11 L’ arabisante Alexandra Mikhaïlova et sa contribution aux études arabes chrétiennes en URSS
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Résumé
In the Soviet epoch, researchers connected with traditional religions and their heritage were prohibited or limited in their activities. Therefore, Ignaty Kratchkovsky, the greatest Russian Arabist of the 20th century, had to abandon the Arab Christian Studies, which before the Revolution constituted his main field of scholarly work. However, some aspects of them, for instance, the study of manuscripts copied by the Christian Arabs, were not completely deserted. At least one of his disciples, Alexandra Mikhaylova, who was born in a simple peasant family, contributed to this sphere of research. She specialized in the composition of catalogues of Arabic manuscripts and, while working on a volume dedicated to cultural history, she commented on an illuminated copy of the post-Byzantine Greek Chronograph of Matthew Cigalas, translated into Arabic by Paul of Aleppo (Ms C 358 of the Institute of Oriental Manuscripts in St Petersburg). She also described the Arabic manuscripts of the so-called “New Series” preserved at the State Public Library in St Petersburg (currently, the National Library of Russia), almost a half of which are Christian Arabic, and she wrote on that matter a detailed article that retains its importance till now. She also has the merit to have revealed the significance of the early printed books produced in the Orthodox press of Aleppo. Unfortunately, she did not have a chance to defend a thesis and retired in 1979. The present chapter presents her scholarly life and works, attempting to restore the value of her activity as an Arabist and a specialist of Christian Arabic manuscripts.