Open Seminar “People's Republic of China. 75 Years”

The seminar was organized by the Department of Foreign History of the Institute of History, Political and Social Sciences and the Scientific Library of PetrSU with the participation of students and teachers of Petrozavodsk State Glazunov Conservatoire. 

Irina Dorokhova, Associate Professor of the Department of Foreign History, PhD in History, defined the main milestones in the history of China in the 20th century and focused on the choice of a development model in the PRC after 1949. She highlighted China's economic successes to date and showed her own photographs taken during her visit to China. In her presentation, Professor Dorokhova emphasized the importance of the history of the country for the PRC leadership and spoke about the Forbidden City Museum (Gugong) in Beijing and the memorial in Qiqihar as examples of such attitude. She showed photographs of Qiqihar University and spoke about the close attention paid to environmental issues. The audience learned that in China there is Zhalong Nature Reserve, which is aimed at protecting the Japanese (Ussuri) crane and other waterfowl. The photographs of the reserve were shown in the speaker's presentation. 

The history of Chinese society is depicted in literature. Nataliya Smirnova (Head of the Department of Foreign History, PhD in History, Associate Professor) spoke about the literary embodiment of the 'cultural revolution' in the novel 'Storm Warning' written by the modern Chinese author Zhu Shanpo. The book has been translated into Russian by Nadezhda Somkina. 

The next speaker was Yekaterina Serova, Senior Lecturer of the Department of Foreign History. In her report, she pointed out another aspect of modern China – its Arctic program. Svetlana Shatskova, Specialist of the External Relations Department of the Arctic and Antarctic Research Institute of St. Petersburg, continued the topic and highlighted the relevance of developing Chinese-Russian cooperation in the Arctic. 

The students of Petrozavodsk State Glazunov Conservatoire played Chinese music. The guests listened to 'Pink Clouds Chasing the Moon' (folk melody) and Deng Yuxian's 'In Anticipation of the Spring Breeze' performed by Wang Tengfei (flute), Qu Hetian (flute) and Liu Yichen (piano). The students are taught by Anastasia Zelinskaya, Associate Professor of the Department of Wind and Percussion Instruments. In addition, Xu Enci, accompanied by Ge Yitong (piano), played the song 'Longing for Home' (music: Huang Zi; lyrics: Zhu Hanzhang). The students are taught by Svetlana Bashkirova, Teacher of the Department of Chamber Ensemble and Accompanist Mastery. 

At the end of the seminar, Irina Dorokhova informed the guests that the staff of the Scientific Library of PetrSU had prepared a book exhibition on the history and culture of China. Some of these books show the role of the individual in the history of the PRC. 

Nataliya Smirnova, Head of the Department of Foreign History, PhD in History