Zahra Fayzii from the Vice-Presidency for Research and Technology News Desk of the University of Tehran:

Janolah Karimi Motahhar, Professor of Russian Language and Literature and Dean of the Faculty of Foreign Languages and Literatures at the University of Tehran, is a leading scholarly figure in comparative literature and Iran–Russia studies. Over more than three decades of academic service, he has played a central role in strengthening the teaching, research, and translation of classical and contemporary Russian texts in Iran, helping to consolidate Russian literary studies as a robust field within Iranian higher education.

A defining feature of his scholarship is its sustained focus on the cultural and literary intersections between Iran and Russia, a systematic orientation that shapes his publications across genres and periods. Among his notable studies are Alexander Pushkin and the Orient, which examines the influence of Eastern literatures on Pushkin’s oeuvre, and Nikolay Gumilyov and the Orient, which explores the presence and refraction of Eastern cultural motifs and intellectual horizons in Gumilyov’s writings. His comparative works Sa’di and Russian Poets and Hafez and Russian Poets similarly trace how major Persian poetic and ethical traditions informed and resonated within Russian poetic movements, offering a sustained account of cross-cultural reception and transformation.

Alongside his research, Dr. Karimi Motahhar has produced academic textbooks that have become foundational resources for university instruction. Works such as An Introduction to Literature for Iranian Students of Russian, History of Russian Literature (From Origins to the End of the 19th Century), 20th-Century Russian Literature, and Selected Works of Anton Chekhov are designed to develop both theoretical literacy and practical competence, supporting students as they move from introductory frameworks to more advanced engagement with major authors, movements, and critical methods.

His translation work has also significantly expanded Persian-language access to authoritative Russian texts, enabling broader readership beyond specialist circles. His translated repertoire includes key dramatic works such as Anton Chekhov’s The Cherry Orchard and Mikhail Lermontov’s Menschen und Leidenschaften (People and Passions), as well as prose and poetic texts such as Vasily Shukshin’s The Prodigy and Other Stories, Ivan Bunin’s poetry collection The Nightingales (1886–1889), and Afanasy Nikitin’s travelogue The Journey Beyond Three Seas. In addition, his scholarly translations such as Emma Artemovna Polotskaya’s The Behavior of Chekhov’s Heroes and Vladimir Linkov’s Existence Towards Eternity (on Leo Tolstoy), extend his work from literary mediation into critical and interpretive infrastructure for advanced study.

Beyond authorship and translation, he has published numerous peer-reviewed articles in prominent national and international journals, contributing to the positioning of Russian literature within Iranian academic discourse while also introducing the capacities of Persian literature to Russian scholarly audiences. His research interests encompass comparative studies, Russian Orientalism, the analysis of nineteenth- and twentieth-century intellectual currents, and the ways Persian mystical and ethical concepts appear directly or refracted, in Russian literary production. Taken together, these contributions have strengthened intercultural dialogue and supported forms of scholarly and cultural diplomacy between Iran and Russia.

In his capacity as an academic leader, Dr. Karimi Motahhar has mentored a new generation of researchers through the organization of specialized symposia, the encouragement of interdisciplinary theses, and the expansion of institutional collaborations with Russian academic centers. He consistently frames literary studies as more than textual analysis, arguing that they can function as a strategic medium of mutual understanding between nations. This conviction has shaped both his scholarly practice and his administrative leadership, making his career a model for integrating research, culture, and sustained international engagement.

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