ACADEMICIAN V.V. BARTOLD AND CAUCASIAN STUDIES

Authors

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.32653/CH213483--490

Keywords:

Caucasian studies, Russian Academy of Sciences, State Academy of the History of Material Culture, historical and cultural heritage, international law

Abstract

The study of the Caucasus did not constitute Academician V.V. Bartold’s primary academic focus. Nevertheless, as a scholar specializing in medieval history and literature (Turkologist, Iranist, and Arabist), an Islamic scholar, and an administrator, Bartold frequently engaged with the history of the Caucasus. His sustained interest in this region is evidenced by his correspondence with Academician N.Ya. Marr, an archaeologist, literary scholar, and linguist, with over fifty documents discovered and published. The V.V. Bartold collection, housed at the St. Petersburg Branch of the Archives of the Russian Academy of Sciences (SPbB ARAS), includes both the original offprints of Bartold’s published works on various aspects of Caucasian history and autographs of unpublished works. These materials indicate that the Caucasus held a more significant place in Bartold’s scholarly activity than previously acknowledged, with several of these works remaining relevant to contemporary scholarship. During 1922–1923, Russian academic and cultural institutions faced a challenging campaign to transfer historical and cultural artifacts of Georgian or presumed Georgian origin to Georgia. In this context, V.V. Bartold, serving as deputy chairman of the State Academy of the History of Material Culture (GAIMK) and as a colleague of S.F. Oldenburg at GAIMK and the Russian Academy of Sciences, actively participated in efforts to oppose this campaign. Bartold contributed to the scholarly and museum communities’ endeavors to halt the transfer process or, at minimum, to reduce the number of artifacts transferred. A report authored by Bartold, preserved in the V.V. Bartold collection at the SPbB ARAS, documents a meeting of the GAIMK Council. In this report, Bartold articulates, on behalf of GAIMK, the scholarly position advocating for the preservation of national historical and cultural heritage, the maintenance of globally significant scientific and cultural centers, and the integrity of museum and library collections.

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Author Biography

  • Mihail Dmitrievic Buharin, Institute of World History, Russian Academy of Sciences
    Chief Researcher

References

Ananyev VG., Bukharin MD. “Names that will never be forgotten...” Russian Oriental Studies in the Correspondence of V.V. Bartold, N.Ya. Marr, and S.F. Oldenburg. Moscow: Varfolomeev A.D., 2020. (In Russ)

Bartold VV., Smirnov YaI. Review of V.V. Bartold and Ya.I. Smirnov on the Works of N.Ya. Marr on the Study of the Antiquities of Ani. Notes of the Eastern Branch of the Imperial Russian Archaeological Society. 1916; 23: 373-411. (In Russ)

Ananyev VG., Bukharin MD. Russian Academic Science in the Correspondence of N.Ya. Marr and V.V. Bartold. Brief Communications of the Institute of Archaeology of the Russian Academy of Sciences. 2019; 259: 434-444. (In Russ)

Bartold VV. The Turkish Epic and the Caucasus. In: Language and Literature. Part V. 1930: 1-18. (In Russ)

Bartold VV. Works. Vol. II. Part I. General Works on the History of Central Asia. Works on the History of the Caucasus and Eastern Europe. Moscow: Vost. Lit., 1963: 615-880. (In Russ)

Bartold VV. Persian inscription on the wall of the Ani mosque of Manuche. Bartold V.V. Works. Vol. IV. Works on Archeology, Numismatics, Epigraphy, and Ethnography. Moscow: Vost. Lit., 1966: 313-339. (In Russ)

Umnyakov II. Annotated bibliography of the works of V.V. Bartold. Tumanovich, N.N. Description of the archive of V.V. Bartold. Moscow: Vost. Lit., 1976. (In Russ)

Ananyev VG., Bukharin MD. The Russian Academy of Sciences and the problem of the relocation of historical and cultural heritage monuments of Georgian origin in the 1920s. Byzantine Time. 2020; 104: 360-379. (In Russ)

Amiranashvili Sh. Museum valuables exported from Georgia and returned at different times [გატანილი სამუზეუმო განძეულობა და მისი დაბრუნება]. Tbilisi: Tbilisi University Publ., 1968 (in Georgian).

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Published

2025-10-01

Issue

Section

History

How to Cite

1.
Buharin MD. ACADEMICIAN V.V. BARTOLD AND CAUCASIAN STUDIES. ИАЭК. 2025;21(3):483-490. doi:10.32653/CH213483--490