by Alexander CHIBILEV, RAS Corresponding Member, Vice-President of the Russian Geographical Society (RGS), Director of the Steppe Institute, RAS Ural Branch (Orenburg), Chairman of the RGS Standing Nature Conservation Commission Over the past three years the Russian Geographical Society has done much to revive its old traditions. At its 13th and 14th congresses in 2009 and 2010 and also at meetings of its Academic and Guardianship Boards the focus was on its role in the exploration and conservation of the environmental and historico-cultural heritage of our country. It was also decided to re-establish the RGS Standing Nature Conservation Commission; this decision concurred with the RGS centennial. BACKGROUND OF THE CONSERVATION MOVEMENT Originating in Russia at the end of the 19th century, this movement gathered momentum in the first decades of the 20th century. It was a public crusade in support of natural monuments led by such great minds as botanist Ivan Borodin (1847-1930); anthropologist and geographer Dmitry Anuchin (1843-1923); arboriculturist, geographer and botanist Georgi Morozov (1867-1920); St. Petersburg zoologist and member of the Sayan expedition Dmitry Solovyov (1886-1931); head of the Zoology Chair at Lomonosov Moscow State University Gri-gori Kozhevnikov (1866-1933); botanist and geographer of Kharkov University Valery Taliev (1872-1932); geog- стр. 49 rapher Veniamin Semyonov-Tien-Shansky (1870-1942) and his brother, enthomologist Andrei Semyonov-Tien-Shansky (1866-1942), among others. For the first time an ethical and aesthetical approach to wildlife protection and reservation management was developed. It came in the wake of an idea voiced by the famous soil scientist Vasily Dokuchaev in 1892 in favor of special protected reservations or wildlife sanctuaries. In contrast to the national parks of the USA set apart for hunting, fishing, entertainment and leisure activities, Dokuchaev proposed to establish w ... Читать далее