V. F. Gening and development of the Kiev center for theoretical archaeology

This paper provides analysis of V. F. Gening’s work in the Institute ofArchaeology at the Academy of Sciences of the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic wherehe held the position of Deputy Director of Science in 1974-1986. In 1979 he created aresearch unit that specialized in theoretical archaeology, i. e. the Department of Theoryand Methodology of Archaeological Research, the first of this kind in the Soviet Union.The paper also reviews the activities undertaken by its staff in the aforesaid period.