A. M. SHUSTOVA Candidate of Philosophical Sciences Russian Oriental studies rightfully occupies one of the leading places in the world science of the East. A number of outstanding scientists have contributed to its achievements. Among them there are special names - those who were Orientalists not only by their education, but also Orientalists by their inner nature, as they say, "by the grace of God", and their education only highlighted their gifted nature as an Oriental researcher. Such scientists undoubtedly include Yuri Nikolaevich Roerich (1902-1960), who is an example of a thinker of the widest palette, without exaggeration - a man-institute. Yu. N.Roerich's life coincided with a difficult period in the history of his homeland, Russia, and indeed the whole world. He spent most of his life in exile. As fate would have it, he was given unique opportunities to walk "along the trails of Central Asia", to experience the vicissitudes of the difficult life of the Eastern peoples, whose history and culture were at the center of his research interests. Throughout his life, Yu. N. Roerich carried his devotion to the East and Asia, keeping deep in his heart his love for its innermost truths. How did the young Yuri Roerich develop as an Orientalist? AWAKENING INTEREST IN THE EAST Yu. N. Roerich was born on August 16, 1902 in the town of Okulovka in the Novgorod province. His parents were on an expedition at the time. His father Nikolai Konstantinovich Roerich, a famous St. Petersburg artist, conducted excavations, and his mother Elena Ivanovna was engaged in photographing objects, and their son was born, as they say,in the field. Yuri grew up in a family that had a great interest in the history and spiritual culture of the East. Both the boy's father and mother were interested in the East, read works on Indian philosophy, and studied the works of Vivekananda. Famous orientalists visited the St. Petersburg House of Roerichs: the founder of Russian Egyptology, the founder of ... Read more