On December 15, 2013, Dr. Alexander S. Martynov, the leading expert in Chinese ideological systems, died after a long term illness.

He was born on October 2, 1933, in Leningrad.

He graduated from Leningrad State University, the Faculty of Oriental Studies, and started working at the Leningrad Branch of the Institute of Oriental Studies / Institute of Oriental Manuscript. From 2003 to 2006, he headed the Department of Far Eastern Studies.

His PhD Dissertation, The Tibet-Nepal Conflict and the China's War against Nepal in 1791-92 [Тибетско-непальский конфликт и война Китая с Непалом в 1791—1792 гг.] was later used by him for the major monograph The Status of Tibet during the 17th to 18th Centuries [Статус Тибета в XVII—XVIII веках]. In the first chapter of his research he perfectly formulated the peculiarities of traditional understanding of Chinese Emperial Power and basic principals of relations between Old China and the outside world. He also suggested that a certain layer of ideological system of Emperial Power in China, that is different from Confucionism, should be defined.

His further studies of ideological and cultural heritage of Old China were reflected in some other monographs and translations of Daoist, Confucionist and Buddhist treatises.

For many years, Dr A. Martynov worked at processing of manuscripts kept at the Institute. He was a member of the Dunhuang Group, he made the first inventory of Tibetan mss from Dunhuang, and compiled the list of Chinese and Manchu maps kept at the IOM.

He taught at Leningrad/St Petersburg State University, delivering special courses of lectures such as The Introduction to Sinology, Semiotics and Culture, etc.