Sergei Averintsev  
"I am moved by the desire
to unveil the light of the past"
     The name of Sergei Averintscv, the scholar, academician and expert in ancient cultures and religions as well as poet and translator can be found in numerous encyclopaedias and who-is-who text books.  

     In the minds of people his name is normally associated with basic research in the philosophy of culture, history and aesthetics, as well as analytical studies of ancient texts.  

     His scholarly works include Bysantium and Rus: Two Types of Spirituality and Mikhail Bakhtin: Retrospect and Prospects. Averintsev has also co-authored the fundamental two-volume collection of Myth of the Peoples of the World  

     Once the Scholar summarized his credo of a literary expert and scholar of ancient of ancient cultures as follows: "My driving force is my desire to unveil the colors of the past".  

     His brilliant translations and critical articles make him a man of a rare diversity of interests, and for many difficult years he has remained the epitome of uncompromising integrity as scientist and intellectual, the ultimate embodiment of the Russian intelligentsia.  

      Averintsev chairs the Association of Culturologists and heads the Bible Society of Russia. His recent literary research effort have brought him the State Prize of the Russian Federation.


Russian PEN Club