Valdas Jaskunas is Oriental centre indology associate professor, \”Kultūrologija. Komparatyvistinės studijos\” (Cultural studies. Comparative studies) magazine editorial board member, annual international conference \”Azijos studijos. Problemos ir tyrinėjimai\” (Asian studies. Problems and research) organizing committee member, \”Acta Orientalia Vilnesia\” editorial board secretary, \”Rytai – Vakarai\” (East – West) conference organizing committee member, culture, philosophy and art … More

Steponas Kairys was one of the most iconic Lithuanian politics in the early XX century, one of the founders of the Social Democratic party, the February 16^th Independence Act signatory. While he was living in St. Petersburg in early XX century, he was really interested in Japan, which has just won the Russian-Japanese war, admired the courage of representatives of the nation and well-ordered society. Over a century ago, in 1906 he came back to Lithuania, and under the nickname of “Dėdė’ (translation Uncle) he wrote three books about Japan:  „Japonija seniau ir dabar“, „Kaip japonai gyvena dabar“, „Japonų konstitucija“.

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Lithuanian diplomat, ambassador (the first woman from Lithuania to start her career as an ambassador), Karaim researcher and custodian, fosterer of tolerance and respect for people of different nationalities living in Lithuania, Director General of the Department of Nationalities, translator from Azerbaijan, Russian, Polish, Kazakh, Turkmen, Uzbek Adviser to former President Valdas Adamkus. More

Educator, linguist, translator, boxer, polyglot. Devoted to philology, knew around 30 languages. R. Mironas was interested in old languages such as Sanskrit, Oriya, Latin, Old Greek languages. He also knew French. India and its languages were one of his passions, he was able to inspire the interest to his students into studying Sanskrit and later Hindi language which he studied independently and managed to gather a small group of students who he taught. He wrote various textbooks and  More

Romualdas Neimantas was a member of Lithuanian Scientific Society, historian of culture, orientalist, Doctor of History Sciences.

The main topic of Neimantas’s academic researches was Cultural relations and interaction between Lithuania and Eastern countries. Discussing this topic he published numerous articles, over 30 books and made speeches at various academic conferences in Lithuania and foreign countries.

Lithuanian traveler, geographer, public figure, initiator of professional geography in Lithuania. K. Pakštas had been traveling a lot for academic purposes: had visited almost all of the European countries, African and North American continents, Brazil, USSR, and Palestine, Israel. He was observing and analyzing climate in Lithuania, has started systematic lake researches. K. Pakštas was one of the most active initiators of many different social organizations, had participated in various international academic and political congresses, and wrote a great number of works in Lithuanian. Moreover, K. Pakštas is an author the “Backup Lithuania” – mockingly rated idea of Lithuanians colonizing Angola (later Honduras) and establishing the Republic of Lithuania there. More

Japanologist, ethnographer, exile, promoter of Lithuanian ethnic culture and one of the most famous researchers of the Ainu people. He was well-known for his humanism, tolerance and love for everyone despite their ethnic backgrounds. B. Pilsudskis was the first one, who has compiled dictionaries of Ainu, Orok and Nivkh languages, described their culture.

While studying in Saint Petersburg B. Pilsudskis participated in activities of organization called “Narodnaja volia”, which members planned to assassinate Tsar Alexander III. When their plot failed B. Pilsudskis was sentenced to death penalty, which was later commuted to fifteen years’ heavy labour in Sakhalin Island. More

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Algimantas Prazauskas was born in 1941-04-26 , Mažeikiai and died in 2007-10-31. He was orientalist, historician, political scientist, socialist, humanitarian studies and history doctor, professor of Vytautas Magnus University Department of Political Science (Institute of Political Science and Diplomacy), head of the Centre for Asian Studies. More

Professor at Vytautas Magnus University Department of Regional Studies. He also has many years of scientific experience in the field of cultural studies of Islam and Muslims.

The professor has won Fulbright and other scholarships of the United States, Finland, Denmark and other countries education institutions. He is one of the editors of the scientific journal Journal of Muslims in Europe and the yearbook Yearbook of Muslims in Europe\”.