50 YEARS - AN IMPORTANT MILESTONE AT THE DEPARTMENT OF CHURCH-STATE RELATIONS OF THE RUSSIAN PRESIDENTIAL ACADEMY OF NATIONAL ECONOMY AND PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION

Abstract

The article is devoted to the 50th anniversary of the Department of State and Church relations of the Russian Presidential Academy of National Economy and Public Administration. It traces its establishments from its inception in 1964 under the auspices of the Institute of Scientific Atheism and subsequently through its transformations in 1993 becoming the successor of the Institute of Scientific Atheism. It traces ther great contributions to the development of the Department made by such scholars as L.A. Bashirov, G.M. Kerimov, R.A. Lopatkin, F.G. Ovsiyenko, M.I. Odintsov, E.S. Safronov et al. and their replacements by new forces - mainly from the former post-graduate students of the Department: V.V. Kravchuk, V.K. Pinkevich. M.O. Checks. V.V. Schmidt et al. For a long time the team was led by well-known Russian scientist and Doctor of Philosophy, Professor Nikolai Antonovich Trofimchuk. Since 2002 after the untimely death of N.A. Trophimchuk the Department, headed by Doctor of Historical Sciences, Professor Olga Vasilyeva whose writings and public activities have strengthened the team, have opened up new areas of scientific research and training of students, graduate students and doctoral candidates. Over these years the Department has hosted numerous scientific events - conferences, symposia, round tables, the attendance of which were graced by hierarchs of the Russian Orthodox Church, Muftis and representatives of other faiths in Russia and abroad.