The 8th of August is the 95th anniversary of Leonid Semago, scientist and Honorary Citizen of Voronezh (8.08.1928–24.07.2008). Leonid Semago, PhD in Biology, was a naturalist writer and worked as an assistant professor at the Department of Vertebrate Zoology at the Faculty of Biomedical Sciences of VSU.
He wrote over 150 scientific papers, which include the monograph “Birds of the southeast of the Black Earth Region” prepared together with the Soviet zoologist and ecologist Ilya Barabash-Nikiforov. Leonid Semago’s popular science books were published not only by the university's publishing house and the Central Black Earth Publishing House but also by leading publishing houses of the USSR.
Now his naturalist works for adults and children can be found in libraries, including the following: “Essays on Nature”, “One Hundred Dates with Nature”, “Aristocrats of the Sky”, “Green Book of the Forest”, “On the River Banks”, “Feather grass”, “Chain Pickerel”, “The Nest above the Porch”, “Golden Flute” , “Birds of Russia”, “Birds”, and “A Hedgehog Ran in the Snow”.
Throughout his life, the associate professor of the Faculty of Biomedical Sciences of VSU collaborated with the media and regularly wrote essays for magazine columns in “Nauka i Zhizn” and “Yunyi Naturalist”, as well as the newspapers “Vpered” and “Voronezhsky Courier”. Leonid Semago was also the author and host of the programme “This World Was Not Invented By Us” presented on Voronezh State Television. His films were often among the prize-winners at various television festivals and competitions.
Leonid Semago kept observation diaries, of which 284 were found after the scientist’s death. According to his will, they were given to the Lisky Museum of Local Lore, and digitised.
The talented researcher passed away 15 years ago, two weeks before his 80th birthday. There is a laboratory at the Faculty of Biomedical Sciences of VSU named after Leonid Semago. The Lisky Museum of Local Lore has recreated the scientist’s study and houses an exhibition dedicated to Semago where his films are also shown.
A memorial plaque to Leonid Semago was placed on the wall of a house located on Pushkinskaya ten years ago. Traditionally, on the 8th of August, his students, colleagues, friends, and neighbours hold memorial evenings in the courtyard of the house where the scientist had lived for many years.
