Libmonster ID: BY-3014
Author(s) of the publication: E. D. LEBEDKINA

International scientific and cultural cooperation of the USSR with foreign countries has repeatedly attracted the attention of Soviet researchers. 1 However, many aspects of this problem have not yet received scientific development. This article aims to reveal the directions and principles of international scientific cooperation laid down by V. I. Lenin, to show the great work that was already being done in the first years of Soviet power to develop relations with the foreign scientific community and international scientific organizations, the role and significance of the USSR Academy of Sciences in the development of these relations.

Immediately after the victory of the Great October Revolution, the Communist Party and the Soviet Government developed important measures aimed at creating and accelerating the development of Soviet science. It was based on Lenin's principle, which reflects the objective necessity of continuity of achievements of social progress, as well as the position that socialist science is the legitimate heir to all previous development of human knowledge. "Science demands... taking into account the experience of other countries, " 2 wrote V. I. Lenin. "To adopt all that is truly valuable from European and American science," he noted, "is our first and foremost task." 3 Lenin's idea of the need for broad international scientific cooperation was clearly formulated in the greeting of the Central Executive Committee and the Council of People's Commissars of the USSR to the Academy of Sciences on the occasion of its 200th anniversary in 1925. This document noted that "science is international in its very essence and does not tolerate national restrictions. Only through the generalization of the scientific work of all nations and only through constant and continuous international communication can science move forward. " 4 Mikhail Kalinin, Chairman of the Central Election Commission of the USSR, in his greeting address to the participants of the General Meeting of the Academy of Sciences convened in Leningrad on September 5, 1925 on the occasion of its 200th anniversary, which was attended by 98 representatives of scientific institutions from 24 countries of the world, noted,

1 A. M. Gak. V. I. Lenin and the development of international cultural and scientific relations of Soviet Russia in 1920-1924. Voprosy istorii, 1963, No. 4; A. E. Ioffe. The beginning of international scientific relations in the Soviet country. Bulletin of the Academy of Sciences of the USSR No. 10, 1967; also named V. I. Lenin and the development of International Scientific, Technical and cultural ties of the Soviet Country. "Lenin's foreign policy of the Soviet country. 1917-1924". Moscow, 1969; S. G. Korneev. Nauchnye svyazi Akademii nauk SSSR s stranami Azii i Afrika [Scientific relations of the USSR Academy of Sciences with the countries of Asia and Africa]. International Organizations, Moscow, 1969.

2 V. I. Lenin. PSS. Vol. 41. p. 65.

3 V. I. Lenin. PSS. Vol. 45, p. 206.

4 Pravda, 8. IX. 1925.

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that the Government of the Soviet Union "for its part will be ready to support all steps aimed at the unhindered and broad international communication of scientists" 5 .

Of course, international scientific communication of scientists and the exchange of knowledge were carried out in Russia even before 1917. But with the birth of the Soviet state and the creation of a new socio-economic base for the development of science, the social role of the latter has changed dramatically, as well as the forms, nature and content of international scientific cooperation. It has become a special form and concrete manifestation of the principle of peaceful coexistence, which is objectively conditioned by the existence of two different socio-economic systems in the world. As early as 1918, the Communist Party and the Soviet Government set ambitious tasks for Russian science to actively participate in the restoration and development of the national economy of Russia, transforming it from a backward country into an advanced one. Attracting the old Russian intelligentsia and advanced scientists to the side of the Soviet government and involving them in solving the problems of socialist construction was an important task of the proletarian state and the Communist Party. In January 1918, A. V. Lunacharsky, at the request of V. I. Lenin, contacted the President of the Russian Academy of Sciences A. P. Karpinsky on this matter .6 At the end of March of the same year, the Academy announced its agreement to work with the Soviet state. On April 12, under the chairmanship of V. I. Lenin, a meeting of the Council of People's Commissars was held, which determined the future of the Russian Academy of Sciences in the conditions of the existence of the power of workers and peasants .7 The Academy began to turn into the headquarters of Soviet science, which was later, in 1925, fixed in its name: "Academy of Sciences of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics" 8 .

To solve the problems associated with the rise of the economy, agriculture and culture of the country, which heroically repelled the blows of internal counter-revolution and interventionists, it was necessary to use the achievements of both domestic and foreign scientists. It was also necessary to restore international scientific ties between Russian science and lay the foundations for truly equal cooperation between it and foreign science. Already on April 25, 1918, the secretary of the Council of People's Commissars N. P. Gorbunov, in a letter to V. I. Lenin about the need to create an Institute of Nutrients, insisted that this scientific institution should "concentrate all the research done and being done in Russia, and study the results achieved in Europe... Finally, "he wrote," individuals should be sent to Germany, Austria, France, Italy, and England to study the case on the spot. It may be rational to involve foreign forces in this work as well. " 9 Given the enormous importance of this proposal, the Soviet government quickly responded to it and already on June 31, 1918 issued a decree on the establishment of the Russian Food Scientific and Technical Institute. In accordance with the decree, the foreign department of the Institute was granted the right to enter "into direct relations with similar foreign organizations..."10 .

On August 16, 1918, the Council of People's Commissars of the RSFSR issued a decree signed by V. I. Lenin, V. D. Bonch-Bruevich and N. P. Gor-

5 Archive of the Academy of Sciences of the USSR (hereinafter - AAN), f. 12, op. 1, ed. chr. 36, l. 233; "Pravda", 8. IX. 1925; " Organization of science in the first years of Soviet power. 1917-1925". L. 1968, p. 205.

6 "Organization of Science in the first years of Soviet power", p. 24.

7 See "V. I. Lenin on Science and Higher Education", Moscow, 1967, p. 334.

8 See Izvestia, 28. VII. 1925.

9 "Organization of Science in the first years of Soviet power", p. 285. (The text of the document was first published in the journal" National Economy " No. 4, 1918, p. 11-12.)

10 "Decrees of the Soviet Government", vol. III, Moscow, 1964, pp. 120-122.

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on the creation of a Scientific and Technical Department under the Supreme Economic Council, whose task, in particular, was "to promote the establishment of contact between Russian and foreign scientific and technical institutions and societies in order to make timely use of the latest achievements of science and technology"11 , August 20, 1918, the Council of People's Commissars granted this department "the right of direct relations with scientific and technical technical institutions around the world on issues of its competence " 12 . In the same year, 1918, the vice-president of the Academy, V. A. Steklov, addressing the Soviet government, noted the need to "resume scientific ties with foreign countries, because it is impossible to work in isolation from the rest of the world"13 . In 1919, he spoke out in favor of establishing scientific ties with other countries. All-Russian Congress of Physiologists. Then the permanent secretary of the Academy S. F. Oldenburg in a letter to the People's Commissariat of Education emphasized: "The issue of international scientific relations is one of the most difficult at present... The Academy still holds the same view of the necessity and extreme importance of international relations between scientists and scientific institutions of all countries. " 14
The Soviet government and V. I. Lenin personally fully supported these appeals of the scientific community! As a result, already in 1919 representatives of Soviet science began to establish scientific ties and first contacts with foreign scientists. This cooperation sometimes even contributed to the establishment of official diplomatic relations between the Soviet State and the countries of the West and East. It is no accident that A.V. Lunacharsky, emphasizing the difficulties of the first steps of Soviet diplomacy, later wrote: "We relied on it (the Academy of Sciences - E. L.) in negotiations with neighboring powers for peace." 15 Soviet scientists have repeatedly been part of many delegations to negotiate various issues with capitalist countries.

The directions in which international scientific relations began to develop in the first years of Soviet power were as follows: visits of Soviet scientists to various countries to get acquainted with scientific institutions and give lectures there, reception of foreign specialists in our country, participation of Soviet scientists in international congresses, conferences and symposiums, exchange and acquisition of scientific literature abroad, etc. equipment, as well as participation in the activities of international scientific organizations.

One of the first trips of Soviet scientists, physicist V. A. Henri and philologist B. M. Lyapunov, took place in 1919 to Germany and France. In the same year, a group of scientists - mathematician, mechanic and shipbuilder A. N. Krylov, physicists - A. F. Ioffe, D. S. Rozhdestvensky and P. L. Kapitsa-began preparing to leave for England, Germany and Holland. 16 In 1920, Academician N. Y. Marr traveled to Austria, Italy, France and Germany, where he worked in scientific institutes and libraries of these countries. At the same time, Academician F. I. Shcherbatskaya was sent abroad. For three years, he lectured in England, France, and Sweden on the history of Asian peoples and literature, published several scientific papers abroad, and participated in international congresses and conferences. Major Soviet scientist M. I. Ne-

11 Ibid., pp. 212-215.

12 "Organizations of Science in the first years of Soviet power", p. 82.

13 Leningrad Branch of the Archive of the USSR Academy of Sciences (hereinafter - LO AAN), 1918, f. 2, op. 1, 12, l. 113.

14 TsGA RSFSR, f. 2306, op. 19, ed. hr. 18, ll. 265-267.

15 A. V. Koltsov. Lenin and the Formation of the Academy of Sciences as the Center of Soviet Science, L. 1969, p. 115.

16 LO AAN, f. 759, op. 3, d. 244, l. 17.

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menov, who founded the Radiological Institute in 1919 with the direct support of the Soviet Government, traveled to France and Germany during these years .17 In 1922, Academician V. I. Vernadsky was sent to the Sorbonne to give lectures on descriptive mineralogy, geochemistry, and crystallography, as well as to conduct research on the study of radioactive minerals. In a letter from the permanent secretary of the Academy, S. F. Oldenburg, it was noted that "such lectures by Russian scientists at foreign universities will be extremely useful. The wall between us and foreign science has already been breached, something more normal is beginning, and it is desirable to strengthen it. " 18 Soviet scientists who traveled abroad actively used the knowledge gained abroad to create new scientific institutes and laboratories.

V. I. Lenin closely followed the first trips of our scientists and specialists abroad and often personally gave instructions on the organization of such business trips. In 1921, when the question arose about sending scientists and specialists of Glavtorf to Finland, Sweden, Denmark and Canada to study the hydraulic method of peat extraction, he wrote to the Presidium of the Supreme Economic Council: "I ask you to move this case as a matter of urgency... I insist on the need to speed up this matter extremely and be sure to notify me of the actual execution. " 19 Attaching great importance to the broad and timely exchange of scientific information and the use of data on the development of foreign science and technology, V. I. Lenin thoroughly familiarized himself with reports and reports on trips abroad, and demanded their timely submission and publication. He personally requested that Glavtorf be required to "submit a detailed report on the work done"at the end of the above-mentioned business trip of specialists to Finland, Sweden and other countries .20 A. V. Lunacharsky, sending a letter to Professor M. I. Nemenov, sent from Berlin, about the restoration of scientific ties with Germany, wrote: "Vladimir Ilyich, we have sent the outstanding scientist and excellent lecturer Nemenov, who created our Radiological Institute, abroad. I'm sending you his material, and I think you'll be interested to see it. " 21
V. I. Lenin believed that the establishment of scientific ties with Germany, France, England, and the Scandinavian countries would benefit the development of Soviet science. On September 1, 1922, he wrote to V. A. Avanesov, who was sent abroad to study and collect materials on the scientific organization of labor: "I've heard that you speak excellent German. If not, find an interpreter. Maybe there is something useful in the Scandinavian countries as well... If you are allowed to see one of the best institutions in Germany or Norway, you should stay for a week"22 . V. I. Lenin closely followed the scientific research and experiments conducted abroad. Recommending to restore ties with scientists in Great Britain, he asked the editors of Izvestiya VTSIK at the end of 1921 about the latest experiments of the British industry in the field of railway technology: "Tests were carried out in London on the idea of the Russian engineer Kuznetsov,

17 In 1924, when evaluating the results of his trips abroad, M. I. Nemenov noted: "In the autumn of 1920, I was one of the first citizens of the Soviet Republic to receive a business trip abroad... My trip abroad was of great importance for the Institute and of no small importance for the renewal of our relations with German scientists" (Central State Administration of the RSFSR, f. 301, op. 2, ed. chr.210, ll. 21-31).

18 LGAORSS, f. 2555, op. 1, unit hr. 300, l. 36.

19 V. I. Lenin. PSS. Vol. 52, p. 130.

20 Ibid.

21 "Organization of Science in the first years of Soviet power", p. 376.

22 V. I. Lenin. PSS. Vol. 54, p. 278.

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they proved that a 30-horsepower truck freely pulled a 9 - to 10-car train at a speed of up to 20 versts per hour. " 23
V. I. Lenin was openly indignant when, during the difficult years of Soviet power formation, destruction and constant shortages, other scientists and engineers, returning from foreign trips to their homeland, did not submit proposals or projects to improve the efficiency of the socialist economy, raise the economy or restore the country's scientific and technical potential. "The Scientific and technical department of the Supreme Economic Council seems to have fallen completely asleep," he wrote indignantly in September 1921. " We must either wake it up, or move forward with the real task of dispersing these scientific scoundrels and be sure to establish exactly who will be responsible for familiarizing us with European and American technology properly, on time, practically, not on time- state-owned... We must ensure that the scientific and technical department of the Supreme Economic Council and its numerous foreign idlers stop idling, or that we replace them with others. " 24 N. P. Gorbunov, Managing Director of the Council of People's Commissars of the USSR, analyzing Lenin's attitude to the development of science and technology abroad, later (in 1924) wrote: "Vladimir Ilyich Lenin attaches great importance to familiarizing our technical forces with foreign science and technology. Vladimir Ilyich gives instructions to the Supreme Council of National Economy to organize the work of familiarizing ourselves with foreign science and technology so that we have several copies of the most advanced European and American cars on the move, available for inspection by all comers."25
V. I. Lenin attached great importance to the establishment and development of scientific ties with the United States. As you know, diplomatic relations between the USSR and the United States were established only in 1933. However, contacts between Soviet and American scientists began to develop much earlier. Already in the first years of Soviet power, our scientists began traveling to the United States to get acquainted with scientific institutions and laboratories, as well as to host American scientists. In 1923, Academician I. P. Pavlov visited the Rockefeller Institute for Medical Research, the physiological laboratory of the University of Chicago, and a number of institutes in Michigan and Boston. In addition, during his trip to America, he gave a course of lectures on physiology and higher nervous activity, familiarizing American scientists with the latest research and achievements of Soviet medical science.

For all his enormous employment, Lenin carefully followed the development of science and technology in the United States, highly appreciating its achievements. In a letter to the People's Commissar of Posts and Telegraphs of the RSFSR V. S. Dovgalevsky, V. I. Lenin wrote on May 11, 1921, on the development of telegraph and telephone communication in Russia: "I have heard that in America such works have already led to successful practical results." 26 Lenin carefully studied the famous system of scientific organization of labor of the American scientist F. P. Tolstoy. Taylor's formula, designed for maximum compaction of the working day. While sharply criticizing it as a form of capitalist rationalization of labor, V. I. Lenin simultaneously emphasized that "we must not forget for a moment that the Taylor system represents an enormous advance in science, systematically analyzing the production process and opening the way to an enormous increase in the productivity of human labor," and considered it necessary to use all new methods of production and labor organization. .

23 Ibid., p. 84.

24 V. I. Lenin, Soch. Vol. 53, pp. 163-164.

25 "Organization of Science in the first years of Soviet power", p. 97.

26 V. I. Lenin. PSS. Vol. 54, p. 255.

27 V. I. Lenin. PSS. Vol. 36, pp. 140-141.

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Despite his busy schedule, Lenin found opportunities to meet with scientists. On January 7, 1921, he received the Vice-president of the Academy of Sciences V. A. Steklov, its permanent secretary S. F. Oldenburg, and the head of the Military Medical Academy V. P. Tonkov. V. I. Lenin discussed in detail with scientists the report of the Academy of Sciences, sent to the Council of People's Commissars on November 22, 1920. A large part of it was devoted to international scientific relations. It stressed that " it is necessary to take measures to restore scientific communication between Russia and the West. Without these measures, the work of Russian scientists largely loses its meaning. " 28 When the Communist Party and the Soviet Government established international scientific cooperation in the first years of Soviet power, they hoped to use the information obtained in this way to stimulate Soviet science and improve the country's economic situation.

V. I. Lenin was indignant when the requests of scientists for foreign trips were met with departmental barriers or met with unjustified refusal. In 1921, I. P. Pavlov asked to be allowed to travel to Finland. For some reason , the People's Commissariat of Foreign Affairs delayed issuing a visa. A.V. Lunacharsky informed V. I. Lenin29, who immediately wrote to I. S. Unshlikht: "Issue it immediately, without the slightest delay, without any formalities"30 . On the same day, November 15, 1921, I. S. Unschlicht informed Vladimir Ilyich that this instruction had been fulfilled. However, V. I. Lenin once again reminds the secretary: "Please check the execution" 31 .

In the six years from 1918 to 1924 (of which four years fall on the civil war, intervention and blockade), the Soviet state, guided by Lenin's idea of the need to develop international scientific cooperation, sent 103 scientists abroad. Among them were 34 academicians, including such prominent scientists as geneticist N. I. Vavilov, zoologist E. N. Pavlovsky; physicist P. P. Lazarev, geologist A. E. Fersman, physiologist I. P. Pavlov, physicist P. L. Kapitsa, mathematician V. A. Steklov, geochemist V. I. Vernadsky, neuropathologist V. M. Bekhterev and other 32 . During these years, many Soviet scientists were honorary members of foreign academies of sciences. In turn, our Academy has elected famous foreign scientists such as A. Einstein, N. Bohr, P. Langevin, E. Rutherford and others.

The Communist Party and the Soviet Government paid great attention to the spread of socialist ideology among workers in science and culture. V. I. Lenin believed that social sciences had a great role to play in this matter. Therefore, he personally developed a draft Regulation on the establishment of the Socialist Academy of Social Sciences (SAON). According to V. I. Lenin, it was also necessary to involve Marxist scientists from foreign countries in its creation .33 The Special Commission for the establishment of the SAON was instructed by V. I. Lenin to " immediately enter into an exchange of opinions on this question, as well as on the question of its composition, with non-Russian and foreign Marxists."34 On July 15, 1918, the All-Russian Central Executive Committee of the RSFSR approved the Regulations on the SAON. At this meeting, it was decided to continue negotiations with Russian and foreign Marxists on participation in the work of the new academy. Following the decisions of the All-Russian Central Executive Committee and instructions of V. I. Lenin,

28 A. V. Koltsov. Op. ed., pp. 215-216.

29 "V. I. Lenin on Science and higher education", p. 355.

30 V. I. Lenin. PSS. Vol. 54, p. 19.

31 "Lenin's Collection" XXIII, p. 329.

32 "Lenin's Foreign Policy of the Soviet Country", p. 257.

33 See V. I. Lenin on Science and Higher Education, p. 115.

34 V. I. Lenin. PSS. Vol. 36, p. 373.

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The organizers of the SAON began to actively correspond with the fraternal Communist parties. On June 21, 1918, the Russian Bureau of the Communist Party of Latvia reported that it recommended P. I. Stucka, Fr. Rozin (Azis) and Yu. Danishevsky 35 . On July 25, 1918, the Central Executive Committee approved the list of full members of the SAON. Its members included A. A. Bogdanov, V. D. Bonch-Bruevich, A. V. Lunacharsky, N. K. Krupskaya, M. N. Pokrovsky, M. A. Reisner and others, as well as prominent figures of the international communist and labor movement-K. Liebknecht, R. Luxemburg, A. Gilbeau, Fr. Mehring, K. Zetkin, Yu. Yu. Markhlevsky et al. 36 . In a letter to M. A. Reisner, A. Guilbeau wrote:: "Believe me, I am very honored by this election, which I see as an endorsement of my propaganda of the ideas of revolutionary international communism and Bolshevism." 37 On October 1, 1918, a solemn meeting was held to mark the opening of the Socialist Academy of Social Sciences. Welcoming speeches were delivered by A. M. Kollontai, M. N. Pokrovsky, M. A. Reisner, P. I. Stuchka and others. Describing the tasks of the Academy, M. A. Reisner said that "it should occupy a special place in a number of other scientific institutions, since it is deeply international in terms of the composition and topic of scientific tasks, uniting in its ranks the best Thinkers of socialism from all over the world."38
In the development of international scientific relations in the first years of Soviet power, a special place was given to book exchange, the acquisition of literature and scientific equipment abroad. For this purpose, scientists were sent abroad, to whom the Soviet state provided ample opportunities, despite famine, post-war devastation, lack of funds and currency. The Academy of Sciences and the Supreme Economic Council paid much attention to the acquisition of scientific literature and equipment abroad. The Council of People's Commissars of the RSFSR allocated 100 thousand rubles in gold to A. N. Krylov in 1920 for the purchase of literature, as well as equipment for the physics and mathematics cabinet of the Academy of Sciences .39 In 1921, A. N. Krylov, who was in London, telegraphed to the Vice-president of the Academy of Sciences V. A. Steklov: "Today we are sending the second transporant of books (so in the text - E. L.) purchased for the mathematical classroom" 40 .

On June 14, 1921, Lenin signed a decree establishing the Central Interdepartmental Commission for the Purchase and Distribution of Foreign Literature (Cominolit). In a letter dated September 30, 1921 to the Cominolit, emphasizing the great importance of setting the case for scientific and technical information and timely information of domestic scientists and specialists about the latest achievements of foreign science and technology, he wrote: "The main task that the Cominolite should set itself is to ensure that in Moscow, Petrograd and major cities of the Republic, 1 copy of all the latest foreign technical and scientific journals and books (chemistry, physics, electrical engineering, medicine, statistics, economics, etc.) of 1914-1921 will be concentrated in special libraries. and all periodicals would be received on a regular basis. " 41 V. I. Lenin entrusted scientific and technical information and distribution of foreign scientific periodicals to the outstanding scientist O. Y. Schmidt. Since September 1922, a Bureau for International Book Exchange was established at the Academy of Sciences,

35 AAN, f. 350, op. 1, ed. hr. 2, l. 4.

36 Ibid., ll. 30, 31.

37 Ibid., l. 60 (text), l. 61 (translation).

38 Izvestia, 2. X. 1918.

39 M. S. Sominsky. Abram Fedorovich Ioffe, Moscow, 1964, p. 215.

40 LO AAN, f. 162, op. 2, d. 214, l. 35.

41 V. I. Lenin. PSS. Vol. 53, p. 228.

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which has established close contacts with scientific institutes in the UK, India, and Mexico.

International scientific cooperation of Soviet scientists also developed through international scientific organizations. Our Academy of Sciences took an active part in the activities of many of them. Shortly after the Great October Socialist Revolution, a group of British and French scientists sent an official notification to the Academy of Sciences. "Rejoicing at the opportunity that presents itself," it said, "to renew relations with the highest scientific institution in Russia, which have already been interrupted for so long, we hasten to send you, together with this letter, a copy of the charter of our Union (geodesy and Geophysics), as well as the International Research Council, which you should also join at the same time"42 . In 1918, Academician V. A. Steklov, emphasizing the need to restore scientific ties between the Academy of Sciences and foreign countries and the importance of conducting joint scientific research, appealed to the Soviet Government with a proposal to resume membership in international scientific organizations.

The Soviet state and V. I. Lenin attached great importance to restoring the participation of our scientists in the activities of international scientific organizations. V. I. Lenin, despite the acute lack of financial resources, sought opportunities to help restore such cooperation. When in 1921 Academician N. M. Knipovich sent him a memo on the expediency of renewing the membership of the Russian Academy of Sciences in the International Council for the Exploration of the Seas (or Marine Research), established in 1901, and paying membership fees for previous years in the amount of 15 thousand rubles, his proposal was immediately supported by the head of the Soviet Government. Renewal of membership in this organization, N. M. Knipovich pointed out, was necessary for studying the problems of oceanography, general hydrobiology of the seas, biology of commercial marine animals, protection of natural resources of waters and statistics of fisheries. V. I. Lenin carefully read the report of N. M. Knipovich and wrote to N. P. Gorbunov: "We must treat with full confidence and an offer to accept it immediately. Run it through the Small SNK quickly and tell me if there's the slightest delay. " 43
In his memoirs, Academician N. M. Knipovich recalls:: "I wrote to Vladimir Ilyich at that time, saying that it would be necessary to return the requisitioned amount to the International Council as an exception, in view, first, of the enormous scientific and applied significance of this international association, and secondly, in view of the very valuable services rendered by the institutions of the International Council to our Russian research enterprises. At the end of the letter, I added that I would consider it very desirable that our Soviet country should again become a member of the International Council. When I returned to Petrograd, I learned that Lenin was most sympathetic to my letter. I was asked by the Secretary of the Council of People's Commissars if I would accept the negotiations, and on January 16, 1922, the Council of People's Commissars decided to instruct me to bring to the attention of the International Council for Marine Research the following questions:-

42 "Organization of Science in the first years of Soviet power", p. 72. The International Union for Research (since 1931 - the International Council of Scientific Unions) was established in 1899 and sought on a non-governmental basis to unite the efforts of the Academy of Sciences of various countries and special international scientific unions and to coordinate relations and cooperation between them. This Advice still exists today. In September 1970, its General Assembly was held in Madrid, which was attended by a Soviet delegation headed by the President of the USSR Academy of Sciences M. V. Keldysh.

43 V. I. Lenin. PSS. Vol. 53, p. 307.

44 Resolution of the Council of People's Commissars of 16. I. 1922. "Organization of Science in the first years of Soviet power", p. 397.

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We believe that negotiations on the settlement of financial relations with it are possible if Russia's participation in the International Council is resumed. Both of my proposals were accepted. " 45
When the State Plan for Electrification of Russia was finally developed and approved, V. I. Lenin tried to mobilize all the forces of science and technology for its implementation. Evaluating the GOELRO plan for the future of Russia, V. I. Lenin declared at the VIII All-Russian Electrotechnical Congress on October 9, 1921, that "with the help of all the electrical engineers of Russia and a number of the best, advanced scientific forces of the whole world, with the heroic efforts of the vanguard of workers and working peasants, we will master this task, we will create electrification of our country." 46 Vladimir Ilyich advised using international scientific organizations to get recommendations and help. And in some cases, scientists in Western countries, despite the persistent attempts of the bourgeois press to paint a picture of the "death of Russian civilization" and the "nightmares of Bolshevism", responded warmly to the appeals of Soviet Russia. C. P. Steinmetz, an American electrical scientist, addressed V. I. Lenin through the Society for Technical Assistance to Soviet Russia47 with the following letter: "Dear Lenin, I will always be very happy if in the field of technology, and especially in the field of electrical engineering, I can help Russia to the best of my ability, both with instructions and advice."48 V. I. Lenin did not hesitate to respond to the appeal of the American scientist. "In particular," he wrote, "I would like to thank you for your offer to help Russia with advice, instructions, etc." 49
In 1921, during the famine in Russia, it was established under the chairmanship of the well-known Norwegian scientist and Arctic explorer F. A. Kropotkin. Nansen Committee for International Assistance to Russia. The committee included many prominent European scientists, writers and public figures. One of them, A. Einstein, wrote: "I am fully convinced that it is a pleasant and sacred duty of all scientists placed in more favorable conditions to meet their Russian colleagues halfway, and that the latter will do everything in their power to restore international communication."50
At that time, not only the scientists of our country were interested in restoring international scientific ties. The prestige of Russian science has always been extremely high, and the beneficial influence of D. I. Mendeleev, N. E. Zhukovsky, A. P. Karpinsky, I. P. Pavlov, V. A. Steklov, V. I. Vernadsky and many other famous Russian scientists has always been recognized by scientists and the advanced public of all countries of the world. In 1920, the writer G. Wells visited Russia. The Petrograd Commission for the Improvement of the Life of Scientists at its meeting on September 28, 1920, emphasized that the purpose of his visit was "to get acquainted with the material and spiritual life of the Russian people, and in particular with the state of science; he is a representative of that part of British society that seeks to restore communication with Russia and its people"51 . During his stay in Russia, G. Wells was received by V. I. Lenin, and met with Soviet scientists A. P. Karpinsky, S. F. Oldenburg, and I. P. Pavlov. On his return to England, he published an article in the Daily Telegraph that

45 "Lenin and the Academy of Sciences", Moscow, 1969, p. 248.

46 V. I. Lenin, Soch. Vol. 44, pp. 135-136.

47 The center of this society was located in New York, and its academic secretary was for some time the Soviet representative B. V. Losev.

48 "Letters to V. I. Lenin from abroad", Moscow, 1966, p. 192.

49 V. I. Lenin. PSS. Vol. 45, p. 148.

50 Izvestia, 27. I. 1921.

51 "Organization of Science in the first years of Soviet power", p. 374.

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It did much to dispel the fog of lies and fables about Soviet Russia, about the "collapse of Russian science" and "the horrors of Bolshevik anti-intellectualism." Paying tribute to Russian scientists, he wrote: "They bombarded me with a whole series of questions about modern scientific development in countries outside of Russia, and I was ashamed of my ignorance in these matters... Our blockade has cut them off from all scientific literature. They have no new tools, no paper, they work in unheated laboratories. It's amazing that they keep working, but they do. Pavlov makes experiments of amazing scale and ingenuity in the field of animal psychology. Manukhin discovered a way to treat tuberculosis " 52 .

This fact also shows how high the prestige of the Russian Academy of Sciences was abroad. The famous American scientist Pickering, in his articles on the importance of national academies of Sciences, put the Russian Academy of Sciences in one of the first places . The Paris Academy of Sciences, when inviting Academician V. I. Vernadsky to France in 1922 to give lectures at the Sorbonne, noted: "The lectures of a famous scientist are very highly valued and extremely necessary for French students." 54 The recognition of the authority of Russian science was demonstrated by one of the first international conferences held immediately after the October Revolution in our country - the International Limnological Congress, held in Moscow in 1924. President of the Congress German Prof. Tineman noted that "Russian limnologists are of prime importance in this branch of science, while abroad is almost unaware of Russian scientific achievements, and the congress will undoubtedly connect representatives of the Western scientific world more closely with scientists of the USSR." 55
The task of expanding international scientific cooperation was fully formulated by Academician V. A. Steklov in February 1924 in a memorandum to the Soviet Government on the organization of the Standing Committee of Science under the Council of People's Commissars. the USSR. This committee, according to the scientist, should have paid special attention to international scientific organizations, "in the activities of which not only the scientific institutions themselves, united in separate specialties, but also the governments of the respective countries were interested...". Analyzing the objective need to develop cooperation with such organizations, V. A. Steklov noted, in particular, the important role of the International Research Union 56 . Assessing the role of Russian science for the development of international scientific cooperation, the Academy's vice-president V. A. Steklov and S. R. Oldenburg wrote in a memo to the USSR Council of Sciences on February 20, 1925: "Its broad activity (Academy of Sciences. - E. L. Not only does it extend to the entire territory of the U.S.S.R., but it often goes beyond this broad limit, taking on a worldwide character, especially in the field of scientific research, in the practical applications of which all states are interested, such research that can have value and significance if conducted only on a global scale."57
It was during the first years of Soviet power that the foundations of international scientific cooperation based on completely new principles were laid. The decisive role in their formulation belongs to V. I. Lenin, who tirelessly took care of the development and prosperity of Russian science, and determined its enormous role and significance in the construction of socialism. "Only socialism," he emphasized, " is an os-

52 Cit. according to the journal: "Science and its workers", 1921, N 1, p. 34.

53 AAN, f. 2, op. 1-1916, d. 50, ll. 36-39.

54 "Organization of science in the first years of Soviet power", p. 383.

55 Ibid., p. 395.

56 TsGAOR USSR, f. 5446, op. 37, ed. hr. 7, ll. 146-148.

57 "Organization of science in the first years of Soviet power", p. 200.

page 53

it will free science from its bourgeois fetters, from its enslavement to capital, from its servitude to the interests of dirty capitalist greed. " 58
The Communist Party and the Soviet State, following Lenin's precept, are constantly paying attention to the development of science and international cooperation. A special place in this cooperation is now occupied by the comprehensive relations of the USSR Academy of Sciences with the academies of sciences of fraternal socialist countries, based on the unity of ideological, political, and socio-cultural interests. The exchange of scientific and technological achievements, participation in international conferences, congresses and programs, mutual trips of scientists, coordination of the activities of various institutions are carried out on the basis of long-term plans-forecasts" reflecting the objective needs of the development of the economy, science and culture and raising the material and spiritual level of the peoples of our countries. The Academy of Sciences of the USSR takes an active part in the work of the Council for Mutual Economic Assistance (COMECON), and its scientists - economists, sociologists, philosophers, historians, and specialists in the exact sciences - contribute to the development of long-term plans for international economic, scientific, and technical cooperation between the socialist countries. These plans are based on Lenin's immortal ideas about the community of socialist nations, their unification and mutual assistance in building a new society.

Participation in international scientific organizations still plays an important role in the international cooperation of Soviet scientists. The Academy of Sciences of the USSR, its institutions and institutes, as well as individual scientists are now members of 140 international scientific organizations, contributing to the development of world science and scientific and technological progress. International scientific relations between Soviet scientists and scientists from more than 70 foreign countries, based on Lenin's principle of peaceful coexistence of states with different socio-political systems, reflect the objective need to develop economic, scientific and cultural cooperation in the name of strengthening peace and international security.

58 V. I. Lenin. PSS. Vol. 36, p. 381.

page 54


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