Named in memory of Valerij Ivanovich Osipov (1945–1993), distinguished Russian historian, archivist, archaeologist and linguist in the St. Petersburg Department of Archives of the Russian Academy of Sciences. He made a valuable contribution to the study of the Russo-German scientific relations in the eighteenth century, discovered some new documents on the founding and work of the Pulkovo Astronomical Observatory, studied the peculiarities of the language of eighteenth-century Russian writers and carried out archaeological investigations in the countries of Middle Asia. (M 26763) _ _.