Andrei Vostrikov

Andrey Ivanovich Vostrikov (Russian: Андрей Иванович Востриков; 23 October 1902 – 26 September 1937) was a Russian orientalist and scholar of Tibetology, Indology, and Mongolian studies. He is best known for his posthumously published work Tibetan Historical Literature and is considered "one of the most influential early historians of Tibet". He was executed at the age of 34.

Vostrikov was born in the Saratov Governorate into the family of a rural priest. He graduated from Petrograd University in 1924, where he studied under Fyodor Shcherbatskoy and Boris Vladimirtsov. His academic training under these scholars deeply influenced his later work in Buddhist philosophy and Tibetan studies.

Following his graduation, Vostrikov dedicated himself to research and teaching. He worked at the Asiatic Museum, the Institute of Buddhist Culture, and taught at several higher education institutions in Leningrad, including his alma mater.

From 1930, he served as a senior researcher at the Institute of Oriental Studies of the Academy of Sciences of the USSR. Between 1927 and 1932, he undertook annual field trips to the Aginsky Datsan in Buryatia, where he collaborated with learned lamas to study Tibetan translations of Indian philosophical treatises and their commentaries.