Nikolai Vavilov was born in a family of merchants. Before the revolution, his father Ivan Ilyich Vavilov in charge of the manufacturing company “removed and Vavilov,” Alexander’s mother was the daughter of M. Vavilov-cutter artist. Predisposition to the natural sciences emerged the boy in early childhood. Father collected in a home library of many rare books, which played an important role in shaping the young Vavilov interests. In 1911 he graduated from the Agronomy Faculty of the Moscow Agricultural Institute.
After training Vavilov went abroad to complete their education.
He was able to work in the largest genetic laboratories that time. On his return, he begins to study plant immunity.
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In 1916, during the Persian campaign, Vavilov was called in as a consultant for a mass disease of Russian soldiers and quick to understand the reasons. It turned out that the seed particles enter the local flour intoxicating ryegrass (Lolium temulentum), and with them the fungus Stromatinia temulenta, which can cause serious poisoning or even death. Once in Iran, Vavilov received from the military authorities to send the resolution to study local cereals scientific expedition inland. Studying samples found, the scientist concluded that the immune system of plants depends on the environmental conditions in which the initially formed species. Also, being in the Pamirs, Vavilov concluded that the isolated mountainous areas such as the Pamirs are the centers of origin of cultivated plants. So the idea, which was later turned into a doctrine of the Vavilov centers of origin of cultivated plants. Total scientist identified seven geographic centers, where have gone all world crops.
Continuing research activities, Vavilov became a renowned scholar.
He speaks at numerous international conferences and organizes about 180 botanical-agronomic expeditions around the world.
The result of these expeditions was to create a unique collection of cultivated plants, composed in 1940, 250 thousand. Specimens. This collection has been widely used in breeding, becoming in fact the first gene bank in the world. In 1930 the All-Union Institute of Applied Botany and New Crops was reorganized into the All-Union Institute of Plant Industry (VIR), whose head Nikolai Vavilov remained until August 1940
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it is known that during the siege of Leningrad died of starvation 28 employees VIR, but it was not touched a single grain or tuber from Vavilov funds. Employees of the institute managed to keep materials that can help the post-war reconstruction of agriculture.
Nikolai Vavilov was the first who began to study the immune system of plants and genetic nature.
He believed that in the long evolution of the plants can develop resistance to the pathogen. And as a result of constant mutations occur “arms race” between plants and pathogens.
So every variety of wheat or another culture can be susceptible to a single species of microorganisms and be immune to other
Another achievement Nikolai Vavilov -. The law of homologous series in genetic variation. Researcher have found that similar allelic forms (forms of genes responsible for the development options of the same sign) were repeated in different, albeit related plants. This means that the volatility of similar origin plant genera and species carried out common (parallel) path. This discovery was very important for breeding, as made it possible to predict the presence of not yet detected alleles. It should be remembered that at that time did not know how to carry out artificial mutation using a chemical or exposure to ionizing radiation, so the search for the necessary alleles had to make in natural populations
At the end of 1920 -. The beginning of the 1930s in the Soviet Union carried out a campaign against the remnants of inner-party opposition. The campaign was fabricated several high-profile show trials – “academic work”, “Shakhty affair”, “business union bureau of the Central Committee of the RSDLP (m)”, “Industrial Party Trial” and “the matter Labour Peasant Party”. According to the “cause of the Workers ‘and Peasants’ Party” by 1931 were arrested by about 1.3 thousand people across the country
Among them -.. Professor Timiryazev Agricultural Academy, Moscow State University and guidance Narkomzem and the People’s Commissariat.
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Many of those arrested were threatened to be shot. Vavilov spoke in support of some of the convicts, which subsequently played a role in the initiation of proceedings against him. During the 1930s in the Soviet press has repeatedly appeared Vavilov charged with direct falsification of events in agriculture. The scientist had to perform regularly with denials. It is believed that the case against Vavilov beginning to fabricate since 1931 just on the basis of such publications and denunciations
It is also an important role in scientific Vavilov played his opponent -. Academician Trofim Lysenko. Young Soviet agronomist and biologist, who comes from a peasant family, has quickly become the darling of the Soviet press. In many ways, then played the role of the ability to engage in self-promotion Lysenko.
His big promises is quite consistent with the spirit of the time, whether it is winter cultivation of peas, vernalization, or the creation of new varieties of grain for 2.5 years (the term for the time unrealistic, but it is quite appropriate to the spirit of the first five).
Vernalization – controlled cooling of the seeds before sowing them – has become a political campaign-Union. In the collective and state farms urgently create hut-laboratory, to find “foremost”, which in these huts soaked seeds and then to crop kept them at a low temperature, guided Lysenko instruction recalled journal «Nature» in 1992 . With the help of the scientific results of fraud and outright misinformation Trofim Lysenko makes a spectacular career, receiving numerous awards and prizes. In 1937, he became deputy chairman of the Union of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR, and in 1939 – the Academy of Sciences of the USSR. With the backing of such a strong administrative support Lysenko easily cracked down on opponents in the scientific community.
In the first half of 1930, Nikolai Vavilov, and a young, budding agronomist Trofim Lysenko’s full support. In 1934 Lysenko on the recommendation of the Vavilov was elected a corresponding member of the Academy of Sciences and the USSR Academy of Sciences, and the year before Vavilov, Lysenko presented for the Stalin Prize. Nevertheless, since 1936, when Lysenko led efforts to defeat the Soviet genetics, starting with a statement of denial of the laws of Mendel, Nikolai Vavilov found himself on the other side.
During start a fight many Soviet geneticists were arrested. Vavilov himself for a while protected from harassment authority of a major international scientist.
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But in 1939 the closest supporter of Academician Lysenko Isaac Present to the Chairman of People’s Commissars of the USSR VM Molotov a memorandum, in which, among other things, spoke about Vavilov:
«Chora capitalist mongrels from genetics have recently begun to sing and our domestic Morganists. Vavilov made several public statements states that “we will go to the fire”, portraying the situation as if in our country, revived the days of Galileo. Behavior Vavilov and his group acquires recently completely intolerable. Vavilov and vavilovtsy completely unbelted, and it is impossible not to conclude that they will try to use the International Genetics Congress to strengthen its position … Currently preparing for participation in the Congress is entirely in the hands of Vavilov, and it further in any way can not be tolerated. If judged by the aggressiveness with which the act Vavilov and his associates, it does not exclude the possibility of a kind of political demonstration “in defense of science” against her “harassment” in the Soviet Union. Congress can become a tool in the fight against the turning of our Soviet science to practice, to the needs of socialist production, means to combat advanced science “(Present II. Memorandum of the Council of People’s Commissars Chairman Vyacheslav Molotov on International genetic congress. Russian State Archive).
On the memo was visa President of Agricultural Sciences academician Lysenko. It is believed that, having familiarized with its content, Beria, Molotov asked to issue a warrant to arrest Vavilov.
The decision to arrest was said about the anti-Soviet subversion, as well as to discredit the theories of Trofim Lysenko of vernalization and intraspecific crossing. In particular, said:
«It has been established that in order to refute the new theories in the field of genetics and vernalization nominated by Soviet scientists Lysenko and Michurin, a number of departments on the instructions VIR’a Vavilov carried out a special operation to discredit the theories put forward by Lysenko Michurin and promoting … obviously hostile to the theory, Vavilov has been fighting against the theory and work Lysenko and Michurin Tsitsino that are crucial for a / SSSR economy, saying we were, are and will be “anti” – go to the stake for our views and no one of our positions will not yield. It is impossible to give a position. We must fight to the end “(Resolution on the arrest of Nikolai Ivanovich Vavilov, August 6, 1940.)
<-.! Place 8303429, / science / 2016/06 / 13_a_8303429.shtml, nm2015 / v2 / article / incut, incut5_link ->The investigation in the case of the Vavilov lasted 11 months. During this time, he was summoned for questioning 400 times, while the total interrogation time was 1.7 thous. Hours. Meanwhile, in the case of the Vavilov added another charge – the so-called leadership of the Labor Peasant Party (TKP). In fact, it is anti-Soviet political union never existed, but in the case of TCH 1296 people were arrested. They were mostly political, public and scientific figures. All took place in the case of TAP were rehabilitated after a retrial in 1987.
In the first days after the arrest of Nikolai Vavilov rejected all accusations. However, later in his testimony during questioning changed. According to some sources, Vavilov gave a confession only after torture.
9 July 1941 a meeting of the Military Collegium of the Supreme Court of the USSR, in which case the Vavilov considered. It lasted only a few minutes. The trial was held in the absence of witnesses and defense. Military Collegium sentenced to death Vavilov. The verdict of the scholar was convicted in the manual by several anti-Soviet organizations of sabotage aimed at undermining and eliminating farm system, as well as espionage and disclosure of information are state secrets of the Soviet Union.
Several times Nikolai Vavilov He sent a petition for pardon or commutation of fate, but was refused. In connection with the approach of the German troops to Moscow October 15, 1941 the scientist etapiruyut in Saratov prison №1. Conditions of detention in her left much to be desired: the lack of walks, a ban on the use of the prison store and receive transmissions. The prisoners did not even have soap. Severe conditions of detention undermined the health of Vavilov. He has twice been treated in the prison hospital, he suffered dysentery and was sick with pneumonia, and in the last year of life suffering dystrophy. However, in 1942 the deputy head of the NKVD of the USSR Vladimir Merkulov sent a motion to change Vavilov capital punishment by imprisonment in labor camps of the NKVD for 20 years, because of the possibility of using the Vavilov to work with “serious defense implications.” And the motion was approved.
But for Nikolai Vavilov, nothing has changed. He remained in the Saratov prison.
The decision to ease the fate of Vavilov to jail management never came. Affected due to the deterioration in the conditions of Saratov which began July 23, 1942 the German advance on Stalingrad. January 26, 1943 the doctor on duty prison hospital Stepanova NL He witnessed the death of a scientist: “Me doctor Stepanova NL, medical assistant Skripin ME, examined the corpse of a prisoner Vavilov Nikolai Ivanovich born. 1887 convicted under Art. 58 to 20 years, died in the prison hospital №1 of Saratov January 26, 1943 at 7 pm _ minutes. Build correct, sharply reduced fatness, pale skin, musculoskeletal system unchanged. According to history, the prisoner Vavilov, Nikolai Ivanovich was in the prison hospital on treatment from 24 January 1943 to the occasion of pneumonia. Death was due to the decline of cardiac activity “(the death of the Act entered into. The doctor on duty Stepanova, the nurse on duty Skripin. State Archive of the Russian Federation).
August 20, 1955 the Military Collegium of the USSR Supreme Court quashed the verdict and stopped the case against Vavilov for lack of evidence. Nikolai Vavilov was acquitted and reinstated in the list of academicians. But Soviet science has been irreparably damaged. Repression against biologists continued. Trofim Lysenko, who after the arrest of the director of the Institute of Genetics, Vavilov continued to promote his unscientific theory. In fact, where geneticists actually equated to “disloyal pests”, Soviet geneticists ceased to exist after the August meeting of Agricultural Sciences in 1948. It was only after the resignation of Khrushchev in 1965 Lysenko was dismissed from the post of Director of the Institute of Genetics of the Academy of Sciences of the USSR.
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