ABOUT THE CONTRIBUTION OF THE FORMER DIRECTOR OF BELGOROD AND VORONEZH TEACHERS’ INSTITUTES A.K. DIMITRIU (1857-1925) IN THE BYZANTINE STUDIES
Scientific contribution of the former director of Belgorod and Voronezh Teacher’s Institutes Alexey Konstantinovich Dimitriu (1857-1925) in the Byzantine studies is considered. As a result of the analysis of literature sources the authors show the significance of the works of A.K. Dimitriu dedicated to the Russian contracts with the Greeks and the work of Procopius of Caesarea “The Secret History”, which is still referenced by most prominent scientists - byzantinists and experts on the history of Ancient Russia. The works of well-known researchers on the history of Ancient Russia and Byzantium A.M. Vvedensky, M.B. Sverdlov, A.N. Sakharov, A. Gotlib are studied. Special attention is paid to the fundamental labour of A.K. Dimitriu, published in Odessa in 1894 and dedicated to “The Secret History” of Procopius of Caesarea - the prominent historian of the early Byzantine era. The importance of the above-mentioned works of A.K. Dimitriu, consisting in the fact that in four years after its release, it has been cited in the article of A. Gottlieb “Procopius the Historian”, printed in the Encyclopedic Dictionary of F.A. Brockhaus and I.A. Efron is highlighted. The research of the published studies and archival data shows that the scientific supervisors to A.K. Dimitriu were major byzantinists of that time Professor F.I. Uspensky and E.R. von Stern.