Elachich, E.A.: Life in the Tropical Forests of Africa

Title

Zhizn’ v tropicheskom lesu Afriki, Petrograd 1915³ (first edition: 1908)

Life in the Tropical Forests of Africa

Keywords

Summary

The author describes an imaginary journey through the African forests, beginning on a boat navigating the Blue Nile deep into the African continent. The book portrays the climate of the African jungle, exploring its highly diverse flora and fauna, from elephants, monkeys, chimpanzees, hippos, and antelopes, to baobab trees and other elements of the landscape. The book, at its third edition, is accompanied by seventeen illustrations depicting the African tropical wood and the animals described in the text.

Bio

Evgenii Elachich was a Russian natural scientist, historian, and writer known for his contributions to popular science and children’s literature. He played a significant role as an educator in the fields of biology and zoology. Born in Kiev, he pursued his studies in Saint Petersburg, initially in the mathematics department and later in the natural history department at Saint Petersburg University. He was later dispatched by the Ministry of Public Education to Germany, in order to expand his knowledge in the field of elementary education. Upon his return, he became a teacher and inspector for public schools in Shlisselburg. After the October revolution, he fought in the White Army and in 1921 emigrated to Serbia, where he worked as a teacher.

Sources

M. Bokova, “Evgenii Aleksandrovich Elachich”, in Russkie pisateli. 1800-1917. Biograficheskii slovar’, ed. by P. Nikolaev, t. 2,  Moskva 1992, p. 222-223;

E. Shergalin, Evgenii Aleksandrovich Elachich (1880-1944) – naturalist, prosvetitel’ i pedagog, “Russkii ornitologicheskii zhurnal”, 2011, 20, p. 1539-1549;

V. Golovin, Evgenii Elachich – Kritik detskoi literatury, “Istoriko-pedagogicheskii zhurnal”, 2017, 1, p. 154-171.

M.E.

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