Scientific Activity of Andrei Krasnov in Batumi

Abstract

One of the outstanding researchers of the Black Sea region is geographer, botanist, traveler Andrei Nikolayevich Krasnov. He was born in 1862 in St. Petersburg. His teachers were such scientists as V.V. Dokuchaev, A.N. Beketov, I.V. Muskets. After graduating from university, Andrei Nikolayevich took up science. Friendship with Vladimir Ivanovich Vernadsky played a great role in his life. In 1889 A.N. Krasnov was elected extraordinary professor at the Department of Physical Geography and Anthropogeography at Kharkov University.
Working in Kharkov, A.N. Krasnov dreamed of creating a landscape park. However, his plans were not supported by the local administration.
Then in the early 1910s A.N. Krasnov moved to Batumi. Not far from the city, on the shores of the Black Sea in the nearby highlands, he founded a botanical garden. Its design was based on one of the seven wonders of the world – the Gardens of Babylon, i.e. the plants were planted in tiers, descending from the mountain forest to the sea.
A.N. Krasnov wanted to turn swampy Colchis into a flourishing subtropical region, to create a small Japan here. At the same time, the scientist took into account the characteristics of the local climate, landscape, and soil quality.
In 1914, Andrei Nikolayevich Krasnov died. According to his will, he was buried in the Batumi Botanical Garden in a place chosen by him.