Entomological Society, All-Union

a society that unites Soviet scientists working in different fields of entomology. It was organized as the Russian Entomological Society in St. Petersburg in 1859. From its inception it was closely associated with the Academy of Sciences, and consequently in 1940 it was officially placed under the jurisdiction of the Academy of Sciences of the USSR. As of 1978, it had 23 branches in various cities of the USSR. The membership numbered 106 in 1860, 1,460 in 1959, and 3,130 in 1978.

The society’s main objectives are to promote the development of all branches of entomology, in particular, the study of entomofauna and insect biology, to develop ways of controlling harmful species and protecting beneficial ones, to help improve the qualifications of entomologists, to provide assistance with methods of teaching entomology in secondary and higher schools, to popularize entomology and disseminate knowledge about entomology, and to encourage scientific ties with foreign scientists.

The society sponsors congresses and conferences on various branches of entomology, organizes thematic lecture series (for example, the N. A. Kholodkovskii Lectures), individual lectures, and advanced seminars for its members. It publishes Trudy (Transactions; since 1861) and the journal Entomologicheskoe obozrenie (Entomological Review; since 1933). In the period 1904–33 it helped publish the journal Russkoe entomologicheskoe obozrenie (Russian Entomological Review), founded in 1901.

The present by-laws were adopted by the congress of the society in 1950. Past presidents included K. M. Ber (1860–64), O. I. Radoshkovskii (1866–79), E. K. Brandt (1880–89), P. P. Semenov-Tian-Shanskii (1890–1914), A. P. Semenov-Tian-Shan-skii (1914–31), E. N. Pavlovskii (1931–65), and G. Ia. Bei-Bienko (1965–71). The current president is M. S. Giliarov (since 1973).