The article deals with the biography and activities of Saukudz Kavdynovich Guriev, who was an outstanding representative of the scientific intelligentsia of North Ossetia of the early 20th century, an educator, teacher, philologist, a collector of Ossetian oral folklore, he made a great contribution to the development of national culture, the Ossetian language, its orthography, grammar, terminology. October 2017 is the 140^th anniversary of Guriev. Enlightenment as the main mission of the Ossetian intelligentsia was realized through founding of schools, teaching, research, translation and publishing activities, active participation in charitable and cultural-educational institutions to support education, culture and the formation of national identity. In addition to the main pedagogical and literary activity G.K. Guriev was actively engaged in enlightenment. He is the author of several textbooks on the Ossetian language for elementary school in Ossetia. Guriev contributed greatly to the preservation of the cultural heritage of the Ossetians. Over the years, through records from the old-timers, he assembled a large collection of works by the Ossetian oral folklore, Nart legends, tales, proverbs, and sayings. Materials of the funds of the Scientific archive of the North Ossetian Institute for Humanitarian and Social Studies, brought into scientific circulation, have greatly clarified his biography, facts of his educational and literary activities. The article contains data that will promote better and updated research of the national intelligentsia of North Ossetia. The study of the history of individual people, local events and phenomena in specific historical factors is the basis of the engineering of the overall processes and helps to interpret the socio-cultural field in the region as part of a socio-cultural history of Russia.

Keywords: Russia, Caucasus, North Ossetia, the scientific intelligentsia, education, public and literary activities.

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