Vitaliy Borisovich Vinogradov, graduate of the Department of Archaeology, Faculty of History, Moscow State University, in 1961, enjoyed a bright and fruitful life, signifi cant for society and many people around him. Much has been written about his biography, but there is no comprehensive analysis of Vinogradov’s progress as a professional archaeologist in his student years. The author presents his tribute to the teacher and mentor, who largely determined the life of his disciples. This article examines Vinogradov’s early publications, starting from 1958, numerous abstracts of conference papers, analytical and newspaper articles. Some of them were written in collaboration with his friends, archeologists, participants of the All-Russian archaeological conferences, while Vinogradov was a student in the Department of Archaeology, Faculty of History, MSU. The author attempts at combining scholarly research with a description of the vivid features of Vinogradov’s personality, which were refl ected in his student publications. The study is largely based on Vinogradov’s recollections of his relations with his professors, relatives and friends. His participation in E.I. Krupnov’s archaeological expeditions in the North Caucasus was essential in shaping him as a fi eld archaeologist at an early stage. A notable role in the formation of his professional skills was played by A.V. Artsikhovskiy, B.N. Grakov and K.F. Smirnov’s benign participation in this creative process. As a result, the author concludes that Vinogradov’s development as a researcher was most benefi cially infl uenced by the traditions and unique professorial and teaching staff of those years at the Department of Archaeology, Faculty of History, Moscow State University.