The system of education and science in the USSR was considered one of the best in the world. During the Soviet Union, these industries were considered the leading ones, because the development of the economy directly depended on them. Priority then were technical and natural science areas. Thanks to science, the USSR managed to build up a significant scientific and technical potential, consisting of material and spiritual resources, improve production, he althcare, and social infrastructure.
Change of government
Without science in the USSR, the further development of the new state system would be impossible. The Bolsheviks, who replaced the monarchical tsarist government, were faced with the task of immediately raising the level of literacy and culture of the population. Education became compulsory, but the shortage of qualified personnel was a real obstacle to the implementation of plans. The productive forces and means of the Soviet Union were at zero. Toto raise the country from its knees after the imperialist stagnation, researchers, engineers, scientists of all branches were required. Only science could help in this: Institutes, laboratories, research centers were built everywhere in the USSR.
A breakthrough was also required in the defense sector. Updating military equipment, defining new strategic tasks and retraining the army needed a competent scientific and practical approach.
If we talk about the humanitarian sphere, then in the development of science in the USSR, the main role was played by materialistic natural science, the teachings of Marx and Engels, whose followers were the leaders of the Soviet people. The era of Lenin and Stalin lasted until the middle of the last century. The mass consciousness of capitalist society became dominant, and the class struggle was recognized as erroneous and inconsistent with the consciousness of the revolutionaries. Thus, the development of science in the USSR required a radical revision of everything that was inherited from Tsarist Russia.
Transition and the beginning of progress
The history of science in the USSR dates back to the first months of Soviet rule. Then it became clear to the intelligentsia that the scientific and cultural sectors were at a new stage of development. Under Nicholas II, as under his predecessors, science was treated as something secondary, philanthropic. Only with the advent of socialism did science in the USSR in the 1920s acquire an important state significance.
First of all, it was decided to create the necessary number of research institutes in a short time. Science and education in the USSR pursued the goal of finding a new anddiscovery of the unknown, while in imperial Russia its task was to replenish the personnel reserve of engineers and faculty. In the absence of qualified personnel, it was impossible to develop production, so the Soviet government offered a completely new point of view on the role of scientific and technical research in the life of the state.
Within a few years, a network of special scientific institutions was created. The first was the Moscow Physics Institute, headed by P. P. Lazarev. Following the establishment of a higher educational institution, the Central Aerohydrodynamic Institute, headed by N. E. Zhukovsky and S. A. Chaplygin, then the Moscow All-Union Electrotechnical Institute was opened. Industry research centers began to appear in major regions. Faculties of soil science, biology, geology, chemistry were formed at existing institutes.
The development of science and technology in the USSR was facilitated by the generous funding of the state, which was interested in strengthening ties with national economic enterprises. To implement the requests of the state, it was important to create a connecting economic link. In other words, the Soviet government managed to unite scientific minds and the economy with a single goal - the development and uplift of the country, the desire to improve the living standards of citizens.
Academy of Sciences of the Soviet Union
The opened institutes have become a kind of factory of new scientists who came to vocational schools, technical schools, universities from studentbenches. The monopoly in the field of research was the Academy of Sciences of the USSR. During the years of the initial development of Soviet power, it radically changed its structure. In the 1920s, the Academy of Sciences offered its assistance to the government, expressing its readiness to participate in various studies of industrial, socio-economic, energy, cartographic, agro-industrial and other fields. In response, the Government considered it necessary to provide financial assistance for the development of the Academy.
The main research institution planned to achieve a number of goals. One of them is to form a scheme for the rational distribution of industry on the territory of the Soviet Union, focusing on the proximity of raw materials sources with the least loss of labor resources. Moreover, it was planned to place production facilities based on the degree of processing of raw materials.
At that time, it was considered a rational decision of the Government to create large industrial trusts in the conditions of a monopoly of production concentrated in the hands of several largest organizations. The possibility of independent supply of the main types of raw materials was to become an advantageous condition for the development of the industrial sector. Particular attention was paid to the issues of electrification of industrial equipment, the use of electricity in agriculture. To obtain electrical energy with minimal costs for extraction and delivery, economically advantageous fuel (peat, coal) of low grades was used.
With the resources and facilities available, the AcademySciences compiled ethnographic reports, maps of the location of large deposits of natural resources. It is impossible to enumerate all the achievements of science in the USSR at the beginning of the last century. For example, a commission was created to simplify the spelling of the Russian language, and a reform of the calendar was carried out. In addition, it was during this period that the Kursk magnetic anomaly was surveyed, which contributed to the discovery of iron ore deposits, and thanks to the study of the Kola Peninsula led by Academician A. E. Fersman, led to the discovery of apatite-nepheline deposits.
Small laboratories and classrooms quickly turned into independent institutes and faculties, which faced new challenges. The former Academy, reminiscent of a deserted museum under the emperor, an archive, a library - anything but the Academy, has turned into a major research complex.
Repressions against scientists
Despite the enthusiasm, in the early years of the USSR, science and technology developed in conditions of severe isolation by the capitalist states. The Soviet Union was practically cut off from the outside world. Few scientific books and journals were produced within the country, and the pace of technological progress was slow. One of the few industries that remained popular during this period was biology.
Science in the USSR in the 30s was subject to severe restrictions and persecution. A striking example of this is classical genetics. Representatives of this scientific branch faced a furious misunderstanding of the state. Some scientists adhered to the theory of the French researcher Lamarckthat a person is able to inherit the habits of his parents. However, in the 1930s, the authorities advocated a ban on classical genetics as a scientific direction. Then they spoke of it as a "fascist science". Scientists engaged in research in this direction began to be searched.
In the late 30s, many leading scientists were arrested and shot. For example, N. Vavilov was accused of anti-Soviet activities, and later a death sentence was passed against him, later commuted to 15 years of hard labor. Some scientists were sent to Siberian camps, others were executed (S. Levit, I. Agol). There were also those who, under fear of repression, abandoned their scientific views and radically changed their field of activity. Moreover, a written statement, sealed with a personal signature, was considered proof of a departure from previous ideas.
The plight of Soviet geneticists was not limited to the persecution of the Stalinist regime. Some, in order to strengthen their position in society, denounced their comrades and acquaintances, accusing them of promoting pseudoscience. The negotiators acted consciously, realizing that scientific opponents can be not only isolated from the scientific community, but also physically destroyed. However, without worrying about the immoral side of their misdeeds, they confidently climbed the career ladder.
Main scientific directions of the first half of the 20th century
At the same time, it is worth noting that some scientists still managed to avoid persecution and even continue to do what they love. In spite ofpressures and problems, creative work developed in a peculiar way. Science in the period of the USSR gave impetus to those types of industry that, due to technical imperfection and backwardness, were in a frozen state until the October Revolution. The greatest breakthrough was achieved in the electrical and optical-mechanical fields. Interestingly, until the overthrow of the king in the country, no one manufactured electric incandescent lamps. Optics was in the same deplorable state: there were no specialists in the country who would understand optical devices.
By the end of the first half of the last century, the country was able to fully supply the domestic market with lamps of its own production. Private optics workshops, which were branches of foreign manufacturers, were closed, and they were replaced by qualified graduates of their own universities (professional opticians-computers, designers), who managed to overcome difficulties and bring the optical glass industry to a new level. The chemical industry, mechanical engineering, wood processing industries, food and light industry also successfully developed.
Science during the Great Patriotic War
After the attack of fascist Germany, there was an urgent need for new military equipment, the development of which was carried out by the best engineers. From 1941 to 1945, arms factories worked constantly, seven days a week. Particular attention was paid to the creation of new artillery installations. Soviet scientists reduced the time for the development and implementation of new unitsweapons. For example, the 152-mm howitzer proved to be excellent, but few people know that this gun was designed and manufactured in just a couple of weeks.
Almost half of the types of small arms were put into mass production during the period of hostilities. Tank and anti-tank artillery almost doubled their calibers, and it was possible to improve such indicators as armor penetration, fuel consumption, and firing range. By 1943, the Soviet Union of the USSR prevailed over the Germans in terms of the number of field artillery guns produced per year.
Soviet tanks still outperform analogues of other states in terms of combat characteristics. Speaking about the development of science during the years of the USSR, one cannot fail to mention the design of aircraft and aircraft engines. IL-2 became the most numerous and popular. During World War II, more than two dozen fighters and attack aircraft entered mass production. By all criteria, they had undeniable superiority over the Nazi aircraft.
Discoveries in other fields
It was not only the military industry that developed, practical engineers did not leave their work on research in the metallurgical field: it was during the Second World War that the method of high-speed steel melting in an open-hearth furnace was invented. Active geological activity was carried out and, it is worth saying, it was thanks to this that scientists managed to explore new deposits of iron ore in the Kuzbass, additional places of accumulation of oil and molybdenum ores in Kazakhstan.
In 1944, another significant event occurred forsciences of the USSR. Historical importance is attributed to the first version of the atomic bomb, first created in the Soviet Union. In addition, scientists have successfully mastered biology, medicine and agriculture. New breeding varieties were discovered, the most effective methods for increasing yields were applied.
Scientists of that period (N. Burdenko, A. Abrikosova, L. Orbeli, A. Bakulev and other world-famous families) introduced the latest methods and means of treating wounded soldiers into medical practice and made a number of discoveries: instead of hygroscopic cotton wool began to use cellulose; the properties of turbine oils were used as the basis for some medicinal ointments, etc.
Post-war inventions
The Academy of Sciences of the USSR established many research branches. Research centers under its jurisdiction have appeared in all the republics of the Union, including Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan. In each department, the work of the faculties of nuclear physics was in full swing. The Soviet government, despite the devastation in the post-war years, spared no funds for the development of science and technology. In the USSR, all scientific centers received the latest research equipment. Scientific centers in the Far East and the Urals were opened to study the atomic nucleus. They were provided with the most modern instruments for the implementation of atomic programs.
In order to stimulate scientists, inspire them to new discoveries, since 1950 the state began to award the Lenin Prize every year. The constant support of I. V. contributed to the expansion of the material base of Soviet science. Stalin. Also, according to researchers, Vyacheslav Mikhailovich Molotov, the closest associate of the leader, managed to have a direct impact on science and technology in the USSR. The most outstanding successes of Soviet scientists should be listed. For example, it was the USSR that became the first state in the world to use nuclear energy for peaceful purposes. In the 1950s and 1960s, the first jet engines, quantum generators, and intercontinental ballistic installations were created. The era of space exploration has begun - the first flight was made by Yu. A. Gagarin in 1961.
Theoretical and experimental studies in physics were carried out in the leading scientific centers. In the electronic theory of the interaction of metals, new directions for research have been created. An invaluable contribution was made by scientists of that period who were engaged in developments in the field of nonlinear optics, which made it possible to study the degree of influence of external conditions on the nature of optical phenomena, based on the intensity of light.
The second half of the last century saw the period of the most rapid development of science and culture in the USSR. Biologists, chemists, geneticists, whose activities were persecuted in the pre-war period, continued research in important directions. P. Lukyanenko bred the first varieties of winter wheat, and M. Volsky discovered the properties of living beings to absorb nitrogen from the atmosphere. Academician N. Dubinin received the Lenin Prize for his work in developing theories of chromosome mutations.
This period was also marked by the most important achievements for Soviet medicine. The treatment of cardio-vascular diseases - the first successful surgical operations on the heart were performed. During this period, the first effective drugs against tuberculosis, poliomyelitis and other dangerous infections were created.
Model of domestic science: general provisions
The leap in science and culture of the USSR, which occurred during the existence of this state, is difficult to overestimate. At the same time, the organizational side of domestic science had its drawbacks:
- focus of a powerful scientific complex mainly on the implementation of defense programs, building up the military power of the state;
- lack of double standard technologies that would allow the use of the achievements of the defense industry in civilian industries;
- decentralization of the scientific community, disunity;
- priority of large specialized scientific institutions in the sectoral sectors of science, which required the use of a huge amount of resources;
- discrepancy between the financing of research institutes and the national economic needs for scientific and technical developments;
- state ownership of research institutions;
- isolation from the global scientific community.
The end of the 80s is considered to be the period of the decline of Soviet science. From the moment the Central Committee of the CPSU adopted a resolution on the transfer of research institutes to independent financing, which was adopted in 1987, a crisis began. Any work of scientists was recognized as a product of intellectualactivities and paid for like any other commodity. The scientific community switched to paying for scientific and technical products on a contractual basis, while there was no support from the state. Radical renovation required equipment, premises, human resources. In the last years of the existence of the USSR, experts noted that the state of the technological basis of the national economic sectors was significantly inferior to Western countries.
Conclusion
The breakthrough that science has achieved during the entire existence of the USSR can be called the most cardinal in the entire history of our country. After the October Revolution, a course was set for the formation of the scientific potential of the state, which neither the Stalinist five-year plans, nor the years of repression, nor famine, nor war could prevent. The science of the USSR has become an independent diversified sphere, differing from the foreign one by its steady development in all directions simultaneously. Soviet researchers tried to keep up with the demands of the authorities and worked for the benefit of the country's economy.
Scientists set themselves two main goals: to bring the economy to a new level and strengthen the country's defense capability. Several Soviet decades have become fundamental for the history of science in modern Russia.
Undoubtedly, scientific and technological progress in the USSR was facilitated by the desire of the state leadership to develop and increase existing achievements, discover new inventions in order to close the gap and surpass foreign countries. To solve the problems set by the party and the governmenttasks required huge investments of budgetary funds. State support for the research industry is one of the reasons for the rise of science in the Soviet period.
