Mintimer Shaimiev takes part in the celebration dedicated to the 10th anniversary of the Institute of Archeology after Alfred Khalikov of the Academy of Sciences of Tatarstan

On April 1, Tatarstan State Counsellor, Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the Revival Regional Foundation Mintimer Shaimiev  took part in the solemn meeting dedicated to the 10th anniversary of the Institute of Archeology after Alfred Khalikov, which was held in the assembly hall of the Academy of Sciences of Tatarstan, under the events “Results and prospects for the development of archaeological science in the Ural-Volga region”, which are taking place these days in Kazan.

Opening the solemn meeting, the President of the Academy of Sciences of the republic Rifkat Minnikhanov said: “During this short time the Institute became one of the leading scientific and academic institutions for research in archaeology and history, training of professional staff, implementation of international and interregional projects. We sincerely congratulate the entire staff of the Institute on this wonderful anniversary, and wish success in the way of service to science for the prosperity of our republic and our great country”.

Director of the the Institute of Archeology after Alfred Khalikov Ayrat Sitdikov spoke about the history of the creation and establishment of the Institute, as well as about its modern development and prospects for the future.

State Counsellor of the republic Mintimer Shaimiev congratulated all participants of the meeting on a significant event.

Mintimer Shaimiev emphasized that from the very beginning of its way, the institute has relied on the rich history of archaeological research on the territory of the republic, which dates back to the end of the 18th century. The opening of the Imperial Kazan University in 1804 and the founding of the Society of Archaeology, History and Ethnography in 1878 gave new impetus to the study and protection of archaeological monuments of the region.

Mintimer Shaimiev highly appreciated the contribution of Tatarstan archaeologists to the implementation of the project for the revival of the ancient cities of Bolgar and Sviyazhsk, initiated by the Revival Regional Foundation.

“Currently, four Tatarstan sites are inscribed in the UNESCO World Heritage List. Now our republic is the leader in the country in the number of UNESCO sites. And our archaeological scientists have a huge share in this tremendous success. I would like to express my gratitude to all those involved in these projects, they were successfully completed, becoming an important milestone in the history of the republic, including our archaeological science”, - he concluded.

Then, the State Counsellor of the republic handed in state awards: the medal of the Order of Merit for Tatarstan to senior researcher of the Institute of Archaeology of the Academy of Sciences of Tatarstan Yevgeny Kazakov and the medal “100th anniversary of the foundation of the Tatar ASSR" to the director of the Institute of Archeology of the Russian Academy of Sciences Nikolay Makarov.