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The first forestry experimental stations in Europe appeared in the 1860-1870s. Russia also had draft proposals for such stations around this time. Discussions about forestry experimental stations began in the 1870s, soon after the Forestry Society of St. Petersburg was established with the support of the Forestry Department. Leading experts in forestry proposed that two 'central' experimental stations (at the Forestry Institute and Petrovskaya Agricultural Academy) should be established and that these should be linked to a further 20 'local' stations. The proposal described in detail the organization of the stations, especially the meteorological department, the model for which was the Bavarian forest-meteorology network created by Ernst Ebermayer. The Russian proposal also contained new ideas on how to study soil moisture dynamics under the forest canopy. Despite productive discussions the network of Russian forestry experimental stations never materialized - probably because of the Russo- Turkish war. The institutionalization of forestry experimentation eventually took place in Russia in the 1890s. This was in response to the 1891-1892 drought and famine, which prompted the organization of the so-called Special Expedition under the supervision of Vasily Dokuchaev. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The years between 1864 and 1879 have a particular resonance for the history of physical anthropology in Russia. In 1864, Professor of Zoology at Moscow University Anatolii Petrovich Bogdanov (1834-1896) conceived the idea for an anthropological exhibition in Moscow. But it was not until 1879 that his idea became a reality. The years between Boganov's conception of the idea and the realization of the exhibition form the focus of this paper, which discusses this formative period for Russian physical anthropology. During this period Bogdanov established the first association of physical anthropologists and the first chair in anthropology at Moscow University. Also around this time the activities of Bogdanov's Society of Friends of Natural Science, Anthropology and Ethnography made the term anthropology widely popular not only among educated people but also among the lay public. Despite the significance of Bogdanov's contributions to the field of Russian physical anthropology, his name is often ignored and his achievements underestimated by the Russian language literature. The reasons for this oversight are outlined in this paper. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An introduction is presented to this special issue on topics related to the history of science in Russia arising from the November 2012 European Conference for the History of Science held in Athens, Greece.