Moscow Society of Naturalists

Moscow Society of Naturalists (Московское общество испытателей природы - MOIP), is one of Russia's oldest learned societies.

In 1805 it was founded as the Imperial Society of Naturalists of Moscow (Société Impériale des Naturalistes de Moscou) under the auspices of two noblemen, Mikhail Myravyov and Alexis Razumovsky, by Johann Fischer von Waldheim in 1805. Princess Zenaǐde Wolkonsky made a gift of her own library to the society.

Such cultural institutions as the Polytechnical Museum, Zoological Museum, and University Herbarium used to be affiliated with the society. It has published its own bimonthly journal, Bulletin de la Société Impériale des Naturalistes de Moscou, since 1826.

It was organised under the auspices of the Moscow State University (MGU) and included many members of the university staff amongst its members.

Presidents

Previous presidents include:

• 1805—1817 — А. К. Разумовский,
• 1817—1825 — А. П. Оболенский
• 1825—1830 — Alexander Pisarev
• 1830—1835 — Dmitry Golitsyn
• 1835—1847 — Sergei Grigoriyevich Stroganov
• 1847—1849 — Dmitri Golokhvastov
• 1850—1855 — В. И. Назимов
• 1856—1859 — Е. П. Ковалевский
• 1859—1863 — Н. В. Исаков
• 1863—1867 — Д. С. Левшин
• 1867—1872 — А. П. Ширинский-Шихматов
• 1872—1884 — А. Г. Фишер фон Вальдгейм
• 1884—1886 — Karl Renard
• 1886—1890 — Fyodor Bredikhin
• 1890—1897 — Ф. А. Слудский
• 1897—1915 — Н. А. Умов
• 1915—1935 — Mikhail Aleksandrovich Menzbier
• 1935—1953 — Nikolay Zelinsky
• 1955—1967 — Vladimir Sukachev
• 1967—1999 — Alexander Yanchine
• 2000 on — Viktor Sadovnichiy (MGUs Rector)

External links

• Website of the Moscow Society of Naturalists