Andrey Mikhailovich Belavin, archaeologist and master of organization

Abstract

Andrey Mikhailovich Belavin is a famous Russian archaeologist who left a bright mark in the history of the Perm region both as a scientist and as a talented organizer. He was the founder of the School of Young Archaeologists and the Scientific Society of Students at the Perm City Palace of Pioneers; he created the Kama Archaeological and Ethnographic Expedition at the Perm State
Humanitarian Pedagogical University, on the basis of which the Perm scientific archaeological school was formed under his leadership at the beginning of the 21st century; he stood at the origins of the first humanitarian academic institution in the Perm region. He founded a number of periodicals that published the results of the latest research in the field of archeology. The scientific concepts he developed radically changed the ideas about the medieval era in the Perm region. Among these concepts, the most important are the localization in the Perm Cis-Urals of the country and people of Visu and Chulyman, known from written sources, the identification of the Kama trade route as a branch of the Great Volga Route, ideas about the relationship with Volga Bulgaria, trade and craft trading posts and the early urbanization of the Kama region, about the commercial production of copper and alloys based on it, and much more.