Sigurd Ottovich Schmidt (Russian Сигурд Оттович Шмидт) (1922 - 2013) is a Russian historian and ethnographer.

Biography 

Sigurd Ottovich Schmidt was born on April 15, 1922 in Moscow. His father was geographer Otto Yulyevich Schmidt. Schmidt graduated from the Faculty of History at the Moscow University in 1944.

Since 1949 he has taught at the Moscow Historical Archives Institute (now part of the Russian State University for the Humanities). He received his Doctor of Historical Sciences in 1965 and became an Honorary Doctor RSUH in 1970 - Professor. At the same time, starting in 1956, he works in the Institute of History of Sciences of the USSR (now Institute of Russian History at RAS).

From 1968 to 2006 he was Chairman of the Archaeographic Commission at the Academy of Sciences (Commission of the Institute of Slavic Studies RAS for archaeography, archival and related disciplines), now he is its Honorary President (head of the Commission RAS is Corresponding Member S.M. Kashtanov).

He is a member of the Presidential Council for especially valuable objects of Russian cultural heritage. He is also a member of many scientific and editorial boards; Schmidt is the Chairman of the All-Russia Society of Local Studies, the chairman of the jury for the Nikolai Antsiferov Award, the executive editor of Archaeography Yearbook, of Moscow's encyclopedia, of a number of periodicals.

He is Deputy Chairman of the Editorial Board of Library History of Moscow, from ancient times to the present day, and the head of Teaching and Research Center of the historical Country Studies and Moscow Studies.

Since 1949, he has supervised the student scientific society of Source of national history.

Schmidt edited more than 500 scientific works on cultural history, historiography, Archeology and Archives and others. His works on medieval history of Russia's 16th and 17th centuries are particularly important.

Sigurd Ottovich Schmidt died in Moscow, on May, 22, 2013.

Awards 

Since 1989, he has been an Honored Scientist of Russia; since 1992 an Academician of Russian Academy of Education, and in 1997 - Foreign Member of the Polish Academy of Sciences. Counselor of Academy of Sciences.

Schmidt is the winner of the RF Government Prize in Education (1999), awarded with the insignia, "For services to Moscow" (2007).

Dmitry Likhachev described him as "a scholar-historian of a broad plan, and as an organizer of science, and as a mentor of young scientists, and as a public figure, dedicating a lot of time on the protection of historical and cultural monuments, manuscripts documentary heritage." He was called "the best in our day expert on sources on the history of Russia's 16th century."

In 2009 he received the award "Triumph" in the category of "humanities".

Schmidt's School 

Since 1949, he has supervised the student scientific circle of Source of national history that became, as Dmitry Likhachev said, "a school not only of science but also of civil behavior for many of its members." Initially composed of S.O. Schmidt's immediate disciples, the club became one of the strongest points of attraction of students of other teachers, accumulating and enriching all of its members of collective research experience. For this reason this circle is called the "Schmidt's School" - a high top level school for istochnikovedcheskie research. Many works have been edited on this society. Italian historian Giuseppe D'Amato was his student.

Published works

• The Formation of Russian samoderzhavstva. A Study of socio-political history of the time of Ivan the Terrible. - Moscow: Mysl, 1973. - 358 pp.
• Russia's state in the middle of the 16th century: the imperial archives, and Ivan the Terrible's time letopis. - M.: Nauka, 1984. - 277pp.
• Archeology. Archival. Pamyatnikovedenie. Collected papers. - M.: Izdatel'stvo RGGU, 1997. - 362 pp.
• The Path of the historian: Selected Works on historiography. - M.: Izdatel'stvo RGGU, 1997. - 612 pp.
• Russia's Ivan the Terrible. - M.: "Nauka", 1999. - 556 pp.
• The Public consciousness of Russia's noble birth: 17th century – the first third of the 19th century. - M.: "Nauka", 2002. - 363 pp.
• "The phenomenon Fomenko" in the context of the study of modern social historical consciousness. - M.: Nauka, 2005. - 71 pp.
• Monuments of writing in a culture of knowledge of the history of Russia. Vol. 1: pre-Petrine Russia. Kn. 1.—Moscow: Languages of Slavic Culture, 2007. - 480 pp.
• Monuments of writing in a culture of knowledge of the history of Russia. Vol.1: pre-Petrine Russia. Kn. 2. - Moscow: Languages of Slavic Culture, 2008. - 406 p.
• Monuments of writing in a culture of knowledge of the history of Russia. Т. 2. Kn. 1. From Karamzin to "arbatstva" Okudzhava. - Moscow: Languages of Slavic Culture, 2009. - 576 pp

References 

^ Information on site RSUH. ^ Decree of the Mayor of Moscow, April 12th, 2007. "On awarding Schmidt S.O. decoration for services to Moscow". ^ A Brief Outline of scientific, educational, and social activities of S.O.Schmidt, in "The world of istochnikovedeniya", Moscow - Penza 1994 ^ Award Triumph 2009 ^ Chronology and Historiography: Special historical discipline. – М., 1980. - M., 1980. с.199-200. p. 199-200. See also: Lavrov K. Wednesdays, thirty years in a row / / Student meridian. 1981. 1981. Number 12. p.16. It is the same: I am responsible for everything. - M., 1983 (new in life, science and technology. Non-fiction series "Youth"). P.39-47. "Happiness and success of youth" Sunday's meeting. – М., 1987. p.34-46.