IN MEMORIAM OF LEONID BURMISTROV

Leonid Burmistrov was born on 3 March 1948 in Riga (Latvia). In 1971, he graduated from the Leningrad Agricultural Institute (now St. Petersburg Agrarian University) with a degree in horticultural agronomy. In the same year, he started his work at the Pavlovsk Experiment Station as an associate researcher. In 1975, he accomplished his Ph. D. thesis entitled “Biological and morphological features of pear growing in the Leningrad region”. From 1977 through 1981, he worked as a senior scientist and Deputy Head of the Fruit and Berry Crop Department at VIR. From 1981 through 1985, he headed the Fruit and Berry Crop Laboratory at the Pavlovsk Experiment station of VIR, and later his career included such positions as Senior Scientist of the Fruit and Berry Crop Department (1985-1988); Senior Scientist at the Department of Plant Introduction (1988-1993); Leading Scientist at the Department of Plant Introduction (1993-2001); Leading Scientist at the Fruit and Berry Crop Genetic Resources Department (curator of the pear collection and non-traditional pome fruits) (2001-2004); Head of the Fruit and Berry Crop Genetic Resources Department (2004-2008); and Leading Scientist of the Fruit and Berry Crop Genetic Resources Department (2008-2011).

Scientific interests of Leonid Burmistrov comprised mobilization and long-term storage of plant genetic resources (pear, non-traditional and rare pome fruits), study of the collected genepool for identifying genetic sources for breeding (pre-breeding). He was the author of more than 100 publications including one monograph and patent entitled “Method of pome fruit plants preparation for cold storage”.

Leonid Burmistrov has always been a person of high knowledge he generously shared with the others and used in his practical work, which has always been done on a high professional level, with genuine dedication and responsibility. He was the initiator and founder of the new collections of rowan and serviceberry.

Leonid Burmistrov has made a significant contribution to the preservation of the threatened fruit and berry crop collections located at the Pavlovsk Experiment station of VIR. He gave 60 interviews to the Russian and foreign mass media. Thanks to his efforts, the collection continues to exist.

Leonid Burmistrov was a friendly and highly erudite person, a man of outstanding qualities, a true intellectual.

For the entire Institute his untimely death is an enormous and irreplaceable loss.