Prof. Askold Ivantchik: “Neue Forschungen zur Epigraphik Olbias”
On October 7–9, 2019, Frankfurt University hosted the international conference “An den Ufern des Bugs. Fünf Jahre deutsch‑ukrainische Ausgrabungen in Olbia Pontike” dedicated to the five‑year anniversary of German‑Ukrainian excavations in Olbia. The head of the Centre for Classical and Oriental Archaeology Askold Ivantchik gave a paper on “Neue Forschungen zur Epigraphik Olbias”.
Flying Away from the Bolshevik Winter: Soviet Refugees Across the Southern Borders (1917–1946) — Dr Denis Volkov’s Paper
Methodologically drawing on the most recent works in Migration Studies and Russian Emigré Studies the current research studies migration from the USSR into Turkey, Iran and Afghanistan (1917–1946). Using recently declassified documents from archives in Britain, France, Turkey, Azerbaijan, Russia and Iran, research looks into the phenomena, such as displaced statehood, political activism and cross‑cultural interaction in the context of the migration/refugees policies of the relevant states (Britain, the USSR and the host countries).
International Scientific Conference “Archaeology of classical Bosporus and Pontus”
The conference “Archaeology of classical Bosporus and Pontus” dedicated to the 80th anniversary of Dmitry Borisovich Shelov was held in Rostov‑on‑Don, on October 28 — November 1, 2019. Head of the Centre of Classical and Oriental Archaeology Askold Ivantchik, Associate Professor Valentina Mordvintseva and students of the program “Classical and Oriental Archaeology” Alexey Devayev, Vladimir Lysenko and Pavel Nikulin presented there their lectures. The conference was very representative and brought together about a hundred experts on the archaeology of ancient Black Sea area from a dozen countries. It was held in a warm atmosphere thanks to the staff of the Tanais Archaeological Museum‑Reserve, the Southern Federal University and the Azov Museum of Local Lore, where meetings of scientific sections took place.
Natalia Chalisova’s presentation at the European Conference of Iranian Studies in Berlin
The European Conference of Iranian Studies (ECIS) is one of Europe’s largest conferences in Iranian Studies. It is held every four years and organized by the Societas Iranologica Europaea (SIE). The ninth edition of the conference (ECIS 9) was hosted by the Institute of Iranian Studies, Freie Universität Berlin, in Germany and took place from 09–13 September 2019.
A new book in the series “Pontica et Mediterranea” is published
The volume ‘Advances in Ancient Black Sea Studies: Historiography, Archaeology and Religion’ reflects a tradition of fruitful collaboration between the Institute of Archaeology of Iaşi and many academic institutions from Romania and abroad. This volume is once again in line with their efforts to bridge the large gap between two scholarly traditions of the West with those of the East in order to integrate the constant flow of new information about the Black Sea region into western classical scholarship.
‘Count Leo Tolstoy's influence on Mahatma Gandhi's life, work and leadership’ by Dr Shobhana Radhakrishna (video)
Dr Shobhana Radhakrishna is Chief Functionary, Gandhian Forum for Ethical Corporate Governance, India. The talk attempts to provide some principles, ideas, and alternatives that can help us in our quest for more excellent substance and also help address the pressing social and ecological challenges of our times. Dr Shobhana Radhakrishna spoke about the life of one of the extraordinary individuals, Mahatma Gandhi, and his lessons of personal growth and transformation. The event was organized jointly with the Embassy of India in Moscow.
First classes for students of Classical and Oriental Archaeology
In 2019, for the first time, the Master’s Programme ‘Classical and Oriental Archaeology’ has successfully begun.
George Starostin conducted a workshop on language evolution in ancient Chinese texts in Oxford
On 8–10 July 2019, Dr. George Starostin, chief research fellow at the Institute for Oriental and Classical Studies, conducted an international workshop on “Tracing Language Evolution in Ancient Chinese Texts”, organized by Dr. Yegor Grebnev (research fellow at Merton College, Oxford University) and held at Oxford University China Centre.
Askold Ivantchik, head of the Centre of Classical and Oriental Archaeology, about the meeting of the Union’s standing committee
Askold Ivantchik, vice‑president of the International Union of Academies, participated in the meeting of the Union's standing committee (bureau) on June 7–10, 2019. It was held this time in the Tunisian Academy of Sciences and Arts (Académie tunisienne des Sciences, des Lettres et des Arts Beït al‑Hikma) at the invitation of its President Prof. Abdelmadjid Charfi.
Archaeological Mission and Archaeological School in Agrigento, Italy
From the 1st to the 12th of May, 2019 an Archaeological School took place in the city of Agrigento on the Sicily, Italy. It was organized by the Centre of Classical and Oriental Archaeology, IOCS HSE (Prof. Dr.hab. Askold Ivantchik, Prof. Dr. Valentina Mordvintseva, Yuri Svoyski, Engineer). The School was conducted in the frame of an international archaeological expedition (University of Bordeaux-Montaigne, France and HSE, Russia, with the participation of the University of Wisconsin in Madison, USA).