Abstract. The article is devoted to Edward S. Markaryan (1929–2011), who was the eminent Armenian and Russian scholar, philosopher and humanist. Professor Markaryan was famous for the innovative studies in self-organization of social life and argued that culture is its key phenomenon; he promoted integration of social, biological, and physical sciences and addressed the key issues of the “survival-development” strategy. Edward Markaryan was among the founders of the Soviet theory of culture, Armenian School of Culturology, and the Russian culturology. His academic activities have acquired particular importance in the situation of the current planetary crisis, which carries deadly threats to humanity.