Vyach. Vsev. Ivanov as an Indo-Europeanist

This year the scholars in Russia and many other parts of the word celebrate the ninetieth anniversary of Vyacheslav Vsevolodovich Ivanov (1929-2017), a polymath, organizer of science and eminent representative of Russian intelligentsia, who became a moral compass for many of his contemporaries. There are few specialists in the world who are qualified to fully appreciate the academic heritage of the honorand in all respects. The goal of the present essay is to outline his impact on Indo-European Studies and, to some extent, the adjacent fields. In this particular case, however, it is hardly possible to draw a strict line of separation between the academic activities of the honorand and external circumstances that influenced his life. Therefore, we shall also be paying attention to those cultural and political events that arguably helped or impeded the realization of his talent.