The Formation and Development of the Eastern Ukrainian Centre of Professor V. V. Otroshchenko’s Research School (on the Occasion of his 80th Anniversary)

Abstract

The article describes the stages of development of the Eastern Ukrainian centre of research headed by Professor Vitaliі Otroshchenko. He devoted his entire life to the service of science — archeology. For many years, he explored the ancient mounds of the steppe Dnipro, heading the Zaporizhzhia newbuilding expedition of the Institute of Archaeology of the Academy of Sciences of the Ukrainian  Soviet Republic. His particular research interest lays in burials of the Zrubna culture. The “Zrubna” issues, as well as the broader problems of the Late Bronze Age, in general, became central to the future scientific work of V. V. Otroshchenko, although the honoree’s scientific interests were much wider.
In 1992, at the invitation of the head of the recently created Central-Donetsk expedition of the Institute of Archaeology of the Academy of Sciences of Ukraine, Vitalii Vasyliovych, then the acting head of the Eneolithic-Bronze Age Department of the Institute, agreed to participate in the research of the Zrubna culture settlements in Luhansk region as a scientific consultant. Since then, almost annually, for seventeen years (1992–1998, 2001–2010), V. V. Otroshchenko participated in the excavations of this expedition, acting as an advisor and contributing to the professional growth of its employees.
In 1989, Professor V. V. Otroshchenko brought together researchers of Luhansk and Donetsk regions in the Eastern Ukrainian Branch which turned into a powerful scientific centre for the formation and development of highly qualified experts in archaeology of transition from the Middle to the Late and to the Final Bronze Ages of the Eastern European steppe and forest-steppe. Scientific achievements of representatives of this Research School reflected in the defense of candidate and doctoral dissertations, as well as in numerous scientific articles and monographs on topical problems of the Bronze Age, are the result of hard work of at least three generations of scholars and the remarkable talent of Vitalii Vasyliovych as both a researcher and a teacher.
Goodwill, tolerance, simplicity in communication, and inner balance are among the qualities that distinguish Vitalii Vasyliovych. High professionalism, a deep sense of responsibility and exacting standards helped the students of Professor Otroshchenko's school to realise their ambitions.