Dmitry Sergeyevich Likhachov

He was born on the 28th of November, 1906, St.Petersburge.
Likhachov graduated in 1928 from the Leningrad University

He was arrested for his speech deploring the Bolshevik reform of Russian orthography. Deported to the Solovki Special Purpos Camp, he spent 5 years studying the "criminal folklore" as he termed it.

In 1953, Likhachov was admitted into the Soviet Academy of Sciences as a Corresponding Member
Likhachov returned to Leningrad unbroken, and started his spectacular scholarly career in the Pushkin House

He defended Andrei Sakharov, Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn and other dissidents during their persecution by Soviet authorities.

In 1986, he was elected the first President of the Russian Cultural Fund.

In his 80s and 90s, he became more of a public figure, serving as an informal advisor to St. Petersburg Mayor Anatoly Sobchak and President Boris Yeltsin.

He died on the 30th of November in 1999 in St.Petersburg.