ASU Acquires Anatoly Kononov's Esteemed Library as Donation

SUKHUM / AQW'A ― Abkhazian State University's Dmitry Gulia Scientific Library has been gifted the personal library of the late Anatoly Leonidovich Kononov, a distinguished Soviet and Russian legal scholar and former judge of the Russian Federation's Constitutional Court. The donation, made by his widow, Lyudmila Kabanova, was announced by AGU's Information and Media Communications Department.

The extensive collection, consisting of valuable legal, sociological, psychological, and art history publications, among others, was meticulously packed in 69 boxes. The donation reflects the Kononov family's enduring affection for Abkhazia and Lyudmila Kabanova's deep ties with the region.

Lyudmila Kabanova expressed her belief that her late husband would have been pleased to know his collection is contributing to the education of Abkhazia's youth. Beslan Agrba, head of the Moscow Abkhazian diaspora, facilitated the transportation of the collection from Moscow to Sukhum.

Roman Dbar, ASU's First Vice-Rector, expressed gratitude for this significant contribution, emphasising its importance in enhancing the university's educational endeavors and the development of young professionals.

Anatoly Kononov was born in 1947 in Moscow. He graduated from the Law Faculty of Moscow State University and began his career as a secretary in district courts in Moscow. Throughout the 1970s, he worked as an investigator in the prosecutor's office of the Kirov District; later, he served as a legal consultant for the USSR Ministry of Machinery for Light Industry and also taught. In 1990, he was elected as a People's Deputy of the RSFSR and joined the "Democratic Russia" deputy group. In 1991, Kononov became a judge in the newly formed Constitutional Court. As a member of the Constitutional Court, he wrote many dissenting opinions on a variety of cases. Notably, he disagreed with the 1994 deployment of troops in Chechnya, believing that President Yeltsin's corresponding decree violated the Constitution, and issues related to freedom of assembly and legal challenges from Mikhail Khodorkovsky, he left the court in 2009 following critical remarks about his peers and the Russian state. He left the court in 2009 after publicly criticising his colleagues and the Russian state.

Kononov passed away in his 76th year and is remembered as one of the first judges of Russia's Constitutional Court, noted for his unique perspectives on various resonant legal matters.