Tomsk as the center of dissertation defenses in the East of the USSR during the Great Patriotic War of 1941-1945

The article studies the performance and dynamics of dissertation defenses by Tomsk and nonresident scholars in academic councils of universities and research institutes, local and evacuated to the city, during the Great Patriotic War of 1941-1945 on the material of periodicals, archival documents, memoirs. The factors and assumptions are analyzed that contributed to the fact that before and during the War Tomsk became the center of Candidate and Doctor degree dissertation defenses in the East of the Soviet Union. It is emphasized that both historical-genetic and situational conditions were of special importance in the formation of this status. Historical-genetic conditions were connected with the academic traditions of Tomsk, its reputation as the oldest university center in Siberia, as well as the fact that it was possible to defend some dissertations in some specialties only in this city at the time. Situational conditions were connected with the large-scale evacuation of universities, research institutes, the All-Union Committee on Higher Education of the USSR Council of People's Commissars, as well as a number of prominent scholars from universities of the European part of the USSR, to Tomsk during the first year of the war. During the war, scholars from the cities of Siberia, the Far East, Kazakhstan and Central Asian republics defended dissertations in Tomsk. The article presents the statistics of dissertation defenses in the academic councils of Tomsk universities during the war. It was calculated on the basis of announcements of forthcoming defenses published in the newspaper Krasnoe znamya. The statistics is analyzed by the obtained degrees, universities, specialties. It is concluded that Tomsk State University had the widest possible range of disciplines, including humanitarian ones. During the war years, the university had the greatest number of defenses for both Candidate and Doctor of Sciences degrees. In the Academic Council of Tomsk Industrial Institute dissertations in technical, geologic-mineralogical and physic-mathematical sciences were defended. The largest number of dissertations in medical sciences was defended in the Academic Council of Tomsk Medical Institute. There were fewer defenses in the All-Union Institute of Experimental Medicine evacuated to Tomsk. In the Academic Council of Moscow Electromechanical Institute of Railway Transport Engineers dissertations in technical specialties were defended. Based on the number of defenses of Candidate and Doctor degree dissertations, taking into account their specialties, the authors of the article conclude that during the years of the Great Patriotic War the increase of highly qualified academic personnel in a number of Soviet eastern regions was largely provided by the academic councils of Tomsk universities. It is emphasized that the preparation and defense of dissertations in Tomsk in the war years took place in difficult conditions. Based on the analysis of the topics of dissertations in technical and geological and mineralogical sciences, it is concluded that the applicants for the academic degrees often had to combine research activities with practical work to help the rear and front in the interests of the defense. The statistics of dissertation defenses allows to judge about the dynamics of training of highly qualified academic personnel in the war years.

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