Contribution of Pyotr Lerch to the Study of the History of Central Asia (Based on Materials from the Archives and Libraries of the Russian Academy of Sciences)

The article is devoted the works and activities of Pyotr Ivanovich Lerch (1828—1884), one of the modest but truly devoted to the real scholarship representatives of Russian academic Oriental studies tradition, whose scholarly contributions are closely connected the Central Asian studies. His name is associated with interesting collections of manuscripts and documents, study and replenishment of numismatic collections, archaeological surveys, philological research and important scholarly events.