University of Tehran Scholar Janolah Karimi Motahhar Recognized for Contributions to Iran–Russia Literary Studies

Zahra Fayzii | Vice-Presidency for Research and Technology News Desk, 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, stands among the leading Iranian scholars in comparative literature, Russian literary studies, and Iran–Russia cultural relations.

Over more than three decades of academic service, Dr. Karimi Motahhar has played a central role in strengthening the teaching, research, and translation of classical and modern Russian literature in Iran. His work has helped consolidate Russian literary studies as a significant field within Iranian higher education, while also advancing scholarly dialogue between Persian and Russian literary traditions.

A defining feature of his scholarship is its sustained attention to the cultural and literary intersections between Iran and Russia. Across his books, articles, textbooks, and translations, he has examined the ways Persian literature, Eastern thought, and Iranian cultural traditions have entered Russian literary imagination, particularly in the works of major nineteenth- and twentieth-century writers.

Among his notable studies are Alexander Pushkin and the Orient and Nikolay Gumilyov and the Orient, both of which investigate the presence of Eastern cultural motifs, literary forms, and intellectual horizons in Russian writing. His comparative works Sa’di and Russian Poets and Hafez and Russian Poets further demonstrate how major Persian poetic and ethical traditions resonated within Russian literary movements and helped shape cross-cultural reception, adaptation, and transformation.

Alongside his research, Dr. Karimi Motahhar has produced academic textbooks that have become important resources for university instruction. These include 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. Designed for students of Russian language and literature, these works combine theoretical orientation with practical literary analysis, guiding readers from introductory frameworks toward advanced engagement with major authors, movements, and critical methods.

His translation work has also expanded Persian-language access to significant Russian literary and critical texts. His translations include Anton Chekhov’s The Cherry Orchard, Mikhail Lermontov’s People and Passions, 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. Through these translations, Dr. Karimi Motahhar has made Russian drama, prose, poetry, and travel writing more widely available to Persian-speaking readers.

In addition to literary translation, he has contributed to the translation of scholarly and critical works, including Emma Artemovna Polotskaya’s The Behavior of Chekhov’s Heroes and Vladimir Linkov’s Existence Towards Eternity, a study of Leo Tolstoy. These works show the breadth of his intellectual mediation, extending his contribution beyond literary access to the development of critical and interpretive resources for advanced study.

Dr. Karimi Motahhar has also published numerous peer-reviewed articles in national and international journals. His research interests include comparative literature, Russian Orientalism, nineteenth- and twentieth-century Russian intellectual currents, and the appearance of Persian mystical, ethical, and literary concepts in Russian texts. Through this body of work, he has contributed both to the positioning of Russian literature within Iranian academic discourse and to the introduction of Persian literary traditions to Russian and international scholarly audiences.

His academic leadership has been equally significant. As Dean of the Faculty of Foreign Languages and Literatures, he has supported research development, interdisciplinary study, and institutional collaboration with Russian academic centers. He has also helped mentor a new generation of researchers through specialized symposia, graduate supervision, and the encouragement of comparative and cross-cultural theses.

For Dr. Karimi Motahhar, literary studies are not limited to textual interpretation. They also function as a medium of cultural understanding and intellectual exchange between nations. This conviction has shaped both his scholarship and his administrative work, making his career a model of how research, translation, pedagogy, and cultural diplomacy can reinforce one another.

In general, his contributions have strengthened Iran–Russia scholarly relations, expanded access to Russian literature in Persian, and opened new pathways for comparative literary research. His career reflects the enduring value of literary scholarship as a bridge between languages, traditions, and academic communities.

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