On September 1, 2008, the Patriarch of Russian Sinology, a well-known orientalist and diplomat in our country and abroad, Academician Sergey Leonidovich Tikhvinsky, turned 90 years old.

Sergey Leonidovich devoted his entire eventful life to diplomacy and Oriental studies, with which he tied his fate, having graduated from the Moscow Institute of Oriental Studies in 1941. As a post-graduate student of Academician V. M. Alekseev, he successfully defended his dissertation for the degree of Candidate of Historical Sciences in 1945, and since 1953 he continues to serve (along with preparing his doctoral dissertation) in the diplomatic field, working from 1939 in China, Japan, Great Britain, and then in the apparatus of the USSR Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

As a deep expert in the East, a talented organizer of scientific research and a diplomat deeply devoted to science and the Fatherland, Sergey Leonidovich made a significant contribution to the development of Russian Oriental studies and international relations in the Far East. The rank of Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary conferred on him is a recognition of his merits in the field of diplomacy. As the Consul General of the USSR in Beijing, he greatly contributed to the recognition of the People's Republic of China by the Soviet Union on October 2, 1949, and the establishment of diplomatic relations between it and the new China. S. L. Tikhvinsky also played an important role in establishing diplomatic relations with Japan in the 1950s.

A wide range of scientific interests and diplomatic experience allowed Sergey Leonidovich to become a prominent head of many scientific institutions of Oriental studies.

In 1959, he was a professor at MGIMO University of the USSR Ministry of Foreign Affairs, in 1960 - Director of the Institute of Sinology of the USSR Academy of Sciences, in 1961-1965 - Deputy Director of the Institute of Chinese Studies of the USSR Academy of Sciences. Director of the Institute of Oriental Studies of the USSR Academy of Sciences, and at the same time, from 1964 to 1980, he was head of the Department of Oriental History at MGIMO. In 1980-1986. Sergey Leonidovich headed the Diplomatic Academy of the USSR Ministry of Foreign Affairs, which elected him an honorary doctor.

In 1981, S. L. Tikhvinsky was elected a full member of the Academy of Sciences of the USSR, and in 1981-1988, he was an academician-Secretary of the Department of History of the Academy of Sciences of the USSR, adviser to the Presidium of the Academy. At the same time, he heads the Scientific Council on the History of International Relations and Foreign Policy of Russia. Thanks to serious achievements in the field of Russian and world sinology, Sergey Leonidovich becomes an honorary member of the German Academy of Sciences, the Florentine Accademia del Arti Dizegno, the Royal Swedish Academy of Literature and other scientific organizations abroad.

More than 500 works on the history of international relations in the Far East, as well as monographs and textbooks on the modern and contemporary history of China, Japan, and other Eastern countries attest to S. L. Tikhvinsky's intensive scientific activity.

Sergey Leonidovich also took an active part in publishing a series of collections of documents on relations between the USSR and other countries, including materials from international conferences during the Second World War, as well as the collection of documents "Central Asia in Sources and materials". For many years, he supervised the preparation for the publication of a multi-volume documentary series " Russian-Chinese Relations in the XVII-XX centuries. Materials and documents", carried out within the framework of the scientific project "Relations between Russia and China in the XVII-XX centuries" as a responsible editor of the entire series.

As Chairman of the Scientific Council of Russian Historians, S. L. Tikhvinsky made a great contribution to the development of international scientific relations. He adequately represented Russian science at numerous congresses, symposia and conferences in different countries of the world. And his work at UNESCO in 1968-1974 as a member of the Executive Board gave him WHO experience.-

the opportunity to contribute to solving a number of topical problems of preserving the cultural heritage of Asian countries, in particular, in saving world-famous monuments (Mohenjodaro, Borobudur, etc.). Sergey Leonidovich is currently a member of the editorial board and one of the authors of the multi-volume publication "History of Scientific and Cultural Development of Mankind". At the initiative of Sergey Leonidovich and under his editorship, a major project is being carried out by the staff of the Institute of Chinese History and the Institute of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Academy of Sciences - writing the history of China in ten volumes.

Numerous prizes and awards show the recognition of the scientist's scientific achievements, including: Honored Worker of the Diplomatic Service of the Russian Federation (2000); laureate of the State Prize for a series of works on foreign policy and international Relations (1982); State Prize (2000) for the series of works "Reforms and Revolutions in China" ; national prize "Triumph" (2001)," For Services to the Fatherland " III degree (2008), etc.

On September 10, 2008, the Institute of the Far East hosted a presentation of S. L. Tikhvinsky's book " Perception of the Image of Russia in China "(Moscow, 2008), which caused a wide discussion of the problems posed by the author. For the 90th anniversary of the scientist, the book "Pushing the Horizons of Science" was published. The wide thematic, chronological, and geographical range of articles included in this collection illustrates the encyclopedic nature of S. L. Tikhvinsky's research interests, and their authors pay tribute to his many years of fruitful activity.

The editorial board and editorial board of the magazine "Vostok (Oriens)" cordially congratulate Sergey Leonidovich and wish him further creative achievements and good health.

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