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Vladimir Obruchev | |
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Born | Vladimir Afanasyevich Obruchev (1863-10-10)October 10, 1863 Rzhev,Tver Governorate, Russian Empire |
Died | June 19, 1956(1956-06-19) (aged 92) Moscow,Russian SFSR, Soviet Union |
Occupation | Geologist, novelist |
Genre | Science fiction |
Notable works | Plutonia (novel),Sannikov's Land,In the Wilds of Central Asia |
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Vladimir Afanasyevich Obruchev (Russian:Влади́мир Афана́сьевич О́бручев; October 10 [O.S. September 28] 1863 – June 19, 1956) was a Russian and Sovietgeologist who specialized in the study ofSiberia andCentral Asia. He was also one of the firstRussian science fiction authors.
Vladimir Obruchev graduated from thePetersburg 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 inSiberia. He also gave advice on construction of theCentral Asian andTrans-Siberian Railways and consultedSven Hedin on his projected journey to Siberia. While working for the railway, Obruchev explored theKarakum Desert, the shores of theAmu Darya River, and the old riverbeds of theUzbois.[1] He also worked as a geologist onLake Baikal, on theLena River, and in gold fields near the Vitim.[1]
Between 1892 and 1894, Obruchev "was a member of theGrigory Potanin's expedition into ... Mongolia, [and] to the mountains ofNan Shan and Northern China." He also explored theTransbaikal area,Dzungaria, andAltai.[1] Largely as a result of his participation in this expedition he became interested inloess and made considerable contributions to the study of loess deposits.[2]
In 1929, Obruchev was elected to theAcademy of Sciences of the Soviet Union.[1]
Having spent half a century in exploring Siberia and Inner Asia, Obruchev summarized his findings with a three-volumemonograph,The Geology of Siberia (1935–1938), followed byThe History of Geological Exploration of Siberia. Many of his works deal with the origins ofloess in Central Asia and Siberia,ice formation andpermafrost in Siberia, problems of Siberiantectonics, and Siberiangoldfields. He also authored many popular scientific works, such asFormation 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 theLenin Prize as well as the prizes and medals of several scientific societies.[1]
He was the director of the Geological Institute (1930-1933) and the Permafrost Institute (1939-1956) of the Academy of Sciences of the Soviet Union.[3]
During 1954, he completed an extensive geographical study ofNan Shan Mountains inChina based on his own and previous expeditions to the region and spent his last years working up a geological study of the mountains.[1]
In his native country Obruchev is best known as the author of two perennially popularscience fiction novels,Plutonia (Плутония, 1915) andSannikov Land (Земля Санникова, 1924). Both of these stories, imitating the pattern ofArthur Conan Doyle'sThe Lost World, depict in vivid detail the discovery of an isolated world of prehistoric animals in hitherto unexplored large islands north ofAlaska or Siberia. InPlutonia,dinosaurs 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 ofpaleontology. "Sannikov Land" is named for aphantom 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 purepulp, but all this is redeemed by the novel's rigorous scientific sensibility."[4]
During the Soviet period, Obruchev attempted to emulate Edwardian models of boys'adventure stories in his novelsGolddiggers in the Desert (1928) andIn the Wilds of Central Asia (1951).
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