The article reveals the main stages in the biography of the famous Belarusian historian, chronicler of the Belarusian State University (BSU), organizer of the historical science and one of the heads of the BSU at the beginning of the 21st century, professor Alieh Antonavič Janoŭski. He contributed greatly not only to the Belarusian historical research and university studies, but also to the extension of cooperation between the BSU and Lomonosov Moscow State University (MSU). A.A. Janoŭski worked his way up from a laboratory assistant at the Department of the History of the USSR in the pre-Soviet period to the first BSU vice-rector. The article describes his activity as a Dean of the Faculty of History in a difficult time of changes in the educational process of the BSU. He contributed to the formation of Russian studies in Belarus, the elaboration of the educational concept of the study of Russian history in Belarusian universities, and the preparation of the teaching base. A.A. Janoŭski is one of the founders of the university studies in Belarusian universities, which is aimed at showing the multifaceted significance of universities in the life of modern society. The article shows his work on comprehension and substantiation of studying intellectual history and prosopography. This has led to launching the publication of the multivolume “Intellectual Elite of Belarus”. The article highlights the main directions of Janoŭski’s activity for realization of the joint programs of the BSU and the MSU. Additionally, it contains material on his family, hobbies and areas of his interest. The authors consider especially significant Janoŭski’s works on the BSU history, its first rector and other scholars, which record the glorious pages of the development of the BSU and the MSU. They believe that Janoŭski’s life path, his service to the motherland and science, will be of interest to the Russian reader.