Alexander N. Garkavec

Biographical information:

Was born October 19, 1947 on Ukraine in Svetly Luch village, Starobeshev region, Donetsk area in the family of Nikolay Alekseevich Garkavets, agriculturist, and Daria Aleksandrovna Garkavets (Vazhinskaya), teacher. Ukrainian.

In 1970 has ended the Ukrainian language and literature branch of the philology faculty of the Kharkiv State University.
In 1975 in Institute of Oriental Studies of the Academy of Sciences of the USSR (Moscow) has defended the dissertation on competition of a scientific degree of the Candidate of Philology on the "Turkic languages" based on the Qypchaq monuments from Kamenets-Podolsky XVI-XVII centuries, written by Armenian script.
In 1987 in Institute of linguistics of the Academy of Sciences of the USSR (Moscow) has defended the dissertation on competition of a scientific degree of the Doctor of Philology on the "Turkic languages" on material of Armeno-Qypchaq and Urum languages.
In 1988-1989 years under the request of the Ministry of Public Education of Ukraine has prepared four manuals on Crimean Tatar language for 7 and 8 classes and together with Shevket Asanov and Seyran Useinov - the Crimean Tatar-Russian dictionary for the Crimean Tatars who were coming back home after 44 years of deportation.
Since 1988 actively participated in programs on development Kazakh and other languages of Kazakhstan peoples and has made Bill of Kazakh SSR "About languages in Kazakh SSR". 
Since 1994 until 2000 (before the edition was transferred of from Almaty to Astana) edited the Kazakhstan republican governmental newspaper "Ukrainian News".
All these years studied Turkic languages scrupulously, wrote down oral speech, collected folklore and written monuments, especially Qypchaq, and due to the publication of the researches has brought in the essential contribution to Armeno-Qypchaqology and Crimean Tatar linguistics. His fundamental works on language and folklore of Urums - Turkic speaking Greeks of Northern Azovia (Mariupol region) has put in pawn strong scientific bases of Urumistics.

Labour activity:

The pupil of the mechanic, the mechanic of the Kharkiv Turbine Factory (1964-1965), the proofreader, the translator, the journalist of the "Socialistic Kharkivshchyna" newspaper (1970-1971), the editor of Publishing House of the Kharkiv University in (1971-1972), the post-graduate student of Institute of Oriental Studies of the Academy of Sciences of the USSR and of the Institute of Linguistics of the Academy of Sciences of Ukraine (1972-1975), the younger, senior research officer of Institute of Linguistics of the Academy of Sciences of Ukraine (1975-1988), simultaneously taught at the Kiev State University (1978-1981, 1984-1985); the head of a department of Russian and sociolinguistics (interaction of languages) of the Institute of Linguistics of the Academy of Sciences of Kazakhstan (1988-1992); vice-president, the director on science and culture of the Kaznatcultfound (1992-1994); the editor-in-chief of the newspaper of Cabinet RK "Ukrainian News" (1994-2000); the deputy of Supreme Soviet (Parliament) of Kazakhstan - the deputy chairman of Committee on culture, mass media and public organizations (1994-1995); the director of the Center for Eurasian Studies "Desht-i-Qypchaq" (since 2000); the chief research officer of the Kazakh State Juridical Academy (since 2001); the head of the History department of the Central State Museum of Kazakhstan (2001); the chief scientific officer of the History and Anthropology Institute of the Academy of Sciences of Kazakhstan (since 2001) and the International Qypchaqology Institute (since 2001).

The basic directions of researches:

Ancient and modern Qypchaq languages - Quun-Cuman-Qypchaq-Polovets, Armenian-Qypchaq, Urum, Crimean Tatar languages, folklore and written monuments; development of Turkic languages, in particular Kazakh, in conditions of their interaction with other languages; language contacts, language policy and language planning; development of the modern Crimean Tatar language, reforming Crimean Tatar script.

Public work:

The chairman of the Ukrainian Cultural Centre in Almaty (1989-2000); since 1992 - a member of the National Council for State Policy under the President of Kazakhstan; since 1994 - a member of the Commission on Human Rights under the President of Kazakhstan, in 1995-2000 - a member of Council of Kazakhstan Peoples Assembly, 1992-2000 - a member of the Ukrainian World Coordination Council (UWCC), in 1997-2000 - vice-president of the UWCC, etc.