Asia
The Seoul Central District Attorney’s Office continues to investigate the high-profile corruption scandal in the ranks of the Toburo Democratic Party, known as the “cash envelopes” case, in which its former chairman Song Young-gil is the main culprit, as we have already described. Briefly, Song Young-gil was elected leader of the Democratic Party on May 2, 2021, but 2 years later, on April 12, 2023, it was revealed that the election had been rigged. On the eve of the voting at the Democratic Party congress, a number of politicians close to Song Young-gil handed out money in envelopes worth 60 million won…
Konstantin Asmolov
Turkey and Iran continue to be important Middle Eastern nations. Due to their geographical proximity, imperial past, violent rivalry, theological tensions (between Sunnism and Shiism), and, of course, the continuous divergence of geopolitical interests, both nations have a rich history of relations. There were multiple Turkish-Persian clashes and wars, with various interruptions and varying degrees of success, during the Ottoman and Persian empires. Regarding the significance of the harem in the Ottoman Empire, historians have observed that…
Alexandr Svaranc
