Sergei Gennadievich Issakov (; 8 October 1931,

Narva Narva is a municipality and city in Estonia. It is located in the Ida-Viru County, at the Extreme points of Estonia, eastern extreme point of Estonia, on the west bank of the Narva (river), Narva river which forms the Estonia–Russia border, E ...

– 11 January 2013,

Tartu Tartu is the second largest city in Estonia after Tallinn. Tartu has a population of 97,759 (as of 2024). It is southeast of Tallinn and 245 kilometres (152 miles) northeast of Riga, Latvia. Tartu lies on the Emajõgi river, which connects the ...

) was an Estonian literary scholar and politician. Issakov was born into a family of first generation intellectuals (his grandmothers and grandparents were workers and peasants, but his father and mother became intellectuals). His parents were from Narva and of Russian descent. In 1941, his father was arrested on charges of espionage. A special meeting sentenced him to seven and a half years of imprisonment, and two years later he died in the camp. He studied with Juri Lotman at the

University of Tartu The University of Tartu (UT; ; ) is a public research university located in the city of Tartu, Estonia. It is the national university of Estonia. It is also the largest and oldest university in the country.

and graduated in 1954 as a

philologist Philology () is the study of language in oral and written historical sources. It is the intersection of textual criticism, literary criticism, history, and linguistics with strong ties to etymology. Philology is also defined as the study of ...

of Russian. In 1955, he became a university lecturer, and from 1978 to 1997, he was a professor, and afterwards, an emeritus professor. Issakov was a Doctor of Philology from 1976 to his death. He worked as a lecturer in Russian literature at the

University of Helsinki The University of Helsinki (, ; UH) is a public university in Helsinki, Finland. The university was founded in Turku in 1640 as the Royal Academy of Åbo under the Swedish Empire, and moved to Helsinki in 1828 under the sponsorship of Alexander ...

. From 1995 to 1999, Issakov was a member of the

Riigikogu The Riigikogu (, from Estonian ''riigi-'', "of the state", and ''kogu'', "assembly") is the unicameral parliament of Estonia. In addition to approving legislation, the Parliament appoints high officials, including the prime minister and chi ...

for the pro-Russian Our Home is Estonia coalition, representing Tartu.

Works

Issakov had published numerous studies primarily on Russian-Estonian cultural relations. * "Postitõllaga läbi Eestimaa" compilation (1971). * Collected works "Tartu Ülikooli ajalugu", co-authored (1982). * The Estonian-language studies in the collection "Arhiivide peidikuist" (1983). * "Mälestusi Tartu Ülikoolist (17.–19. sajand)" (compilation) Tallinn, Eesti Raamat, 1986. * "Tuhandeaastane teekond. Venelased Eestis. Kultuurilugu" (2009)

Awards

* 3rd Class of the Order of the White Star (received 23 February 2003) * Annual Cultural Endowment for Literature Prize (2010)

References

1931 births 2013 deaths People from Narva Estonian people of Russian descent Members of the Riigikogu, 1995–1999 University of Tartu alumni Academic staff of the University of Tartu Academic staff of the University of Helsinki Recipients of the Estonian SSR State Prize Recipients of the Order of the Badge of Honour Recipients of the Order of the White Star, 3rd Class {{Estonia-1995-Riigikogu-politician-stub