Tesha Zohidovich Zohidov (Uzbek Cyrillic: Теша Зоҳидович Зоҳидов, , ''Tisha Zakhidovich Zakhidov'') was a Soviet-Uzbek zoologist, ecologist, and politician who served as president of the Academy of Sciences of the Uzbek SSR from 1952 to 1956.

Early life and education

Zohidov was born on to an impoverished Uzbek family in Kokand. When he was only ten years old he began working at a print shop as an apprentice, although after the Soviet presence in the region increased he began attending a local school. After completing initial schooling in Kokand in 1924 he continued his education at the Tashkent Pedagogical College named after Narimonov, which he graduated from in 1926. That year, he entered Central Asia State University in 1926. Upon graduating from Central Asia State University in 1931, he became working for the Department of Vertebrate Zoology, where he worked as a researcher until 1949 when he became a professor. Back in 1939, he became a member of the Communist Party.

Career

In 1943, the People's Commissariat of the Uzbek SSR asked the university to conduct a comprehensive survey of a Southeast portion of the

Kyzylkum Desert The Kyzylkum Desert (, قِیزِیل‌قُوم; , قىزىلقۇم) is the 15th largest desert in the world. Its name means ''Red Sand'' in Turkic languages. It is located in Central Asia, in the land between the confluent rivers Amu Darya and ...

. The project, dubbed the "South Kyzylkum Complex Expedition", was led by Yevgeny Korotin (working as a botanist) and Zohidov (working as a zoologist). The field work lasted from 15 March to 10 December 1943, and academic literature from the project was first published in 1945, although some works were not published until a decade later. Most of his works focused on vertebrates that lived in the desert areas of the Uzbek SSR, especially in the

Karakum Desert The Karakum Desert ( ; rus, Каракумы, p=kərɐˈkumɨ), also spelt and (; ), is a desert in Central Asia. The name refers to the shale-rich sand beneath the surface. It occupies about 70 percent, or roughly , of Turkmenistan. The po ...

."Зоҳидов Теша Зоҳидович" ''OʻzME; Конимех—Мирзоқуш''. 4-jild. Toshkent, 2003-yil From 1946 to 1952 he served as deputy director of the Institute of Botany and Zoology of the Academy of Sciences of the Uzbek SSR. Meanwhile, he became a professor in 1949. In 1952 he became a member of the Academy of Sciences of the Uzbek SSR. That year, he became its president, a post he held until 1956. He then worked on zoology encyclopedia, for which he was awarded the Beruniy state prize in 1971. He died on 21 August 1981 in Tashkent.

Awards

Order of Lenin The Order of Lenin (, ) was an award named after Vladimir Lenin, the leader of the October Revolution. It was established by the Central Executive Committee on 6 April 1930. The order was the highest civilian decoration bestowed by the Soviet ...

Order of the October Revolution The Order of the October Revolution (, ''Orden Oktyabr'skoy Revolyutsii'') was instituted on 31 October 1967, in time for the 50th anniversary of the October Revolution. It was conferred upon individuals or groups for services furthering communis ...

* Three

Order of the Red Banner of Labour The Order of the Red Banner of Labour () was an order of the Soviet Union established to honour great deeds and services to the Soviet state and society in the fields of production, science, culture, literature, the arts, education, sports ...

Order of the Badge of Honour The Order of the Badge of Honour () was a civilian award of the Soviet Union. It was established on 25 November 1935, and was conferred on citizens of the USSR for outstanding achievements in sports, production, scientific research and socia ...

* Beruniy State Prize (1970) * Honored Scientist and Technologist of the Uzbek SSR (1950)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Zohidov, Tesha 1906 births 1981 deaths Recipients of the Order of Lenin National University of Uzbekistan alumni Fourth convocation members of the Supreme Soviet of the Soviet Union Soviet zoologists