by Alexander SCHLESINGER, Dr. Sc. (Geol. & Min.), RAS Institute of Geology, Boris GOLUBOV, Cand. Sc. (Geol. & Min.), RAS Institute of Geosphere Dynamics

In 2011 scientific community celebrates the 100th birth anniversary of the prominent Russian scientist Academician Alexander Yanshin. He was a man of versatile talent and dedicated most of his life to geology: his contribution to this discipline is apparent. A keen natural scientist and a patriot, Yanshin opposed ecologically unfriendly projects of the 20th century-reversal of northern rivers, construction of the Volga-Chograi canal, etc.--and in his declining years he became one of the leaders of the national environmental protection movement. He was a committed disciple of Academician Vladimir Vernadsky and persistently promoted his works.

THE YOUNGEST GEOLOGIST

The professional biography of Alexander Yanshin was quite unusual. He took part in his first geological studies at the age of 18 as a participant of the Akkemir expedition organized to find phosphorites in the Aktyubinsk Region of Kazakhstan. The young man completed the collector's training courses under the Scientific Institute for Fertilizers and a year later headed studies aimed to process and analyze collected materials. It was a real success: in 1932 a report he had prepared in 1929 was published as a separate chapter in the book Phosphate Rocks of the USSR. In other words, 22-year old Yanshin was the youngest geologist in the Soviet Union who was allowed to carry out independent explorations.

He completed a full higher education program (first at the Department of Geology of Lomonosov Moscow State University, then at the Moscow Institute of Geological Explorations), but did not receive a diploma. Fortunately, this fact did not affect his further professional life: in 1936, Alexander Yanshin began work at the USSR AS Institute of Geology, a year later he was awarded an academic degree of a candidate of sciences. It is worth mentioning that the scientist, as well as some other young and gifted geologists, was supported by Academician Andrei Arkhangelsky, director of the said institute; Yanshin even did not have to defend his thesis. This was a unique situation proving exceptional abilities of the young scientists.

Before and after the Great Patriotic War, Yanshin carried out complex geological explorations in Western Kazakhstan, Western and Northern Ural regions, Ust-yurt. His works dealing with regional tectonics and stratigraphy are of special interest. In particular, he discovered a large artesian basin, which was a primary source of water for steam locomotives at Chelkar railway station (Aktyubinsk Region) at the time of military hostilities.

The young scientist's efforts were highly appreciated by his colleagues. It was not by chance that in the late 1940s, when geologists were assigned to make a state geological map scale 1:1,000,000 (L-39). Yanshin was engaged as a scientific consultant. In the course of field expeditions he noticed clods of ancient crystalline rocks in the Oligocene-Miocene sediments of the Northern Ustyurt slopes and in the strips of Turgai series of the Northern Aral Region and made the following conclusion: in the territory of Western Kazakhstan they occur at relatively shallow depths. All members of the expedition shared his point of view (Yanshin's authority was highly respected). Field workers who performed structural drilling were afraid of breaking the instruments. Surveyors examined the Ustyurt slopes in search of bassets. However, further drilling and research works showed that the search had to be carried out much deeper. Many years later we asked our teacher: could we avoid that mistake if we had modern equipment and knew about the latest achievements of ocean geology? His answer was negative as the facts we relied on seemed very credible.

It should be noted that structural constructions and stratigraphie works of the 1940s were extremely useful. Based on the natural strips and soil extracted from ground squirrels' holes, scientists discovered the Northern Ustyurt foredeep, Southern Embinsk elevation, immersion to the south of the Urals, as well as obtained other interesting and important data that are of interest even today. At that time Yanshin wrote three articles, where he disclosed characteristics of geological structure of the Caspian Region and the Ural, Donbass and Mangyshlak correlation.

RESEARCHER AND ORGANIZER OF SCIENCE

In 1949, during at expedition to the Aral Region, Alexander Yanshin got into an accident: the rope tore,

and he fell from the height of 24 m to the bottom of the prospecting shaft, where the scientist was going to study a geological section and take samples of the iron ore bed. Fortunately, he survived as the bucket struck the walls, which slowed down its movement a little bit. With minor injuries and broken bones, he was moved to the town of Chelkar, Aktyubinsk Region, and then was transferred to Moscow. While in hospital, he was taken ill with traumatic diabetes he suffered from till the end of his life. In addition, since that time he was forced to wear orthopedic shoes and put up with slight lameness. Nevertheless, this dramatic story had also other aftereffects. The point is that Alexander Yanshin always was a committed organizer of science, which drew him away from his own research goals. He stayed at hospital for more than a year, where he had enough time for scientific research. Yanshin set to translate the monograph Stratigraphic Geology by the French author Maurice Gig-noux and finally prepared for publication a chapter on the Palaeogene. Furthermore, he substantiated his field data collected before and wrote a voluminous monograph Geology of the Northern Aral Region. In 1952, Yanshin defended his doctor's thesis on its basis. His carrier developed rather fast: in 1958, at the age of 37, he was elected full member of the USSR AS (Siberian Branch).

In 1959, Yanshin headed the project to make up a tectonic map of Eurasia scale 1:5,000,000. In 1969, due to his achievements, including the monograph Tectonics of Eurasia, Yanshin was awarded a USSR State Prize. That time he was a Deputy Director of the Institute of Geology and Geophysics of the AS SB, but spent much

time in Moscow and Novosibirsk, where his works were continued by his pupils.

In Siberia Yanshin was in the avant-garde of scientific studies: he headed such projects as Evolution of Sedimentary Rock and Ore Formation in the History of the Earth, History of the Development of the Relief of Siberia and Far East, Geological Structure and History of Geological Development of the Transitional Zone from the Asian Continent to the Pacific Ocean, etc. Together with Mikhail Zharkov, Dr. Sc. (Geol. & Min.), he discovered the Nepa potassium saline field (Eastern Siberia), the richest and the most ancient potassium deposit ever known on the Earth. Alexander Yanshin never forgot young scientists, who became doctors of sciences, corresponding members and academicians. In this aspect he was as good as his beloved teacher, geologisttectonist Academician Nikolai Shatsky (1895-1953).

In the 1970s-1980s, Yanshin continued his research works trying to understand regularities of structure, development and mechanisms of formation of young and ancient platforms. He actively analyzed contemporary seismostratigraphic materials, which was very important for a correct interpretation of the structure of deep-sea hollows, marginal and inland seas, periphery of oceans and deep cavities (of the Precaspian type), as well as possibilities of their formation. Alexander Yanshin spent much time studying vertical tectonic movements and their independence from horizontal movements. He established: abrupt short-term lowerings can reach many kilometers. This cycle of work enabled the scientist to oppose the idea of identifying geosynclines of geological past with the present-day oceans.

In the early 1970s, Alexander Yanshin married Fidan Bekenina, who played a significant role in his long and happy life.

INVENTOR OF A "BIOSPHERIC LEAD" FOR BUREAUCRACY

In 1982, Yanshin was elected Vice-President of the USSR Academy of Sciences and appointed to the sposition of Director of the USSR AS Institute of Lithosphere and Chairman of the USSR AS Scientific Council for Problems of the Biosphere. Thanks to his committed work, this Council turned into "strategic long-range artillery" of the Academy of Sciences solving all most urgent problems of rational use and protection of natural resources of the country.

To achieve this goal, Alexander Yanshin manipulated with three basic tools. First, he took steps to consolidate and restructure the Council-Bureau, its 19 sections and editorial staff of the series Modern Problems of the Biosphere (Yanshin himself and Sergei Yevteyev headed it). Secondly, as President of the Moscow Society of Nature Testers, he engaged unselfish and concurrently qualified defenders of nature--scientists and students. Thirdly, he managed to organize meetings of the Council, dedicated to different ecological problems, which were formally convened on the basis of the instructions of the USSR Government or AS Presidium. In other words, the adopted decisions were binding like official documents. Sometimes the Soviet Government did not share the Council's position, but could not ignore it. It is obvious that actually Yanshin was an organizer of these meetings. The constant "feedback" made it possible for the AS to hold the state machinery on a "biospheric lead". Moreover, members of the Council took part in numerous expert examinations of national economic projects and programs.

Yanshin headed fundamental biosphere research programs. Members of the Council acted as a link between

academic, branch and educational sciences in the given sphere of knowledge. They held annual conferences, meetings, workshops and seminars, on a regular basis discussed expert opinions, etc. The Decree of the USSR AS Presidium On the Development of the Biosphere and Ecological Research Program of the USSR AS till 2015 was adopted on June 23, 1987, and Yanshin actively participated in implementation of this idea. It was the time when the fundamentals of the state environmental program for the rational use of natural resources were developed.

In the 1980s-1990s, the Council focused on the problems of Russian Arctic Regions, contamination of Baikal, construction of the dam in Leningrad and the Volga-Chograi channel, etc. Each assignment was a real challenge. For example, to make an opinion on the environmental and economic feasibility of construction of the Volga-Chograi channel, the problem was first discussed on December 7, 1988, at a joint meeting of the USSR AS Presidium and the Presidium of the All-Union Academy of Agricultural Sciences named after V. Lenin, then on December 26-28, 1988, and finally at two meetings of the USSR AS Presidium held on January 3 and 11, 1989. But the most difficult task was to take the varnish off the idea to transfer partially the flow of northern rivers to the Volga to increase the level of the Caspian Sea. On the order of the CPSU Political Bureau in 1981 there was established the Provisional Expert Scientific and Technical Committee for Melioration Problems (on the basis of scientific councils of the USSR AS). It was headed by Academician Yanshin, Vice-President of the USSR AS. Finally, as we all know, this project was recognized as unviable.

FIGHTER AGAINST DESTROYERS OF NOOSPHERE

In 1992, at the summit of Heads of State and the UN conference held in Rio de Janeiro, Russia, being one of the 179 countries, signed a series of program documents determining a coordinated policy on sustainable development. The AS Scientific Council for Problems of the Biosphere made its own contribution to the preparatory works. As for the summit, our country was represented by Valentin Koptyug, Vice-President of the USSR Academy of Sciences.

That same year the Council first acted as a coordinator of research and production works to assess and eliminate dangerous consequences of underground nuclear

Science in Russia, No.2, 2011

explosions carried out in the USSR for industrial purposes in the second half of the 20th century. Alexander Yanshin headed studies conducted at the Astrakhan oil-and-gas condensate field and Gezhsk and Osa oil fields in the Perm Region. Comprehensive studies carried out together with atomic scientists, oil experts and environmental services of different levels including, in particular, geological and geophysical research of the interior of the earth in the zones of underground nuclear explosions, monitoring of radiation situation, medical and biological examination of workmen and local population, development of practical radiation safety recommendations and further exploitation of deposits.

In 1993, the Council headed by Yanshin considered the problem of resumption of construction works on the Volga-Don 2 channel and proved it would be economically inadvisable and ecologically unsafe. This resolution was addressed to Viktor Chernomyrdin, RF Prime Minister in 1992-1998, and other interested agencies. As a result, scientific opinion was acknowledged at the government level.

And, finally, the last and perhaps the most significant "incision" in the Council's history led by Yanshin: in 1998, the scientist proposed the RAS Presidium to consider in detail alterations to the federal legislation on the admission of radioactive and toxic substances from abroad developed by the State Duma. He believed that our long-suffering Russia should not become a nuclear dump! And this problem did not leave him in peace till the end of his life.

According to Yanshin, the most acute problem of our time is to live in harmony with the biosphere. And he kept developing this idea all his life: Alexander Yanshin was firm and always defended sound approach to nature. The scientist was a soldier in the army of Don Quixotes of the 20th century, who struggled against a real well-structured system of life suppression on our planet, supported by numerous like-minded people.

Like the great Vladimir Vernadsky, who thought in the categories of evolution of living and nonliving matter in all variety of forms, the natural scientist Yanshin stood out among people around him who were in fact too far from present-day environmental problems. Unfortunately, even today officials responsible for the development and adoption of key environmental decisions cannot understand one simple thing: life on the exhausted planet depends not on financial problems, it is in the hands of laws of nature that determine substance and energy flows in the biosphere. And these laws will always supersede any directives. Alexander Yanshin knew this very well and was able to find convincing arguments in the dialogue with the authorities. Today, we really miss and need him. Let's recall a poem by Nikolai Gumilev, Yanshin's favorite poet of the Silver Age:

"... Whose breasts really are saturated Not with dust of the skipp'd out scrolls, But with sea salt, who plot on a tattered Map with needles, their venturesome course,

Who, on planks of high bridges, which roam, Think of ports, they have left far behind, As they slash the white flakes of sea foam From their jack-boots with cane's sprightly winds..."

Illustrations from the archives of the authors and Nauka Publishing House