Portrait of Nikolai Vavilov (1887-c.1942), Russian botanist and plant genetecist. Vavilov was trained in Moscow and at the John Innes Horticultural Institiute in the UK. He returned to Russia in 1914, and by 1920 had become director of the All Union Institute of Plant Industry. He devoted his life to expeditions to gather plants from around the World. By 1940 Vavilov had a genetic pool of over 250,000 plants in his collection, using selective breeding techniques to improve crop species grown in Russia. His jealous rival, Lysenko, arranged for Vavilov to be arrested on trumped-up charges. Initially sentenced to death, Vavilov died from hunger in a labour camp.