Boris Alexandrovich Rybakov (

Russian Russian(s) refers to anything related to Russia, including: *Russians (, ''russkiye''), an ethnic group of the East Slavic peoples, primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries *Rossiyane (), Russian language term for all citizens and peo ...

: Бори́с Алекса́ндрович Рыбако́в, 3 June 1908,

Moscow Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 millio ...

– 27 December 2001) was a Soviet and

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering , and encompassing one-eig ...

n historian who personified the 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 or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...

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

Kievan Rus Kievan Rusʹ, also known as Kyivan Rusʹ ( orv, , Rusĭ, or , , ; Old Norse: ''Garðaríki''), was a state in Eastern Europe, Eastern and Northern Europe from the late 9th to the mid-13th century.John Channon & Robert Hudson, ''Penguin Hist ...

to contemporary

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

. Rybakov led important excavations in

, Novgorod, Zvenigorod,

Chernigov Chernihiv ( uk, Черні́гів, , russian: Черни́гов, ; pl, Czernihów, ; la, Czernihovia), is a city and municipality in northern Ukraine, which serves as the administrative center of Chernihiv Oblast and Chernihiv Raion within t ...

Pereyaslav Pereiaslav ( uk, Перея́слав, translit=Pereiaslav, yi, פּרעיאַסלעוו, Periyoslov) is a historical city in the Boryspil Raion, Kyiv Oblast (province) of central Ukraine, located near the confluence of Alta and Trubizh rivers ...

, Tmutarakan and Putivl and published his findings in numerous monographs, including ''Antiquities of Chernigov'' (1949), ''The Chronicles and

Bylina A ( rus, были́на, p=bɨˈlʲinə; pl. ) is an Old Russian oral epic poem. Byliny narratives are loosely based on historical fact, but greatly embellished with fantasy or hyperbole. The word derives from the past tense of the verb ' ...

s of Ancient Rus'' (1963), ''The First Centuries of Russian history'' (1964), ''The

Tale of Igor's Campaign ''The Tale of Igor's Campaign'' ( orv, Слово о пълкѹ Игоревѣ, translit=Slovo o pŭlku Igorevě) is an anonymous epic poem written in the Old East Slavic language. The title is occasionally translated as ''The Tale of the Campaig ...

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 Scyths, and sometimes also referred to as the Classical Scythians and the Pontic Scythians, were an ancient Eastern * : "In modern scholarship the name 'Sakas' is reserved for the ancient tribes of northern and eastern Centra ...

described by

Herodotus Herodotus ( ; grc, , }; BC) was an ancient Greek historian and geographer A geographer is a physical scientist, social scientist or humanist whose area of study is geography, the study of Earth's natural environment and human society ...

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 Lev Samuilovich Kleyn (; 1 July 1927 – 7 November 2019), better known in English as Leo Klejn, was a Russian archaeologist, anthropologist and philologist. Early life Klejn was born in Vitebsk, Belarus, to two Jewish physicians, Polish-born S ...

. Воскрешение Перуна. К реконструкции восточнославянского язычества. СПб., 2004. С. 70.

Honours and awards

* Hero of Socialist Labour (1978) *

Order of Merit for the Fatherland Order, ORDER or Orders may refer to: * Categorization, the process in which ideas and objects are recognized, differentiated, and understood * Heterarchy, a system of organization wherein the elements have the potential to be ranked a number of d ...

, 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 The Order of Lenin (russian: Орден Ленина, Orden Lenina, ), named after the leader of the Russian October Revolution, was established by the Central Executive Committee on April 6, 1930. The order was the highest civilian decoration b ...

* Order of the October Revolution *

Order of the Red Banner of Labour The Order of the Red Banner of Labour (russian: Орден Трудового Красного Знамени, translit=Orden Trudovogo Krasnogo Znameni) was an order of the Soviet Union established to honour great deeds and services to th ...

Order of the Badge of Honour The Order of the Badge of Honour (russian: орден «Знак Почёта», orden "Znak Pochyota") was a civilian award of the Soviet Union. It was established on 25 November 1935, and was conferred on citizens of the USSR for outstanding ...

(1953) * Lenin Prize (1976) *

Stalin Prize Stalin Prize may refer to: * The State Stalin Prize in science and engineering and in arts, awarded 1941 to 1954, later known as the USSR State Prize The USSR State Prize (russian: links=no, Государственная премия СССР, ...

, twice (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; russian: Росси́йская акаде́мия нау́к (РАН) ''Rossíyskaya akadémiya naúk'') consists of the national academy of Russia; a network of scientific research institutes from across ...

* Honorary member of the

Czechoslovak Czechoslovak may refer to: *A demonym or adjective pertaining to Czechoslovakia (1918–93) **First Czechoslovak Republic (1918–38) **Second Czechoslovak Republic (1938–39) **Third Czechoslovak Republic (1948–60) **Fourth Czechoslovak Repub ...

, Polish and Bulgarian Academy of Sciences *

Emeritus Professor ''Emeritus'' (; female: ''emerita'') is an adjective used to designate a retired chair, professor, pastor, bishop, pope, director, president, prime minister, rabbi, emperor, or other person who has been "permitted to retain as an honorary title ...

of Moscow University * Doctor of Historical Sciences,

Moscow State University M. V. Lomonosov Moscow State University (MSU; russian: Московский государственный университет имени М. В. Ломоносова) is a public research university in Moscow, Russia and the most prestigious ...

* Honorary doctor of the Jagiellonian University in Cracow

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 Writers from Moscow 20th-century Russian historians Soviet historians Soviet archaeologists Researchers of Slavic religion Full Members of the USSR Academy of Sciences Former Old Believers Heroes of Socialist Labour Recipients of the Order "For Merit to the Fatherland", 3rd class Recipients of the Order of Lenin Lenin Prize winners Stalin Prize winners Burials in Troyekurovskoye Cemetery Archaeologists from Moscow Rossiyskaya arkheologiya editors