Dmitry Shvidkovsky is a Russian educator and historian of architecture

Architecture

Architecture is both the process and product of planning, designing and construction. Architectural works, in the material form of buildings, are often perceived as cultural and political symbols and as works of art...

 of Russia

Russia

Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...

 and the United Kingdom

United Kingdom

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...

 during the Age of Enlightenment

Age of Enlightenment

The Age of Enlightenment was an elite cultural movement of intellectuals in 18th century Europe that sought to mobilize the power of reason in order to reform society and advance knowledge. It promoted intellectual interchange and opposed intolerance and abuses in church and state...

. A 1982 alumnus

Alumnus

An alumnus , according to the American Heritage Dictionary, is "a graduate of a school, college, or university." An alumnus can also be a former member, employee, contributor or inmate as well as a former student. In addition, an alumna is "a female graduate or former student of a school, college,...

 and long-term professor of Moscow Architectural Institute, Shvidkovsky was appointed its rector

Rector

The word rector has a number of different meanings; it is widely used to refer to an academic, religious or political administrator...

 in 2007.

Dmitry Shvidkovsky was born in Moscow

Moscow

Moscow is the capital, the most populous city, and the most populous federal subject of Russia. The city is a major political, economic, cultural, scientific, religious, financial, educational, and transportation centre of Russia and the continent...

. He is the son of historian Oleg Shvidkovsky, author of General History of Arts and Building in the U.S.S.R., 1917-1932; his mother hails from the Mamontov

Savva Mamontov

Savva Ivanovich Mamontov was a famous Russian industrialist, merchant, entrepreneur, and patron of the arts.-Biography:He was a son of the wealthy merchant and industrialist Ivan Feodorovich Mamontov and Maria Tikhonovna . In 1841 the family moved to Moscow. From 1852 he studied in St...

 dynasty.

Shvidkovsky is the author of the definitive biography of Charles Cameron

Charles Cameron (architect)

Charles Cameron was a Scottish architect who made an illustrious career at the court of Catherine II of Russia. Cameron, practitioner of early neoclassical architecture, was the chief architect of Tsarskoye Selo and Pavlovsk palaces and the adjacent new town of Sophia from his arrival in Russia in...

 and a ring of essays on contemporary British artists (William Hastie

William Heste

William Hastie was a Russian architect, civil engineer and town planner of Scottish descent. His name is also transliterated back from Russian as William Heste or, seldom, Vasily Heste....

, Adam Menelaws

Adam Menelaws

Adam Menelaws, also spelled Menelas was an architect and landscape designer of Scottish origin, active in the Russian Empire from 1784 to 1831...

) in Russia and their role in Russian art. In 1997 Shvidkovsky has been awarded the medal of Russian Academy of Arts for his 1996 books St. Petersburg: Architecture of the Tsars and The empress & the architect: British architecture and gardens at the court of Catherine the Great, both printed overseas. The topic of Western influence continued with the 2007 edition of Russian architecture and the West, illustrated by Yekaterina Shorban (Shvidkovsky's wife). Adam Wilkinson of The Architect's Journal summarized: "his thesis [is] that Russian architecture is the product of waves of European influence filtered through Russian conditions - a brave move, given Russia's proud architectural historical tradition... The result is a thrilling architectural grand tour, not dry scholarship".

Shvidkovsky is a full member of the Russian Academy of Arts and its secretary for History of Arts since 1998, and vice-president since 2004. Shvidkovsky is also a full member of the Russian Academy of Architecture and Construction and a corresponding fellow of the British Academy

British Academy

The British Academy is the United Kingdom's national body for the humanities and the social sciences. Its purpose is to inspire, recognise and support excellence in the humanities and social sciences, throughout the UK and internationally, and to champion their role and value.It receives an annual...

.

Asked in 2009 about the role of independent preservation

Historic preservation

Historic preservation is an endeavor that seeks to preserve, conserve and protect buildings, objects, landscapes or other artifacts of historical significance...

 groups, Shvidkovsky said "I frequently admire what they do, but this is not enough. We must raise a new type of architects who would fight to preserve historic environment... [this is why] this year we make historic preservation

Historic preservation

Historic preservation is an endeavor that seeks to preserve, conserve and protect buildings, objects, landscapes or other artifacts of historical significance...

 courses mandatory for all architecture students, not only restorators

Building restoration

Building restoration describes a particular treatment approach and philosophy within the field of architectural conservation. According the U.S...

." .