The “Siberian Lomonosov,” Ivan Savenkov had a remarkable array of interests by any standard. From Irkutsk, he returned to Siberia after graduating from St. Petersburg University, this time to Krasnoiarsk, first as a teacher, which led to his opening a pedogocial institute there and developing ideas about physical education for students. Locally, he involved himself in everything from acting in the local theatre troupe to leading student excavations of local kurgans. A chess aficionado, he designed a match in which villages could play each other using telegraph codes. From 1907-1911 he directed what remains one of the most impressive local museums in Russia or elsewhere, the Minusinsk Museum of Local History. Digging on Mount Afontovo in the summer of 1914, he died of a heart attack.
Congress Attended: 7th
His biographer recorded that his charitable works deflected his interest from his academic activities, and therefore he produced less than what could be expected from someone with his knowledge and capabilities, but one wonders what more could he have done? He began by studying church history under M. V. Nikolskii, and worked for the Synodal Typography while he also tutored the children of Prince Volkonskii. A member of several other societies, at the IMAO he served as secretary of the Eastern Secion. Then he edited the multi-volume publications coming from the 7th through the 11th archeological congresses. He presented numerous papers, several on inscriptions from Turkestan, although he does not appear to have traveled there himself.
Markevich described himself as self-taught, but gadfly seems the more appropriate adjective. He bounced around in and out of several provincial gymnasia, then got a degree in history from New Russia University, where he then taught for several years. Forced to quit for unexplained reasons in 1895, he became active in public affairs. He participated in numerous congresses, having spent times in archives rather than excavations.
Iznoskov remained in his native Kazan where he taught at secondary schools and took active part in the society. He compiled the archeological map of Kazan, a major undertaking. Not surprisingly, he was a member of the Kazan Statistical Committee.
Scion of a well-known literary family, Leonid Nikolaevich published extensively himself, though in educational and historical publications, some with a more popular focus. He had a minor focus on byliny, or Russian epics, and was actively involved with organizing numerous archeological congresses. Moreover, he taught at the Petersburg Archeological Institute.
Though from Muscovite pedigree, nephew of the influential scholar K. D. Kavelin, Korsakov studied at the University of Kazan, where he remained throughout his career. His wife, interestingly, had divorced the archimandrite who would serve the Orthodox flock in Rome.
One of Russia’s foremost geologists, Inostrantsev worked with archeologists in making determinations about the Stone Age in Russia. As a student, he worked originally in chemistry under Dmitrii Mendeleev, but a passion for rocks displaced chemistry and in 1868 be began curating the newly founded Geological Cabinet at the Academy of Sciences. In 1869 he defended his dissertation on his geological research in northern Russia, where he had uncovered numerous skulls around Lake Ladoga, which he turned over to anthropologists, who overlapped with archeologists in the Stone Age in particular. With A. P. Bogdanov, Inostrantsev helped to found the Society of Lovers of Natural Science, Anthropology and Geography. Bogdanov’s foremost mentee and activist in the IMAO Dmitrii Anuchin discovered the bones of domesticated dogs at Ladoga and named them canis inostrantsev. Inostrantsev merits mention as an archeologist because of his work in helping to decipher the prehistory of civilization.
The son of a Georgian priest, Khakhanov taught his native language at the Lazarevskii Institute, and maintained his interest in religion. He worked with Praskovia on her multi-volume Materials of the Archeology of the Caucasus, often translating inscriptions. He left behind copious publications upon his death from consumption.
A geologist of international renown and credited as the founder of soil science in Russia, his pivotal role in the evolution of archeology was to bring attention to the importance of understanding types of soils in which artefacts, especially from the Stone Age, were excavated.
Gorodtsov combined two careers; he served in the Imperial Army, 1880-1906, and became one of the foremost archeologists of both the Stone and Bronze Ages. His primary headquarters were in Iaroslavl, where he also served on the Archival Commission. He wrote the textbook on prehistory for the Moscow Archeological Institute. he was also a member of the Riazan and Iaroslavl Archival Commissions. After 1917 he was a leading member of the Insititute of Material Culture, which was the transformed Imperial Archeological Commission.