Personal file of Academician V. S. Nemchinov as a historical source. 1947-1948s

Scientific article

doi 10.28995/2073-0101-2025-2-419–435

For citation

Orishev, Alexander B., Sherstyuk, Maxim V. (2025). Personal file of Academician V. S. Nemchinov as a historical source. 1947-1948s, Herald of an Archivist, № 2, pp. 419–435, doi 10.28995/2073-0101-2025-2-419–435

Orishev, Alexander B., Sherstyuk, Maxim V., K. A. Timiryazev Russian State Agrarian University - MSHA, Moscow, Russia

Personal file of Academician V. S. Nemchinov as a historical source. 1947-1948s

Abstract

The relevance of the raised topic is conditioned by the fact that in the year of celebration of the 80th anniversary of the Victory the works devoted to the history of the Great Patriotic War and the postwar period acquire special significance. The present study introduces into scientific turnover the personal file of Academician Vasily Sergeevich Nemchinov, who headed the Timiryazev Academy during the war and the first postwar years, previously inaccessible to researchers. This will significantly strengthen the source base for future studies of the Great Patriotic War and postwar reconstruction periods. This aspect is especially important in view of the fact that the Academy's archives were destroyed in October 1941, which created serious problems in the study of the history of the leading agrarian university of the country and famous personalities associated with its activities. As a result, there were serious gaps in scientific knowledge, when historians focused mainly on the press and memoirs. The article is intended to level this shortcoming and fill the gaps in the historiography devoted to the outstanding Soviet scientist V. S. Nemchinov, to reveal little-known facts of his biography. The purpose of this study is to introduce into scientific circulation the personal file of V. S. Nemchinov, filling the gaps in the historiography of the scientist's life, to show the ambiguity of the relationship between domestic science and power structures. To achieve this goal, the following tasks are solved: to show that the turning point in the biography of V. S. Nemchinov was the August session of the VASHNIL in 1948; to characterize V. S. Nemchinov was the August session of VASKhNIL in 1948; to characterize V. S. Nemchinov as a member of the All-Union Communist Party of Bolsheviks (Bolsheviks), explaining the fact of relatively late entry into the party; to demonstrate how the party bodies of the Academy created evidence for the exclusion of the academician from the All-Union Communist Party of Bolsheviks (Bolsheviks), which would have meant the end of his scientific career. The analysis of V.S. Nemchinov's activity as an organizer of science is given. Special attention is paid to the period of the Great Patriotic War, when V.S. Nemchinov had to organize the educational process and scientific research taking into account the wartime requirements. Content analysis of V. S. Nemchinov's personal file was determined as the main research method. The main scientific result is that by including into the scientific turnover a previously unknown historical source, the authors demonstrate the atmosphere that reigned in Soviet universities in the postwar years. It is shown how the state, using party organs, interfered in science, subjecting scientists to pejorative criticism, forcing the latter to defend themselves against accusations, most of them unsubstantiated.

Keywords

Personal file of Academician V.S. Nemchinov, Timiryazev Academy, science, VASKHNIL, “Michurinians”, T.D. Lysenko, August session of VASKHNIL in 1948, defeat of “Weismanist-Morganists”, All-Union Communist Party of Bolsheviks, Great Patriotic War, classical genetics, agricultural statistics, mathematical methods.

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About authors

Orishev Alexander B., Doctor of Historical Sciences, Associate Professor, Russian State Agrarian University - MSHA named after K. A. Timiryazev, Department of History, Head of Department, Moscow, Russia, +7-926-677-18-60, This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

Sherstyuk Maxim V., Candidate of Historical Sciences, Associate Professor, Russian State Agrarian University - MASA, Department of History, Associate Professor, Moscow, Russia, +7-917-540-70-87, This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

The article was received in the editorial office on 05.11.2024, recommended for publication on 20.03.2025