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| August 1948 Session of VASKhNIL | 1/2 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/August_1948_Session_of_VASKhNIL | reference | science, encyclopedia | 2026-05-05T16:12:02.430876+00:00 | kb-cron |
The August Session of VASKhNIL in 1948 (Moscow, July 31 – August 7, 1948) was an extended meeting of the All-Union Academy of Agricultural Sciences named after V. I. Lenin (VASKhNIL), organized by T. D. Lysenko and his supporters, with the approval of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union. It was a key event in the suppression of research in genetics in the USSR and confrontation between "Michurinist agrobiology" and classical genetics. The resolution adopted at the session had negative consequences for the normal development of biological sciences in the USSR – classical genetics was declared discredited, and scientists engaged in this research were dismissed from educational and scientific institutions or transferred to other fields.
== History ==
At the end of the war, the monopolistic position of Lysenkoist biology noticeably weakened. S. I. Vavilov, the brother of the repressed N. I. Vavilov, became President of the USSR Academy of Sciences. Cooperation with the "bourgeois" countries of the anti-Hitler coalition began. In April 1948, T. D. Lysenko's position became so precarious that he wrote a letter to I. V. Stalin, in which he stated that it had become "difficult for him to work" and he was literally "disheartened" due to accusations from supporters of the "metaphysical direction in biology," voiced by none other than the head of the Science Department of the Propaganda Directorate of the CPSU(b) Central Committee, Yuri Andreevich Zhdanov. Since Stalin sympathized with Lysenko, it was decided to hold a session to proclaim the priority of "Michurinist agrobiology" over genetics as a solution to the problem of criticism from geneticists. The preparation for the session was carried out in complete secrecy by T. D. Lysenko and his followers, who received direct approval from I. V. Stalin, despite an attempt by Yu. A. Zhdanov, who oversaw science issues in the CPSU Central Committee, to expose the Lysenkoists. Neither the President of the USSR Academy of Sciences, S. I. Vavilov, nor the Academician-Secretary of the academy's Department of Biology, L. A. Orbeli, were informed about the preparation of the session. Many VASKhNIL members who were opponents of Lysenko were not notified of the upcoming event. To secure a stable majority, Lysenko, bypassing the generally accepted practice of election to the academy, had Stalin personally sign a list approving a group of his supporters, who lacked authority in the scientific community, as full members (academicians) of VASKhNIL. On July 15, 1948, the Council of Ministers of the USSR decreed the addition of 35 new full members – academicians – to VASKhNIL. On July 28, 1948, the newspaper Pravda printed the list of new academicians, Lysenko's supporters, and announced: "The next July session, dedicated to discussing the report of Academician T. D. Lysenko on the topic 'On the Situation in Soviet Biological Science,' will take place at the end of July of this year in the city of Moscow." The report for the session was prepared by Lysenko and his assistants under direct instructions from above by July 23, 1948, and was sent to Stalin for review. The initial draft of the report extensively used terms like "bourgeois genetics," "bourgeois science," "anti-Marxist biology," etc. One section of the report (§ 2) was notably titled: "The foundations of bourgeois biology are false." According to Lysenko, true, Michurinist genetics could not develop under capitalism, "but there is another one there – their own, bourgeois genetics..." According to Lysenko, bourgeois science, serving the interests of the ruling class, "inevitably includes much false knowledge that does not correspond to objective reality... This speaks to the fundamental principle we must never forget: any science is class-based." Lysenko asserted that bourgeois genetics and dialectical-materialist Michurinist biology "have clashed in an irreconcilable struggle," the contradictions between them being, ultimately, a consequence of the antagonistic relations of hostile classes. However, during Stalin's editing of the report, Lysenko's original terminology was radically altered. The opposition "bourgeois science" vs. "dialectical-materialist science" was replaced by the contrast: "reactionary (idealistic) and progressive (materialistic, Soviet) science." The section "The foundations of bourgeois biology are false" was completely deleted due to Stalin's rejection of the idea of class-based sciences. On July 27, T. D. Lysenko was received in I. V. Stalin's office; also present were Beria, Malenkov, Mikoyan, Bulganin, and Kaganovich.
== The session == The VASKhNIL session took place from July 31 to August 7, 1948. At the session, Academician T. D. Lysenko delivered his famous report "On the Situation in Biological Science." In his report, Lysenko emphasized the role of the external environment in selection and evolution (see Lamarckism), called for a greater practical focus in biology and agriculture, criticized the "Morganists" for their enthusiasm for research on fruit flies (Drosophila), and professed his commitment to Michurin's teachings. Furthermore, to lend authority to his words, Lysenko hinted that I. V. Stalin had read and fully approved his report. The main individuals targeted by T. D. Lysenko and his supporters were primarily the evolutionist I. I. Schmalhausen and the geneticists N. P. Dubinin and A. R. Zhebrak. The intensity of the conflict between the two irreconcilable camps of scientists is illustrated by the legend, recounted by S. E. Shnol, of a fight between Professors I. A. Rapoport and I. I. Prezent during the latter's speech. It was said that Rapoport threw a water carafe at Prezent. Rapoport later denied this incident. The session ended with the complete rout of genetics. I. A. Rapoport, who had sharply defended genetics as a science at the session and was the only one who refused to accept the presidium's decision, was expelled from the CPSU(b).
The proceedings of the session were covered daily by the Soviet press. These materials, appropriately processed, were prescribed for study at mandatory political education classes. The CPSU(b) Central Committee entrusted the publication of the VASKhNIL session materials to the State Publishing House of Agricultural Literature: