Associate Professor Fanil Serebryakov passes away aged 70
Fanil Serebryakov was born in 1954 and enrolled in Kazan State University in 1972. After graduating from the Faculty of History and Philology in 1977, he was dispatched to a village school, where he worked for two years in multiple positions. Despite his young age, he quickly became a figure of great authority for the kids, who were always ready to heed their parents’ instruction as if by magic if his name was mentioned.
He returned to KSU in 1979 to assume the post of assistant lecturer of the Department of Philosophy. In 1981, he started his PhD course under the guidance of Associate Professor Yury Komarov and presented his thesis Critical analysis of “social service” of the contemporary Russian Orthodox Church, a topic requiring much risk-taking from a researcher at the time. Another achievement was that his thesis presentation was accepted by Moscow State University.
After the PhD course, Fanil Fagimovich worked uninterruptedly at the Department of Philosophy. The title of associate professor was bestowed upon him in 1992.
The philosophy of Antiquity as narrated by Serebryakov was really a thing of art. He also created and read a course on philosophical thought in Kazan University. He was endlessly supportive of his students and collected their works, even as small as Q&A papers. He supervised student papers and was awarded in 1999 with a diploma ‘For Research Supervision of a Student Paper Awarded by the Ministry of Education of Russia’.
Fanil Fagimovich prepared three PhDs. Moreover, there are also doctors of sciences who call him their Teacher.
Dr Serebryakov authored over 50 papers, including monographs and chapters in textbooks. His real passion was studying the philosophical thought in Kazan. His selfless devotion to the alma mater resulted in a book, Deeds and People: the University Philosophy in Kazan. Essays and Notes, which saw light in 2019.
Serebryakov’s merit as an educator and scientist was credited with the title of Honorary Worker of Higher Professional Education of Russia.
Fanil Fagimovich continued his research until the last days, writing two books simultaneously, which, sadly, he didn’t complete. Always in love with the history of Greek philosophy, an outstanding connoisseur of the culture of Ancient Greece, an avid popularizer of local philosophical thought, and also a scholar of Russian philology, he was a bibliophile with a collection of old and contemporary editions not found today in shops or libraries.
How many poems he knew by heart and how brilliantly he read them, how many lectures and talks he held with students and colleagues, with his ever-present Socratic smile, humor, and sometimes even sarcasm.
A devoted, honest and sincere friend, Fanil Serebryakov will be sorely missed by everyone.