Vladimir Afanasyevich Obruchev (russian: Влади́мир Афана́сьевич О́бручев; , Klepenino near

Rzhev Rzhev ( rus, Ржев, p=ˈrʐɛf) is a town in Tver Oblast, Russia, located southwest of Staritsa and from Tver, on the highway and railway connecting Moscow and Riga. It is the uppermost town situated on the Volga River. Population: Histo ...

Tver Oblast Tver Oblast (russian: Тверска́я о́бласть, ''Tverskaya oblast'', ), from 1935 to 1990 known as Kalinin Oblast (), is a federal subject of Russia (an oblast). Its administrative center is the city of Tver. It was named after Mi ...

Russian Empire The Russian Empire was an empire and the final period of the Russian monarchy from 1721 to 1917, ruling across large parts of Eurasia. It succeeded the Tsardom of Russia following the Treaty of Nystad, which ended the Great Northern War ...

– June 19, 1956,

Moscow Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 million ...

USSR The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen nati ...

) was a Russian and

Soviet The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, ...

geologist A geologist is a scientist who studies the solid, liquid, and gaseous matter that constitutes Earth and other terrestrial planets, as well as the processes that shape them. Geologists usually study geology, earth science, or geophysics, althou ...

who specialized in the study of

Siberia Siberia ( ; rus, Сибирь, r=Sibir', p=sʲɪˈbʲirʲ, a=Ru-Сибирь.ogg) is an extensive geographical region, constituting all of North Asia, from the Ural Mountains in the west to the Pacific Ocean in the east. It has been a part ...

and

Central Asia Central Asia, also known as Middle Asia, is a region of Asia that stretches from the Caspian Sea in the west to western China and Mongolia in the east, and from Afghanistan and Iran in the south to Russia in the north. It includes the fo ...

. He was also one of the first

Russian science fiction Science fiction and fantasy have been part of mainstream Russian literature since the 18th century. Russian fantasy developed from the centuries-old traditions of Slavic mythology and folklore. Russian science fiction emerged in the mid-19t ...

authors.

Scientific research

Vladimir Obruchev graduated from the Petersburg Mining Institute in 1886. His early work involved the study of gold-mining, which led him to come up with a theory explaining the origin of gold deposits in

. He also gave advice on construction of the

Central Asian Central Asia, also known as Middle Asia, is a region of Asia that stretches from the Caspian Sea in the west to western China and Mongolia in the east, and from Afghanistan and Iran in the south to Russia in the north. It includes the form ...

and

Trans-Siberian Railway The Trans-Siberian Railway (TSR; , , ) connects European Russia to the Russian Far East. Spanning a length of over , it is the longest railway line in the world. It runs from the city of Moscow in the west to the city of Vladivostok in the ea ...

s and consulted Sven Hedin on his projected journey to Siberia. While working for the railway, Obruchev explored the

Karakum Desert The Karakum Desert, also spelled Kara-Kum and Gara-Gum ( tk, Garagum, ; rus, Караку́мы, Karakumy, kərɐˈkumɨ), is a desert in Central Asia. Its name in Turkic languages means "black sand": "" means sand; "" is a contraction of : " ...

, the shores of the

Amu Darya The Amu Darya, tk, Amyderýa/ uz, Amudaryo// tg, Амударё, Amudaryo ps, , tr, Ceyhun / Amu Derya grc, Ὦξος, Ôxos (also called the Amu, Amo River and historically known by its Latin name or Greek ) is a major river in Central Asi ...

River, and the old riverbeds of the Uzbois.''Plutonia'' A Word about the author. p. 404. Translated by Fainna Solasko. Raduga Publishers. Moscow. 1988. 2d printing. He also worked as a geologist on

Lake Baikal Lake Baikal (, russian: Oзеро Байкал, Ozero Baykal ); mn, Байгал нуур, Baigal nuur) is a rift lake in Russia. It is situated in southern Siberia, between the federal subjects of Irkutsk Oblast to the northwest and the ...

, on the

Lena River The Lena (russian: Ле́на, ; evn, Елюенэ, ''Eljune''; sah, Өлүөнэ, ''Ölüöne''; bua, Зүлхэ, ''Zülkhe''; mn, Зүлгэ, ''Zülge'') is the easternmost of the three great Siberian rivers that flow into the Arctic Ocean ...

, and in gold fields near the Vitim. Between 1892 and 1894, Obruchev "was a member of the

Grigory Potanin Grigory Nikolayevich Potanin (alt. Grigorij Potanin) (russian: Григорий Николаевич Потанин; 4 October 1835 – 6 June 1920) was a Russian ethnographer and natural historian. He was an explorer of Inner Asia, and was ...

's expedition into ... Mongolia, ndto the mountains of Nan Shan and Northern China." He also explored the Transbaikal area, Dzhungaria, and Altai. Largely as a result of his participation in this expedition he became interested in

loess Loess (, ; from german: Löss ) is a clastic, predominantly silt-sized sediment that is formed by the accumulation of wind-blown dust. Ten percent of Earth's land area is covered by loess or similar deposits. Loess is a periglacial or aeoli ...

and made considerable contributions to the study of loess deposits. In 1929, Obruchev was elected to the Academy of Sciences of the USSR. Having spent half a century in exploring Siberia and Inner Asia, Obruchev summarized his findings with a three-volume

monograph A monograph is a specialist work of writing (in contrast to reference works) or exhibition on a single subject or an aspect of a subject, often by a single author or artist, and usually on a scholarly subject. In library cataloging, ''monogra ...

, ''The Geology of Siberia'' (1935–1938), followed by ''The History of Geological Exploration of Siberia''. Many of his works deal with the origins of

in Central Asia and Siberia, ice formation and

permafrost Permafrost is ground that continuously remains below 0 °C (32 °F) for two or more years, located on land or under the ocean. Most common in the Northern Hemisphere, around 15% of the Northern Hemisphere or 11% of the global surface ...

in Siberia, problems of Siberian

tectonics Tectonics (; ) are the processes that control the structure and properties of the Earth's crust and its evolution through time. These include the processes of mountain building, the growth and behavior of the strong, old cores of continents k ...

, and Siberian

goldfields Goldfield or Goldfields may refer to: Places * Goldfield, Arizona, the former name of Youngberg, Arizona, a populated place in the United States * Goldfield, Colorado, a community in the United States * Goldfield, Iowa, a city in the United Sta ...

. He also authored many popular scientific works, such as ''Formation of Mountains and Ore Deposits'' (1932), ''Fundamentals of Geology'' (1944), ''Field Geology'' (1927), ''Ore Deposits'' (1928–1929), and others. All together, Obruchev authored

over a thousand scientific works, among which are a most extensive geological study of Siberia and a five-volume history of the geological exploration of Siberia, which have been awarded the Lenin Prize as well as the prizes and medals of several scientific societies.

He was the director of the Geological Institute (1930-1933) and the Permafrost Institute (1939-1956) of the Academy of Sciences of the USSR. During 1954, he completed an extensive geographical study of Nan Shan Mountains in

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, most populous country, with a Population of China, population exceeding 1.4 billion, slig ...

based on his own and previous expeditions to the region and spent his last years working up a geological study of the mountains.

Popular fiction

In his native country Obruchev is best known as the author of two perennially popular

science fiction Science fiction (sometimes shortened to Sci-Fi or SF) is a genre of speculative fiction which typically deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts such as advanced science and technology, space exploration, time travel, parallel uni ...

novels, '' Plutonia'' (''Плутония'', 1915) and '' Sannikov Land'' (''Земля Санникова'', 1924). Both of these stories, imitating the pattern of

Arthur Conan Doyle Sir Arthur Ignatius Conan Doyle (22 May 1859 – 7 July 1930) was a British writer and physician. He created the character Sherlock Holmes in 1887 for ''A Study in Scarlet'', the first of four novels and fifty-six short stories about Ho ...

's '' The Lost World'', depict in vivid detail the discovery of an isolated world of prehistoric animals in hitherto unexplored large islands north of

Alaska Alaska ( ; russian: Аляска, Alyaska; ale, Alax̂sxax̂; ; ems, Alas'kaaq; Yup'ik: ''Alaskaq''; tli, Anáaski) is a state located in the Western United States on the northwest extremity of North America. A semi-exclave of the U ...

or Siberia. In ''Plutonia'',

dinosaur Dinosaurs are a diverse group of reptiles of the clade Dinosauria. They first appeared during the Triassic period, between 243 and 233.23 million years ago (mya), although the exact origin and timing of the evolution of dinosaurs is t ...

s and other Jurassic species are found in a fictional underground area north of Alaska. The descriptive passages are made more credible by Obruchev's extensive knowledge of

paleontology Paleontology (), also spelled palaeontology or palæontology, is the scientific study of life that existed prior to, and sometimes including, the start of the Holocene epoch (roughly 11,700 years before present). It includes the study of fossi ...

. "Sannikov Land" is named for a phantom island of the Arctic Ocean, reported historically by Yakov Sannikov in 1811. Paul J. McAuley praised the novel in a 1999 column, saying "It's true that the characters are indistinguishably wooden mouthpieces for the author's opinions, and the plot is pure pulp, but all this is redeemed by the novel's rigorous scientific sensibility." During the Soviet period, Obruchev attempted to emulate Edwardian models of boys' adventure stories in his novels ''Golddiggers in the Desert'' (1928) and ''In the Wilds of Central Asia'' (1951).

Official positions

Professor Professor (commonly abbreviated as Prof.) is an academic rank at universities and other post-secondary education and research institutions in most countries. Literally, ''professor'' derives from Latin as a "person who professes". Professo ...

of the Tomsk Engineering Institute (1919–1921), * Professor of the Taurida University in

Simferopol Simferopol () is the second-largest city in the Crimean Peninsula. The city, along with the rest of Crimea, is internationally recognised as part of Ukraine, and is considered the capital of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea. However, it is ...

(1918–1919), * Professor of the Moscow Mining Academy (1921–1929); * Member of the

Soviet Academy of Sciences The Academy of Sciences of the Soviet Union was the highest scientific institution of the Soviet Union from 1925 to 1991, uniting the country's leading scientists, subordinated directly to the Council of Ministers of the Soviet Union (until 1946 ...

(1929); * Chairman of the Committee on

Permafrost Permafrost is ground that continuously remains below 0 °C (32 °F) for two or more years, located on land or under the ocean. Most common in the Northern Hemisphere, around 15% of the Northern Hemisphere or 11% of the global surface ...

Studies (since 1930); * Director of the Institute of Permafrost Studies of the Soviet Academy of Sciences (since 1939); * Secretary of the Department of Geological and Geographical Sciences of the Soviet Academy of Sciences (1942–1946); * Honorary president of the Soviet Geographical Society (since 1948)

Awards and honors

* The Przhevalsky Prize * Two Chikhachov Prizes from the

French Academy of Sciences The French Academy of Sciences (French: ''Académie des sciences'') is a learned society, founded in 1666 by Louis XIV at the suggestion of Jean-Baptiste Colbert, to encourage and protect the spirit of French scientific research. It was at ...

(1898 and 1925) * The

Constantine Medal The Russian Geographical Society (russian: Ру́сское географи́ческое о́бщество «РГО»), or RGO, is a learned society based in Saint Petersburg, Russia. It promotes geography, exploration and nature protection w ...

of the

Russian Geographical Society The Russian Geographical Society (russian: Ру́сское географи́ческое о́бщество «РГО»), or RGO, is a learned society based in Saint Petersburg, Russia. It promotes geography, exploration and nature protection wi ...

(1900) * The first ever Karpinsky Gold Medal (1947) * The Lenin Prize (1926) * The Stalin Prizes (1941, 1950) * Five Orders of Lenin *

Order of the Red Banner of Labour The Order of the Red Banner of Labour (russian: Орден Трудового Красного Знамени, translit=Orden Trudovogo Krasnogo Znameni) was an order of the Soviet Union established to honour great deeds and services to th ...

, and numerous medals. * Hero of Socialist Labor (1945)

Obruchev namesakes

* Obruchevite, a mineral. * Akademik Obruchev Range in

Tuva Tuva (; russian: Тува́) or Tyva ( tyv, Тыва), officially the Republic of Tuva (russian: Респу́блика Тыва́, r=Respublika Tyva, p=rʲɪˈspublʲɪkə tɨˈva; tyv, Тыва Республика, translit=Tyva Respublika ...

* A

mountain A mountain is an elevated portion of the Earth's crust, generally with steep sides that show significant exposed bedrock. Although definitions vary, a mountain may differ from a plateau in having a limited summit area, and is usually higher ...

in the upper reaches of the Vitim River * An

oasis In ecology, an oasis (; ) is a fertile area of a desert or semi-desert environment'ksar''with its surrounding feeding source, the palm grove, within a relational and circulatory nomadic system.” The location of oases has been of critical imp ...

Antarctica Antarctica () is Earth's southernmost and least-populated continent. Situated almost entirely south of the Antarctic Circle and surrounded by the Southern Ocean, it contains the geographic South Pole. Antarctica is the fifth-largest cont ...

* Obruchev Hills, a group of rounded hills in Antarctica * Obruchev (crater) on the

Moon The Moon is Earth's only natural satellite. It is the fifth largest satellite in the Solar System and the largest and most massive relative to its parent planet, with a diameter about one-quarter that of Earth (comparable to the width of ...

* Mount Obruchev, a mountain in Antarctica * The Obruchev Prize was established by the Soviet Academy of Sciences in 1938 to honor best works in the field of Siberian geology. * Vladimir Obruchev – oil and gas research vessel: built at Kirov yard, Khabarovsk; will operate in

Caspian Sea The Caspian Sea is the world's largest inland body of water, often described as the world's largest lake or a full-fledged sea. An endorheic basin, it lies between Europe and Asia; east of the Caucasus, west of the broad steppe of Central A ...

.''SHIPPING; NEW TONNAGE.'' BBC Summary of World Broadcasts. Part 1 The USSR; Weekly Economic Report; A. ECONOMIC AND SCIENTIFIC; TRANSPORT; SU/W1297/A/11; July 20, 1984. Moscow 1400 gmt 4 Jul 84

Family

Two of his sons also became notable scientists: * Sergei Obruchev, a geologist, discovered the

Chersky Range The Chersky Range (, ) is a chain of mountains in northeastern Siberia between the Yana River and the Indigirka River. Administratively the area of the range belongs to the Sakha Republic, although a small section in the east is within Magada ...

in Siberia. * Dmitry Obruchev, a paleontologist, was a leading authority on early vertebrates.

Bibliography

* ''Fundamentals Of Geology'', Foreign Languages Publishing House, Moscow
From Archive.org
* (1924) ''Plutoniya'' (Плутония); English translation: ''Plutonia'' (1957), Moscow: Raduga Publishers, * (1926) ''Zemlya Sannikova'' (Земля Санникова); English translation: ''Sannikov Land'' (1988), Moscow: Raduga Publishers,

References

External links

* * Obruchev V. A. i
Complete Dictionary of Scientific Biography
{{DEFAULTSORT:Obruchev, Vladimir Afanasyevich 1863 births 1956 deaths People from Rzhevsky District People from Tver Governorate Central Asian studies scholars Explorers of Central Asia Explorers of Siberia Explorers from the Russian Empire Heroes of Socialist Labour Geographers from the Russian Empire Geologists from the Russian Empire Paleontologists from the Russian Empire Science fiction writers from the Russian Empire Soviet geographers Soviet geologists Soviet science fiction writers Soviet male writers 20th-century Russian male writers Soviet scientists Recipients of the USSR State Prize Tomsk Polytechnic University faculty Full Members of the USSR Academy of Sciences Burials at Novodevichy Cemetery Saint Petersburg Mining University alumni