THE WORLD-WIDE IMPORTANCE OF USSR SCIENCE

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP82-00039R000100020043-2
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: S
• Document Page Count: 9
• Document Creation Date: December 22, 2016
• Document Release Date: April 6, 2012
• Sequence Number: 43
• Content Type: REPORT

Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2012/04/06 : CIA-RDP82-00039R000100020043-2
sEorti.IT
TNh; WORLD-WIDL I.O:! USSR SCILN
Acadn S.I. Vavilov, ?,.. p~ u
Acadomy of
,^.f Ncien"e~y5e'1",t'hej' UIiL$R
~?vvw v v ~u? ? vr~v Vu. Gt9~
... 5ov1 et science has a distinctive character. It differs from the
a k
old Russian science not only in scope but in direction and, in many
Cases, in content. Scientific research"
in techfologJr and in agriculture
has beta an important and. obligatory task of the state. All branches
rience have one great common goal-the development o~ creative
of ou..r s- and
i tec~.noleg~r
nvesti~tive thought in the various 'branches of science social
tr ,for e solution of the ~a'reat sot
dL$
~r the Service of our cow ~'
problems which confront her.... 4.:1
great
the role of science in pioneering the
Espee~allyr~.l~s been
to a Scienc~:r is esSentta~. for the great,
car~~isti.c pocioty, ~..,. , ,
industrY to provide for the
eve.loprnents of natural rewourcps and
ee& `Of < 1lIl
t'uG ' . i dtant past, we gee how our science was
?r n n lt'; r back` i ~ w
l.:y V u~ aD
dependent on foreign s.t science. We see' also how rapidly our sc ~ nee
~__r,,, produced from their midst giant's
~;c&;;:e independent, how our ~%G~~ ~.~ ~--there ha.q bFCn de~el.oped
o f learning. ~- 'mod in the Sovi.etea
:-.
Or sC1PnCe is stronger
a rest army of soviet scientists, .~---?.ti.
rte.
and more Independent than ever before.
i ' conditions
or centuz~es preceding the Great October R O Ut1on
P
f'Orabl~.
for the develOPrsnt of science in our u04t:~j
science in Russia ,ra~M1a long time, dis-
~The noxmalg~'o~frth of sci.,
-I on of invaasian)ard by the great burden of
,pted, by the Tatar g
. us sta,g~`ration anal conservatism.
~Byzantine reiig~o Russian
ns
For cen~1aries the abilities and the inclinatio of the
For
?~., . The turning point cans.. people had no organized uu~~y~~
~; he VIVeJ.-
at last science was taken out from under
Peter I, when ~
hoofs were established, and in 1724 titer
of the church, secular sc
Acadeny of Sciences, the Grade of a
the Pete rsbu>c?g
create
~~V1~ca uc~
new outstanding R r._~s jar' Q4lence.
Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2012/04/06 : CIA-RDP82-00039R000100020043-2
50X1 -HUM
fn'yra~
Pi M W
 Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2012/04/06 : CIA-RDP82-00039R000100020043-2
In no country- in the world was there such a sudden
advance in science as in Russia at the beginning of the
18th century. The appearance of Lomonosov was the Russian
peoples answer to the new conditions.
In the works of Lomonosov;. Russian science became
a new source of discoveries of world-wide significance.
The law of the constancy of mass iuY,Y chemical changes, the
ato aic theory of heat phenomena, the existence of atmos-
phere on the planet Venus, the theory of the origin of
Icebergs in the Arctic
4.
ascribed by foreign literature to the famous chest
ll
A
of Lomonoso to w~L~~r,f'u science. . At present the inter-
national position of iomonosov as a scientist rimmimrnurt is
evident to every and. objective scientific authori~ ,
y competent
The outstanding role of the young i etershurg "oademy
was further evidenced by the geographic, botanical and
ethno raphic discoveries of contemporary of LomonosoV--,
g ~.
S.P. Krasheninnikov, ? he son of a soldier and like Lo~nonosov,
educated in the Moscow Slavic-Greek-Latin academy. His basic
worwas "A Geographic Description of Kamchatka", published
in four volumes in 1756 and soon translates into Frenc.u,
German and Dutch.
Besides their mjuI public recognition of 4he achievements
of Russian scientists, the scientists of western Europe some-
times rnii~ quibtl , c P us? them; or even took credit
?1 o for 4 f r th. $e.ives. This happened, for example, in
the discovery of the voltaic arc between carbon electrodes.
r
it was
as
nr,A
these are some of the contributions
described in detail by the
y
ctua
in 1810.
Petersburg academi,iafl
V. T. Petrov in his book pubU shed in i03. ;rear iatei
Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2012/04/06 : CIA-RDP82-00039R000100020043-2
hawing first the arc
 Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2012/04/06 : CIA-RDP82-00039R000100020043-2
SBORFP
3.
ihinminj in announcing the subject for an international
c had main - in detail..f
arize, the 'etcrsburg`ca`cxnydescribe`'the voltaic arc
a~
,
'
inaccompanying prospectus in French and German, which
was sent to all scientific institutions
r3, .
?
of the world. Thus there can be no doubt that ~e discovery
f LOBACHEVSKIY, N.~`` Worked out a non-Eucledian version of
geometry? his conclusions were significant not only for
mathematics but also for the philosophical concept of
space,and for modern physics, in connection with the theory
or relativity.; His?name>:
~f.. U.r~rev had beenc in western Europe.
/.,
In the 19th century, despite "the difficult conditions
for science under Tsarist Aussia, scientific achievements
of undeniably world-wide significance were so niaerouz
that only a few examples can be given.
~. S'I ~` 'ti M ro fV '? fl 'Yf Id~.iC](.SLdS'fJS ~a:C4..~.r.~~f~'T^71fX G7
`Zl~"Y ?
'-?? w~ Y1~'I~ ,; ~~ v,~.t94~Rta ctuu Vhyrfxi va.i v v v .....
ir$ 47 le off'.,. aid a< sc t'~:st4 ~~. fi' d en ~ra1
thit ea
rw .
.ems He;, life,;. tet :.t,sa.enc~d
a~ came from
-,
C:IY.:
4STROGRADSKIY, Academician, A contemporary of Lobachevskiy.
Famous for researches itt mathematical physics, mechanics,
and astronomy. Independently of the nglishrnan, iiwniiton,
established the principle of least action. Honored by elect
Lion to membership in the academies of sciences of Paris,
Rome, Turin and V(ashington.
CHEBYSHEV, P.L., Academician Made extremely valuable
contributions in the fields of mathematical analysis,
Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2012/04/06 : CIA-RDP82-00039R000100020043-2
e ordinary Russian provin-
// , r
 Declassified in Part -_Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2012/04/06 : CIA-RDP82-00039R000100020043-2
the theory of numbers, the theory of probabilities, and
KOVALEVSKA,. V.t; The first woman in the history of
+w
t
LENTS, E. Kh. [sic; Lenz, E.Yi.; from the following,
bodies.
sciences; famous for her theory of the ro.ation of solid
of science; a distinguished representative of the exact
apparently H.F.E. Lenz is meant~7~ His clan:;ic researches
11'
in electromagnetism must be mentioned first arriong the
achievements of our science in the 19th century which had
a tremendous effect on world science. Lenz' s law is
known to every - . i student.
ff1T. Tf1V _ A _(T. Pl avpd a rrr alt rn1 in *4 fn?nr11nrr ;in r3
I
development of the science of he ele4tric effects of
lags and
light; established in Moscow, the basic./characteristics
of : photoelectric processes.
Academician.
BREDIKHICH, ) .A.,/'Penouned for his researches on the tails
of comets and m~.. .mmm mss meteor trails. Director,
at the end of the 19th century) of the mii Pulkov
Observatory at Petersburg, whose astronomers iy~ -t I ' .~~.
the world in the middle of the century, and. which
-~
was for a t i~Ze ,.rtk:.j .,f ",astronomical capital of the world"
.L1etj:) GLW.k 4- Ll.U4aOJJJ. liUu...L becw ULll7 u.: A.L -- v
of Russian science in development
of world chemistry in
Mendeleyev belongs the greatest
discovery in the history of chemistrya that of the periodic
ZIIYIIN, N.N.) a professor of chemistry of Kazan. Discovered
aniline, which introduced a new eira in organic chemistry
and chemical technology.
wTd.P CF:EiT
Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2012/04/06 : CIA-RDP82-00039R000100020043-2
 Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2012/04/06 : CIA-RDP82-00039R0001
"BUTLEROV, A.M. , Academician Another It distinguished
Kazan chemist. The theory of the structure of organic
cornpounds owes much to hui~i, particularly as corroborated
discovered by hi -
bY the 'sdineris~ of h- droca
~, ,~ 'bon co-,lpounda,,
cone iled on the basis of his theory, was studied no MenI1yFa.
In the 19th century his textbook on organic chemistry,
in Russia; -'cut ..,abroad >.,I.ae":well:
-~a~rd""~"i~ an ~'i can "C~rtrh~~~~t~,o~s ~o f ?our
, sc2ence ....to.woridtechno? mar,,. . 5,5W -.. Invented
:r'',YAKOBI, B.S. and thoroughly worked out galvano-
plastics. With hie. name .of this scientist, physicist and
engineer are linked the realization of the electric tele-
graph, te construction of the first motor boats, a, d t;he:~..
development of electric
minnoye delo)
Russian scientists,
blasting(elelLtro-
physicists and engii.ieera
qtr
Justly
be called the founders of electric ia,.,on. I have
already mentioned the discovery of the voltaic arc by
Petrov.
YABLOOHKOV, P: a Russian engineer,1 was the designer of
1`t
a famous light (svecha) which in the' 7Ol s a -oho la t.
?ee t.u&y attra&,tea world--vide attenVilmn?
w4*- Luth::LTiN, A. , w&e ne invent ~ e' the first incandescent
Qu
}4t with a'filament heated in a vacuum. This Invent ion
was ? t.sd : im~i put to practical use? and. perfected
~
tw.
Y
by Edison.
PoPOV, A.S., Professorj. Discovered radio in 1396 in Russia.
TTMTRYAZEV, K.A. .a.rir t u His brill i ant expertgentsit to ? u great
.>.... ~,.,,~ .fuGli (J (JV 1
o~
extent disclosed the main characteristics of the absorption
f carbon dioxide fromt the air by green leaves under
the influence of light, and gave a beginning to the subject
:prp
Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2012/04/06 : CIA-RDP82-00039R000100020043-2
 Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2012/04/06 : CIA-RDP82-00039R000100020043-2
6,
of the physiology of plants in coslrzection with photo-
synthesis.
.~;:7S;cHov, I.M., sand PAVLOV re
y ~, present the Russian
. _.,
*...N ~m~ k (
school of physiology which pioneered the way for the
rest of the world in the study of higher nervous activity.
_-1
M; VINOGRADSKIY
, ?N4) his work on nitrogen-4ixing
bacteria, IVANOVSKIY, D.I, his discoveries of
filterable viruses, and MECHNIKOV, I.I., in various
works, are Russian biologists who have had a great
influence on world science.
PRZH~VAL' SKIY, NIKLUKF 0-MAKLAY, and S +'MENOV-TYANSHMTSKIY
are world-renowned for their geographical discoveries.
1:.., By the beginning of the 20th century, Russian science
important i'aetor in world science.
Despite the apparent unwillingness of many foreign scient-
ists to take into account these obvious facts, iii m
the numerous attempts to deny priority in great discoveries
even to Lobachevskiy, Mendeleyev and Popov, and mpith
the systematic avoidance of Russian scientists
awarding the international Nobel prizes, Russian science
had a, ' g:etinfluence,
science.
rrt~lii 1-L-,+S.CYYliJC ,Wd~,.tS.~.U? ,
~y aicientfic achievements of world-
Ti ~ .'1tiC rvioscow pnysicist, P. T. L
EV first
fry '.. kr
TTn1 reported and made i possible ar1~ measure the ,pressure
of light v solids and gases. This did much to
clear the
way for an understanding of the nature of light and gave a
key to the understr ding of basic problems in astronomy.
Academi
1 .'
Sei siaomet ry,
Instruments n
,
and theories of seismometry which
w a
`o- Imo'
Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2012/04/06 : CIA-RDP82-00039R000100020043-2
an i3.B. GOlITSYN created the new science
for the study of earthquakes, and devised
 Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2012/04/06 : CIA-RDP82-00039R000100020043-2
soon spread and were adopted throughout the world.
Academician AN. K YLOV ~vas the author of the first
--~ .p uni-
versally adopted theory of ship
l
onstruct i ~n`
??T In the works of A.P. ARPINS(IV ~N_ C
M
theoretical geology developed on a wide front.
Prof, IVI.S. f'wi TSVJ'T discovered a remarkable new method,
lnTfl called chromatography, of analyzing and classifying
organic compounds, the importance of which may justly be
compared with that of spectral analysis.
However, Prerevolutionary Russia, not long freed
from serfd,onn7 and under the oppressic;n of the Tsarist
. ~
regime ,08.Bet provide aahti : u~.s needed for 4..
~ u.
$r t re full development of science. This was provided
hi I
only under` t...,perT'Soviet In 30 years minii'i
f !under the Soviets science in our country has grown as never
before; the number of persons engaged in scientific re-
"1k M,
search is 50 tines before the revolution,
constituting a scientific army of about 100,000. The
Soviet Union now has more than a thousand special scientific
research institutions in various fields of science and
technology. Every year a greater portion of the state
budget is alloted to this work. 2la have been developed
u1d11 ii of science in which before the
revolution there was often not a single one in the whole
country
There has been an extraordinary growth in the importance
of Soviet science for the whole world. Great libraries,
with lJ3lDThfhoa colossal collections of sein.tific materials,
are a heritage not only of our own country but of the world.
In this material are recorded some achievements of tremendous
significance
Soviet mathematics, in m many divisions of the
fl
theory of numbers, the theory of probabilities and topo.,
1w
fFwJ'
R
Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2012/04/06 : CIA-RDP82-00039R000100020043-2
 Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2012/04/06 : CIA-RDP82-00039R000100020043-2
8
occup i.es one of the leadin placed in the world, and the
mathematicians of the world. follow the 'vlorks of such
Soviet leaders in this field as Academicians LM. Vino-
, t
gradov, S.N. Der. nsht e n, A.J'. Kolnogorov, P.S. Aleltsandrov,
and .Iui. Krylov.
Soviet physics has contributed to world science new
f r.l,
facts and theoretical generalizations of paithin
ah, importance. The phenomenon of the combination
dispersion of light was disco'rered in the USSR by Academ-
i cians L.I. MANDEL' SHTAM and G.S. LANDSDTRG simultaneous-
ly ~rrith the Indian physicist, RAIviAN. This discovery opened
a new way to the study of the internal structure of the
mltnDm molecule and to its analysis. Academician P.L.
KAPITSA
discovered the astonishing property, "super
fluidity", of liquid helium. The physicists A.A. laic
FRIDMAN and V.A. FOK are to be credited, with important
theoretical VVl1V c,. n c nne rim- A{/~te K theory of
1LtIJ1V11V Id #iLi1V1+ with - the ~!-
relativity. Our science has made basic b ntributions in
the field of non--linear oscillation which have great
1 1 I { i n I' c
importance for radio oiecyand mechanics. With
zee J iiTiTfl3 developments in this field are associated the
names of Academicians L.1. iv+1ANDELT -3BTfU4i, N. D.
i AFALFKS , A.A. A1'31)RONOV, N.la. KRYLOV and. N.N. ?30G0-
LYUBOV.
Academician N.N. S .~i ~iENOV has done iillportant research on
chain chemical reactions and on the general sub j ect$ of
the kinetics of reECtiOnu. Academician A~N. TERENTN' s
workson chemical reactions taking place under the
influence of light h
are of great significance, as
1AUCiE""? S s
are the nuzn Brous ~ of Academicians A.N. FRUIUUCIN
. and P.A. REBINDLR on the phenomena of surface activities.
The experiments of Academician D.V. SKOBEL'TS N With
)
MA/.1Ait .r, / t r~ + 1rOfd/
iM
r~ /~ /~V or y~
1
Yt9b
i'~ installed in a oCun4~.Y a unique
l
e
son c a
the Wi
in nuclear
i11 Pr.A 'iii rP~A~reh on cosmic rays and physics e '- a
-._~,r ~~~.fl~.. y..A.I __..~
he latest resew;cb.e& ?
A.I ALIKHANYAN, active member of the Academy of Soiences
of the Armenian SSR, on cosmic rays opens the possibility
of a new understanding of the nature of the forces which
s-re hit~r~ n i n t t"IE n.'Ucleit of t.-J.-' Cl..
.... Declassified in Dart - Sanitized Cony A
roved for Release 2O 17/f14/O6 ? ClA:RPD87_f1M39ROOO1 M(17M43_2
pp
 Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2012/04/06 : CIA-RDP82-00039R000100020043-2
sEoRirr
9
Soviet biologists have done work of worldwide importance
in agricultural science. The scientists I.V. MICUImIN,
and B.K. VIL'YAMS, and the Academicians D.N. PRYANIuUNIKOV,
T.D. LYSE-NKO and N.V. TSITSIN haire pioneered in the science
of the development of soil and vegetation.
The works of the Soviet physiologist; Academicians
L.A. ORBEL' and A.P. SPERANSKIY and Profs. I.F. RAItENKOV,
F.A. ASTRATYAN, P.K. M OKHIN and K.M. BYKOV hold a leading
place in the world.
Remarkable for darir-g and originality were the research
on the North Pole by a group of Soviet physicists headed
by Academician 0. Yu. SI~fvIIDT, and the memorable drift on
an 1Ge floe of the CIVAN DIMITRIYEVICH 7 PApA JIN
mt91ITh1fr1itmn1 p a rt y.
In the extensive list of Stalin prizes for science for
1947 we note, along with the discoveries of A.I. ALIKELANOV
and A.I. ALIKHANYAN, the successful experimental researches
on superconductivity by prof. A.I. SHAL'NIKOV, and the
brilliant contributions to world science of the mathema-
ticians, Prof. N.G. CHEBOTARLV, Academician V.I. MIRIIOV,
and. prof. G.N. GOLUZIN. Soviet chemistry, headed by
Academician N.D. ZELINSKIY and Prof. N.I. GAVRILOV, made
a great advance in the stud of albumin, solving the pro-
blem of the interrelationship mti3 and connection between
the cyclic and chain-form groupings of the albumin mole-
cules.
1 The articles clvSe5 with further stressing the impor-
tance of science in the progress of the Soviet people toward
a communist society, and cites the trust expressed by Stalin
on February 9 1946 that Soviet 4ence would be able not
only to overtake, but in the near future to surpass, the
achievements of science ihrrimtniiiwmm beyond the Soviet borders 7
SE1CRJT
Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2012/04/06 : CIA-RDP82-00039R000100020043-2