Sofia Berezanska

Sofia Stanislavivna Berezanska (; 15 May 1924 - 2 May 2024) was a Ukrainian archaeologist who focused on the Bronze Age. A graduate of the History Department of the Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv and the NASU Institute of Archaeology, she worked as a senior research associate at the Kherson Local History Museum from 1948 to 1949. Berezanska then worked at the NASU Institute of Archaeology, firstly as a junior researcher, then as a senior researcher and finally as lead researcher. She conducted approximately 40 archaeological expeditions and was the author of monographs, collective books and articles. Berezanska was made laureate of the State Prize of Ukraine in Science and Technology in 1977.

Early life and education Berezanska was born in Kamianets-Podilskyi in today the Khmelnytskyi Oblast on 15 May 1924. Her family was a noble one that had connections to deep intellectual traditions. Berezanska's father, a former adjutant to General Aleksei Brusilov, was arrested in 1932 and the family was exiled to Astrakhan. Following the completion of her education, the Second World War broke out and she was exiled once again, this time to northern Kazakhstan. Berezanska began working as a tractor driver after she finished her schooling. She later illegally moved to Kyzylorda and enrolled at the city's in 1943 after discovering a loophole allowing her to gain entry to the university. At the first chance she had, Berezanka returned to Ukraine and enrolled at the History Department of the Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv. She graduated with honours in 1948. In late 1949, Berezanska enrolled on the postgraduate programme at the NASU Institute of Archaeology. She studied under the supervision of and was connected with the department of Scythian-Sarmatian archaeology. Berezanka graduated from the institute in 1953 and later defended her thesis, which was on the Monuments of the Pre-Scythian Time in the Uman Region and Their Historical Significance on Belozerka culture. In 1953, she began working as a junior researcher in the Department of Primitive Archaeology of the NASU Institute of Archaeology and was later promoted to senior researcher in 1966 and was lead researcher between 1986 and 1997.

She was the author often monographs, co-authoring two of them, five collective books and approximately 110 articles. They were published in German, Russian and Ukrainian. In 1977, Berezanka was made a laureate of the State Prize of Ukraine in Science and Technology. She died in Kyiv on 2 May 2024.