On April 23, 2011, Doctor of Historical Sciences, Professor Bagrat Gareginovich Seyranyan turned 80 years old.

He was born in Tbilisi in 1931. His father, G. A. Seyranyan, was a talented historian, university professor, author of the famous monograph on the history of Nagorno-Karabakh in the Caucasus. My mother worked in a school, had the title of honored teacher and taught Russian language and literature.

When Bagrat Gareginovich was a child, his father was subjected to repression and spent eight long years in the GULAG, which did not pass without a trace for his family and his son, who received the first hard lesson from life, but did not withdraw, did not lose the vividness of its perception. Perhaps it was this sad event that prompted him to understand the concepts of good and evil, to distinguish bad from good, to find causal relationships between justice and violence. The best tool for such knowledge of the world could be history, and the boy turned to it as a universal means of finding out the nature of things in society, especially since from childhood he felt attracted to humanitarian knowledge. He was keenly interested in world history and eagerly read the historical studies he could find. As he grew older, he became more convinced that he should devote himself to the study of history, which provides material for serious reflection and generalization, and finally, simply teaches wisdom.

In 1950, he entered the History Department of the Lomonosov Moscow State University. The years spent on the student's bench fell on the period that later became considered the "golden age" of the Moscow State University Faculty of History. In the post-war period, this place became a cult in its own way, by far the best historical higher education institution in the Soviet Union. Its main advantage was that bright personalities, prominent scientists, excellent lecturers and experts in their field were involved in the educational process, who were able to instill in the audience an understanding of the high role of history in society, instill in them confidence that it is competent and trained historians who are able to perform the function of enlighteners in society, to give an understanding of the essence historical processes in their refraction to reality.

Communication with top-class specialists gave Bagrat Gareginovich a lot not only professionally, but also morally. Having touched Science with a capital letter, he absorbed the precepts of the old university school, acquired the ability, as they say, to ripen at the root and build historically based and logically impeccable concepts of the development of social phenomena in the region under study in all their complexity and ambiguity.

Once on the university bench, B. G. Seyranyan decided early on his specialty. It was the history of the Arab countries. At this time, he began to study Arabic intensively under the guidance of experienced teachers, among whom were major experts in this field, whose names were loudly heard in the following decades in Arabic circles. The first-year student understood perfectly well that it was impossible to work with primary sources without this tool, and it was not in the rules of Bagrat Gareginovich to limit himself to secondary materials, who had already developed for himself the code of an unbiased scientist - the truth is above all. The beginning researcher B. G. Seyranyan conducted the search in this direction under the watchful eye of the leader-an outstanding Arabist, Professor V. B. Lutsky. By the way, he was the first and, it seems, the only one who turned to the analysis of creativity and the description of the life path of his teacher.

Teachers of specialized departments soon saw in him a gifted and hardworking student who had all the makings of a future scientist. They showed up early during seminars and were clearly visible in his term papers, which were distinguished not only by the clarity of thought, but also by the level of material collected and the ability to generalize it. So don't

by chance, after completing a course at the university, he received a recommendation for admission to graduate school. As the subject of his PhD thesis, he chose the period of the national liberation struggle of the Egyptian people, full of dramatic conflicts, which unfolded after the end of World War II and opened the era of revolutionary movements in the Arab countries that culminated in the acquisition of national independence and state sovereignty.

The dissertation was successfully completed in due time, but Bagrat Gareginovich decided to postpone its defense. He would not be himself if he did not consider it necessary to support his scientific research with practical experience. It so happened that he could not get to the country of his dreams - Egypt, but ended up working abroad in a responsible area of Soviet-Yemeni cooperation-on the construction of the port of Hodeidah in Yemen, where he served from 1959 to 1961.

This time did not pass in vain, and Bagrat Gareginovich returned to his favorite business as an absolutely mature person and a fully prepared researcher, who managed to learn a lot during his stay in Yemen and learned a lot from a professional point of view from its people, who make up a considerable fraction of the population of the Arab world and express the essence of the entire Arab ethnic group through themselves. He brought his knowledge to the Institute of Oriental Studies of the Russian Academy of Sciences in 1962, where he confidently defended his thesis for the degree of Candidate of Historical Sciences in 1965. Since then, he has worked in the Department of Arab Countries, and now - in the Center for Arab and Islamic Studies.

Bagrat Gareginovich published his brilliant dissertation in a revised and expanded form in the form of the monograph "Egypt in the struggle for Independence (1945-1952)" in 1970. In this fundamental work, based on a wide range of Arabic, Western and domestic sources, he analyzed such large blocks of problems as the socio-economic situation of Egypt and the alignment of class and political forces there after World War II, the struggle of the Egyptian people for independence, British policy in Egypt, and, finally, the Egyptian revolution of July 23, 1952. This monograph is still one of the best studies of the complex processes that took place in post-war Egyptian society and the dramatic events leading up to the July revolution. This book can rightly be called the most significant contribution to the study of Egypt in the first post-war years. This assessment is fair, since the work actually laid the foundations for a serious study of the post-war and subsequent stages in the history of Egypt. It was translated into Arabic and published in Cairo in 1984.

As the subject of his research, B. G. Seyranyan always chooses the problems of the history of Arab countries, which before him remained, in essence, terra incognita in Russian Arabic studies. In the 1980s and 1990s, his research focused on the problems of social structure and socio-economic history of Arab countries, and in 1981 he published a serious and original study "Some features of the formation and development of marginal strata in modern Arab society". In 1981 and 1984, his articles "The formation and some features of the working class in Arab countries" and "The Working Class in the social structure of Egypt"were published in Arabic in Algeria. In 1988, the collection "The Development of Capitalism in the Arab World" published a thorough and in-depth study by Bagrat Gareginovich entitled "Shifts in the social structure of Arab society in the context of capitalist development".

These and other materials written and published by the hero of the day mark serious milestones on his creative path. Articles and entire sections became a serious springboard for Bagrat Gareginovich's transition to a new scientific quality. In 1990, he brilliantly defended his doctoral dissertation at the Institute of Oriental Studies of the Russian Academy of Sciences on the topic "The evolution of the class of large landowners in the Arab countries of the Middle East in the XIX - first half of the XX century." On the basis of this dissertation, in 1991 he published a fundamental work with the same title.

The monograph summarizes the results of the author's long-term scientific research on the problems of the social structure of Arab society, which are poorly studied in Russian Arabic studies, and clarifies many little-known pages of the economic history of Arab countries. In this book, for the first time in world historiography, the genesis and main stages of the formation of the class of large landowners in the Arab countries of the Middle East are analyzed. The scale and depth of this

The research makes it possible to put the author on a par with leading domestic and foreign Arabists.

In addition to the aforementioned works, B. G. Seyranyan has written more than 150 scientific papers devoted to the history and current situation of various Arab countries.

The hero of the day is known for his amazing causticity, the fact that he is extremely scrupulous about his work, carefully polishes all his works, touches sources with spiritual trepidation, scrupulously studying, comparing and critically understanding them, i.e. works in the best traditions of classical Russian Oriental studies.

He is famous for the fact that he spends a lot of time in the walls of Historichka, which has actually become his native home. To leave one day without visiting your favorite shelves and a table with a lamp for him is a crime or, at least, a reason for frustration. There he collects materials, accumulates knowledge, and at home or at work only subjects them to cutting.

Perhaps that is why his books have great dynamic power. All of his works are distinguished by their academic fundamentality, novelty, clarity of conceptual approach, knowledge of the previous historical tradition, and fresh thought. His monographs and articles not only enrich the Oriental science with new, hitherto little-known facts, conclusions and ideas, but also open up opportunities for further scientific development of the problems of the Arab East.

B. G. Seyranyan added a lot of new things to the list of works on the history of Egypt and other Arab countries, and without his books it is impossible to imagine the historiography of these countries. His works will be read, quoted, and annotated by Arabists in 50 or 100 years.

B. G. Seyranyan's dominant feature as a scientist is passion. It clearly has an Oriental "bone"in it. He is an orientalist from God, fanatically in love with the Arab East, completely immersed in its history. He not only lives and breathes it, but also gets real pleasure from research work. He is characterized by an extraordinary greed for scientific work, he is always at work, always in scientific search.

Bagrat Gareginovich successfully combines his scientific work with scientific and organizational activities. In 1971-1979, he served as Scientific Secretary of the Institute of Oriental Studies of the Russian Academy of Sciences. For many years, he has been Deputy Chairman of the Dissertation Council of the Institute of Historical Sciences of the Russian Academy of Sciences.

Another very important facet of Bagrat Gareginovich's activity is teaching. He gave her many years. He holds the academic title of professor. Under his scientific supervision, dozens of Russian and foreign graduate students defended their dissertations. Over the years, he has delivered a number of courses of lectures on the history of Arab countries and on the history of Islam at the Oriental University at the Institute of Islamic Studies of the Russian Academy of Sciences, on other subjects at the Cooperative University and elsewhere. His lectures are always very popular with students. He brought up a whole galaxy of talented students. Bagrat Gareginovich has excellent human qualities.

Bagrat Gareginovich is connected by ties of close friendship with many people who sympathize with him. This is not surprising. But even lesser-known personalities treat him with great respect and reverence as a person of principle, fair, and sometimes capable of being tough in the name of the interests of the cause. It attracts a lively mind, extraordinary curiosity, erudition, sparkling wit and inexhaustible optimism.

Bagrat Gareginovich is characterized by unselfish dedication to science, talent, hard work, and internal discipline. This deservedly earned him the reputation of a scientist of deep education and a broad historical outlook. He has equal knowledge and understanding of the problems of modern and contemporary Arab history. His monographs and articles on historical, socio-political and historiographical topics are included in the fund of the best achievements of Russian Arabic studies.

If the hero of the day had not been so energetic and youthful, he should have been called the patriarch of the Arabists of the Institute of Oriental Studies, and this should be done not only because of his scientific authority, but also because of his paternal attitude to the Arabists of younger generations, as well as to the numerous students he introduced to science. He, without a doubt, has a talent as a teacher.

Being extremely modest in his public behavior and very strict and demanding of the results of his own scientific activities, he, like no one else, is able to understand and gently and delicately, without compromising the objectivity of judgments and principles, support junior colleagues and kindly inspire his colleagues.

Colleagues and friends respect and love Bagrat Gareginovich for his innate nobility, deep decency, thoroughness in all his endeavors, loyalty to comradeship and his duty, for the courage with which he fought for the life of his beloved wife and overcame the deep suffering caused by her loss. They highly appreciate his ability to bring an atmosphere of friendliness and mutual respect to the team.

B. G. Seyranyan is in the prime of his creative powers. It is full of new research ideas and projects. Friends, colleagues and students wish good health and creative longevity to this outstanding Oriental scholar and a wonderful, charming person.

COLLEAGUES AND FRIENDS

B. G. SEYRANYAN'S MAIN RESEARCH PROJECTS FOR 2002-2011*

British system of indirect management in the Arab East / / Arab countries of Western Asia and Northern Africa, Moscow, 2002, issue 5, pp. 27-41.

Interaction of Russian and Arabic cultures //Vostok (Oriens), 2004. N 1. pp. 157-161.

On Saudi-American relations // The Middle East and Modernity, Moscow, 2004, issue 21, pp. 141-149.

Cultural relations between Egypt and the USSR (Russia) in the 50s and 60s. Report at the International Symposium in Tunis "Interaction of Russian and Arab cultures". Hammamet, June 23-25, 2003. Tunis, 2004 (in Arabic and Russian).

Islam and the clergy in Saudi Arabia / / Arabia Vitalis: Arab East, Islam, ancient Arabia, Moscow, 2005, pp. 258-273.

Egypt: history in faces (1952-2002) / / Egypt, the Middle East and the global World / RGGU, Moscow, 2006, pp. 9-18.

Kul'tura globalizatsii ili globalizatsii kul'tury [Culture of Globalization or the globalization of Culture]. Arab countries of Western Asia and Northern Africa, Moscow, 2007, pp. 192-206.

Key stages in the development of the Saudi Arabian political system (1924-2005) // East (Oriens). 2007. N 5. pp. 79-92.

Egypt // History of the East. The East in the Recent Period (1945-2000), Moscow, 2008, vol. 6, pp. 152-176.

Pravo, etika i politika v vzglyadakh Mukhammeda Abdo [Law, Ethics and Politics in the views of Muhammad Abdo]. Vestnik Akademii prava i upravleniya [Bulletin of the Academy of Law and Management], Moscow, 2009, No. 17, pp. 128-136.

At the origins of the Egyptian national movement: Mustafa Kamil / / Orient (Oriens). 2010. N 1. pp. 49-62.

Mohammed Abdo: The Creator of a Thinking Egypt // East (Oriens). 2011. N 2. pp. 32-42.

The role of I. M. Maisky in the restoration of Soviet-Egyptian diplomatic relations / / Russia and the Islamic World: history and prospects of civilizational development. Ufa, 2011, pp. 154-157.

* For the main works up to 2002, see: Orient (Oriens). 1991. N 5. pp. 216-217; 2001. N 4. pp. 212-213.

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