[Centre for Egyptological Studies of the RAS]

Publications

Galina A. Belova & Tatiana A. Sherkova
Russians in the country of the pyramids. Travelers, Scientists, Collectors

Moscow: Aletheia, 2003. 272 p., ill. —
(Vita memoriae)
ISBN № 5-89321-099-9

Г.А.Белова, Т.А. Шеркова «Русские в стране пирамид. Путешественники, ученые, коллекционеры» М.: Алетейа, 2003. — 272 с., илл. — (Vita memoriae)
ISBN № 5-89321-099-9

This book is about the rise of interest in the history of ancient and early Christian Egypt in Russia. It is devoted to the people who were at the sources of the Russian Egyptology. It is due to them that the State Museum of Fine Arts named after A.S. Pushkin in Moscow and the State Hermitage in Saint-Petersburg had their unique collections of Egyptian objects. This book includes biographies and descriptions of ideas in Egyptology of such researches as V.G. Bok, O.E. Lemm, V.S. Golenischeff, B.A. Turaev and others.

The book tells also about writers and philosophers, political and church figures, who gave a description of nineteenth century Egypt and her ancient monuments. Travelers, scientists and collectors described in their notes and diaries a lot of monuments which do not exist nowadays.

One chapter is devoted to the contacts between ancient Egypt and the countries which were on the territory of the former Soviet Union. These relationships led to appearance of Egyptian objects, which were found on the territory of the CIS. The authors briefly describe their features and meaning.

The illustrations are also interesting. In this book photos and pictures of XIXth and the beginning of XXth centuries were used, they show Egypt of that time. Many ancient temples and other monuments were covered with sand at that time and looked different. This book contains bibliography in Russian and European languages.