Aleksandr Lyubishchev

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Aleksandr Lyubishchev (April 5, 1890 – August 31, 1972) was a Soviet biologist who studied insects and a philosopher. He earned a Doctor of Sciences in Agriculture and studied at Saint Petersburg State University, finishing in 1911. He published his first scientific article in 1912 and, from the 1920s, worked in agricultural entomology. He taught at the Bestuzhev Courses and at several universities, including Tavrida National University and Perm State University, and he worked for the All-Russian Institute of Plant Protection from 1930 to 1937. He later led a laboratory in Bishkek for the Kyrgyz Academy of Sciences and, from 1950 to 1955, headed the Department of Zoology at Ulyanovsk State Pedagogical University. He retired in 1955.

Lyubishchev described himself as a nihilist and was also a Platonist. His family were serfs of Count Aleksey Arakcheyev. He lived in various Soviet cities, including Leningrad, Kyiv, and Bishkek. A 1974 book by Daniil Granin, This Strange Life, made him famous and gave him a “mad scientist” image; his most important work was never published. He was friends with Nikolai Cholodny and was known to criticize Fidel Castro. He died on August 31, 1972, in Tolyatti at age 82.