The Northern Base of the USSR Academy of Sciences in the History of the Development of Russia's European North (1933-1941)

The subject of the article is the historical role of the Russian Academy of Sciences in the scientific study of the Arctic and subarctic regions of Russia. The aim of the author is to reconstruct the process of the creation and activity of the first academic scientific institution in the Northern Region, to show the contribution of research scientists in the accumulation of scientific knowledge about the Northern Region in the context of the decision of prior state programs and the creation of scientific organizations in the European North of Russia in the first half of the 20th century. This topic has not received adequate coverage in the scientific literature. To solve these tasks, unpublished archival documents of the Archive of the Russian Academy of Sciences, the State Archive of Arkhangelsk Region, the Scientific Archive of the Komi Science Center of the Ural Branch of the RAS and the National Archive of the Komi Republic were identified and used. The scientific works of the researchers of the Northern Base of the USSR Academy of Sciences published on the basis of the results of research in the 1930s-1940s were brought in. The research tasks are solved on the basis of the methods of modern historical science: the principle of historicism and scientific objectivity, as well as general scientific methods: analysis and synthesis, description, construction of analogies. The period of the creation and activity of the Northern Base of the Academy of Sciences of the USSR in the 1930s-1940s was analyzed. The key subjects of the establishment of the scientific institution, the formation of the scientific team, the development of scientific programs and plans, the organization of the interaction of the scientific community with the governing and economic bodies of the Northern Region, the first results of scientific research are considered in detail. The main findings of the study are evidence that in the 1930s and 1940s the USSR Academy of Sciences accomplished the most important steps toward the steady scientific study of the European North of Russia. During this period, a network of academic institutions was formed, close contacts were established with local state and economic structures. During a relatively short period of existence, the Northern Base of the USSR Academy of Sciences carried out valuable research in the fields of geology, botany, zoology, and, in part, economy. Scientific plans were aimed at solving large-scale state problems connected with a comprehensive study of productive forces. It is proved that the work of the Northern Base of the USSR Academy of Sciences had a significant impact on the development of the circumpolar territories of Russia.

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