Education

• 2000: Ph.D. (Candidate of Philological Sciences), Russian State University for the Humanities, Moscow
• 1997: M.A. (Theoretical and Applied Linguistics), Russian State University for the Humanities, Moscow

Principal Employment

• 2013: Head of the Laboratory for Oriental and Historical-Comparative Studies, School of Advanced Studies in the Humanities, Russian Presidential Academy
• 2005: Head of Chair for the History and Philology of the Far East, Institute of Oriental Cultures at the Russian State University for the Humanities
• 2004: Lecturer in comparative linguistics, Chinese studies, and Old Chinese, Russian State University for the Humanities
• 2000: Senior researcher, Centre for Comparative Linguistics, Institute of Oriental Cultures at the Russian State University for the Humanities

• Since 2017: External Professor, Santa Fe Institute
• Since 2009: Managing Editor of the periodical Journal of Language Relationship (Moscow)
• Since 2001: Researcher in the "Evolution of Human Languages" Program, Santa Fe Institute, New Mexico, USA
• Since 1998: Participant of the "Tower of Babel" Project, Russian State University of the Humanities/Russian Academy of Sciences et al., Moscow\

Research & Professional Interests

• General historical linguistics, theory and methodology
• Chinese language studies (primarily history of Chinese, reconstruction of Old Chinese phonology)
• Yeniseian linguistics (Ket language, its structure, history, and external connections)
• Dravidian linguistics (reconstruction of Proto-Dravidian phonology and grammar)
• African comparative, areal, and historical linguistics (Khoisan, Nilo-Saharan, Niger-Congo languages)
• Long-range comparison and reconstruction of macrofamilies (Nostratic; Sino-Caucasian, etc.): theory and practice

Language abilities

• Fluent: Russian, English
• Near fluent: Chinese, French, Italian
• Good or above average reading ability: Spanish, German, Greek, Latin, Sanskrit, Old Hebrew
• Working knowledge of: various Indo-European, Semitic, Dravidian, Yenisseian, Khoisan languages