Preface to Bhagavadgītā-rahasya / Translation from English, Introductory Article and Commentaries by D. Burba

Abstract

Yuriy Kochubey, the diplomat and philologist, the historian and culturologist, the famous Ukrainian Orientalist, was born in Poltava on July 09, 1932. His life trajectory is wondrous and enticing. Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary Ambassador of Ukraine to France, Deputy Director-General of UNESCO organization, deputy minister of foreign affairs of the Ukrainian SSR, teacher and writer -the list goes on and on.Yuriy Kochubey has been working in the A. Yu. Krymsky Institute of Oriental Studies of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine for the last 20 years. During this time he has proved himself as a talented manager and an outstanding researcher. He has published several monographs and dozens of articles dedicated to Arabic studies and the history of Oriental Studies in Ukraine and abroad. Moreover, he has made a major contribution to the development of the journal The World of the Orient (Shìdnij svìt), where he has been an editor-in-chief for 10 years. Due to his efforts the Institute has received UNESCO's support for conducting publishing and conference activities. Yuriy Kochubey was also the head of the Institute's scientific seminar during a long period of time. He is the member of the Scientific Council of the Institute, as well as the member of editorial boards of numerous scientific publications.Over the period of a long-term service Yuriy Kochubey has preserved his, probably, most prominent quality -to be a great human being. Flamboyant and noble, always surrounded by young people with whom he manages to share his life's experience and creative knowledge, Yuriy Kochubey has become the symbol of the modern Ukrainian diplomatic corps.