Natalya Romanovna Guseva

Natalya Romanovna Guseva (Russian: Наталья Романовна Гусева, romanized: Natalya Romanovna Guseva; March 21, 1914 – April 21, 2010) was a Russian ethnographer, historian, indologist and writer.[3]

Natalya Romanovna Guseva
Born(1914-03-21)March 21, 1914
Rubezhovka, Kiev Governorate
DiedApril 21, 2010(2010-04-21) (aged 96)
Moscow, Russia
CitizenshipRussian Empire
Soviet Union
Russia
OccupationEthnographer
Historian
Indologist
Known forResearch on the ethnography and religions of peoples of India
Spouse(s)V. N. gusev
Svyatoslav Igorevich Potabenko
RelativesRoman Sergeyevich Chetyrkin (great–grandfather)
AwardsJawaharlal Nehru Award
Academic background
EducationDoktor Nauk in Historical Sciences[1]
Alma materLeningrad State University
Institute of Ethnography of the Academy of Sciences of the Soviet Union
ThesisЭтнический состав населения Южной Индии (Kandidat Nauk)
Индуизм: История формирования. Культовая практика (Doktor Nauk)
Academic work
DisciplineEthnography
History
Indology
InstitutionsSenior researcher, Institute of Ethnography of the Academy of Sciences of the Soviet Union[2]
Main interestsHistory and ethnography of the peoples of India[2]

Early life and family

Guseva was born on 21 March 1914 at Rubezhovka village in the Kiev Governorate, and was orphaned at an early age. After her schooling, she worked in a tire factory, and simultaneously studied in a technical school for rubber industry. She first married V. N. Gusev who was an engineer, and later married Svyatoslav Igorevich Potabenko who was also an indologist.[4]

Education and career

Guseva developed interest in the eastern world, and in 1940, completed her graduation with a specialty in Indology from the Leningrad State University. Later, she worked at Institute of Ethnography in Moscow as an employee, but in 1946, she joined the institute as a student for further studies. From 1950 to 1952, she worked as a research assistant at the Institute of Oriental Studies of the Academy of Sciences of the Uzbek SSR. In 1951, she came to Moscow and completed her Kandidat Nauk with the defense of her thesis titled "Этнический состав населения Южной Индии" (The Ethnic Composition of the Population of South India). Later in 1952, she left Uzbekistan and on the invitation of Sergey Pavlovich Tolstov, she started working again at the Institute of Ethnography of the Academy of Sciences of the Soviet Union where she worked till her retirement in 1998. In 1978, she completed her Doktor Nauk with the defense of her thesis titled "Индуизм: История формирования. Культовая практика" (Hinduism: The History of Formation. Cult Practice). Between 1963 and 1964, she worked as the senior methodologist of the Russian language at the House of Soviet Culture in Delhi.[4]

Guseva also developed keen interest in the idea of a common ancestral homeland of the Indians and Slavs, and also published a book on this subject in 2003, titled "Русский Север – прародина индославов" (The Russian North — The ancestral home of the Indo–Slavs).[4]

She was a member of the Union of Soviet Writers, and later became a member of the Union of Russian Writers.[2]

Works

Guseva published around 200 articles in various scientific journals and wrote 16 monographs. She translated the Indological literature from the English language to the Russian language, and also wrote a play titled "Ramayana" that was based on the ancient Indian epic of the same name, which was performed at various theaters in Russia, and one the performances was also attended by Jawaharlal Nehru. She had delivered a number of lectures for the Union of Soviet Societies for Friendship and Cultural Relations with Foreign Countries.[4] In 2000, she translated the book "The Arctic Homeland [sic] in the Vedas" written by Bal Gangadhar Tilak in 1903.[5] She also labored to identify the common features between the Hindu and Slavic mythologies.[2]

Books

Some of the books authored by Guseva are as follows:[4]

  • Guseva, N R (2010). Арии и древнеиндийские традиции [The Aryans and Ancient Indian Traditions] (in Russian).
  • Guseva, N R (2008). Легенды и мифы древней Индии [The Legends and Myths of Ancient India] (in Russian).
  • Guseva, N R (1989). Раджастханцы: Народ и проблемы [Rajasthanis: People and Problems] (in Russian).
  • Guseva, N R (1987). Многоликая Индия [The Diverse India] (in Russian).
  • Guseva, N R (1971). Индия: тысячелетия и современность [India: Millenniums and Modernity] (in Russian).
  • Guseva, N R (1968). Джайнизм [Jainism] (in Russian).

Awards

The Government of India had praised her contributions towards the development of Russia–India relations, and gave her the Jawaharlal Nehru Award.[4]

Death

Guseva died in Moscow[6] on 21 April 2010 at the age of 96 years, and honoring her request, her ashes were scattered in the Ganges by her family members.[4]

See also

References
  1. Анатолий Клёсов [Anatoly Klyosov] (2017). Занимательная ДНК–генеалогия. Новая наука дает ответы [Interesting DNA Genealogy. New Science Provides Answers]. Litres. p. 234. ISBN 978-5457433502.
  2. "Гусева Наталья Романовна" [Guseva Natalya Romanovna]. Kunstkamera (in Russian). Retrieved July 13, 2020.
  3. Александр Стрекалов [Alexandr Strekalov] (2020). Современная математика. Исток. Проблемы. Перспективы [Modern Mathematics. Origin. Problems. Perspectives]. Litres. p. 231. ISBN 978-5041807368.
  4. Сергей Александрович Арутюнов [Sergey Alexandrovich Arutyunov]; Наталья Львовна Жуковская [Natalia Zhukovskaia]. "ГУСЕВА НАТАЛЬЯ РОМАНОВНА (1914-2010)" [Guseva Natalya Romanovna (1914-2010)]. Russian Academy of Sciences (in Russian). Retrieved July 13, 2020.
  5. Zharnikova, Svetlana Vasilyevna. "Northern Ancestral Home of the Aryans". Meru Mountains: Hyperborea and Aryan Ancestral Homeland. WP IPGEB. p. 129.
  6. "Наталья Гусева" [Natalya Guseva]. LiveLib. Retrieved July 13, 2020.

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