May 5, 2025 is the 60th birthday anniversary of Kirill M. Bogdanov, researcher at the Department of Manuscripts and Documents and the Serindia Laboratory.

After graduating from the Faculty of Oriental Studies (Khmer philology) of the Saint Petersburg (Leningrad) State University in 1988, Kirill M. Bogdanov started working at the Saltykov-Shchedrin State Public Library (now called the National Library of Russia), and after a year also became a post-graduate student at our Institute (at the time called the Leningrad Branch of the Institute of Oriental Studies of the USSR Academy of Sciences) under supervision of G.A. Zograf.

In life and research K.M. Bogdanov has always had a special fondness for book culture and Oriental books, and for many years this influenced his career path which eventually led him in 2007 to the Department of Manuscripts and Documents, IOM RAS. Involved in inventory work and verification of the Institute’s collections of maps, documents, art, Tangut texts and other materials, K.M. Bogdanov came to focus in particular on Tangut manuscripts. Studying Tangut texts he received much support from the outstanding Sinologist and Tangutologist E.I. Kychanov who valued K.M. Bogdanov highly and called him a “manuscript researcher by nature”. This description is confirmed by the following passage from an article by K.M. Bogdanov: “Any researcher whose academic activity is directly or indirectly tied with the study of archival or library materials, knows the meaning of working with a collection created and structured according to rules and norms of library work. This preparatory work of forming a collection requires considerable time and knowledge”. The Tangut collection is fortunate to have K.M. Bogdanov as its caring curator who not only carries out its verification and optimization, but also has a clear perspective of its future cataloguing and publication. On his major research topic “Tangut books and their place in the book culture of East Asia” K.M. Bogdanov has published a number of articles introducing into scholarly circulation unique sources on Tangut mythological beliefs and on the origins of their state and its ruling dynasty.

At present K.M. Bogdanov continues his important work as a curator who understands the value and significance of the cultural heritage entrusted to the Institute. As a true Saint Petersburg researcher, K.M. Bogdanov is characterized by such qualities as integrity, responsibility, loyalty to the Institute and to the memory of his teachers.

On this anniversary, we would like to thank Kirill M. Bogdanov for many years of diligent and dedicated academic work.

Irina F. Popova, Corresponding member of the RAS, Doctor of Sciences in History
Director of the Institute of Oriental Manuscripts, RAS