Outstanding scientist and wonderful man Academician Vyacheslav Ivanovich Molodin is 60 years old. He is one of those people who are honestly and boundlessly devoted to their chosen cause. Vyacheslav Ivanovich is a high-class professional whose range of interests includes not only archeology. It is distinguished by its academic approach to polemics, tactfulness, benevolence, attention, and high demands on students.

For almost 40 years, Vyacheslav Ivanovich's life has been closely connected with science. At the age of 27 (1975), he became a Candidate of Sciences, at 35 (1983) - a doctor, at 39 (1987) - a corresponding member of the USSR Academy of Sciences, at 49 (1997)-a full member of the Russian Academy of Sciences.

Vyacheslav Ivanovich Molodin was born on September 26, 1948 in the village of Orkhovo, Domachevsky district, Brest region, in the family of a border guard officer. His childhood years were spent in military camps on the border with Poland, Finland, and Turkey. In 1963, the Molodin family moved to Novosibirsk. In 1966, after graduating from high school, Vyacheslav entered the History Department of the Faculty of History and Philology of the Novosibirsk State Pedagogical Institute. His choice of life path was influenced by Alexey Pavlovich Okladnikov, whose lecture an inquisitive high school student was lucky enough to hear in the Novosibirsk branch of the Geographical Society of the USSR.

From the first year, Vyacheslav was seriously engaged in archeology, the basics of which he learned under the guidance of Tatyana Nikolaevna Troitskaya. He actively participated in field research, in the work of the archaeological circle, and made presentations at All-Union and regional student conferences in Moscow, Sverdlovsk, Ufa, Petropavlovsk, and Novosibirsk. In 1969, as a third-year student, V. I. Molodin received his first Open list for the right to conduct archaeological surveys. During his student years, he published his first scientific work "Excavations of the housing of the settlement of Ordynskoye-6".

In 1971, V. I. Molodin graduated with honors from the university and was sent to work at a school in the village of Elban, Maslyaninsky district of the Novosibirsk region. In the same year, he entered the post-graduate correspondence course of the Institute of History, Philology and Philosophy of the Siberian Branch of the USSR Academy of Sciences. Since December 1973, Vyacheslav Ivanovich completely connects his life with science. Based on the results of research conducted during his undergraduate and postgraduate years, he prepared a PhD thesis on the topic "Neolithic and Bronze Age of the forest-steppe Ob-Irtysh interfluve". Its defense took place in 1975. The materials of the dissertation formed the basis of the first monograph of the young scientist, published in 1977. The main result of many years of research is the discovery of the Krotovo archaeological culture, the development of a periodization of cultural and historical development in the territory of the forest-steppe Ob-Irtysh region in the Neolithic and Bronze Age.

In the seventies, under the guidance of Academician A. P. Okladnikov, V. I. Molodin passed the academic school of specialist formation. Alexey Pavlovich taught us to work simultaneously in several areas, constantly develop our scientific horizons and not only in the field of archeology. In vre-

During the preparation of his PhD thesis, the young scientist conducted research on the monuments of Russian immigrants to Siberia (the Kazym and Ilim forts), as part of the Okladnikov expedition, he participated in the study of Paleolithic monuments in the Gobi Desert (Mongolia), the sites of Varvarina Gora, Ust-Kyakhta (Transbaikalia) and pisanits in the Barguzin Valley. During A. P. Okladnikov's unique winter expeditions, he studied ancient rock art in Tofalaria and Gorny Altai. This is how the breadth of scientific views and skills of working simultaneously on several scientific topics were formed.

After defending his PhD thesis, the young scientist was given a new task - writing a doctoral dissertation. A. P. Okladnikov outlined the topic - "Baraba in ancient times". Vyacheslav Ivanovich had to trace the history of the vast region from the initial stages of its development to the formation of modern indigenous peoples. This required new sources that could only be obtained during field research. It is no coincidence that in the second half of the seventies, the field season of V. I. Molodin lasted more than six months. During this period, dozens of monuments of different time and cultural affiliation were discovered and explored. Among them, the Kyshtovka-2 burial ground and the Sopka-2 burial and cult complex should be particularly noted. V. I. Molodin also supervised research that was not directly related to the topic of his dissertation (Shestakov Paleolithic site (Kemerovo region), Aidashinskaya Cave (Krasnoyarsk Territory), Tatar mounds in the south of Khakassia). A lot of time and effort was devoted to creating an archaeological map of Cuba.

In 1983, V. I. Molodin successfully defended his doctoral dissertation. Subsequently, the research materials were reflected in four monographs prepared by V. I. Molodin both individually and in collaboration with colleagues and students: "Baraba in the Bronze Age" (1985)," Baraba in the Turkic period "(1988)," Baraba in the first millennium AD "(1991)," Baraba in the Late Middle Ages " (1990). Currently, materials of the unique monument Sopka-2 are being published.

After defending his doctoral dissertation, major foreign expeditions and research trips to Canada, Japan, Switzerland, France, and Germany followed. In the late nineties, V. I. Molodin began to actively cooperate with the German Archaeological Institute - the oldest and one of the most authoritative scientific centers in Europe. In 1996, he was elected a corresponding member of the German Archaeological Institute.

A special place in the scientific activity of V. I. Molodin is occupied by the study of ancient monuments of Gorny Altai. Vyacheslav Ivanovich studied the Holocene complexes of Denisova Cave, excavated the mounds of the Afanasiev and Pazyryk cultures, and carried out work on the study of petroglyphs on the Kucherle River. World-class discoveries on the Ukok plateau are associated with the implementation of the Pazyryk program, co-led by V. I. Molodin. The work carried out on the basis of a multidisciplinary approach has yielded results unprecedented in the world archaeological practice. In 2005, V. I. Molodin and N. V. Polosmak were awarded the State Prize of the Russian Federation in the field of science and Technology for their research.

V. I. Molodin is actively engaged in scientific and organizational activities. From 1992 to the present, he has been Deputy Director of the Institute of Archeology and Ethnography of the Siberian Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences for research, and heads the Paleometal sector and Department.

In 1997. Vyacheslav Ivanovich is elected Deputy Chairman of the Siberian Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences, and in 2003 - First Deputy Chairman of the Siberian Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences. At the same time, he becomes a member of the Presidium of the Russian Academy of Sciences and its Siberian Branch, a member of the Bureau of the Department of Historical and Philological Sciences. Despite the heavy workload in administrative work, V. I. Molodin continues active scientific research. Expeditions under his leadership conduct research in Barab, Mongolia, and the Altai. Vyacheslav Ivanovich's research interests also include problems of the history of science, science studies, national history, primitive art, ethnography, and stavrography. In 2000, he was awarded the A. P. Karpinsky International Prize (Germany) for his research on the early cultures of Siberia from the Paleolithic to the Middle Ages. To date, V. I. Molodin is the first and so far only humanist awarded this prestigious award.

Academician V. I. Molodin is the author and co-author of more than 750 publications, including 23 monographs. He has written individual chapters and sections of 21 collective monographs; over 80 works, including two monographs, have been published abroad (England, China, Cuba, France, Germany, Hungary, Kazakhstan, Korea, Mongolia, Japan, Switzerland, Turkey, Ukraine, USA).

V. I. Molodin's contribution to the training of highly qualified scientific personnel is significant. He has trained 8 doctors and 27 candidates of sciences. In 1990, V. I. Molodin was awarded the title of Professor. He teaches at Novosibirsk State University, participates in the preparation of encyclopedic publications, is a member of the editorial boards of a number of prestigious domestic and foreign journals ("Russian Archeology", " Ar-

cheology, ethnography and anthropology of Eurasia". He is a co-director of several research programs of the Russian Academy of Sciences and the Siberian Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences, and works in the leadership of the Russian Humanitarian Science Foundation. VAKA and other organizations.

The merits of V. I. Molodin were noted by the country's leadership and the scientific community. In 1999, V. I. Molodin was awarded the Order of Friendship, and in 2007-the Order of Honor. In 1996, for patriotic education of young people and scientific and popularizing activities, he was awarded the medal "300 years of the Russian Navy". In 2006, V. I. Molodin was awarded the Friendship Medal of the Mongolian People's Republic. In 2007, he was awarded the honorary title " Honored Scientist of the Republic of Sakha (Yakutia)", he was also awarded many regional and departmental awards.

Vyacheslav Ivanovich meets his anniversary, as always, on an expedition. He has big plans. Among them in the first place - preparation for the publication of monographs on the materials of monuments of Baraba and Gorny Altai and, of course, the field, which has long become a way of life for him. We wish Vyacheslav Ivanovich-a scientist, friend and wonderful person-great success.