Andrey Bolotov | |
|---|---|
 Andrey Bolotov | |
| Born | (1738-10-18)18 October 1738 |
| Died | 16 October 1833(1833-10-16) (aged 94) |
| Scientific career | |
| Fields | Philosophy,Agriculture |
Andrey Timofeyevich Bolotov (Russian: Андрей Тимофеевич Болотов; 18 October 1738 – 16 October 1833) was the most prolificmemoirist and the most distinguishedagriculturist of the 18th-centuryRussian Empire.
Bolotov was born and spent most of his adult life in the family estate of Dvoryaninovo, in theTularegion to the south ofMoscow. He was brought up by his parents inLivland, where his father's regiment was stationed. After taking part in theSeven Years' War he settled into retirement in Dvoryaninovo.
During his life there, he brought out a pioneering manual oncrop rotation and elaborated an innovative system ofpomology which included more than 600cultivars of apple and pear. Always interested inplant breeding, Bolotov discovereddichogamy of apple-trees and pointed out to the advantages ofcross-pollination.
Bolotov's works brought him to the attention of CountOrlov, who asked him to manage the neighbouring estate ofBobriki, whereCatherine II's illegitimate son, CountBobrinsky, was being raised. Bolotov turned Bobriki into the most up-to-date agricultural estate in provincial Russia and ensured the keen interest which later Counts Bobrinsky would take in agriculture.
Bolotov was also active in theFree Economic Society, which published his treatise onforestry. Together withNikolay Novikov, he edited the journalsThe Village Resident (1778–79) andThe Magazine of Economics (1780–89), which brought him the income of 400 roubles a year, a very considerable sum for the time. His extensive memoirs, entitledLife and Adventures of Andrei Bolotov, in 26 parts and written between 1789 and 1816, went through several editions and were translated into English. Bolotov died in Dvoryaninovo aged 94. Thomas Newlin wrote of him:
Andrey Timofeevich Bolotov stands out as the most prolific writer that Russia has ever produced, penning, by one estimate, the equivalent of some 350 volumes of written material—memoirs, diaries, letters, poems, plays, criticism, and translations, as well as a vast array of other works of literary, philosophical, religious, didactic, scientific, agricultural, and historical natures—over the course of his long and quietly astonishing career. During his lifetime Bolotov achieved a modest measure of recognition as a writer on agricultural and horticultural issues; he is best known today, however, for his massive [memoirs]. Because only a relatively small portion of what he wrote found its way into print[...] Bolotov, despite his phenomenal productivity and his considerable originality as a writer, ended up having virtually no influence on the development of Russian belle-lettres.[1]
