Orenburg Regional Office

The Orenburg regional branch of the Russian Geographical Society is one of the oldest, it was established in 1867. From 1947 to 1957 it was named Chkalovskoye (in connection with the renaming of the city and region). The initiator of the restoration of its activities and its first chairman was the famous geographer, founder of the Voronezh scientific school of landscape studies, Doctor of Geographical Sciences, Professor Fyodor Nikolaevich Milkov.

The most striking project can be safely called the program for the reintroduction of Przewalski's horse. Its main tasks are the preservation of pristine steppe landscapes, the return of Przewalski's horse to the wild and the creation of its semi-free population, the construction of aviaries with a collection of steppe animals, including bison, camels, saigas, marals, as well as steppe livestock breeds, and in addition, the opening of a Shepherd Museum and the creation of reference herds of steppe domestic breeds animals in farms adjacent to the lands of the Orenburg Nature Reserve. In 2014, as part of this project, a Breeding Center for steppe animals appeared, which already has Przewalski's horse, kiangi and double-humped camels.