Abstract
The present study analyzes specific traits of Lysenkoism dogmas as they were reflected in Soviet hydrobiology. As a case study, I use the now-forgotten productivity theory of bodies of water developed in 1940 by the Soviet hydrobiologist Vladimir I. Zhadin (1896–1974). Zhadin’s views on production relied on his observations of changes in the communities of riverine faunas caused by the construction of water reservoirs. The theory is of particular interest because it attempts to address the unresolved problems of that period. Some of these unsettled problems provided the foundation for the ideological debates during the dialectization period in Soviet biology of the early 1920s to mid-1930s and were influenced by Lysenkoism. Zhadin’s theory thus serves as a suitable model for identifying cognitive and ideological components in science and for the analysis of the influence of ideology on science. The analysis of Zhadin’s works shows that an attempt to separate ideologically imposed perceptions and the author’s own scientific views presents a challenging task. This can be explained by a highly efficient behavioral pattern of “protective coloration” employed by the scientist and by Zhadin’s sincere acceptance of some Lysenkoist ideas. Furthermore, I argue that the system of Lysenkoist dogmas concerning the association between an organism and its environment are in fact entirely sensible scientific principles which were taken to an extreme. The results of the study suggest a need for more careful and deeper evaluation of scientific works published during the period of the personality cult in the USSR. The “Lysenko affair” in branches of biology other than genetics is more complicated and needs further examination.
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Notes
Dialectization refers to the introduction of Marxist ideology (primarily of the dialectical style of thinking) into biology.
These words by Stalin have long been used as an epigraph to many scientific books and articles.
VASKhNIL is the standard abbreviation for the V. I. Lenin All-Union Academy of Agricultural Sciences.
The middle letter in Russian names designates a patronymic, i.e., Ivanovich is a son of Ivan.
This is apparently an erratum due to a mistransliteration of the patronymic and surname.
Collection 5 (not processed), Scientific Archive of the Zoological Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences, St. Petersburg, Russian Federation (hereafter cited as Col. 5, SA ZIN RAS).
This and all subsequent biographical information about Zhadin are from Zhadin (1991).
Col. 5, SA ZIN RAS.
Col. 5, SA ZIN RAS.
Col. 5, SA ZIN RAS.
Col. 5, SA ZIN RAS.
Apparently, he meant primarily the law of transformation of quantity into quality.
Col. 5, SA ZIN RAS.
For instance, the deep areas of Lake Baikal contain ancient fauna, while the inlets (the so-called sors) are inhabited by organisms of a more recent origin.
The creation of tree belts was one of the essential elements of Stalin’s plan for transformation of nature (see Brain 2010).
Col. 5, SA ZIN RAS.
Col. 5, SA ZIN RAS.
Col. 5, SA ZIN RAS.
Zhadin did, however, participate in the conference itself.
For more detailed information on Zhadin’s “naturalistic” way of thinking, see my interview with Alimov (Rizhinashvili 2017a).
Stankov was a fairly well-known fighter against Lysenkoism; see, for example, his brief biography on the official site of the Moscow State University: http://herba.msu.ru/botanists/stankov/ (accessed 8 July 2018).
Consider, for example, the close relationship between science and practice in ecology and aquatic ecology (Schwarz and Jax 2011).
For example, this happened with the Czech entomologist and endocrinologist V. Novak; see Hampl (2016).
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Acknowledgement
I express my sincere thanks to Elena P. Tikhonova (Zoological Institute of the RAS, St. Petersburg) for helping with my work in the archive fund of Vladimir I. Zhadin and to staff of the Scientific Library of the Zoological Institute of the RAS (especially to a head of the Library Dr. Evgenia S. Labina and to librarians Svetlana M. Pulkkinen, Anna A. Khalina, Yulia A. Dunaeva, Daria A. Gudkova). I am deeply grateful to Prof. Douglas R. Weiner (University of Arizona, Tucson, USA) for his comments on my manuscript and especially for his review of English text of the manuscript. I am indebted to translator Dr. Anatoliy A. Petrov (Zoological Institute of the RAS) for his great assistance. The work is supported by Russian Foundation for Basic Research (Project No. 17-33-01046-OГH).
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Rizhinashvili, A. Production Hydrobiology in the USSR Under the Pressure of Lysenkoism: Vladimir I. Zhadin’s Forgotten Theory of Biological Productivity (1940). J Hist Biol 53, 105–139 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10739-019-09590-5
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10739-019-09590-5