Four Essays on Russia Today Science

...And Mr...

...The bourgoisie, attempting somehow to justify its anti-popular policy, compels scientists to draw from scientific discoveries reactionary conclusions which conform to the misanthropic ideology of imperialism [a rather clear case of projection—A.B...

...It would, indeed, be inconceivable for the Soviet leaders to abandon ideology...

...who had dared to oppose him in the past were now forced to recant and to embrace theories to which they obviously did not subscribe...

...Whenever the Soviet leaders have been able to benefit from both, they have not hestitated to play a double game—i.e., to attack a theory on the philosophical plane while making practical use of it in laboratories, factories and farms...

...The debacle thus seems to have reached its climax...

...When, in 1950, Stalin repudiated the dogma of N. Y. Marr, until then the recognized authority in linguistics, and thus effected deep changes in the very practical realm of language instruction, he accused Marr of perversions of Marxism-Leninism...

...On July 31, 1953, however, Izvestia carried a long article on crop yields by a prominent scientist which, curiously enough, did not mention Lysenko by name in referring to the work being carried on in research institutions...

...grain production fell and, moreover, grass production did not increase, with the result that there was neither enough grain nor enough fodder...

...It is obvious why the Soviets have been so emphatic about practical results: In order to build a mighty state, to industrialize the country and, above all, to create a powerful armament industry, they have had to rely on the knowledge and skill of scientists, technicians and engineers...

...The change, then, amounts to a shift in emphasis...

...Under Stalin, reversals of the latter type occurred quite frequently...

...And if a contradictory theory, so much more in keeping with the principles of Communism, claims to yield practical results?why, so much the better...

...consequently, it also seems to challenge the omniscience of the Communist dictators, their ability to foresee all processes of human life and guide them into "proper" channels...

...Yet, it is important to remember that the advantages derived from this incessant ideological barrage are also primarily practical from the Kremlin's point of view...

...The Soviets have denounced Western scholars for using a "subjectivist" approach to science which ostensibly maintains that many scientific phenomena can never be understood and therefore cannot be harnessed in the service of mankind...

...His phenomenal climb was accompanied by the virtual destruction of Soviet genetics and the arrest, banishment and death of some of its ablest representatives...

...January 6, 1954...

...The Lysenko case offers the most vivid illustration of the inroads of Communist ideology into science...

...It is obvious for this reason that scientists upholding the principles of subjectivism look upon science pessimistically...

...Although the inevitable recantations may be less abject than in the past, and the fall of erstwhile heroes this time may not necessarily bring their physical liquidation, the basic principle governing all processes in Soviet life remains the same: They are Government-inspired, Government-led, Government-implemented...

...The decline of natural science in bourgeois countries, its ideological stagnation [sic!], is not an accidental phenomenon...

...In this conflict, the deciding factor has always been which offered the greater practical advantages...

...After making Lysenko the scapegoat for the Soviet grain shortage, the Party—this time in the pages of Pravda (March 26)—bitingly rebuked him for backing one of his adherents, V. S. Dmitriev, after the latter had been "unmasked" as an impostor and dismissed from his job...

...Whatever the exact reasons, the new regime has given considerable evidence of a certain disregard for several rigid tenets of "Marxism-Leninism" —whether in its agricultural policy (the concessions to the peasants belie the oft-repeated claim that the "Soviet man" has lost his attachment to private property), in international relations (the incredible request to be included in NATO obviously violated the principle of the eternal hostility of the "capitalist camp"), or in the treatment of science...

...Imperialism requires scientists to improve technology, and especially the methods of exterminating people, in order to obtain maximum profit and to further militarize the economy...

...Let us cite the same Soviet author again: "The theoretical confusion engendered by subjec-tivist methodology in the natural sciences of the bourgeois countries leads away from a scientific conception of phenomena and brings incalculable harm to science...

...and in terms of prestige...

...This he has done in the latest issue of the Journal of General Biology, an organ of the Soviet Academy of Sciences...

...Whenever the ideological advantages seemed to outweigh the scientific ones, ideology would gain the upper hand—as demonstrated, in part, by the rise of Lysenko...

...For instance, the country boasts an Academy of Sciences which carries on important research through various institutes and universities, publishes about thirty scientific journals, and employs over 6,000 scientific workers and over 15,000 people in administrative and service functions...

...This tendency, we may assume, has now been checked...

...Then came a truculent broadside in the main organ of the Communist party Central Committee, Kom-munist (No...

...Comrade Turbin wrote to the editors of the journals in which the attacks appeared, but his letters did not see the light of day...

...One cannot but brand such a reception as an attempt to stifle criticism...

...Invariably, however, they were rationalized in terms of the official ideology...

...But by twisting, misinterpreting and falsifying the facts, the Soviets are able to bolster their own all-embracing philosophy and attack the nefarious theories of the "bourgeoisie...

...His statement had an electrifying effect on the assembled scientists and was of profound significance for the subsequent course of Soviet biology...

...But while it would be foolish to predict the future course of Soviet Communism, one thing must be said: As long as Soviet Russia remains a full-fledged totalitarian society, all changes within it must come from above, by fiat...

...In the November-December 1952 issue of the Journal of Botany, there appeared sharp criticism of some of Lysenko's views by a noted Soviet biologist, N. V. Turbin...

...Of course, Heisenberg and Bohr, as well as virtually all their followers, have never claimed that the purely empirical theories about the nature of the electron lead, in the words of one Soviet writer, to "the replacement of science by faith...

...Harry Schwartz, in an article in the April 11 New York Times, ascribes it to the fact that Lysenko's methods simply have not created farm abundance...

...Scientists are favored by the state both financially (high salaries, monthly bonuses, etc...

...Here is how Pravda described the audience's reaction: "This announcement evoked the general enthusiasm of the members of the session...

...Schwartz remarks: "The whole incident shows once again that the Kremlin values results above all else...

...the transformation of hard wheat into soft belongs to the second category, since it can be attributed to unstable hybridization of seed...

...What matters is the use to which the allegedly fatalistic implications of genetics can be put...

...Thus favored by the "greatest scholar of our epoch...

...being determines consciousness"—and with the aims of a government which claims to be able to change human nature by altering the economic and political structure of society...

...Soviet scientists, on the other hand—so runs the official line?subscribing to a "materialist" philosophy, have no use for "metaphysics" and consequently are able to concentrate all their skills on applied science...

...Those Treshin, "In Captivity to Subjectivism—On Proachers of Reuctionary Ideas in Nutural Scionco," Pravda...

...November 16, 1953...

...As we have seen, there exists a conflict between ideology and science in the Soviet Union...

...Numerous commentators on the Soviet scene have maintained that ideological conformity—that is, the imposition of an ideology that ostensibly provides a solution for all economic, social, political, cultural and scientific problems and thus compels all men to act and think alike—has been the primary concern of Soviet leaders...

...In fact, it has made a fetish of practicality and realism, essential ingredients of the "materialistic" aspect of its general Weltanschauung...

...indeed, in the last years of his life it often seemed as if the latter would be perversely sacrificed to the former...

...in fact, they have proved disastrous to Soviet agriculture...

...Similarly, in 1951, when the Soviets realized that they would have to accept Einstein's theory of relativity, their past antipathy to it notwithstanding, they blandly asserted that it was "the bourgeois scientists in the West who regarded the theory of relativity as conflicting with materialism while in reality there is no conflict...

...The expedient nature of this policy is underlined by the fact that, though in 1947 the Soviets discontinued the publication of scientific works in languages other than Russian, they have continued to translate important scientific books published abroad and to study all Western scientific achievements...

...The present Soviet leaders, on the other hand, seem to take a more empirical stand on these matters...

...In fact, Turbin seems to have been told that from now on there would be no holds barred in the campaign against Lysenko, for he blasts one of the cornerstones of "Lysenkoism"—the theory of species formation by environmental means...

...The Kremlin obviously considers fervent patriotism and political xenophobia to be highly desirable goals...

...The author cites impressive statistics to illustrate the support that the Soviet regime has given to scientific work...

...After this indignant attack on principles that have governed Soviet journalism and politics for the past quarter of a century, Professor Turbin was given the opportunity to voice his sentiments again...

...The change is not basic, for the ideological trappings still remain...

...But, whenever the conflict reached the point where scientific progress was bound to suffer, ideology would be relegated to a secondary position—as demonstrated by Lysenko's fall...

...5, March 1954), which demanded that Lysenko's theories be subjected to examination and discussion in a "free struggle of opinion...

...By far the most important advantage that Soviet leaders derive from their emphasis on the bond between scientific and doctrinal principles is the ability to apply the philosophical implications of scientific theories to non-scientific areas as well...

...One thing is certain: Lysenko's debacle reached its climax after Stalin's death...

...The incredible glorification of Russian science, past and present, and the hostility and contempt for "foreign" scientific accomplishments are a case in point...

...The rule of a few over many—the continuance of a totalitarian dictatorship—must be justified, internally and externally, in terms of a consistent doctrine...

...This is made very clear in a recent report on Soviet science by Professor John Turkevitch ("The Progress of Soviet Science," Foreign Affairs, April 1954...

...Millions of hectares of land that should have remained in grain had been put into grass...

...it was not handled in "a creative manner," but instead "turned into a dogma...

...They will undoubtedly be heartened by the outlawing of Lysenkoism...

...Lysenko, of course, is being criticized for his "perversions" of "Michurinism...

...Moreover, these observers assert, ideological conformity has always taken precedence over the achievement of purely practical results in industry, agriculture and technology in general...

...The principles governing scientific research in the USSR are said to be based on the tenets of "dialectical materialism...

...This is illustrated by Soviet hostility to the theories of the famous physicists Werner Heisenberg and Niels Bohr...

...The names of the Communist prophets are intoned at every scientific gathering...

...It has been conditioned by the whole system of imperialism...

...Vehemently, Khrushchev assailed the entire program as "thoughtless, uneconomic and stereotyped...

...This view is not supported by the facts...

...The chronic wishful-thinkers have, in the past year and a half, sought to interpret each concession, each apparent relaxation of controls—whether in the sphere of economics, arts or science—as a step toward the eventual ''democratization" of the Soviet regime...

...Most observers are agreed, for example, that despite all the ranting about "subjectivist views" in nuclear physics, Soviet scientists have quietly gone about using Heisenberg's and Bohr's principles in the production of atomic weapons...

...Marxism-Leninism teaches that science cannot live and develop without recognizing objective principles...

...If Mendelian genetics ever comes into its own again, it will be done stealthily, unostentatiously, through the back door of pristine Michurinism...

...Apparently, the time has come for the Soviet people to learn the truth of Lysenko's claim to scientific fame: His evidence has been "clearly falsified" or, in some cases, can be explained in terms of heredity rather than as "species formation" (precisely what Western biologists have maintained for years...

...For it is not until Khrushchev, and Pravda, Izvestia and Koinmunist, call for a change that new programs appear on the scene, "criticism and self-criticism" take the place of ritualistic incantation, and progress replaces inertia...

...Only consistent application of dialectical materialism can lead science out of the ideological blind alley...

...This was followed by a seemingly insignificant item in the April 3 issue of Trud (organ of the Soviet trade unions), which criticized Lysenko's "undisciplined" attitude toward his duties as a Trade Union Council member...

...Lysenko reached the peak of his career in August 1948, during a supposedly scholarly meeting of Soviet biologists, when he dramatically announced that his theories had been "examined and approved" by the Central Committee of the Communist party...

...However, while there is a good deal of truth in this assertion, the matter is not as simple as all that...

...Lysenko quietly mustered all available support, replied to the criticism, and continued to assert his supremacy...

...His experiments, frequently fallacious and inconclusive, were glossed over or even praised in the press...

...Soviet education stresses technological knowledge and gives assistance to budding young scientists...

...Yet, it is a shift worth noting, for it gives the Soviet regime a greater degree of maneuverability, makes its tactics more flexible, and helps achieve practical results...

...The term "doctrinal rigidity," as well as the relationship between Communist ideology and scientific progress in the Soviet Union, requires some elucidation...

...Lysenko's quixotic ideas are pretty well known, so there is no need to go into them here...

...According to Turbin, the evidence cited by Lysenko in support of his experiment in changing pine trees into spruce belongs to the first category...

...With one impulse, all those present rose from their seats and engaged in a stormy and prolonged ovation in honor of the Central Committee of the party of Lenin and Stalin, in honor of the wise leader and teacher of the Soviet people, the greatest scholar of our epoch, Comrade Stalin...

...Without naming the culprit, Khrushchev attacked one of Lysenko's most cherished theories—the grass-rotation system—charging that it had been distorted beyond reason...

...In a revealing passage, the editorial described the vicious diatribes that greeted Turbin's article in 1952: "Instead of discussing in a factual manner the problems raised by Comrade Turbin, they [i.e., Lysenko's defenders] plastered him with the labels of Weissmanist-Morganist, vulgarizer of Marxism-Leninism, and so on and so forth...

...Under Stalin, ideology tended to play as important a role as practicality...

...It is clear how they fit in with the cardinal tenet of "dialectical materialism...

...Lysenko was to rule supreme for the next few years...

...The Kremlin has shown again and again that it is vitally interested in technological progress...

...In this respect, Lysenko's fall offers additional proof that the new regime is veering slowly away from its predecessor's rigidity toward a more practical attitude on the manifold problems that confront any modern society, totalitarian or not...

...reprinted in Current Digest of the Soviet Pross, New York...

...Thus, final action (if it is final) was presumably initiated by the present rulers of the USSR...

...To deny the existence of objective laws is to deny science...

...In short, the Kremlin can hardly be accused of neglecting one of the main—if not the most important—sources of its strength...

...Although this was followed by more laudatory articles about Stalin's protege, the blow fell on February 23, 1954 in a speech by the current boss of Soviet agriculture, Nikita Khrushchev...

...Trofim Lysenko, undoubtedly a quack and a charlatan, finally convinced Stalin that his process of treating seeds to increase crop yields ("vernalization") could rescue Soviet agriculture from its desperate state...

...Superficially (and it must be borne in mind that this hostility is practiced on an exoteric level—i.e., for "mass consumption"), the theory of the randomness of the electron seems to contradict the determinist tenets of "dialectical materialism...

...But then new winds began to blow...

...What has caused this remarkable reversal...

...At the same time, as befits a totalitarian state, the Soviet leaders have taken pains to fit science into the framework of so-called "Marxist-Leninist-Stalinist" doctrine...

...It is unimportant that genetics does not maintain either that man is a victim of fate or that purposeful human action cannot alter human nature and the world we live in, nor does it matter that in reality one of the major efforts of modern genetics has been directed toward discovering the ways in which genes interact with environment in developing adult organisms...

...SCIENCE The fall of Trofim Lysenko, Stalin's favorite biologist, places Soviet dogma in a new light By Abraham Brumberg Associate Editor, "Problems of Communism'' As in other areas of Soviet life, it is difficult to determine whether the present change in the Kremlin's attitude toward scientific freedom—and, more specifically, the apparent fall of the one-time boss of Soviet biology, Trofim Lysenko—had its origin in the twilight of Stalin's life or was engineered by his successors...

...Kommunist, may appeal for a "free struggle of opinion," but nothing can disguise its essential hypocrisy...