Russian medical scientist Alexej Gerassimovitsch Polotebnov experimented with green mold of several Penicillium species and in 1872 published the article in the Russian medical journal about its healing properties for open wounds. In 1873, his book about the topic was published in St. Petersburg.
Universally recognized penicillin creator Fleming could not miss this discovery. Why Fleming did not mention the original discoverer half a century later remains unclear.