That is really not cool, I wished that -the harassment- hadn’t happened to her, but then again I wish a lot of things (I am not on the forums, I just joined to write on this memorial thread but that is very disappointing if not surprising). I had sensed it had played a role in her not being so visible -I felt I crossed paths with her less these past few years, but I realize now other factors were probably also at play. She was such a character though, (I too remember the picture with the pink double pompom hat as another user here mentioned). This is heartbreaking.
I wish her family receives the support that they most certainly need after this tragedy.
I had interacted with her on the forums years ago. I think I had heard awhile back about the harassment that encouraged her to step back from the forums. It’s pretty rotten that she had to deal with it.
Cancer is a right b*. I had my own bout with it when I was 28 and as a result, I have met many young adults with cancer. Not all of whom are still around. It’s heartbreaking.
It’s such a strange feeling to feel deeply touched and saddened by the loss of someone I never knew; it feels like a missed/lost chance. Tragic to lose someone so young. My heart goes out to everyone who knew and cared for her.
Sad news!
Like many others, I came across Marina (in my case, regarding Opiliones in Russia) and she was always very willing to answer questions about her observations (and her photos, which were often very good).
I also liked her contributions to the forum, her frankness and her clear and well-argued positions.
Rest in peace, Marina.
Oh, I’m so, so sorry to hear this. I never had any direct interaction with her, but she was inspiring. I wanted to comment just to add to the record one more instance of her impact.
I just came across this post from Marina. Once someone is gone, you might only recognize these subtle hints in hindsight. Most of us didn’t realize that she had been fighting cancer for most of her young life, yet she kept sharing her knowledge with passion and courage.
Update: Marina’s post above was from 2022 Aug 28. On 2022 Sep 10 (about 2 weeks later), she posted:
So it was COVID, although she may have been immunosuppressed from her other health issues. It’s a quiet reminder that we never know what someone is dealing with.
I am sorry to read this only now. So sad…
I’ve been following this thread since the start, and I am still at a loss for words.
We didn’t interact much, but I always noted the kindness and humor in her online ‘voice’. That she accomplished this, and so much more, despite the obstacle that life had thrown at her, brings to mind what I hope is an apt quote:
“I wish it need not have happened in my time," said Frodo. “So do I,” said Gandalf, "and so do all who live to see such times. But that is not for them to decide. All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given us.”
We are all the richer for how Marina decided to spend the time that she had. And time will never completely fill the hole in the world that she left.
I had known Marina by reputation on iNaturalist for a long time. Even without knowing her personally, I was constantly amazed by her incredible activity and wealth of knowledge. When I found out how old she was, I was no less surprised.
A couple of years later, I was fortunate enough to meet her in person and even travel around the Leningrad region together. In winter, we watched birds, and in summer, we observed everything around us.
She was a very kind, wise, and cheerful person. On semi-scientific topics, she would speak with enthusiasm and great seriousness, but a little joke was all it took, and she would become genuinely merry – laughing loudly and wholeheartedly. Indeed, her outward appearance did not quite match her inner world.
She tried not to talk about her illness, never complained, and steadfastly endured that entire painful period. To say that we will miss such a person is an understatement.
Although i knew this was comming (In my last contact she told me that metastasen were spreading in her body) I feel sad. I also admired here fluently english. As far as i know she had to fight the disease several times.In those days she had instagram and it was nice seeing her outdoors, sometimes with very few hair. Thought her name was minimouse overthere. I like the nice macro photos and as visito of Belarus , Armenia and Georgia i was wondering what others saw in those areas.
As far as i know Marina was married, but there nothing from the family? Her instagram was nice till it was, as far as i know, hayjacked.
I mainly know here fron 2018-2020 and updates on my SPhagnum records, in which i did not agree.
But she has some nice journal posts…marina_gorbunova’s Journal · iNaturalist
Reasons and ways to keep observing · iNaturalist
Fight against Needs id · iNaturalist
IT seems she was
words! I definitely understand this, my husband says the same about ten years, but I feel too young as waiting half of my life would be not great, but I am sure there will be something ided i
I want to draw attention to a link that Andre @ahospers shared in a subtle way above: Marina’s journal post, entitled The Worst Year.
Because Marina was mostly private about her health struggles, I wanted to highlight this Journal post for the many iNatters who felt close to her. It contains a brief conversation where she spoke openly about her condition. For those of us mourning her loss, her words offer a heartbreaking glimpse into her battle, and yet, at the same time, they are also a reminder of her courage.
Thank you, Andre, for being there for Marina at the time, and for sharing this with us now.
When her name changed from Marina Gorbunova to Marina Gorbunova-Yolkina, I think it should be obvious she married. I do not read many journal posts, so I also missed her last one…
Hello everyone, I am Marina’s husband, and I would like to share some information in memory of her.
We got married in 2015, and last year we celebrated our anniversary — 10 years of marriage. Gorbunov is my last name; Yolkina was her maiden name. By the way, if you translate her maiden name from Russian, it comes from the word for “spruce”, or Christmas tree.
Since childhood, Marina loved nature and was a very creative person. She used to boast that she won children’s contests where you had to write a poem and draw a picture. During her school years, she was a member of a birdwatching club and went on trips with them.
Until 2017, she mostly did bird photography.
Unfortunately, even before she discovered iNaturalist, in September 2017 she was diagnosed with breast cancer, stage 2b or 3a. But a year of successful treatment gave us more time together. Even after going into remission, she had to take hormonal medication for almost the entire time, which took a toll on her body, especially her bones.
For the first couple of years after treatment, she played The Elder Scrolls Online and was happy to have a way to take her mind off things.
To be honest, I don’t remember exactly when, but probably starting in 2019, she got deeply into iNaturalist. From then until her death, she loved observing, identifying, and developing new projects. She was ready to stay up all night, wade through swamps — for her, it was her life’s work. I myself am far from iNat, but I tried to help her with trips, followed her as a “squire” carrying camera gear and other things, and also caught insects for her.
Very sadly, in September 2024, they found multiple metastases in her spine, lungs, and liver. Although therapy helped a little, Marina could no longer walk on her own. A year later, in September 2025, the metastases spread to her brain, and she had to move to a hospice. In mid-November, she lost her eyesight completely, but even then she didn’t lose heart and hoped that everything would be okay. All of this, starting from 2024, was accompanied by terrible pain, but Marina fought like a hero right to the very end.
On January 27, 2026, Marina passed away — peacefully, without pain; she stopped breathing after losing consciousness.
She was beautiful, brave, persistent, unyielding, smart, and deeply motivated. She was never afraid to speak even the most unpleasant truth to your face and always stood her ground. At the same time, she was very kind, caring, understanding, and sensitive. She truly rejoiced in life and in the beauty of the nature around us. We sincerely loved each other and were happy. And I miss her terribly.
Marina had the following social media accounts:
https://www.flickr.com/photos/93278133@N05/ — abandoned
Please accept my condolences, which I extend to you as well as to her parents and other family. Marina mentioned being married multiple times, in the context of talking about outings or photographs, but as the focus here is nature, many pay scant attention to non-nature things.
I very much enjoyed my interactions with Marina, which could be serious, as she was exquisitely intelligent and generous with her knowledge, but were often funny mentions of other species or commonalities to Observations. She was a bright light from the other side of the world, and I loved to peek at her page to see a very different landscape from my own. When she died, I took a tour again, to see her world a bit through her eyes. It feels unfair that her eyes failed her at the end of her life.
Thank you for taking the time to post; that you loved Marina deeply and well comes through clearly. May the world gentle to you as you grieve.
Thank you.
You write english very well
Sad to hear that this disease was part of her life for such a long time.
I did not know she was a birder. As i left more or less iNaturalist due to corona i must met her on iNaturalist around 2018-2020
I never knew about the change Gorbunov / Gorbunova.
We are honoured to hear from you, and thank you for sharing more of your and Marina’s story. I hope the tributes you see here and elsewhere provide you with some measure of help, since she was held in such high regard. Our condolences and best wishes to you.
Thank you for sharing your story about Marina.
Just stumbled across this. How very sad.
I had been wondering why I didn’t see IDs from her for some time now, now I know the sad reason …
This is really sad, I’m very sorry to hear this just now! I’ve seen her many times on the Forum but not interacted with her personally..
We’ll miss you, Marina, rest in peace.