Southern Urals Archaeology at the Turn of Millennia, Historical Epochs and Natural Zones (dedicated to V.V. Ovsyannikov's 60th Anniversary)

October 2025 features the 60th anniversary of V.V. Ovsyannikov – a Candidate of History, Head of the Department for Archaeological Research at the Institute of History, Language and Literature under RAS Ufa Research Center. Dr. Ovsyannikov started his career in archaeology in the 1980s at the archaeological laboratory of the Bashkir State University. His works were mainly associated with commercial agreement research relevant for the Ishtugan water reservoir site in the Southern Urals mountain forests. In the early 1990s V.V. Ovsyannikov was employed by the Archaeology Department at the Bashkir Research Center under the Ural Branch of the USSR Academy of Sciences. He has been working there ever since having come a long way to become the Head of the Archaeology Department. He is a leader or a participant of a wide range of large projects. Certain projects are exclusively scientific, however, some of them have a more practical nature. He has studied surroundings of the Kapova (Shulgan-Tash) Cave, developed Toratau Geopark, continued surveys in the Southern Transurals mountain steppe etc. The main area of research of V.V. Ovsyannikov is the Early Iron Age with the focus on the Kara-Abyz and Pyany Bor cultures, the Migration Period and the Early Middle Ages (Bakhmutino, Imendyashevo, Turbasly, Kushnarenkovo and Kara-Yakupovo cultures and the Imenkovo footprint). He is dedicated to the military and armaments of the Urals forest steppe people. Besides, Dr. Ovsyannikov expands his interest over the Golden Horde and the Modern Times monuments. The suggested review reveals how significant research results can be attained despite the limited resources thanks to outside-the-box approach to issues.