About «Priroda»


“Priroda” is one of the oldest journals in Russia. The idea of such journal belongs to writer A.P. Chekhov and zoologist V.A. Wagner. They intended to create an edition where “educated audience and students could learn about the progress in different fields of science”. This idea was realized only after Chekhov’s death by V.A. Wagner and a chemist L.V. Pisarzhevsky, a well-known popularizer of science.


The first issue came out on 26 January 1912 (Old Style); the edition size was 5000 copies. It immediately became popular among Russian top scientists. Soon, a new group of editors, including microbiologist L.A. Tarasevich, biologist N.K. Koltsov and geologist A.Y. Fersman, replaced Wagner and Pisarzhevsky. Since 1921, “Priroda” has been included in editions of Russian Academy of Sciences.


“Priroda” has been being published for more than 100 years; it survived revolutions, wars, Stalinism, era of Stagnation and restructuring period (Perestroika). The leading Russian scientists have always been the part of our journal. They protected “Priroda” from financial problems, pseudoscientific studies and pressure of communist ideology.


Nowadays, “Priroda” is a constantly updated encyclopedia of natural sciences. Among our authors, there are top scientists, reporting their own findings or writing about the most significant scientific breakthroughs. “Priroda” is still a journal for self-education, keeping up the idea of its creators.


You can find more about the history of “Priroda” in the article dedicated to the journal 100th anniversary.