VOROB’EV-DESJATOVSKIJ, Vladimir Svjatoslavovič. Tver 3.10.1927 — Leningrad 2.7.1956. Russian Indologist. Son of an official. After the 9th school class joined the army and served in 1944-45 in Romania, Hungary and Czecho­slovakia. Disbanded in 1945 he concluded his school education and studied at the Oriental Faculty of Leningrad University Indology (specially Sanskrit, also Pāli, Tamil, Tibetan and Persian). Wrote his diplom thesis under Barannikov on comparative Indo-Aryan linguistics. Graduated 1951 from Leningrad Oriental Faculty. Kand. filol. nauk 1954. In 1951-56 naučnyj sotrudnik at Oriental Institute, Leningrad (division of Oriental Manuscripts), in 1955-56 (and earlier, even as a student) also taught Sanskrit at University. Married with Margarita Josifovna Vorob’eva-Desjatovskaja.

Vorob’ev-Desjatovskij was a specialist of Sanskrit, Buddhism and Tibetan, interested in lan­guage history, manuscripts, Buddhism, philosophy, history, literature, and history of learning. He restarted the teaching of Tibetan interrupted by the war (and Stalin!) at Leningrad University. During his short life he achieved much.

Publications: At least 20 items, e.g.; kand.diss. Istoričeskoe razvitie ličnyh mestomenij v indoarijskih jazykah. Manuscript of 196 p. Lg. 1954; publ. as Razvitie ličnyh mestomenij v indoarijskih jazykah. 168 p. M.–Lg. 1956.

– Transl. Šudraka. Glinjanaja povozka. Drama v 10 dejstvijah. Lg. 1956 (Mṛcchakaṭika).

– “Drevnjaja Indija”, Očerki istorii Drevnego Vostoka. Lg. 1956, 171-218; “Vnov’ najdennye listy rukopisej Kašjapaparivarty”, RO 21, 1957, 491-500; “O roli substrata v razvitii indoarijskih jazykov”, RO 21, 1957, 501-515; “Pamjatniki central’no-aziatskoj pis’mennosti”, Uč. zap. Inst. Vost.v. 16, 1958, 280-308.

– Edited Central Asian fragments in Sanskrit, Khotanese Saka and Tocharian B; articles on history of Indo-Aryan languages, on H. Lebedev; articles in Bol’šaja sovetskaja ènciklopedija (“Indijskaja paleografija”, “Tibeto-birmanskie jazyki”, “Tibetskaja literatura”, etc.).

– With M. I. Vorob’eva-Desjatovskaja: Skazanie o Bhadre (Novye listy sakskoj rukopisi “E”). Faksimile teksta. Transkritpcija, predisl., vstupit. stat’ja, glossarij pril. 1965.

Sources: *Photo and life in his published diss., photo in Bongard-Levin & Vigasin 1984; *Sov. vostokov. 1956:6, 169f.; *Bongard-Levin & Tëmkin, “Raboty V. S. Vorob’eva-Desjatovskogo i issledovanie buddijskoh tekstov iz kollekcii N. F. Petrovskogo”, Problemy istorii jazykov i kul’tury narodov Indii. M. 1974, 12–19; Miliband 1977, 1995; *G. A. Zograf, Èpigrafika Vostoka 13, 1960, 128-130; *Russian Vikipedija with photo.