Tatarstan Academy of Sciences

On behalf of the Embassy of the Russian Federation in the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, guests and participants of the conference were welcomed by the adviser of the Embassy for Information, Press and Culture Konstantin Shlykov.

With a welcoming speech the deputy mayor of Oxford, Ray Hamberstone said: "Apart from the fragmentary facts about the Tatars that I learned from my trips to Perm and Ufa, I do not know much about the history of this proud and distinct people. Oxford usually goes for knowledge and  it's interesting that today I'm here to learn from you".

Oxford University was represented by a British historian, an expert on early medieval Russia, the Caucasus and Byzantium, Professor Jonathan Shepard. Professor Shepard is recognized by the world academic community as the leading authority on Byzantine studies and the history of Kievan Rus.

"I experienced mixed feelings of shock, awe and envy when I received an invitation to participate in this conference. Shock and trembling, because today there are scientists here whose works occupy a place of honor in my personal library. Envy is explained by the fact that the researchers of the Golden Horde have a rich base of historical materials, whereas the base of the subject of my research does not provide a large number of artifacts", -  Professor Shepard noted modestly.

Director of the Sh. Mardzhani Institute of History, vice-president of the Tatarstan Sciences Academy, chief editor of the  "History of the Tatars" volume and the popular monograph "The Golden Horde in World History,"doctor of historical sciences Rafael Khakimov said in his welcoming speech: "A lot of myths and legends are circulating around the history of the Golden Horde and Tatars in Russia and Europe, which represent the Tatars as a barbaric people. Nowadays, there are historians who objectively represent the history of the Golden Horde and demythologize the history of the Tatars".

R. Khakimov also emphasized the international level of published scientific works. The authors of seven volumes of the "History of the Tatars" are more than 200 best scientists from all over the world. And the monograph "The Golden Horde in World History" is the result of the joint work of the researchers of the Sh. Mardzhani Institute of History of the Tatarstan Academy of Sciences, the Institute of Russian History of the Russian Academy of Sciences and Oxford University. Now these works are also available in English at the Bodleian Library of Oxford University. The ceremony of transferring the first copy of the seven-volume "History of the Tatars" and the monograph "The Golden Horde in World History", first published in English, took place on April 7.