Mintimer Shaimiev: “The study of archeology helps understand the unity of the past and the present”

On October 20, the IV (XX) All-Russia archeological congress opened in Kazan. Tatarstan State Counsellor, Chairman of the Board of Guardians of Regional fund “Revival” Mintimer Shaimiev, Co-chairman of the Russian Historical Society, Director of the Institute of Archaeology and Ethnography of the Siberian Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences Anatoly Derevyanko, Minister of Culture of the republic Airat Sibagatullin, Academician of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Director of the Institute of Archaeology of the Russian Academy of Sciences Nikolai Makarov, Rector of Kazan Federal University Ilshat Gafurov, Director of the Institute of International Relations, History and Oriental Studies of Kazan Federal University Ramil Khairutdinov and others took part in a plenary session.

Opening the plenary session, Ilshat Gafurov said that Kazan and Tatarstan are a perfect example of the closest cooperation between government agencies, research and educational centers, broad social movement in the field of research and conservation of cultural heritage. He also noted that due to the support of the Regional fund “Revival”, monuments of Bolgar archeological complex were included in the UNESCO World Heritage List.

Speaking at the session, Mintimer Shaimiev said that the Congress is historically and and symbolically important for Tatarstan. He stressed that for many years the capital of the republic has been one of the leading archaeological centers of the country. Mintimer Shaimiev said he is sure that the Congress is a great opportunity to exchange ideas and find proposals on a wide range of scientific and practical problems related to the richest history of Russia and Eurasian countries.

"Archaeology is one of the most interesting sciences. Working closely on the revival of historical and cultural monuments in recent years, I have thought of myself as a beginner in archaeology and become increasingly convinced that the study of archeology helps understand the unity of the past and the present, reveals the laws of historical processes and forms ideas of common human values and world culture. There is no basis for the study of these processes without archeology,” Mintimer Shaimiev said.