Bolotov & Dvoryaninovo

One of our stops--night three--is Dvoryaninovo (Дворяни́ново), the ancestral estate of Andrey Bolotov, one of the founders of agronomy and pomology (apple and pear growing). Born in 1738, he spent much of his life at Dvoryaninovo, in the Zaoksksii region of the Tula province. He wrote the first botanical guide in Russian of weeds, medicinal and crop plants--introducing Russians to the Linnean taxonomy (the binomial system, "scientific names"). He popularized practices like crop rotation and cross-breeding.

He was, like many of his contemporaries, someone who dabbled and excelled at many things, including some minor philosophical and dramatic works. Nowadays he's known chiefly as a memoirist: His "Notes" (more formally known as The Life and Adventures of Andrei Bolotov, Described by Himself for His Descendants.") are a rich source of facts and thick descriptions of life in 18th century Russia. I've never read them... Add that to my long list of neglected central works of Russian literature that I need to read but likely never will.

He lived to be almost a hundred.

Coincidentally, my walking companion Tom Newlin has written one of the only books on Bolotov. My friends at the Tolstoy museum at Yasnaya Polyana set up our stay at Bolotov's estate without even knowing about Tom's book. Moreover, I don't think Tom's ever formally visited the estate, so it should be interesting... I'm excited to see the orchards and gardens there.