Russian Indology suffered a heavy loss. On November 8, 2015, the orientalist and ethnographer Elena Nikolaevna Uspenskaya died in Yelabuga after a long and serious illness.

E. N. Uspenskaya (nee Grigorieva) was born on September 14, 1957 in the village of Aktanysh, Tatar ASSR, where her father worked as the director of a local school. Her parents belonged to a small ethnic group of Kryashen. E. N. Uspenskaya was fluent in Tatar from childhood, and already in her early years she developed an interest in studying different languages, cultures and peoples.

After graduating from high school in Yelabuga, where her family moved in 1962, E. N. Uspenskaya in 1975 entered the Eastern Faculty of Leningrad State University in the department of "History of India". Her teacher was Yu. V. Petchenko. While studying at LSU, Elena Uspenskaya completed a ten-month language internship in India, which she used productively to get acquainted with the culture of all regions of the country. In 1981, she graduated with honors from Leningrad State University, and the following year entered the postgraduate program of the Leningrad branch of the N. N. Miklukho-Maklay Institute of Ethnography of the USSR Academy of Sciences. Her research supervisor was M. K. Kudryavtsev. In 1986, E. N. Uspenskaya defended her thesis for the degree of Candidate of Historical Sciences on the topic "Ethnic composition of the population of the Himalayan regions of Northern India".

From 1985 until her untimely death, E. N. Uspenskaya worked in the Leningrad part of the N. N. Miklukho-Maklay Institute of Anthropology and Ethnography (since 1992 - the Museum of Anthropology and Ethnography named after N. N. Miklukho-Maklay). Peter the Great (Kunstkamera) of the Russian Academy of Sciences) in various structural divisions, having worked his way up from a junior to a leading researcher. She has always been distinguished by an exceptionally conscientious attitude to any task assigned to her. And Elena Uspenskaya understood a variety of topics and subjects related to both the material and spiritual culture of India.

E. N. Uspenskaya devoted a lot of time and effort to museum work. She was one of the co-authors of the permanent exhibition of the Indian Kunstkamera, which was completely renovated in 1997-1998. In 2001, with her active participation, a wonderful exhibition "India in Dolls"was opened. For several years, she worked as a responsible curator of the illustrative Fund for the Department of South Asia of the MAHE RAS, conducted work on reconciliation and registration of museum objects. E. N. Uspenskaya perfectly performed all types of museum work - processing and attribution of collections, selection of exhibits and writing text materials, preparation and holding of exhibitions, classes at the exposition with guides, etc. etc.

Elena Uspenskaya paid a lot of attention to the study of traditional crafts, participating in scientific conferences and practical master classes held jointly with other specialized institutions of St. Petersburg. She was one of the leaders of the Textile Seminar and scientific seminar "Traditional crafts of the peoples of the world" held at MAHE RAS.

E. N. Uspenskaya conducted research on a whole range of topical issues of Indian ethnography, showing particular interest in social anthropology, as evidenced by her numerous publications. In total, she has published more than a hundred works, including a number of monographs. In 2003, her monograph " Rajputs: Traditional Society. Statehood. Culture" (St. Petersburg: MAE RAS, 2003). The nature and forms of organization of Indian traditional society, which is made up of Rajputs, the dharma of Kshatriya Rajputs, the peculiarities of life and other aspects of Rajput culture are considered in the book based on the study of Rajput literature, historical and ethnographic sources.

A little earlier, in 2000, a popular science, richly illustrated book called "Rajputs: Knights of Medieval India" was published (St. Petersburg: Eurasia, 2000, 381 p), in which E. N. Uspenskaya gave an essay on Rajput history and culture in the context of Indian history. This study focuses on the ethno-caste community of Rajputs, considered in medieval India to be the heirs of the Vedic varna of the Kshatriyas. The history of the arrival of the conquerors, their adoption of Hinduism and their inclusion in the caste system of India is presented in the time frame from the fifth to the seventeenth centuries. Significant attention is paid to the cultural history of the Rajputs: literature, painting, architecture and military affairs, as well as the customs and customs of everyday life.

In 2007, E. N. Uspenskaya's book Sikhism (St. Petersburg: Petersburg Oriental Studies; ABC) was published together with I. Y. Kotin, the first special monograph in Russian devoted to this religion in India. The book received a wide readership.

In 2010 Elena Nikolaevna defended her dissertation for the degree of Doctor of Historical Sciences on the topic "Ethno-caste communities in the context of the formation and functioning of the Indian traditional social organization". In the same year, 2010, the main scientific work of E. N. Uspenskaya was published - the monograph " Anthropology of the Indian caste "(St. Petersburg: Science). It presents an original concept of the formation, functioning and reproduction of the traditional Jati organization (called in the European tradition by the Portuguese word "caste").

In recent years, E. N. Uspenskaya actively developed the concept of "Sanskritization", developing the provisions of the Indian sociologist M. N. Srinivas and introducing new ideas to this concept. E. N. Uspenskaya's articles on the problems of Sanskritization are published in leading Russian journals of Oriental and ethnographic orientation. Elena Nikolaevna successfully collaborated with the Great Russian Encyclopedia and other encyclopedic and reference publications.

E. N. Uspenskaya's acquaintance with the cultures of the East was not limited to India. She has been to China, and in 1996-1997 worked as a visiting researcher at the Institute of Asian and African Studies at the Tokyo University of Foreign Languages in Japan. Her knowledge of the East prompted her to study the functioning of traditional social collectives, to find out their configurations and connections. She was well aware that in the era of mass migrations from the East, which are observed today, the study of traditional Eastern societies is of paramount importance. Unfortunately, her untimely death prevented her from translating many of her ideas into books, articles, and reports.

Elena Uspenskaya had a unique gift as a lecturer and storyteller, the ability to clearly explain even the most complex special subjects to the audience. Therefore, she has always been in demand as a high school teacher. At the Saint Petersburg State Uni-

At the University, she taught the courses "Ethnography of India", "Theory of Caste Society", "Ethnography of Indian caste Society", and the special course "India-Southeast Asia: the Connection of cultures".

E. N. Uspenskaya enjoyed a well-deserved reputation among her colleagues-ethnographers and indologists. In 2013-2015, Elena Uspenskaya was a member of the Presidium of the Association of Ethnologists and Anthropologists of Russia.

The life of E. N. Uspenskaya ended when she was in the prime of her creative powers, was full of ideas and ideas. So, she wanted to apply her understanding of the caste system to the analysis of social processes taking place in modern Russian society. Unfortunately, this and many other plans of hers were not to be realized. However, her good deeds and scientific works will remain in the memory of colleagues and students and inspire new researchers to study the great culture of India.

We offer our condolences to the family and friends of Elena Nikolaevna and her colleagues.

MAE RAS staff (Kunstkamera)

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