Aleksandr Kapto

Aleksandr Semyonovich Kapto (Александр Семёнович Капто; April 14, 1933 – April 19, 2020) was a Soviet, Russian and Ukrainian sociologist, political scientist, diplomat, journalist and politician. He earned a philosophy degree in 1967 and his Ph.D. in 1985. In 2008 he was head of the UNESCO International Board of the Institute of Socio-Political Research under the Russian Academy of Sciences (RAS).

Education
Kapto graduated from the History and Philosophy Faculty of the Dnipropetrovsk University in 1957 with a philosophy degree and specialization in "Ukrainian Philology", studying the problems of war and peace, international relations, political sociology, sociology of morality and education, social activity of youths, and professional ethics.

Career
In addition to his duties with UNESCO, Kapto served as Chairman of the Expert Council under the Top Certifying Commission for Political Science; Chairman of the Council for Defending a Doctoral Thesis under the Institute of Socio-Political Research (ISPR RAS) (sociology of spiritual life and management); Vice-President of the Academy of Social Sciences; and was a member of the Presidium of the Academy of Political Science. He was a Soviet Ambassador to Cuba from 1985-9, and the last Soviet and first Russian Ambassador to the Democratic People's Republic of Korea.

Writing career
Kapto was a member of the Union of Russian Writers. In 1971 and 1974 he received a first-degree diploma certificate for winning the All-Union Competition for the best popular science works.

Awards and prizes

 * Three Orders of the Red Banner of Labour
 * Order of Friendship of Peoples
 * Order of Honour (2003)
 * Cuban Order of Solidarity
 * S. Vavilov Medal for Outstanding Contribution to Spreading Scientific Knowledge, Enlightened and Humanitarian Activities
 * Honorary Citizen of Denver

References and sources

 * A. Kapto’s biography (in Russian)