If a nation does not know its history, if the country loses its history, then its citizens have nowhere to go.
Mirzhakyp Dulatuly

Today in history

Bapiuly Madi, the Kazakh poet, composer and singer was born

The first official visit of N.Nazarbayev, the Head of the Republic of Kazakhstan to the Russian Federation was

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Birthday of V.V. Bartold

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Birthday of V.V. Bartold - e-history.kz
Father’s means allowed Bartold not to stop before the expenses for his education, including abroad, and the implementation of his travel In 1891 - 1892 he visited scientific centers of Western Europe (Germany, Finland, Switzerland, North Italy, Austria-Hungary). In 1892, he was left at the university to prepare for a professorship in the department of history of the East. In 1896, with the rank of assistant professor he began lecturing. For the essay "Turkestan in the era of the Mongol invasion" (Ch 1-2. 1898-1900), presented as a master's thesis, he awarded the degree of Doctor of history of the East (1900). He gave information about the works on Russian oriental studies in the newspaper «Orientalische Bibliographie» published in Berlin. Since 1901 - an extraordinary, since 1905 - an ordinary professor of St. Petersburg University, since 1910 - a corresponding member in Russian Academy of Sciences, since 1913 - an academician. He was a secretary in Russian Committee for the study of Central and East Asia founded in 1903, a member of the Commission for the Study of the Tribal Composition of the population of Russia, a member of the linguistic commission of Sciences, a member of the Russian Archaeological Society, editor of "The travels of Marco Polo". Key research areas - the history of the peoples and states in Central and Middle Asia, the interaction of Eastern and Western cultures, the history of Islam. His articles and books devoted to the Greco-Bactrian, Kumanian kingdoms, Turkic khanate and other states; language and literature of the sogdians, tokhats, Turks, ephtalites etc; ethnogenesis of the Kirghizs, Tajiks, Turkmens, Uzbeks, Uighurs, etc; biographies of Genghis Khan and the Chingisids, Timur and the Timurids, and others. He is the author of essays on social and political history, historical geography, archeology of Central Asia. Retain its value Bartold works on the analysis of Eastern sources on the history of the ancient Slavs and other peoples of Eastern Europe. Bartold research on the early history of Islam, based on a critical analysis of sources, enriched the world Islamic studies. His works (more than 400) were highly valued by contemporaries, and were translated into various languages. Bartold engaged in pedagogical, organizational and social activities, was an honorary and full member of many institutions, scientific societies and universities, participated in the international scientific congresses. Bartold contributed to the establishment of a network of scientific and educational institutions in Central Asia, the opening of research libraries, the formation of oriental manuscripts foundations, its collection and study. One of the important tasks to solve which Bartold was joined in the first years of the Soviet regime, was to create a written language for the illiterate peoples and nationalities and replacing the Arabic alphabet to Cyrillic. A Participant and organizer of the First Turkological congress in Baku (1926). Organizer of Turkological cabinet (1928-1930), which was in his apartment and had his personal library. He worked in many libraries of the world (England, Germany, France, Turkey and others), the USSR (Leningrad, Moscow, Tashkent, Baku and others). The main purpose of Bartold trips abroad and to the Soviet Union was the study of Oriental manuscript collections. Good knowledge of libraries allowed him not only to lecture on the history of archives for archival trainees of the Petrograd Archeological Institute (1918), but also to act with articles and reviews on the library status, its manuscript departments, to make suggestions on collecting materials, disclosing it through catalogs, etc. Public library took an important place in his scientific activity. There Bartold drew not only necessary sources for his studies, but also as its employees, was directly involved in its activities. In January 1927, at the suggestion of N.Ya. Marr, he was invited as a consultant "on the works of the Eastern department" with payment of credit research, and as February 1, 1928 he was enlisted non-staff personnel. In 1929 he was re-consultant. In the Eastern department Bartold led the work of employees involved in cataloging the books in Persian and other languages. According to the employment contract Bartold had to describe "manuscripts in Turkish, Arabic, Persian, and, above all, the manuscripts of the Crimean Khanate". From 1927 to 1930 Bartold worked on description of manuscripts regularly, usually twice a week, on Mondays and Thursdays attended public library. Total were described about 500 manuscripts: in Arabic ("New Series"), collections of I.V. Khanykov, writings of A.S. Firkovich, Persian-Tajik (“Persian New Series”), Turkic-speaking ("Turkey's new series"). Bartold works represented exceptional value, as allowed to enter into scientific circulation of previously unknown materials. Judging from the five-year plan drawn up by Bartold in 1929, he intended to devote several years for cataloging. Death prevented him to complete this work.