A Criticism of Bioethical Violations in Soviet Union: Human-Animal Hybrid in Mikhail Bulgakov's 'Heart of a Dog'

Abstract

INTRODUCTION[|]The main objective of this study, which presents a short history of debates on bioetics in Russia is to examine closer the founding functions of literature in the construction of Russian bioethics. [¤]METHODS[|]A former medical doctor Mikhail Bulgakov's novella 'Heart of a Dog' tells the story of Doctor Preobrazhensky, who tries to develop a hybrid species by transferring a human pituitary into a dog's body and his experimanetal creature. The novella is examined within the framework of ethical violations commited against humans and animals during the Soviet period.[¤]RESULTS[|]The findings show that the novella criticizes a series of state-funded radical experiments, which Russian biologist Ilya Ivanov carried out during 1920's in Africa. Ivanov was prohibited to continue the experiments due to the fact that the subject group were not selected on a voluntary basis. [¤]DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSION[|]It was concluded that bioethical violations in Soviet era arose from the ideological instrumentalisation of medical and biological sciences. Besides, the violations, which had not yet been defined then under the concept of bioethics, were brought to the agenda through literary works long before the entrance and circulation of the concept from western languages into Russian. [¤]

Keywords

• bioethics
• biopolitics
• human-animal hybrid
• mikhail bulgakov
• ilya ivanov.