The book "Life to live: Essays. Reflections" (Moscow, 2008, 589 p.) is a memoir essay by a well-known Sinologist, Doctor of Economics, diplomat Vadim Ivanovich Shabalin. It seems to me that the book is particularly interesting for Orientalists. Even when the author writes about topics that are not related to the East, for example, about the problems of his small homeland-Vyatka land, he often looks at the situation through the eyes of a Sinologist. V. Shabalin, who graduated in 1954 from the Economics Department of the Lomonosov Moscow State University with a specialization in China, had to deal not only with this country.

Unique information can be found in the sections devoted to the author's studies in Beijing in the late 50s and work in the Soviet embassy in the 60s of the last century. This is an inside look at the turning points of modern Chinese history, such as the politics of the "great leap forward" and the "cultural revolution".

Analyzing the ups and downs in Soviet-Chinese relations of those years, V. Shabalin explains them not so much by ideological differences, but by the consonance or discrepancy between the national and state interests of the two countries at different historical stages.

This interpretation seems reasonable. After all, the author knows very well what he is writing about. He was involved in our relations not only as a diplomat and academic, but also as an employee and then head of the China sector in the Department of the Central Committee of the CPSU for relations with the Communist and workers ' parties of socialist countries. The book speaks frankly not only about the strengths in the international activities of the Central Committee of the CPSU, but also about the bottlenecks, such as excessive ideologization and lack of initiative.

V. Shabalin's career as the Soviet ambassador to the Philippines began rather poorly. In early 1986, he had to present his credentials to President F. Marcos on the eve of the overthrow of his authoritarian regime. Of course, this created obstacles to establishing contacts between the Ambassador and the new administration headed by K. Aquino. Thanks to the painstaking and thoughtful work of the embassy he led, the temporary spasm in Soviet-Philippine relations was eliminated. This section of the book is useful to read not only for Filipino scholars, but also for diplomats, especially those working in the countries of the East.

Nor was the author bored in Myanmar, where he was appointed Ambassador in 1990. Shortly before that, the country experienced violent mass protests against the one-party regime of Ne Vin, which ended not with the victory of democracy, but with a military coup. This chapter of the book is particularly interesting for me, not only because I am a Burmese scholar, but also because I worked under Vadim Ivanovich at the embassy in Rangoon for almost two years. It is important that the author assesses the situation in Myanmar by referring to its cultural and religious traditions. This approach is also typical for analyzing events in China, the Philippines, and other countries. The author's thoughts on Buddhism, Islam, Christianity, Confucianism, and their influence on various aspects of society and the state, including politics, are also interesting.

Myanmar was changing. But much more fateful were the rapid changes in the USSR. V. Shabalin came to Rangoon as an ambassador of a superpower, and then became the first representative of the new Russia here. The Chinese are right, it's hard to live and work in an era of change. The author shows how difficult Russian-Myanmar relations were during the period when our country's foreign policy was mainly oriented towards the West.

A common thread in the book is the need to understand the true interests of Russia, which, according to the author, are to significantly improve the demographic situation in the country in order to achieve economic growth, as well as the development of the vast territory of the Russian state. The future of Russia and its place in the world depend on the solution of this problem. The prospects for the development of Russian-Chinese relations are also considered through this prism. Speaking about the general coincidence of the strategic interests of the two countries, V. Shabalin urges not to idealize Russian-Chinese cooperation, but to analyze it soberly, without smoothing out the sharp corners. It is clear that China and other foreign policy partners will consider Russia only if it becomes an economically powerful state with a socially protected population. One cannot but agree with the author that we can learn a lot from China in terms of protecting national interests. The same applies to the strategy and tactics of implementing market reforms, which the Chinese started much earlier than us, and are much more successful in implementing.

Reading this book, you feel the breath of history, seen through the eyes of an extraordinary person, a statesman, concerned about the fate of the motherland. In conclusion, I would like to make a remark: there are long notes in the book. In the case of a reissue, some reduction in volume due to insignificant details will benefit it. One can also point out the author's excessive categoricality, for example, when he says that "... with the collapse of the Soviet state, Russia lost almost all its positions in the 'third world' (p.280). But these are particulars.

In general, the book is a solid work, and it will be useful for orientalists, international experts, diplomats, economists, and simply curious readers.

Permanent link to this publication: