Volodymyr Minorskyi’s collection of letters and photos from Iran at fonds of Institute of Manuscript of V. I. Vernadskyi National Library of Ukraine

The aim of the work is to review the results of the search, study, systematization as well as prospects of publishing the collection of letters between Ahatanhel Krymskyi and Volodymyr Minorskyi. The research methodology is based on the combination of such methods of historical research, as comparative, chronological, bibliographic, archival, as well as source study. The scientific novelty of the work is that such archival documents as letters are analyzed and put into scientific circulation for the first time, because the life and academic legacy of the outstanding representatives of the classical Oriental studies – Ahatanhel Krymskyi (1871–1942), and his student, Volodymyr Minorskyi (1877–1966), reflect not only the personal events in their biographies but also landmarks in the history of the research of the Islamic East from all over the world. During the time, when they visited Russia, Ukraine, Iran, France and Britain, the two researchers held correspondence with each other. The letters, written by Volodymyr Minorskyi during his diplomatic work in Persia, require specific attention. The Institute of Manuscript of the V. I. Vernadskyi National Library of Ukraine contains a collection of letters from Volodymyr Minorskyi to Ahatanhel Krymskyi (fond XXXVI). It includes 23 letters, which were written during the period from 1904 to 1911. Fond I also contains 16 postcards and photos, which Minorskyi sent to Krymskyi from the East (Persepolis, Tabriz, Agra, Makkah). It is not known, how these photos were taken. It is likely, that Volodymyr Minorskyi sent them to his brother Mykola, who later became a marine officer and famous scholar. Several letters, addressed to Koka (Mykola), can also be found in Fond I. These letters from Maku and Tabriz (1905) were typewritten. Volodymyr Minorskyi discribed his visits to Kurdistan in details on 28 pages. Later Krymskyi got the letters and photos and they were preserved in his archive. In his letters from Persia Volodymyr Minorskyi describes various aspects of the diplomatic work, his trips to Iran and Kurdistan, his colleagues at the mission and people, he met. Conclusions. The correspondence carried out between a teacher and a student, keeps the warmth of their relationship. Studying and publishing the collection of letters between them will open new horizons in the Oriental studies.