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The Government of Japan conferred the Order of the Rising Sun to Alexander Shnyrko, Professor at the Department of Japanese Studies, Far Eastern Federal University (FEFU). He was awarded the honorable award among five Russian scholars and public figures for his special contribution to Japanese studies and development of bilateral relations.

“Alexander A. Shnyrko is a well-known orientalist and linguist, his name is included in the biobibliographical Dictionary of Orientalists of Russia. He published several monographs, brought up a lot of professional scholars of Japanese Studies who work all over the world, and did a lot to develop relations between our countries and popularize Japanese culture. This event is a great honor and pride for the university,” said Anna Khamatova, Interim Director of the FEFU Oriental Institute–School of Regional and International Studies (OI–SRIS).

Alexander A. Shnyrko is a graduate of the Department of Oriental Studies of Far Eastern State University (FESU) in 1971. In 1979 he defended his PhD thesis at the Department of Japanese Philology of the Institute of Asian and African Countries at Lomonosov Moscow State University. In 1991 he became the head of the Department of Japanese Philology of the FESU Oriental Institute. For several years he worked in Japan. In 1998 he was appointed the Dean of the Department of Japanese Studies at the FESU Oriental Institute. In 2011-2017, he was the Head of the FEFU Department of Japanese Studies. He is the Russia Honored Figure of Higher Professional Education, Honored Figure of Higher School, holder of the Certificate of Honor of the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Japan.

The Order of the Rising Sun is considered the second most important Japanese award after the Order of the Chrysanthemum, which is given only to members of the imperial family and heads of state. In the history of the award, it was conferred to about 60 Russians, including the Director of the Hermitage Mikhail Piotrovsky, the ballerina Maya Plisetskaya, and the writer Boris Akunin. In 2015, the Order was also awarded to Zoya Morgun, Assistant Professor at the FEFU Department of Japanese Studies.