Boris Aleksandrovich Rybakov (; 3 June 1908,

Moscow Moscow is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Russia by population, largest city of Russia, standing on the Moskva (river), Moskva River in Central Russia. It has a population estimated at over 13 million residents with ...

– 27 December 2001, Moscow) was a

Soviet The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

and

Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...

n archeologist and historian. He was one of the main proponents of anti-Normanist vision of Russian history. He is the father of Indologist Rostislav Rybakov.

Life and works

Rybakov held a chair in Russian history at the Moscow University since 1939, was a deputy dean of the university in 1952–54, and administered the Russian History Institute more than 40 years. In 1954, Rybakov and Andrey Kursanov represented the Soviet Academy of Sciences at the Columbia University Bicentennial in

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

. His first groundbreaking monograph was the ''Handicrafts of Ancient Rus'' (1948), which sought to demonstrate the economic superiority of Kievan Rus to contemporary

Western Europe Western Europe is the western region of Europe. The region's extent varies depending on context. The concept of "the West" appeared in Europe in juxtaposition to "the East" and originally applied to the Western half of the ancient Mediterranean ...

. Rybakov led important excavations in

Novgorod Veliky Novgorod ( ; , ; ), also known simply as Novgorod (), is the largest city and administrative centre of Novgorod Oblast, Russia. It is one of the oldest cities in Russia, being first mentioned in the 9th century. The city lies along the V ...

, Zvenigorod, Chernihiv, Pereiaslav, Tmutarakan and Putyvl and published his findings in numerous monographs, including ''Antiquities of Chernigov'' (1949), ''The Chronicles and Bylinas of Ancient Rus'' (1963), ''The First Centuries of Russian history'' (1964), '' The Tale of Igor's Campaign and Its Contemporaries'' (1971), ''Muscovite Maps of the 15th and early 16th Centuries'' (1974), and ''Herodotus' Scythia'' (1979). In the latter book he viewed the

Scythians The Scythians ( or ) or Scyths (, but note Scytho- () in composition) and sometimes also referred to as the Pontic Scythians, were an Ancient Iranian peoples, ancient Eastern Iranian languages, Eastern Iranian peoples, Iranian Eurasian noma ...

described by

Herodotus Herodotus (; BC) was a Greek historian and geographer from the Greek city of Halicarnassus (now Bodrum, Turkey), under Persian control in the 5th century BC, and a later citizen of Thurii in modern Calabria, Italy. He wrote the '' Histori ...

as ancestors of modern Slavic nations. In his older years, Rybakov attempted to reconstruct the pantheon and myths of Slavic religion. He outlined his ideas in ''Ancient Slavic Paganism'' (1981) and ''Ancient Paganism of Rus'' (1987). Some of these reconstructions have been heavily criticized as far-fetched. Leo Klejn. Воскрешение Перуна. К реконструкции восточнославянского язычества. СПб., 2004. С. 70.

Honours and awards

Hero of Socialist Labour The Hero of Socialist Labour () was an Title of honor, honorific title in the Soviet Union and other Warsaw Pact countries from 1938 to 1991. It represented the highest degree of distinction in the USSR and was awarded for exceptional achievem ...

(1978) * Order "For Merit to the Fatherland", 3rd class (31 May 1998) – for services to the state, his great personal contribution to the development of national science and training of scientific personnel * Three Orders of Lenin (1968, 1971, 1978) *

Order of the October Revolution The Order of the October Revolution (, ''Orden Oktyabr'skoy Revolyutsii'') was instituted on 31 October 1967, in time for the 50th anniversary of the October Revolution. It was conferred upon individuals or groups for services furthering communis ...

(1975) * Order of the Red Banner of Labour (1945) * Order of the Badge of Honour (1953) * Order of Friendship of Peoples (1988) * Lenin Prize (1976) * Two Stalin Prizes (1949, 1952) * Medal "In Commemoration of the 1500th Anniversary of Kiev" (1982) * Grekov award * Member of the

Russian Academy of Sciences The Russian Academy of Sciences (RAS; ''Rossíyskaya akadémiya naúk'') consists of the national academy of Russia; a network of scientific research institutes from across the Russian Federation; and additional scientific and social units such ...

* Honorary member of the Czechoslovak, Polish and Bulgarian Academy of Sciences *

Emeritus Professor ''Emeritus/Emerita'' () is an honorary title granted to someone who retires from a position of distinction, most commonly an academic faculty position, but is allowed to continue using the previous title, as in "professor emeritus". In some c ...

of Moscow University * Doctor of Historical Sciences,

Moscow State University Moscow State University (MSU), officially M. V. Lomonosov Moscow State University,. is a public university, public research university in Moscow, Russia. The university includes 15 research institutes, 43 faculties, more than 300 departments, a ...

* Honorary doctor of the

Jagiellonian University The Jagiellonian University (, UJ) is a public research university in Kraków, Poland. Founded in 1364 by Casimir III the Great, King Casimir III the Great, it is the oldest university in Poland and one of the List of oldest universities in con ...

Kraków , officially the Royal Capital City of Kraków, is the List of cities and towns in Poland, second-largest and one of the oldest cities in Poland. Situated on the Vistula River in Lesser Poland Voivodeship, the city has a population of 804,237 ...

References

Bibliography

* '' Саєнко В. М. ''Наукові долі О.І. Тереножкіна та Б.О. Рибакова або історія одного листа, написаного до самого себе. // Scriptorium nostrum. –– 2017. – No. 1 (7). – С. 50–8

{{DEFAULTSORT:Rybakov, Boris 1908 births 2001 deaths 20th-century Russian historians Archaeologists from Moscow Communist Party of the Soviet Union members Academic staff of the Moscow State Institute of International Relations Foreign members of the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences Full Members of the Russian Academy of Sciences Full Members of the USSR Academy of Sciences Heroes of Socialist Labour Knights of the Order of Polonia Restituta Recipients of the Lenin Prize Recipients of the Order "For Merit to the Fatherland", 3rd class Recipients of the Order of the Badge of Honour Recipients of the Order of Friendship of Peoples Recipients of the Order of Lenin Recipients of the Order of the October Revolution Recipients of the Order of the Red Banner of Labour Recipients of the Stalin Prize Former Old Believers Researchers of Slavic religion Rossiyskaya arkheologiya editors Russian archaeologists Russian medievalists Soviet archaeologists Soviet historians Soviet medievalists Burials in Troyekurovskoye Cemetery Historians of Kievan Rus'