This paper deals with the reception of M. I. Artamonov’s (1898–1972) and L. N. Gumilev’s(1912–1992) works focused on the history of Khazar Khaganate and their position in thecontext of Soviet academia. The paper is based on the prosographical approach to the topicand comparative analysis of primary texts published by Gumilev and Artamonov, mainly inthe 1960s and 1970s. The main aim of the study is to analyze and reflect on their findings inthe broader context of the Soviet academic discourse and intellectual milieu of Russiannationalists. I argue that Gumilev’s radical revision of the history of Khazar Khaganate farexceeded previous Artamonov’s findings and attracted the attention of Russian nationalistgroups of the post-Stalinist era mainly due to its antisemitic narrative. Furthermore, despitethe ever-present ambivalence of Gumilev’s contact with Russian nationalists during the 1970s,he was heavily affected by the unstable relationship between Russian nationalists and theofficial Soviet regime. During that time, Gumilev faced strong censorship of his texts, and hismost radical revisionist study focused on the Khazaria was eventually published onlyposthumously in 1993.