Kharkiv Kharkiv ( uk, wikt:Харків, Ха́рків, ), also known as Kharkov (russian: Харькoв, ), is the second-largest List of cities in Ukraine, city and List of hromadas of Ukraine, municipality in Ukraine.Russian Empire The Russian Empire was an empire and the final period of the List of Russian monarchs, 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 th ...

Russian Empire The Russian Empire was an empire and the final period of the List of Russian monarchs, 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 th ...

Ukrainian People's Republic The Ukrainian People's Republic (UPR), or Ukrainian National Republic (UNR), was a country in Eastern Europe that existed between 1917 and 1920. It was declared following the February Revolution in Russia by the First Universal. In March 1 ...

Soviet Union 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, ...

Entomology Entomology () is the scientific study of insects, a branch of zoology. In the past the term "insect" was less specific, and historically the definition of entomology would also include the study of animals in other arthropod groups, such as arach ...

Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation The Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO) is an Australian Government agency responsible for scientific research. CSIRO works with leading organisations around the world. From its headquarters in Canberra, CSIRO ...

Doctor of Sciences Doctor of Sciences ( rus, доктор наук, p=ˈdoktər nɐˈuk, abbreviated д-р наук or д. н.; uk, доктор наук; bg, доктор на науките; be, доктар навук) is a higher doctoral degree in the Russi ...

Biology Biology is the scientific study of life. It is a natural science with a broad scope but has several unifying themes that tie it together as a single, coherent field. For instance, all organisms are made up of cells that process hereditar ...

Kiev University Kyiv University or Shevchenko University or officially the Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv ( uk, Київський національний університет імені Тараса Шевченка), colloquially known as KNU ...

Palearctic The Palearctic or Palaearctic is the largest of the eight biogeographic realms of the Earth. It stretches across all of Eurasia north of the foothills of the Himalayas, and North Africa. The realm consists of several bioregions: the Euro-Si ...

Bombyliidae The Bombyliidae are a family of flies, commonly known as bee flies. Adults generally feed on nectar and pollen, some being important pollinators. Larvae are mostly parasitoids of other insects. Overview The Bombyliidae are a large family of ...

Theodosius Dobzhansky Theodosius Grigorievich Dobzhansky (russian: Феодо́сий Григо́рьевич Добржа́нский; uk, Теодо́сій Григо́рович Добржа́нський; January 25, 1900 – December 18, 1975) was a prominent ...

Aleksandr Stackelberg Aleksandr Aleksandrovich Stackelberg (sometimes Shtakel'berg; russian: Александр Александрович Штакельберг; 1897–1975) was a Russian entomologist Entomology () is the scientific study of insects, a branch of zo ...

Günther Enderlein Günther Enderlein (7 July 1872 – 11 August 1968) was a German zoologist, entomologist, microbiologist, researcher, physician for 60 years, and later a manufacturer of pharmaceutical products. Enderlein received international renown for his ins ...

Kharkiv Kharkiv ( uk, wikt:Харків, Ха́рків, ), also known as Kharkov (russian: Харькoв, ), is the second-largest List of cities in Ukraine, city and List of hromadas of Ukraine, municipality in Ukraine.Canberra) was a Soviet and Australian

entomologist Entomology () is the scientific study of insects, a branch of zoology. In the past the term "insect" was less specific, and historically the definition of entomology would also include the study of animals in other arthropod groups, such as arach ...

, specializing on flies (Diptera), of which described about 700 species and subspecies. Paramonov published over 185 scientific articles, some of which were published posthumously.

Spellings of the name and pseudonym

In his first article, that was written in the

Russian Empire The Russian Empire was an empire and the final period of the List of Russian monarchs, 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 th ...

in the , his name was given as С. Я. Парамоновъ and translated into English as S. I. Paramonov. In articles written in

Ukrainian language Ukrainian ( uk, украї́нська мо́ва, translit=ukrainska mova, label=native name, ) is an East Slavic language of the Indo-European language family. It is the native language of about 40 million people and the official state lang ...

he signed as С. Парамонов or С. Я. Парамонов, the same as in Russian language, in

German language German ( ) is a West Germanic language mainly spoken in Central Europe. It is the most widely spoken and official or co-official language in Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Liechtenstein, and the Italian province of South Tyrol. It is als ...

he used spelling of his name S. J. Paramonow. When he arrived in Australia, his full name was filled as Paramonov, Sergey Jacques in his ''form for application of registration''. His scientific articles written in Australia were signed as S. J. Paramonov. Although in private life he often used Ukrainian

transliteration Transliteration is a type of conversion of a text from one script to another that involves swapping letters (thus ''trans-'' + '' liter-'') in predictable ways, such as Greek → , Cyrillic → , Greek → the digraph , Armenian → or ...

of his full name Сергій Якович Парамонів - Serhiy Yakowich Paramoniv, and the inscription on his

gravestone A headstone, tombstone, or gravestone is a stele or marker, usually stone, that is placed over a grave. It is traditional for burials in the Christian, Jewish, and Muslim religions, among others. In most cases, it has the deceased's name, ...

is written in this way. Sergey Paramonov signed his works in Russian about the ancient history of the

East Slavs The East Slavs are the most populous subgroup of the Slavs. They speak the East Slavic languages, and formed the majority of the population of the medieval state Kievan Rus', which they claim as their cultural ancestor.John Channon & Robert H ...

and

literature Literature is any collection of written work, but it is also used more narrowly for writings specifically considered to be an art form, especially prose fiction, drama, and poetry. In recent centuries, the definition has expanded to inclu ...

writings with the

pseudonym A pseudonym (; ) or alias () is a fictitious name that a person or group assumes for a particular purpose, which differs from their original or true name (orthonym). This also differs from a new name that entirely or legally replaces an individua ...

Сергей Лесной - Sergey Lesnoy.

Biography

Early life

Sergey Jacques Paramonov was born on 4 November 1894 in

Kharkiv Kharkiv ( uk, wikt:Харків, Ха́рків, ), also known as Kharkov (russian: Харькoв, ), is the second-largest List of cities in Ukraine, city and List of hromadas of Ukraine, municipality in Ukraine.Russian Empire The Russian Empire was an empire and the final period of the List of Russian monarchs, 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 th ...

at that time. Both his parents came from the village near

Odessa Odesa (also spelled Odessa) is the third most populous city and municipality in Ukraine and a major seaport and transport hub located in the south-west of the country, on the northwestern shore of the Black Sea. The city is also the administrat ...

. His father's full name was Yakiv Yukhymovych Paramonov. Sergey Paramonov's paternal grandparents were

peasant A peasant is a pre-industrial agricultural laborer or a farmer with limited land-ownership, especially one living in the Middle Ages under feudalism and paying rent, tax, fees, or services to a landlord. In Europe, three classes of peasan ...

s. Sergey's mother's full maiden name was Olha Ivanivna Buravchuk. Her father Ivan Maksymovych Buravchuk was a well-educated and respectful person, he worked as an

agronomist An agriculturist, agriculturalist, agrologist, or agronomist (abbreviated as agr.), is a professional in the science, practice, and management of agriculture and agribusiness. It is a regulated profession in Canada, India, the Philippines, the U ...

. Olha's mother was descended of

serfs Serfdom was the status of many peasants under feudalism, specifically relating to manorialism, and similar systems. It was a condition of debt bondage and indentured servitude with similarities to and differences from slavery, which developed ...

. Sergey's father Yakiv studied at Kherson Agricultural Institute, where he obtained the

forester A forester is a person who practises forestry, the science, art, and profession of managing forests. Foresters engage in a broad range of activities including ecological restoration and management of protected areas. Foresters manage forests ...

qualification. During his studying Yakiv Paramonov got under influence of the

Narodniks The Narodniks (russian: народники, ) were a politically conscious movement of the Russian intelligentsia in the 1860s and 1870s, some of whom became involved in revolutionary agitation against tsarism. Their ideology, known as Narodism, ...

movement, as the result he was taking part in student unrest and was arrested in 1893, together with the future

Bolshevik The Bolsheviks (russian: Большевики́, from большинство́ ''bol'shinstvó'', 'majority'),; derived from ''bol'shinstvó'' (большинство́), "majority", literally meaning "one of the majority". also known in English ...

functionary

Alexander Tsiurupa Alexander Dmitrievich Tsiurupa (russian: Алекса́ндр Дми́триевич Цюру́па, October 1, ( O.S. 19 September) 1870 — May 8, 1928) was a Bolshevik leader, Soviet statesman and Party figure. Biography Alexander Tsiurupa ...

. At the beginning of 1894 Yakiv Paramonov married Olha Buravchuk and soon their first son Sergey was born in Kharkiv. In his known letter to the mother Sergey Paramonov mentioned Raikivtsi, where she had nursed him as a toddler. It is probably the village in

Podolia Podolia or Podilia ( uk, Поділля, Podillia, ; russian: Подолье, Podolye; ro, Podolia; pl, Podole; german: Podolien; be, Падолле, Padollie; lt, Podolė), is a historic region in Eastern Europe, located in the west-central ...

, but this village is not mentioned in any known S. Paramonov's official documents. In 1902 the Paramonov family moved into

Polotsk Polotsk (russian: По́лоцк; be, По́лацк, translit=Polatsk (BGN/PCGN), Polack (official transliteration); lt, Polockas; pl, Połock) is a historical city in Belarus, situated on the Dvina River. It is the center of the Polotsk Dist ...

, where their second son Oleksiy was born in March 1903. From 1904 to 1908 Yakiv Paramonov worked as a forester in the

Nizhny Novgorod Governorate The Nizhny Novgorod Governorate (Pre-reformed rus, Нижегородская губернія, r=Nizhegorodskaya guberniya, p=nʲɪʐɨɡɐˈrotskəjə ɡʊˈbʲernʲɪjə), was an administrative division (a '' guberniya'') of the Russian Empi ...

. At that time Sergey was studying at

Veliky Ustyug Veliky Ustyug (russian: Вели́кий У́стюг) is a town in Vologda Oblast, Russia, located in the northeast of the oblast at the confluence of the Sukhona and Yug Rivers. As of the 2010 Census, its population was 31,665. Veliky ...

Gymnasium, which was more than 50 kilometres from their home through difficult forest roads. In 1908 the family moved closer to their home village Yasky. Yakov Paramonov got a job as a forester on the opposite bank of the

Dniester The Dniester, ; rus, Дне́стр, links=1, Dnéstr, ˈdⁿʲestr; ro, Nistru; grc, Τύρᾱς, Tyrās, ; la, Tyrās, la, Danaster, label=none, ) ( ,) is a transboundary river in Eastern Europe. It runs first through Ukraine and ...

river in Cioburciu village, now in

Moldova Moldova ( , ; ), officially the Republic of Moldova ( ro, Republica Moldova), is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe. It is bordered by Romania to the west and Ukraine to the north, east, and south. The unrecognised state of Transnist ...

, of the

Bessarabia Governorate The Bessarabia Governorate (, ) was a part of the Russian Empire from 1812 to 1917. Initially known as Bessarabia Oblast (Бессарабская область, ''Bessarabskaya oblast'') as well as, following 1871, a governorate, it included ...

. Therefore, Sergey Paramonov continued his education in the

uyezd An uezd (also spelled uyezd; rus, уе́зд, p=ʊˈjest), or povit in a Ukrainian context ( uk, повіт), or Kreis in Baltic-German context, was a type of administrative subdivision of the Grand Duchy of Moscow, the Russian Empire, and the ea ...

centre at Akkerman Gymnasium, now

Bilhorod-Dnistrovskyi Bilhorod-Dnistrovskyi ( uk, Бі́лгород-Дністро́вський, Bílhorod-Dnistróvskyy, ; ro, Cetatea Albă), historically known as Akkerman ( tr, Akkerman) or #Nomenclature, under different names, is a List of cities in Ukraine ...

, Ukraine.

Kiev period

In 1912 Sergey Paramonov graduated from

Akkerman Bilhorod-Dnistrovskyi ( uk, Бі́лгород-Дністро́вський, Bílhorod-Dnistróvskyy, ; ro, Cetatea Albă), historically known as Akkerman ( tr, Akkerman) or under different names, is a city, municipality and port situated on ...

Gymnasium and entered

Kiev University Kyiv University or Shevchenko University or officially the Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv ( uk, Київський національний університет імені Тараса Шевченка), colloquially known as KNU ...

. He choose Zoology as a main subject, his favourite branch was

Ornithology Ornithology is a branch of zoology that concerns the "methodological study and consequent knowledge of birds with all that relates to them." Several aspects of ornithology differ from related disciplines, due partly to the high visibility and th ...

at that time. Despite the fact that in all known official documents Paramonov was mentioned as an ethnic Russian, he took part in the Ukrainian National Revival movement. In 1914 and 1915 Ukrainian organizations were trying to conduct the celebration of

Taras Shevchenko Taras Hryhorovych Shevchenko ( uk, Тарас Григорович Шевченко , pronounced without the middle name; – ), also known as Kobzar Taras, or simply Kobzar (a kobzar is a bard in Ukrainian culture), was a Ukrainian poet, writ ...

's 100 years anniversary, as a result the police arrested some activists. During these events Sergey was detained twice for a month each time. To avoid more serious punishment Paramonov was helped by the

privatdozent ''Privatdozent'' (for men) or ''Privatdozentin'' (for women), abbreviated PD, P.D. or Priv.-Doz., is an academic title conferred at some European universities, especially in German-speaking countries, to someone who holds certain formal qualific ...

Viktor Kazanovsky's protection. In 1915 Sergey Paramonov published his first scientific note "On the record of the

spotted cuckoo The great spotted cuckoo (''Clamator glandarius'') is a member of the cuckoo order of birds, the Cuculiformes, which also includes the roadrunners, the anis and the coucals. It is widely spread throughout Africa and the Mediterranean Basin. It i ...

in

Bessarabia Bessarabia (; Gagauz: ''Besarabiya''; Romanian: ''Basarabia''; Ukrainian: ''Бессара́бія'') is a historical region in Eastern Europe, bounded by the Dniester river on the east and the Prut river on the west. About two thirds of ...

n Government" in the Ornithological Journal. He found, a very rare bird in the

Russian Empire The Russian Empire was an empire and the final period of the List of Russian monarchs, 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 th ...

, the spotted cuckoo by himself while he was having a holiday at his parents' in Cioburciu. In spite of World War I and the collapse of the Russian Empire, Sergey managed to successfully graduate from Kiev University in 1917 and to get a job at the Kiev's station of plant pest control, where Viktor Kazanovsky worked as a director. It was the first time when Sergey faced practical dipterology. In particular he worked on a problem how to use parasitic flies as a natural limit of a number of pest insects. In September 1918 the Kiev's station of plant pest control was moved to the village of Starosillia near

Chernobyl Chernobyl ( , ; russian: Чернобыль, ) or Chornobyl ( uk, Чорнобиль, ) is a partially abandoned city in the Chernobyl Exclusion Zone, situated in the Vyshhorod Raion of northern Kyiv Oblast, Ukraine. Chernobyl is about ...

because of the

Ukrainian–Soviet War The Ukrainian–Soviet War ( uk, радянсько-українська війна, translit=radiansko-ukrainska viina) was an armed conflict from 1917 to 1921 between the Ukrainian People's Republic and the Bolsheviks ( Soviet Ukraine and ...

. On 14 November 1918 the

Ukrainian Academy of Sciences The National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine (NASU; uk, Національна академія наук України, ''Natsional’na akademiya nauk Ukrayiny'', abbr: NAN Ukraine) is a self-governing state-funded organization in Ukraine th ...

was established by order of the

Hetman of Ukraine Hetman of Ukraine ( uk, Гетьман України) is a former historic government office and political institution of Ukraine that is equivalent to a head of state or a monarch. Brief history As a head of state the position was establi ...

Pavlo Skoropadskyi Pavlo Petrovych Skoropadskyi ( uk, Павло Петрович Скоропадський, Pavlo Petrovych Skoropadskyi; – 26 April 1945) was a Ukrainian aristocrat, military and state leader, decorated Imperial Russian Army and Ukrainian Army ...

. On 1 May 1919 the Academy opened the . The biologist was a museum director and the collection manager was the entomologist . After the

Red Army The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army (Russian language, Russian: Рабо́че-крестья́нская Кра́сная армия),) often shortened to the Red Army, was the army and air force of the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist R ...

captured Kiev in November 1919, the teacher of Sergey, Mr Kazanovsky, died in mysterious way, so Sergey Paramonov started supporting his widow and children. After a while in 1920 he married to Kazanovsky's widow Svitlana, who was 13 years older than him. It might have been just a Christian marriage because

Soviet 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 national ...

authorities did not recognise it. Sergey Paramonov was mentioned as a

single person In legal definitions for interpersonal status, a single person refers to a person who is not in committed relationships, or is not part of a civil union. In common usage, the term 'single' is often used to refer to someone who is not involved in ...

in all Soviet documents. 55 Volodymyrska Street, Kiev-1930

In 1920 Paramonov started working at the Zoolofical Museum of the Ukrainian Academy of Sciences. He donated to the museum his own collection of more than 12 thousand copies of the diptera and 64 skins of birds. In 1923–25 he had the scientific expeditions to the

Crimea Crimea, crh, Къырым, Qırım, grc, Κιμμερία / Ταυρική, translit=Kimmería / Taurikḗ ( ) is a peninsula in Ukraine, on the northern coast of the Black Sea, that has been occupied by Russia since 2014. It has a p ...

and

Transcaucasia The South Caucasus, also known as Transcaucasia or the Transcaucasus, is a geographical region on the border of Eastern Europe and Western Asia, straddling the southern Caucasus Mountains. The South Caucasus roughly corresponds to modern Arme ...

under the aegis of the Ukrainian Academy of Sciences. In 1924 Vienna entomological journal "Konowia" published three of Paramonov's articles about new

species In biology, a species is the basic unit of Taxonomy (biology), classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity. A species is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of ...

of the Syrphidae and

Bombyliidae The Bombyliidae are a family of flies, commonly known as bee flies. Adults generally feed on nectar and pollen, some being important pollinators. Larvae are mostly parasitoids of other insects. Overview The Bombyliidae are a large family of ...

families Family (from la, familia) is a group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its members and of society. Idea ...

, followed by other publications about the Diptera order in domestic and foreign

scientific journal In academic publishing, a scientific journal is a periodical publication intended to further the progress of science, usually by reporting new research. Content Articles in scientific journals are mostly written by active scientists such ...

s. In 1926 he set off the expeditions to

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 former ...

and in 1927 to

Armenia Armenia (), , group=pron officially the Republic of Armenia,, is a landlocked country in the Armenian Highlands of Western Asia.The UNbr>classification of world regions places Armenia in Western Asia; the CIA World Factbook , , and ...

. The result of these expeditions and the further

scientific research The scientific method is an empirical method for acquiring knowledge that has characterized the development of science since at least the 17th century (with notable practitioners in previous centuries; see the article history of scientific ...

and

systematics Biological systematics is the study of the diversification of living forms, both past and present, and the relationships among living things through time. Relationships are visualized as evolutionary trees (synonyms: cladograms, phylogenetic t ...

became his four large monographs. In 1928 Paramonov went for research work to the

Museum für Naturkunde The Natural History Museum (german: Museum für Naturkunde) is a natural history museum located in Berlin, Germany. It exhibits a vast range of specimens from various segments of natural history and in such domain it is one of three major muse ...

in

Berlin Berlin is Capital of Germany, the capital and largest city of Germany, both by area and List of cities in Germany by population, by population. Its more than 3.85 million inhabitants make it the European Union's List of cities in the European U ...

. He met with his colleagues, entomologists

Günther Enderlein Günther Enderlein (7 July 1872 – 11 August 1968) was a German zoologist, entomologist, microbiologist, researcher, physician for 60 years, and later a manufacturer of pharmaceutical products. Enderlein received international renown for his ins ...

and

Erich Martin Hering Erich Martin Hering (10 November 1893, Heinersdorf – 18 August 1967, Berlin) was a German entomologist who specialised in leafmining insects, He was a curator in the Museum für Naturkunde in Berlin, where his collections of Lepidoptera, Coleo ...

, there. In 1930 the Institute of Zoology of the Ukrainian Academy of Sciences was established and the evolutionist

Ivan Schmalhausen Ivan Ivanovich Schmalhausen (russian: Ива́н Ива́нович Шмальга́узен; April 23, 1884 – October 7, 1963) was a Ukrainian, Russian and later Soviet zoologist and evolutionary biologist of German descent. He developed the t ...

became its first director. Paramonov started working as an editor-in-chief of the Institute journal. In 1935 he conducted a research in Pryazovia (

Sea of Azov The Sea of Azov ( Crimean Tatar: ''Azaq deñizi''; russian: Азовское море, Azovskoye more; uk, Азовське море, Azovs'ke more) is a sea in Eastern Europe connected to the Black Sea by the narrow (about ) Strait of Ker ...

coast). In 1938 during the

Political repression in the Soviet Union Throughout the history of the Soviet Union, tens of millions of people suffered political repression, which was an instrument of the state since the October Revolution. It culminated during the Stalin era, then declined, but it continued to exist ...

Sergey's father Yakiv was arrested and executed. In 1940 Sergey Parmonov wrote and defended the thesis "

Palearctic The Palearctic or Palaearctic is the largest of the eight biogeographic realms of the Earth. It stretches across all of Eurasia north of the foothills of the Himalayas, and North Africa. The realm consists of several bioregions: the Euro-Si ...

Bombyliidae The Bombyliidae are a family of flies, commonly known as bee flies. Adults generally feed on nectar and pollen, some being important pollinators. Larvae are mostly parasitoids of other insects. Overview The Bombyliidae are a large family of ...

", thus he earned the

Doctor of Sciences Doctor of Sciences ( rus, доктор наук, p=ˈdoktər nɐˈuk, abbreviated д-р наук or д. н.; uk, доктор наук; bg, доктор на науките; be, доктар навук) is a higher doctoral degree in the Russi ...

in Biology, soon he was appointed as a director of the Zoological Museum. On 19 September 1941

Nazi Germany Nazi Germany (lit. "National Socialist State"), ' (lit. "Nazi State") for short; also ' (lit. "National Socialist Germany") (officially known as the German Reich from 1933 until 1943, and the Greater German Reich from 1943 to 1945) was ...

captured Kiev. According to memoirs of his colleague the zoologist Yevdokia Reshetnyk, Paramonov saved several building including the Ukrainian opera house, the Academy of Science, and others by pointing Germans to places where

Bolsheviks The Bolsheviks (russian: Большевики́, from большинство́ ''bol'shinstvó'', 'majority'),; derived from ''bol'shinstvó'' (большинство́), "majority", literally meaning "one of the majority". also known in English ...

had laid explosives to blow the opera house up. Paramonov was going on working at the Zoological Museum though he stopped holding the director post. Germans appointed the zoologist as a director because he was a

volksdeutsche In Nazi German terminology, ''Volksdeutsche'' () were "people whose language and culture had German origins but who did not hold German citizenship". The term is the nominalised plural of ''volksdeutsch'', with ''Volksdeutsche'' denoting a sing ...

. At the time of Nazi occupation the Austrian entomologist Karl E. Schedl was working at the Ukrainian Zoological Museum too. Germans decided to evacuate the museum because of the Soviet advance, so Nazis declared museum exhibits as war trophies and sent them to

Poznań Poznań () is a city on the River Warta in west-central Poland, within the Greater Poland region. The city is an important cultural and business centre, and one of Poland's most populous regions with many regional customs such as Saint Joh ...

.

Emigration

In September 1943 Sergey Paramonov had to accompany exhibits of the to

Poznań Poznań () is a city on the River Warta in west-central Poland, within the Greater Poland region. The city is an important cultural and business centre, and one of Poland's most populous regions with many regional customs such as Saint Joh ...

and then in 1945 to Berlin, some of them still have been keeping in the

Museum für Naturkunde The Natural History Museum (german: Museum für Naturkunde) is a natural history museum located in Berlin, Germany. It exhibits a vast range of specimens from various segments of natural history and in such domain it is one of three major muse ...

. In April 1945 Nazis arrested him and wanted to shoot him. Paramonov managed to save his life by protection of a "familiar professor", who might have been

Erich Martin Hering Erich Martin Hering (10 November 1893, Heinersdorf – 18 August 1967, Berlin) was a German entomologist who specialised in leafmining insects, He was a curator in the Museum für Naturkunde in Berlin, where his collections of Lepidoptera, Coleo ...

. Escaping, Sergey Paramonov fled to

Hanover Hanover (; german: Hannover ; nds, Hannober) is the capital and largest city of the German state of Lower Saxony. Its 535,932 (2021) inhabitants make it the 13th-largest city in Germany as well as the fourth-largest city in Northern Germany ...

, and from there to Bachenberg. Some sources say that he was put into the Nazi concentration camp near Munden, However, the

German Red Cross The German Red Cross (german: Deutsches Rotes Kreuz ; DRK) is the national Red Cross Society in Germany. With 4 million members, it is the third largest Red Cross society in the world. The German Red Cross offers a wide range of services withi ...

has not proved it. When the allied forces captured this part of Germany, Paramonov went to Paris. In June 1945 he arrived in Paris. Here Paramonov was in a difficult position because he did not have a livelihood. He wrote letters to his friends-scientists for help to find an appropriate position corresponding to his knowledge and qualifications.

Theodosius Dobzhansky Theodosius Grigorievich Dobzhansky (russian: Феодо́сий Григо́рьевич Добржа́нский; uk, Теодо́сій Григо́рович Добржа́нський; January 25, 1900 – December 18, 1975) was a prominent ...

offered him a place at his laboratory in the United States to study

drosophilid The Drosophilidae are a diverse, cosmopolitan family of flies, which includes species called fruit flies, although they are more accurately referred to as vinegar or pomace flies. Another distantly related family of flies, Tephritidae, are true f ...

taxonomy. Another Sergey's friend the entomologist Boris Uvarov asked the chief of

CSIRO The Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO) is an Australian Government agency responsible for scientific research. CSIRO works with leading organisations around the world. From its headquarters in Canberra, CSIRO ...

Alexander John Nicholson about vacancies in Australia. In fact, after

André Léon Tonnoir André Léon Tonnoir (9 April 1885 – 30 January 1940), was a Belgian entomologist. Born in Brussels, Tonnoir studied engineering followed by radiology at university. He worked as a technician during World War I, and after the war had ende ...

's death in 1940, CSIRO was looking for an experienced entomologist-taxonomist, so in October 1946 Paramonov was offered to apply for a job at CSIRO. While there were being bureaucratic formalities, he left for London to study Australian diptera at the

British Museum The British Museum is a public museum dedicated to human history, art and culture located in the Bloomsbury area of London. Its permanent collection of eight million works is among the largest and most comprehensive in existence. It docume ...

. In March 1947, Sergey Paramonov came to Australia. On arrival, he faced a number of problems. The issue of his appointment at CSIRO was raised by MP Joe Abbott in the

Parliament of Australia The Parliament of Australia (officially the Federal Parliament, also called the Commonwealth Parliament) is the legislative branch of the government of Australia. It consists of three elements: the monarch (represented by the governor-g ...

as he guessed that Paramonov might have been a Soviet spy. After thorough consideration, it was decided to keep the position at CSIRO for Paramonov, but to restrict him the access to certain areas in Australia for national security reasons. Another challenge was English language. Paramonov was not very good at English at first so he continued writing his scientific articles mainly in German in the first few years, thus there were some difficulties to publish them in Australia. Since his English got better, Paramonov published his first article in Australia about the

Mydidae The Mydidae (sometimes misspelled as Mydaidae), or Mydas flies, are a cosmopolitan family of flies. It is a small family, with about 471 species described. They are generally large in size, including the largest known fly, '' Gauromydas heros'' ...

, followed by monographs about: the

Streblidae The Streblidae are a family of flies in the superfamily Hippoboscoidea, and together with their relatives the Nycteribiidae, are known as bat flies. They are winged or wingless ectoparasites of bats, and often have long legs. They appear to b ...

,

Microtropesa ''Microtropesa'' is a genus of Fly, flies in the family Tachinidae. Species *''Microtropesa danielsi'' Burwell, 1996 *''Microtropesa flavitarsis'' John Russell Malloch, Malloch, 1929 *''Microtropesa flaviventris'' Malloch, 1930 *''Microtropesa i ...

(1951),

Nemestrinidae Nemestrinidae, or tangle-veined flies is a family of flies in the superfamily Nemestrinoidea, closely related to Acroceridae. The family is small but distributed worldwide, with about 300 species in 34 genera. Larvae are endoparasitoids of eithe ...

,

Apioceridae The Apioceridae, or flower-loving flies, are a small (about 150 species) family of flies, all in the single genus ''Apiocera''. They occur mostly in dry, sandy habitats in the deserts of North America, South America, and Australia. Other genera ...

(1953), Cyrtidae,

Scenopinidae The Scenopinidae or window flies are a small (about 400 described species) family of flies (Diptera), distributed worldwide. In buildings, they are often taken at windows, hence the common name window flies. The two species with cosmopolitan dist ...

, Tapeigaster (

Neottiophilidae The Piophilidae are a family of "true flies", in the order Diptera. The so-called cheese flies are the best-known members, but most species of the Piophilidae are scavengers in animal products, carrion, and fungi. They may accordingly be importa ...

) (1955), Hirmoneura (

Nemestrinidae Nemestrinidae, or tangle-veined flies is a family of flies in the superfamily Nemestrinoidea, closely related to Acroceridae. The family is small but distributed worldwide, with about 300 species in 34 genera. Larvae are endoparasitoids of eithe ...

), Cylindromyia, Saralba (

Tachinidae The Tachinidae are a large and variable family of true flies within the insect order Diptera, with more than 8,200 known species and many more to be discovered. Over 1,300 species have been described in North America alone. Insects in this fami ...

) (1956),

Acroceridae The Acroceridae are a small family of odd-looking flies. They have a hump-backed appearance with a strikingly small head, generally with a long proboscis for accessing nectar. They are rare and not widely known. The most frequently applied common ...

(1957), Pyrgotidae (1958) and Leptidea (1962). His last lifetime article was а review of the Lygira (

Bombyliidae The Bombyliidae are a family of flies, commonly known as bee flies. Adults generally feed on nectar and pollen, some being important pollinators. Larvae are mostly parasitoids of other insects. Overview The Bombyliidae are a large family of ...

) species in 1967. After his death, an article about the family

Tachinidae The Tachinidae are a large and variable family of true flies within the insect order Diptera, with more than 8,200 known species and many more to be discovered. Over 1,300 species have been described in North America alone. Insects in this fami ...

was published in 1968. He also wrote small articles for the "Notes on Australian Diptera". Sergey Paramonov took an active part in the Ukrainian community life. He was a parishioner of the Ukrainian Autocephalous Orthodox Church. He wrote articles for Ukrainian emigrant magazines, mostly about science and religion, which he signed as ''Serhiy Paramoniv''.

Sergey Lesnoy

Being in Paris in 1945, Sergey Paramonov met the editor of the Russian

emigrant Emigration is the act of leaving a resident country or place of residence with the intent to settle elsewhere (to permanently leave a country). Conversely, immigration describes the movement of people into one country from another (to permanentl ...

S. Plautin. They were discussing the article of Paramonov's Kiev colleague the

zoologist Zoology ()The pronunciation of zoology as is usually regarded as nonstandard, though it is not uncommon. is the branch of biology that studies the animal kingdom, including the structure, embryology, evolution, classification, habits, and ...

"

The Tale of Igor's Campaign ''The Tale of Igor's Campaign'' ( orv, Слово о пълкѹ Игоревѣ, translit=Slovo o pŭlku Igorevě) is an anonymous epic poem written in the Old East Slavic language. The title is occasionally translated as ''The Tale of the Campaig ...

in terms of Natural science", which was published in

Ukrainian language Ukrainian ( uk, украї́нська мо́ва, translit=ukrainska mova, label=native name, ) is an East Slavic language of the Indo-European language family. It is the native language of about 40 million people and the official state lang ...

in 1940. As a result of the conversation, Paramonov was offered to write a small article for the Vozrozhdeniye with an analysis of Sharleman's work. Thus he wrote the article "

The Tale of Igor's Campaign ''The Tale of Igor's Campaign'' ( orv, Слово о пълкѹ Игоревѣ, translit=Slovo o pŭlku Igorevě) is an anonymous epic poem written in the Old East Slavic language. The title is occasionally translated as ''The Tale of the Campaig ...

from the point of view of a naturalist" and signed it as ''Sergey Lesnoy'' for some reasons. The pseudonym ''Lesnoy'' may come from his father's job - the forester. The Russian word ''les (russian: лес)'' means a forest. After writing his first article, the ancient history of the

East Slavs The East Slavs are the most populous subgroup of the Slavs. They speak the East Slavic languages, and formed the majority of the population of the medieval state Kievan Rus', which they claim as their cultural ancestor.John Channon & Robert H ...

became his topic of interest, so while he was living in Australia Paramonov wrote series of compositions about it. The compositions that were written in Russian he signed as Sergey Lesnoy. Besides that he tried himself in literature. His most significant works in Russian were: * ''

The Tale of Igor's Campaign ''The Tale of Igor's Campaign'' ( orv, Слово о пълкѹ Игоревѣ, translit=Slovo o pŭlku Igorevě) is an anonymous epic poem written in the Old East Slavic language. The title is occasionally translated as ''The Tale of the Campaig ...

. Study in four volumes. To the 150th anniversary of the publication''. (Слово о Полку Игореве. Исследование в четырёх томах. К 150-летию со дня опубликования),

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. ...

, 1950–53. * ''Devilry under the Lysa Hora''. (Чертовщина под Лысой горой), Paris, 1952. * ''The history of

Rus' people The Rusʹ ( Old East Slavic: Рѹсь; Belarusian, Russian, Rusyn, and Ukrainian: Русь; Old Norse: '' Garðar''; Greek: Ῥῶς, ''Rhos'') were a people in early medieval eastern Europe. The scholarly consensus holds that they were or ...

in a not perverted form''. (История «руссов» в неизвращенном виде), Paris, Munich, 1953–60. * ''Revision of the basics of the Slavs history''. (Пересмотр основ истории славян), Melbourne, 1956 * ''Who created ancient Rus': The Slavs or Germanic peoples?'' (Кто создал древнюю Русь: Славяне или германцы?) Paris, Vozrozhdeniye #108, 1960. * ''Rus', where are you from?'' (Русь, откуда ты?) Winnipeg, 1962.

Rostov-on-Don Rostov-on-Don ( rus, Ростов-на-Дону, r=Rostov-na-Donu, p=rɐˈstof nə dɐˈnu) is a port city and the administrative centre of Rostov Oblast and the Southern Federal District of Russia. It lies in the southeastern part of the East ...

, 1995. * '' The book of Wles'', (Влесова Книга), Winnipeg, 1966. Moscow, 2002. * ''From the distant past of the Slavs''. (Из далекого прошлого славян), Melbourne, 1967

The Book of Veles

In 1954 Sergey Paramonov received the

white émigré White Russian émigrés were Russians who emigrated from the territory of the former Russian Empire in the wake of the Russian Revolution (1917) and Russian Civil War (1917–1923), and who were in opposition to the revolutionary Bolshevik commun ...

magazine ''Zhar-ptitsa'' ( Firebird), which was published in

San Francisco San Francisco (; Spanish language, Spanish for "Francis of Assisi, Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the List of Ca ...

, from . The magazine contained a letter from their Brussels' reader , where he reported about strange artifacts – carved planks, which had been found by near

Kharkiv Kharkiv ( uk, wikt:Харків, Ха́рків, ), also known as Kharkov (russian: Харькoв, ), is the second-largest List of cities in Ukraine, city and List of hromadas of Ukraine, municipality in Ukraine.colonel Colonel (abbreviated as Col., Col or COL) is a senior military officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries, a colonel was typically in charge ...

of the

Volunteer Army The Volunteer Army (russian: Добровольческая армия, translit=Dobrovolcheskaya armiya, abbreviated to russian: Добрармия, translit=Dobrarmiya) was a White Army active in South Russia during the Russian Civil War from ...

. According to Mirolubov after the White movement defeat, Izenbek took the planks in

emigration Emigration is the act of leaving a resident country or place of residence with the intent to settle elsewhere (to permanently leave a country). Conversely, immigration describes the movement of people into one country from another (to permanentl ...

and they were lost in Belgium during the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

. Mirolubov claimed that he had managed to copy down some texts of them. Paramonov was very impressed that information and took from Kurenkov and Mirolubov all available materials about Izenbek's planks. Among other Paramonov gained a photograph of plank 16, there was the only one plank, the quality photo of which had been made. The text of that plank begins with the words: "''Влес книгу сію" ( Vles the book this)''. So Paramonov decided to call the whole text of the Izenbek's planks as "Влесова Книга" or "The Book of Wles" in English. Dr Paramoniv grave

Initially Sergey Paramonov believed in the

Book of Veles The Book of Veles (also: Veles Book, Vles book, ''Vles kniga'', Vlesbook, Isenbeck's Planks, , , , , , ) is a literary forgery purporting to be a text of ancient Slavic religion and history supposedly written on wooden planks. It contains rel ...

authenticity and reckoned that it had been written in the

Proto-Slavic language Proto-Slavic (abbreviated PSl., PS.; also called Common Slavic or Common Slavonic) is the unattested, reconstructed proto-language of all Slavic languages. It represents Slavic speech approximately from the 2nd millennium B.C. through the 6th ...

. He started studying and analyzing the text and wrote articles about it for Ukrainian and Russian emigrant magazines. In fact S. Paramonov made the information about the Book of Veles to be available for the general public. Eventually it resulted that the Book of Veles has become like the Bible for many

Slavic neopaganism The Slavic Native Faith, commonly known as Rodnovery * bg, Родноверие, translit=Rоdnoverie * bs, Rodnovjerje * mk, Родноверие, translit=Rodnoverie * cz, Rodnověří * hr, Rodnovjerje * pl, Rodzimowierstwo; Rodzima ...

movements. Paramonov needed to prove the Book of Veles authenticity so he sent all his researches and all materials, he had, to the

Academy of Sciences of the USSR 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 ...

under the mediation of the

University of Melbourne The University of Melbourne is a public research university located in Melbourne, Australia. Founded in 1853, it is Australia's second oldest university and the oldest in Victoria. Its main campus is located in Parkville, an inner suburb n ...

. The Soviet scientists verdict was: "The Book of Veles is a literary forgery".

Death

During the last ten years of his life Sergey Paramonov severely suffered from

arthritis Arthritis is a term often used to mean any disorder that affects joints. Symptoms generally include joint pain and stiffness. Other symptoms may include redness, warmth, swelling, and decreased range of motion of the affected joints. In some ...

,

angina Angina, also known as angina pectoris, is chest pain or pressure, usually caused by insufficient blood flow to the heart muscle (myocardium). It is most commonly a symptom of coronary artery disease. Angina is typically the result of obstruc ...

and chronic

nephritis Nephritis is inflammation of the kidneys and may involve the glomeruli, tubules, or interstitial tissue surrounding the glomeruli and tubules. It is one of several different types of nephropathy. Types * Glomerulonephritis is inflammation ...

. After the visit him by the

slavist Slavic (American English) or Slavonic (British English) studies, also known as Slavistics is the academic field of area studies concerned with Slavic areas, languages, literature, history, and culture. Originally, a Slavist or Slavicist was prim ...

Boris Unbegaun Boris Ottokar Unbegaun (russian: Бори́с Ге́нрихович Унбега́ун, ''Boris Genrikhovich Unbegaun'') (1898, Moscow – 1973) was a Russian-born German linguist and philologist, expert in Slavic studies: Slavic languages and ...

in September 1967, who strongly criticised Paramonov's investigations into the Book of Veles, his health deteriorated significantly. On 18 September 1967 Sergey's younger brother Oleksiy died in

Bordon Bordon is a town in the East Hampshire district of Hampshire, England. It lies in the interior of the royal Woolmer Forest, about southeast of Alton. The town forms a part of the civil parish of Whitehill which is one of two contiguous villa ...

, England. On 19 September Sergey Paramonov was taken to a Canberra hospital where he died on 22 September 1967, in the age of 72. Sergey Paramonov was buried in the Woden Cemetery. There are two inscriptions in English and Ukrainian on his gravestone: Before his death Sergey Paramonov made a will according to which he left all his savings for the St. Nicholas Ukrainian Autocephalous Orthodox Church construction in Canberra. After some time the St Nicholas church became a core of the Ukrainian Orthodox Centre, where the of the 1932-1933 enforced famine-genocide in Ukraine was erected in 1985.Ukrainian Autocephalic Orthodox Church - Google Maps
/ref>

Spellings of the name and pseudonym

Biography

Early life

Kiev period

Emigration

Sergey Lesnoy

The Book of Veles

Death

Sources

Further reading