Oriental Languages and Cultures is a collection of new essays by academics who participated in the 1st international conference Oriental Languages and Cultures, held at Russian State University for the Humanities in Moscow on 22-23 November 2007. The collection presents a vivid overview of current problems in the study of the languages, literatures and cultures of the Middle and Far East. The uniqueness of this book lies in its bringing to publication a steadily growing interest in languages and culture of the Far East, as well as the East as a cultural phenomenon which has long been observed in the former Soviet Union and post-Soviet Russia. The book is divided into five sections. The first contains essays outlining new approaches in the understanding of theoretical concepts relating to oriental languages. The second section explores new directions in the field of oriental literature. The third surveys a growing Russian interest in the culture of the Far East. The fourth section provides insights that help towards understanding the nature of the tolerance and gender problem in Eastern languages and cultures; and the fifth section’s contributions address the issues of assessment and pedagogy in the teaching of Oriental languages.