To Valery Valentinovich Nikitin’s 75th anniversary

Valery Valentinovich Nikitin, a renowned Russian archaeologist and prominent researcher of ancient history of the Volga-Kama region, Doctor of Historical Sciences, celebrated his 75th anniversary on the 17 of February. Basic trends and stages of his long-standing scientific activity are reflected in the article. He started his career at the Mari Scientific Local Lore Museum (1968-1971). In 1971, V.V. Nikitin joined the Mari Institute of Linguistic, Literary and Historical Studies named after V.M. Vasilyev, where he has been working for over 40 years. His publications are devoted to varied problems of archaeology of the Stone and Early Metal Age, ranging from Upper Paleolithic to Eneolithic. Starting 1993, V.V. Nikitin has headed Mari Archaeological Expedition, studied tens of ancient settlements, discovered over 500 monuments, and authored the archaeological map of the Republic of Marii El (2009). His versatile scientific activity has been marked by a number of distinctions and the title of Honored Scientist of the Republic of Mari El.