“Let’s live long enough so as see how science and peAce triumph over ignorance and war”: correpondence between E. Kahane and a. E. Braunshtein as a mirror of soviet-French scientific Links in biochemistry in the 1950s – 1980s

The article reviews an episode in the Soviet-French scientific cooperation in the field of biochemistry in the 1950s – 1980s, as reflected in a unique historical source – the correspondence between a renowned Soviet biochemist, Academician A. E. Braunshtein (Braunstein), and his French colleague Ernest Kahane that lasted about 30 years. The remaining 16 letters (5 addressed to Kahane and 11, to Braunshtein) with commentary are published in the end of the article. From this correspondence one can learn about the aspects of convening certain scientific events, some details from the correspondents’ biographies, discussions of joint Soviet-French scientific projects, etc. The style of the letters varies, with Kahane being more emotional and allowing himself to criticize the authorities that withheld issuing visa to Braunshtein and give emotional characteristics of his colleagues-biochemists. Braunshtein’s epistolary style is more reserved, which was in line with his character. Apart from the letters, the article uses a wide range of sources many of which are introduced for scientific use for the first time. These materials concerning Braunshtein’s international secondments, autobiographies, and memoirs about Braunshtein allow reconstructing the historical context in which the communication between Soviet and French biochemists occurred. Thus, despite France not being the main foreign partner for Braunshtein and his laboratory, the materials published here cast light on some of the less studied aspects of the French-Soviet scientific cooperation.