The present paper is devoted to Vladimir Pavlovich Goudkov – one of the most authoritative specialists in the sphere of slavonic studies. For many years he was the head of the Department of Slavonic Languages of the Faculty of Philology of Moscow State Lomonosov University. At the same time V.P. Goudkov is depicted not only as an outstanding scholar but also as one of the founders of the so called «UMO» – organization uniting professionals in the sphere of higher education. He managed to create a powerful union of specialists representing both classical and non-classical universities who elaborated the standards of philological education in Russia. V.P.Goudkov's personality is also featured in the paper, and his former colleagues' reminiscences contribute to his prominent portrayal.