Fyodorov A. N.

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Last Updated on Friday, 21 August 2015 17:26

 Alexander Nikolayevich Fyodorov (1857 - 1918)

Alexander Nikolayevich Fyodorov was born in Shadrin Uyezd of the Permian Guberniya in 1857. His father put him to a theological seminary because therea were no other schools in a district at that time. Fyodorov studied with D.N. Mamin-Sibiryak, A.S. Popov, a future inventor of the radio, and other talented people. Yearning for deep knowledge brought him to St. Petersburg. He became a student of the biological department of St.Petersburg University, took classes of well-known scientists – D.I. Mendeleyev, A.M. Butlerov, A.O.Kovalevsky, and others. Academician Butlerov was known not only as a chemist but also as an enthusiast and bee-keeping popularizer. His pasionate and exciting stories about bees’ life influenced the life choice of Fyodorov later on.

Knowledge of the articles of the revolutioners-democrats, student meetings and discussions about the future of Russia brought him to the illegal coterie. Fyodorov was expelled from of the University soon for his anti-governmental activity. He was exiled to the Western Siberia for 5 years along with other 4 active participants of the Odessa revolutionary coterie in the second half of 1883. Ust-Kamenogorsk was determined as his location. He arrived in Ust-Kamenogorsk in August 1884.

Half-starved life began. He was prohibited to work in the government units and schools. Fyodorov was doing bookbinding, tutored in the houses of rich people.v
At the first days of his arrival to Ust-Kamenogorsk Fyodorov noticed a unique abundance of the mellifluous flora in this place. Boundless sea of flowers spread in the rivers and mountains' valleys, on the hillsides. He bought a small apiary by the Ulbinsky village for his meager money and savings of his mom who came to visit him. To acquire practical skills the first-time beekeeper became a pupil of one local - Petrov.

His exile terminated on October 5, 1888. As far as Fyodorov was prohibited to live in Central Russia he decided to stay in Ust-Kamenogorsk forever to devote his life to the labor of love. Fyodorov planned to stop old way bee-keeping with the "grandfathers' methods". He arranged his apiary according to the best world models, started using frame hives and supplied his apiary with needed equipment.

He was the first in Altay who started the production of an artificial empty honeycomb with the use of Ritzshe wafer-iron. Beekeepers from outskirts, nearest and quite distant Russian cities came to see the peculiar apiary with the "bee houses" and meet Fyodorov. He realized imperfection of European and American hives after he mastered frame bee keeping. It couldn't stand severe frost. Alexander Nikolayevich and his friend exiled Mihaelis E.P. created a hive of their own construction and named it "Altaysky". Its great characteristics were appreciated with a diploma of All-Russian Nizhny Novgorod exposition in 1896. Famous hive started to spread among bee keepers of Russia rapidly. According to the "Russian bee keeper's leaflet" reports the "Altaysky" hive penetrated even into Taurida (Crimea Republic nowadays).

Fyodorov was appointed a bee keeping instructor of the Semipalatinsk region. That's when his educational activity started. He arranged over 10 bee keeping courses, several expositions, delivered many lectures, marked a net of model hives. He was one of the first who started ordering seeds of honey plants and distribute them among the local bee keepers. Under his direction 2 congresses of South-Western Altay bee keepers took place in Ust-Kamenogorsk in 1915 and 1916. They summarized the best hives' experience. A number of frame hives of East Kazakhstan's apiaries rose up to 10, 000 by May 1918. Fyodorov found the unique museum of the bee keeping history in Ust-Kamenogorsk and collected an interesting library. But unfortunately neither archives, nor his library, except some documents, were found after tumultuous events of the 20 century.

Fyodorov actively took part in social and scientific life of the city. He published some articles about bee keeping problems while he was a member of Russian geographical society. Also he participated in construction of the "National House" and planting of greenery in the city. Fyodorov and other political exiles rendered great services for the library science development and education in Ust-Kamenogorsk.

The First World War, his students and assistants' deaths, and a long illness overtaxed his health. He died at the age of 62 on April 22, 1918.