Гельтман Д.В.
Ботанический институт им. В.Л. Комарова РАН, Санкт-Петербург, Россия
DOI: 10.24412/2076-8176-2021-4-131-149
В 1990 г. по инициативе выдающегося зоолога Н.Н. Воронцова, занимавшего в то время пост председателя Государственного комитета СССР по охране природы, была предпринята попытка принятия Постановления Совета Министров СССР, которое бы предусматривало не только сохранение биологического разнообразия, но и кардинальные меры по улучшению поддержки «традиционных» биологических дисциплин, в первую очередь ботаники и зоологии. Планировалось создать таксономическую службу СССР, существенно улучшить финансирование и инфраструктуру биологических коллекций. К подготовке постановления были привлечён ряд учёных, в основном из Ботанического института им. В.Л. Комарова АН СССР и Зоологического института АН СССР, причём не только занимавших официальные посты. К сожалению, в связи с углублением экономического кризиса и последовавшим затем распадом СССР постановление принято не было. В статье приводится одна из его предварительных версий, которая хорошо показывает, что тогда учёные считали необходимым для развития ботаники и зоологии и сохранения биологического разнообразия.
Ключевые слова: биологическое разнообразие, ботаника, зоология, научные коллекции, Н.Н. Воронцов, советская наука.
The grandeur of unrealised plans: an attempt to adopt the Resolution of the USSR Council of Ministers “On measures for conservation of biological diversity in the USSR” in 1990
Dmitry V. Geltman
Komarov Botanical Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences; St. Petersburg, Russia
DOI: 10.24412/2076-8176-2021-4-131-149
The time of radical political and economic changes in the USSR, known as perestroika, has affected various aspects of public activities, including science. This process has been rapidly accelerated after comparatively democratic 1989 elections to the USSR Congress of People’s Deputies that were based, inter alia, on the quotas for the USSR Academy of Sciences and its scientific societies. As a result, several prominent representatives of scientific community, including a famous zoologist, geneticist and evolutionist Nikolai Vorontsov, became members of the USSR Congress of People’s Deputies. As a very active deputy, Vorontsov was elected to the Science Committee of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR. In August 1989, he was asked to join public service and was appointed as a Chairman of the USSR State Committee on Nature Conservation. From April 1991 till the collapse of the USSR, he served as a Minister for Nature Management and Conservation.In 1990 N. Vorontsov initiated the drafting of the Resolution of the USSR Council of Ministers “On measures for conservation of biological diversity in the USSR”. He believed that such resolution could not only facilitate conservation measures but also significantly improve the support for botany, zoology, microbiology, soil science, and related scientific disciplines in the USSR. The draft of this resolution included measures such as establishing a taxonomic service of the USSR, significantly improving the funding and infrastructure for biological collections and respective institutions, actively participate in the preparation of the Convention on Biological Diversity, etc.A number of scientists were involved in the preparation of the Council of Ministers’ resolution, mainly from the Komarov Botanical Institute and Zoological Institute of the USSR Academy of Sciences, and not only those who held official positions. Unfortunately, due to the deepening economic crisis and the subsequent collapse of the USSR, the resolution had never been adopted. This article presents one of its preliminary versions that shows what the scientists considered necessary for the development of botany, zoology and conservation of biodiversity at the time.
Keywords: biological diversity, botany, zoology, scientific collections, Nikolai Vorontsov, Soviet science.