V. I. Tobias died

Community and Forum → We mourn the departed. Obituaries → V. I. Tobias died

Coelioxys, 05.07.2011 1:09

We are deeply saddened to inform you that Vladimir Ivanovich TOBIAS passed away on July 2 at the age of 82
.
A great scientist and a wonderful person. It's a pity when such people leave...

Pictures:

DSC_0399.JPG — (2.21 mb)

Comments

17.07.2011 1:23, IchMan

I was in the fields in a foreign land, and when I got to the Internet, I received this sad news from my colleagues from Zinoviev – Vladimir Ivanovich is no longer with us… Even on the 9th day I didn't get to St. Petersburg. But despite the time that has already passed, that it may already be too late, I can't help but express my sorrow. Before I left, I found out that he was in the hospital, where he had suffered a stroke after a planned operation. But it seems that he has already left after it, and even there is a positive trend. I left with the hope that he would recover, knowing his love of life and positive attitude. But it so happened that the last time I saw Vladimir Ivanovich was at the end of May, although it is still difficult to get used to this idea...
I was very lucky that he was my teacher, drawing my attention to the study of ichneumonids at the time, and it was he who supervised and guided my very first steps during my student practice at the VIZRa station in Lazarevskoye, when I was just starting to collect material on the group myself. As Pavel Ozersky has already written here, Vladimir Ivanovich taught us a course on entomophagous insects at the LSU Department of Entomology, which was published later in a separate issue of the Proceedings of the Russian Academy of Sciences.
It seems that only recently we celebrated his 75th birthday, when everyone celebrated his many services to science and outstanding contribution to the study of hymenoptera, mainly horsemen-braconids. In total, V. I. Tobias described more than 1,250 species, several genera and tribes, as well as subfamilies, both abstract and fossil. His collections, made in different parts of the USSR and even in Australia, have served and will continue to serve as material for many entomological studies. In addition to lecturing at LSU, he supervised the work of many graduate students. Among his students are such prominent ZINA specialists in equestrianism as D. R. Kasparyan and S. A. Belokobylsky, who are also present in many other parts of the former Soviet Union. Even when he was cut from the laboratory staff, Vladimir Ivanovich continued to go to ZIN, despite a bad leg, on foot from his house on the 19th line of the V. O., to where there is his high stool, a table by the window with binoculars, littered with boxes of braconids from all over the world, articles and letters from colleagues. There was his life, to which he devoted himself, and without it he simply could not. Not being a native of St. Petersburg, he organically adopted the spirit of the St. Petersburg intelligentsia, becoming its true representative. A calm and absolutely non-confrontational person, always friendly and friendly, you could discuss any questions and problems with him. Having become a professor and academician, he did not become "bronzov" at all, remaining an easy-to-communicate senior fellow, always ready to share his knowledge and experience. Completely absorbed in entomology, he was never a reclusive "nerd" in his office, nor was he alien to the usual human joys. He could easily join the company of young people, communicate with them, finding something interesting in this for himself. And how well he sang!.. Having an excellent sense of humor, Vladimir Ivanovich sometimes found paradoxical things in simple things. I enter their house and could see him not only in the walls of ZIN and sometimes talk to Vladimir Ivanovich not only on entomological topics. I will always remember his kind smile with a sly twinkle in his blue eyes and the characteristic forward tilt of his head…
In recent years, health has begun to fail. He left us just 4 days before his 82nd birthday. Having retained his clarity of mind and interest in entomology until his last days, Vladimir Ivanovich was a true example of service to science. It is very sad to see another bright representative of the old school who came to entomology after the war, and it is sad to see how rapidly the ranks of this generation, which gave us so many famous names, are now thinning.
An irreparable loss for entomology, for REO, for ZIN, for our hymenopterology, and it seems to me that everyone who knew Vladimir Ivanovich at least a little will keep a bright memory of him in their hearts for a long time.

Likes: 8