When Work and Hobby Blend Together (the 65th Anniversary of Andrey Vadimovich Venkov)

Abstract. The article is devoted to the 65th anniversary of Andrey V. Venkov, doctor of historical Sciences, Professor of the Southern Federal University and the head of the laboratory of Cossacks of the Southern scientific center of the Russian Academy of Sciences. The article presents the main milestones of his professional and creative activity as the outstanding Don historian and his scientific interests, which cover a wide range of scientific problems of national history. A.V. Venkov is a leading expert in the study of the history of the Don Cossacks during the revolution period, the civil war and the first decades of Soviet power. In addition to this, A.V. Venkov is a prose writer
and publicist. The authors note the significant contribution of Andrei Venkov to the popularization of historical science.

Keywords: Andrey Venkov, history of the Cossacks, history of the Don, history of Russia.