The rise and fall of T. D. Lysenko / Zhores A. Medvedev ; translated by I. Michael Lerner, with the editorial assistance of Lucy G. Lawrence.

  • Medvedev, Zhores A., 1925-2018.
Date:
1969
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Licence: Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International (CC BY-NC 4.0)

Credit: The rise and fall of T. D. Lysenko / Zhores A. Medvedev ; translated by I. Michael Lerner, with the editorial assistance of Lucy G. Lawrence. Source: Wellcome Collection.

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    The Historical Background of the Controversy 17 collective farm life. You know them very well. But they are no less dangerous, no less sworn enemies also in science. No little blood was spilled in the defense of vernalization in the various debates with some so-called scientists, in the struggle for its estab¬ lishment; not a few blows had to be borne in practice. Tell me, com¬ rades, was there not a class struggle on the vernalization front? In the collective farms there were kulaks and their abettors who kept whispering (and they were not the only ones, every class enemy did) into the peasant's ears: Don't soak the seeds. It will ruin them. This is the way it was, such were the whispers, such were the kulak and saboteur deceptions, when, instead of helping col¬ lective farmers, they did their destructive business, both in the scientific world and out of it; a class enemy is always an enemy whether he is a scientist or not.^^ This speech of Lysenko greatly pleased Stalin who, at its end, exclaimed; Bravo, comrade Lysenko, bravo! It has now become entirely evident that the transformation of the debate on vernalization into a struggle with alleged class enemies was an attempt at intimidation and annihilation of scientific opponents that for many years blocked ascertain¬ ment of truth in this area. It may not be superfluous to note that, up to 1934, Lysenko's preparation in the theoretical problems of biology was very weak; therefore he easily fell under the strong influence of Prezent. Lysenko knew this himself. In the speech cited above, he said: I often read Darvvin, Timiryazev, Michurin. In this I was helped by my collaborator, Prezent. He showed me that the roots of the work I am doing lie in Darwin. And I, comrades, must confess here straightforwardly in the presence of losif Vissarionovich [Stalin] that to my shame I have not studied Darwin prop¬ erly. INITIAL ATTACKS ON VAVILOV Nikolay Ivanovich Vavilov, who in subsequent years was the leader of the trend opposing Lysenko, was by 1929-1931 a