On April 6, 2011, the Institute of Oriental Studies of the Russian Academy of Sciences hosted an International Scientific Memorial Conference dedicated to the 90th anniversary of Professor Yu. V. Gankovsky, organized by the Institute's Center for Near and Middle Eastern Studies. In addition to employees of the Institute of Information Technology of the Russian Academy of Sciences, scientists from abroad, representatives of scientific and educational institutions in Moscow and other Russian cities, employees of federal ministries and departments participated in its work.

V. Ya. Belokrenitsky (Deputy Director of the Institute of Oriental Studies of the Russian Academy of Sciences) noted the major contribution that Yu.V. Gankovsky made to the development of Russian Oriental studies, primarily in such areas as Afghanistan and Pakistani studies. Having started working at the Institute in 1956, Yu. V. Gankovsky showed himself as a person who was selflessly devoted to science. In a short time, he prepared a brilliant PhD thesis, which became the basis of his first monograph, " Empire

Durrani. Essays on Administrative and Military History "(Moscow, 1958). Written using a large number of sources, including in Persian, the monograph, according to the speaker, is still not outdated and can be republished to better understand the history of the first Afghan state.

Starting with Afghanistan, Yu. V. Gankovsky soon switched to studying the problems of Pakistan. His articles were followed in 1960 by his book "The Political Situation in Pakistan", written jointly with V. N. Moskalenko. A year later, The History of Pakistan (Moscow, 1961) was published in collaboration with L. R. Gordon-Polonskaya. The English edition of the book has taken a prominent place in the main stream of world literature in this country. One can only be surprised, the speaker noted, by the great ability to work and research talent of Yu. V. Gankovsky, who prepared two more fundamental scientific works for publication in the shortest possible time - " The Peoples of Pakistan. The main stages of ethnic History" (Moscow, 1964) and "The National Question and National Movements in Pakistan" (Moscow, 1967). In 1966, he was awarded the degree of Doctor of Science.

These are the impressive results of the first ten-year period of Yu. V. Gankovsky's work in the scientific field. To this we need to add scientific and organizational activities - the work of the scientific secretary of the Institute, and then the head. sector and Department of Pakistan. Yu. V. Gankovsky once again turned to Afghanistan in the late 1970s, when he was acting as head of the Afghanistan sector and at the same time head of the Middle East Department, which included this sector. That was a crucial moment for domestic journalism due to the direct involvement of the USSR in the affairs of Afghanistan. V. Belokrenitsky concluded by saying that the influence of Yu.V. Gankovsky on the development of Oriental studies at that time was truly great, especially in terms of studying ethnic history, ethnopolitical processes, and Islam at the stage of its rising role and significance in the BSV region.

R. G. Landa (Institute of History of the Russian Academy of Sciences) noted the invaluable role of Yu. V. Gankovsky in the formation and further development of Russian Pakistani studies, as well as his significant contribution to Soviet / Russian Afghan studies. The speaker noted an important feature of the character of this scientist, connected with the fact that, despite a very difficult fate (due to a false denunciation, he had to serve in camps for more than eight years), he did not become bitter, but was able to quickly assimilate after rehabilitation in that life (also difficult, even after the XX Congress of the CPSU), to become a-become an orientalist, quickly write a full-fledged PhD thesis, and then also quickly become a doctor of historical sciences, raise dozens of students, transfer their knowledge to them.

S. N. Kamenev (Head of the Pakistan Sector) emphasized Yu. V. Gankovsky's extensive encyclopedic knowledge, which allowed him not only to conduct socio-political and historical research, but also to analyze the economic development of Pakistan. This is reflected in his major works: "History of Pakistan "(Moscow, 1961)," Peoples of Pakistan (main stages of ethnic history) "(Moscow, 1964)," National Question and national movements in Pakistan " (Moscow, 1967), as well as in hundreds of his articles devoted to various issues of development of Pakistan and Afghanistan. Thus, in the monograph "The National Question and National Movements in Pakistan", the first chapter "Features of socio-economic development and the national question in 1947-1958" is devoted to the study of the country's economy both at the macro and micro level, i.e. at the first stage of reproduction of a social product-its direct production (branch structure of the national economy). Similarly, in the History of Pakistan, a separate chapter is devoted to the economic development of Pakistan between 1947 and 1958. which became the basis for a more in-depth analysis of this topic in the first chapter of the above-mentioned monograph on the national question.

The speaker emphasized that Yu. V. Gankovsky was fairly demanding of the design of scientific papers, his intolerance to carelessness, typos, spelling and grammatical errors (this was often the result of insufficient knowledge of the Russian language, which also caused him rejection and gave every reason to believe that such carelessness may well be present in the conduct of scientific analysis).

Hafiz Malik (USA) in the report "Remembering a Friend. Contribution of Prof. Gankovsky's contribution to the world study of Pakistan and Afghanistan " focused on the invaluable contribution of Yu. V. Gankovsky to the development of world Pakistani and Afghan studies. Having paid tribute to the fundamental monographs of the scientist, he stressed the importance of translating them into English, which would allow orientalists in many countries to get acquainted with the point of view of the Soviet scientist and his colleagues.

get an idea of the Soviet school of Oriental studies. The speaker focused, in particular, on close cooperation with Yu.V. Gankovsky in the preparation of a number of joint articles, as well as in organizing the work of the Journal of South Asian and Middle Eastern Studies, published in the United States. But the main result of their work was the publication of an extensive work " The Encyclopedia of Pakistan "(Oxford University Press, Karachi, 2006), where both scientists acted as executive editors of this publication and authors of a number of articles. This work has truly become one of the most important scientific reference publications on Pakistan in the world's Oriental scientific literature.

F. A. Trinich (Head of the Department of Economics and Foreign Economic Relations of the Higher School of Economics of the Russian Federation) also emphasized Yu. V. Gankovsky's unusually broad knowledge in the field of Oriental studies and in many other areas of socio-humanitarian knowledge, which gave him the opportunity to conduct in-depth analytical comparisons of the development processes of a number of Asian countries and states on other continents, political and economic relations of the countries of South and South America. Central Asia with European and North American states. Naturally, the analytical intelligence of Yu. V. Gankovsky manifested itself first of all when conducting political science studies of Pakistan and Afghanistan. This is what allowed, in particular, after the partition in 1971. In the absence of specialists on the last mentioned country (former East Pakistan), many publications on a number of issues related to the development of the new state should be prepared.

V. G. Korgun (Head of the Afghanistan Sector of the Institute of Internal Affairs of the Russian Academy of Sciences) noted that Yu. V. Gankovsky is known not only for the number of published scientific papers, but, most importantly, for the breadth of his knowledge, which allowed him to conduct research also on Afghanistan and Pakistan, on India, Bangladesh, Central Asian states and other countries. This applied to both history and political science, as well as economics, sociology, philosophy, ethnography, and other disciplines. In addition, he was a highly qualified editor: the list of works edited by him can be envied even by professional editors of publishing houses, and in this work they showed considerable firmness, regardless of the status of the author.

It is impossible not to mention his social and political activities, which often influenced the adoption of important political decisions, in particular on Afghanistan - he was one of the first who visited Afghanistan immediately after the 1978 revolution as a leading expert and presented his recommendations to the Central Committee of the CPSU. And in the spring of 1980, already in a qualitatively new situation that had developed as a result of the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan, he again visited Kabul and, returning to Moscow, presented a detailed analysis of what was happening in the country and his proposals. For this work, he was awarded the Order of Friendship of Peoples.

In human terms, it was a multi-faceted, contradictory and at the same time integral personality. He was surprisingly able to be overly harsh as a leader and at the same time considerate, benevolent and fair. It is interesting that one of his most important qualities remained the integrity of his political views and unwavering adherence to them. They were determined by the changing era and the cruel fate of the scientist himself. His views might not be shared, but they were always respected. Despite the cruel trials of his years in the GULAG, he did not become bitter, but courageously continued to believe in the ideals imbibed in his youth, and remained true to them for the rest of his life.

M. Y. Morozova (Institute of Oriental Studies of the Russian Academy of Sciences) emphasized that Yu.V. Gankovsky entered the history of Russian Oriental studies as a broad specialist - be it an encyclopedist-geographer, a deep historian or a political analyst. However, the problems of the national question in his monographs and numerous articles on the countries of the Middle East and South Asia were given special attention. His main, already mentioned fundamental works appeared in the 1960s. In 1991, he published "Pakistan. Handbook " - revised and expanded 3rd edition. Initially, it was planned to include in this publication (compared to the 2nd edition) two new sections - "Mass Consciousness" and "National Question, interethnic relations and national movements". The last section was written by Yu. V. Gankovsky and contained a comprehensive, systematic analysis of interethnic relations and national movements in the Pakistani provinces. Unfortunately, in the course of working with the publishing house, it became necessary to reduce the submitted volume of the manuscript, and Yu.V. Gankovsky made a tough decision - to withdraw his section on interethnic relations, but at the same time keep all other parts of the reference book unchanged. He planned to publish a separate reference book or collection of articles on the national problems of Pakistan, but, unfortunately, did not have time. The only thing that he managed to write was the absolute majority of sections in the category on ethnic and cultural issues.

the confessional composition of the Pakistani state for the Encyclopedia of Pakistan, published under his leadership in 1998.

The speaker stressed that the material collected and summarized by the author for the reference book has not lost its significance and relevance so far. This applies not only to the analysis of general historical processes within the borders of Pakistan, but also to neighboring countries, as well as to the author's prophetic forecasts about the prospects for the development of the entire Middle East region.

V. N. Moskalenko (Institute of Internal Affairs of the Russian Academy of Sciences) noted in his memoirs that he well remembers how at the end of 1956 a young and interesting man appeared at the Institute - a former front-line soldier, a former Gulag member. The new comrade immediately felt deep knowledge (the famous encyclopedia of Yu. V. Gankovsky), clarity of thinking, logical reasoning and a huge life experience that influenced many aspects of his scientific work.

Yu. V. Gankovsky was released in 1955 after a long period of imprisonment in special-regime camps, but all the previous charges continued to "hang" on him, which closed the way to permanent scientific work. For a while, he supported himself with odd jobs. Only after full rehabilitation in June 1956 did he have the opportunity to engage in scientific work at the Institute of Oriental Studies of the USSR Academy of Sciences.

Here he worked his way up from a junior researcher without a degree to a professor, doctor of historical sciences, and chief researcher. And between these poles of time were the leadership of the Pakistan sector, the Pakistan and Bangladesh division, the Middle East Division, and the Encyclopedia of Asia group. This work revealed the great abilities of Yu. V. Gankovsky as an organizer of scientific work. His incredible ability to work, clarity, firmness and at the same time a certain delicacy in working with people earned him the respect of employees, including detractors. Yuri Vladimirovich had a special gift for focusing scientific attention on the main issues. Thus, with regard to Pakistan, he conducted an extremely important study of the social and ethnic composition of the ruling bloc, which largely determined the state's policy. He traced how the processes of economic development took place under the influence of objective changes in society, the socio-ethnic composition of the elite and state policy changed, the orientation of which more and more corresponded to the national interests of the country.

Other important issues are the social structure of Pakistani society, state-building, the geopolitical situation, relations with the great powers, neighboring countries, etc.In the 1990s, Yu. V. Gankovsky turned to the study of the problem of Islamic fundamentalism and extremism, which is very relevant for our time.

M. R. Arunova (IB RAS) focused on an important period in the history of Afghanistan - the entry of Soviet troops there, giving an assessment of the events that took place. It was a question of getting a deeper understanding of the motives behind this decision and considering previously hushed-up aspects of it. The speaker provided documentary data on the decision to send troops not taken spontaneously by four members of the Politburo, as it has been claimed so far. The Afghan problem in general and this solution in particular were repeatedly and thoroughly discussed by the Soviet political and military leadership, and preparations for the deployment of troops were conducted by parts of the Turkestan Military District from the beginning of March 1979. By June, the military units were 75% completed, and in December, the documentation of the military exercises and their processing were completed and fully prepared for making a decision on the start of a military operation. In addition to the important external factors that influenced the decision to send troops (which was also discussed in the speech of M. R. Arunova), the speaker drew special attention to the fact that at that time our country was faced with the threat of spreading religious extremism and terrorism from the Afghan territory, to which the USSR could not help but react.

L. B. Aristova (IB RAS) emphasized the fact that although Yu.V. Gankovsky's numerous studies were mainly devoted to the socio-political development of Pakistan and Afghanistan, many of his works touch on various aspects of the socio-economic life of India, Iran, Turkey, and Central Asian countries.

The speaker noted that it is difficult to overestimate the merits of Yu. V. Gankovsky in the training of scientific personnel. About 40 of its post-graduate and doctoral students have deservedly received academic degrees of candidates and doctors of sciences. Attracting young specialists to the study of various problems in Pakistan and Afghanistan, Yu. V. Gankovsky demanded from them a careful and accurate attitude to the sources and scientific literature under study, a clear selection of facts, a deep scientific analysis, and a careful selection of the scientific results obtained. He strove to howl-

he taught his students to have a special attitude to primary sources, with the obligatory accurate introduction of footnotes to the literature used by novice Orientalists, taught young specialists to think independently, search for literature, statistics, analyze, draw their own conclusions, without waiting for a hint from the supervisor, but at the same time sharing their experience and knowledge with them as much as possible.

Rakhmatsho Makhmadshoev (Dushanbe branch of Moscow State University) presented a brief history of the formation and development of Oriental studies in Tajikistan. He noted that since the 60s of the XX century, thanks to the joint and fruitful activities of the Director of the Institute of Oriental Studies of the USSR Academy of Sciences B. G. Gafurov and the scientific Secretary Yu. V. Gankovsky, close scientific ties were established with the Academy of Sciences of Tajikistan. As a result of these joint scientific and organizational efforts, supported by the President of the Academy of Sciences of Tajikistan, M. A. The Department of Oriental Studies and Written Heritage was established in 1968 as part of the Academy of Sciences of Tajikistan, and then the Institute of Oriental Studies was established on its basis in 1970. Yu. V. Gankovsky, who also served as Deputy Chairman of the Scientific Coordinating Council for Oriental Studies, showed outstanding abilities as an organizer of science and head of training of scientific personnel - orientalists, including for Tajikistan. Under his leadership, dozens of candidates and doctors of science from Tajikistan were trained, such as M. Davlatov, Sh. Imomov, M. Makhkamov, R. Makhmadshoev, M. Olimov, D. S. Saidmuradov, M. Safolov, L. Temirkhanov, S. Yu. V. Gankovsky was interested not only in the history of the Eastern countries, but also in the historical destinies of the peoples of Central Asia, including the Tajiks. His close attention to the problems of Tajikistan is evidenced by a series of scientific articles prepared by him, written in the midst of the civil war in the republic.

I. N. Serenko (Institute of History of the Russian Academy of Sciences), analyzing Russian-Pakistani interstate cooperation, focused the attention of the conference participants on its humanitarian component, in particular, noted such events as the 100th anniversary of the birth of the outstanding Pakistani poet and public figure Faiz Ahmad Faiz and the 90th anniversary of the birth of a prominent Soviet / Russian scientist-orientalist Yu. V. Gankovsky. The speaker spoke about the selfless creative, scientific and social activities of Yu. V. Gankovsky and Faiz Ahmad Faiz as leaders of the two countries ' Friendship Societies in the field of "people's" diplomacy, which not only contributed to the gradual rapprochement of the official positions of the two states, but also largely predetermined the prospects for further relations.

Irina Serenko noted that currently there are favorable opportunities for developing a comprehensive dialogue between Russia and Pakistan. Both countries are interested in achieving regional and global stability, which contributes to the expansion of interstate cooperation in all areas. At the same time, success on this path can be achieved not only by joint efforts of official Russian and Pakistani diplomacy, but also by tapping into the significant potential of previously untapped resources of "people's" diplomacy and "human capital", activating direct contacts between the two countries in the field of science, culture, education, tourism and sports, including including through mass media and information, as well as various non-governmental and public organizations (the Association of Pakistani Graduates of Soviet and Russian Universities, the Association of Pakistani Businessmen, Friendship Societies, youth, religious and women's associations of the two countries, etc.).

N. A. Zamaraeva (Institute of History of the Russian Academy of Sciences) considered the question of how interfaith clashes affect the current political situation in Pakistan, emphasizing that Yu. V. Gankovsky studied not only historical processes in the East, but also the current development of Asian states, making prognostic conclusions.

A. M. Khazanov (IB RAS)) He noted that Yu. V. Gankovsky was not only a prominent Soviet / Russian Orientalist, but also a participant in the Great Patriotic War, commanded a platoon of submachine gunners during the war, was awarded orders and medals that were unfairly taken away from him after being accused of high treason after the war and returned only after rehabilitation.

Among the speakers were Deputy Prime Ministers. V. M. Alpatov, Corresponding member of the Institute, L. A. Vasilyeva, V. I. Sotnikov, and Kh. Khashimbekov, leading specialist and expert of Rossotrudnichestvo A. K. Pilyugin, former employee of the USSR and Russian Foreign Ministries Yu. K. Khaliulin, other orientalists, as well as representatives of a number of ministries and departments.

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