Birth of Boris Mikhailovich Zhitkov, Explorer of the Russian North, Full Member of the Russian Geographical Society

Boris Mikhailovich Zhitkov was born on September 20 (October 3), 1872 in a noble family in the Mikhailovka Village of Ardatovsky Uezd of Simbirsk Governorate. Zhitkov’s grandfather participated in the Patriotic War of 1812, got injured in the Battle of Borodino, fought for the liberation of Europe, rose to the rank of Major General. His father was a military engineer, defended Sevastopol during the Crimean War, and was awarded state orders for bravery.

The future scientist and traveler spent his childhood surrounded by Central Russian nature. B. M. Zhitkov was a keen hunter. In 1886, he completed the study course in a pro-gymnasium in the town of Alatyr, enrolled in the Nizhny Novgorod Noble Institute and later became a student of the natural Sciences Department of the Faculty of Physics and Mathematics of the Moscow University. His study of general educational courses and specialization in zoology took place under the guidance of such luminaries of Russian science, as A. P. Bogdanov, A. G. Stoletov, A. P. Pavlov, K. A. Timiryazev and I. M. Sechenov. From 1896, B. M. Zhitkov served at the Department of Zoology, working his way up from assistant to professor. In different years, he also headed departments in various higher education institutions of Moscow. Lectures of the scientist at the Moscow University, Timiryazev Academy and the Forestry Institute were incredibly informative and accessible.

B. M. Zhitkov traveled with various scientific expeditions numerous times. He first got introduced to the North in 1893 as a student working on the White Sea. In 1900 in accordance with the order of the Lovers of Natural Sciences Society, B. M. Zhitkov and S. A. Buturlin took part in the expedition that conducted geographical and faunal research on the Kolguyev Island and Novaya Zemlya. In 1900-1913, as part of the expeditions he visited different regions of the country: Turkestan, Transcaspia, the Volga delta, Transcaucasus and Caucasus, as well as the Siberian North of Russia.

In 1902, B. M. Zhitkov participated in the expedition to the Kanin tundra. Its results were so significant that the Imperial Russian Geographical Society elected him as a full member of its physical geography department on April 16, 1903, marking his scientific merits. In 1908, B. M. Zhitkov headed the expedition to the Yamal Peninsula that provided valuable results. The trip was of complex nature – the district was explored in detail in biological, geographical and ethnographical regards.

B. M. Zhitkov found and described an ancient Pomeranian trade route from the Kara Sea to Mangazeya. As a result of this expedition, he received one of the most prestigious awards of the Russian Geographical Society – the Przhevalsky Award. In 1913, B. M. Zhitkov published his work “The Yamal Peninsula”. The addition to the publication featured a map of the whole peninsula. The book about Yamal is still a very detailed guide. It contains the list of plants and fish collected by the expedition, data on permafrost, materials on deer breeding in Tobolsk Governorate. A special attention is paid to the everyday life of the indigenous population of Yamal. In his scientific work, B. M. Zhitkov treats the Samoyeds with great respect, appreciates their hard work, savvy and high level of geographical knowledge. The book is completed with the list of the Samoyeds’ tracts and geographical names translated to Russian. They are arranged in alphabetical order and feature 233 words. B. M. Zhitkov is rightfully considered to be the founder of the Yamal toponymy. He paid great attention to the issues of exploration of the Northern Sea Route.

Research expeditions of B. M. Zhitkov, conducted in the spring of 1912 in the Volga Delta, not only allowed to collect a vast number of zoological materials, but also contributed to the local Astrakhan public raising the issue of the establishment of a reserve in this area. In the spring of 1919, the Astrakhan Reserve was founded with the support of B. M. Zhitkov and other zoologists.

After 1917, B. M. Zhitkov organized expeditions aiming at the development of a methodology for quantitative accounting of fur-bearing animals and bonitation of hunting grounds. In 1922, he founded the biological commercial station in the Losinoostrovsky Experimental Forestry – entitled the All-Union Scientific Research Institute of Hunting since 1946. In 1928-1932, he conducted acclimatization of muskrat and nutria in the Russian reservoirs. B. M. Zhitkov was a member of the Northern Committee, Polar Commission of the Academy of Sciences of the USSR, International Polar Commission.

Boris Mikhailovich Zhitkov died on April 2, 1943 in Moscow.

The scientist’s legacy contains over 200 scientific works on the issues of physical and economic geography, history of science, biology of animals and birds, hunting industry, fur farming, zoogeography. In 1972, the All-Union Scientific Research Institute of Hunting and Fur Farming was named after Professor B. M. Zhitkov.

Lit.: Белобородов В. К. Тропинки к дому. Русские Березовского края в конце XVIII – начале XX вв.: краеведческие заметки о былом и насущном. Тюмень, 2013. 349 с.; В помощь краеведу: материалы к календарю знаменательных и памятных дат Тюменской области на 2007 год. Тюмень, 2006. С. 63–65; Житков Борис Михайлович // Большая Тюменская энциклопедия. Т. 1: А–З. Тюмень, 2004. С. 446; Житков Б. М. Избранные труды: [монография]. Т. 1: Российский Север / [ответственный редактор А. Е. Скопин]. Киров, 2012. 775 с.; Зонн И. С. Карское море: энциклопедия / автор-составитель И. С. Зонн, А. Г. Костяной; под редакцией Г. Г. Матишова. М., 2013. 246 с.; Копылов В. Е. Житков – знаток Ямала // Окрик памяти (История Тюменского края глазами инженера). Книга 4. Тюмень, 2005. С. 28–33; Решетов А. М. Борис Михайлович Житков как этнограф // Земля Тюменская: ежегодник Тюменского областного краеведческого музея. 2004. Тюмень, 2005. С. 192–197; Роль Императорского Русского Географического Общества и его Западно-Сибирского Отдела в исследовании Тобольской губернии // Развитие краеведения и музейного дела в Тобольской губернии во второй половине XIX–начале XX вв.: [монография] / Д. Исламова. Тюмень, 2014. С. 159–185; Тайны главного шайтана // Книга Ямала / А. Омельчук. Тюмень, 2010. С. 155–156.

Based on the Presidential Library’s materials:

Житков Б. М. Новая Земля. М., 1903 (Доступно в электронном читальном зале);

Житков Б. М. Материалы для орнитофауны Симбирской губернии. СПб., 1906 (Доступно в электронном читальном зале);

Житков Б. М. Краткий отчет о путешествии на полуострове Ямал: (читано в Общем собрании ИРГО 19 февраля 1909 г.) / [СПб.], [1909] (Доступно в электронном читальном зале);

Житков Б. Морской торговый путь в Сибирь. М., 1910;

Житков Б. М. Тундры / [соч.] Б. М. Житкова. Северо-лесная область / [соч.] С. В. Покровского. М., [1912] (Доступно в электронном читальном зале);

Житков Б. М. Полуостров Ямал. СПб., 1913 (Доступно в электронном читальном зале);

Житков Б. М. Предварительный отчет о поездке на остров Канин. [СПб.], [19--] (Доступно в электронном читальном зале).

Based on the article of the Tyumen Region Branch of the Presidential Library