Ivan Aleksandrovich
Stebut
1883-1923
Ivan Aleksandrovich Stebut (1833-1923) was an outstanding Russian agronomist, professor, and organizer of agricultural education. His scientific and pedagogical work had a significant impact on the development of agronomy in Russia. I.A. Stebut was born on January 31 (February 12), 1833, in Velikiye Luki. After graduating from the gymnasium in 1850, he entered the Gorygoretsky Agricultural Institute, from which he graduated in 1854 and immediately began teaching there. To deepen his knowledge, in 1856 he studied farming operations in the Baltic provinces, and then undertook an extended trip abroad, visiting leading European agricultural educational institutions. In 1860, having returned to Russia, Stebut assumed the post of junior professor at the Gorygoretsky Institute. In 1868, he successfully defended his master’s dissertation, “Lime as a Means of Restoring Fertility,” at St. Petersburg University, which became an important scientific achievement. After his defense, he was invited to the post of professor at the newly established Petrovsky Agricultural Academy (now the Russian State Agrarian University – Moscow Timiryazev Agricultural Academy named after K.A. Timiryazev). Here, he was actively engaged not only in teaching but also in the creation of an agricultural museum and an agronomic laboratory for practical student research. Ivan Aleksandrovich Stebut authored fundamental practical manuals that described in detail the methods of soil cultivation and agriculture for the central region of Russia. These works were of great importance for domestic agronomic science and practice. At the beginning of 1898, he assumed the high post of chairman of the Scientific Committee of the Ministry of Agriculture and State Property, while simultaneously serving as a member of the minister’s council. Professor Stebut played a special role in the development of women’s education. He was one of the first in the Russian Empire to consistently advocate for women’s equal right to scientific work. To realize this idea, he founded special agricultural courses for women, which later became known as the «Stebutovskiye Courses». In memory of I.A. Stebut’s work a memorial bust created by sculptor L.N. Matyushin was erected on Larch Alley of the Agricultural Academy in 2005.
Address: Moscow, Listvennichnaya al.
