Svetlana Yakovlevna Berzina
7 March 1932
['25 February 1936', '7 June 1921', '26 March 1954', '3 March 1977', '19 December 1874', '22 November 1952', '17 October 1921', '24 April 1920', '6 June 1971', '2 February 1975', '20 December 1978', '22 February 1963', '20 February 1945', '8 June 1962', '20 December 1984', '20 July 1894', '31 August 1892', '12 November 1964', '27 September 1981', '3 June 1921', '7 June 1951', '9 March 1923', '20 June 1994', '1 July 1894', '8 July 1948', '1 August 1950', '30 April 1944', '18 August 1952', '16 October 1884', '12 August 1943', '16 December 1988', '28 January 1990', '10 January 1934', '7 October 1938', '12 June 1912', '15 June 1989', '11 August 1934', '14 March 1956', '1 August 1902', '30 January 1986', '3 October 1867', '5 March 1963', '10 May 1982', '1 December 1844', '29 January 1909', '21 February 1974', '22 September 1911', '6 October 1937', '14 April 1951', '6 November 1896', '2 February 1943', '10 December 1953', '20 May 1964', '17 February 1949', '3 September 1994', '15 August 1975', '23 March 1897', '27 May 1928', '17 September 1885', '21 June 1936', '12 June 1996', '25 January 1895', '19 June 1906', '19 November 1993', '28 February 1921', '6 October 1988', '3 February 1964', '2 May 1922', '30 December 1943', '4 October 1937', '24 November 1919', '22 December 1937', '10 April 1944', '10 February 1926', '5 October 1980', '8 December 1994', '29 July 1906', '20 May 1938', '22 October 1975', '12 November 1982', '15 May 1930', '1 November 1925', '21 October 1903', '28 March 1968', '27 September 1941', '23 March 1947', '13 August 1953', '31 October 1925', '14 December 1935', '21 September 1922', '24 September 1959', '5 June 1922', '8 September 1907', '23 January 1978', '2 August 1991', '29 May 1909', '28 May 1946', '3 February 1881', '22 January 1967']
Svetlana Yakovlevna Berzina
Svetlana Yakovlevna Berzina (Russian: Светлана Яковлевна Берзина), (7 March 1932, in Moscow – 24 April 2012, in Moscow) was an important Russian Egyptologist. A doctor nauk of history (1977), she was a member of the board of the USSR-ARE Society (1987), was awarded the Medal "In Commemoration of the 850th Anniversary of Moscow" (1997), Honoured Worker of the Russian Federation (1999), Chief Research Officer of the Department of the History of Material Culture and Ancient Art of the East at the State Museum of the East, Moscow. She studied history in the archaeology department of Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv (1949-1954). From 1954, she worked as research staff at the Kerch Archaeological Museum. From 1960 to 1981 she worked in the Asian and African division of the Central Library of the scholarly foundation AN USSR (ФБОН-ИНИОН АН СССР) in Moscow. During this period she studied full-time at the graduate institute of Eastern Languages at Moscow State University under M. V. Lomonosov (in what is now the MSU The Institute of Asian and African Studies) in the Africanist department. From 1965 to 1970, she worked in this department. In 1970, she defended her thesis, entitled Предпосылки образования Древней Ганы (Background of Education in Ancient Ghana). In 1977, she started to work towards the degree of doctor nauk in history in the department of the Ancient Near East in the Institute of Oriental Studies of the USSR Academy of Sciences and she successfully achieved it in 1979 with a work entitled Мероэ и окружающий мир. I—VIII вв (Meroe and the Surrounding World. 1st-8th Centuries AD). From 1981 she was employed by the State Museum of the East, Moscow. Berzina was acknowledged as a specialist in the history and culture of Ancient Meroe and was inevitably involved in international conferences on Meroitic research. Her central area of interest was the role of art in contacts between ancient and eastern civilizations. For over 15 years, Berzina was custodian of the foundation Геммы, печати и буллы Востока (Gems, Seals and Bullae of the East). She worked on the attribution of items of African art which came into the museum, a significant portion of the collection which was enriched by her active work with private collectors. In the museum's African collection, she prepared a comprehensive catalogue for publication, Оружие и художественный металл Тропической Африки в собрании Государственного музея Востока (Weapons and Artistic Metalwork of Sub-Saharan Africa in the Collections of the State Museum of the East). Berzina published more than 150 scholarly works, including two monographs. Berzina was constantly involved in the exhibitions of the Museum of the East and several exhibitions were prepared by her, including: Пирамиды вечности (Pyramids of Eternity), Древние геммы и камни Востока (Ancient Gems and Stones of the East), Образы Тропической Африки (Imagery of Tropical Africa), Христианство на Золотом роге (Christianity in the Golden Horn).