science

Vasily Plotnikov

Vasily Plotnikov is a science 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 Vasily Plotnikov rather than just read about it. In short: Vasily Ilyich Plotnikov (Russian: Василий Ильич Плотников; 11 January 1878 [O.S. 30 December 1877] – 11 November 1959) was a Soviet and Uzbek entomologist. Plotnikov was the founder and long-serving director of the Turkestan Entomological Station in Tashkent (1911–1932), the first pest control research and experimental institution in Central Asia.

Key takeaways

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Reference excerpt

Vasily Ilyich Plotnikov (Russian: Василий Ильич Плотников; 11 January 1878 [O.S. 30 December 1877] – 11 November 1959) was a Soviet and Uzbek entomologist. Plotnikov was the founder and long-serving director of the Turkestan Entomological Station in Tashkent (1911–1932), the first pest control research and experimental institution in Central Asia. He is regarded as a founding figure in agricultural entomology in Central Asia. Plotnikov authored the first comprehensive reference book on Central Asian crop pests and their control (1926). Plotnikov was also the founder and first chairman of the Turkestan Entomological Society (1923). Early in his career, Plotnikov made significant contributions to hydrobiology, describing 14 species of freshwater worms. He also conducted influential research on the mechanism of insect molting; the findings were widely integrated into contemporary entomological reference textbooks. His academic credentials and honors included a Doctor of Biological Sciences degree (1935), a Professor (1935), and the title of Hero of Labor of the Uzbek SSR (1930).

Biography and career

Early research in Saint Petersburg: flatworms and insect physiology Plotnikov was born on 11 January 1878 [O.S. 30 December 1877] into a middle-class (meshchanin) family in Tomsk, Siberia. After graduating from the Tomsk Real School in 1896, he enrolled at the Saint Petersburg Forestry Institute. There, he studied under the prominent zoologist and entomologist Professor Nikolay Kholodkovsky. At Kholodkovsky's recommendation, Plotnikov spent the summers of 1899 and 1900 working at the Bologoye Biological Station, where he studied freshwater worms and published his first scientific paper in 1899. Plotnikov graduated from the Forestry Institute in 1901. For his graduation research on insect physiology On the Molting of Insects ("О линянии насекомых") he was awarded the Gold Medal of the Council of the Saint Petersburg Forestry Institute. On 28 December 1903, Plotnikov was elected a Fellow of the Saint Petersburg Society of Naturalists. In 1901–1908, Plotnikov served as a conservator—managing the museum and laboratory collections—at Kholodkovsky's Department of Zoology and Comparative Anatomy at the Military Medical Academy in Saint Petersburg. During this period, Plotnikov focused on the taxonomic study of worms, describing 14 new species—predominantly freshwater flatworms (Turbellaria). In 1908–1911, Plotnikov worked as an assistant in the laboratory of the Forestry Department of the Ministry of Agriculture and State Property under the noted entomologist Ivan Shevyryov, focusing on forest pest control.

Turkestan Entomological Station in Tashkent In 1911, on the recommendation of Shevyryov, Plotnikov was appointed to organize and head the newly established Turkestan Entomological Station under the Department of Agriculture and State Property of the Turkestan Governor-Generalship in Tashkent, a post he held until 1932. It was the first entomological station in Central Asia.

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Illustrations

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Vasily Plotnikov

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Vasily Plotnikov claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In science, 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 Vasily Plotnikov 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 Vasily Plotnikov 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 Vasily Plotnikov

In research: Vasily Plotnikov appears in science 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 Vasily Plotnikov 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: Vasily Plotnikov is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics 1878 births, 1959 deaths, Soviet entomologists, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Vasily Plotnikov 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 Vasily Plotnikov in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Vasily Plotnikov 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.
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Frequently asked questions

What is Vasily Plotnikov in simple terms?

Why does Vasily Plotnikov matter?

Because it connects several science 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 Vasily Plotnikov?

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 Vasily Plotnikov.