Stanislav Kalesnik

In 1929, Stanislav Kalesnik graduated from Leningrad State University. He headed the Department of Physical Geography at his alma mater since 1950. In 1955, Stanislav Kalesnik was appointed head of the Limnology Institute of the Soviet Academy of Sciences. Kalesnik's principal works are dedicated to theoretical topics of geoscience, landscape science and glaciology, as well as geomorphology of Central Tian Shan and Dzungarian Alatau. Stanislav Kalesnik is known to have introduced several new concepts and terms, such as chionosphere (хионосфера), energy of glacierization (энергия оледенения), and geographical structure (географическая структура). In 1964, Stanislav Kalesnik was elected president of the Soviet Geographical Society. He was also the vice president of the International Geographical Union in 1968-1972. Kalesnik was an honorary doctor of the University of Cracow and University of Turku.

Stanislav Kalesnik was awarded two Orders of Lenin, three other orders, and several medals. Glaciers in Trans-Ili Alatau, Dzungarian Alatau, and the Urals bear his name.