Vladimir Pavlovich Efroimson
Encyclopedia
Vladimir Pavlovich Efroimson ' onMouseout='HidePop("67389")' href="/topics/Moscow">Moscow
- 21 July 1989, Moscow) was one of the most prominent Soviet geneticists
, a former student of Nikolai Koltsov
, who was among the geneticists who had to struggle against the persecution of geneticists in the Soviet Union.
Efroimson entered the Biology Faculty of Moscow State University
in 1925, where he studied under Koltsov. In 1929 he was excluded from the University for his speech in protection of Sergei Chetverikov
, the founder of population genetics
. In 1929-1931 Efroimson worked in Trans-Caucasian Institute for Silk Warm Growing in Tbilisi
. In 1929-1931 he worked in Moscow Radiation Institute. In 1932 he published six scientific works and discovered the formula of mutation rate
in humans. In December 1932 he was arrested for his participation in the "Free Philosophic Society". In 1935 he was freed and started to work for the Central Asian Institute for Silk Warm Growing. In one and a half years he made important discoveries in the silkworm genetics. In 1937 he was expunged from the institute under pretext of inefficiency of his works, the pure-bred lines of silkworms he had bred were killed and his book Genetics of Silkworm published by the USSR Academy of Sciences was destroyed. In 1939-1941 he worked for the All-Ukrainian Silkworm Station in Merefa
and obtained his Kandidat
degree from Kharkov University(1941).
During World War II
Efroimson fought in the army from August 1942 through November 1945 and was awarded military decorations. In February 1945 he reported to the Military Council of his Army about unacceptable excesses against German civilians including the mass rape of German women.
In 1946-1948 he worked as a docent
for Kharkov University and obtained his Doktor nauk
degree (1947). In August 1948, after the infamous VASKhNIL
session there Lysenkoists
destroyed scientific genetics Efroimson was stripped from his degree. In 1948 Efroimson writes his report On the Criminal Activities by Trofim Lysenko with an elaborate analysis of activities by influential pseudo-science figure Trofim Lysenko
. In 1949 Efroimson was sentenced for his Libel against the Red Army
to seven years in Gulag
. The formal reason for his arrest was his February 1945 report about the violence against Germal civilians although the real reason was probably his criticism of Lysenko. In 1956 after freeing from the camps he wrote reports to the Prosecutor General of the USSR
On undermining of the agriculture in the Soviet Union and the international authority of Soviet science and On the losses caused by pseudo-innovations in agricultural biology. In 1956-1961 he worked as a librarian in the Library of Foreign Literature, Moscow (1961); since 1961 he worked for Mechnikov Institute of Vaccines and Serums. In 1962 his doctoral degree was returned to him. In 1965 he received prestigious Mendel medal. In 1968 Efroimson became the head of the Genetics Department of Moscow Institute for Psychiatry. In 1976-1989 he was a consultant for the Institute of Development Biology of the USSR Academy of Sciences.
The main works of Efroimson were devoted to the broader area of genetics including: the effects of ionizing radiation
, mechanism of carcinogenesis
and radiation sickness
, mechanism of immunity
, neuropsychiatric genetics, genetics of human pathologies, etc. He wrote the first Russian monograph on genetics, The Introduction to Medical Genetics (1964)--the book that triggered the revival of human genetics in the Soviet Union. He was the author of three monographs and over 100 scientific papers and the editor of many books on different issues of genetics. The last years he worked on the genetics of social behavior
. With onset of perestroyka his results in this areas were posthumously published in three books: Genetics of Geniality, Pedagogical Genetics (1998) and Genetics of Ethics and Aesthetic (1995). He is the author of many philosophical works including his Origin of Altruism (Novy Mir
, 1971). Efroimson entered the annals of Russian science as an outstsnding researcher, but also as an inblinking fighter for the truth, an uncompromising opponent of antiscientific directions in biology, an ardent advocate of genetics and the moral standard of a true scientist.
Vladimir Efroimson is a prototype of Ilya Goldberg, one of the protagonists in the Lyudmila Ulitskaya
's novel Kukotsky's Case (Booker-Open Russia Literary Prize, 2001)
Moscow
Moscow is the capital, the most populous city, and the most populous federal subject of Russia. The city is a major political, economic, cultural, scientific, religious, financial, educational, and transportation centre of Russia and the continent...
- 21 July 1989, Moscow) was one of the most prominent Soviet geneticists
Genetics
Genetics , a discipline of biology, is the science of genes, heredity, and variation in living organisms....
, a former student of Nikolai Koltsov
Nikolai Koltsov
Nikolai Konstantinovich Koltsov was a Russian biologist. He was one of the creators of modern genetics. Nikolai Koltsov was a teacher of Nikolay Timofeeff-Ressovsky.-Scientific career:...
, who was among the geneticists who had to struggle against the persecution of geneticists in the Soviet Union.
Efroimson entered the Biology Faculty of Moscow State University
Moscow State University
Lomonosov Moscow State University , previously known as Lomonosov University or MSU , is the largest university in Russia. Founded in 1755, it also claims to be one of the oldest university in Russia and to have the tallest educational building in the world. Its current rector is Viktor Sadovnichiy...
in 1925, where he studied under Koltsov. In 1929 he was excluded from the University for his speech in protection of Sergei Chetverikov
Sergei Chetverikov
Sergei Sergeevich Chetverikov was one of the early contributors to the development of the field of genetics...
, the founder of population genetics
Population genetics
Population genetics is the study of allele frequency distribution and change under the influence of the four main evolutionary processes: natural selection, genetic drift, mutation and gene flow. It also takes into account the factors of recombination, population subdivision and population...
. In 1929-1931 Efroimson worked in Trans-Caucasian Institute for Silk Warm Growing in Tbilisi
Tbilisi
Tbilisi is the capital and the largest city of Georgia, lying on the banks of the Mt'k'vari River. The name is derived from an early Georgian form T'pilisi and it was officially known as Tiflis until 1936...
. In 1929-1931 he worked in Moscow Radiation Institute. In 1932 he published six scientific works and discovered the formula of mutation rate
Mutation rate
In genetics, the mutation rate is the chance of a mutation occurring in an organism or gene in each generation...
in humans. In December 1932 he was arrested for his participation in the "Free Philosophic Society". In 1935 he was freed and started to work for the Central Asian Institute for Silk Warm Growing. In one and a half years he made important discoveries in the silkworm genetics. In 1937 he was expunged from the institute under pretext of inefficiency of his works, the pure-bred lines of silkworms he had bred were killed and his book Genetics of Silkworm published by the USSR Academy of Sciences was destroyed. In 1939-1941 he worked for the All-Ukrainian Silkworm Station in Merefa
Merefa
Merefa is a city in eastern Ukraine. It is located in the Kharkivsky Raion of the Kharkiv Oblast .The current estimated population is around 23,679 ....
and obtained his Kandidat
Kandidat
The Candidate of Sciences degree is a first post-graduate scientific degree in some former Eastern Bloc countries, such as Russia and Ukraine, which is awarded for original research that constitutes a significant contribution to a scientific field. The degree was first introduced in the USSR on...
degree from Kharkov University(1941).
During World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
Efroimson fought in the army from August 1942 through November 1945 and was awarded military decorations. In February 1945 he reported to the Military Council of his Army about unacceptable excesses against German civilians including the mass rape of German women.
In 1946-1948 he worked as a docent
Docent
Docent is a title at some European universities to denote a specific academic appointment within a set structure of academic ranks below professor . Docent is also used at some universities generically for a person who has the right to teach...
for Kharkov University and obtained his Doktor nauk
Doktor nauk
Doktor nauk is a higher doctoral degree, the second and the highest post-graduate academic degree in the Soviet Union, Russia and in many post-Soviet states. Sometimes referred to as Dr. Hab. The prerequisite is the first degree, Kandidat nauk which is informally regarded equivalent to Ph.D....
degree (1947). In August 1948, after the infamous VASKhNIL
VASKhNIL
VASKhNIL was the All-Union Academy of Agricultural Sciences of the Soviet Union...
session there Lysenkoists
Lysenkoism
Lysenkoism, or Lysenko-Michurinism, also denotes the biological inheritance principle which Trofim Lysenko subscribed to and which derive from theories of the heritability of acquired characteristics, a body of biological inheritance theory which departs from Mendelism and that Lysenko named...
destroyed scientific genetics Efroimson was stripped from his degree. In 1948 Efroimson writes his report On the Criminal Activities by Trofim Lysenko with an elaborate analysis of activities by influential pseudo-science figure Trofim Lysenko
Trofim Lysenko
Trofim Denisovich Lysenko was a Soviet agronomist of Ukrainian origin, who was director of Soviet biology under Joseph Stalin. Lysenko rejected Mendelian genetics in favor of the hybridization theories of Russian horticulturist Ivan Vladimirovich Michurin, and adopted them into a powerful...
. In 1949 Efroimson was sentenced for his Libel against the Red Army
Red Army
The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army started out as the Soviet Union's revolutionary communist combat groups during the Russian Civil War of 1918-1922. It grew into the national army of the Soviet Union. By the 1930s the Red Army was among the largest armies in history.The "Red Army" name refers to...
to seven years in Gulag
Gulag
The Gulag was the government agency that administered the main Soviet forced labor camp systems. While the camps housed a wide range of convicts, from petty criminals to political prisoners, large numbers were convicted by simplified procedures, such as NKVD troikas and other instruments of...
. The formal reason for his arrest was his February 1945 report about the violence against Germal civilians although the real reason was probably his criticism of Lysenko. In 1956 after freeing from the camps he wrote reports to the Prosecutor General of the USSR
Prosecutor General of the USSR
The Procurator General of the USSR , was the highest functionary of the Office of Public Procurator of the USSR, responsible for the whole system of offices of public procurators and supervision of their activities on the territory of the Soviet Union.-History:The office of procurator had its...
On undermining of the agriculture in the Soviet Union and the international authority of Soviet science and On the losses caused by pseudo-innovations in agricultural biology. In 1956-1961 he worked as a librarian in the Library of Foreign Literature, Moscow (1961); since 1961 he worked for Mechnikov Institute of Vaccines and Serums. In 1962 his doctoral degree was returned to him. In 1965 he received prestigious Mendel medal. In 1968 Efroimson became the head of the Genetics Department of Moscow Institute for Psychiatry. In 1976-1989 he was a consultant for the Institute of Development Biology of the USSR Academy of Sciences.
The main works of Efroimson were devoted to the broader area of genetics including: the effects of ionizing radiation
Ionizing radiation
Ionizing radiation is radiation composed of particles that individually have sufficient energy to remove an electron from an atom or molecule. This ionization produces free radicals, which are atoms or molecules containing unpaired electrons...
, mechanism of carcinogenesis
Carcinogenesis
Carcinogenesis or oncogenesis is literally the creation of cancer. It is a process by which normal cells are transformed into cancer cells...
and radiation sickness
Radiation Sickness
Radiation Sickness is a VHS by the thrash metal band Nuclear Assault. The video is a recording of a concert at the Hammersmith Odeon, London in 1988. It was released in 1991...
, mechanism of immunity
Immunity (medical)
Immunity is a biological term that describes a state of having sufficient biological defenses to avoid infection, disease, or other unwanted biological invasion. Immunity involves both specific and non-specific components. The non-specific components act either as barriers or as eliminators of wide...
, neuropsychiatric genetics, genetics of human pathologies, etc. He wrote the first Russian monograph on genetics, The Introduction to Medical Genetics (1964)--the book that triggered the revival of human genetics in the Soviet Union. He was the author of three monographs and over 100 scientific papers and the editor of many books on different issues of genetics. The last years he worked on the genetics of social behavior
Genetics of social behavior
The genetics of social behavior is an area of research that attempts to address the question of the role that genes play in modulating the neural circuits in the brain which influence social behavior...
. With onset of perestroyka his results in this areas were posthumously published in three books: Genetics of Geniality, Pedagogical Genetics (1998) and Genetics of Ethics and Aesthetic (1995). He is the author of many philosophical works including his Origin of Altruism (Novy Mir
Novy Mir
Novy Mir is a Russian language literary magazine that has been published in Moscow since January 1925. It was supposed to be modelled on the popular pre-Soviet literary magazine Mir Bozhy , which was published from 1892 to 1906, and its follow-up, Sovremenny Mir , which was published 1906-1917...
, 1971). Efroimson entered the annals of Russian science as an outstsnding researcher, but also as an inblinking fighter for the truth, an uncompromising opponent of antiscientific directions in biology, an ardent advocate of genetics and the moral standard of a true scientist.
Vladimir Efroimson is a prototype of Ilya Goldberg, one of the protagonists in the Lyudmila Ulitskaya
Lyudmila Ulitskaya
Lyudmila Evgenyevna Ulitskaya is a critically acclaimed modern Russian novelist and short-story writer. She was born in the town of Davlekanovo in Bashkiria on February 21, 1943...
's novel Kukotsky's Case (Booker-Open Russia Literary Prize, 2001)