Alexander Sergeyevich Lisetskiy – to the 100th anniversary of the birth

Biographical information and brief information on the scientific activities of Alexander Sergeyevich Lisetskiy (1919–1991), one of the leading zoologists at Kharkov University, are provided. The study of student A.S.Lisetskiy at the Faculty of Biology of Kharkov University was interrupted by the years of the World War II, which he passed in tank division. Only in 1948 he graduated from the Department of Vertebrate Zoology and then worked here until the end of his life. Alexander Sergeevich Lisetskiy was the author of scientific works on ornithology, theriology and nature conservation; created an outstanding collection of Lepidoptera; he is the author of significant scientific collections of birds and mammals, which are preserved in the University’s Museum of Nature. The entire scientific legacy of the scientist is considered together with the details of his scientific biography, the history of research, inseparable from the history of the Department of Vertebrate Zoology. Over 45 years of work at Kharkov University, A.S.Lisetskiy took part in all the expeditions of the department under the direction of I.B.Volchanetsky in the framework of the research topics of the department. In 1948–50 he took part in the study of the fauna of Lake Elton. In 1950–52, at the experimental reclamation station of the Institute of Hydrotechnics and Land Reclamation of the Academy of Sciences of the Ukrainian SSR, he participated in the study of the effect of irrigation and field-protective breeding on the fauna. Together with the expedition, under the guidance of Professor I.B.Volchanetsky, he studied birds of deciduous forests of northeastern Ukraine – as a source of enrichment of the created protective forest belts with useful fauna. In 1965 he defended his thesis on mammals of artificial irrigation fields (supervised by professor I.B.Volchanetsky). In 1960–80 A.S.Lisetskiy did a lot to study the fauna of the Kharkov region – for the first time published a fundamental summary of the avifauna of the Izyum forests; studied the avifauna of Kharkov, participated in the creation of the first project of the national park “Gomolshansky.” Alexander Sergeyevich did a lot as a popularizer of science – he lectured at the People’s University “Nature”, published interesting popular articles in periodicals. A.S.Lisetskiy left a noticeable mark on the scientific fate of many students of the Department of Zoology of Kharkov University, transferring the skills of a real field researcher – conscientious, hardworking, infinitely in love with his job.