Open Access
Access granted
Subscription Access
Vol 44, No 4 (2023)
From the History of Science
In Search of an Anti-Ageing Drug or the History of Gravidan Therapy in the USSR
Abstract
The article is devoted to the history of discovery, experimental testing and practical implementation of the gravidan therapy, a method for the treatment of various diseases, introduced by the doctor named A. A. Zamkov. The method was based on the administration of gravidan, a preparation obtained from pregnant women’s urine. The inventor of this miracle drug promulgated a novel medical approach, based on the rehabilitation of the whole organism rather than of its poorly functioning individual organs. According to Zamkov, gravidan contained a complex of various hormones and bioactive substances, invigorated, aided in speedy recovery, and possessed a rejuvenating action. In 1930, after the publication of experiments with gravidan, conducted at the Institute of Experimental Biology, Zamkov was criticized by his scientific colleagues in the Izvestiya newspaper. Soon both he and his wife, the sculptress V. I. Mukhina, were arrested for their attempt to illegally escape abroad, sentenced with seizure of property, and sent into exile to Voronezh. At the time, Zamkov’s influential patients in Moscow joined in a campaign for his return to the capital. In 1932, he created the Laboratory of Urogravidan Therapy that was in 1933 reorganized into a scientific research institute. In 1938, after the Third Moscow Trial, where, inter alia, several physicians were accused of the deaths of a number of prominent figures in the Soviet Union, the USSR People’s Commissariat for Health Care dissolved the Institute of Urogravidan Therapy. The experiments with gravidan were prohibited but Zamkov and, after his death, Mukhina appealed to different authorities to permit production and therapeutic use of gravidan. In the end, it never came into widespread use in medical practice, as a rigorous testing of its effectiveness yielded the results that dispelled the myth of the omnipotent drug.
Voprosy istorii estestvoznaniia i tekhniki. 2023;44(4):635-662
635-662
Social History of Science
Formation of Soviet-French Scientific Cooperation in the Field of Molecular Biology and Biochemistry in the 1960s (Based on the Materials of the V. A. Engelhardt Institute of Molecular Biology of the Russian Academy of Sciences)
Abstract
The article analyzes the development of scientific links between the Soviet and French molecular biologists and biochemists in the 1960s. The author explores the Soviet-French cooperation in the context of the international political situation and overall state of the Academy of Sciences’ international communications in this period. The article cites a large volume of sources that are introduced for scientific use for the first time. Drawing on the example of the Institute of Radiation and Physicochemical Biology – Institute of Molecular Biology of the USSR Academy of Sciences, the forms of the Soviet researchers’ interactions with their French colleagues are looked into. The plans for cooperation, the results of joint work, and the shortfalls that hindered the international links are analyzed. It is concluded that the difficulties in the development of Soviet-French cooperation were common for both the Soviet science in general and its international communications.
Voprosy istorii estestvoznaniia i tekhniki. 2023;44(4):663-681
663-681
Lessons from History
Development of Chemical Industry in Russia (USSR) in the Context of Its Economic and Social Policies (1900–1927)
Abstract
The article analyzes the development of chemical industry in Russia (USSR) in the context of the country’s overall industrial policies from the early 20th century to the prewar five-year plans. Four periods are identified, differing in the driving forces of the industry development, growth rates and product range. Before the outbreak of the First World War, the development of the chemical industry was strongly influenced by the advanced level of the Russian scientific schools. The output of the most important products, however, increased slightly and a number of production facilities were completely absent. Since the First World War, the defense was the most important factor that determined the rates and directions of the industry’s development. The Chemical Committee established under the Main Artillery Directorate was chaired by V. N. Ipatiev. The Committee’s activities concerned with the production of benzene, toluene and other strategically important products are reviewed in detail. In the light of the national policy of industry demobilization that began to be developed in October 1916, we analyze the work of the Central Organ for the Chemical Industry, created to develop a sectoral program for the reconversion to peaceful production. The importance of materials prepared by the Central Organ for the organization of work of the VSNKh’s chemical department and for the preparation of the GOELRO plan is emphasized. The main difficulties in the chemical industry’s recovery in 1921/22 – 1927 are also reviewed. The article is based on the documents and publications in the periodicals from the period under study.
Voprosy istorii estestvoznaniia i tekhniki. 2023;44(4):682-706
682-706
Historical Reviews
The Description of Forest Fires in the Works of the Scientists Who Travelled the Russian Empire in the 18th – 19th Centuries
Abstract
Over many centuries forest fires destroyed forests on a large scale. Historically, Russia possessed and still possesses the largest forest area in the world, twice as large as that of its nearest rival, Brazil. With such vast wooded areas, Russia has encountered the problem of forest fires many a time. Russian archives store numerous documents concerned with this natural occurrence, mostly the accounts and reports prepared by public servants (forest rangers, inspectors, etc.). In the times of the Russian empire, the mentions of forest fires could be also found in the periodicals, forest management manuals prepared by arboriculturists, legal acts, and even in the paintings. The works of the travelers and explorers, based on the expedition materials, notes and observations, hold a special place among the sources concerned with forest fires. The participants in the 18th – 19th century geographic expeditions had themselves witnessed this natural disaster and captured their experiences on paper. With the vast geography of travels and expeditions, the information contained in these works allows to reconstruct the overall picture of the situation with forest fires in the Russian Empire.
Voprosy istorii estestvoznaniia i tekhniki. 2023;44(4):707-723
707-723
Sources for the History of Science and Technology
Correspondence between Professor J. Heyrovský and Academician A. P. Vinogradov: Historical Aspect
Abstract
This article introduces for scientific use the letters exchanged by the 1959 Nobel Prize winner Professor Jaroslav Heyrovský, the Czech scientist who founded the method of polarography, and Academician A. P. Vinogradov, the Soviet geochemist and full member of the USSR Academy of Sciences since 1959, and a letter addressed to Vinogradov by E. N. Varasova, who died early and tragically, a chemist and promoter of polarography in the USSR. The letters that are deposited in Vinogradov’s personal fonds in the Archive of the Russian Academy of Sciences (f. 1691) touch upon the themes of book exchange between the Czech and Soviet scientists; the organization of Vinogradov’s visit to Heyrovský’s laboratory in Prague to master his skills of working with the polarographic method of analysis; Heyrovský’s informing Vinogradov about the losses suffered by the Czech science during WWI; and the organization of Heyrovský’s visits to the USSR. Varasova’s letter to Vinogradov is concerned with the details of Vinogradov’s mastering the method of polarography.
Voprosy istorii estestvoznaniia i tekhniki. 2023;44(4):724-736
724-736
Institutions and Museums
“The Nest of the Famous Naturalist”: Early History of D. I. Mendeleev Museum and Archive
Abstract
The article is devoted to the history of the acquisition by St. Petersburg University through the mediation of the Russian Physicochemical Society (RFCS) of the furniture from D. I. Mendeleev’s study as well as his personal library and archives, and to an unrealized attempt of the Russian scientific community to erect a monument to Mendeleev in front of the university building. We also review the roles of higher officials of the Russian empire (P. A. Stolypin, A. N. Schwartz, A. A. Musin-Pushkin, and others), the university administration and professors (above all, the university rector I. I. Borgman and Professor V. E. Tishchenko), Mendeleev’s widow A. I. Mendeleeva and other figures. The article is based on a broad array of archival documents that are introduced for scientific use for the first time. When, at some point, the possibility for purchasing Mendeleevʼs heritage by the Don Polytechnic Institute opened up, the St. Petersburg scientists, especially the university faculty, got strongly set against this idea. It was this circumstance that prompted the most active members of the RFCS, most of whom were the university professors, to take decisive action, which was supported by the Russian government. The response of the press to the twists and turns of the fate of Mendeleev’s legacy is also described. Our analysis shows that the history of founding of the D. I. Mendeleev Museum and Archive at St. Petersburg University is more complicated and controversial than it appeared before.
Voprosy istorii estestvoznaniia i tekhniki. 2023;44(4):737-774
737-774
Toward the History of the Origins and Development of French Horticulture Societies (19th – First Half of the 20th Century
Abstract
This article focuses on the institutionalization of horticulture in France through the formation, self-organization, and development of horticulture societies. The author examines the origins of the French National Society of Horticulture (SNHF), the Horticultural Society of Lyon, and other regional organizations. Their common features include regular exhibitions, the publication of journals, and the development of scientific committees. The article also analyzes the difficulties encountered by the societies as well as their importance not only for plant breeding but also for France in general. The first such association, the Paris Society of Horticulture, was established in France in 1827. It subsequently changed its status and name many times and became the central and national organization. This did not mean, however, that many other associations could not be established in the regions and small cities. Despite numerous political crises in France in the 19th century, the societies continued their fruitful work. This process reached its peak in the early 20th century and only World War I with its devastating impact on French economy, science, and agriculture disrupted the development of plant breeding in the country. Not all of the horticulture associations survived this difficult period; some ceased to exist altogether while many others merged to form the new, much larger organizations. During the interbellum period, the societies’ periodicals were published regularly, they held met regular meetings, the exhibitions were organized, scientific work was carried out, and French horticulture became internationally recognized. Not having fully recovered after World War I, scientific research in France was disrupted by World War II. The consequences can still be seen today: France has not reached the amount and diversity of horticulture societies, journals, and exhibitions, or the number of researchers involved in these studies it had in the early 20th century.
Voprosy istorii estestvoznaniia i tekhniki. 2023;44(4):775-797
775-797
Essay Review
798-805
Book Reviews
806-809
810-816
817-820
Academic Life
821-827
828-833
834-836
In Memoriam
837-841