Studies in the History of Science and Technology
The peer-review journal Voprosy istorii estestvoznaniia i tekhniki (VIET) ["Studies in the History of Science and Technology"] journal was founded in 1980 on the basis of an irregularly published collection of works by employees of the Institute for the History of Science and Technology of the Academy of Sciences of the USSR (IHST of the USSR Academy of Sciences).
Founders
- Russian Academy of Sciences
- Institute for the History of Science and Technology
Publisher
- Russian Academy of Sciences
About the journal
The main block of the journal's materials is formed by original articles presenting research results of qualified specialists in the history and philosophy of science and technology. The scientific level of the results and the compliance of articles with publication standards is ensured by a representative editorial board, which includes two academicians (RAS), one corresponding member of the RAS, doctors and candidates of sciences.
The contents of the journal are divided into main sections reflecting the scope and specifics of the proposed scientific publications:
- General Problems of the History of Science and Technology
- From the History of Science
- Social History of Science
- From the History of Technology
- Lessons from History
- Materials for the Biographies of Scientists and Engineers
- Institutions and Museums
- Sources for the History of Science and Technology
The information block contains memoirs, reviews, books reviews, annotations for defended dissertations, as well as information about past conferences and correspondence with readers.
The journal is published quarterly and is included in the "List of peer-reviewed scientific publications" of the Higher Attestation Commission of Russian Federation and the Russian Science Citation Index in Web of Science.
Media registration certificate: № 0110149 от 04.02.1993
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Vol 46, No 4 (2025)
From the History of Science
ICE STRENGTH STUDIES IN PRE-REVOLUTIONARY RUSSIA
Abstract
Extensive construction of railway network in Russia in the second half of the 19th century evoked an interest in investigating ice properties, including ice strength. This information was important for bridge builders who encountered the problem of protecting bridge footings from ice impact during ice runs. In addition, temporary stream crossings were commonly used in summer and in winter to ensure railway transportation across wide streams that prevented prompt construction of permanent bridges. Designers and operators of these stream crossings also needed data on ice properties. Studies of ice strength characteristics were also promoted by the fact that railway engineers had well-equipped mechanical laboratories available to them to investigate material properties. However, actual studies on ice properties were very few. These were the investigations conducted by B. P. Vasenko (1897) and by N. M. Abramov (1904) in the mechanical laboratory of the Emperor Alexander I Railway Engineers Institute. Subsequently Abramov continued his studies as professor at the Don Polytechnic Institute in Novocherkassk. Ice strength was investigated by a renowned physicist, B. P. Veinberg. When working on his doctorate dissertation in 1905–1906, Veinberg studied ice viscosity, with the determination of ice shear strength and shear modulus as a side issue. In 1912–1915, Veinberg together with his students studied flexural strength of ice cover before ice run on the Tom river. For this purpose, Veinberg developed a special instrument. It is concluded that ice strength properties were regarded by the researchers as some indicators of ice environment. The question of using these data for calculations and predictions had not been raised yet. It is shown that availability of experimental equipment was an important factor in facilitating research in this area.
Studies in the History of Science and Technology. 2025;46(4):601–616
601–616
TYPOLOGY OF LAKES IN THE RUSSIAN EMPIRE BEFORE E. NAUMANN (ON THE OCCASION OF 105TH ANNIVERSARY OF PUBLICATION OF “FUNDAMENTALS OF FISHERY VALUATION OF LAKES” BY M. P. SOMOV)
Abstract
The challenges of modern ecological science include creating a classification of ecosystems of water bodies, based on their trophic status, i. e. the level of their productivity. The reconstruction of historical development of ideas about eutrophication and trophic status of water bodies may help resolving the issue of criteria for categorizing the types of reservoirs. In the 1910s, M. P. Somov attempted to develop a unified theoretical framework for classifying reservoirs in his book, “Fundamentals of Fishery Valuation of Lakes,” published in 1920. This is an important source that summarizes the early developments and ideas concerned with reservoir productivity. It was published when the well-known doctrine of lake typology by E. Naumann was still being developed. Somov’s approach to evaluating lakes as farmlands was based on the following ideas. First, regarding plankton abundance as an indicator of reservoir productivity. Second, understanding the need for chemical analysis of both the water and the plankton for better understanding of the ecosystem. Third, taking into account the characteristics of a water body such as its depth, location, and climatic conditions including temperature, precipitation, and wind patterns. Fourth, Somov believed that the main objective of reservoir valuation (“taxation”) was assessing the favorability of conditions for fish in a particular water body. Defining a lake description program, he believed that each lake ought to be considered as a system where all elements are interdependent. Somov’s review clearly demonstrates that the idea of “trophy” (productivity) in hydrobiology, expressed in his book (although the term “trophy” has not been used in it), has matured by the 1920s. This idea reflects the principle of minimalism and the unity of all the biocenoses in a reservoir.
Studies in the History of Science and Technology. 2025;46(4):617–633
617–633
Social History of Science
AN UNREALIZED COOPERATION BETWEEN A. N. SEVERTSOV INSTITUTE OF EVOLUTIONARY MORPHOLOGY AND ECOLOGY OF ANIMALS OF THE USSR ACADEMY OF SCIENCES AND FRENCH BIOLOGISTS IN THE FIELD OF DOLPHINS’ BIOACOUSTICS
Abstract
The article is devoted to an episode in the Soviet-French scientific cooperation in the late 1960s – early 1970s, a meeting of V. E. Sokolov, Director of the A. N. Severtsov Institute of Evolutionary Morphology and Ecology of Animals (USSR Academy of Sciences), with R.-G. Busnel, Director of the Laboratory of Acoustic Physiology (INRA, Jouy-en-Josas, France), in Moscow in April 1968, and their preliminary discussion on organizing joint bioacoustic research on dolphins. The details of this collaboration are discussed, based on the archival documents that are introduced for scientific use for the first time. Sokolov and Busnel agreed upon a joint expedition to India, Pakistan, and Burma in 1969–1972 to study biology, echolocation abilities, and communication system of two poorly studied dolphin species, as well as joint works in the Mediterranean beginning with 1969, which were planned to involve close scientific contacts between Soviet and French researchers. Unfortunately, however, these joint studies never happened.
Studies in the History of Science and Technology. 2025;46(4):634–646
634–646
From the History of Technology
THE ROLE OF SCIENCE IN THE CREATION OF AN AIRPLANE
Abstract
For the first time in Russia, the article examines the role of science in the creation of an airplane. At first glance, the role of science in the development of technology seems to be obvious, as scientists’ works promote the advancement of technology. However, in early aviation, it was different: based on Newton’s conclusions, the opinion began to prevail in mechanics that heavier-than-air vehicle flight was impossible, and governments refused to provide funding for building aircrafts. The situation was saved by the efforts of the engineers-experimenters who, while studying the aerodynamic forces acting on the wing in the air flow, proved that it was possible to create bird-like machines with an engine and a man on board. This made possible the flight on a glider and, subsequently, on an airplane.
Studies in the History of Science and Technology. 2025;46(4):647–689
647–689
Materials for the Biographies of Scientists and Engineers
A. V. PEIYE’S SCIENTIFIC VISITS TO EASTERN EUROPEAN COUNTRIES IN THE 1960s – 1980s
Abstract
The article examines scientific visits to Eastern European countries, made by Academician Alexander Voldemarovich Peiye (1909–1985), one of the key figures in Russian geology of the second half of the 20th century, in the 1960s – 1980s. Peiye’s field works and findings in Albania, Bulgaria, Czechoslovakia, Yugoslavia, and Romania are analyzed. It is concluded that Peiye’s comparative studies of different regions in Eastern Europe contributed to the formation of new ideas in geotechnics and to the revision of the fixist concept that became established in Soviet geology. These works posed the question of the role of horizontal movements of Earth’s crust with renewed vigor. Peiye made a significant contribution to the development of the mobilist theory with his studies on deep faults, shear movements, tectonic delineation of the lithosphere, etc. His investigations in Eastern European countries were thus in line with the context of scientific debate between the fixists and the mobilists in Soviet geology. It is shown that Peiye’s Eastern European trips allowed him to form a wide circle of personal acquaintances among the scientists from different countries (V. Zoubek, D. N. Andrusov, J. Fülöp, A. Codarcea, and others), who provided support not only to his own research but also actively engaged in the dialogue with their Soviet colleagues. These contacts ensured the success of many international cooperation initiatives such as the creation of the problem commission “Global Correlation of Geological Phenomena” in 1973. The article is based on the materials from Peiye’s personal fonds in the Archive of the Russian Academy of Sciences and on the documents from the archives in the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Bulgaria and Serbia, all of which are introduced for scientific use for the first time.
Studies in the History of Science and Technology. 2025;46(4):690–713
690–713
PROFESSOR A. P. RUDENKO, CREATOR OF THE THEORY OF EVOLUTIONARY CATALYSIS (IN COMMEMORATION OF THE CENTENARY OF HIS BIRTH)
Abstract
The article examines the life and scientific activities of a renowned chemist and encyclopedic scientist, Alexander Prokofievich Rudenko. It contains biographic information, including the information about his studies in a secondary school and M. V. Lomonosov Moscow State University, and about his scientific mentors. The main focus in the article is on Rudenko’s original concept of chemical evolution and its theoretical and practical applications. In the course of studies of a well-known phenomenon, formation of resinous products on the surface of heterogeneous catalysts of organic reactions, he observed in some cases an increase in the catalyst’s activity that was symbatical with the accumulation of carbon deposits (densification products) on their surface. The discovery of the phenomenon of catalyst self-improvement (self-development) prompted by the influence of the main (basic) reaction formed the basis for a new scientific field that Rudenko named “evolutionary catalysis”, a term he coined himself. The backbone of the concept of evolutionary catalysis is the fact that it is the catalytic systems, rather than molecules, that are considered as an object of evolution. The main law of evolution, revealed in the theory of evolutionary catalysis, states that the paths of evolutionary changes that lead to a maximum increase in a system’s evolutionary characteristics associated with the basic reaction rate, are actualized with the greatest speed and probability. The examples of practical application of Rudenko’s theoretical provisions are given.
Studies in the History of Science and Technology. 2025;46(4):714–738
714–738
A. Ch. ALBRECHT, CRAFTSMAN AT ST. PETERSBURG UNIVERSITY, AND AN INSTRUMENT OF HIS MAKING FROM PETER THE GREAT MUSEUM OF ANTHROPOLOGY AND ETHNOGRAPHY (THE KUNSTKAMERA) OF THE RUSSIAN ACADEMY OF SCIENCES
Abstract
Among the collections of the M. V. Lomonosov Museum at the Peter the Great Museum of Anthropology and Ethnography (the Kunstkamera) of the Russian Academy of Sciences, there is a thermometer with a barometer, made by a craftsman named Albrecht. Until recently, there was no information about him and it is only in this article, based on a study of sources deposited in the Russian State Historical Archive and St. Petersburg Central State Historical Archive (documents concerned with his education, professional career in the University, business travels, and jobs he was asked to do), that his full name is established (Godfried Karl Adolf, sometimes Adolf Christian) and his life and professional career is reconstructed for the first time. Archival sources taken together with the museum item allow regarding A. C. Albrecht as a skilled professional — it is worth mentioning here that he traveled twice to Germany and France to learn best practices and purchase equipment. Albrecht’s skills were in demand not only in St. Petersburg University; he also made instruments commissioned by Kazan University and St. Petersburg Academy of Sciences’ Observatory.
Studies in the History of Science and Technology. 2025;46(4):739–751
739–751
N. I. EVGENOV – PARTICIPANT AND LEADER OF THE KARA EXPEDITIONS IN 1925–1931
Abstract
The Kara Sea commodity exchange expeditions were carried out annually in the Arctic, promoting the development of trade relations between the European countries and Western Siberia. The article examines the role of the prominent polar explorer Nikolay Ivanovich Evgenov (1888–1964) who took part in these expeditions in 1925–1931; in particular, his activities associated with scientific / operational (ice and hydrometeorological), research, and navigational / hydrographic support for the expeditions as well as his role as head of these voyages are analyzed. It is concluded that Evgenov was a pioneer in the development of scientific / operational (ice and hydrometeorological) support for Arctic navigation, which advanced further in the 1930s under the auspices of the Glavesvmorput (Northern Sea Route Authority). The article also analyzes Evgenov’s contribution to expanding complex systematic studies during the Kara Sea expeditions, examines his key role in the creation of the first pilot chart of the entire region of the Kara Sea and Novaya Zemlya, and his contribution to improving marine vessel pilotage in the Arctic and to organizing and equipping the Kara Sea expeditions. The author concludes that, under Evgenov, the position of head of the Kara Sea expeditions became the prototype of the position of head of naval operations that was established in the mid-1930s at the Glavesvmorput. Numerous archival sources were used in this article, including previously unpublished materials related to Evgenov.
Studies in the History of Science and Technology. 2025;46(4):752-774
752-774
Sources for the History of Science and Technology
V. V. Stanchinskii's Letters to Academician V. I. Vernadsky
Abstract
The article contains the letters from V. V. Stanchinskii, a renowned biologist, to Academician V. I. Vernadsky, as well as Stanchinskii's note about the need for publishing the "Russian Journal of Ecology" and the proposed program of this journal. These archival documents dating back to 1928–1929 are of considerable interest for historians of science, particularly for those who study these two brilliant scientists' life and work and those who are interested in the history of scientific periodicals in the USSR. These documents contain important information about Stanchinskii's scientific contacts with Vernadsky and how these contacts influenced the development of these scientists' ideas, including the following (1) the influence of Vernadsky's biogeochemical works and his concept of living matter on Stanchinskii's initiating his own ecological and biogeocenological studies; (2) Stanchinskii's joint works with Vernadsky and researchers from the Biogeochemical Laboratory of the USSR Academy of Sciences, aimed to determine geochemical constants and study the chemical composition of animals and plants; (3) Stanchinskii's proposal to Vernadsky to collaborate in the "Russian Journal of Ecology"; (4) Stanchinskii's active involvement in the organization of this journal whose first and only issue was published in 1931 although under a different name, the "Journal of Ecology and Biocenology"; (5) Stanchinskii's views on the content of ecology as a science and on its growing practical importance; and (6) Stanchinskii's collaboration with the USSR Academy of Sciences' Commission for the Studies on the Quaternary Period, one of whose organizers was Vernadsky.
Studies in the History of Science and Technology. 2025;46(4):775-789
775-789
AERONAUTICAL ENGINEER I. I. SIKORSKY'S CORRESPONDENCE WITH E. A. VECHORIN IN THE COLLECTIONS OF THE BAKHMETEFF ARCHIVE AT COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY (NEW YORK, USA)
Abstract
A collection of documents of Yevgeny Aleksandrovich Vechorin (1884–1969), engineer at the Russo-Baltic Wagon Works (RBVZ), ensign-mechanic of the squadron of Ilya Muromets heavy bombers, and a Russian first-wave émigré, is deposited in the Bakhmeteff Archive of Russian and East European History and Culture (Rare Books and Manuscripts Department of the Butler Library, Columbia University, NY). In France, he was known as a chairman of the Paris Association of Former Professors and Students of the Emperor Peter the Great St. Petersburg Polytechnic Institute. In the Bakhmeteff Archive, the author of this article discovered the previously unpublished correspondence between Vechorin and Igor Ivanovich Sikorsky (1889–1972), the legendary aircraft engineer, inventor and founder of the world’s helicopter industry, scientist, entrepreneur, philosopher and public figure, one of the “spiritual leaders of Russian emigration, the pride of Russia in exile”. The content of some letters deserves particular attention, as it supplements Sikorsky’s biography with personal recollections, little-known details of his life, in particular, those concerned with his friendship with General Major Mikhail Vladimirovich Shidlovsky (1856–1921), Chairman of the RBVZ Board, who was arrested in 1919 and shot in 1921.
Studies in the History of Science and Technology. 2025;46(4):790-805
790-805
Essay Review
NEBESNOE STADO U ISTOKOV ASTRONOMII: ChITAYa KNIGU G. E. KURTIKA «OChERKI ISTORII ShUMERSKOY ASTRONOMII»
Studies in the History of Science and Technology. 2025;46(4):806–821
806–821
Book Reviews
EVERSMAN E. PUTEShESTVIE IZ ORENBURGA V BUKhARU. ORENBURG: ORENBURGSKOE KNIZhNOE IZDATEL'STVO im. G. P. DONKOVTsEVA, 2023. 288 s. ISBN 978-5-88788-288-8
Studies in the History of Science and Technology. 2025;46(4):822–826
822–826
Books in Brief
Books in Brief
Studies in the History of Science and Technology. 2025;46(4):827–830
827–830
Academic Life
SEKTsIYa «ZhENShchINY-UChENYE I PREPODAVATEL'NITsY SREDNEY I VYSShEY ShKOLY V GODY REVOLYuTsIY, VOYN, VYNUZhDENNYKh MIGRATsIY I INYKh SOTsIAL'NYKh KATAKLIZMOV» NA XVIII MEZhDUNARODNOY NAUChNOY KONFERENTsII ROSSIYSKOY ASSOTsIATsII ISSLEDOVATELEY ZhENSKOY ISTORII
Studies in the History of Science and Technology. 2025;46(4):831–836
831–836
Events in Brief
Events in Brief
Studies in the History of Science and Technology. 2025;46(4):837-839
837-839
Essay Index
Essay Index, 2025
Studies in the History of Science and Technology. 2025;46(4):840-843
840-843
Author Index
Author Index, 2025
Studies in the History of Science and Technology. 2025;46(4):844
844