A well-known Russian scientist was engaged in the study of money circulation in Russia of the 17th century, the history of the Vologda region and the diplomatic service. Alexander Vladimirovich Bykov is the creator of the country's first private museum dedicated to political history.
early years
Russian historian and ethnographer Bykov Alexander Vladimirovich was born in Vologda on August 10, 1962. After graduating from high school, he entered the Vologda State Pedagogical Institute at the Faculty of History, which he successfully graduated in 1984. In his student years, he collaborated with the Vologda State Historical, Architectural and Art Museum-Reserve, at that time the Vologda Museum of Local Lore.
In the same years, Alexander Vladimirovich Bykov became interested in the history of coins and money circulation, took part in the work of the State Historical Museum, its Problem Council for Numismatics. The results of painstaking research work were collected in several published scientific articles in allied and local scientific collections.
The first of these was an article in the local regional newspaper "Red North" published in February 1981 - about a large treasure of copper coins found near the regional center. The work carefully analyzes the composition of the peasant treasure of the times of Catherine II, examines the issues of money circulation of the XVIII century. According to the publication, a movie was shot, which entered the television magazine and was shown in many cinemas of the Soviet Union. At the same time, he studied coins from treasures of the XVI-XVIII centuries, exhibited in local museums.
The beginning of a career
The career biography of Alexander Vladimirovich Bykov began at the school, where he worked for a short time after graduation. Then he was called up for military service in the army. After demobilization, he began working at the Vologda Museum of Local Lore, where he was invited to work as a methodologist for public museums.
On duty, he had to travel on numerous business trips in almost all areas of the Vologda Oblast. Thanks to his efforts to preserve the local material heritage and the great scientific and methodological work, it became possible to organize new and reconstruct old museums in five districts of this northern region of the country.
Based on the results of ethnographic trips, the popular science book "Folk Costume of the Kadnikovsky County of the Vologda Province of the 19th - Early 20th Centuries" was written and published.
In public service
Since 1982, he regularly participates in numismatic conferences and almost always gives interesting reports at them. In subsequent years, according to the analysis of museum collections, two scientific catalogs were published in the series “Monuments of Numismatics in Museums of the Vologda Region” - “Treasures of the 30-40s of the 17th century” and “Treasures of the Time of Troubles”. The scientific views and principled position of the Vologda historian on some issues of numismatics are becoming widely known among specialists.
In 1989, Russian historian Alexander Vladimirovich Bykov was invited to work in the Department of Culture of the regional administration. Working as a leading specialist in historical and cultural heritage, he did not give many historical monuments to the church if he was not sure that they would be provided with proper care and preservation. For example, he managed to save the 15th century icon “Zyryansk Trinity” in the regional museum, which he wanted to transfer to the Komi Republic.
On free bread
In the 90s, although he continues to actively engage in science, dramatic changes are taking place in the biography of Alexander Vladimirovich Bykov. Bykov leaves the civil service and begins to engage in entrepreneurial activity. In 1993, Alexander Vladimirovich Bykov holds the First Russian Numismatic Exhibition in his hometown, which began to be further held annually.
He defended his PhD thesis on his favorite topic - money circulation in the 17th century in the Russian north in 1994. In the same year, the Vologda scientist begins to publish at his own expense the International numismatic almanac "Moneta", which he himself edits. In those years, it was the only scientific publication dedicated to numismatics, however, only 8 almanacs were released.
Museum opening
In 1995, James Billington, Director of the Library of Congress, visited Vologda, who told Bykov that in 1918 the American Embassy was located in Puzan-Puzyrevsky’s house and proposed creating a stand telling about it. After a while, a large parcel of materials and books came to him from the USA. He then received an American research grant in St. Louis, home of Ambassador David Francis, who led the mission in Vologda. From a business trip, he brought many copies of documents, photographs and memorabilia. The exhibition opened in July 1997.
Then, after inspecting the exposition, the French ambassador asked a question - where about our country? After Bykov’s work, materials appeared on the next stand in the French diplomatic archive. As a result, he organizes the first private Russian Museum of the diplomatic corps. It was closed in 2012 after the premises were taken from the museum.
