The prize was awarded for contribution to the study of 16th century Russian literature.
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Andrei Usachev, DSc in History, Professor of the Russian State University for the Humanities, winner of prizes in Russian literature and history. Andrei Usachev was born on March 17, 1978 in Moscow.
Mr Usachev made a great contribution to the study of history of the Russian state and 16th century literature. His research focuses on 16th century Russian history, the study of ideas prevalent among the period’s state ideologists on the formation of the Russian state, the study of Russian historical sources of the 15th-17th centuries and Russian historiography of the 16th-20th centuries. He studied the creation and dissemination of manuscripts, ancient Russian literature and the activities of the period’s writers.
Andrei Usachev was the first researcher to summarise information about manuscripts commissioned by members of the 16th century Russian nobility. His findings significantly expanded the range of available scientific information on the history of book culture in Russia at that time. The historian discovered and studied lists of little-known works and published previously unknown important works of Old Russian Literature making them widely available for researchers.
Mr Usachev proposed a number of new methodologies, including the separation of the author’s text from compilations in Old Russian literature and more precise dating of the works that have previously not been dated.
Andrei Usachev’s work on providing background information for historical materials has great practical implications. He participated in the creation of a popular scientific portal Native History. Andrei Usachev has created a reference resource, Russia in the Middle Ages and Early Modern Times, the most complete electronic guide to medieval Russian history.