Alexander Mikhailovich Mervart (russian: Александр Михайлович Мерварт; real first name was Gustav Hermann Christian Meerwarth) (1884–1932) was born at Bruchsal/Germany, became a Russian indologist, ethnographer, linguist and the first Russian dravidologist.

Career

In 1913, Mervart was appointed head of the Indian department at the Museum of Anthropology & Ethnography. In 1914–1918, he and his wife explored much of the territory of South India and

Ceylon Sri Lanka (, ; si, ශ්‍රී ලංකා, Śrī Laṅkā, translit-std=ISO (); ta, இலங்கை, Ilaṅkai, translit-std=ISO ()), formerly known as Ceylon and officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, is an ...

, and visited

Malaya Malaya refers to a number of historical and current political entities related to what is currently Peninsular Malaysia in Southeast Asia: Political entities * British Malaya (1826–1957), a loose collection of the British colony of the Straits ...

, Singapore and Indonesia. As a result of this expedition, Mervart managed to assemble a large and unique collection of artefacts and objects of folk art from all over

South South is one of the cardinal directions or Points of the compass, compass points. The direction is the opposite of north and is perpendicular to both east and west. Etymology The word ''south'' comes from Old English ''sūþ'', from earlier Pro ...

and Southeast Asia. Upon his return to Leningrad, Mervart became the keeper of the Museum of Anthropology & Ethnography (1924-1930) and a teacher at the

Leningrad State University Saint Petersburg State University (SPBU; russian: Санкт-Петербургский государственный университет) is a public research university in Saint Petersburg, Russia. Founded in 1724 by a decree of Peter the G ...

, where he would be the first one in Russia to introduce the course of the Tamil language to the curriculum. In 1926–1929, Mervart published around 20 scientific works (including two

monograph A monograph is a specialist work of writing (in contrast to reference works) or exhibition on a single subject or an aspect of a subject, often by a single author or artist, and usually on a scholarly subject. In library cataloging, ''monograph ...

s) and numerous articles. In December 1929, according to other sources (Memorial), on 13 January 1930 he was arrested on trumped-up charges in the Academics' Case, accused of espionage and on 8 August 1931 sentenced to five years of imprisonment by the

OGPU The Joint State Political Directorate (OGPU; russian: Объединённое государственное политическое управление) was the intelligence and state security service and secret police of the Soviet Union f ...

Collegium. Alexander Mervart was sent to the Ukhtinsko-Pechorsky Labor Camp. He died at Utpetchlager on 23 May 1932. Mervart, Alexander Mervart, Alexander Mervart, Alexander 1884 births 1932 deaths Russian Indologists Dravidologists Emigrants from the German Empire to the Russian Empire Writers from Mannheim 20th-century linguists German people who died in Soviet detention People convicted of spying People who died in the Gulag {{Russia-linguist-stub