Science in Russia and the Soviet Union A Short History

Although by the 1980s the Soviet scientific establishment became the largest in the world, little is known about it in the West. Loren Graham presents the first concise, modern history of science in Russia, the Soviet Union, and the commonwealth of Independent States. Thoroughly up to date, the volume covers the Czarist period, the impact of the Russian Revolution, the relationship between science and Soviet society, the strengths of various scientific disciplines, and the effect of the fall of Communism.

By the 1980s the Soviet scientific establishment had become the largest in the world, but very little of its history was known in the West. What has been needed for many years in order to fill that gap in our knowledge is a history of Russian and Soviet science written for the educated person who would like to read one book on the subject. This book has been written for that reader. The history of Russian and Soviet science is a story of remarkable achievements and frustrating failures. That history is presented here in a comprehensive form, and explained in terms of its social and political context. Major sections include the tsarist period, the impact of the Russian Revolution, the relationship between science and Soviet society, and the strengths and weaknesses of individual scientific disciplines. The book also discusses the changes brought to science in Russia and other republics by the collapse of communism in the late 1980s and early 1990s.

Preface; Illustrations; Introduction; Part I. The Tsarist Period: 1. Russian science before 1800; 2. Science in nineteenth-century Russia; 3. Russian intellectuals and Darwinism; Part II. Russian Science and a Marxist Revolution: 4. The Russian Revolution and the scientific community; 5. The role of dialectical materialism: the authentic phase; 6. Stalinist ideology and the Lysenko affair; Part III. Science and Soviet Society: 7. Soviet attitudes towards the social and historical society; 8. Knowledge and power in Russian and Soviet science; 9. The organizational features and Soviet science; Conclusion; Appendices; Notes; Bibliographical essay; Index.