卷 45, 编号 4 (2024)

The article provides an in-depth analysis of the correspondence between two prominent Russian scholars in the field of political economy and statistics, Academicians P. I. Köppen and K. S. Veselovskii (also spelled Veselovsky). The documents, held in the St. Petersburg Branch of the Archive of the Russian Academy of Sciences and covering the period from 1842 to 1864, contain information on a wide range of issues related to institutional, cognitive, and personal history of science. The careers of Köppen and Veselovskii exemplify the challenge of personnel succession at the Academy of Sciences’ Department of Political Economy and Statistics. The correspondence demonstrates that these scholars shared their views on the latest findings in statistics, history, and geography; discussed organizational issues within the Academy of Sciences and the Russian Geographical Society, and shared intimate details of their lives. The content of these letters enables us to reconstruct significant details of the implementation of major research projects of the mid-19^th century, including the measurement of the area of Russian provinces, the preparation of a geographical and statistical dictionary, and the study of climate in Russia. The problem of academic staff replacement is highlighted from a new perspective and substantial additions are made to the history of Russian participation in the International Statistical Congresses. The significance of these epistolary materials for the studies of social and cognitive history of Russian statistics is emphasized.

The article examines the history of the journal Sovremennaia psikhiatriia (Modern Psychiatry), published by a group of young Russian psychiatrists in 1907–1917. Initially founded as an academic periodical advocating Kraepelin’s paradigm, it eventually transformed into a forum for the new generation of psychiatrists united by both their unprivileged professional position and the leftist political views. In just a few years the journal, incidentally, consolidated a significant part of the professional community. The article gives several reasons for this. First, a democratic decentralized structure of the editorial board promoted horizontal social contacts and helped to overcome professional hierarchies and geographical distances. The journal managed to consolidate rank-and-file professionals who opposed themselves to the elite of the profession. Second, in 1910–1914 Sovremennaia psikhiatriia took over the public psychiatry agenda and became a forum for discussing key professional issues. Relying on these contacts and the ordinary psychiatrists’ support, the journal’s leaders gradually gained a reputation among their colleagues and, eventually, took the leading positions in the psychiatric profession. It was this particular group that began to cooperate with the Bolshevik regime and work to create a new Soviet psychiatry in 1918.

The article examines the history of the development of the Stalinets caterpillar tractors in the context of tackling the economic and military tasks facing the USSR during the first four Five-Year Plans. The main tasks of the Five-Year Plans are specified. The South Urals region is characterized as a center of industrialization and collectivization pursued in the Soviet Union since 1928. The formation of the South Urals scientific school of agricultural engineering at the Chelyabinsk Institute of Mechanization and Electrification is shown. Performance characteristics of the Stalinets tractors, exemplified by their operation in extreme environments (Yakutian permafrost, World War II, South Pole exploration), are analyzed. It is emphasized that industrially implemented engineering developments significantly exceeded technical and operational characteristics of the heavy caterpillar tractors.

The article is devoted to the history of geographical exploration of the North Caucasus in the 18^th – first half of the 19^th century. It is shown that the region, little explored in the pre-Petrine times, began to be actively studied in the Petrine era (in particular, in the course of the Persian Campaign organized by Peter I). The establishment of the Academy of Sciences in St. Petersburg gave a particularly significant impetus to the exploration of the North Caucasus: the efforts of the 18^th century Academic Expeditions set in motion the complex scientific investigation of the region. The contribution of the military has also been looked into. The source base for this study includes the archival materials deposited in various Russian archives, including the regional holdings. Considerable volume of factual material (manuscripts, reports concerning the highland peoples, topographic notes, etc.), stored in the archives, requires detailed studies and analysis, as most of these contain valuable data about the region that have not been introduced for scientific use yet.

The article examines the biography of Oktavii Konstantinovich Lange, who made a significant contribution to the development of hydrogeology. The longest period of his work was associated with Moscow State University where he headed the Department of Dynamic Geology in 1943–1953 and the Department of Hydrogeology from 1953 to 1964. Lange made a substantial contribution to the creation of a basic stationary network of hydrogeological stations that could help carry out the territorial hydrogeological zoning. His findings concerned with the zonality, dynamics, and regime of groundwater allowed him to practically address the problems of water supply and irrigation in Central Asia, using groundwater.

The article analyzes the activities of the History of Technology Department at the Kiev Polytechnic Institute and, in particular, shows how the course in the history of technology was developed at the Department and delivered to students. Much attention is given to educational and publishing efforts of the head of the Department, A. Yu. Golyan-Nikolskii. The department staff’s interactions with different organizations and higher education institutions in the Ukrainian SSR are described. It is emphasized that, over the decade of its existence, the Department made a significant contribution to education in the history of technology in the Ukrainian SSR, having trained many talented graduates and published several textbooks and dozens of articles on the history of technology. Some sources from Ukrainian and Russian archives are introduced for scientific use for the first time.

The article examines the activities of Ri Sŭnggi (1905–1996), a North Korean chemist, full member of the DPRK Academy of Sciences (1952) and foreign member of the USSR Academy of Sciences (1966). Based on archival materials, publications in the North Korean press, and the works of the Russian and foreign historians, the author undertakes to analyze the milestones in Ri Sŭnggi’s scientific biography, taking into account the socio-political contexts of the formation of North Korean statehood, Ri Sŭnggi’s invention of the synthetic fiber vinalon, and also to highlight the reception of his activities in the DPRK and the USSR. It is concluded that Ri Sŭnggi’s discovery had an important role in establishing scientific and technological ties between the USSR and the DPRK and in the transfer of particular technologies from North Korea to the Soviet Union. The results of Ri Sŭnggi’s scientific activities indicate that the Soviet-North Korean scientific and technological contacts were not exclusively one-sided, and that Soviet scientists and specialists had also adopted the successful experience of their colleagues from the DPRK.