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The life of Nikolai Vavilov, was great and tragic
all at the same time. His name now graces streets in Moscow and St. Petersburg,
a number of research institutes, a glacier in the Pamir Mountains, another
one - on the Severnaya Zemlya archipelago, and even a crater on the Mon.
The overwhelming energy of Nikolai Vavilov lives on in his present-day
followers.
Nikolai Vavilov was born on November 25, 1887 into the family of a reasonably
wealthy businessman. He did not follow in his father’s footsteps, however,
and instead, opted for a career in natural sciences. Nikolai worked hard,
and really loved what he was doing. “Life is short, there is no time to
lose,” he used to say. Nikolai Vavilov never did and, although he died
when he was only 55 years old, he left behind a whopping 350 treatises
on genetics, biology, geography and selection. Many of his works have since
gone down in the history of science. Nikolai Vavilov was an avid traveler
and during his many trips across the world he put together a unique collection
of plants and seeds. Back home he established a number of research institutes.
Nikolai Vavilov was one of the few Russian scholars who braved the rigors
of the 1917 October revolution and the Civil War that followed, and stayed
on to work in Russia. He tried hard to persuade his hardship-stricken friends
and colleagues packing up to leave to stay on and work for the benefit
of Russia…
During the Twenties and Thirties Nikolai Vavilov made a series of brilliant
discoveries in genetics and plant selection which made his name famous
all over the world. His work gave a powerful impetus to Russia’s farming
sector, especially in the north, helping resolve the food problem. Nikolai
Vavilov was also a great organizer of science and did much to establish
the Agricultural Academy and a number of research institutes.
Vavilov was thinking well ahead of his time. Small wonder people unable
to comprehend his ideas, criticized and questioned the efforts he made
in genetics and plant selection. Those who promised gargantuan harvests
without any scientific substantiation, sneered at Vavilov’s encyclopaedic
knowledge, workaholic attitude and non-proletarian lineage. These ill-wishers
launched a smear campaign against the scientist which severely hampered
his work.
Officially elected to preside over the 7th International Congress of Geneticists
held in Edinburgh in 1939, Nikolai Vavilov was not allowed to attend the
conference… The organizers asked Professor Cru to substitute for
the missing Russian scholar. Professor came out on stage and when they
were about to put on him the presidential mantle, he said: “You invited
me to perform a role which would be best played out by Professor Vavilov.
This mantle won’t fit me right. Remember, it was made for Professor Vavilov,
who is a way bigger a man than I am…”
Nikolai Vavilov’s worldwide fame was something his enemies just couldn’t
ignore. And still, they decided to destroy him, which in Stalin’s times
was quiet easy. All you had to do was to report someone to the authorities
and he would most certainly wind up in jail.
Vavilov’s biggest enemy was Trofim Lysenko, a man whom Encyclopaedia Britannica
later described as the 20th century’s best-known pseudo-scientist. This
overly ambitious self-taught experimenter insisted that genetics and selection
were not at all needed to grow bigger crops. His followers unleashed a
noisy campaign of defamation against Nikolai Vavilov adding heavy political
undertones to what was a purely scientific dispute. Vavilov was accused
of undermining the socialist reforms an agriculture and, before long, was
arrested. He denied all the charges brought against him, but the Stalin
dreaded secret police was keen to eliminate the outstanding scholar. Completely
emaciated by the inhuman conditions of his incarceration, Nikolai Vavilov
died in January of 1943…
This great man’s contribution to science is commeasurable with that done
by Ernest Rutherford and Ivan Pavlov. The civic courage shown by Nikolai
Vavilov inspired many generations of scientists who followed his lead.
His words “They can burn us alive, but we’ll never renounce what we believe
in” have become an anthem of scientists everywhere…
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