Institute of Africa of RAS

Institute of Africa of RAS (IAF RAS) – research budgetary institution as a part of the Russian Academy of Sciences (RAS), the leading center of the Russian African Studies.

The institute is created in October, 1959. Already more half a century research associates of Institute research historical, socio-political, economic, ethnocultural problems of several tens independent states which appeared on the African continent as a result of the crash of a colonial system. For this period the solid scientific base of development Soviet and African, and afterwards the Russian-African relations was created. The research associates in different years working at Institute of Africa made a powerful contribution to development of domestic African Studies, names of many of them are well-known in the world centers for studying of Africa.

Its founder I.I. Potekhin became the first director of Institute. Later Institute of Africa corresponding members of Academy of Sciences V.G. Solodovnikov and An directed. A. Gromyko. Since 1992. The institute is headed by the academician of RAS A.M. Vasilyev.

Scientific activity of Institute of Africa by RAS is performed according to the priority directions of basic researches set by Presidium of RAS and enshrined in the Charter of Institute.

The institute is the basic organization for activities of Scientific council of RAS for problems of Africa (NSA) at Department of global problems and international relations of RAS.

At Institute 102 research associates work, among them there is 1 academician of RAS, 19 doctors of science, 53 candidates of science.

As a part of Institute 10 research centers and also the Center of scientific information and international relations, Department of a postgraduate study, Publishing department work.

Library of Institute of Africa of RAS – unique collection of scientific and reference books across Africa, the largest in the Russian Federation and the CIS countries. Its funds contain about 120 thousand units of storage. These are books, brochures, theses, periodicals in Russian and foreign languages on problems of the countries of Africa and also the Arab world.