Vladimir Sobolev

Vladimir Stepanovich Sobolev (; 30 May 1908 – 1 September 1982) was a Soviet geologist, petrologist and mineralogist, Academician of the USSR Academy of Sciences, Hero of Socialist Labour (1978), and laureate of the Lenin Prize and the Stalin Prize. He was one of the founders of modern Soviet petrology and metamorphic geology and a pioneer in applying facies concepts to large-scale geological mapping. Sobolev was the first to predict the presence of diamond-bearing kimberlites in Eastern Siberia, a forecast later confirmed by discoveries in the 1950s.

Biography

Early life and education Sobolev was born on 30 May 1908 in Luhansk, then part of the Russian Empire.

General and silicate mineralogy Sobolev advanced the theoretical and physico-chemical foundations of mineral equilibria and igneous petrology. His textbooks and monographs, particularly on silicate mineralogy and metamorphic facies, became influential references in Soviet geology. Introduction to Silicate Mineralogy (1949) — awarded the Stalin Prize (Second Degree) Physico-Chemical Foundations of the Petrography of Igneous Rocks (1961, with A. N. Zavaritsky) Facies of Metamorphism (1970) Facies of Regional Metamorphism of Moderate Pressures (1972) Facies of Regional Metamorphism of High Pressures (1974)

Awards and honours Hero of Socialist Labour (1978) A large diamond (59.20 carats) found in 1989 in the Udachnaya pipe was named "Academician Vladimir Sobolev". A scientific prize for young researchers in the Siberian Branch of the Academy of Sciences bears his name. A street in Mirny (Sakha Republic) is named after him. An auditorium at Novosibirsk State University commemorates him.