Vladimir Obruchev
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[[Image:Obruchev za tainami plutona.jpg|thumb|200px|right|Vladimir Obruchev on the cover of his memoirs, ''Digging for Pluto's Secrets'']]
'''Vladimir Afanasyevich Obruchev''' ({{lang-ru|Влади́мир Афана́сьевич О́бручев}}; {{OldStyleDate|October 10|1863|September 28}}, Klepenino near [[Rzhev]], [[Tver Oblast]] – [[June 19]], [[1956]], [[Moscow]]) was a [[Russia]]n [[geologist]] who specialized in the study of [[Siberia]] and [[Central Asia]]. He was also one of the first [[science fiction]] authors in Russia.
== Scientific research ==
Vladimir Obruchev graduated from the [[Petersburg 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 in [[Siberia]]. He also gave advice on construction of the [[Central Asian Railway|Central Asian]] and [[Trans-Siberian Railway]]s and consulted [[Sven Hedin]] on his projected journey to Siberia.
Having spent half a century in exploring Siberia and Inner Asia, Obruchev summarized his findings in a three-volume [[monograph]], ''The Geology of Siberia'' ([[1935]]–[[1938]]), followed by ''The History of Geological Exploration of Siberia''. Many of his works deal with the origins of [[loess]] in Central Asia and Siberia, [[ice]] formation and [[permafrost]] in Siberia, problems of Siberian [[tectonics]], and Siberian [[Gold mining|goldfield]]s. He also authored many popular scientific works, such as ''Formation of Mountains and Ore Deposits'' ([[1932]]), ''Fundamentals of Geology'' ([[1944]]), ''Field Geology'' ([[1927]]), ''Ore Deposits'' ([[1928]]–1929), and others.
== Popular fiction ==
In his native country Obruchev is best known as the author of two perenially popular [[science fiction]] novels, ''[[Hollow Earth#Recent history|Plutonia]]'' ([[1915]]) and ''[[Sannikov Land]]'' ([[1924]]). Both of these stories, following the pattern set by [[Arthur Conan Doyle]]'s ''[[The Lost World (Arthur Conan Doyle)|The Lost World]]'', depict in vivid detail the discovery of an isolated world of prehistoric animals in the depths of Siberia. In ''Plutonia'', the dinosaurs and other Jurassic species are placed in a fictional underground area of Russian Siberia. The detailed descriptive passages are made credible by Obruchev's deep grounding in [[paleontology]].
During the Soviet period, Obruchev attempted to emulate Edwardian models of boys' [[adventure novel|adventure stories]] in his novels ''Golddiggers in the Desert'' (1928) and ''In the Wilds of Central Asia'' ([[1951]]).
== Official positions ==
* [[Professor]] of the [[Tomsk State Technical University]] ([[1919]]–[[1921]]),
* Professor of the [[Taurida University]] in [[Simferopol]] ([[1918]]–1919),
* Professor of the [[Moscow Mining Academy]] (1921-1929);
* Member of the [[Soviet Academy of Sciences]] ([[1929]]);
* Chairman of the Committee on [[Permafrost]] Studies (since [[1930]]);
* Director of the Institute of Permafrost Studies of the Soviet Academy of Sciences (since [[1939]]);
* Secretary of the Department of Geological and Geographical Sciences of the Soviet Academy of Sciences ([[1942]]–[[1946]]);
* Honorary president of the [[Soviet Geographical Society]] (since [[1947]]).
== Awards and honors ==
* [[Hero of Socialist Labor]] ([[1945]])
* The [[Nikolai Przhevalsky|Przhevalsky]] Prize
* The Great Gold Medal of the [[Russian Geographical Society]]
* Two [[Pyotr Alexandrovich Chikhachov|Chikhachov]] Prizes from the [[French Academy of Sciences]] ([[1898]] and [[1925]])
* The first ever [[Aleksandr Karpinsky|Karpinsky]] Gold Medal (1947)
* The [[Lenin Prize]] ([[1926]])
* The [[Stalin Prize]]s ([[1941]], [[1950]])
* Five [[Order of Lenin|Orders of Lenin]]
* [[Order of the Red Banner of Labor]], and numerous medals.
== Things named after him ==
* [[Obruchevite]], a mineral.
* [[Akademik Obruchev Range]] in [[Tuva]]
* A [[mountain]] in the upper reaches of the [[Vitim River]]
* An [[oasis]] in [[Antarctica]]
* [[Obruchev (crater)]] on the [[Moon]]
* The [[Obruchev Prize]] was established by the Soviet Academy of Sciences in 1938 to honor best works in the field of Siberian geology.
== Family ==
Two of his sons also became notable scientists:
* [[Sergei Obruchev]], a geologist, discovered the [[Chersky Range]] in Siberia.
* [[Dmitry Obruchev]], a paleontologist, was a leading authority on early vertebrates.
==Bibliography==
*Vladimir Obruchev ''Plutonia'', Moscow: Raduga Publishers, 1988, ISBN 5-05-001691-6
*Vladimir Obruchev, ''Sannikov Land'', Moscow: Raduga Publishers, 1988, ISBN 5-05-001690-8
==External links==
*{{imdb name|id=0969834|name=Vladimir Obruchev}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Obruchev, Vladimir Afanasyevich}}
[[Category:Soviet scientists]]
[[Category:Soviet writers]]
[[Category:Soviet geographers]]
[[Category:Soviet geologists]]
[[Category:Russian science fiction writers]]
[[Category:Russian geologists]]
[[Category:Russian paleontologists]]
[[Category:Russian geographers]]
[[Category:Explorers of Asia]]
[[Category:Explorers of Central Asia]]
[[Category:Explorers of Siberia]]
[[Category:1863 births]]
[[Category:1956 deaths]]
[[Category:Heroes of Socialist Labor]]
[[Category:Central Asian studies]]
[[cs:Vladimír Afanasjevič Obručev]]
[[de:Wladimir Afanasjewitsch Obrutschew]]
[[he:ולדימיר אוברוצ'ב]]
[[hu:Vlagyimir Afanazjevics Obrucsev]]
[[ru:Обручев, Владимир Афанасьевич]]