Moscow, Nauka Publishing House, 1969, 222 p. Circulation 2300. Price 91 kopecks.

The book is devoted to the analysis of a short but extremely important period in the history of Ethiopia, when the country was struggling to revive and strengthen its political independence. Soviet science has always been interested in the history of Ethiopia. It is enough to recall the works of African studies scholars D. A. Olderogge, M. V. Wright, D. R. Voblikov and others .1 V. S. Yagya's monograph is a continuation and development of the works of these authors and their own works devoted to the modern and contemporary history of Ethiopia. It is based on documentary publications and research in Amharic (the official language of Ethiopia), Arabic, English, French, Italian, German, Dutch, Spanish and other languages. The author also made extensive use of the texts of bilateral and multilateral treaties and agreements, official publications of the governments of Great Britain and the USSR, publications of the Ethiopian and Belgian Chambers of Commerce, documents of the Indian Ambassador to Ethiopia on the country's economic situation, letters from Lord Newbold (a prominent official of the administration of the Anglo-Egyptian Sudan), memoirs and travel essays by major British officials and war correspondents; works of Ethiopian scientists (for example, Kabbade Mikael, Girma Amare, etc.) and a well-known social activist in England, Sylvia Pankhurst.

1 D. A. Olderogge. Population and social structure of Ethiopia (Abyssinia). "Soviet Ethnography", 1936, N 1; M. V. Wright. Latest data on the state of handicrafts in Ethiopia. "Brief Reports" of the N. N. Miklukho-Maklay Institute of Ethnography of the USSR Academy of Sciences, vol. XXIX, 1958; ee, Peoples of Ethiopia, Moscow, 1965; M. V. Wright, E. G. Titov. Ethiopia. A country. People. M. 1960; D. R. Voblikov. The liberation struggle of the people of Ethiopia against Italian Fascism in 1936-1941. "Scientific Notes" of the Institute of Oriental Studies of the USSR Academy of Sciences. Vol. XVII. 1959; its leee. Ethiopia. M. 1959; his own. Ethiopia in the struggle to preserve its independence (1860-1960). Moscow, 1961; V. S. Yagya. The study of the modern history of Ethiopia in the Soviet historical science. Interuniversity Scientific Conference on the History of Asian and African Countries in Soviet Historiography, Moscow, 1966. Ethiopia after liberation from the yoke of fascist Italy. Voprosy Istorii, 1967, No. 6.

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V. S. Yagya criticizes bourgeois scholars who separate the history of Ethiopia from world development (p.5), trying to isolate this country from the rest of the world. He exposes the biased attempts of K. Sandforth, E. Luther, E. Drendy and others, who idealize the policy of the imperialist powers, and in particular Great Britain, towards Ethiopia. Unlike bourgeois authors, V. S. Yagya considers historical events in Ethiopia not in isolation, but as part of the world-historical process, in connection with the world revolutionary movement. The struggle of the Ethiopian people against colonialism is presented in the book as an integral part of a broad national liberation movement in Africa and Asia. It shows how the struggle against imperialism led to the consolidation of the peoples of Ethiopia and the growing contacts of this country with socialist states.

The studied period is almost not covered in both Soviet and foreign literature. V. S. Yagya introduced new documents and sources into scientific circulation. Having developed the factual material in detail, the author made a generally successful attempt to periodize the history of Ethiopia from 1941 to 1954.

After the liberation of Ethiopia from Italian fascism, a new and very difficult stage of restoring its statehood began (1942-1944). It should be borne in mind that almost a tenth of the country's population - 760 thousand people - died in a difficult war with Italy. The material damage caused by Italian fascism to Ethiopia amounted to almost 132.5 million pounds (p. 33). At the same time, Ethiopia's "allies" - the British - took out of the country the property left by the Italians in the amount of about 70 million pounds sterling (p. 40). British imperialism sought to subjugate the country, to turn Ethiopia into its protectorate. Haile Selassie I's struggle to achieve State sovereignty enjoyed the support of the masses. A significant step on this path was the Ethiopian-British agreement of January 31, 1942. Analyzing it, the author shows that although this agreement had a number of colonialist features, in general it nevertheless testified to the defeat of British imperialism, since Great Britain was forced to abandon the idea of a protectorate.

V. S. Yagya paints a picture of the complex and contradictory process of restoring the post-war economic and political life of the country. The so-called traditionalists-representatives of the old ruling classes, the clergy, etc. - resisted all innovations and reforms. The vanguard forces were supporters of progressive reforms in all spheres of life (reorganization of the administrative apparatus, judicial system, land relations, etc.), supported the idea of creating a centralized state. Analyzing the reforms carried out by State bodies in the economic and political life of the country, the author rightly emphasizes the role of the Ethiopian state in the fight against imperialism and colonialism. Thus, in 1942-1944, under very difficult conditions, the Ethiopian state headed by Haile Selassie I reorganized the administrative and administrative apparatus, the judicial system and judicial proceedings; a reform of very complex and complicated land relations was carried out, slavery was abolished, the banking system was transformed and the national currency - the Ethiopian dollar-was put into circulation; the army was created and the police. The Government has implemented certain measures in the field of education and culture, increased the number of primary and secondary schools, and established a university college.

Although the book is mainly devoted to the political problems of modern Ethiopia, the author also pays serious attention to such a complex socio-economic problem as agrarian reform. It is difficult to find another country in Africa where various forms of land ownership and land use (imperial-state, feudal-private ownership, ecclesiastical, communal-tribal, tribal, etc.) are so intertwined as in Ethiopia. Landlord land ownership was widespread here (p. 81), and the reform of land relations led to an even greater strengthening of the feudal class (land aristocracy). Consequently, it could not radically change the economic situation of the peasantry. Nevertheless, the reform has created certain additional incentives for the growth of agricultural production and has improved the country's financial situation to a certain extent. "The abolition of the gebbar system (the obligation of peasants to feed and serve soldiers free of charge - S. Z.) and slavery," writes V. S. Yagya, " the establishment of

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a single progressive land tax, the creation of model farms and a number of other socio-economic measures did not slow down to affect the growth of agricultural products" (p. 92).

Despite the half-hearted nature of many of the state's initiatives, as well as difficulties and contradictions in their implementation, the revival of Ethiopia as a sovereign state was anti-imperialist, anti-colonial in nature (p. 123). The restoration of statehood and the strengthening of Ethiopia's political independence took place under difficult conditions of struggle with the legacy of the past, and above all with the secret plots of British imperialism, which became the main enemy of the Ethiopian people. The work of V. S. Yagya shows how, having occupied a number of eastern regions of the country, England established a colonial regime, using the traditional system of indirect administration, in which the tribal nobility was attracted to the service of the English administration. Ethiopia's struggle with Britain over the fate of the former Italian colonies of Eritrea and Italian Somaliland was particularly acute. In an effort to counter the onslaught of British imperialism, Ethiopia tried to expand its foreign policy ties, use competition and inter-imperialist contradictions in order to oust British capital from the country's economy. All this affected the course of negotiations between Ethiopia and Britain in 1944, when Ethiopia achieved a number of concessions, despite the continuation of the occupation regime in the eastern regions of the country.

In the struggle for the final expulsion of the British colonialists, Ethiopia used the growing political and trade ties with many countries, including the USSR and other socialist states. The Ethiopian Government has taken active steps to stop attempts by Britain to complicate the internal political situation in the country. The struggle of the Ethiopian people against the British colonialists bore fruit: in 1954, Britain was forced to withdraw its troops from the eastern regions of the country.

The author shows that by attracting foreign capital and establishing political and commercial relations with many capitalist countries, the Government of Ethiopia tried not to give any foreign power advantages and privileges over others ("tactics of balanced positions"). Nevertheless, American public and private capital was increasingly moving into the country. Strengthening ties with the United States has cost Ethiopia dearly. The country was flooded with civilian, and most importantly, military American advisers. Thus, Ethiopia did not have time to get rid of British imperialism, as it was replaced by American imperialism. The struggle to strengthen political and economic independence continues to this day.

Regarding some of the book's shortcomings, we note the following. In our opinion, the paper should be preceded by a more detailed critical review of the literature and sources. Focusing on the political aspects of Ethiopia's history, however, it would be important to cover the socio-economic side of events to a greater extent, for which the author had sufficient material. It is a shame that V. S. Yagya refused to give at least a brief description of the social stratification of Ethiopia. Perhaps the author should also comment on the differences between the occupation regimes of Italy and England. He does not quite clearly show the dual strategy and tactics of British imperialism in relation to Ethiopia. This is all the more important because bourgeois apologists emphasize in every possible way the allied functions of Great Britain, while ignoring its colonialist policy. When analyzing the reforms carried out by the Ethiopian government in the period from 1942 to 1954, the author does not fix the reader's attention on the fact that they strengthened not only feudal production relations in the countryside, but also objectively aimed at developing capitalist relations in agriculture. It seems to us that V. S. Yagya somewhat downplays the specific weight of the communal way of life in Ethiopia and traditionally exaggerates the role of other ways, in particular feudal. It should be noted that the author only touched upon, but did not attempt to develop, such an important topic as the issue of Ethiopian-Somali relations.

However, these shortcomings cannot affect the overall positive assessment of V. S. Yagya's work.

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