On August 12, 2016, after a long struggle with a serious illness, at 79, Valentin Aleksandrovich Bulkin, associate professor of the Department of the History of Russian Art, St. Petersburg State University, passed away. An art historian, a wonderful teacher, a permanent teacher of the history of ancient Russian art and a mentor to all those who love, appreciate and study the culture of the Russian Middle Ages, who has become a legend for many generations of archaeologists, architectural historians and art historians.
Valentin Alexandrovich was born on November 30, 1937. His childhood was spent in the years of the Great Patriotic War, and his youth fell on a difficult time for the restoration of the country. Already a mature man, he entered the Department of Art History (1961) and immediately determined the theme of his scientific and human interests, to which he remained faithful throughout his life - the architecture of Ancient Russia, becoming a student of the outstanding art historian - M. K. Karger. This determined a special passion for architectural and archaeological activity, which was not just a part of research, but turned into an essential component of the scientist's lifestyle and character.
Since 1970, V. A. Bulkina at the Department of Art History, which turned out to be the meaning and main work of his whole life. Reading courses on the history of Old Russian and Byzantine art, introduction to art history continued the best traditions laid down at the department by his teachers - M. K. Karger, T. P. Znamerovskaya, A. B. Bank. After defending his dissertation in 1975 on the topic “Italianisms in Old Russian Architecture of the 16th Century,” Valentin Aleksandrovich became the head of the architectural and archaeological practice and expeditions of the University, and he did not stop this activity until the last months. Under his wise leadership, several dozen monuments of ancient Russian architecture in Kiev, Vyshgorod, Tver, Torzhok, Pskov, Uglich, Rostov, and the Russian North were investigated. But the researcher was especially fond of the ancient Polotsk and Novgorod, for the study of which he took a lot of professional and mental strength. Collaboration with an outstanding connoisseur of Novgorod architecture G. M. The pillar led to significant discoveries of previously unknown buildings of the 11th-16th centuries.
At the same time, Valentin Aleksandrovich headed a seminar on Old Russian art, which soon turned into a genuine scientific school for a huge number of future researchers; in the forge of specialists in ancient Russian art, where not only skills and knowledge were acquired, but a deep love for Russian culture, dedication to their profession was brought up and instilled. Thanks to the special title of Teacher and high moral and ethical human qualities, V. A. Bulkin brought together around the seminar not only students who did not break with it even after graduation, who forever retain the honorary name of the Bulkians, but also famous researchers in various fields of ancient Russian art. This made possible a lively and constant connection, the transmission from generation to generation of the best traditions of the St. Petersburg school of art history. Thanks to V. A. Bulkin's seminar has become a real pride of St. Petersburg University, an integral part of the spiritual culture of our city. Over the past almost half a century of pedagogical activity, he has trained many dozens of specialists in the history of ancient Russian art, who now work in scientific and educational institutions of St. Petersburg, Moscow, Tver, Pskov, Novgorod, and dozens of other cities in our country and abroad. Regardless of what they do, being pupils of their teacher, whether they continue to study ancient Russian art or become specialists in other areas of culture, they invariably demonstrate not only deep knowledge and truly museum skills in the storage, research and popularization of Russian art, but deep dedication and love for their work. All these qualities were instilled in him from the student's bench by an irreplaceable scientific leader, whose attractive high ethical requirements, true scientific and pedagogical talent largely determined their professional future, gave a ticket for life, paved the way for each of them to the Temple.
No matter how much time and effort V. A. Bulkin was a researcher by vocation, he always found an opportunity not only for annual architectural and archaeological research, but also for a great scientific activity. The number of texts published over these decades on various artistic problems has exceeded 200. However, their plurality does not fully reflect the extreme breadth and diversity of V. A. Bulkin, a widely gifted scientist, whose truly Renaissance creative potential stretched from pre-Mongol architecture, the theory of architectural forms to the history of the artistic development of icon painting; from thorough archaeological reports to monographic studies of the life and work of great masters; from iconographic descriptions to various kinds of publications and introductory articles to museum catalogs, books, albums, boundless on the subject; from strictly academic works on epigraphy and source study to studying the poetic imagery of F. M. Dostoevsky. The breadth of creative interests and a special gift to give the content of publications an art form corresponding to each of them predetermined their genre diversity. The strictly academic nature of his works, as well as scientific reports, lectures and speeches, has always been combined with a passionate position of the defender of the purity and beauty of the Russian language, its unsurpassed historical originality.
The highly professional work of an enthusiastic teacher and many years of unselfish dedication to his work allows us to consider the personality of V. A. Bulkin as an inseparable part of the national heritage of our city and the history of St. Petersburg University.
Valentin Alexandrovich never aspired to high positions, honors, awards, was an extremely modest and delicate person; but at the same time he possessed a rare and high gift of being a personality of the broadest scale, giving all his knowledge, skills, love to his students, relatives, friends and colleagues; had a talent for remembering and thinking about others - therefore he will remain in the memory of many, many. His death is not just an irreparable loss for national science and pedagogy, but also a deeply personal loss for many hundreds of people. The image of Valentin Aleksandrovich - a broadly gifted man of a bright, rich soul, highly educated, well-versed in poetry, literature, philosophy, a real Petersburg intellectual, an excellent storyteller, lively, artistic, informal, full of kindness and attention to the world - will not fade in the hearts of all people who knew him, in the hearts of all who cherish the national culture. Irina Shalina
