On 14 October, a memorial evening dedicated to Academician Alexei N. Sissakian, JINR Director in 2006 – 2010, took place in the Museum of History of Science and Technology of JINR. He was born particularly on this day 75 years ago. “On my day the autumn leaves are nailed to the cold pavement…” (poem “Veil” by A. Sissakian).

A. N. Sissakian went down in history of the Joint Institute for Nuclear Research as a scientist and a science organizer. Everyone who knew him, who were happy to be his friends and work with him told that A. N. Sissakian was remembered as a bright, gifted person, a bright personality. JINR Director Academician V. A. Matveev told about it at the opening of the evening.

Former colleagues, friends and relatives of Alexei Norairovich gathered in the hall. The evening started with the screening of the documentary “Bright minds of Russia” (directed by E. P. Vlasov, 2009) of the “Culture” TV-channel. A. N. Sissakian “looked” at us from the screen, talked to us, told about life and his parents, about teachers. He was full of energy, plans and was excited to report on the launched work on the NICA mega-project. His heart ceased beating in a year. But the memory of him is alive.

L. A. Malov, a course mate of an older brother Josef, J. A. Budagov, a husband of a sister of Alexei Luidmila Norairovna, and his poetic colleague G. L. Vardenga shared their memories of Alexei Norairovich and his family. Poetry and Alexei Sissakian were inseparable. His works are confessional and full of lyricism. And members of the literature club T. N. Lyasnikov and G. A. Zhuravlev highlighted it in their speeches. The audience was deeply impressed by the performance of O. M. Trifonova. She made illustrations for two books of poems by A. N. Sissakian and was an admirer of his poetic talent. O. M. Trifonova accompanied citing of poems with her music and singing songs. It was not the conclusion of the evening.

In one of the Museum’s halls, the exhibition dedicated to Alexei Norairovich and his family was presented. There were books of the father and the son of the Sissakians, numerous documents, the unique family photo album of Norair Martirosovich, documents of school and university years, and a portrait of A. S. N. Sissakian by Yu. Meshenkov, a photo taken in space and signed by the astronaut M. Kh. Manarov. Most of the exhibited items were awards of Alexei Norairovich, including state, regional, departmental, commemorative ones. A Museum’s staff member K. E. Kozubsky told about them. Alexei Norairovich created a fond and special memory of him. Participants of the evening continued then to evoke memories in informal discussions.

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Nadezhda Kavalerova, photos by Elena Puzynina