20 April 2026
Joint event organised by the Institute of Oriental Studies of the Russian Academy of Sciences and Alpina Non-Fiction: "Israel/Palestine: An Academic Perspective on the History of the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict"
On 20 April 2026, the Institute of Oriental Studies of the Russian Academy of Sciences, in collaboration with the publishing house "Alpina Non-Fiction", held a discussion entitled "Israel/Palestine: An Academic Perspective on the History of the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict". The event was timed to coincide with the publication by Alpina Non-Fiction of popular science books on the history of the Middle East and the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
At the Institute of Oriental Studies of the Russian Academy of Sciences, particular attention has always been paid to the study of the Middle East conflict. Various departments, centres and authors publish individual and collective monographs devoted to specific issues and problems relating to the Arab–Israeli and Israeli–Palestinian conflicts. As part of the Institute’s conferences, including the "Smilyanskaya Readings" and the "Bovin Readings", separate sessions on the Israeli Palestinian-Israeli conflict are held annually. In 2024, the Institute of Oriental Studies of the Russian Academy of Sciences published a book by the renowned arabist G. Kosach (1944–2022) entitled "Palestine and the Palestinians. Understanding the Palestinian Question", which was launched at the conference "Palestine, the Palestinians and the Palestinian National Movement in the History of the Middle East and North Africa: Marking the 60th Anniversary of the Founding of the Palestine Liberation Organisation".
In the same year, Institute staff members G. Lukyanov, L. Khlebnikova and S. Ragozina launched the first-of-its-kind podcast "The Hummus Wars", which is dedicated to the history and current state of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. In March 2026, a Research Group of Studying the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict was established with the aim of strengthening comprehensive and systematic research into this conflict at the Institute.
As part of its efforts to further advance its research activities and promote them to a wider audience, the Institute of the Middle East of the Russian Academy of Sciences, in collaboration with the publishing house "Alpina Non-Fiction", organised a presentation of three books and an academic discussion with leading experts.
The opening session featured presentations by the moderator and co-organiser of the event, L. Khlebnikova, Head of the Research Group of Studying the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict and PhD; V. Kuznetsov, Doctor of Political Science, Deputy Director for Research and Head of the Centre for Arab and Islamic Studies at the Institute of Oriental Studies of the Russian Academy of Sciences; and G. Kobteva, Marketing Director at "Alpina Non-Fiction".
Three books published by "Alpina Non-Fiction" in recent years were presented, including "A Chronicle with an Open Ending: The History of the Palestinian-Israeli Conflict" (by D. Maryasis), "Palestine 1936: ‘The Great Uprising’ and the Roots of the Middle East Conflict" (by O. Kessler) and "The Israeli-Palestinian Conflict. Irreconcilable Versions of History" (by N. Kaplan). Speakers at the discussion included V. Kuznetsov; D. Maryasis, an Orientalist and specialist in the economics and politics of the State of Israel, PhD in Economics; L. Samarskaya, PhD in History, a research fellow at the Centre for Middle Eastern Studies of the E.M. Primakov National Research Institute of World Economy and International Relations of the Russian Academy of Sciences and academic editor of the books by D. Maryasis and O. Kessler; Head of the Department of Israel and Jewish Communities at the Institute of Oriental Studies of the Russian Academy of Sciences, V. Smirnov, PhD in History.
Following the main part of the event, a discussion was held on the books and the topics raised, in which the following staff members of the Department of Israel and Jewish Communities at the Institute of Oriental Studies of the Russian Academy of Sciences took part: T. Nosenko, PhD in History, and T. Karasova, PhD in History; staff members of the Centre for Arab and Islamic Studies at the Institute of Oriental Studies of the Russian Academy of Sciences: A. Demchenko, PhD in History, V. Tolstykh, Doctor of Law, G. Lukyanov, M. Zubovsky and B. Dolgov, Doctor of History, as well as G. Tsaregorodtseva, PhD in History, a researcher at the G.A. Arbatov Institute of the USA and Canada of the Russian Academy of Sciences.
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