Aleksey A. Ostroumov is a prominent zoologist of the late XIX - the beginning of the XX century, who made a great contribution to the development of Embryology and Morphology, Hydro-Biology and Ichthyology, Zoogeography and System Classification.

During the period from 1891 to 1897 he directed the Sebastopol Biology Station and took part in deep-water expeditions in the southern seas of Russia. In 1897 he was elected as the head of the Zoology Department of Kazan University and worked there all his life (till 1925).

Nikolay A. Livanov, the greatest morphologist and evolutionist of our country, one of the founders of the Kazan School of Morphology, lived a long and bright life.

His destiny was not always merciful to him. But he bravely and with great dignity went through all difficulties, taking forces in his favorite work, being considered as the "Knight of the Science Order" even among well-versed journalists. He was a walking history of Kazan University and all his life was connected with this site of learning. He lived almost one fourth o the XIX century and three fourths of the XX century.

The Kazan period of life and activity of Vladimir L. Vaghin began in 1957, when after winning the competition he became the Head of the Invertebrates' Zoology Department of Kazan University. He started at the age, when maturity of scientist and person gets its highest peak - at the age of 50.

Scientific effectiveness and high self-sacrifice of this period were conditioned by all previous life of the scientists, who was born at the seaside and didn't betray it during all his life.

Vladimir Lvovich was always sure that sea is a living textbook of every zoologist, rightfully supposing that a specialist in vertebrates' zoology can not live without knowledge of sea fauna.