Dear Colleagues,

This Spring meeting of the Arabic scholars in St Petersburg, 2023 is dedicated to the 100th anniversary of Professor Anna A. Dolinina (1923–2017).

Professor Dolinina was an outstanding Russian scholar. Her many achievements were acknowledged among others by the Medal For Spiritual Unity (awarded by the Spiritual Directorate of the Muslims of the Russian Federation in 2013) and the prestigious King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz International Prize for Translation (2012). Her contribution to Arabic Studies is considered one of the most important of the last century by both her former students and the younger generation of scholars.

Among the Oriental scholars in Russia, Professor Dolinina is also known as one of the distinguished students of Professor Ignaty Krachkovsky, the most prominent Arabic and Islamic scholar of the 1st half of the 20th century in Russia. Personally, during the difficult and uncertain time in the 1940 – the 1950s, the then-student Anna Dolinina stayed loyal to her Teacher; several decades later she authored a unique biography of her mentor, the Doyen of the Russian Arabists.

The huge impact made by Krachkovsky's continuator, Professor Dolinina, on Arabic Studies in Russia invites a special celebration of her 100th anniversary, which will be held this year. A scholarly meeting to mark this occasion will take place in the Institute of Oriental Manuscripts (St Petersburg, Russia) on the 3rd–5th of April, 2023 both online and in person. We extend an invitation to submit academic papers related to Arabic Studies with a preference for Arabic philology and the history of Arabic studies. The working languages of the meeting are Russian, Arabic, English, French and German.

We are inviting you to submit the abstracts (150–200 words) by March 24th, 2023, at the address as follows:

Institute of Oriental Manuscripts, 18, Dvortsovaya embankment, 191186 St Petersburg, Russia
(tel. office: +7 (812) 571-66-60; tel. mobile: +7 (921) 649-52-03;
e-mail: serge.frantsouzoff@yahoo.fr ; dina.sino@gmail.com).

Looking forward to seeing you there,

We remain:

Serge Frantsouzoff
Co-chair of the XLV Session of St Petersburg Arabists

Dina Zaytseva
Secretary of the Session of St Petersburg Arabists