From 1929 to 1932, Kudryavtsev studied at the Leningrad Topographical Technical School, and worked as a topographer in Yakutia after the completion of the academic program. In June 1939, he completed his graduation in history at the Leningrad State University, with a recommendation for post–graduation at the Institute of Ethnography of the Academy of Sciences of the USSR. He started his studies at the institute, but later in 1941, his studies were halted because of his dis–enrollment from the institute due to his appointment in the Soviet Military. However, in 1946, he was re–enrolled for the postgraduate studies at the institute with a specialty in the ethnography of India after an order from the presidium of the academy. He completed the Doktor Nauk in Historical Sciences at the academy in 1952, with the thesis titled "Происхождение Мусульманского Населения Северной Индии" . He had also studied the English, French, Hindi, Marathi, and Urdu languages.
Academic career and research
Kudryavtsev was a "senior scientific worker" at the Institute of Ethnography of the Academy of Sciences of the Soviet Union, and he is known for his specialization on the ethnography of India and the ethnology of northern India. He had also headed the indological research at the institute, and contributed in the development of monographic ethnic research in Russia. He had also worked as a researcher at the Peter the Great Museum of Anthropology and Ethnography. He visited India four times between 1957 and 1974. He had done a study on the Jats, and presented a paper titled, "О Роли Джатов в Этнической Истории Северной Индии" at the Seventh International Congress of Anthropological and Ethnological Sciences at Moscow in 1964. In 1966, the Anthropological Survey of India had invited him and :ru:Чебоксаров, Николай Николаевич|Nikolai Cheboxarov for a study on the anthropological data gathered in 1964 on Asurs, Korkus, Gondas, Pradhans, Khasis and the Hindustanis of the Lucknow region. They studied these people. He also studied the social history of India, including the structure of society in ancient and medieval India, and inquired into the jajmani system as a mechanism of interaction between the communities and castes in India.
World War II
During the second world war, Kudryavtsev had served in the Soviet Military. From 1 July 1941, he worked as a topographer, and from February 1942, as a senior topographer on the Leningrad Front. From February to December 1942, he served as the platoon commander and deputy battery commanderin the Red Army. He also headed the divisions of the Red Army at the Volkhov Front. After December 1942, he resumed his services as a topographer. Between December 1942 and September 1945, he was the head of the topographic services, first on the Volkhov front, and later on the second and the first Ukrainian fronts. From September to December 1945, he taught topography to the infantry officers in Lviv. The Soviet military units had benefited in some of their onerous combat tasks from his knowledge as a topographer. He had also been the chief of the "military topographic administration" and served as a Lieutenant–general in the "technical forces" of the USSR. He was awarded the Order of the Red Star "for the defense of Leningrad". During his service years in the Soviet Military, he visited Romania, Poland, Germany, and Czechoslovakia.
Death
Kudryavtsev died on 04 March 1992, and was buried at the Shuvalov cemetery in Saint Petersburg. At the time of his death, he was the oldest employee of the Institute of Ethnography.
Works
Some of the books and research papers authored by Kudryavtsev are as follows:
