The scientific and practical conference, held on the occasion of the 100th anniversary of the birth of the renowned historian and public figure B.D. Jamgyrchinov, took place on November 21 at the National Academy of Sciences (NAS) of the Kyrgyz Republic. The president of the NAS of the Kyrgyz Republic, academician A. Erkebaev, delivered a welcoming speech, noting that academician B.D. Jamgyrchinov was a widely recognized, leading historian of Kyrgyzstan who managed to elevate the level of historical science to a high research standard. As the conference organizers noted, the prominent historian, educator, and politician B.D. Jamgyrchinov was born on October 15, 1914, and passed away on October 31, 1982. He is the author of more than 150 scientific works on the specific historical analysis of many key issues in Kyrgyzstan during the pre-revolutionary and Soviet periods. Despite the breadth of his scientific interests, the priority direction of his research was the political history of Kyrgyzstan in the 19th century. He is one of the authors and editors of all four editions of the "History of the Kirghiz SSR."
One of B.D. Jamgyrchinov's achievements was the development of the first school textbooks on the history of Kyrgyzstan, as well as several other methodological and educational aids for secondary schools. In 1951, he was awarded a high state honor – the Order of Lenin for his scientific and pedagogical work.
The scientific biography of the jubilarian is closely linked to the history of the founding of the Academy of Sciences of the Kyrgyz SSR and its Institute of History. As one of the founders of this scientific division, B.D. Jamgyrchinov was elected vice-president of the Academy of Sciences of the Kyrgyz SSR in 1965 for his scientific merits, and in 1967 he became a full member of the Academy of Sciences of the Kyrgyz SSR.
Additionally, B.D. Jamgyrchinov was elected as a deputy of the Supreme Soviet of the republic for 16 years. Starting in 1951, he headed the Kyrgyz Republican Committee for the Protection of Peace for 30 years and also led the Kyrgyz Republican Society for the Protection of Historical and Cultural Monuments for many years.
“Academician B.D. Jamgyrchinov is the only scholar from Kyrgyzstan mentioned in all universal encyclopedic dictionaries, as well as in encyclopedias published in Kyrgyz and Russian during the Soviet and post-Soviet periods. He is the only historian from the Kyrgyz Republic who has international recognition as a historian in non-Kyrgyz encyclopedias, including in the electronic encyclopedia of Cyril and Methodius,” it was noted in the report by the suddenly deceased I.N. Grandin, Ph.D., associate professor at KNU, which was read by colleagues of the author.
According to academician V.M. Ploskih from the NAS of the Kyrgyz Republic, B.D. Jamgyrchinov is undoubtedly a classic of Kyrgyz historical science; his major monograph "The Incorporation of Kyrgyzstan into Russia" has become a classic work in Kyrgyz historiography, and naming the Institute of History and Historical Heritage of the NAS of the Kyrgyz Republic after him is a positive step in the reform of science.
The era of major research on specific problems in the history of the Kyrgyz Republic began with the scientific activities of B.D. Jamgyrchinov, who opened a new stage in the development of historical science – the transition from essays and general overviews to detailed studies of key events in the history of Kyrgyzstan, based on thorough analysis, evidence, and objective argumentation. The scientific works of B.D. Jamgyrchinov represent a classic of historical research in Kyrgyz historiography, providing impetus for the further development of historical science in Kyrgyzstan, the conference organizers added. In conclusion, the participants of the scientific and practical conference adopted an appeal to name the Institute of History and Cultural Heritage of the NAS of the Kyrgyz Republic after B.D. Jamgyrchinov, where he worked for his entire scientific life, 40 years, from the day of the institute's founding on July 1, 1943, until the day of his death on October 31, 1982, as well as to publish a collection of works by the outstanding historian.
