Winogradsky and modern microbiology

The 150th anniversary of the birth of Sergei N. Winogradsky is a special date for general microbiology. Apart from the discovery of chemosynthesis, the development of the elective method, the application of the direct method, and formulation of microbial ecology problems, Winogradsky, in his pioneering studies, addressed fundamental aspects of the naturalistic Weltanschauung from the position of a microbiologist who studies the role of microorganisms in nature. These problems are still important today. Expanding knowledge throws light on them from different angles of view and highlights them with varying degrees of completeness, but the problems remain beyond time. It may be useful for contemporary microbiologists to realize the extent to which they would recognize their own work in the system of questions and answers stated a hundred years ago.