Congratulations on your anniversary! 80th anniversary of the Honorary President of the Institute for African Studies of the Russian Academy of Sciences, academician of the Russian Academy of Sciences A.M. Vasiliev

Dear Alexey Mikhailovich! It is hard to convey in words what you mean to us, your colleagues, to Russian African studies and Oriental studies as a whole. You are a role model to us: a brilliant world-famous scientist, writer, journalist. Over the last six decades, you have achieved impressive results in all these areas, but most of all you have succeeded in the work of your whole life - the study of the countries of the Middle East and Africa. Looking back to the beginning of your career, we want to note that it was journalism that taught you the first lessons of courage and professional mastery. Many bright, memorable reports from “hot spots” came out from under your pen.

You were an eyewitness to the Vietnam War and the Arab-Israeli conflict, working as a correspondent and political observer for the newspaper Pravda in these regions. The result of your two-year stay in Vietnam was the book of reporting “Rockets over the lotus flower. Vietnam during the days of war.” You happened to take the reins of government of our Institute during the most difficult, dashing years of perestroika, when science and art collapsed, and many years of research and development lost their significance. Then your leadership talent was fully manifested, thanks to which our Institute not only survived, but also strengthened its well-deserved authority in Russia and abroad, and implemented new breakthrough research projects. That period was very fruitful for you personally. You worked on the fundamental problems of the socio-political history of the Arab and African countries saw the light of day. Your major work “History of Saudi Arabia”, where the phenomenon of “Wahhabism” was first studied in our country, has withstood several editions and has been published in Russian, Arabic and English.