Return to Personal Since the 1940s, the Department of Mineralogy at St. Petersburg University has been actively involved in the study of carbonatites and alkaline rocks. These traditions have deep roots in the history of exploration of the Kola Alkaline Province and trace back to Professor Sergey Kurbatov (Department Head from 1926 to 1961). In the last half of the 1900s, this work was coordinated by Aleksandr Kukharenko (Head, 1961-1987), Ol'ga Rimskaya-Korsakova, and their disciples: Andrey Bulakh (Head, 1987-1992), Georgiy Il'inskiy, Natalya Krasnova and Mikhail Evdokimov. It is their tireless efforts and infectious enthusiasm that the three of us on the photo (my friends and fellow 'carbonatitologists' Tolya Zaitsev and Masha Sitnikova, and myself) have to thank for having become devout "alkaholics". This photo was taken at the famous "Jubilee" pegmatite in the Karnasurt mine (Lovozero alkaline complex, Kola).