Oleg Georgievich Bolshakov has been studying the history of Islam and the cultural traditions of the Eastern peoples for many years. The scientist has participated in archaeological expeditions more than once. He is also active in teaching, participating in the training of young scientists. Scientific works of an Islamic scholar and an Arabist have been repeatedly awarded with high awards.
From the biography of Oleg Georgievich Bolshakov
The future historian, Arabist and archaeologist was born in Tver on June 3, 1929. Bolshakov received his education at the Leningrad State University: in 1946 he entered the Oriental Faculty of the university (the Arab department). He graduated from the university in 1951. Oleg Georgievich's specialty is “history of Arab countries”. Back in his student years, he showed an aptitude for research work.
After the second year of study, Oleg worked in the Sogdian-Tajik archaeological expedition of the Academy of Sciences. Subsequently, Bolshakov entered graduate school. He defended his Ph. D. thesis in 1954. In his scientific work, Bolshakov carried out a detailed systematization of the material related to glazed ceramics of the 8th-12th centuries. The young scientist managed to read Arabic aphoristic inscriptions, which had not been deciphered before.
Career in science
From 1954 to 1956, Bolshakov worked as a senior researcher in the Oriental Department of the Hermitage. The area of his scientific interests is the history of the material culture of the peoples of Central Asia. Oleg Georgievich spent the next ten years as an employee of the Department of Archeology of Central Asia and the Caucasus at the Institute of the History of Material Culture.
For a number of years, Oleg Georgievich participated in the excavations of Penjikent. The scientist was interested in the early medieval history of the city, which was a special socio-economic phenomenon. At the same time, he was engaged in Arabic epigraphy and the peculiarities of art in the Muslim society of the Middle Ages. Bolshakov also lectured at the Faculty of Oriental Studies.
In the early 60s, Oleg Georgievich participated in the Nubian archaeological expedition, which was organized by Soviet scientists. After working in Egypt, the scientist began to show a special interest in Arabic studies. Since the fall of 1966, Oleg Georgievich worked at the Leningrad branch of the Institute of the Peoples of Asia (Arabic cabinet).
In 1984, Bolshakov turned to the issues of the birth of Islam and the history of the first Muslim state formations. Since 1987 he took part in an interesting archaeological expedition in Iraq. At the same time he supervised the work of graduate students, taught courses in educational institutions.
Since the mid-1980s, Oleg Georgievich was a leading employee of the Institute of Oriental Studies. In 1992, Bolshakov was awarded the title of professor. In 1997, the famous Arabist and Islamic scholar received the honorary title "Honored Scientist of the Russian Federation".
O. G. Bolshakov is actively involved in literary work. He is the author of a number of books on the history of Islam, the medieval Middle East and the Arab Caliphate. The series of works of the scientist dedicated to the history of Islam was awarded a state prize in 2003.
