Background
Likhachev, Dmitrii was born on November 28, 1906 in Petersburg.
Likhachev, Dmitrii was born on November 28, 1906 in Petersburg.
Graduated from Leningrad University in 1928.
Arrested, October 1928. Solovki concentration camp, 1928-1931. Released, 4 August 1932.
Worked at the Institute of Russian Literature (Pushkinskii Dom) from 1938. Head of section and specialist in ancient Russian literature from 1954. Professor at Leningrad University, 1946-1953.
One of the initiators of the movement for the protection of ancient monuments. In 1987, appointed chairman of the board of the newly established Soviet Cultural Fund, of which Raisa Gorbachev is a member. Called for the return of artefacts and archives which were taken out of Russia during and after the 1917 Revolution.
During the 1970s, experienced difficulty in pursuing his work as a historian and took no part in public life. Became M. Gorbachev’s adviser on cultural and historical heritage matters in early 1985. Appeared again in official publications.
Member of the editorial board of Nashe Nasledie. Dr. of many foreign universities, including Oxford and Cambridge. Instrumental in the rehabilitation of N. Gumilev and the general cultural revival in the late 1980s.
Religious edicts impose irrational rules on people’s behaviour.
Every Soviet citizen has rights to express his or her opinion, but it should be in accordance with the general interests of the society.
Member of the USSR Academy of Sciences from 1970.