H. Murakami and M. Shimada have long been cult figures in modern reading Russia. However, on the pages of the magazine "Asia and Africa Today" their work is presented in a completely unexpected, completely unconventional way for them, namely in the context of their attitude to Russia, Russian culture, its history and modernity. The author of the article "Sakhalin and the Kuril Islands in the works of Japanese writers" E. Ikonnikova confidently and elegantly operates with a very voluminous literary material, including Japanese primary sources, which allows us to look at the work of these Japanese writers from a new angle.

When writing this article, e. Ikonnikova faced considerable difficulties, which she overcame, in my opinion, quite successfully. I mean the ambiguity of the topic raised and its rather delicate presentation.

It is no secret that the topic of the Kuril Islands and Sakhalin is a very vulnerable and painful area of Russian-Japanese relations, a topic that dozens of historical studies and literary works by Japanese authors have already been devoted to. They, as a rule, clearly show a negative attitude towards the USSR and Russia, moreover, they sound a fierce criticism of our country's policy on this territorial problem.

Unlike these politicized and largely falsified opuses, the above-mentioned works of Japanese authors do not bear traces of any obvious anti-Russian sentiments and, moreover, a political order. They are rather imbued with the spirit of nostalgia and testify to the fascination with the work of Chekhov, who for many years was for the Japanese the expression of a truly Russian soul.

Chekhov and Japan are a big topic that is only outlined in this article. And this attraction is mutual. Chekhov once longed to visit Japan, and only the worsening of the disease on Sakhalin did not allow him to achieve his cherished goal. In Japan, they love to poetize Chekhov, his interest in Japan, and the love of the Japanese for the great Russian writer. Unfortunately, in this case, the appeal to Chekhov evokes quite sad, and sometimes dark thoughts and associations. But what should I do? This is the reality of our Far East-a land of the most beautiful, extremely rich, but with a rather complex fate of its inhabitants.

Of course, it would be wrong to draw direct parallels with Chekhov's times, describing the current state of affairs on Sakhalin, but it is also wrong to veil existing problems. And they are to some extent indicated in these literary works. We read about these problems in our newspapers and watch TV reports. Our Japanese neighbors are also aware of the difficult problems of the Russians in the Far East. Therefore, the author can hardly be blamed for biased coverage of the chosen topic. On the contrary, it seems to me that E. Ikonnikova delicately guides the reader through the rather intricate mazes of this problem.

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