Caucasian studies at Saint-Petersburg university: department’s inception and its teachers

Abstract

The article is dedicated to the History of creation of the faculty of Asian and African studies (former faculty of Eastern languages, later — Oriental faculty) and to the History of the beginning of Caucasian studies in Saint-Petersburg State University; teaching of South Caucasian: the Armenian, the Azerbaijanian and the Georgian languages; to the teachers of these languages: Marie Felicite Brosset, D. Chubinov (Chubinashvili), N. Beroev, L. Budagov, K. Patkanov, (Patkanian), A. Tsagareli, N. Marr, I. Javakhov (Javakhishvili), N. Adonts, I. Orbeli and many others. The article tells about the Caucasian studies in nowadays faculty of Asian and African studies, teaching of South Caucasian languages, Geography, History, Ethnography, Literature and other subjects about Caucasian countries: Azerbaijan, Armenia and Georgia. It also tells about professors and teachers of these subjects at past and at present. The article is based on some historical sources of the Archives of Saint-Petersburg, such as: the Central State Historical Archives of Saint-Petersburg (CSHA SPB.), the Central State Archives of Saint Petersburg (CSA SPB.), the Central Archives of the Saint-Petersburg State University (CA SPBSU), Materials of the Museum of the Saint-Petersburg State University and on scientific works of some well known Soviet historians. Refs 21. Tables 1.

Keywords:

Caucasian studies in SPbSU, South Caucasian languages (the Georgian, the Armenian, the Azerbaijanian), the teachers of Caucasian languages