The fates of zoologists who left Russia after 1917 are discussed. Although their stories are quite different, many of the people mentioned managed to remain in the profession and even make a significant contribution to science whilst working in the West. The waves of post-revolutionary emigration spread throughout the world. Initially, scientists sought to settle in countries like France, Germany, the Balkans, Czechoslovakia, England and the USA, where they would have an opportunity to continue their scientific studies. Among the heroes of the article, there are both young scientists, who were about 25–30 years old at the time of the revolution, and well-established zoologists, as well as doctors of science and professors who were around 45–55 years old. The study of the biographies of 15 Russian emigrant zoologists allows us to discern several different options that lay ahead for them abroad: (1) Successful integration, as a result of having already made names for themselves during their Russian periods. (2) Creation of a significant name within the scientific community from nothing only after emigration. (3) Existence within the western scientific community, but without any possibility of a significant career. (4) Change of profession due to the inability to apply their zoological knowledge under the circumstances of emigration. Not all of them were able to realize the goal of being a scientist in the West, but in Soviet Russia, most of them would not have had any future at all. Russia lost them, but the world gained them.
The Roads of Russian Emigrant Zoologists
Sergei I. Fokin
Primo
2022-01-01
Abstract
The fates of zoologists who left Russia after 1917 are discussed. Although their stories are quite different, many of the people mentioned managed to remain in the profession and even make a significant contribution to science whilst working in the West. The waves of post-revolutionary emigration spread throughout the world. Initially, scientists sought to settle in countries like France, Germany, the Balkans, Czechoslovakia, England and the USA, where they would have an opportunity to continue their scientific studies. Among the heroes of the article, there are both young scientists, who were about 25–30 years old at the time of the revolution, and well-established zoologists, as well as doctors of science and professors who were around 45–55 years old. The study of the biographies of 15 Russian emigrant zoologists allows us to discern several different options that lay ahead for them abroad: (1) Successful integration, as a result of having already made names for themselves during their Russian periods. (2) Creation of a significant name within the scientific community from nothing only after emigration. (3) Existence within the western scientific community, but without any possibility of a significant career. (4) Change of profession due to the inability to apply their zoological knowledge under the circumstances of emigration. Not all of them were able to realize the goal of being a scientist in the West, but in Soviet Russia, most of them would not have had any future at all. Russia lost them, but the world gained them.I documenti in IRIS sono protetti da copyright e tutti i diritti sono riservati, salvo diversa indicazione.
