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Birthday anniversary of Vladimir Obruchev, Russian geographer, geologist, academician
September 28 (October 10), 1863 in the village of Klepenino, Tver Province, in the family of an army officer was born Russian geologist and geographer, academician, researcher of Siberia, Central and Middle Asia Vladimir Afanasievich Obruchev.
Because of his father's service, the Obruchev family constantly moved from city to city. It was the mother who was mostly engaged with raising six children. She taught them to read and write Russian, arithmetic, German and French. "In addition to excellent knowledge of languages, - wrote Obruchev. - mother also familiarized me with the literature about travels, which rouse my interest in nature from the very childhood, in foreign lands, seas and peoples, and resulted later in my becoming a researcher and traveler. ... As well as the accuracy and integrity in work, which she taught me in childhood. "
In 1881, having graduated from a non-classical secondary school in Vilna (Vilnius), Obruchev entered the St. Petersburg Mining Institute. Here he attended the lectures of the famous Russian geographer and geologist I. V. Mushketov. Influenced by him, the student became interested in studying the Asian area of Russia, Mongolia and China.
Upon graduation in 1886, Vladimir Afanasievich took part in an expedition to Central Asia, and in 1892-1894, leading the expedition of the Russian Geographical Society, made extensive studies of the North and Central China, being the first European to penetrate in the Middle Nanshan. During the expedition, the location of the three famous mountain ranges was clarified and six new ones discovered, two rivers were discovered and examined, large deposits of coal, deposits of gold and other metals discovered. Based on the results of the expedition, a pattern of geological structure of the area was developed, a huge collection of seven thousand specimens of flora, fauna and minerals, about 1.2 thousand imprints of fossil plants and animals collected.
In the years of 1895-1898, Obruchev worked in the eastern Siberia, providing geological data needed for the construction of the Trans-Siberian Railway. In the years of 1898-1900, he traveled through Europe, visiting France, Switzerland, Germany and Austria, where he participated in international forums of geologists and geographers, saw the collections of geological museums.
In 1901, back in Siberia, Obruchev researched Lensky goldfield area and became the head of the first mining higher school in the eastern part of Russia - mining department of the Tomsk Technological Institute.
In 1912, Vladimir Afanasievich was dismissed from the institute for political reasons and moved to Moscow. During this period he wrote several scientific and popular works and made several local expeditions to Central Asia and the Altai.
In 1920, the scientist was elected professor at the Department of Applied Geology at the newly organized Moscow Mining Academy. In 1930 he became chairman of the Commission for the Study of permafrost, and in 1939 - the director of the Geocryology Institute under the Academy of Science of the USSR. From 1942 to 1946 Obruchev was academician-secretary of the Department of Geological and Geographical Sciences of the USSR, and since 1947 - Honorary President of the Geographical Society of the USSR.
Vladimir Obruchev left 3 872 scientific works, not counting translations on the geological structure of Siberia and its minerals, tectonics, neotectonics, permafrost study, paleontology. Among the most distinguished of his scientific works are: "Central Asia, Northern China and Nanshan," “History of Geological Exploration of Siberia" and "Geology of Siberia". He is also the author of popular science books ("Plutonium", "Sannikov Land", etc.), autobiographic works ("From Kyakhta to Kulja", "My trips to Siberia"), science fiction ("The incident in Neskuchnii Garden”, "Flight to the planets"); textbooks on geology; biographical works about Russian researchers of Asia.
For his service Obruchevt was awarded with five Orders of Lenin, the Order of Red Banner of Labor and many medals and prizes. Obruchev’s name was given to about 20 geographic locations on the world map and to the mineral obruchevit. In 1938, for the best works on the geology of Siberia, the Academy of Science of the USSR established the award named after V. A. Obruchev.
Vladimir Obruchev died June 19, 1956 in Zvenigorod, Moscow Oblast, and was buried at Novodevichy Cemetery in Moscow.
Lit.: Думитрашку Н. Золотая звезда путешественника. М., 1963; Обручев В. А. В дебрях Центральной Азии (записки кладоискателя). М., 1951; Обручев В. А. За тайнами Плутона. М., 1986; Обручев Владимир Афанасьевич // Большая советская энциклопедия. М., 1974. Т. 18; Владимир Афанасьевич Обручев [Электронный ресурс] // Публичная библиотека. 1998-2016. URL: http://publ.lib.ru/ARCHIVES/O/OBRUCHEV_Vladimir_Afanas'evich/_Obruchev_V.A..html; Поступальская М. И., Ардашникова С. Д. Обручев. М., 1963.
Based on the Presidential Library’s materials:
Известия Императорского Русского географического общества. Т. 31 1895, [вып. 1-5]. СПб., 1895 (Из содерж.: Орография Центральной Азии и ее юго-восточной окраины: краткий отчет об экспедиции 1892 – 1894 гг., исполненной по поручению ИРГ Общества / В. А. Обручев (с. 253-344));