Director of the Institute

 Ayrat Gabitovich Sitdikov (born on January 24, 1973) – Russian and Tatarstan archaeologist, Doctor of Historical Sciences, specialist in medieval archaeology of the Volga Region and Kazan archaeology.  After graduating from the Kazan State Pedagogical Institute in 1996, he studied in the postgraduate school of the Institute of History named after Sh. Mardzhani of the Academy of Sciences of the Republic of Tatarstan (1996–1999).

Theses: Candidate’s Thesis – “Stratigraphy, Chronology and Topography of the Kazan Kremlin of 11th – 18th cc.” (2001);
Doctoral Thesis – “Medieval Kazan: Historical and Archaeological Research (11th – first half of 16th cc.” (2013).

Professional Activities:

June 1997 – May 2001 – Specialist of the II category, concurrent specialist of the I category, Specialist of the I category, Chief Specialist of the Research Department of Museum-Reserve “The Kazan Kremlin”.

1998–2007 – Head of the Archaeological Circle at the History Department of the Kazan State Pedagogical Institute.
May 2001 – December 2001 – Head of the Archaeological Supervision Department of the Directorate for State Control of the Protection and Use of Historical and Cultural Monuments of the Main Department of Architecture and Urban Planning of Kazan.

December 2001 – May 200 – Head of the Archaeological Supervision Department of the Directorate for State Control of the Protection and Use of Historical and Cultural Monuments of the Department of Architecture and Urban Planning of the Ministry of Construction, Housing, Architecture and Communal Service of the Republic of Tatarstan in Kazan.

April 2004 – October 2007 – Acting Head, Head of the National Center for Archeological Research of the Institute of History named after Sh. Mardzhani of the Academy of Sciences of the Republic of Tatarstan.

November 2007 – May 2010 – Associate Professor, Acting Head, Head of the Department of Ethnography and Archaeology of the Kazan State University named after Vladimir Ilyich Ulyanov-Lenin.
May 2010 – May 2011 – Head of the Department of Ethnography and Archaeology of the Kazan (Volga Region) Federal University.
May 2011 – September 2013 – Head of the Department of Ethnography and Archaeology, Associate Professor, Acting Head, Head of the Department of Archaeology and Ethnology of the Department of History of Cultural Heritage of the Institute of History of the Kazan (Volga Region) Federal University.
September 2013 – present time – Associate Professor, Head of the Department of Ethnography and Archaeology, Director of the Higher School of Historical Sciences and World Cultural Heritage, Associate Professor, Head of the Department of the History of Tatarstan, Archaeology and Ethnology of the Institute of International Relations, History and Oriental Studies of the Kazan (Volga Region) Federal University.

2014 – present time – Director of the Separate Division “Institute of Archaeology named after A. Kh. Khalikov of the Tatarstan Academy of Sciences”.

Vice-President of the Scientific Committee on Archaeological Heritage Management of the ICOMOS National Committee in the Russian Federation.

Member of the International Committee on Historic Towns and Villages of the Russian Province Association under the Federation Council.

Member of the Canadian Archaeological Association.

Member of the Board of Trustees of the State Historical-Architectural and Art Museum-Reserve “The Kazan Kremlin”.

RAS Expert of the Group “Historical Sciences, Cultural Studies, Art History”.

Certified Expert in State Historical and Cultural Study.

Chief Editor of the Journal “Volga River Region Archaeology”.

Chief Editor of the Journal “Archaeology of the Eurasian Steppes”.

Member of the Editorial Board of the publication “Architectural Archaeology” (Institute of Archaeology of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow).

Member of the Editorial Board of the Journal “Theory and Practice of Archaeological Research” (Altai State University, Barnaul).

Member of the Editorial Board of the Journal “Archaeology of Kazakhstan” (Institute of Archaeology named after A. Kh. Margulan, Almaty).

Member of the Editorial Board of the Journal “Turkic Research”.

Member of the Creative Council of the Children’s Television Channel “Shayan TV” of the TV and Radio Broadcasting Company “New Age”.

State Awards:

  • “In Commemoration of the 1000th Anniversary of Kazan” (2005)
  •  Honorary Title “Honored Worker of Culture of the Republic of Tatarstan” (2014)
  • Medal of the Republic of Tatarstan “For Valiant Labour” (2017).
  • Honorary Title “Honored Scientist of the Republic of Tatarstan” (2019)

Merits and Department Awards:

  • National Award “Heritage of Generations” in the nomination “For Great Contribution to Preservation of Archaeological Heritage” (2006)
  • Badge “For Achievements in Culture” (2007)
  • Laureate of the State Prize of the Republic of Tatarstan in the field of Science and Technology (2008)
  • Winner of the Diploma “50 Best Innovative Ideas for the Republic of Tatarstan 2009” (2009)
  • Badge of Merit “For Labor and Valor for the Benefit of Kazan” (2010)
  • Laureate of the G. Tuqay State Prize of the Republic of Tatarstan (2016)
  • Winner of the Competition of the Russian Federation President Council on Grants “Leading Scientific School in the field of Social and Humanitarian Sciences” (2016)
  • Medal of the Spiritual Administration of Muslims of the Russian Federation “For Spiritual Unity” (2017).

Primary Scientific Works:
Studied Monuments: Kazan – the Kremlin and the area of the protected cultural layer: approximately 100 excavations, settlements: Chertovo, Moshaik, Bolgar, Krasnoyarskoe, Selitrennoe, Samosdelka, Sviyazhsk, burial mounds: Gulyukovsky, Moshaik, Posolsky, and others.

A.G. Sitdikov was the first to prepare a compilation of all Kazan historical and archaeological research materials, supplemented and reviewed (in collaboration with T.A. Khlebnikova and F.Sh. Khuzin) the stratigraphic scale of the cultural layer of the Kazan Kremlin and the cultural strata in the historical area of Kazan on the basis of research works by A.Kh. Khalikov, and conducted an archaeological, historical and architectural analysis of the remains of monumental buildings in the Kazan Kremlin by establishing a methodological framework for this type of research.

Archaeological studies conducted under the supervision of A.G. Sitdikov provided a confirmation of the 1000-year age of Kazan. Comprehensive scientific justifications, expert examinations and analytical materials provided grounds for the decision to include the “Bolgar Historical and Archaeological Complex” in the UNESCO World Heritage List.

A.G. Sitdikov is the author of over 230 articles on archaeology and history in regional and federal publications.