Soviet Pacific
p. 49 · Read in the full issue
A glimpse of Soviet Pacific studies
Soviet Studies in History, Vol.
XXI, No. 4, Spring 1983. Pub lished by M.E. Sharpe Inc., Armonk, New York, 118 pp
Susii.
Soviet Sudies in History is a journal of translations. This particular issue is sub-titled “Recent Soviet Works on the Pacific”, and it appeared late last year. Five Soviet scholars in the Pacific Studies department within the Institute of Oriental Studies, USSR Institute Academy of Sciences (PIM Aug. ’B3), prepared papers especially for this volume. In addition, there is an introduc tion by David Hanlon, a Pacific historian at the University of Hawaii, whose course of gradu ate study included a minor in Russian history.
The first two papers are by K.
V. Malakhovskii, the head of the department. The first is a brief description and a bib liography of recent Soviet publications on the Pacific. This is a useful piece and gives some indication of the breadth of Soviet interests in the region.
The history of colonialism is a favorite topic, and there is an emphasis on Australian studies.
The second piece is a review of Russian discoveries in the Pacific from the 17th through the 19th centuries, and Hanlon correctly chides Malakhovskii for his “national chauvinism” and “fawning account” of the accomplishments of Kruzenshtern and Kotsebue.
The most impressive paper in the collection is A. S. Petrikovs kaia’s “The Relationship Be tween the Traditional and the Contemporary in the Study of the Literature of Oceania”. Pet rikovskaia demonstrates that she has an excellent command of the indigenous literature of the region, and her analysis of the themes found in that litera ture are of the same calibre.
Her paper is a pleasure to read.
The fourth paper, V. P. Niko laev’s “Toward the Problem of Studying the Political Systems of the Independent Countries of Oceania”, is a Marxist analy sis of the decolonisation of the Pacific. Most anthropologists
would not agree with his typo logies of traditional social and political systems, and the paper provides no surprises as it close ly adheres to Marxist ideology.
The final paper, jointly au thored by V. Vrevskii and V.
Ivanov, is a wide-ranging dis cussion of contemporary rela tions among the Soviet Union, the People’s Republic of China, and the Western powers, and how these affect the Pacific region. Of particular concern are the discussions primarily supported by Australia, Japan, and the United States about a “Pacific Community” (trans lated from the Russian as “Paci fic Ocean Association”). It is viewed mainly as an American plot to keep the Soviets out of the Pacific, and in a Reagan-like penchant for over-simplicity, the scenario is cast between the good guys and the bad guys, but in this instance, the Soviets wear the white hat. Nonethe less, the paper is of consider able interest and the import ance of Siberia and the Pacific region to the USSR is clearly spelled out.
Hanlon’s introduction is a thoughtful piece which en hances the volume it points to both the strengths and the weaknesses of the five papers.
The collection is a welcome addition to the English-lan guage literature, as it provides some indication as to the nature and scope of Soviet interests and research in the region.
Robert C. Kiste.
Books received
Island Fighting. By Rafael Steinberg.
Published 1984 by Time-Life Books, 541 North Fairbanks Court, Chicago, Illinois 60611, U.S.A. Library of Con gress catalogue card number 78-52847.
Price $20.95.
Education and Society in a Manus Village. ERU Report no. 47. By James Carrier. Published 1984 by the Educational Research Unit, Box 320, University P. 0., University of PNG, Papua New Guinea. ISSN 025-069 X.
Price K 2.50.
Development of the Arts in the Pacific.
Occasional Paper No. 1 of The Pacific Arts Association. Edited by Philip J. C.
Dark. Published 1984 by Pacific Arts Association, The National Museum, Pri vate Bag, Wellington, New Zealand.
ISSN 0112-3300. No price given.
Pacific Index of Abbreviations and Acronyms in Common Use in the Pacific Basin Area. Compiled by Arthur Ivory. Published 1982. Available from P.O. Box 7001, Sydenham, Christ church, New Zealand. ISBN 0-7233- 0669-0. Price U. 5.55.00 includes post age anywhere.