Corresponding Member of the RAS Zhan T. Toshchenko Is Turning 90: The Next Stage Towards Achieving New Horizons

The authors have timed this article to coincide with the upcoming 90th anniversary of Zhan T.Toshchenko, a major Soviet and Russian sociologist, Corresponding Member of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Doctor of Philosophy, Professor, Academic Supervisor of the Faculty of Sociology of the Russian State University for the Humanities, Chief Researcher at the Institute of Sociology of the FCTAS RAS, founder of the school of the sociology of life, the author and co-author of more than 920 research and academic works. Within the framework of the anniversary article, we mention the milestones of the life of the scholar and note, in particular, his personal views and beliefs. The authors also retrace his career development and difficulties that stood in his way and required him to make a number of specific decisions. Meanwhile, in the process of becoming a researcher (let us recall initially a historian), Zhan T.Toshchenko had to more and more master new scientific disciplines that together made it possible to look at the issues being studied from a completely different angle, to think big and, one might even say, to go beyond the generally accepted frameworks of specific concepts. Not the least role in this has been played by those people of science (teachers, tutors, colleagues) whom he has met on this long and thorny path and of whom he has warm and friendly memories. While working on this article, we used previously published materials from colleagues and fellows in sociology (in particular, numerous interviews conducted with ZhanT.Toshchenko in different years). First of all, our analysis has shown that his biography includes paradoxical events. It would be suffice to mention his departure to a construction site in Krasnoyarsk Krai. Or another striking example deserves a special mention: being considered for the position of the Rector of Krasnoyarsk University, he chose to become a scholar in a research department at the Academy of Social Sciences under the CPSU Central Committee. In short, he went his own way, looking for extraordinary challenges that required not only research approaches, but also the practical application of a range of organizational (managerial) measures. ZhanT.Toshchenko, together with A.G.Egorov, V.V.Ryabov, V. N.Ivanov, N.N.Slyunkov, P.N.Fedoseev, T.I.Zaslavskaya and other major Soviet researchers, thoroughly prepared a number of proposals that later helped to recognize the role of sociology in the development of the Soviet society. We believe that this article may be of great interest not only for sociologists, but also for representatives of other sciences.