On December 9–12, 2008, in St Petersburg, academic events were held to mark the 190th anniversary of the foundation of the Asiatic Museum of the Imperial Academy of Sciences, which initiated academic Oriental studies in Russia. The celebration started at the Great Conference Hall of the St Petersburg Scientific Center of the RAS where a joint meeting of the Center’s Presidium and the academic council of the IOM took place, being headed by the Center’s President, acad. Zhores I. Alferov, the Nobel Prize winner in 2000. The IOM’s Head, Prof Dr Irina F. Popova delivered a paper From the Asiatic Museum to the Institute of Oriental Manuscripts of the RAS [От Азиатского музея к Институту восточных рукописей РАН]. Addresses and memorable gifts were offered then by:
Dr A.B.Kudelin, the Head of the Institute of World Literature, deputy secretary of the Department of Historical and Philological Sciences of the RAS;
Dr E.I.Zelenev, the Dean of the Faculty of Oriental Studies, St Petersburg State University;
Mr Tian Erlung, the Consulate General of China in St Petersburg;
Dr A.I.Osmanov, the Head of the Institute of History, Archaeology and Ethnography at the Dagestan Scientist Center of the RAS;
Mr Zh.K.Kenshimov, the Consulate General of Kazakhstan in St Petersburg;
Dr M.Kh.Abuseitova, the Head of the Institute of Oriental Studies, Ministry of Education and Sciences, Kazakstan;
Dr S.M.Anikeeva, the Head of the Vostochnaya Literatura Publishers, the RAS;
Dr Y.K.Chistov, the Head of the Peter the Great Museum of Anthropology and Ethnography (Kusntkamera);
Dr V.P.Leonov, the Head of the Library of the RAS;
Dr O.V.Vassilieva, the Head of the Department of Oriental Manuscripts at the Russian National Library;
Dr V.E.Bagno, the Head of the Institute of Russian Literature (the Pushkin House);
Mr A.V.Yurasov, the head of the Russian Foundation for Humanities.
The Institute also received a number of telegrams, including one from S.M.Mironov, Head of the Federal Council of Federal Duma of Russian Federation.
On the same day, at the State Hermitage Museum, the exhibition The Caves of One Thousand Buddhas. Russian Expeditions along the Silk Route. On the Occasion of 190 Years of the Asiatic Museum, prepared jointly by the Hermitage and the IOM, was inaugurated, and that evening, at the House of Scientists, a celebratory dinner was organized for those involved into the jubilee events.
On December 10-12, at the Novo-Mikhailovsky Palace (Dvortsovaya emb., 18) the jubilee scholarly conference From the Asiatic Museum to the Institute of Oriental Manuscripts: 190 Years of Oriental Research was held. Among its participants there were scholars from St Petersburg, Moscow, Kazan, Makhachkala, Ulan-Ude, Vladivostok, and from Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan, Armenia, Latvia. At the plenary sessions and sessions of seven panels (Near East, Far East, Ancient Orient, Mongolica, Middle East, Central Asia, South and South-Eastern Asia) 117 papers were delivered, most of which were devoted to the history of the formation of the IOM’s manuscripts collection, history of the Asiatic Museum, research into written heritage of the East.
A special session was devoted to the history and culture of the Republic of Kazakhstan. Academic papers were delivered by researchers from the Institute of Oriental Studies, named for R.B.Suleimanov (Ministry of Education and Science, Republic of Kazakhstan) including the Institute’s Head Prof Dr M.Kh.Abuseitova and the Institute’s Deputy Head Dr A.K.Muminov.
The session was also supplied with an exhibition of manuscripts and archival documents on the history and culture of Kazakhstan kept at the IOM. A lecture on it was given by Prof Dr T.I.Sultanov, Head of the Department of Central Asia and Caucasus, Faculty of Oriental Studies, St Petersburg University.
Photos
The inauguration of the joint meeting of the St Petersburg Scientific Center’s Presidium and the academic council of the IOM. At the Presidium: acad. Zh.I.Alferov, Vice President of the RAS, President of the St Petersburg Scientific Center, Nobel Prize winner; Dr E.A.Tropp, Academic Secretary of the Presidium of the St Petersburg Scientific Center, Dr I.F.Popova, the IOM’s Head. 
I.Popova offers Zh.Alferov one of the latest academic issues by the IOM; to the right E.Tropp 
I.Popova delivers her paper 
From the presentation by Dr I.Popova 
Zh.Alferov delivers his speech 
Dr A.B.Kudelin, the Head of the Institute of World Literature, deputy secretary of the Department of Historical and Philological Sciences of the RAS 
Dr E.I.Zelenev, the Dean of the Faculty of Oriental Studies, St Petersburg State University 
Mr Tian Erlung, the Consulate General of China in St Petersburg 
Dr A.I.Osmanov, the Head of the Institute of History, Archaeology and Ethnography at the Dagestan Scientist Center of the RAS 
Mr Zh.K.Kenshimov, the Consulate General of Kazakhstan in St Petersburg 
Dr M.Kh.Abuseitova, the Head of the Institute of Oriental Studies, Ministry of Education and Sciences, Kazakstan 
Dr S.M.Anikeeva, the Head of the Vostochnaya Literatura Publishers, the RAS 
Dr Y.K.Chistov, the Head of the Peter the Great Museum of Anthropology and Ethnography (Kusntkamera) 
Dr V.P.Leonov, the Head of the Library of the RAS 
Dr O.V.Vassilieva, the Head of the Department of Oriental Manuscripts at the Russian National Library 
Dr V.E.Bagno, the Head of the Institute of Russian Literature (the Pushkin House) 
Mr A.V.Yurasov, the head of the Russian Foundation for Humanities 
The Conference Hall 
The IOM’s researchers (on the foreground, letf to right) Z.A.Yusupova, A.F.Trotsevich, J.L.Kroll 
The IOM’s researchers (left to right): I.S.Gurevich, Zh.S.Musaelyan, E.I.Vassilieva 
The inauguration of the exhibition at the Hermitage. Prof Dr M.B.Piotrovsky delivers his speech 
The inauguration of the exhibition at the Hermitage. Prof Dr I.F.Popova delivers her speech 
The inauguration of the exhibition at the Hermitage. Prof Dr M.B.Piotrovsky delivers his speech 
Zh.Alferov gives interview 
Guests observing the exhibition. On the foreground in the center Dr M.A.Dandamaev, corresponding member of the RAS, chief researcher at the IOM 
After the exhibition (left to right): M.B.Piotrovsky, S.M.Prozorov, G.F.Khasan (a representative of the Embassy of Oman in Moscow) 
The celebratory dinner at the House of Scientists, Dvortsovaya emb. 
A fragment of the interior 
At the dinner. Left to right: M.Kh.Abuseitova, Head of the Institute of Oriental Studies, Kazakhstan, I.F.Popova, the IOM’s Head, S.M.Prozorov, the IOM’s Deputy Head, A.K.Muminov, Deputy Head of the Institute of Oriental Studies, Kazakhstan 
ТProf Dr T.I.Sultanov delivers lecture on the exhibition of manuscripts and archival documents on the history and culture of Kazakhstan kept at the IOM. To the right of him: Dr M.Kh.Abuseitova, Dr A.K.Muminov (both from Kazakhstan), Dr T.V.Ermakova, the IOM’s academic secretary 
The IOM's researchers, observing the exhibition 
Photos by R.A.Gilyazetdinov, S.L.Shevelchinskaya. |
