Аннотация: Gleb Krzhizhanovsky - Leonardo da Vinci of the Soviet era. A historical and biographical essay.
Gleb Krzhizhanovsky - Leonardo da Vinci of the Soviet era. A historical and biographical essay.
1. Stereotypes and traditions of presenting the history of Russial science.
After observing individual cases of the non-usefulness and ineffectiveness of a 'Russial science' (and sometimes the clearly negative direction of its activity), attention moves to her history.
What do we see in the history of science?
In the history of science there are stereotypes such as:
1. Lomonosov was at the head of Russian science (truth and illusions are mixed in this view),
2. Russial academics after 1917 suffered from hunger and devastation, then they were persecuted, and then they lived well,
3. Lenin respected Academician Pavlov and provided him with a good ration,
4. The Vavilov brothers suffered a lot ...
5. The fate of a real Soviet scientists is tragic ...
Etc.
These stereotypes are unsystematic, fragmented, partially true, partially false.
Then, somehow unexpectedly, from the "depths of centuries" a lines by famous soviet poet and singer Vladimir Vysotsky emerge about docents [associate professors] with candidates.
And a little later the 90s of the 20th century (with their ruin) are already appearing, and after the 90s - the following decades with their inability to bring scientific benefit and with a scientific meaninglessness ...
2.Stereotypes of the presentation of facts about the development of Soviet science by Gleb Krzhizhanovsky.
There are no stable stereotypes of presenting the history of science to the public. And without stereotypes, it is difficult for both lecturers and the public to navigate the information.
The attitude towards Krzhizhanovsky is generally respectful. He was a companion, friend of Lenin (how to relate to this in a modern conditions?) And drew up the GOELRO plan (it's good).
But the GOELRO plan has long been completed, it is a thing of the past, and Gleb Krzhizhanovsky can be forgotten without problems.
Somewhere in the heads and books, a historical stereotype is imperceptibly hidden. This historical stereotype had a certain explanation in the late Stalin era. To speak about Krzhizhanovsky respectfully, but to talk of him and to recall him as little and less as possible.
Useful, and possibly pleasant person - G.M. Krzhizhanovsky - falls out of the historical process. And the historical process to some extent loses its logic.
The advanced Soviet science is at an own plot, and Gleb Krzhizhanovsky, with his revolutionary activities, his acquaintance with Lenin and the GOELRO plan, is settled on the own historic territory.
The official - traditional - history of Soviet science applies to Gleb Krzhizhanovsky in much the same way as the "History" by Karamzin is acting in relation to the Rzeczpospolita (Commonwealth) and to the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. Historical facts and processes are acquiring a quality, a property of transparency, invisibility. A historical logic and a historical continuity were lost.
3. Gleb Krzhizhanovsky - a civilizational figure, the founder of Soviet science.
There is a need for independent thinking.
Works about Krzhizhanovsky (it seems that there are not so many serious biographical works about him) and the works by Gleb Krzhizhanovsky himself are not classified, are not a secret ones. But a modern Internet user cannot easily find them. They lie somewhere in book storages - possibly not digitized (allegedly because of a lack of a necessity).
But, still, a book is discovered on the Internet:
Yu.N. FLAKSERMAN 'Gleb Maksimilianovich Krzhizhanovsky', Publishing House 'Nauka', Moscow, 1964. [Ю.Н.ФЛАКСЕРМАН 'Глеб Максимилианович Кржижановский', Издательство 'Наука', Москва, 1964]. (All citations in this essay - except for quoting from Vladimir Vysotsky - from the book by Yu.N. Flakserman).
The text of the book by Y.N. Flaxerman after scanning was recognized with numerous errors. But this text is suitable for reading.
The book was published about five years after the completion of the earthly path of G.M. Krzhizhanovsky. His years of life were January 12 (24), 1872 - March 31, 1959.
After reading chapter eight of this book (chapter 'G. M. Krzyzhanovsky and Science'), a strange impression arises.
It turns out that glorious Soviet science has its founder (or, in any case, one of the main founders) - Gleb Maximilianovich Krzhizhanovsky.
Who spoke about this? When? As you know, Lomonosov 'drove' [did not give a quiet life for] foreigners, Mendeleev invented vodka, and Pavlov conducted experiments on dogs ...
In general - what is science?
It's a smart men? Who are meditating on smart topics?
You can think a lot and thoughtfully. But to the creation of a developed economy, to advanced space achievements, such a mental process can to be approaching during a centuries...
The head of the State Planning Commission (Gosplan), Gleb Krzhizhanovsky, became in 1929 the vice-president of the Academy of Sciences and undertook its reorganization.
The role of the Academy of Sciences in the new socio-economic reality is changing. The Academy is turning into one of the elements of the mechanism of long-term and medium-term national economic planning and implementation of plans (direct subordination to the government, amending the charter, moving to Moscow).
'In 1933, G. M. Krzhizhanovsky presented to the USSR State Planning Committee a plan for the development of a network of scientific institutions of the Academy, training personnel for them, and building buildings.'
Gleb Krzhizhanovsky begins to improve the structure of the Academy - for example, to create the technical department [branch, unit] of the Academy of Sciences.
'In the same year [1935], a department [branch, unit] of technical sciences was created at the Academy of Sciences, in which G. M. Krzhizhanovsky headed the energy group. The creation of this department completed a large organizational stage in scientific work and in solving technical, applied problems .... Throughout the entire history of the Academy of Sciences in Russia, only a few scientists, such as M.V. Lomonosov, have been working in the field of technical, applied sciences. However, its [Academy of Sciences] structure never highlighted [never had a separately organized] a technical sciences. In this area, G. M. Krzhizhanovsky made the most notable contribution. As early as 1932, a group of technicians was created as part of the department of mathematical and natural sciences, headed by academician S. A. Chaplygin [Sergey Chaplygin], and in 1934, under the chairmanship of G. M. Krzhizhanovsky, - the Technical Council of the Academy of Sciences. The Council combined a metallurgy and mining , a chemical technology, a transport, an electrical engineering and a construction.
And finally, in 1935, a special department [branch, unit] of technical sciences was created.
A development of technical sciences... created the need for new scientific [research] institutes and laboratories. In 1931 the first technical institute of the Academy of Sciences was created - the Energy Institute, which was named after G. M. Krzhizhanovsky, in 1933 - the Institute of Fossil Fuels, and then five more institutes in various fields of technical sciences. All these institutes were created on the initiative of Gleb Maximilianovich, were organized under his direct supervision. He led the Energy Institute as a director. '
G.M. Krzhizhanovsky began to plan for the development of science in the USSR, to plan the activities of the Academy of Sciences.
"G. M. Krzhizhanovsky outlined two ways of drawing up a single plan - from below, from the tasks of developing individual scientific disciplines, - and from above, in the form of particularly significant topics that define the tasks of the entire staff of the Academy, proceeding from the needs of the development of science as a whole and the needs of the development of the country's economy. '
A person whose consciousness covers particularly significant topics, who is understanding the needs of the country's economy, - is one of the statesmen, unique in qualifications and importance.
'... Gleb Maksimilianovich began his activity [as vice president of the Academy of Sciences] with the development of a five-year development plan for the Academy of Sciences.'
G.M. Krzhizhanovsky was a man from the past. He 'came' to the USSR from the civilizational structures of the past.
The USSR had no a cultural, civilizational conditions for the appearance of such people of such type. And if they did appear, then they could occupy a strategic position only under the condition of a unique favorable combination of circumstances - for example, thanks to many years of friendly relations with the first person of the state - with V.I. Lenin (as it was for Krzhizhanovsky). Under such an order [situation], the USSR had no chance of maintaining scientific leadership when Gleb Krzyzanovsky withdrew from a vigorous activity.
The most glorious page of the Soviet science is the space project. In connection with the space project, the traditions of historiography require to speak out, to announce the names of two east-republicans: Konstantin Tsiolkovsky and Sergei Korolev.
However, the facts, the logic of the development of economics, science and technology in the USSR complement these two surnames:
Tsiolkovsky - Krzhizhanovsky - Korolev. Not very far from them - and Nikolay Zhukovsky, other scientists and technicians.
Gleb Maximilianovich Krzhizhanovsky completed his earthly path on March 31, 1959.
23 years later - not such a big period - a song by Vladimir Vysotsky 'Comrades Scientists' appeared (it is dated 1972-1973).
'- Comrades scientists! Associate professors [docents] with candidates!
You are tortured by the exes [X - plural form], You are entangled in the zeros!
You are sitting, decomposing molecules into atoms,
Forgetting that a potatoes decaying in the fields ... "
Ignorance, misunderstanding of the role and contribution of Gleb Krzhizhanovsky leads to insoluble problems in assessing the prospects for the development of modern "Russial science".
We have to make an assumption about the current situation. Without a figure (figures) of the level of Gleb Krzhizhanovsky, comrades scientists have become entangled in zeros ... (However, a state that is bewildered and does not know what to do with 'science' continues to give non-zero amounts to comrades scientists ...).
March 25, 2020 08:28
Translation from Russian into English: March 27, 2020 21:40.
Владимир Владимирович Залесский 'Глеб Кржижановский - Леонардо да Винчи советской эпохи. Историко-биографический очерк'.