Soviet botanist Nikolai I. Vavilov.
He and the staff of the All-Union Institute of Plant Industry (VIR) collected a unique seed and seedling collection, the most valuable part of which remained in the very centre of besieged Leningrad during the Great Patriotic War. The rooms with collections of wheat, rice, barley, corn, and tomatoes were sealed and entering them alone was strictly prohibited. Among those who died of hunger during the blockade of Leningrad there are thirty names of VIR staff members. These people were dying of starvation just a few steps away from dozens of kilograms of grain, but they did not touch the collection.
Photo: VIR named after N. I. Vavilov