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On April 3, 2025, the School of World Politics of Lomonosov Moscow State University held a Roundtable “The Contribution of the Peoples of Asia to the End of World War II”. This Roundtable was united with other events of the section “World Politics” of the International Scientific Conference “Lomonosov Readings” by the main theme – the 80th anniversary of the Victory in the Great Patriotic War.

Anastasia Lomova, Research Fellow of the Sector for New Challenges in South and Southeast Asia of the Center of the Indo-Pacific Region of IMEMO, Cand. of Science (Politics), presented a report on the topic “China's Role in the End of World War II: Distortions and Narratives”, which examined distortions and interpretations of China's role in the end of World War II, as well as the issues of perception of this war in the PRC. As part of the discussion caused by this report, Anastasia Lomova highlighted the issues of preserving the heritage of the two countries, cultural exchanges, memory policy, similarities and differences in the approaches of China and Russia to the events of eighty years ago.

Elsa Shirgazina, Junior Researcher of the South Asia and Indian Ocean Group of the Center of the Indo-Pacific Region of IMEMO, spoke on the topic “Nepal on the Fronts of World War II: a Small but Loyal Ally”. The report analyzed Nepal's contribution to the victory of the anti-Hitler coalition in World War II. The presentation noted that the country joined the fight from the very first days of the military conflict and consistently participated in the defeat of the Axis powers, making a significant contribution to the extent of its resources and capabilities. Kathmandu not only helped the Allies with humanitarian supplies (food, equipment and raw materials), but also sent to fight its military personnel – Gurkhas, who had repeatedly demonstrated high combat capability and effectiveness in solving assigned tasks, to defeat the enemy on the battlefield. Nepalese Gurkhas fought against German and Italian troops in North Africa and Italy. Mainly Gurkha battalions mainly participated in battles on the Burmese front, where they successfully carried out the whole range of combat missions.

The organizer and moderator of the Roundtable was Peter Topychkanov, Head of the Sector for New Challenges in South and Southeast Asia of the Center of the Indo-Pacific Region of IMEMO, Cand. of Science (History). In his closing remarks, he noted the urgent need to continue the study of the contribution of the peoples of Asia to the victory over the Axis powers and the development of scientific and public dialog with representatives of these peoples to familiarize each other with the cultural and historical heritage associated with the period of World War II.