biology

Pyotr Shirshov

Pyotr Shirshov is a biology topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Pyotr Shirshov rather than just read about it. In short: Pyotr Petrovich Shirshov (Russian: Пётр Петро́вич Ширшо́в; 25 December [O.S. 12 December] 1905 – 17 February 1953) was a Soviet oceanographer, hydrobiologist, polar explorer, statesman, academician (1939), the first minister of Ministry of Maritime Fleet of the USSR and Hero of the Soviet Union (1938). Pyotr Shirshov graduated from the Odessa Public Education Institute in 1929.

Key takeaways

Pyotr Shirshov belongs to biology; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Pyotr Shirshov to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Pyotr Shirshov from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

Pyotr Petrovich Shirshov (Russian: Пётр Петро́вич Ширшо́в; 25 December [O.S. 12 December] 1905 – 17 February 1953) was a Soviet oceanographer, hydrobiologist, polar explorer, statesman, academician (1939), the first minister of Ministry of Maritime Fleet of the USSR and Hero of the Soviet Union (1938). Pyotr Shirshov graduated from the Odessa Public Education Institute in 1929. In 1929–1932, he was a researcher at the Botanical Garden of the Soviet Academy of Sciences. In 1932–1936, Pyotr Shirshov was employed as a researcher at the All-Union Arctic Institute. He participated in numerous Arctic expeditions, including the ones on icebreakers Sibiryakov (1932) and Chelyuskin and a drifting ice station North Pole-1 (1937–1938). In 1942–1948, Pyotr Shirshov was People's Commissar of the Maritime Fleet, later minister of Ministry of Maritime Fleet of the USSR. In 1946–1953, he headed the Institute of Oceanology of the Soviet Academy of Sciences, which he had established himself. In 1946–1950, Pyotr Shirshov chaired the Pacific Ocean Science Committee. Pyotr Shirshov authored numerous works dealing with his research on plankton in polar regions. He is known to have proven the fallacy of the hypothesis that there is no life in high latitudes of the Arctic Ocean. Pyotr Shirshov was awarded three Orders of Lenin, four other orders, and several medals.

Memoria A bay in the Franz Josef Land, an underwater range in the Bering Sea, and Shirshov Institute of Oceanology bear Pyotr Shirshov's name. Mount Shirshov, in the Tula Mountains, Enderby Land, is also named after Shirshov.

References

This article includes content derived from the Great Soviet Encyclopedia, 1969–1978, which is partially in the public domain.

Illustrations

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Pyotr Shirshov

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Pyotr Shirshov claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In biology, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Pyotr Shirshov before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Pyotr Shirshov ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Pyotr Shirshov

In research: Pyotr Shirshov appears in biology research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Pyotr Shirshov in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Pyotr Shirshov is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics 1905 births, 1953 deaths, 20th-century Russian scientists, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Pyotr Shirshov outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study Pyotr Shirshov in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Pyotr Shirshov means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Pyotr Shirshov out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Pyotr Shirshov in simple terms?

Why does Pyotr Shirshov matter?

Because it connects several biology ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Pyotr Shirshov?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Pyotr Shirshov.