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Robert AbolinRussian and Soviet geobotanist, soil scientist, physical geographer
Date of Birth: 18.05.1886
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Content:
- A Life Dedicated to Science: Robert Abolin
- Revolutionary Activities and Scientific Expeditions
- Explorations in Central Asia and Siberia
- Work in Tashkent and Professorship
- Manager of the Kaplanbek Horticultural Farm
- Editor of the journal "Irrigation, Agriculture, and Animal Husbandry"
- Return to St. Petersburg and Imprisonment
- Tragic End
A Life Dedicated to Science: Robert Abolin
Early Life and EducationRobert Abolin was born on May 18, 1886, in the Riga district of the Livonian Governorate, into a family of Latvian peasants. Despite his humble beginnings, Abolin's passion for science and exploration would shape his extraordinary career.
Revolutionary Activities and Scientific Expeditions
Abolin actively participated in the revolutionary movement from 1905 and lived in hiding in St. Petersburg from 1907. While there, he studied at the St. Petersburg Agricultural Training Courses. In 1909, he joined V.N. Sukachev's expedition to study the bogs of the Pskov and Novgorod provinces.
Explorations in Central Asia and Siberia
In 1911-1912, Abolin participated in the Nerchinsk Expedition in Transbaikalia, where he conducted extensive research on the vegetation of the region. He graduated from the Petersburg Forestry Institute in 1913 but was soon drafted into the army before being discharged.
From 1915 to 1918, Abolin and his students meticulously studied the vegetation of Central Asia, amassing a vast collection of plant specimens that are now housed in the Herbarium of Tashkent University. He also served as director of the astronomical laboratory in Verny.
Work in Tashkent and Professorship
In 1918-1922 and 1924-1930, Abolin resided in Tashkent, where he held various roles, including:
Manager of the Kaplanbek Horticultural Farm
Head of the Agricultural and Scientific-Technical Departments of the People's Commissariat of Agriculture for the Turkestan Republic
Editor of the journal "Irrigation, Agriculture, and Animal Husbandry"
One of the founders and head of the Geobotanical Department of the Institute of Soil Science and Geobotany at Tashkent University
Professor at the Department of Meadow Studies at Central Asian State University
Return to St. Petersburg and Imprisonment
From 1922-1924, Abolin taught at the St. Petersburg Agricultural Institute while also serving as a research scientist at the North-Western Experimental Melioration Station. After returning from Tashkent, he worked as a research scientist at the Institute of Agro-Soil Science in Leningrad from 1930 to 1931.
From 1932 to 1937, Abolin was the head of the Desert Development Bureau at the All-Union Institute of Plant Growing (VIR) and simultaneously held a professorship in the Department of Geobotany at Leningrad University. He also led an expedition to Dagestan.
Tragic End
On December 18, 1937, Abolin was arrested and sentenced to death on January 17, 1938, by the NKVD and the USSR Prosecutor's Office. He was executed on January 27, 1938, in Leningrad. Several conflicting accounts of his death have emerged, including that he perished in a camp in 1939 or was later released after being repressed.
Despite the tragic end to his life, Robert Abolin's legacy as a pioneering geobotanist, soil scientist, and explorer of Central Asia and Siberia endures to this day.
