Falz-Fein, Friedrich Eduardovich

Friedrich Eduardovich Falz-Fein was born on April 04 [16] 1863 in the estate of Askania-Nova (formerly called Chapli) in the family of Russian Germans - Eduard Ivanovich Falz-Fein and Sofya Bogdanovna Falz-Fein . Frederick was the eldest of seven brothers and sisters. The love for nature to young Frederick was instilled by the French governor Condars. At the age of 11, as a reward for excellent exams for the course of the Kherson gymnasium , Friedrich received permission from his father to arrange the first enclosure .

Here, near the farmstead, Falz-Fein fenced 8 acres of land where he kept several steppe animals. In 1882, he entered the University of Derpt and during the course of his studies during the holidays he visited the largest botanical gardens and zoos in the world. After graduating from university in 1889, Friedrich organized targeted protection of the virgin land in the area of ​​the Kroli tract. However, this site turned out to be not very suitable, since the Chumatsky way passed along it before, and then, on the advice of the botanist Joseph Konradovich Pachosky , Falz-Fein laid in 1898 new protected areas of 500 and 120 acres. In 1897 he created a zoo and a botanical garden, in 1898 - a nature reserve ("Natural Museum"). The right hand of F. Falz-Fein in these matters was K. E. Siyanko ^[2] .

Under the guidance of Falz-Fein, wells were dug to a depth of 70 meters , of which up to 300 thousand buckets of water were pumped out daily for irrigation using a powerful pump. After the death of his father, Friedrich Falz-Fein, drove out the over-managing manager of the Podobu estate, who condemned the unprofitable environmental measures of the young heir and his “useless” biological research. Almost all the profits from the sale of sheep and wool (20-40 thousand per year), Falz-Fein now spent on the development of the reserve. Later, Falz-Fein carried out water supply, telegraph, telephone, electric lighting ^[3] in Askania, built a post office, hospital, and assembled a large library.

In 1899, with the help of a traveler, Major General Pyotr Kuzmich Kozlov, Falz-Fein, after several unsuccessful attempts, finally got Przewalski's horses in Mongolia . Emperor Nicholas II presented Frederick Falz-Fein with his stallion, and soon in Askania for the first time in the world gave birth to wild horses. By the turn of the century, Askania Nova contained 58 species of mammals, 344 species of birds, and a total of almost 2,000 different animals. In April 1902, bison were brought from Bialowieza , which also willingly reproduced in a new place. In the same year, I.K. Pachosky himself began to actively study Askanian steppes.

When, at the height of the revolutionary uprisings in December 1905, the peasants ravaged the estates of the Falts-Feynov Horla , Preobrazhenka, Maksimovka, Dofino, Darovka, the Kherson governor sent soldiers and Cossacks to help rescue Askania from ruin. After which Friedrich Eduardovich Falz-Fein began to think about the need for state protection and nationalization of the reserve.

In April 1914, Nicholas II first violated palace etiquette, which forbade the emperor to stay with private individuals in their own home, and took advantage of the hospitality of Friedrich Falz-Fein. At the zoo, a cock attacked Nikolai. Falz-Fein promised to put him in a cage. “Do not,” the king interrupted, “this is my only enemy who attacks openly” ^[3] . According to another version of the events, the first representative of the animal world that met on the king’s path was the old male bustard ^[3] . He rushed belligerently at the distinguished guest, to which he remarked with a smile: “Although a peculiar, but certainly a cordial greeting!” (From the memoirs of Vladimir E. Falz-Fein). Soon, the emperor awarded Falz Fein the title of hereditary nobleman . Later, Nicholas II wrote to his mother about Askania ^[3] : “There are different deer, goats, antelopes, wildebeests, kangaroos and ostriches all year round in the open air in the open air and also together. An amazing impression, just like a picture from the Bible, as if the animals had come out of Noah’s ark. "

The interim government of the Russian Empire to protect the unique natural monument during the revolutionary events in Ascania was sent to the commissar by the botanist Joseph Konradovich Pachosky, and in December 1917 - the traveler General P.K. Kozlov.

At the beginning of 1917, Falz-Fein left Ascania, and a year later he left for Germany , having a hard time experiencing separation from his nature reserve.

Friedrich Eduardovich Falz-Fein died on August 2, 1920 in the German sanatorium Bad Kissingen and was buried in the in Berlin . An inscription is carved on a gravestone decorated with images of two steppe eagles: “Here lies the famous creator of Askania-Nova.”

Friedrich Eduardovich organically could not stand to express his thoughts in writing, he never or almost never wrote letters and in his entire life he published only five small articles ... To all my comments and reproaches about this, he used to reply: “Come to Askania and let’s to work together: I will talk, talk, answer questions, I will not hide anything ... And you - ask, observe for yourself, understand the zoo archive and write. ” But this good intention was never destined to be realized, and Friedrich Eduardovich took away with him everything that he knew, what he was working on, and what his outstanding, original mind had achieved ...

- Elizaveta Kozlova, wife of the traveler, General P.K. Kozlov

• Falz Feyn (family)

• V. Yu. Gankevich, A.A. Zadereichuk. Falz-Feyn Frіdrіkh-Jakob Eduardovich // Encyclopedia of History of Ukraine. - “Naukova Dumka”, 2010. - V. 10 (Т — Я). - S. 264-265. - 784 p. - ISBN 978-966-00-1359-9 .
• A.A. Zadereichuk. Falz Feyn in Tavria / author. foreword V. Yu. Gankevich. - Simferopol: "Share", 2010. - 190 p. - ISBN 978-966-366-371-5 .
• Ivan Barantsev. The history of a photograph // Škoda Magazine: magazine. - 2018. - February. - S. 64-75 .
• L. L. Tashkevich. Ryativnik Askanії (Ukrainian) // Melitopol local history magazine: popular science publication. - 2017. - No. 1 . - S. 22-27 .
• O. A. Chukhraєnko. Єlіzavetgrad - matok Falts-Feynіv (Ukrainian) // Melitopol local history magazine: popular science publication. - 2014. - No. 3 . - S. 16-18 .

• Falz-Fein Friedrich Eduardovich
• The memory of Falz Fein and his work
• Falz-Fein Friedrich Eduardovich - Biography and Photos