Occupation paleontologist Name Ivan Yefremov Role Author | Nationality Russian Movies The Andromeda Nebula | |
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Education Saint Petersburg State University Books Thais of Athens, Andromeda: A Space‑Ag, Razor's Edge, The Land of Foam, The Heart of the Serpent | ||
Tribute to ivan yefremov
Ivan Antonovich (real patronymic Antipovich) Yefremov (Russian: Ива́н Анто́нович (Анти́пович) Ефре́мов; April 22, 1908 – October 5, 1972), last name sometimes spelled Efremov, was a Soviet paleontologist, science fiction author and social thinker. He originated taphonomy, the study of fossilization patterns.
Contents
- Tribute to ivan yefremov
- Book trailer thais of athens by ivan yefremov translated and illustrated by maria k
- Biography
- Personal life
- Honors
- References
Book trailer thais of athens by ivan yefremov translated and illustrated by maria k
Biography
Born in the village of Vyritsa in Saint Petersburg Governorate on April 9 (22), 1908. His parents divorced during the Russian Revolution. His mother married a Red Army commander and left the children in Kherson to be cared for by an aunt who soon died of typhus. Yefremov survived on his own for some time then joined a Red Army unit as a "son of the regiment" and reached Perekop with it. In 1921, he was discharged and went to Petrograd (today's Saint Petersburg) to study. He completed his school education there while combining his studies with a variety of odd jobs. He later commented that "the Revolution was also my own liberation from philistinism" ("Революция была также и моим освобождением от мещанства").
In 1924, due to the influence of academician Petr Petrovich Sushkin, he became interested in paleontology. Yefremov entered the Leningrad State University but dropped out later. In mid-1930s, he took part in several paleontological expeditions to the Volga region, the Urals, and Central Asia. He headed a research laboratory at the Institute of Paleontology. In 1935, he took exit examinations and graduated from the Leningrad Mining Institute. The same year he got his Candidate of Science degree in Biological Sciences. In 1941, he got his doctorate degree in Biological Sciences.
In the 1940s, Yefremov developed a new scientific field called taphonomy, for which he was awarded the Stalin prize in 1952. His book Taphonomy was published in 1950. He applied many taphonomic principles in his field work during a paleontological expedition to the Gobi desert in Mongolia. During these years, he was recognized as a successful scientist and won a state science award.
Yefremov wrote his first work of fiction, a short story, in 1944. His first novel The Land of Foam (Great Arc, 1946) was published in 1946. His most widely recognized science fiction novel Andromeda Nebula came out in 1957. This book is a panegyric to utopian "communist" future of mankind. The society developed such that there is no material inequality between individuals, and each person is able to pursue their self-development unrestricted. The intergalactic communication system binds mankind into the commonwealth of sentient civilizations of the Universe - the Great Ring of Civilizations. The book became a moral guideline for many people in the Soviet Union. Besides the heavy didactic aspect, the book also contained an interesting space travel adventure subplot, so a lot of people appreciated it for its educational and entertainment value.
Personal life
Yefremov was married three times. His first marriage in the early 1930s, to Ksenia Svitalskaya, was short-lived and ended in divorce. In 1936, he married paleontologist Elena Dometevna Konzhukova, with whom they had a son, Allan Ivanovich Yefremov. After his wife died on 1 August 1961, he married Taisiya Iosifovna Yukhnevskaya in 1962. His last novel Thais of Athens, which was posthumously published in 1973, is dedicated to her.
Honors
A minor planet 2269 Efremiana discovered in 1976 by Soviet astronomer Nikolai Stepanovich Chernykh is named after him.