Fyodor Panayev

Who was Fyodor Panayev?

Fyodor Nikolayevich Panayev was a Russian teacher and climatologist, the author of a number of books on climatology and one of the founders of Perm Zoo.

Fyodor Panayev was born in 1856 in the settlement of Yug, Russia. He graduated from Perm Uyezd College and worked as a teacher in Shadrinsk and in Solikamsk Parish College. In Solikamsk he studied the local folklore and published several papers in "Proceedings of Ural Society of natural science fans". In 1883, his book "The anthology of proverbs, sayings, riddles, songs and epics, collected in Solikamsk Uyezd" was published in Yekaterinburg. Since 1891 Panayev lived in Perm.

In the book "Brief geographical and physical essay on the city of Solikamsk" published in 1882, Panayev studied "Solikamsk Chronicle" and archive records of the middle of the 18th century about cruel frosts in Western Europe and made a conclusion about essential changing of climate in 18th—19th centuries:

The question of studying the climate of Ural region takes important nature. In desire to be closer to its solution we tried to collect information from old residents. It comes to the same thing: a change of climate has taken place, and the change was sharp. For example, old residents remember such severe and long winters some decades ago, that birds frozen in the air were an usual thing. The summer season was distinguished for strong heat, autumn and spring were short.