Abstract

This article commemorates Valery Ivanovich Bovykin, professor at the Faculty of History of Lomonosov Moscow State University, on the centenary of his birth in January 2027. His scholarly and teaching career was closely bound to the Faculty of History, where he made a major contribution to the development of the Department of Source Studies. V.I. Bovykin was an internationally recognized authority on Russian history at the turn of the 20th century. His wide-ranging scholarship encompassed the social, economic, financial, and banking history of pre-revolutionary Russia, foreign policy and international relations, source studies, archival research methods, and related fields. V.I. Bovykin's works and ideas remain relevant today and continue to play an important role in the training of young scholars and new generations of historians. An accomplished university teacher and the author of textbooks, teaching materials, and course programs, he supervised nearly one hundred undergraduate theses. More than thirty dissertations for the Candidate of Sciences degree were completed under his supervision. V.I. Bovykin taught general lecture courses and seminars, developed numerous specialized courses on major issues in historical scholarship, and supervised various forms of student research and practical training. The article traces the principal stages of V.I. Bovykin's academic and teaching career and examines his role in establishing an influential school of Russian historical scholarship at Moscow University. It explores his development as both a researcher and mentor, outlines the main areas of his research, and considers the distinctive features of his teaching methods and his approach to mentoring students. The article also draws on the recollections of V.I. Bovykin's former students, many of whom later became prominent scholars and university teachers. The authors synthesize these various aspects of V.I. Bovykin's work and examine how the Department of Source Studies at the Faculty of History of Moscow University continues to promote his scholarly and teaching legacy and to preserve his memory among faculty, postgraduate students, and undergraduates.