His early work involved the study of gold-mining, which led him to come up with a theory explaining the origin of gold deposits in Siberia.

He also gave advice on construction of the Central Asian and Trans-Siberian Railways and consulted Sven Hedin on his projected journey to Siberia.

While working for the railway, Obruchev explored the Karakum Desert, the shores of the Amu Darya River, and the old riverbeds of the Uzbois.

[1] In his native country Obruchev is best known as the author of two perennially popular science fiction novels, Plutonia (Плутония, 1915) and Sannikov Land (Земля Санникова, 1924).

"[4] During the Soviet period, Obruchev attempted to emulate Edwardian models of boys' adventure stories in his novels Golddiggers in the Desert (1928) and In the Wilds of Central Asia (1951).