Arbatov Georgiy Arkadievich (1923-2010)

On October 1, 2010, Georgy Arbatov, our first director, founder of the Institute of the USA and Canada, died. He was an outstanding international expert who played a huge role in the development of Russian political science, the founder of scientific American studies. This is a huge loss for our country and domestic science. Georgy Arkadevich is a whole epoch in the history of the Institute and all those who knew him closely. He was not only a courageous, brave man, who at the age of 18 joined the defenders of the Fatherland, a military officer – an order officer and a veteran of the Guards mortar artillery. He was one of the most educated people of his time, an outstanding thinker, a pioneer of new and unexplored ways in politics. Without Arbatov it is impossible to imagine a Soviet-American detente, a warming of the international climate, new political thinking, the emergence of new relations between Russia and the United States. Without Arbatov, there would be no end to the cold war, a beneficial change in world politics, a lasting peace on earth. He was not just an active participant in all the positive changes that have taken place in the world and in our country in recent decades. Often he was their initiator, the one who offered world leaders new approaches to security and prosperity and actively defended them. The country and people highly appreciated the activities of George Arkadyevich. He was a full member of the Russian Academy of Sciences and a number of other academies, a Knight of the USSR, the Russian Federation and foreign countries, a member of countless councils, committees and commissions. He wrote many good and memorable books, managed to convey to people his love of peace, hatred of violence and lies, to bring up a whole galaxy of outstanding scientists and political figures of the country. He was very fond of his family, his homeland, his friends and students. He is well known in our country and abroad. Without exaggeration, we can say that the Arbatov and his associates in many ways have changed life on earth for the better. We all mourn. We deeply sympathize with his family and friends, his friends and associates, who are still many in our country, and share their grief. The loss is heavy and irretrievable.