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The Nikitsky Botanical Gardens was established in 1812. It is one of the oldest scientific institutions of our country. XIXth century prominent scholar – biologist Christian Christianovich Steven was the founder of the Gardens. From the very beginning of its existence the Gardens was meant to have a beneficial effect on accelerated development of an agricultural industry in the South of Russia on the basis of breeding, acclimatization, introduction and a widespread acceptance of southern fruit, flower, decorative plants, new plants used in industry, medicinal and other useful plants, on study and an active use of local plant resources. For a quick enrichment of a domestic agricultural industry by new plants the founders of the Gardens strongly related with leading botanical institutions of Europe, Asia and America. This equated to gather the unique collections of species, cultivars and forms of different cultures.

Imperial Order by Alexander The First for the Nikitsky Botanical Gardens constitution

The Nikitsky Botanical Gardens is a founder of such new branches of national economy as southern decorative horticulture, southern and tropical pomiculture, viniculture, essential oil planting and tobacco cultivation.

In the estimation of leading botany specialists the NBG is one of the most famous in the world botanical institutions and the largest collections of genome fund of the valuable plants for the time being. The NBG is the one and only vault in our country of specific and varietal diversity of southern fruit cultivars, which includes more than 11,000 cultivars of peach, apricot, alycha, fig, pomegranate, olive, India jujube, sweet cherry, persimmon. The unique collections of decorative woody and herbaceous plants, which contain more than 6,000 species, and the richest varietal and formal collections of more than 250 botanical species of essential oil, medicinal and aromatic plants have been collected there. More than 400 new plants’ species have been brought under cultivation, 800 cultivars have been developed and passed over national economy for the first time.

The Gardens got a world fame from its unique Arboretum (tree nursery), which is a landmark of Russian botanical science for many millions of domestic and foreign tourists, specialists and plant breeders. The collections of world flora woody plants are concentrated on the area of 40 hectares there. The Nikitsky Botanical Gardens Arboretum always was and still is the object of high priority preservation.

There are 1,150 awards in the safe of the Nikitsky Botanical Gardens, among them 70 ones were picked up on international exhibitions, including pre-revolutionary ones (376 medals of miscellaneous value, among them 63 foreign ones).

In 1962 the State Nikitsky Botanical Gardens was given the Labor Red Banner Order of the USSR.

Since March of 2014 Yuri Vladimirovich Plugatar has been Director of the Gardens. He is Corresponding Member of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Doctor of Agricultural Sciences, Member of Presidential Council for Science and Education, honored worker of science and technology of the Republic of the Crimea, Head of Department of the RAS by cooperation with scientific institutions of the Crimea and Sevastopol. The coastal parks start returning to life and opening for visitors under his direction, the Nikitsky Botanical Gardens was awarded the Gold medal for the participation in all-Russian action “Lilac of Victory”. For the first time in many years the Gardens successfully makes its presence felt on the international flower exhibition, the institution’s safe has been replenished with golden as well as bronze certificates of VII Russian National Landscaping Prize.