Viktor Ivanovich Sarianidi or Victor Sarigiannides (Russian: Ви́ктор Ива́нович Сариани́ди; Greek: Βίκτωρ Σαρηγιαννίδης; September 23, 1929 – December 22, 2013) was a Soviet archaeologist.
[3] While still a student, in 1949, Sarianidi began to work at archaeological sites in Turkmenistan under the supervision of Mikhail Masson.
Following his graduation from the Central Asian State University in 1952, he joined the Historical Museum in Samarkand, where he worked for two years.
Outside these walls, on the eastern side, was discovered the earliest known Fire temple, "predating Zoroaster [1000 BC?]
In the south, two pools (one measuring 100 by 60 metres) were discovered, based on which it was speculated that the population of Gonur worshipped water.
Sarianidi was at home and at his best in the vast expanses of inhospitable Central Asian desert where he could be found barefoot and gesticulating with his cane.