“Joining the Institute turned out to be the luckiest choice of my life: I consider myself very fortunate”. Interview with Victoria V. Mochalova. 26 July 2021, Moscow, Neskuchny Garden

Abstract

At the request of the editorial board of the journal Slavic World in the Third Millennium, Victoria Mochalova recounts her life. She has worked at the Institute of Slavic Studies of the Russian Academy of Sciences since 1973. Currently, she is a leading researcher on the history of Polish and Czech literature, specializing in literature contacts and intercultural dialogue. She is also a specialist in Jewish studies, the editor-in-chief of the Judaic-Slavic Journal, and a member of the editorial boards of both the journal Slavianovedenie and the annuals Slavic & Jewish Cultures: Dialogue, Similarities, Differences and Tirosh. Jewish, Slavic & Oriental Studies. Victoria was awarded the Amicus Poloniae medal in 1975, The Gold Cross of Merit in 2013, and The Prize of Russian Academy of Sciences and The Polish Academy of Sciences for her contribution to science in 2008. She also won the Fiddler on the Roof 5773/2013 award in the Educational activities category in 2013.