Yury Zhdanov – genius of the place (genius loci): Rostov, Don and the North Caucasus

The article highlights the main events of the Rostov period of the life and work of the outstanding organizer of science, socio-political figure and scientist I.A. Zhdanov in the context of the concept of the “genius of the place”. The analysis made it possible to identify, using the example of his biography, common objective and subjective factors, the combination of which makes it possible to transform the individual activity of the genius of the place into positive effects of the city of Rostov-on-Don, the Rostov region, and the North Caucasus region. The key positions of understanding Zhdanov's personality as the genius of the place are considered: regional ideological identification, contribution to the development of the territory, socio-cultural identity, historical reconstruction of the main events. It is shown how the scientific and social activities of Yu.A. Zhdanov contributed to the process of changes in the local Don and North Caucasian communities. An attempt was made to correlate the substantive aspects of the works of the genius of the place and his biography with the basic, fundamental elements of the history and culture of the Don and the North Caucasus. Data collection was carried out through the analysis of scientific periodicals, media materials and publications on social networks, memories of residents and representatives of regional authorities, as well as personal observations of the author.