Vladimir K. Arseniev, his fellow biologists and biological research
The article is devoted to the biological interests of a renowned scientist, Vladimir Klavdievich Arseniev (1872-1930). Arseniev began his studies in 1900 when he entered military service as poruchik (lieutenant), commander of the Vladivostok Fortress hunting team, and completed them in 1930 when he was in charge of several railway construction detachments. His first scientific publication was “A report on the activities of the Vladivostok Hunting Society for 1901-1905.” In his works, Arseniev expressed his concern for the preservation of the unique nature of the Far East, highlighting its environmental problems. Being an encyclopaedic scientist, he was well aware of the importance of biological science for the studying the life of the indigenous peoples of the Russian Far East. During numerous expeditions, Arseniev meticulously kept travel diaries, giving particular attention to the “Zoology” section and describing in detail the life and habits of the animals, photographing and sketching them. All his life V.K. Arseniev’s work was associated with the Museum of the Society for the Studies of the Amur Region (‘OIAK’) in Vladivostok and the Grodekov Museum in Khabarovsk, assembling collections of the Ussuri taiga animals for these museums and, at the same time, sending information and exhibits to the Zoological Museum of Moscow State University and other Russian museums. The article describes Arseniev’s connections with Russian biologists and émigré scientists from China. The entire Arseniev’s archive (fond 14) was carefully examined, with particular attentionfocused on his unpublished travel diaries and his personal book collection (over 900 titles), deposited at the OIAK in Vladivostok.This publication is dedicated to the 150th anniversary of the birth of V.K. Arseniev that will be celebrated in September 2022.