In the XX century, historical science in the USSR developed under strong ideological pressure, which had a noticeable impact on the evolution and formation of scientific thought. The intensity of the political regime's intervention in the scientific sphere depended on the social situation, and the success and circumstances of scientists ' creative activities were directly dependent on following the guidelines set by the state. Ideological and political overtones significantly influenced the choice of topics for scientific papers, the methodology of their writing, and-most sadly-the fate of scientists. Only in the post-Soviet period were ideological blinders abolished and it became possible to study previously "closed" topics. The study of the creative path of a major scientist-Egyptologist, professor, Doctor of Historical Sciences, academician Mikhail Aleksandrovich Korostovtsev (1900 - 1980) provides us with a vivid example of the influence of political and ideological factors on the activity and very fate of a scientist. The repressions that M. A. Korostovtsev was subjected to could not suppress his research aspirations, and the scientific results he achieved aroused the admiration of some and the envy of others. M. A. Korostovtsev's scientific career began rather late: at the time of entering the graduate school of the Leningrad Branch of the Institute of History of the USSR Academy of Sciences, he was 38 years old (until that time, his career was developing in the naval service, which he passed from a sailor to a captain of the Caspian and Baltic Shipping Companies). In the 1930s and 1940s, M. A. Korostovtsev was most active as a scientist. In 1939, he defended his PhD thesis on "Slavery in ancient Egypt in the New Kingdom era" 1. In 1943, he completed his doctoral dissertation "Writing and Language of ancient Egypt", in the response to which Academician V. V. Struve wrote: "All the topics and questions raised in M. A. Korostovtsev's dissertation are considered ... Read more