There in the hall of world literature is organized the book exhibition timed for the centenary of the birthday of the Russian scientist, Oriental study specialist and ethnographer Lev Nikolayevich Gumilev.

   Lev Nikolayevich Gumilev (1912-1992) – the Soviet and Russian scientist, historian-ethnologist, doctor of science (history and geography), poet, translator from Persian and the founder of the passionary theory of ethnogenisis. He was born in Tsarskoye Selo on October 1, 1912. The son of the poets Nikolai Gumilev and Anna Akhmatova. From 1917 to 1929 he lived in Bezhetsk of the Tver region. From 1930 he is in Leningrad. In 1930-1934 he worked in the expeditions in Sayans, in Pamir and Crimea. From 1934 he studied at the faculty of history of the Leningrad university. In 1935 he was excluded from the university and arrested, after some time he was freed. In 1937 he was recovered in the Leningrad state university. Being a student of the LSU in March, 1938 was again arrested and sentenced for five years. On September 21, 1939 Gumilev gets into the 4-th prison department of Norillag. In autumn, 1944 he entered as a volunteer the Red Army. At the front he wrote verses on military themes.

   On September 25, 1945 he was demobilized, recovered in the LSU, which he graduated from at the beginning of 1946 and entered tha post-graduate course of the Leningrad affiliate of the Institute of Orinetal studies of the Academy of sciences of the USSR. In the LSU on December 28, 1948 he defended the dissertation for the degree of candidate of science (history) by the theme “The detailed political history of the first Turkic kaganat” and was accepted as a scientific worker to the museum of ethnography of the peoples of the USSR.

   On November 7, 1949 L.N.Gumilev was arrested, and sentenced by the special council for 10 years, which he served at first in the camp of special purpose in Sherubai-Nura near Karaganda, then in the camp in the Kemerovo region in Sayans. On May 11, 1956 he was rehabilitated due to the lack of crime constituents. From 1956 he worked as librarian in the Hermitage.

   In 1961 he defended the doctorate dissertation in history (“The ancient Turks”) and in 1974 – the doctorate dissertation in geography (“The ethnogenesis and the biosphere of the Earth”) but on May 21, 1976 he was refused the awarding of the second degree of doctor of science in geography. From 1963 to 1988 L.N.Gumilev worked in the scientific-research institute of geography of the Leningrad state university.

   Lev Nikolayevich Gumilev is the author of deep innovational researches in the history of the nomads of the Middle and Central Asia for the period beginning from the III-rd century B.C. to the 15-th century A.D., in historical geography – the change of climate and landscape of the same region for the same period, the creator of the original theory of ethnogenesis, in which he in particular introduces into use the new parameter of ethnic history – “passionarity”, the author of the problems of paleethnography of Middle Asia, the history of the Tibetan and Pamir peoples in the 1-st millennium A.D., the source-study expert on the narrative sources of the nomad peoples. There in his works huge attention is paid to the problem of Ancient Russia and Great Steppe highlighted from new positions.

   The creative activity of the modern theoretician of Eurasianism, the author of the passionary theory of ethnogenesis, the well-known geographer, historian and philosopher Lev Nikolayevich Gumilev became a prominent phenomenon of the XX-th century. L.N.Gumilev made a huge contribution into Turkic studies. The history, ethnography, archeology of the Turkic-lingual peoples found reflection and wide development in the works of L.N.Gumilev.

    The scientist died on June 15, 1992 in Saint-Petersburg.

   At the book exhibition there are presented the following books of L.N.Gumilev: “Ancient Russia and Great Steppe”, “Hunnu”, “The Ancient Turks”, “The ethnogenesis and the biosphere of the Earth”, “The millennium around Kaspi”, “They call me Eurasianist”, “The black legend” and others, and also the materials about his scientific-research activity.

   We invite You to visit the book exhibition!