The Activity of Academy of Sciences in the Northeast of the USSR in 1930s – 1941
Abstract
The history of academic activity in the Northeast regions of the Soviet Union in 1930s–1941 on the basis of analysis of the archival data and the published source material was considered in the article. The beginning of this period is related with reorganization of the Academy of Sciences and its factual “sovietization”, the ending – with restructuring the work in accordance with the wartime requirements. The paper presents the reconstruction of history and shows the meaning of implementation of the most important academic initiatives – scientific and consulting investigations of the Commission (Committee) on the Permafrost, the botanic expedition in the Lena River Delta in 1935, the expedition to Wrangel Island in 1938, Yakutsk Expedition of the Council for the Study of Production Forces and the Obruchev Permafrost Institute in 1938-1940, investigations of the Yakutsk Research Permafrost Station and the All-Soviet Union Conference on Development of Production Forces of Yakutia in 1941. The author determines the key factors, which have influenced the scale and line of academic research in the North-East (strategic activity vector chosen by the governing body of the Academy under the influence of the government authorities and connected with the provision of the economic and business development of the country; the social and political situation in the Soviet Union, and occurrence of the new important actors – The Chief Directorate of the Northern Sea Route and structures that were affiliated with the People’s Commissariat for Internal Affairs. It has been established that the region being studied became the most important testing area for theoretical knowledge development and field experience of various problems of the applied permafrost study in the beginning of 1940s; and geocryology became the core, around which the transition to the brand new stage of academic activity in the North-East took place, that is its steady state study by the Academy of Sciences.
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