Vasiltsov Konstantin

Research fellow of the Department of Central Asia, Peter the Great Museum of anthropology and ethnography (Kunstkamera) Russian Academy of Science.

Research interests:

• History of  Islamic intellectual tradition in Iran and Central Asia: philosophy (falsafa / hikma),
• Islamic mysticism (tasawwuf), Islamic astrology (‘ilm al-nujum) shi’ite religious and philosophical doctrines (imamiyya, isma'iliyya);
• religious beliefs and ritual practices of the people of Badakhshan;
• Islamic hagiographical tradition in Iran and Central Asia;
• folk religion and the religious folklore of the peoples of Iran and Central Asia.

Training:

• 1995-2001 St. Petersburg State University, Faculty of Oriental Studies, Department of History of Central Asia and the Caucasus.
• 2001-2004 St. Petersburg State University, Faculty of Oriental Studies, Department of History of the Middle East, Ph.D. (2009)

Languages:

• Persian (written and spoken)
• Tajik (written and spoken)
• Turkish (written)
• Arabic (written)
• English (written and spoken)
• German (written)
• French (written)

Positions

• Since 2004 Research Fellow of the Department of Central Asia Museum of Anthropology and Ethnography (“Kunstkamera”) Russian Academy of Science.
• Since 2009 Research Fellow of the Department of Central Asia Museum of Anthropology and Ethnography (“Kunstkamera”) Russian Academy of Science.
• Since 2007 Member of Anthropological field-research expedition of the Department of Central Asia
• 2012 the Head of the field-research project “Islamic Hagiographical legends of Central Asia (Tajikistan, Uzbekistan)”.
• 2014 the Head of the field-research project “The Expedition of Ivan Zarubin: 100 years later” dedicated to the 100-anniversary of the first Russian Expedition to Badahkshan.

Invited talks:

• Ivan Zarubin and the Origin of Pamirian Studies in Russia. Institute of Ismaili Studies (London, UK), 7^th of October, 2013.

Selected publications:

• Vasiltsov K. Afdal al-din Kashani and his Treaties The Book of the Everlasting // Manuscripta Orientalia. Saint-Petersburg, 2005. Vol. 11, No. 1. Р. 3-19.
• Vasiltsov K. Color in the mystical visions of Najm al-Din al-Razi // Central Asia: Tradition and Change. Saint-Petersburg, 2007. P. 373-402.
• Vasiltsov K. The terms nafs and ruh in medieval Islamic tradition // Vestnik St. Petersburg University. 2008. Issue 6, vol. 2. P. 150-159.
• Vasiltsov K. Some considerations on the ontology of Afdal al-Din Kashani // Rahmat-namah: A Collection of papers in honour of Rahmat Rahimov 70^th birthday. Saint-Petersburg, 2008. P. 80-97.
• Vasiltsov K. The Fall of Adam in Isma‘ili (Nizari) Tradition // Radlovskie sbornik. Saint-Petersburg, 2010. P. 89-93.
• Vasiltsov K. Some remarks on the philosophical poetry of Baba Afdal Kashani // Iran-nama, no. 1 (17). Almaty, 2011. P. 159-171.
• Vasiltsov K. Places of worship of the Western Pamirs // Central Asia: Tradition and Change. Issue 3. Saint-Petersburg, 2012. P. 205-243.
• Vasiltsov K. Sacred Mountains and Sacred Stones: Legends of Islamic awliya’ in Badakhshan // Pax Islamica, 2013. 1(10). P. 123-137.
• Vasiltsov K. The Shi‘ites of Central Asia // Orta Asya‘da Islam: Temsilden Fobiye (Islam in Central Asia: From Representation to Phobia. 2013. P. 1167-1207.
• Vasiltsov K. On the history of Isma‘ili dawa in Badakhshan // Tajiks: History, Culture, Society. Saint-Petersburg, 2014. P. 190-210.
• Vasiltsov K. ‘Ilm-i nujum in the system of traditional knowledge of the people of Badakhshan: on the determining of lucky and unlucky days (based on the treatise Kitab-i nujum by Ghiyath al-Din ‘Ali Isfahani). Radlovskie sbornik. Saint-Petersburg, 2014. P. 194-210.
• Vasiltsov K.  Mountain Goat in the mythology and religious beliefs of the people of Western Pamirs // Bestiary. Issue 3. Saint-Petersburg, 2014. P. 152-169.
• Vasiltsov K. Chosen by God: the Conception of Sainthood (walaya) and Saint (wali) in the writings of  al-Hakim al-Timidhi and Shi‘ite tradition |// Islamovedenie (Journal of Islamic Studies), no. 4, 2018. P. 53-64.
• Vasiltsov K. In the Labirints of meanings: Sufism, Neo-sufism, New Age // Islam in Modern World, no. 3, 2018. P. 197-214.
• Kalandarov T., Vasiltsov K. The P. A Tale of the Sacred Places of Kuhistan (being a translation of a Persian manuscript Hikayat-i mazarha-yi Kuhistan) // Religiovedenie (The Journal of Religious Studies), vol. 3, 2020. P. 120-129.
• Vasiltsov K. Dar al-Islam/Dar al-harb: the conception of space in the Medieval Islamic Tradition // Islamovedenie (Journal of Islamic Studies), no. 4, 2020. P. 3-14.
• Chapters in collective monographs:
• Russia and the Asians: The Rhetoric and Practice of Russian Orientalism // Russian Orientalism (science, arts, collections). Ed. M. Rezvan. Saint-Petersburg: MAE RAS, 2019. P. 8-26.