On the 23 and 24 of January, 2025, two events with the historian, Islamologist, a doctor of philosophy Alfrid Kashafovich Bustanov were held in Saint Petersburg.
The first meeting under the title of «The Aesthetics of Knowledge: the Poetry of Tatar ‘Ulama in the XVIII-XX Centuries» took place at the Russian National Library. The opening ceremony was held by the chief of the Center of Oriental Studies of the Russian National Library Olga Mikhailovna Yastrebova. Alfrid Bustanov shared the results of his new research work in the area of Tatar poetry. He told how he decided to study this geanre while researching Muslim subjectiveness and identity in the Russian Empire and the Soviet Union.
The second meeting called «What Are Tatar Manuscripts Speaking and Silent About» was arranged as a performance at the Library of National Literatures. A.K. Bustanov presented Tatar manuscripts and spoke on his experience of working with manuscript heritage. While drinking tea with Tatar sweets with the guests of the event, he spoke on the Tatar literature in Farsi, on Tatar traditional manuscripts and on his own travelling in order to search such manuscripts, etc.
Alfrid Bustanov underlined the importance of holding such interactive events with the participation of the auditory thus acquainting them with live texts.
The events were held in the framework of the cooperation between Ibn Sina Foundation and the Russian National Library with the participation of the Center of Oriental Studies of the Russian National Library.
