Tragically, not just a core employee of the editorial board of the journal "Vestnik Drevnoi Istorii"died. Although that alone would be enough to consider the loss irreparable. No. The era of the Russian classical historical and philological school of ancient studies has passed away. It is marked by the names of such titans as F. F. Sokolov, V. V. Latyshev, M. I. Rostovtsev, B. N. Grakov. Thanks to Yu. G. Vinogradov, it lasted for 30 years and now covers more than a century and a half. It could have crossed the line (as the deceased emphasized) of the millennium. It didn't work out. Paradoxically, his entry into the humanities was largely an accident. In his early youth, he was very interested in chemistry. Fate was decided by the unfortunate outcome of one experiment, during which a young experimenter received a slight injury. The doctors who treated his wound were impressed by the fact that during the procedure, he recited the chemical formulas of the medications used by heart. However, this incident discouraged the student from continuing his career as a chemist. And all the power of systematic thinking and the inherent causticity of applied sciences, he brought down on the study of archeology and ancient Greek philology. However, the first one requires a serious scientist to be able to understand not only chemistry, but also biology, botany, soil science, zoology, climatology, ecology, hydrology, etc. So we were presented with the Vinogradov phenomenon. He was distinguished by a rapid calculation of all imaginable options for interpreting the material, choosing the optimal solution from them, and paying the closest attention to detail. Thanks to these qualities, he quickly established a reputation as a lucky person. I don't agree. Lucky is the one who does everything necessary to bring good luck. A world genius like Mozart once said: "Talent is talent plus hard work." Both Yu. G. were busy. We met in October or November (I don't remember exactly) 1970, when I dec ... Read more