German Fedorov-Davydov

Who was German Fedorov-Davydov?

German Alexeyevich Fedorov-Davydov was an outstanding historian, archaeologist, numismatist and art historian, professor of Moscow State University. German Fedorov-Davydov was born in a family of highly educated, impoverished nobility, with centuries-old tradition of science; one of his ancestors, Davydov, was a 19th century rector of the Moscow University.

German Fedorov-Davydov graduated Moscow State University Historical division in 1954 majoring in archeology. In 1969 he became a professor in the Archeology Institute of the USSR Academy of Science, his post-graduate and doctoral monographs were "Altyn Orda coin hoards", and "East European Nomads from 10th to 14th centuries".

German Fedorov-Davydov was tireless field archeologist. From 1950 he constantly participated in archeological expeditions: Khoresm, Tatarstan, Chuvashia, Tunis, Mongolia, South Korea. From 1960 to 1990 G. Fedorov-Davydov headed the Volga regional archeological expedition of the Moscow University and Archeology Institute. In his publications German Fedorov-Davydov illuminated actual, very serious historical problems almost state-forbidden at that time. German Fedorov-Davydov was instrumental in organization of wide scale excavation of the capital Sarai, and other cities in the Volga region, achieving high scientific results. G. Fedorov-Davydov continued traditions of pre-revolutionary orientalists - numismatists, immensely contributing to the wealth of knowledge in the field, including the birth and development of the Russian monetary system and terminology.