On April 23, 2008, the Institute of Oriental Studies of the Russian Academy of Sciences held a meeting of the Academic Council dedicated to the 85th anniversary of the Honored Worker of Science and Technology of the Republic of Tajikistan, acad. Academy of Sciences of the Republic of Tajikistan, acad. Russian Academy of Natural Sciences, foreign member of Academia Nazionale dei Lincei (Italy), corresponding member. German Archaeological Institute, corresponding member of the Italian Institute of Asia and Africa, member of the editorial board and editorial boards of the journals "Vestnik Drevnoi Istorii", "Irano-Slavika", " Vostok (Oriens)", " Bulletin of the Institute Asia "(Michigan, USA), Archaeological Encyclopedia (Italy), "Encyclopaedia Iranica" (USA), winner of the prize of the French Academy of Inscriptions and Belles Lettres. Roman Girshman for achievements in the field of Iranian studies, winner of the S. F. Oldenburg Prize, Doctor of Historical Sciences, Professor Boris Anatolyevich Litvinsky ¹.

The meeting was opened by the Deputy Chairman of the Academic Council A. Z. Yegorin. Director of the Institute of Oriental Studies of the Russian Academy of Sciences R. B. Rybakov expressed his admiration for the work of B. A. Litvinsky, calling him the patriarch of Russian Oriental studies. R. B. Rybakov figuratively expressed respect and understanding for the greatness of B. A. Litvinsky, comparing him to the Himalayas: "B. A. Litvinsky is the Himalayas in science." For R. B. Rybakov (as, indeed, for all the members of the Academic Council), the name of B. A. Litvinsky is inseparably linked with the name of his wife, friend and colleague, a major scientist Elena Abramovna Davidovich. "Marriages are made in heaven. They are an amazing couple. They are one organism. How those faces glow! They proved their loyalty to each other, to their vocation, to science, and to certain principles."

R. B. Rybakov joked that he was "an expert on B. A. Litvinsky and E. A. Davidovich". This is not the first anniversary. He wished them to live and celebrate their anniversaries. Old age begins where you lose interest in life. They have an interest in life and a huge scientific potential. So they're young.

The Plenipotentiary Representative of the Academy of Sciences of the Republic of Tajikistan T. A. Mansurov read out the welcome address of the President of the Academy of Sciences of the Republic of Tajikistan M. Ilolov, in which it was noted that Tajik scientists highly appreciate the contribution of B. A. Litvinsky to the creation of the first sector of archeology in the history of science of Tajikistan, which laid the foundation for the systematic study of the oldest monuments of Tajikistan - from the Stone Age to the Middle Ages. According to M. Ilolov, the scientific and popular works of B. A. Litvinsky are a true encyclopedia of the oldest pages of the history of Tajikistan. He noted that not only in Tajikistan, but also abroad B. A. Litvinsky is called "the encyclopedia man".

Deputy Director of the Institute of Archeology of the Russian Academy of Sciences Corresponding Member. P. G. Gaidukov read out the address, which states that B. A. Litvinsky's scientific activity is a vivid example of service to science. It's hard to believe that one person could do so much for Izu-

¹ On B. A. Litvinsky and his works, see also: V. A. Ranov, D. S. Levi. Boris Anatolyevich Litvinsky. Dushanbe: Donish Publ., 1996; Ancient Civilizations of Eurasia. History and culture. Proceedings of the International Scientific Conference dedicated to the 75th anniversary of the full member of the Academy of Sciences of Tajikistan, Academician of the Russian Academy of Natural Sciences, Doctor of Historical Sciences, Professor B. A. Litvinsky. Moscow, October 14-16, 1998). Moscow: East. lit-ra, 2001, pp. 5-71; Kh. Kholdzhuraev, O. Karimov. An outstanding archaeologist and connoisseur of Central Asia. Dedicated to the 80th anniversary of B. A. Litvinsky. Khujand: Nuri Marifat, 2003; Central Asia. Sources, history, and culture. Proceedings of the International Scientific Conference dedicated to the 80th anniversary of Doctor of Historical Sciences E. A. Davidovich and full member of the Academy of Sciences of Tajikistan, Academician of the Russian Academy of Natural Sciences, Doctor of Historical Sciences B. A. Litvinsky. Moscow. April 3-5, 2003, Moscow: Vostochnaya litra Publ., 2005, pp. 3-10; 33-69; M. B. Meitarchiyan. Awarding of the S. F. Oldenburg Prize to Doctor of Historical Sciences, Academician of the Academy of Sciences of the Republic of Tajikistan, Professor B. A. Litvinsky // East (Oriens). 2007. N 3. p. 212-215; Awarding of the prize to S. F. Oldenburg to Academician of the Academy of Sciences of the Republic of Tajikistan Boris Anatolyevich Litvinsky / / Irano-Slavika. 2007. N 1 - 2(14).

memories of the past. B. A. Litvinsky's research on the ancient nomads of Central Asia, Eastern Hellenism, and the history and art of Buddhism is particularly important. According to P. G. Gaidukov, he is happy that fate brought him together with E. A. Davidovich and B. A. Litvinsky. He stressed that not only the peak of B. A. Litvinsky rises, but also the star of E. A. Davidovich shines.

Then a congratulatory message from the Director of the Institute of History, Archeology and Ethnography named after him was read out. Ahmad Donish of the Academy of Sciences of the Republic of Tajikistan R. M. Masov. In the history of science of Tajikistan, among the names that have received international recognition, the name of B. A. Litvinsky, an outstanding scholar of Oriental studies, is firmly inscribed. B. A. Litvinsky is one of the cohort of scientists who were at the origins of the formation of historical science of the republic and determined the prospects for its development. In terms of the range of issues solved by B. A. Litvinsky, the scope of time space, and the depth of analysis of historical problems, there is no scholar who can be placed next to him in Tajik historiography of the ancient and medieval periods today.

R. M. Munchaev (Russian Humanitarian Foundation-RGNF) read out the address of the Foundation's Chairman, corresponding member. According to the statement of the Russian Academy of Sciences Yu. L. Vorotnikov, B. A. Litvinsky spent 45 field seasons (1945-1990) in archaeological expeditions, being the head of the South Tajik Archaeological expedition. Under his leadership and direct participation, many archaeological sites were excavated and studied, one of the most prominent of them - the Ajina Tepa Buddhist Monastery. Y. L. Vorotnikov expressed gratitude to B. A. Litvinsky for many years of conscientious, active work as a member of the Archeology section of the RGNF Expert Council on History, Archeology, and Ethnography.

State Museum of Oriental art at the meeting was represented by the Deputy Director of Science T. K. Mkrtychev. In his report "Archeology of Central Asia in the XIX - early XXI centuries and B. A. Litvinsky's scientific activity", he suggested that in the history of Central Asian archeology, three stages can be distinguished according to a very formal feature:

The first - from the time of the annexation of Turkestan to Russia to the national-territorial division, as a result of which national republics appeared in the USSR-approximately from 1865 to 1924-1925. The second stage covers the period from 1925 to 1991. During this time, the archaeology of Central Asia has made a huge evolutionary path from a few excavations to a developed science, which presents its achievements in the volumes of the series "Archeology of the USSR". The third stage begins with the collapse of the USSR in 1991.

T. K. Mkrtychev noted that B. A. Litvinsky is one of the luminaries whose scientific life is devoted to Central Asian archaeology and can serve as an illustration of a significant part of the history of Central Asian archaeology. B. A. Litvinsky's deep knowledge of archeology, art and culture of Central Asia has found application in a number of Russian and foreign encyclopedias. He is the author of articles in the classic Russian encyclopedia "Myths of the Peoples of the World", editor and author of articles not only on the archeology of Central Asia, but also on the archeology of Gandhara in the best publication on Iranian culture - Encyclopaedia Iranica. He wrote articles in the Encyclopedia of Religion, published in Chicago under the editorship of M. Eliade, articles in the Italian Archaeological Encyclopedia, Encyclopedia of Buddhism (Sri Lanka), BSE.

In 1985, the State Museum of Oriental Art held the exhibition "Antiquities of Tajikistan", which was then exhibited in the State Hermitage Museum, and in a somewhat abbreviated version - in Switzerland, Munich, Rome. One of its organizers was B. A. Litvinsky.

Corresponding member In his speech, G. A. Koshelenko focused on three important moments in the life of B. A. Litvinsky.

The first stage is B. A. Litvinsky's participation in the Great Patriotic War. He is the commander of a platoon of submachine gunners. After being wounded, he was discharged and returned to scientific work. The second stage of the scientist's life is moving from Tashkent to Stalinabad (Dushanbe), where, thanks to his efforts, an archeology sector is being created in the newly organized Academy of Sciences of Tajikistan. The third stage - moving from Stalinabad to Moscow, where he first headed the Antiquities sector of the Department of the Soviet East of the Institute of Oriental Studies of the USSR Academy of Sciences, and then headed the Department of History and Culture of the Ancient East.

After S. P. Tolstov, noted G. A. Koshelenko, B. A. Litvinsky is the second peak in Central Asian Oriental studies. In the world, he continued, there is no such figure. You can recall a world-class scientist-Paul Bernard, but he is the singer of one song - Ai-Khanum. B. A. Litvinsky has a lot of them: nomads, the temple of Oxus, problems of Hellenism in the East, archeology and history of Buddhism, East Turkestan.

Secretary of the Embassy of the Republic of Tajikistan in the Russian Federation M. Egamzod read out the address of the Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Republic of Tajikistan to the Russian Federation A. Dostiev. In particular, it said that for more than half a century B. A. Litvinsky has been one of the leaders of Russian and world science in the field of Central Asian studies. More than one generation of schoolchildren and students of history in Tajikistan grew up using history textbooks written by B. A. Litvinsky.

Sh.Akramov, Head of the International Department of the Tajik State University of Business, Law and Politics (Khujand), stressed that the name of B. A. Litvinsky is well known in the republic. In connection with the celebration of the 1150th anniversary of Rudaki, he presented B. A. Litvinsky with a carpet depicting the poet.

In the congratulatory letter of the rector of the Tajik State University of Law, Business and Politics O. K. Karimov, it was said that with his scientific research and the greatest discoveries, humanity and love for the Tajik people, B. A. Litvinsky deserved true recognition of the grateful Tajik nation. The merits of the scientist are highly appreciated by the President of the Republic of Tajikistan Emomali Rahmon.

E. E. Kuzmina (Russian Institute of Cultural Studies), congratulating B. A. Litvinsky on behalf of the Institute and its director K. E. Razlogov, in particular, said that B. A. Litvinsky led a great seminar "Cultural History and mythological and religious ideas of the ancient peoples of Central Asia" at the Institute of Cultural Studies of the Russian Academy of Sciences, which the audience was eager to attend B. A. Litvinsky generously gave books from his library, and everyone used them.

The address of the chairman of the Regional Public Organization "Nur", read by B. B. Lashkarbekov, read:: "The scientific life of B. A. Litvinsky is a standard of dedication to science and the highest professionalism."

The publishing house "Oriental Literature" of the Russian Academy of Sciences, represented by its director S. M. Anikeeva, is proud that many of B. A. Litvinsky's works have been published by the publishing house, including the first two volumes of research on materials of truly epochal discoveries at the excavations of the Oxus Temple, for the publication of which the Academy of Inscriptions and Belles Lettres (France) awarded B. A. Litvinsky the R. Hirschman Prize. The publisher is looking forward to the third volume, which B. A. Litvinsky is currently working on.

V. P. Androsov, Head of the Department of History and Culture of the Ancient East of the Institute of Oriental Studies of the Russian Academy of Sciences, stressed that previous speakers correctly said that B. A. Litvinsky is the pinnacle. He created it himself, with his character, with his mind. The humblest man, the quietest. He doesn't have any aggression. V. P. Androsov noted that he has been working under B. A. Litvinsky for 20 years. B. A. Litvinsky is a multi-faceted talent with a completely quiet character. On behalf of all the employees of the department, V. P. Androsov confessed his love to B. A. Litvinsky.

B. A. Litvinsky responded. He said that he was glad that many members of the Academic Council considered it possible to honor him with their participation in the meeting, but was confused by the abundance of characteristics that far exceed what he thinks of himself.

His life, as he noted, was not cloudless. The Great Patriotic War played a big role in its fate. After graduating from the first Turkestan machine-gun school of the Red Army in Kushka, in 1944 he went to the 1st Belorussian Front, wanted to reach Berlin, but was wounded near Berlin on the Seelow Heights. After 30 years, his dream came true: B. G. Gafurov sent him to Berlin to give lectures at the Humbolt University. So he got to Berlin, but without a machine gun. And then he worked many times in Berlin and other German cities.

B. A. Litvinsky noted that he had participated in expeditions for 45 years and owed a lot to his collaborators: his student V. A. Ranov, who also went through the war and became a specialist in the Stone Age, T. I. Zeymal, who worked at the Hermitage and spent 15 years digging Ajina Tepa together with B. A. Litvinsky, M. A. Bubnova, who participated in the first expeditions. Especially expensive

B. A. Litvinsky excavations of Ajin-tepa, Kalai-Kafirnigan, the temple of Oks, for the excavation of which I. R. Pichikyan, A.V. Sedov, V. S. Solovyov, E. V. Antonov and N. M. Vinogradov did a lot of work on expeditions. T. P. Udyma illustrated all the books of B. A. Litvinsky and the staff of the department. A. Litvinsky continues to study with them to this day. Many of them became major scientists.

B. A. Litvinsky said that he knew and consulted many great scientists in England and France. But the main thing in his life was the union with E. A. Davidovich. Speaking with great respect about the scientific achievements of E. A. Davidovich, B. A. Litvinsky noted that her main merit is numismatics. She developed new methods and trends in Muslim numismatics and economic history.

B. A. Litvinsky said that he was completing the third volume of "The Temple of Oxus" and a book on Kalai-Kafirnigan, and that if he prepared materials for the third monograph "Buddhism in Central Asia", he might be able to justify all the words addressed to him.

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