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ABAEV AND THE LANGUAGE GAP BETWEEN THE RUSSIAN AND WESTERN IRANOLOGICAL TRADITIONS
Foltz, Richard
Kavkaz Forum. 2020. Issue 3.
Abstract:
Most experts will agree that Vaso Abaev is the greatest scientist, whose area of
scientific interests was, first of all, Ossetian studies, which he considered from the
angle of Iranian studies. During his lifetime, he undoubtedly enjoyed international
fame and recognition among Iranian scholars, as evidenced by the publication of
a 540-page anniversary collection in his honor, published by the Italian Institute of
African and Oriental Countries in Rome [1]. But to what extent was this reputation
based on the fact that his Western colleagues did indeed have the opportunity to
delve deeply into the content of his research? Of the huge amount of materials
created by Abaev during his long life, almost all were written in Russian, which few
Iranian scholars speak either in the West or in Iran itself. In terms of translation,
only a few articles and one book on grammar have been translated and published,
and they also exist in tiny numbers of copies held in university and government
libraries. Given Abaev’s enormous contribution to science, it is regrettable that
most Iranian scholars outside the former Soviet Union had such limited access to
his writings.
The article raises the actual problem of integrating Russian-language Iranian
studies into the world academic space, reveals the main reasons for the weak
involvement of Soviet / Russian Ossetian studies in international Iranian studies.
In addition, a brief overview is given of the few works on Ossetian topics that have
appeared outside of Russia.
Keywords: Vaso Abaev, Russian Iranian studies, Western Iranian studies, Ossetian studies, linguistic gap
+ References1. Gnoli, Gh. et al. (eds) Studia iranica et alanica: festschrift for prof. Vasilij
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University, 1964. 133 p.
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French]. Translation by R. Kuliev. Vladikavkaz, North Ossetian State University,
2019. 217 p.
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seigneurs du Caucase: Ier-XVe siècles apr. J-C. 2nd éd. Paris, Errance, 2005. 281 p.
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19. Abstracts of the second symposium on Iran & North Caucasus of Russian
Federation. Tehran, Institute for political and International studios, 2019. 37 p.
20. Sokaeva, D.V., Shafagi, M. (eds) Istoricheskoe nasledie Irana v Osetii
[Historical heritage of Iran in Ossetia]. Tehran, Allameh Tabataba’i University,
2019. 304 p.
21. Kambolov, T.T. Osetiny: vehi istorii [Ossetians: milestones in history].
Vladikavkaz, CEM, 2017. 92 p.
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Legends of the Ossetians. W. May (tr.). Princeton, Princeton University Press,
2016. 442 p.
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