Kashkarov, D. N. Fundamentals of Animal Ecology (Osnovy ekologii zhivotnykh), 1944. In Russian.

Д. Н. Кашкаров. Основы экологии животных.
Ленинградское отделение государственного учебно-педагогического издательства Наркомпроса РСФСР.
Ленинград: Учпедгиз, 1944 [1945].
384 с. Увеличенный формат, 26 х 18 см. Тираж 5000 экз. Твердый переплет.
На верхней крышке переплета указан 1945 год издания, на титульном листе — 1944.
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D. N. Kashkarov.
Fundamentals of Animal Ecology (Osnovy ekologii zhivotnykh).
Leningrad Branch of the State Educational-Pedagogical Publishing House of the Narkompros RSFSR.
Leningrad: Uchpedgiz, 1944 [1945].
384 pp. Enlarged format, 26 x 18 cm. Edition of 5000 copies. Hardcover.
The front cover indicates 1945 as the year of publication, while the title page indicates 1944.

This 1944 volume is a foundational classic of Soviet biological science, representing the life’s work of Daniil Nikolaevich Kashkarov, the preeminent pioneer of animal ecology in the USSR. The text provides a deep dive into the internal logic of organism-environment interactions, including the arrangement of nine extensive chapters covering environmental factors, adaptation theories, biocenology, and the evolution of ecological systems. A student of M. A. Menzbir, Kashkarov transitioned from comparative anatomy and zoopsychology to become the most energetic advocate for ecology as a distinct discipline. This book was prepared for print on the eve of the Great Patriotic War; however, due to the Siege of Leningrad, the author was evacuated by plane and tragically died of heart disease in November 1941. The publication eventually emerged toward the end of the war, as evidenced by the discrepancy between the 1944 title page and the 1945 cover.  As a vital primary source, this volume documents the mid-century development of the "Life Form" concept and provides a detailed illustration of desert ecology as a complex ecosystem. Published in an enlarged format with a limited print run of 5,000 copies, this edition is a significant bibliographical rarity for historians of science, zoologists, and collectors of landmark academic literature.