Mahler Benya 1902 scientist geographer. Berg L. S. Education and scientific career

BERG Lev Semenovich(1876-1950), physical geographer and biologist, academician of the USSR Academy of Sciences (1946). He developed the doctrine of landscapes and developed the ideas of V.V. Dokuchaev about natural areas. He was the first to carry out zonal physical-geographical zoning of the USSR. Major works on ichthyology (anatomy, systematics and distribution of fish), climatology, lake science, as well as the history of geography. In 1922 he put forward the evolutionary concept of nomogenesis. President of the Geographical Society of the USSR (1940-50). USSR State Prize (1951).

BERG Lev Semenovich(Simonovich), Russian encyclopedist, zoologist, geographer, evolutionist, historian of science.

Born into a Jewish family, his father was a notary. While studying at the Kishinev gymnasium (1885-94), he was interested in natural history - collecting herbariums, dissecting fish, reading scientific literature. In 1894 he was baptized and entered Moscow University. Already as a student he became known for his experiments in fish breeding. The thesis on pike embryology was Berg's 6th published work. After graduating from the university (1898, gold medal) he worked in the Ministry Agriculture inspector of fisheries on the Aral Sea and Volga, explored steppe lakes, rivers, deserts.

In 1902-1903 Berg studied hydrology in Bergen (Norway), in 1904-13 he worked at the Zoological Museum of the St. Petersburg Academy of Sciences, in 1913 he moved to Moscow, where he received a position as a professor at the Moscow Agricultural Institute. In 1916 Berg was invited to the department of physical geography at St. Petersburg University, where he worked until the end of his life.

Berg's first major scientific works were "Fishes of Turkestan" (1905) and his master's thesis "The Aral Sea" (1908), for which Berg immediately received a doctorate in geography. In 1909-16, Berg published 5 monographs on Russian fish, but geography became the main subject of his scientific interests. He developed a theory of the origin of loess and proposed the first classification of natural zones in the Asian part of Russia. By this time, the scientific style and methods of work of Berg had developed, striking him with his extraordinary productivity (he owned over 800 works). He was distinguished by iron self-discipline, a tenacious memory, the ability to work without drafts and in any conditions, clarity and precision of presentation (the text began with the definition of concepts) and conclusions, and excellent literary language.

Berg stood aloof from politics, but keenly experienced the horrors of war and revolution, interpreting them as a brief triumph of the principle of struggle over the principle of cooperation. Having no conditions for field work during this period, Berg expanded his teaching activities (in 1916-18 - in Moscow and Petrograd in parallel) and wrote (“warming up freezing ink on the fire of a smokehouse”) 3 works on the theory of evolution (1922). They provide an analysis of basic concepts (evolution, progress, expediency, chance, the emergence of something new, simplicity of theory, direction), reject the role of the struggle for existence as a factor in evolution (both in nature and in society), and sharply limit the role of natural selection (it only protects the norm) and an original theory of evolution was put forward - nomogenesis, i.e. evolution based on patterns.

The theory had a number of weaknesses, which colleagues (A. A. Lyubishchev, D. N. Sobolev, Yu. A. Filipchenko) immediately noted, but basically the criticism took on an ideological character, especially after the publication of the English edition of Nomogenesis (1926). N.I., who defended Berg from persecution, wrote to him (1927): “We will not let you leave your post. The ship must be led, no matter what monsters get in the way.” Berg did not write more about the mechanisms of evolution. In 1928 he was elected corresponding member of the USSR Academy of Sciences (in 1946 - academician) as a geographer.

In geography, Berg is known as the creator of Russian lake science and landscape theory (“geography is the science of landscapes”). In climatology, Berg gave a classification of climates in relation to landscapes, explained desertification by human activity, and glaciation by “factors of a cosmic order.” Berg denied continental drift; following V.I. Vernadsky, he pushed back the origin of life to the very beginning of geological history.

In zoogeography, Berg proposed his own interpretations of the distribution of fish and other aquatic animals, for example, he showed the local origin of the Baikal fauna, and, on the contrary, explained the composition of the Caspian fauna by post-glacial migration along the Volga. In ichthyology, Berg’s main works: “The System of Pisciformes and Fishes, Living and Fossils” (1940) and the classic three-volume work “Fresh Water Fishes of the USSR and Adjacent Countries” (1949, State Prize 1951), which have retained their scientific significance to this day, as well as numerous work on fish breeding and fishing.

Berg's interest in history and ethnography, which arose in his youth ("Uralians on the Syr Darya", 1900), has not been lost over the years. In this area, his works are devoted to the discoveries of Russians in Asia, Antarctica, and Alaska ("Essays on the history of Russian geographical discoveries", 1949), ancient maps, the life of small peoples (Gagauz, Lazy, etc.), biographies of scientists. Thanks to Berg, many forgotten names and facts of Russian priority were restored. As an ethnographer, Berg used his knowledge of languages ​​and zoology in his scientific work (for example, “Names of fish and ethnic relationships of the Slavs,” 1948).

BERG LEV SEMENOVICH

Berg, Lev Semenovich, zoologist and geographer. Born 1876; Graduated from the Faculty of Physics and Mathematics of the Imperial Moscow University, receiving a gold medal for the essay: “Fragmentation and formation of parablast in pike” (“News of the Society of Natural History Lovers”, 1899). In 1899, together with Elpatievsky and Ignatyev, he explored the salt lakes of the Omsk district. He was in charge of fisheries in the Syr Darya and the Aral Sea, then on the Volga (in Kazan); is in the service of the zoological museum of the Imperial Academy of Sciences. In 1899 - 1907 he explored the Aral Sea ("Scientific results of the Aral Expedition"), in 1903 - Lake Balkhash; then visited Lake Issyk-Kul. In 1909, he defended a dissertation at Moscow University for a master's degree in geography under the title: "The Aral Sea. Experience in a physical-geographical monograph" (St. Petersburg, 1908), for which he was awarded a doctorate in geography.

Brief biographical encyclopedia. 2012

See also interpretations, synonyms, meanings of the word and what BERG LEV SEMENOVICH is in Russian in dictionaries, encyclopedias and reference books:

• BERG LEV SEMENOVICH
  (1876-1950) physical geographer and biologist, academician of the USSR Academy of Sciences (1946). He developed the doctrine of landscapes and developed the ideas of V.V. Dokuchaev about natural ...
• BERG LEV SEMENOVICH in big Soviet encyclopedia, TSB:
  Lev Semenovich, Soviet physical geographer and biologist, academician of the USSR Academy of Sciences (1946; corresponding member 1928), honored worker of science...
• A LION in Miller's Dream Book, dream book and interpretation of dreams:
  Seeing a lion in a dream means that you are controlled by enormous forces. If you subjugate a lion, you will be a winner in...
• A LION in the Directory of Constellations, Latin names.
• BERG in the Lexicon of non-classics, artistic and aesthetic culture of the 20th century, Bychkova:
  (Berg) Alban (1885-1935) One of the three main representatives of the so-called. "New Vienna school" of the 20th century. (along with A. Schoenberg and ...
• A LION in the Dictionary of Russian Surnames:
  L. S. Lev (Kharkov) asks to reveal the origin of his last name and sadly adds: “As long as I’ve been living, I haven’t yet met anyone with the same last name...
• A LION
  - the monetary unit of Bulgaria, consisting of 100 ...
• A LION in the Encyclopedia Biology:
  , a predatory mammal of the family. felines. It lives in Africa and the Gir Nature Reserve in India. The African lion lives in savannas, the Asian lion...
• A LION in the Bible Dictionary:
  - a majestic and formidable, strong and fearless predatory animal. Since time immemorial, he has been considered the king of beasts. Lions were abundant in ancient times...
• A LION in the Bible Dictionary:
  (abbreviation) The third book of Moses. ...
• A LION in the Bible Encyclopedia of Nikephoros:
  (Genesis 49:9) - a wild and predatory animal, well known to everyone, and therefore does not require special detailed description. The appearance of the lion is majestic, its fluttering...
• A LION in the Dictionary of Heraldic Terms:
  - a symbol of power, strength, courage and...
• A LION in the Directory of Characters and Cult Objects of Greek Mythology:
  
• A LION in biographies of Monarchs:
  The legendary king of Laconia from the Agid family, who ruled in the first half. VI century BC Son of Eurycrates II. Leo continued the war...
• A LION
  Lev is the Russian Metropolitan, who is identified with the first Metropolitan of Kyiv (989 - 1004 - 1008). Considered the author of a polemical work about...
• BERG in the Brief Biographical Encyclopedia:
  Berg - several noble families of the Bergs, recorded in various parts of the genealogical books of Russian provinces and descending from the Estonian and Livonian ...
• A LION in the Big Encyclopedic Dictionary:
  mammal of the cat family. Body length up to 2.4 m, tail up to 1.1 m; weighs up to 280 kg. Few in number; preserved only in...
• BERG in the Big Encyclopedic Dictionary:
  (Berg) Alban (1885-1935) Austrian composer. Representative of the new Viennese school. Evolved from musical romanticism to expressionism. One of the creators of serial technology...
• A LION \
  differs from other species of the cat genus (Felis) in the absence of spots and stripes in adulthood, a mane of long hair dressing her head...
• A LION V Encyclopedic Dictionary Brockhaus and Euphron:
  (Felis leo L.) - differs from other species of the cat genus (Felis) by the absence of spots and stripes in adulthood, a mane of ...
• BERG in the Modern Encyclopedic Dictionary:
  
• BERG
  (Berg) Alban (1885 - 1935), Austrian composer. Representative of the new Viennese school. The compositions contain features of musical romanticism and expressionism. One of …
• A LION in the Encyclopedic Dictionary:
  I lion, m. 1. soul. Large predatory animal of the family. cats with short gray-yellow fur and long manes in males. ...
• A LION in the Encyclopedic Dictionary:
  2, leva, m. Monetary unit in ...
• A LION
  TOLSTOY (f. Astapovo), village. mountains type in Russia, Lipetsk region. Railway knot 9.2 t.zh. (1998). In 1910 L.N. died here. ...
• A LION in the Big Russian Encyclopedic Dictionary:
  XIII (1810-1903), Pope since 1878. Author of the encyclical Rerum Novarum. In. honor Part Petersburg AN...
• A LION in the Big Russian Encyclopedic Dictionary:
  X (1475-1521), Pope from 1513. Under him, nepotism and speculation in indulgences flourished. In 1520 he excommunicated M....
• A LION in the Big Russian Encyclopedic Dictionary:
  IX (Leo) (1002-54), Pope from 1049. Promoted the Cluny reform. In an effort to annex South to the papal possessions. Italy, fought unsuccessfully for...
• A LION in the Big Russian Encyclopedic Dictionary:
  VI the Wise (866-912), Byzantine. Emperor since 886, from the Macedonian dynasty. Issued decrees (novels) that revised old legislation. norms, and Vasiliki. Led...
• A LION in the Big Russian Encyclopedic Dictionary:
  III (c. 675-741), Byzantine. Emperor since 717, founder of the Isaurian dynasty. Repelled the onslaught of the Arabs in 718 near Constantinople, in 740 - ...
• BERG in the Big Russian Encyclopedic Dictionary:
  Fed. Fed. (Friedrich Wilhelm Rembert) (1793-1874), count (1856), grew up. general-feldm. (1865). Member of Otech. war of 1812, abroad Russian hikes army 1813-14, ...
• BERG in the Big Russian Encyclopedic Dictionary:
  (Berg) Paul (b. 1926), Amer. biochemist. Studied the role of transport. RNA in protein biosynthesis. Received recombinant DNA molecules of two different viruses...
• BERG in the Big Russian Encyclopedic Dictionary:
  Lev Sem. (1876-1950), physical geographer and biologist, academician. USSR Academy of Sciences (1946). He developed the doctrine of landscapes and developed the ideas of V.V. Dokuchaeva about...
• BERG in the Big Russian Encyclopedic Dictionary:
  (Berg) Alban (1885-1935), Austrian. composer. Rep. new Viennese school. Evolved from muses. romanticism to expressionism. One of the creators of the serial...
• BERG in the Big Russian Encyclopedic Dictionary:
  Axel Iv. (1893-1979), scientist in the field of radio engineering and radio electronics, academician. USSR Academy of Sciences (1946), administrative engineer. (1955), Hero of Social. Labor (1963). Tr. ...
• A LION in Collier's Dictionary:
  (Panthera leo), a carnivorous feline mammal widely distributed in East, Central and Southern Africa; also found in the protected Gir forest...
• A LION in Lopatin’s Dictionary of the Russian Language:
  Lev 2, l'eva (den. ...
• A LION in the Complete Spelling Dictionary of the Russian Language:
  Lev, (Lvovich, ...
• A LION in the Spelling Dictionary:
  Lev 2, l'eva (den. ...
• A LION in the Spelling Dictionary:
  lion 1, lion (animal) and lion, lion (name; constellation and zodiac sign; about who was born under this ...
• A LION in Ozhegov’s Dictionary of the Russian Language:
  1 large predatory feline with short yellowish fur and long mane in males. Fights like l. whoever ...
• LION in Dahl's Dictionary:
  husband. lioness female a predatory beast of hot Africa and Asia, a genus of cats, called the king of beasts, Felis leo. A lion does not crush mice. ...
• BERG in the Modern Explanatory Dictionary, TSB:
  Aksel Ivanovich (1893-1979), Russian scientist, academician of the USSR Academy of Sciences (1946), engineer-admiral (1955), Hero of Socialist Labor (1963). Proceedings on radio engineering. Active…
• A LION
  lion, m. 1. A large predatory mammal of the cat family, yellowish in color, with a lush mane in males. Mighty lion, thunderstorm of the forests. Krylov. ...
• A LION V Explanatory dictionary Russian language Ushakov:
  leva, m. (Bulgarian lev). Monetary unit in Bulgaria. Paid two...
• SUKHORUKOV, LEONID SEMYONOVICH in the Wiki Quote Book:
  Data: 2009-04-23 Time: 13:56:17: ""This article must be combined with the article by Leonid Semenovich Sukhorukov. Please complete this page with the missing...
• MIKHAIL SEMYONOVICH SOBAKEVICH in the Wiki Quote Book:
  Data: 2009-01-10 Time: 14:01:04 Mikhail Semenovich Sobakevich is the hero of the poem “Dead Souls”. * ? And the face of a robber! ? Sobakevich said. ...
• MEDVEDENKO, SEMYON SEMYONOVICH in the Wiki Quote Book:
  Data: 2008-11-01 Time: 11:28:21 Medvedenko Semyon Semenovich, character in the comedy “The Seagull.” - * Why? "" (Thinking.)"" I don’t understand... Are you healthy, father...
• LEONID SEMYONOVICH SUKHORUKOV in the Wiki Quote Book:
  Data: 2009-04-23 Time: 13:56:55: ""This article must be combined with the article by Sukhorukov, Leonid Semenovich. Please complete this page with the missing...
• BERG-PRIVILEGE in the Dictionary of Economic Terms:
  - a legislative act of December 10, 1719, which determined the policy of the Russian government in the mining industry; was practical guide for the Berg College...

The activities of the outstanding scientist and organizer of science, Academician L. S. Berg, one of the Presidents of the Russian Geographical Society (at that time - the Geographical Society of the USSR), have always been aimed at studying geography, biology, and the theory of evolution.

The program "Peaks of Geographical Science: Academician L. S. Berg" is aimed at studying geography, biology, the theory of evolution, the scientific heritage of L. S. Berg, provides for climbing and mountain travel, expanding sports, scientific and cultural ties between Russia, Germany and others countries, sports improvement of program participants. Participating in the project: Munich Geographical Society, Bavarian Academy of Sciences, Foundation. Berg (Bendery), Eco-Tiras Foundation (Chisinau), Faculty of Geography of St. Petersburg University, Federation of Tourism and Mountaineering: Ukraine, Moldova, Kyrgyzstan, Russian Federation. During the implementation of the project, dozens of hikes and expeditions will take place, including scientific ones: walking, cycling, water and mountain expeditions, from the Aral Sea, Pamir to Tyrol. It is planned to hold a number of scientific conferences in Munich, Bendery, Moscow, St. Petersburg and Bishkek.

Guide to the international project Peaks of geographical science: academician L. S. Berg under the auspices of the World Travel Encyclopedia
About the project “Peaks of Geographical Science: Academician Berg”
	for participation and event reports
for hiking, mountain, cycling, water travel and ascents of project participants to the places of expeditions of Academician L. S. Berg

L. S. Berg's comprehensive contributions to the earth and life sciences

The scientific heritage of Lev Semenovich Berg (1876 - 1950) is enormous in its scope and significance. He is an outstanding geographer who has collected extensive materials about the nature of different regions and has entered into the vastness of large generalizations on climatic zonation globe, a synthetic description of landscape zones of the USSR and neighboring countries, author of the excellent textbook “Nature of the USSR”. He can be considered the founder of landscape science. The scientist’s contribution to hydrology, lake science, geomorphology, glaciology, and desert science is irreplaceable.

Berg, the author of the soil theory of loess formation, made a significant contribution to the study of surface sedimentary rocks. In his works Berg also touched upon issues of geology, soil science, and ethnography. In a word, he was a geologist of the greatest caliber, known throughout the world as the creator of modern physical geography. But this is only half of his scientific work. L.S. Berg is a major biologist, a classic of world ichthyology, who described the fish fauna of many rivers and lakes, the author of his “system of fish and fish-like creatures, living and fossils.” His major reference and theoretical work “Fishes of Fresh Waters of the USSR and Neighboring Countries”, awarded the Stalin Prize of the first degree in 1951, was expanded and republished several times. In general, fish, their species, taxonomy, ecology are Berg’s lifelong love. Here he is, getting on new reservoir, a new river, acted on the principle: “I came - I saw - I described.” He was interested in other animals, as well as plants: during his endless wanderings, he almost always collected a herbarium.

These works were primarily descriptive in nature. Berg, on the other hand, strove to get to the essence of things in biology. He is the author of works on the theory of evolution, in them he questions a number of Charles Darwin’s provisions, and in 1922 he publishes a deeply innovative work “Nomogenesis, or evolution based on patterns.” Here he argues that the evolution of organisms - both plants and animals - occurs under the influence of internal, “autonomous” causes. and external, “choronomic” reasons, including natural selection, play a role, but a secondary one.

At that time, disagreement with Darwin was considered a kind of sacrilege among biologists, and the scientist was subjected to cruel and sweeping criticism from them. The discovery of DNA and the genetic code, which occurred after Berg's death, showed how much closer he was to the truth than his critics. Berg turned out to be a visionary, and history put everything in its place.

It must be emphasized that in his writings Berg sought to merge geographical and biological phenomena; A striking example of this is its “landscape zones”. In this regard, one can compare Berg with his friend V.I. Vernadsky. It cannot be said that the first was higher than the second, but it was not lower either. They approached, each in their own way, the merging of living and dead, organic and mineral, Earth and Life into a single system, which is now called the biosphere, although in relation to these two giants of science, the term “noosphere” would be better suited.

Berg's contribution (here too there are similarities with Vernadsky) to the history of science is very significant. This is the subject of many of his essays and major books about the discovery of Kamchatka, V. Bering’s expedition, Russian discoveries in Antarctica, the activities of the Russian Geographical Society, etc. Berg’s role as a public figure is impressive. In 1945-50 he is the president of the All-Union Geographical Society. His popular articles in magazines and newspapers are filigree, including those for children, whom he loved very much and considered it his duty to educate.

How could a person overcome such a huge amount of work? Genius is a sealed secret. Such people appear rarely; it is difficult to understand their ideology and psychology. One can only guess. In the case of L.S. Berg, these are natural inclinations, phenomenal memory, knowledge of several languages, the ability to work with literature, selecting from it what is most necessary, and, finally, incomparable hard work and dedication. Just don’t feel sorry for him: he’s a hard worker, poor, no sleep, no rest... For Berg, constant and intense work - natural state, idleness is burdensome. We can say about him that a person does not choose his destiny, but finds himself in it.

He also had a heightened sense of nature. It started in childhood, before high school. He was born in 1876 in the city of Bendery, on the banks of the Dniester. As a child, I looked at the river for a long time, sat down with the fishermen, and learned to recognize types of fish. Then he was in Chisinau at a boarding house with a widow, the first student in the class, he mastered languages ​​perfectly - Latin, Greek, German, French, and also Moldavian, although he was not taught. He is perfectly literate in Russian and reads a lot. During the summer holidays in Bendery, again on the river, he begins to collect fish, knows how to dissect them, and studies them scientifically. He graduates from high school with a gold medal, the path to university is open.

But there are obstacles. He is attracted to natural science, his father, a city notary, wants his son to become a lawyer. Leo is categorically against it, his mother and sisters support him, his father, reluctantly, makes concessions. There is a second obstacle. Lev only wants to go to Moscow University, where there are good professors familiar to him from books and, most importantly, a rich zoological museum. But Jews have no access to Moscow - “the Pale of Settlement.” It is necessary to accept Christianity, and Berg goes for it. Drama for the father, we know that. No one writes what this meant for Leo himself. Of course, he was worried, but his youth, desire for science, and probably atheism helped him survive this difficult situation. In September 1894, Berg became a student in the natural sciences department of the Faculty of Physics and Mathematics of Moscow University. He listens to lectures by physicist A.G. Stoletov, chemist V.V. Morkovnikov, the already famous K.A. Timiryazev, zoologist M.A. Menzbir, young mineralogist V.I. Vernadsky. He gets a “corner” in the zoo museum and is passionate about fish. In 1897, a third-year student, Berg, published his first scientific work, “Collection of fish from the Bessarabian province.” During the holidays, probably. looked into Bendery, but not for long, he was attracted by the muse of distant travels, in 1896 he was a member of an expedition to the Indera salt lake at the mouth of the Ural River; in 1898 he studied lakes in the south of the West Siberian Lowland.

This is how interest arose in the science of lakes, their comprehensive study: area, depth, water, its composition, shores, of course, ichthyofauna. Voluntarily or unwittingly, Berg becomes a geographer. This was facilitated by his rapprochement with the famous representative of this science, Professor D.N. Anuchin, who, according to Berg, “was interested in absolutely everything - both natural science in the broadest sense of the word, and humanitarian sciences" The sympathy was mutual.

Lakes, rivers, fish are Berg's interests. These are already three sciences - limnology, hydrology, ichthyology, all together - geography and biology. He wants deep, comprehensive knowledge, he needs an object, and he finds it. He leaves for the Urals for four years, receiving the position of “keeper of fisheries in the lower reaches of the Syr Darya on the Aral Sea.” It took a long time to get there: railway Moscow - Tashkent has not happened yet. Imagine this very urban youth with a revolver in his hands, fighting poachers. But that’s how it was, he was strict with them, even unforgiving. The main thing, however. another: to explore a still little-known sea, essentially a lake. It is salty, but the salt is 2.5 times less than in the world's oceans. This means, Berg concludes, that it is geologically young, very transparent, it was not for nothing that ancient authors called it the “blue sea”, there are many islands (about 200), not deep, the shores have a varied structure, deserts stretch around on all sides, precipitation is only 100 mm per year. In the 40s of the 19th century, the shores of the Aral Sea were mapped by surveyor V. Butakov. Comparing these data with his own, Berg proves that the lake’s water area has increased slightly, and this does not confirm the widespread opinion about the drying out of Central Asia. He sends the collected samples of water, coastal rocks, herbarium, and fish preparations to Moscow for identification. He had to first cross the Aral Sea on a sailboat, then on a special yacht. Having summed up his research and literature, in 1908 he published his famous book “The Aral Sea. Experience of a physical-geographical monograph" (580 large format pages), defends it as a doctoral dissertation, bypassing a master's thesis, which was very rare at that time, but the opinion of the academic council was unanimous.

When studying the Aral Sea, he is distracted by other issues. The Syr Darya feeds the sea with water, we need to examine it and find out its origins. He goes upstream, examining the glaciers of the Pamir-Alai. This is how limnology, hydrology, and glaciology collided for him. He does not forget this science and in 1913 he travels to Tyrol, where he gets acquainted with the Alpine glaciers. Leaving the Aral, he studies other lakes: Balkhash (also establishing its geological youth), Issykkul, later in the Caucasus - Sevan, and then Lake Ladoga. All received materials are published without delay. Berg should be considered the founder of limnology, although this term was introduced into science by the Swiss scientist Francois Forel while studying Lake Geneva. Berg goes there and makes peace with this body of water. His coverage of the problem is much wider: in addition to mountain lakes (Sevan, Issykkul), he knows desert lakes very well, especially the Aral and Balkhash. He also became interested in Baikal. The area around the Aral Sea has generated interest in deserts. First, he wrote an article for the magazine “Soil Science” about the Big Barsuki sands north of the lake (1907), and a few years later - a generalizing work “Shapes of Russian Deserts” (1911).

Life circumstances have not been favorable to him for a long time. Constant travel and relocation, unsuccessful marriage. For two years he has been in Kazan as an inspector of fisheries in the Middle Volga. In 1905, he was lucky, he took the position of caretaker of the zoological museum of the Academy of Sciences in St. Petersburg and, with the exception of short-term work in Moscow, forever linked his fate with the city on the Neva. Folds and new family, he marries M.M. Ivanova, she is also an ichthyologist, they live in perfect harmony. from 1916, for 34 years until his death in 1960, he headed the department of physical geography at St. Petersburg University, and also taught a course in climatology. But the main thing is still scientific work. Her special regime has developed: in the morning he is at the zoological museum - ichthyology, in the evening and on weekends in his office at home - geography.

He tirelessly describes the ichthyofauna of various rivers and lakes: the Amur, Volga, rivers of Turkestan and the Caucasus, the Caspian Sea; publishes 4 times, always improving, instructions “for collecting and sending fish collections.” He publishes descriptions of fish from Russia and the USSR several times, adding to them each time. He was the first to point out the uniqueness of the Baikal fauna and published a book about the fish of Europe. He is always in a hurry with publications, believing that new facts will appear the sooner the sooner those already obtained are known. For him, this is a methodological principle, little common to other scientists. This was the case with his fascinating book “Climate and Life”, it was first published in 1922, and again in twice the volume in 1947. It showed how climate changes over geological time influenced the nature of landscapes , Earth and Life, how the phenomenon of bipolarity arose based on the similarity of the fauna of the Arctic and Antarctic. Despite the enormous distance that separates them, similarities in the fauna of the northern parts of the Atlantic and Pacific oceans have also been noted. Yes, it’s impossible to list all of his discoveries that were essentially global and had global significance for science. In ichthyology, or more precisely, in biology in general, during his lifetime he firmly occupied one of the first places.

Over the years, Berg dives deeper into geography. He did not like regional work, I suppose, on the basis that it was of interest to few people. He made an exception for his father’s land: in 1918 he published the book “Bessarabia. A country. People. Economy." It is a fusion of physical geography in the broad sense, ethnography (striking multi-ethnicity) and economics. This masterpiece of writings about Moldova was recently republished with some abbreviations, and a separate essay-commentary should be written about it, because 80 years have passed!

In Berg's geography, there are major problems of an all-Russian scale in fact, and methodologically reaching the level of the World. This happened not only through his books, but also through personal communication with leaders of world science. In 1927, he was an active participant in the International Congress on Limnology in Rome, and a year before that, in the Pacific Congress in Japan. On the way there he ended up in Korea, with unprecedented speed he became acquainted with the rivers and ichthyofauna of this country, and soon published a special work about it. In Tokyo, he is received by the emperor of the “land of the rising sun” himself, and Berg therefore had to purchase and put a top hat on his head. Now it is kept under a special glass cover in the Bendery Museum.

Berg is one of those few who early and deeply understood V.V. Dokuchaev’s ideas about the zoning of nature; he expanded this teaching, gave it scale, concreteness, I would say, multicolor. This began in 1913 with the work “The Experience of Dividing Siberia and Turkestan into Landscape and Morphological Regions.” In it, the dualistic principle of non-coincidence of orographic and zonal features of the territory is applied to this huge and extremely heterogeneous space. According to orography, “14 main parts” were distinguished: mountain ranges, plateaus, lowlands. Such apt names, invented by Berg, as “Turgai table country”, “Kazakh folded country” have firmly entered the scientific vocabulary and scientific everyday life. The landscape division was different; here local combinations of climate, soil, flora and fauna came to the fore. There were also 14 zones and special areas (Kamchatka, Primorye). This division is still preserved, although it has been supplemented with new details. Let us refer to the opinion of the modern prominent geographer I.G. Isachenko: “Zonal physical-geographical (landscape) zoning of the country was first carried out by L.S. Berg.” And further: “L.S. Berg laid the foundation for combining the ideas of the Dokuchaev school with the best traditions of classical geography.”

This was confirmed during the writing of Berg’s synthetic general work “Landscape-geographical zones of the USSR,” published for the first time in 1931, then it was expanded and repeatedly republished not only in Russian, but also in English, French, Chinese, Hungarian, and Ukrainian. This fundamental creation represents, as it were, the final chord of the scientist’s work in the field of geography, just as “Freshwater Fish” - in biology. The question arises why he does not return to the topic of “Nomogenesis”. They assume. that he did not want confrontation, accusations of idealism. Another explanation occurs to me: he was so confident that he was right that he expected recognition from the progress of science.

Berg had so many good friends among scientists that it is impossible to list them. It was occupied by extraordinary and outstanding people. This is how his interest in the scientific discoveries of scientists and the exploits of pioneers arose. This is natural: after all, without people there are no ideas. It is tempting to connect these two principles. The scientist’s works on the history of science represent another powerful layer in his work. They are divided into three streams: articles on covering individual historical facts; essays on the activities of major scientists - V.V. Dokuchaev, A.I. Voikov and others and outstanding navigators, discoverers of new lands V. Atlasov, V. Bering and others; solid monographic works about the discovery of Kamchatka, Russian research in Pacific Ocean. He, overwhelmed by a sense of justice and patriotism, convincingly and documentedly proved that Russian sailors M.P. Lazarev and F.F. Belingshausen were the first to discover Antarctica. The language of Berg's historical and geographical works is fascinating, ardent, and they are based on a deep acquaintance with literature and, what is especially important, with ancient archives; studying them required a lot of work. I also had to argue with foreign authors who kept silent about the role of Russian people in expanding knowledge about the seas, oceans, islands and continents.

The ideology of Berg's scientific research was extremely consistent, constantly going towards expansion, to cover ever new phenomena and problems, while also including in them everything he had already achieved previously. He always found a lot without losing anything. This most clearly corresponded to the famous “complementarity principle” of Niels Bohr. I also think that this was due to the special nature of Berg’s memory, as we have already noted, phenomenal: going forward and forward, the scientist did not lose sight of anything. A lucky trait of unique people.

Berg published more than 700 scientific papers during his life. 169 of them were included in the publication published in 1956-1962. a five-volume collection of his works, which numbered 2600 pages or 231 printed sheets, but this is only a little more than a quarter of the countless scientific and literary wealth that remained after him. “The Aral Sea” and a number of his other monographs were not included in this five-volume set. Once again you are amazed at the prolificacy of Berg, the author. Moreover, in his articles and books there is nothing superfluous and very little that is outdated. In various scientific libraries in Russia, Ukraine, Moldova, I inquired about the demand for the “five-volume book” and everywhere I received answers that it was in use, and there was a waiting list for some volumes.

I had the desire to portray Berg in this article, a major theorist in the fields of geography, biology, and history of science. But his works had and have lasting practical value: ichthyological - for the regulation and reproduction of fish stocks; geographical - for rational zoning of various directions, primarily agricultural (zonal farming systems), forestry, economic. All his works, including historical and scientific ones, are indispensable as didactic ones when teaching geography, biology and local history in secondary and higher schools.

Grateful descendants do not forget him. More than 60 species of animals and plants are named after Berg in Latin transcription. This ringing name is given to two glaciers in the Pamirs and in the Dzhungar Alatau, a cape on one of the islands of Severnaya Zemlya, and a volcano on the island of Uryup in the Kuril ridge. But there is no prophet in his own country: in his native Bendery there is no street named after him, and yet he should be immortalized in granite.

The word "Berg" means mountain. Yes, it was a veritable Everest of science. I called L.S. Berg “the last encyclopedist of the twentieth century.” I'm sure this is not far from the truth.

I. A. Krupennikov, honorary doctor of geography, honorary member of the Academy of Sciences of Moldova

(article provided by the Organizing Committee
project “Peaks of Geographical Science: Academician Berg”)

Position

about the international project “Peaks of Geographical Science: Academician Berg”, dedicated to the memory of the outstanding Russian traveler and scientist
Lev Semenovich Berg

The famous geographer and biologist, the last scientific encyclopedist of the twentieth century - Lev Semenovich Berg was born in the Moldavian city of Bendery on March 14, 1876. After graduating from the 2nd Chisinau gymnasium in 1894, he entered Moscow University, where already in the 3rd year he published his first scientific work - “Collection of fish from Bessarabia” (gold medal of the Russian Geographical Society). After graduating from Moscow State University in 1898, he held the position of “keeper of fisheries in the lower reaches of the Syr Darya on the Aral Sea.” Lakes, rivers, fish are Berg's interests, and these are three sciences: limnology, hydrology, ichthyology. Already in 1908 he published the book “The Aral Sea. The experience of a physical-geographical monograph” for which he was awarded the title of Doctor of Science and awarded the gold medal of the Russian Geographical Society. Berg then explores the upper reaches of the river. Isfara and glaciers of the Turkestan ridge in the Pamir-Alai. Here he is already a glaciologist, limnologist, hydrologist and mountaineer. He repeats this work in the Alps, visiting Tyrol.

Berg created new section geography - the science of the landscape-geographical zones of the Earth as a planet. In his work “Landscape-geographical zones of the USSR” Berg is already a climatologist, geologist, hydrologist, phyto- and zoogeographer.

Berg also made a significant contribution to the history of geographical discoveries. He wrote works about the discovery of Kamchatka, Bering’s expeditions, Russian discoveries in Antarctica, the 100th anniversary of the Russian Geographical Society, etc. Berg is also a major biologist and ichthyologist, his work “Fishes of the Fresh Waters of the USSR and Adjacent countries" was awarded the State Prize. Berg's contribution to the formation of modern views in environmental science is invaluable. Berg is one of the founders of the Geographical Faculty of St. Petersburg University, from 1928 - corresponding member, and from 1946 - full member of the USSR Academy of Sciences, from 1940 to 1950 - President of the Geographical Society of the USSR. The following names are named after L. S. Berg: a volcano on the island of Urup, a peak in the Pamirs, a cape on the island of Severnaya Zemlya, glaciers in the Pamirs and the Dzungarian Alatau. On December 24, 1950, at the 75th year of his life, Lev Semenovich Berg passed away.

The activities of the outstanding Russian scientist and traveler L. S. Berg were focused on uniting all areas of geography into a single science, on the close interpenetration of sciences, on the popularization of scientific achievements and travel; he was attracted by major problems of an all-Russian scale, the solution of which reached the world level; he was concerned about the development of scientific and cultural ties between peoples. This project is designed to continue these wonderful traditions.

1. Goals and objectives of the project

The goal of the project is to popularize the scientific heritage, the significance of the personality and activities of Academician L. S. Berg. Expanding scientific, sports and cultural ties between peoples through studying the life, work of L. S. Berg and his legacy. To achieve the goal, it is necessary to solve the following tasks:

2. Project program

Project activities are carried out from 2012 to 2013 and include:

1. Initial period (01.01 - 01.05.2012): organizational events, distribution of Regulations, List of areas for hiking, climbing, expeditions, consultations, coordination of dates for holding public events, etc.
2. Main period (05/01/2012 - 09/01/2013): carrying out walking, water, cycling, mountain hikes and ascents, expeditions, scientific and practical conferences (Moscow, Bendery, etc.), reports and evenings in memory of Academician L. S. Berg.
3. Final period (01.09 - 15.12.2013): summing up the results of the project, final scientific conference at the Munich Geographical Society.

The project program will be clarified and detailed in the plans of the Organizing Committee

3. Project participants

Project participants can be scientific, sports, environmental, public organizations, sports teams and groups, as well as individuals who are interested in the life and work of Lev Semenovich Berg and who have received a message from the Project Organizing Committee about the acceptance of their application to participate in the project events.

Participants in the sports program carry out their climbs and hikes in accordance with the current rules in the territory where these events are held and are responsible for their own safety.

4. Project management

All project activities are carried out in accordance with these Regulations and are coordinated by the ORGANIZING COMMITTEE, consisting of representatives of organizations that supported this project: Munich Geographical Society, Cultural Center "GOROD" and its tourism club (Munich), World Encyclopedia of Travel (Moscow), International Association "Eco- TIRAS“ (Chisinau), Foundation named after. L. Berga (Bender), All-German Association of Travelers, Moscow Center of the Russian Geographical Society, Russian Club of the Munich Section of Alpinverein, Federation of Sports Tourism and Mountaineering of Ukraine, Moldova, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, etc.

The ORGANIZING COMMITTEE sends to all interested organizations and individuals these Regulations, application forms and information (forms No. 1 and No. 2) for participation in the project, a List of areas through which L. S. Berg’s expeditions took place, provides advice on holding events, choosing routes, their techniques passage and ensuring security, coordinates the timing of their implementation, suggests topics for questions when studying archival or literary materials, if necessary and possible, provides visa support, etc.

5. Project financing

The costs of participation of teams, groups and individuals in project events are borne by the organizations that initiated individual events, incl. and exhibiting teams, sponsors or the participants themselves.

6. Applications

Applications for participation in the project “Peaks of Geographical Science: Academician Berg” are accepted by the Project Organizing Committee from 01/01/2012 using the attached form (see form No. 1). The final form (see form No. 2) is submitted to the Organizing Committee no later than December 15 in the year of the event.

7. Contacts

Organizing Committee of the project “Peaks of Geographical Science: Academician Berg”
Cultural Center GOROD
Hansastr. 181
81373 Munich
Germany
www.kulturzentrum-gorod.de
tel. +49-89-599 18 564
Rakhmil Weinberg: +49-89-7257918
[email protected]
Abram Mosesson: +49-89-5386869

This Regulation is official invitation take part in the project “Peaks of Geographical Science: Academician Berg”

Application form for participation in the project

APPLICATION (Form No. 1)

To participate in the project “Peaks of Geographical Science: Academician Berg” from (name of organization, team, group, individuals)

1. Number of participants
2. Last name and first name of the manager
3. Address, telephone, fax, E-mail head
4. Climbing (hiking) area
5. Proposed route
6. Planned time
7. Planned socially beneficial activities, scientific work
8. Is consulting or other assistance from the Organizing Committee required and what kind?
9. The members of the team (group), based on their experience, physical and technical training, correspond to the complexity of the upcoming ascent (hike) in accordance with existing safety requirements
10. Signature of the responsible person
11. Date the document was completed

INFORMATION(Form No. 2)

About participation in the project “Peaks of Geographical Science: Academician Berg” from(name of organization, team, group, individuals)

1. Number assigned by the Organizing Committee
2. Number of participants
3. Last name and first name of the manager
4. Address, telephone, fax, E-mail head
5. Climbing (hiking) area
6. Executed route
7. Climbing (hiking) time
8. Work carried out on the project “Peaks of Geographical Science: Academician Berg” (conferences, lectures, conversations, reports, articles in the media, etc.)
9. Stamp of the organization submitting the application
10. Signature of the responsible person
11. Date the document was completed

List of areas for hiking, mountain, cycling, water travel and ascents of project participants to the places of expeditions of Academician L. S. Berg

1. Moldova (Bessarabia), Dniester river, Dniester estuary
2. Aral Sea region and Syr Darya basin
3. Sands Big Badgers (North of the Aral Sea)
4. Kyrgyzstan, Turkestan ridge (Shchurovsky glacier, sources of the Isfara river)
5. Glacial zone of Tyrol - Ö tztaler Alpen, Stubeier Alpen, Ortler Alpen
6. Lake regions: Baikal, Balkhash, Ladoga, Issyk-Kul
7. Yerevan Highlands region (Caucasus)
8. Salt lake areas Western Siberia(in the Kulundi steppe, etc.)
9. Cherkasy and Chernigov regions of Ukraine
10. Middle reaches of the Volga River
11. Kokchetav lakes in Northern Kazakhstan

Sports groups of project participants, in accordance with this List, independently develop hiking or climbing routes corresponding to the level of their sports qualifications, approve them in their ICC and send an application for participation in the project to the Project Organizing Committee (form No. 1 of the appendix to the Regulations). A report on the completion of a hike or ascent (form No. 2) is submitted to the Organizing Committee no later than October 1, 2013.

By agreement with the Project Organizing Committee, other areas may be approved for expeditions.

Lev Semenovich (Simonovich) Berg (March 26, 1876 - December 24, 1950) - Soviet zoologist and geographer.

Corresponding member (1928) and full member (1946) of the USSR Academy of Sciences, president of the Geographical Society of the USSR (1940-1950), laureate of the Stalin Prize (1951 - posthumously). Author of fundamental works on ichthyology, geography, and theory of evolution.

Born in Bendery, into a Jewish family. His father, Simon Grigorievich Berg, was a notary; mother, Klara Lvovna Bernstein-Kogan, is a housewife. They lived in a house on Moskovskaya Street.

Family

The first wife of L. S. Berg (in 1911-1913) - Paulina Adolfovna Katlovker(March 27, 1881-1943), younger sister of the famous publisher B. A. Katlovker. Children - geographer Simon Lvovich Berg(born October 23, 1912, St. Petersburg) and geneticist, writer, Doctor of Biological Sciences Raisa Lvovna Berg (March 27, 1913 - March 1, 2006). In 1922, L. S. Berg remarried a teacher at the Petrograd Pedagogical Institute Maria Mikhailovna Ivanova.

In 1921-1950 Berg occupied the residential service wing of the former palace of Alexei Alexandrovich (Leningrad, Maklina Avenue, 2).

He died on December 24, 1950 in Leningrad. He was buried on the Literatorskiye Mostki at the Volkovskoye Cemetery.

Education and scientific career

1885-1894 - studied at the second Chisinau gymnasium, from which he graduated with a gold medal. In 1894 he was baptized into Lutheranism to obtain the right to higher education within the Russian Empire.

1894-1899 - student of the natural sciences department of the Faculty of Physics and Mathematics of the Imperial Moscow University. (His graduate work was dedicated to fish embryology and was awarded a gold medal)

1899-1902 - supervisor of fisheries in the Aral Sea and Syr Darya.

1903-1904 - supervisor of fisheries in the middle reaches of the Volga.

1905-1913 - head of the fish department of the Zoological Museum of the Imperial Petersburg Academy of Sciences.

1913-1914 - acting professor of ichthyology and hydrology at the Moscow Agricultural Institute.

1916-1950 - as a professor of geography, he headed the department of geography at Petrograd and then Leningrad University.

1918-1925 - Professor of Geography at the Geographical Institute in Petrograd (Leningrad).

1932-1934 - head of the department of applied ichthyology at the Institute of Fisheries.

1934-1950 - head of the department in the laboratory of ichthyology of the Zoological Institute of the USSR Academy of Sciences in Leningrad.

1948-1950 - Chairman of the Ichthyological Commission of the USSR Academy of Sciences.

Since 1934 - Doctor of Zoology.

Since 1928 - Corresponding Member of the USSR Academy of Sciences.

Since 1946 - full member of the USSR Academy of Sciences.

Contribution to science

The scientific heritage of Lev Semenovich Berg is very significant.

As a geographer, he, having collected extensive materials about the nature of different regions, made generalizations on the climatic zonation of the globe, described the landscape zones of the USSR and neighboring countries, and created the textbook “Nature of the USSR.” Berg, the creator of modern physical geography, is the founder of landscape science, and the landscape division he proposed, although supplemented, has survived to this day.

Berg is the author of the soil theory of loess formation. His works made a significant contribution to hydrology, lake science, geomorphology, glaciology, desert science, the study of surface sedimentary rocks, issues of geology, soil science, ethnography, and paleoclimatology.

Berg is a classic of world ichthyology. He described the fish fauna of many rivers and lakes and proposed “systems of fish and fish-like creatures, living and fossil.” He is the author of the major work “Fishes of Fresh Waters of the USSR and Adjacent Countries.”

Berg's contribution to the history of science is significant. His books about the discovery of Kamchatka, the expedition of V. Bering, the theory of continental drift by E. Bykhanov, the history of Russian discoveries in Antarctica, the activities of the Russian Geographical Society, etc. are devoted to this topic.

Berg is the author of the book Nomogenesis, or Evolution Based on Patterns (1922), in which he proclaimed his anti-Darwinian concept of evolution. Such scientists as A. A. Lyubishchev and S. V. Meyen considered themselves his followers. Even in our time, that is, a hundred years later, his concept has its adherents. These include, for example, V.V. Ivanov - Russian and Soviet linguist, semiotician, anthropologist, academician of the Russian Academy of Sciences (2000).

Awards, bonuses and honorary titles

• 1909 - Gold medal of P. P. Semenov-Tien-Shansky for work on the Aral Sea from the Russian Geographical Society (RGO).
• 1915 - Konstantinov Medal from the Russian Geographical Society, elected honorary member of the Moscow Institute of IP.
• 1934 - Honored Scientist of the RSFSR.
• 1936 - Gold Medal of the Asiatic Society of India for zoological research in Asia.
• 1945 - Order of the Red Banner of Labor and medal “For the Defense of Leningrad”
• 1946 - Order of the Red Banner of Labor in connection with the 70th anniversary of his birth and the medal “For valiant labor in the Great Patriotic War of 1941-1945.”
• 1951 - Stalin Prize, 1st degree, for the work “Fishes of Fresh Waters of the USSR and Adjacent Countries” (posthumously).

Major works

Only the most basic work is listed here. For a complete bibliography, see the book by V. M. Raspopova.

• 1918. Bessarabia. A country. People. Farming. - Petrograd: Lights, 1918. - 244 p. (book contains 30 photographs and a map)
• 1905. Fishes of Turkestan. Izv. Turk. dept. RGO, vol. 4. 16 + 261 pp.
• 1908. Aral Sea: Experience of a physical-geographical monograph. Izv. Turk. dept. RGO, vol. 5. issue. 9. 24 + 580 s.
• 1912. T. 3, issue. 1. St. Petersburg. 336 pp.
• 1914. Fishes (Marsipobranchii and Pisces). Fauna of Russia and neighboring countries. T. 3, issue. 2. Pg. pp. 337-704.
• 1916. Freshwater fish of the Russian Empire. M. 28 + 563 pp.
• 1922. Climate and life. M. 196 p.
• 1922. Berg L.S. Nomogenesis, or Evolution based on patterns. - Petersburg: State Publishing House, 1922. - 306 p.
• 1929. Berg L.S. Essays on the history of Russian geographical science (up to 1923). - L.: Publishing House of the USSR Academy of Sciences, State. type. them. Evg. Sokolova, 1929. - 152, p. - (Proceedings of the Commission on the History of Knowledge / USSR Academy of Sciences; 4). - 1,000 copies.
• 1931. Landscape-geographical zones of the USSR. M.-L.: Selkhozgiz. Part 1. 401 p.
• 1940. "The System of Pisciformes and Fishes, Living and Fossil." In the book. Tr. Zool. Institute of the Academy of Sciences of the SSR, vol. 5, no. 2. pp. 85-517.
• 1946. Essays on the history of Russian geographical discoveries. (M. - L., 1946, 2nd ed. 1949).
• 1947. Berg L.S. Lomonosov and the hypothesis of continental movement // News of the All-Union Geographical Society. - M.: Publishing House of the USSR Academy of Sciences, 1947. - T. No. 1. - P. 91-92. - 2000 copies.
• 1977. (posthumously). Transactions on the theory of evolution, 1922-1930. L. 387 p.

(1876 - 1950)

L. S. Berg is a famous geographer and naturalist encyclopedist. Berg's scientific interests were unusually broad. It is difficult to name any of the physical-geographical disciplines whose most important issues would not have received deep and original development in his works.

Berg surprisingly combined a physical geographer who created major works on natural zones and natural complexes; limnologist - researcher of a number of large lakes; climatologist who developed a geographical direction in the study of climate; soil scientist - creator of the original soil theory of the origin of loess; lithologist - author of the concept of biogeochemical formation of sedimentary rocks; geomorphologist who proposed the first relief zoning scheme for the entire Asian part of our country; paleogeographer At the same time, Berg is a major zoologist who created classic works in the field of ichthyology, an outstanding zoogeographer and evolutionary biologist. Along with all this, he is a prominent historian of geography, a wonderful teacher of higher education and a public figure, who led the Geographical Society of the USSR for a decade. And this is still a far from complete list of branches of science and activity in which L. S. Berg enjoyed high authority.

A man of phenomenal memory and enormous erudition, who combined brilliant abilities of analytical and synthetic thinking with organization and discipline in his work, Berg created such a number of scientific works on geography and biology that it was not without reason that his productivity was compared with the activities of an entire research institute.

L. S. Berg was born in 1876 in the small town of Bendery in Bessarabia into a poor family of a notary. He received his secondary education in Chisinau, and in 1894 he entered Moscow University in the natural sciences department of the Faculty of Physics and Mathematics.

While still a student, he began to specialize in ichthyology. In 1898 he carried out work on the embryonic development of pike. For this work Berg was awarded a gold medal.

Immediately after graduating from the university in 1898, Berg, together with P. G. Ignatov, made his first geographical expedition to the salt lakes of the Omsk district.

The report on this trip, written by Berg and Ignatov, is the first monograph in Russian geographical literature devoted to the physical and geographical characteristics of salt lakes. Already in this work, published in 1901, Berg acts as a landscape geographer: he divided the entire studied territory into natural areas - formations, as he called them then.

In 1899, Berg entered the service as a supervisor of fisheries in the Syr Darya and the Aral Sea.

Since 1897, the Turkestan Department of the Russian Geographical Society began its activities in Tashkent, and the young scientist became one of its most active employees. The project for studying the Aral Sea, put forward by Berg, was accepted, and the Geographical Society took upon itself the material support of the work.

The Aral expedition, the only employee of which during the three years of its existence (1900 - 1902) was Berg, ended with a monographic description of the Aral. Berg collected the richest geological, zoological and botanical collections, soil and water samples, and compiled a complete meteorological journal. The results of the research were published in special works published from 1901 to 1916 by the Turkestan department of the Society. Such prominent scientists as V.V. Bartold, A.A. Kaminsky, N.I. Andrusov collaborated in this publication.

Thanks to these studies and the wide publication of their results, the Aral Sea, until then very little known, became one of the most studied bodies of water in the world.

Berg found the Aral at a time when its level was rising. The entire set of hydrographic and geomorphological studies of the Aral Sea and the Aral Sea region allowed Berg to refute the belief of his contemporaries about the progressive drying out of the climate and substantiate the idea of ​​periodic fluctuations in the climate of Central Asia.

A lot of scientific work did not prevent Berg from doing an excellent job of protecting the fish resources of the region. Already in the first year of his stay in the Aral he gave Full description fish and fisheries in the Aral Sea and Syr Darya and drew up new fishing rules. Thanks to his energy, the predatory extermination of the most valuable fish species was stopped here.

In 1903, Berg organized a large expedition to study Lake Balkhash and visited Lake Issyk-Kul.

In 1904, he transferred to Kazan to the position of supervisor of the fisheries of the Front Volga. The result of his service here was a description of fisheries in the Volga basin. In 1905, Berg was invited to the post of curator of the department of fish and lower vertebrates of the Zoological Museum of the Academy of Sciences in St. Petersburg.

This period of his activity was marked by the creation of such first-class works in the field of ichthyology as “Fishes of Turkestan” (1905), “Fishes of the Amur Basin” (1909), “Fishes” in the series “Fauna of Russia” (1911, 1912, 1914). At the same time, he is preparing the first edition of his classic work “Fishes of the Fresh Waters of Russia”.

With unflagging interest, Berg continued to work in the field of geography. In 1904, he published an essay on the physical and geographical characteristics of Lake Issyk-Kul and a preliminary report on a trip to Lake Balkhash. In 1907, he traveled through the Big and Small Badgers deserts and in the same year took a trip to the upper reaches of the Isfara River, a tributary of the Syr Darya, to find out whether the glaciers of the Tien Shan, feeding the tributaries of the Aral Sea, were reducing or increasing their area. Berg was able to show that climate humidification, expressed in a rise in the level of the Aral Sea, also affected glaciers.

In 1908, Berg completed the monograph “The Aral Sea,” in which he summed up everything that had been achieved by the Aral Expedition, and in 1909 he submitted this work for the degree of Master of Geographical Sciences. The Academic Council of Moscow University, which included leading scientists -

V.I. Vernadsky, D.N. Anuchin, M.A. Menzbier and others - awarded him the degree of Doctor of Geography.

In 1910, Berg studied the fluctuations in the level of lakes in the Caucasus.

His fascination with the question of the origin of the fauna of Baikal, which did not leave him throughout his life, dates back to this time.

In 1912 - 1913 Berg conducted physical and geographical observations in the Chernigov province. One of the most important results of these works was the soil theory of loess formation. In 1913, Berg was elected the first professor of ichthyology at the newly organized faculty of fisheries science at the Agricultural Institute [Agricultural Academy named after K. A. Timiryazev] and moved from St. Petersburg to Moscow. Here he taught courses in general and special ichthyology and hydrology. With the same energy, he continued his studies in geography. In the same year, in a collection dedicated to the seventieth birthday of D. N. Anuchin, his article “The Experience of Dividing Siberia and Turkestan into Landscape and Morphological Regions” was published, which laid the foundations of Berg’s doctrine of geographical zones.

In 1917, Berg moved to Petrograd again, this time permanently. He took part in organizing first the Higher Geographical Courses and then the Geographical Institute. From the department of this institute, he taught a course on regional studies and for the first time expounded the doctrine of geographical zones.

In 1925, the institute was transformed into the geographical department of Leningrad University, and Berg headed the department of physical geography. He was its head until the end of his days.

In 1922, the first edition of Berg's book Climate and Life was published, in which he summarized his work in the field of historical climatology. His work at the Commission for the Study of Natural Productive Forces at the Academy of Sciences, as well as at the State Hydrological Institute, where he headed the lake department, dates back to the same time.

At the same time, Berg became head of the department of applied ichthyology at the Institute of Experimental Agronomy. On the basis of this department, the All-Union Institute of Lake and River Fisheries was created in 1929, where Berg headed the ichthyology laboratory.

Along with conducting extensive geographical and ichthyological research, Berg paid great attention to evolutionary theory during these years. A significant place in his scientific work was also occupied by the development of questions of the history of geographical knowledge. In 1924, he published the first edition of a study on the discovery of Kamchatka.

In 1926 Berg took part in IIIInternational Pacific Congress, which took place in Japan. In 1927 he was a member IVInternational Limnological Congress in Rome. The publication of his “Fundamentals of Climatology” dates back to this time.

In 1928 and 1930 Berg led an expedition to Lake Issyk-Kul; in 1929 he studied Lake Ladoga.

In 1928, Berg was elected corresponding member of the USSR Academy of Sciences in the biological department.

Since 1934, Berg resumed work at the Zoological Institute of the USSR Academy of Sciences, where he headed the department of fossil fish. In 1940, he published the book “The System of Pisciformes and Fishes, Living and Fossils.”

Living in Leningrad, Berg took an active part in the work of the Geographical Society of the USSR, of which he had been a member since 1904. In 1934, he was elected an honorary member of the Society. In 1940, he was elected president of the Geographical Society of the USSR.

In 1941, at the very beginning of the Great Patriotic War, Berg was evacuated by the Academy of Sciences to Western Siberia. Here, not far from the places where 43 years ago he first began studying nature, he again studied the climate and ichthyofauna of Western Siberian lakes.

During the war years, he worked a lot on the history of geographical discoveries. In 1946, three of his books were published, representing major works in this area: “The Discovery of Kamchatka and Bering’s Kamchatka Expeditions. 1725 - 1742" (ed. 3), "Essays on the history of Russian geographical discoveries" and "The entire Union Geographical Society for a Hundred Years. 1845 - 1945".

In 1946, Berg was elected a full member of the USSR Academy of Sciences in the geographical department. In 1947, under his chairmanship, there was IIAll-Union Geographical Congress, convened by the Geographical Society of the USSR in connection with the centenary of its existence.

In 1949, three volumes of the monograph “Fishes of Fresh Waters of the USSR and Adjacent Countries” were published. This book was awarded the 1st degree Stalin Prize in 1951. This work of Berg, according to ichthyologists, constituted an era in the development of ichthyology.

In 1950, L. S. Berg died. Everyone who wrote about him paid tribute to his enormous contribution to science. A modest worker, a man who passionately loved his homeland, who had a reverent feeling not only for people, but also for all living things, he deservedly enjoyed such ardent love from his contemporaries, which rarely falls to anyone's lot.

The main work of Berg's life was the doctrine of geographical zones. Berg fully realized the importance of zonation as a geographical law. Before him, the principle of zonation was covered in the domestic scientific literature: in soil science - by V.V. Dokuchaev, in plant geography - by G.I. Tanfilyev, in zoogeography - by N.A. Severtsov and M.A. Menzbier, in climatology - by A.I. Voeikov. Berg was the first to approach the characterization of zones as a geographer, that is, in a comprehensive manner. Using data from soil science, climatology, phyto- and zoogeography, geomorphology and hydrology, he showed that the boundaries of the zones of soil scientists, climatologists, phyto- and zoogeographers generally coincide, i.e. that earth's surface divided into vast natural zones within which soils, climate, vegetation cover and animal world are combined in a natural way.

The idea of ​​the connection and interaction of individual elements of the geographical environment was clearly expressed by V. V. Dokuchaev.

Berg embodied this idea in major concrete geographical works on natural areas.

Considering geographical zones in their development, Berg emphasized the multi-temporal changes in individual elements that make up the landscape. Climate change plays the role of the leading factor in the shift of zones according to Berg.

In 1925, Berg wrote: “Climatic and plant zones usually coincide, but sometimes no coincidences are observed (for example, the forest-steppe zone in botanical-geographical terms does not correspond to the forest-steppe zone that could be distinguished climatologically) ... Climatological zones rather ... could would be called soil, because soil, according to Dokuchaev, is a mirror of climate. However, soils and vegetation cannot keep up with climate changes: the modern climate is more humid than the climate of prehistoric times, and soil and plant covers have not yet had time to fully comply with the climate (which is clearly visible, for example, in the forest-steppe or in places in the semi-desert) "

Significant clarifications were made by Berg to the question of post-glacial displacement of geographical zones in the territory Soviet Union. In particular, in his opinion, in the sub-Atlantic time “... the climate became more humid, the zones began to shift to the south; forests began to encroach on the steppes. This process continues to this day.”

Especially great importance To develop the problem under consideration, Berg has a two-volume monograph “Geographical Zones of the Soviet Union”. In this work, Berg essentially made the first attempt to establish the approximate boundaries of geographical zones on the territory of the Soviet Union, using mainly the results of climatological, soil and botanical research. The main content of this work is the consideration of the physical and geographical conditions of individual zones - climate, relief, soils, vegetation and wildlife in their interrelation. The extremely careful selection of material, accurate and clear descriptions made this work by Berg an invaluable source for becoming familiar with the main features of the nature of the geographical zones of the Soviet Union.

Along with studying the nature of entire landscape zones as complexes of a higher order, Berg reflected in his work the division of these zones into units of lower taxonomic rank, which he called landscapes of the 1st and 2nd orders.

Berg wrote: “...Deserts of a temperate climate are a landscape zone, the sands in these deserts are a geographical landscape of the 1st order, and hilly sands are a geographical landscape of the 2nd order, or a geographical individual, an individual.”

Berg devoted a lot of attention to clarifying the very concept of landscape and largely contributed to the introduction of this term as a scientific and geographical concept into general use. He wrote: “...In geography, under the name of geographical landscape we understand the basic unit of our science, the direct object of its study, a geographical individual or specimen.”

“The landscape is, as it were, a community of a higher order, connecting and uniting, on the one hand, communities of organisms (biocenoses), i.e. plants (phytocenoses), animals (zoocenoses) and, to a certain extent, humans, and on the other - complexes of inorganic phenomena: landforms, water accumulations, climatic factors; Landscape elements also include bodies such as soils, which are a derivative of both the organic world and the inorganic parts of the earth’s crust.”

In 1945, Berg proposed calling landscapes aspects, which was not widely accepted by geographers. However, it was important to further clarify the very concept of aspect (landscape) in his last works.

Geographical aspects (landscapes), according to Berg, are “natural geographical units, or individuals, subject to description by a geographer, i.e., such naturally repeating combinations, or aggregates, or groupings of objects and phenomena that, being bordered by natural boundaries, represent a natural whole , where the parts influence the geographical aspect, and the whole, i.e. the aspect, influences its constituent elements. The features of relief, climate, water, soil and plant cover and fauna characteristic of a given geographical aspect, as well as to a certain extent the nature of human agricultural activity, are typically repeated throughout the geographical zone to which this aspect belongs.”

In accordance with this, Berg defined geography as a science that deals with the study of the natural regions into which the earth's surface is divided. “The drawing of natural boundaries,” he says, “is the beginning and the end of every truly geographical work. In order to be able to accurately draw boundaries, you need to know what and how the space within a given natural area is filled.”

Berg's well-known studies on the problem of loess, which he considers as a zonal phenomenon, are closely related to the study of geographic zonation. In 1947, Berg particularly fully outlined and substantiated his theory of the origin of loess, which he put forward back in 1916 and called soil, or eluvial. According to this theory, “loess and loess-like rocks have the same origin: they are formedin situ(in place) from a variety of fine-earth, but necessarily carbonate) rocks as a result of weathering and soil formation in a dry climate.”

To substantiate his views, Berg drew on extensive material on the mechanical, chemical, mineralogical composition of loess and loess-like rocks, the stratigraphy of these deposits, their connection with the relief, geographical distribution, etc. A comprehensively reasoned soil theory of the origin of loess has received very wide recognition in our country. Berg's research shook the aeolian theory, which until recently claimed a monopoly position in explaining the origin of most types of loess.

A logical continuation of research on the problem of loess was a series of articles by Berg devoted to the problem of the formation of sedimentary rocks. In these works related to recent years his life, he paid main attention to the consideration of the physical and geographical conditions that determined the accumulation of individual sedimentary formations, emphasizing, in particular, the large role of the activity of microorganisms.

Among Berg’s geomorphological studies, “The Experience of Dividing Siberia and Turkestan into Landscape and Morphological Regions,” published back in 1913, remains of great importance. Here, for the first time, a geomorphological zoning of a large part of the territory of our country is given, based mainly on morphotectonic analysis. Despite the fact that during the time that has passed since the publication of this work, a huge factual material, the zoning he proposed has changed relatively little in its main features.

Much of Berg's work is devoted to the relief of Turkmenistan; a number of his articles concern the morphology of sand formations, clarification of individual geomorphological terms, the origin of underwater valleys and some other issues of geomorphology. Given the wide acceptance of Wegener's hypothesis among biogeographers, Berg subjected it to a thorough critical examination, showing that to explain the geographical distribution of plants and animals, the idea of ​​​​horizontal movement of continents is not at all necessary, which, moreover, is not confirmed by geographical and geological data.

Having begun his geographical research with the study of the salt lakes of the Omsk district, Berg throughout his life showed a deep interest in issues of limnology and for a long time led and directed the study of lakes in our country. His monograph “The Aral Sea”, which has long become a classic work, immediately after its publication put Berg in the ranks of world-famous limnologists. In his limnological works, he paid particular attention to the study of lake ichthyofauna, developing the basis for rational management of fisheries in the country's largest lakes, as well as identifying the nature of fluctuations in their level.

Berg's studies of fluctuations in the level of the Caspian Sea over historical time were a major contribution to science. In contrast to the recently prevailing idea of ​​their very significant amplitude, Berg convincingly showed that fluctuations in the level of the Caspian Sea over the past millennia occurred within only a few meters. This conclusion has received very significant practical significance in developing the problems of the Volga-Caspian Sea.

In his limnological studies, Berg did not limit himself to the relatively narrow tasks of understanding a particular lake body of water. Believing that the life of a lake reflects the development of the entire natural environment of a more or less large landscape area, he paid much attention to identifying connections between changes in lake levels and climate changes. Already the first studies in this area led Berg to a conclusion that ran counter to the then widespread opinion about the drying out of Central Asia, Kazakhstan and the southern part of Western Siberia in the modern era. Berg was able to convincingly show that in many areas of this vast territory at the endXIXcenturies there was a clear decrease in aridity. The conclusion outlined by Berg more than fifty years ago soon received widespread recognition and additional justification in numerous works by climatologists, hydrologists, soil scientists, botanists, and zoologists.

Later, based on an analysis of the results of research by naturalists of various specialties, as well as using data on historical geography, Berg came to the conclusion that over historical time the Earth’s climate as a whole has not experienced any significant changes, in particular there has been no increase in aridity. The climate changes observed in various regions represent relatively short-term fluctuations, measured in a few decades, which appear against the background of overall climate stability. There is no reason to explain the fall of ancient civilizations in Central, Central and Western Asia, North Africa and some other arid regions by climate drying. The main reason for the death of once flourishing oases was internal and external relations ancient states, especially wars and the associated destruction of irrigation systems.

These conclusions, which represent an important contribution to science, also have great practical significance; they help to correctly guide the solution of major national economic problems associated with long-term calculations of the use and transformation of nature.

Berg paid especially great attention to the problem of climate change in the modern (historical) era. He was also involved in the development of the question of dividing the Earth's surface into climatic zones and regions, studying the climate of the ancient geological past and other issues of climatology. Of great interest are his “Fundamentals of Climatology” - a university textbook, in the preface to the second edition of which (1938) Berg emphasized that “since the book was written by a geographer, it is naturally addressed Special attention on the interactions between climate, nature and humans. However, it is unlikely that the geographical discipline of climatology should be interpreted differently.”

More than anyone else in our country, Berg worked on the history of Russian geographical discoveries. Many of his books can serve as models in the field of the history of geographical knowledge. Particularly noteworthy is Berg’s historical and bibliographical work “Essay on the history of Russian geographical science (up to 1923)”, which provides a systematized overview of the history of the study of our fatherland by region.

Berg's speech in 1949 at the Geographical Society of the USSR played an important political role, in which he again pointed out the priority of the Russians in the discovery of Antarctica.

All of Berge’s historical and geographical works are distinguished by his deep knowledge of sources and understanding of the tasks facing domestic geographers.

Among the enormous scientific legacy left by Berg, there are dozens of major works that are included in the golden fund of domestic and world geography. He created many original scientific concepts, some of which did not receive universal recognition (for example, in the field of the theory of evolution of the organic world), but they sometimes served as a stimulus for fruitful discussions that contributed to the development of science.

Berg's name has been immortalized more than once on geographical map. It was assigned to an active volcano on the island of Urup (Kuril Islands), a peak in the Pamirs, a cape on Severnaya Zemlya and glaciers in the Pamirs and the Dzungarian Alatau. Berg's name was also included in the Latin names of more than 60 animals and plants.

- Source-

Domestic physical geographers and travelers. [Essays]. Ed. N. N. Baransky [and others] M., Uchpedgiz, 1959.

Post Views: 948