From the museum’s collection, Brochure by Pyotr Dravert “On the use of the rush root as a bread flour substitute”.
Pyotr Dravert, who lived from 1879 to 1945, was one of the most outstanding Siberian poets of the first three decades of the 20th century. Yet, his talents extended beyond poetry. A prominent scientist (mineralogist, geologist, geographer, regional ethnographer, botanist, and archaeologist), author of some 700 scientific papers, organizer and participant of 50 expeditions across Siberia, Urals, and Kazakhstan, social activist, and representative of the “scientific” poetry genre.
For taking part in a revolutionary student movement, Dravert was exiled to the Perm Krai (an administrative division unit) and, later, to Yakutia. During his exile, he was engaged in mineralogy studies in Yakutsky, Olekminsky, and Vilyuysky Districts and writing poems. Since 1918, he lived in Omsk working at the Siberian Institute of Agriculture and Industry (now Omsk State Agrarian University) and Omsk State Museum of History and Local Lore. Author of five collections of verses, Dravert was actively involved in literary activities in Siberia.
In the 1920-s, Dravert continued his Kazan studies of the nutritive properties of the rush root and its use as a substitute for bread flour. In May 1921, when the Civil War had just ended and Russia suffered from famine and devastation, Professor Dravert published a brochure in Omsk. It had quite an eloquent title: “On the Use of the Rush Root as a Bread Flour Substitute.” The author defined the meaning of his work as follows: “When there is not enough genuine bread and its shortage cannot be quickly replenished due to circumstances, naturalists and technologists armed with knowledge must take on a leading role and discover the most relevant substitutes. I would like to fulfill my civil duty as the Republic”s citizen and a natural scientist by publishing this article”.
In the article, the author explains in layman’s terms how and where a person can find the rush and how to cook and consume it properly. According to the article, in the Omsk suburbs, especially along the left bank of the Irtysh River, this plant can literally be harvested in trainloads. Dravert also provided the findings of the laboratory tests assuring that he himself baked bread from the rush root and ate it with no undesired consequences. The book features a picture of the plant and a list of references on this subject.
Pyotr Dravert, who lived from 1879 to 1945, was one of the most outstanding Siberian poets of the first three decades of the 20th century. Yet, his talents extended beyond poetry. A prominent scientist (mineralogist, geologist, geographer, regional ethnographer, botanist, and archaeologist), author of some 700 scientific papers, organizer and participant of 50 expeditions across Siberia, Urals, and Kazakhstan, social activist, and representative of the “scientific” poetry genre.
For taking part in a revolutionary student movement, Dravert was exiled to the Perm Krai (an administrative division unit) and, later, to Yakutia. During his exile, he was engaged in mineralogy studies in Yakutsky, Olekminsky, and Vilyuysky Districts and writing poems. Since 1918, he lived in Omsk working at the Siberian Institute of Agriculture and Industry (now Omsk State Agrarian University) and Omsk State Museum of History and Local Lore. Author of five collections of verses, Dravert was actively involved in literary activities in Siberia.
In the 1920-s, Dravert continued his Kazan studies of the nutritive properties of the rush root and its use as a substitute for bread flour. In May 1921, when the Civil War had just ended and Russia suffered from famine and devastation, Professor Dravert published a brochure in Omsk. It had quite an eloquent title: “On the Use of the Rush Root as a Bread Flour Substitute.” The author defined the meaning of his work as follows: “When there is not enough genuine bread and its shortage cannot be quickly replenished due to circumstances, naturalists and technologists armed with knowledge must take on a leading role and discover the most relevant substitutes. I would like to fulfill my civil duty as the Republic”s citizen and a natural scientist by publishing this article”.
In the article, the author explains in layman’s terms how and where a person can find the rush and how to cook and consume it properly. According to the article, in the Omsk suburbs, especially along the left bank of the Irtysh River, this plant can literally be harvested in trainloads. Dravert also provided the findings of the laboratory tests assuring that he himself baked bread from the rush root and ate it with no undesired consequences. The book features a picture of the plant and a list of references on this subject.
