitor has become of key importance relatively recently in the context of the American strategy for a “free and open Indo-Pacific region”. The ambivalence of India’s foreign and defense policy is largely due to the inconsistency of its principles—broad good neighborliness and strategic autonomy as well as the lack of an official foreign policy strategy. All this introduces uncertainty into India’s vision of its prospects in the Indo-Pacific region forcing New Delhi to hesitate in the choice of allies. It is revealed that the structure of military partnership is currently dominated by military-technical and military strategic components, which implies the export of American weapons and technologies to India in order to unify military platforms, joint exercises and activities for the preparation of armed forces, the formation of interoperability, the exchange of information and intelligence. The United States helps India expand its technological and defense capabilities, which, in turn, allows them not only to gain an ally but also to partially reduce their own military burden in the Indo-Pacific by sharing it with India. This determines the mutually beneficial, albeit asymmetric nature of their relationship
Keywords: Indo-Pacific region, India, USA, China, regional security, military-technical cooperation, arms supplies, military strategic partnership

Alexander Prasol,, Niigata University of International Culture and Information, Niigata, Japan. E-mail: prasol@nuis.ac.jp
The paper contains a description and translation into Russian the Oeiki (Records of the Oei era). The manuscript describes an armed conflict between the feudal clan Ouchi and the central government. The Oeiki continues the traditions of the classical military epic but differs from the previous military chronicle Meitokuki (Records of the Meitoku era) by the author’s expressed desire to combine factual accuracy with outright fiction. The desire for accuracy is manifested in the enumeration of the arguments of the parties during the negotiations, in the description of the number of fighting units and geographical names. As for the thoughts, feelings, words and actions of the main characters on the battlefield, they are richly decorated with fiction. The Ouchi revolt was the second and last rebellion of the provincial clans against the personified power of the Ashikaga shoguns in the second half of the 14th century. Like the previous Yamana rebellion it was largely dictated by the attitude of the military elite towards the shogun, which had been preserved since the middle of the 14th century. Powerful lords to some extent still considered Yoshimitu as the first among equals and didn’t find it impossible to take up arms against him in case of sharp disagreement. Just like Yamana before him, Ouchi was beaten and his defeat only strengthened the power of Yoshimitsu, which remained unprecedentedly strong until his death in 1508. The rebellion of Ouchi Yoshihiro fell in the middle of an uncharacteristically long period of peace in Japan, which lasted from the seventies of the 14th century to the middle twenties of the 15th century. Outside of Japan, Oeiki has not been the subject of special study and has not been translated into foreign languages. The author of the paper saw his main goal in expanding the database of medieval Japanese manuscripts translated into Russian. The translation takes up most of the study and contains a detailed commentary with drawings designed to facilitate the perception of the events of more than six hundred years ago.
Keywords: Japanese military epic, Oeiki, rebellion of Oei era, rebellion of Ouchi Yoshihiro, Ashikaga Yoshimitsu

Ildar Khamzin, Ural Federal University, Ekaterinburg, Russia. E-mail: ildar.hamzin1991@mail.ru.
The paper analyses the project “Russian Society of Shipping in the East” proposed in 1885 by naval officer A.K. Sidensner in order to develop trade and economic relations of Russia with China, Korea and Japan. The emergence of this project was predetermined by the extremely slow development of merchant shipping of the Russian Empire on the Far Eastern borders. In this situation, the trade passages between Russian and East Asian ports were almost monopolized by foreign shipping companies. The project “Russian Society of Shipping in the East” offered a solution to this problem by creating a domestic shipping company in the Far East. This enterprise had to stimulate international trade, to develop passenger traffic and to strengthen Russia’s military and strategic positions in the Pacific Ocean. The paper analyses the development of merchant shipping in the Russian Far East in the 1870s and 1880s. The project of 1885 and its following discussion at the government level was examined. The paper examines the main reasons for the refusal in granting a subsidy for the establishment of the project “Russian Society of Shipping in the East”. It is concluded that the refusal of large financial investments by the government consolidated the backwardness of Russian positions in the Pacific until the beginning of the 20th century.
Keywords: A.K. Sidensner, maritime trade, East Asia, Russian shipping

Galina Popovkina, Institute of History, Archaeology and Ethnology of the Peoples of the Far East, FEB RAS, Vladivostok, Russia. E-mail: galina.popovkina@gmail.com.
As a result of emigration after the October Revolution of 1917 in the eastern direction, a significant part of the emigrants stayed in China and its economic and social center Harbin, which preserved the Russian way of life and traditions and became the center of the educational and cultural life of Russians in Manchuria. In many ways, the preservation of the originality of Harbin as a Russian city was facilitated by the activity of the parishes of the Russian Church, which later formed an independent diocese. One of the most prominent and not always unambiguous figures of the Russian Orthodox Church of this period is Metropolitan Nestor (N.A. Anisimov). The period of his work in Harbin has not been sufficiently analyzed from the point of view of his perception of the Russian emigration in Harbin. It seems to be an important scientific task to complete the characteristics of the personality of Metropolitan Nestor and to introduce little-known facts of his biography, to draw up a “portrait” of the Russian emigration in the eyes of the metropolitan and to clarify his attitude to the political trends that took place among the emigration in the 1920s and the early 1930s. Metropolitan Nestor left his impression of the Russian emigration only in two essays, which are analyzed in this paper. In his works, Metropolitan Nestor focuses on such features of the emigrant life as religiosity, diligence, the desire to preserve Russian traditions, etc. The descriptions of the features of the life of emigrants in the essays of Metropolitan Nestor are not always confirmed by the conclusions of researchers. It was also found out that Metropolitan Nestor thought that the entry of Japan into the territory of Manchuria and the ideas of fascism spread among the emigrants could liberate Russia from the communist regime. In general, Metropolitan Nestor demonstrates a naive perception of both the reality surrounding him and political ideas and trends.
Keywords: Russian Far Eastern emigration, Metropolitan Nestor (Anisimov), Harbin.

Anatoly Startsev, Institute of History, Archaeology and Ethnology of the Peoples of the Far East, FEB RAS, Vladivostok, Russia. E-mail: Starcev.42@mail.ru
The paper discusses the traditional ideas of the Yukagirs about the universe and its numerous masters — good and evil spirits of Nature, who control life on Earth. The Yukagirs understand nature as all animate beings and inanimate objects. They include birds, animals, fish, etc., forests, mountains, rivers and where people live as well as the sky with the sun, moon and numerous stars. The Yukagirs call all that by one word: Pen (Pon), which can be translated into Russian as “Nature”. The Yukagirs, dividing the universe into three levels—the Upper, Middle and Lower worlds—pay special attention to the Middle or earthly world. This world was inhabited by the Masters of different elements. According to the ethnic group, there were three main masters in the Middle or earthly world: the Master of the earth — Labien-Pogil, the Master of fresh water — Odin-Pogil and the Master of the sea—Chobun-Pogil. All other masters of nature were ruled by the main masters of the terrestrial world. The masters of taiga, tundra and fields were subordinated to the Master of the earth. All the masters of rivers and lakes with their various living creatures obeyed the Master of the fresh water. A similar hierarchy was observed in the depths of the seas. Not only sea fish obeyed the Master of the sea but also sea animals which also had their own masters, who controlled the life in water and were responsible for the well-being of theirs wards and people
Keywords: Yukagirs, spiritual culture, traditional representations, the universe, the earthly world, nature, the masters of nature, the master of the earth, the Master of fire, local deities

Zoia Lapshina, Khabarovsk Theological Seminary, Khabarovsk, Russia. Е-mail: lapshinazoy@gmail.com.
As a result of archaeological studies of the sites and settlements of the Lower Amur region as well as prospecting works in the twentieth and the early twenty-first centuries, a large number of collections of art objects have been accumulated. These archaeological finds are diverse in genres, used material, historical epochs and belonging to specific archaeological cultures. The object of the author’s research is the archaeological cultures and the primitive art of the settled fishermen of the Stone Age in the lower reaches of the Amur River. The genre of volumetric ceramic sculpture is chosen as a subject of the research, which is represented by the collection of ceramic figurines called “female masks” in the scientific literature. Such items, which are from six to three thousand years old, were found in the settlements of Kondon, Gasya, Suchu, Malaya Gavan, Kolchem-2 and Khummi. The paper systematizes the data on the process of the collection of the sculptures obtained from the publications of A.P. Okladnikov, A.P. Derevianko, V.E. Medvedev, A.K. Konopatsky, I.Y. Shevkomud and the authors of this paper. The collection of volumetric female sculptures from the Late Neolithic of the Khummi settlement (the Voznesenovskaya culture) is described. The novelty of the paper is that there is no research on the systematization of materials of the collections of volumetric ceramic sculptures in the Lower Amur archaeology, and the new data can be introduced in the scientific discourse. It is pointed out that it is necessary to prepare a separate publication representing a general summary of collections of the primitive art of the region.
Keywords: archaeology, Stone Age, masks, ceramic volumetric sculpture, settlements of Kondon, Gasya, Suchu, Khummi.

Pavel Pashentsev, Sakhalin State University, Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk, Russia. E-mail: pashentsev@inbox.ru.
The paper describes the complexes of the Nabil archaeological culture of Northern Sakhalin. Basing on the materials of the Jimdan 5 settlement and the planigraphic analysis of materials of point 1 of the Chayvo 6 settlement, theearly stage oftheNabil culture isdistinguished. Thechronological framework is determined from the end of the 11th century to the first half of the 8th century BC. The historical and cultural context of this period is examined. The source of the Nabil culture is not identified. It is assumed that there was migration from the mainland to Northern Sakhalin from the second to the first centuries BC. The infiltration of the bearers of the Piltun archaeological culture into Northern Sakhalin between the second half of the 8th century and the 5th century BC might contribute to the migration of some representatives of the Nabil culture to the southern regions of Sakhalin where the formation of the Susuya archaeological culture was taking place. The location of sites allows to assume that fishing and hunting were the main economic activities among the representatives of the early Nabil archeological culture. It is defined that during this stage the ceramics was distinguished by the compositional diversity of the decor. The stone inventory is represented by a small number of tools made by pressure flaking and fully polished adzes. The paucity of the range of stone tools suggests the use of metal tools in the household.
Keywords: Northern Sakhalin, Paleometal age, Nabil archaeological culture, Piltun archaeological culture, Susuya archaeological culture, pit-dwelling, sharp bottom pottery, stone tools

Victor Krivonogov, Humanitarian institute of Siberian Federal University, Krasnoyarsk, Russia. E-mail: victor950@yandex.ru.
The paper analyses the results of the research conducted among the Ulchi people during the ethnographic expedition in July 2022. Its goal was to identify contemporary ethnic processes. The majority of the Ulchi live in the central and southern parts of the Ulchsky district of the Khabarovsk region. The research involved a mass survey of the Ulchi people on the main ethnic territory on a 25% sample rate using a special questionnaire. The questionnaire for adults was filled according to their answers, and for children according to their parents’ answers. In total, 459 questionnaires were compiled in the settlements of Bogorodskoye, Bulava, Mongol, Ukhta and Savinskoye. The national ones, in which the Ulchi are in majority, include Mongol and a part of Bulava called Staraya Bulava. The following features are defined during the research. In other settlements, the proportion of the Ulchi people is less than half. The mixed character of the settlement defined the nature of contemporary ethnic processes — the Ulchi almost completely forgot their language and traditional culture and use Russian language. Endogamy broke through: more than half of the Ulchi families are ethnically mixed, mostly with Russians but also with other nationalities (Nanai, Nivkhi, etc.). In ethnically mixed families, the vast majority of children are identified by their parents as the Ulchi — 82.1%. Most adults are of mixed origin, almost all children and young people are mestizos. It is pointed out that despite obvious assimilation processes, traditional male trades have been preserved, primarily fishing, although the inhabitants do it at an amateur level, in addition to the main job.
Keywords: Ulchi, ethnic processes, ethnodemography, language processes, mixed marriages.

Anna Savchuk, Far Eastern Federal University, Vladivostok, Russia. E-mail: savchuk.aa@dvfu.ru
The paper deals with the unique historical source—“Diaries of the Red Jurt”, a chronological dated journal written by Alexandra Petrovna Putintseva. The entries in the journal cover the period from 1929 to 1932 when by the decision of the Secretariat of the Far Eastern Regional Committee of the All-Union Communist Party of Bolsheviks Alexandra Petrovna was sent as head of the Red Jurt to the Nanai settlements of Nizhniye Khalby, Daundy, Pashnya, Gichy, Andy, Bichy and Nameka. Her duties included working among Nanai children and women, spreading the new way of life in the Nanai settlements and combating bride price and polygamy. With A.P. Putintseva’s assistance kindergartens, maternity beds, schools, pioneer groups and collective farm vegetable gardens appeared in the Nanai settlements. A.P. Putintseva conducted 12 cases against bride price and polygamy as a Nanai judge. The daily life and work with the Nanai people were recorded in a special journal “Diaries of the Red Jurt”, which later became not only a periodical of the organization but also a field ethnographical book and Putintseva’s personal diary. In addition, the narrative style was influenced by the gender factor: the text of the diary has classic features of the female autobiographical writing. The paper also explores the intertwining of personal and public in the diaries and the formation of A.P. Putintseva as one of the first female ethnographers
Keywords: Russian Far East, Dal’kraykom, Red Jurt, ethnographic diary, Nanai people, personal diary, A.P. Putintseva.