Akshuat dendropark, Botanical garden in Ulyanovsk Oblast, Russia

Akshuat dendropark is a 63-hectare protected area in the village of Akshuat, Ulyanovsk Oblast. It holds over 70 species of exotic trees and shrubs, including Sukachev larch, Weymouth pine, Siberian fir, juniper and mahonia, all of which bear fruit.

The dendropark traces its origin to the 1880s, when V. N. Polivanov, owner of the village of Akshuat, began planting trees on sands and old clearings because "at the slightest dry wind the sand starts moving and, rising into the air, takes over good lands, sometimes at far distances." The main part of the park was occupied by conifers, chiefly Scots pine, which Polivanov called the most valuable and hardy tree for artificial afforestation in Simbirsk Governorate, along with Siberian larch and Siberian cedar. In 1908, summarizing 25 years of Akshuat forestry, he reported that all plantings covered more than 325 desyatins. The area was designated a natural monument on 10 February 1976.

The park began as Vladimir Polivanov's tree nursery in the 1880s, and its catalogues from 1893 and 1898 list species that visitors can still trace today. Fifteen of those listed taxa, among them three grape varieties and dwarf pine, no longer grow here. Polivanov recommended dwarf pine for two-row hedges along roads, saying it formed a solid chain.

The dendropark lies in the village of Akshuat, Ulyanovsk Oblast, and covers 63 hectares. Non-sanitary felling is banned, but the grounds hold a sports camp and designated rest areas, so walking and recreation are part of the visit. Research and environmental education work continues on site.

Of the species listed in Polivanov's nursery catalogues of 1893 and 1898, 15 can no longer be found in the park, among them three grape varieties, the feathery alder, the eastern and Canadian thuja and the Cossack juniper. Polivanov had recommended the dwarf pine in double rows as a hardy roadside hedge.