Vyacheslav Izmailovich Sreznevsky (; 3 October 1849 – 29 June 1937) was a Russian philologist, photographer and sports executive. Chairman of the
Russian Olympic Committee
The Russian Olympic Committee (ROC) is the National Olympic Committee representing Russia. Its current president during IOC suspension is Mikhail Degtyarev. The membership of ROC is currently suspended by the International Olympic Committee (IOC ...
(1911–1918), founder and chairman of the Saint Petersburg Society of Ice Skating Amateurs (1877–1923).
Biography
Vyacheslav Sreznevsky was born in 1849 in Saint Petersburg to a family of a philologist Izmail Ivanovich Sreznevsky (1812–1880) and his wife Yelizaveta Fyodorovna, née Tyurina, a daughter of a maths teacher from
Kharkiv
Kharkiv, also known as Kharkov, is the second-largest List of cities in Ukraine, city in Ukraine.
. Vyacheslav had three brothers and four sisters.
In 1870 Sreznevsky graduated from the Faculty of History and Philology of
Saint Petersburg Imperial University
Saint Petersburg State University (SPBGU; ) is a public university, public research university in Saint Petersburg, Russia, and one of the oldest and most prestigious universities in Russia. Founded in 1724 by a decree of Peter the Great, the uni ...
. In 1878–81, he lectured there on the Russian language history and
Church Slavonic
Church Slavonic is the conservative Slavic liturgical language used by the Eastern Orthodox Church in Belarus, Bulgaria, North Macedonia, Montenegro, Poland, Russia, Ukraine, Serbia, the Czech Republic and Slovakia, Slovenia and Croatia. The ...
grammar. He was also a teacher of Russian language and literature in the St. Petersburg 2nd ''
realschule
Real school (, ) is a type of secondary school in Germany, Switzerland and Liechtenstein. It has also existed in Croatia (''realna gimnazija''), the Austrian Empire, the German Empire, Denmark and Norway (''realskole''), Sweden (''realskola''), F ...
'' and the Imperial Alexander Lyceum.
Sreznevsky was an amateur photographer from a young age. In 1882 he invented a special weather-resistant camera for
Nikolay Przhevalsky
Nikolay Mikhaylovich Przhevalsky (or Prjevalsky;; , . – ) was a Russian geographer and a renowned explorer of Central and East Asia. Although he never reached his ultimate goal, the city of Lhasa in Tibet, he still travelled through regio ...
's expeditions to Central Asia. Since 1878, Sreznevsky took an active part in the Russian Technical Society: he was the founder of its photographic department, and led it until 1916. From June 1880, he was the editor of the ''Photograph'' magazine. In 1881–84 Sreznevsky published the first Russian reference book on photography.
Sreznevsky contributed to the development of bandy, speed skating and other sports in Russia. On 16 March 1911 he was elected the first chairman of the
Russian Olympic Committee
The Russian Olympic Committee (ROC) is the National Olympic Committee representing Russia. Its current president during IOC suspension is Mikhail Degtyarev. The membership of ROC is currently suspended by the International Olympic Committee (IOC ...
. He helped organize the
1896
Events
January
* January 2 – The Jameson Raid comes to an end as Jameson surrenders to the Boers.
* January 4 – Utah is admitted as the 45th U.S. state.
* January 5 – An Austrian newspaper reports Wilhelm Röntgen's dis ...
and
1903
Events January
* January 1 – Edward VII is proclaimed Emperor of India.
* January 10 – The Aceh Sultanate was fully annexed by the Dutch forces, deposing the last sultan, marking the end of the Aceh War that have lasted for al ...
World Figure Skating Championships in Saint Petersburg, as well as the 1913
European Speed Skating Championships
The European Speed Skating Championships are a series of long track speed skating events held annually to determine the best speed skaters of Europe.
History
The International Skating Union has organised the European Championships for Men sinc ...
.
After the October Revolution of 1917, Sreznevsky took part in
Vsevobuch
Vsevobuch ( rus, всевобуч, p=fsʲɪˈvobʊtɕ), a portmanteau for "Universal Military Training" (), was a system of compulsory military training for men practiced in the Russian SFSR governed by the Chief Administration of Universal Militar ...
. He became one of the founders and teachers of the Higher Institute of Photography and Phototechnics (now the
Saint Petersburg State Institute of Film and Television
Saint Petersburg State Institute of Film and Television () is a public university located in Saint Petersburg, Russia. It was founded in 1918.
History
Founded September 9, 1918, by decree of the Sovnarkom of the RSFSR in Petrograd as the Higher I ...
). He died in Leningrad at the age of 87, and was buried at the
Smolensky Cemetery
Smolensky Cemetery () is the oldest continuously operating cemetery in Saint Petersburg, Russia.