MASTER. Recollection about N.V. Timofeeff-Ressovsky by N.V. Korogodin

It was in spring 1956. The department of biology of Moscow state University where I worked at the time was suddenly agitated by a rumour that a certain Timofeeff-Ressovsky had come to Moscow. He was said to have lived in Germany, to have been in partnership with the fascists and to have been in prison. Now he was released and permitted to give lectures. A mendellist-morganist, they gossiped. I found out where the lecture was going to be and went there... The lecture hall was overcrowded. Then a man came out from behind the scene. He was thickset, with mane-like hair. He looked over the audience. Then he put off his jacket and hung it on the back of the chair. The next moment he started speaking... I remeber neither the title of the lecture nor its subject, it seems to me now, it was concerned with biogeocenology. I was amazed by his manner of lecturing - it was the beautiful Russian language, no accent at all (though, we wouldn't have been surprised if he had had one) - and his speech was so vivid that we realised we had never heard such a lecture before... After the lecture we returned to the department room feeling enchanted and bewildered.

That summer I worked in the South Urals with a group of scientists from the department of biophysics. There was a reactor in the region which was cooled with the water from the local lake. It was only too natural that the water in the lake was radioactive. Our task was to determine the maximum possible period of the lake exploitation. For several weeks we took samples of water, soil, water plants, mollusks, fish and measured the level of radioactive isotopes in them.

When the experiments were coming to an end somebody gave us an idea to go to the secret library and search for a "special" folder with reports on the subject done by a previous expidition. It turned out that several years before different people had conducted the same experiments, had obtained identical results which had been filed in the "special" department and had never been published anywhere. The reports were in a one-copy form, dull and matter-of-fact... And suddenly, in that pile of junk, we discovered some folders with reports on "site C" - excellent scientific research on radiobiology and radiation cytology, radioecology of fresh water reservoirs, etc. conducted under the leadership of a prisoner N.V.Tinofeeff-Ressovsky . It was signed by people completely unknown at the time: E.A.Timofeeva-Ressovskaja, N.V.Luchnik, N.A.Poriadkova, E.N.Sokurova, L.S.Tsarapkin (all the above-mentioned reports were later declared not secret and published in the open press). I plunged into reading these burried alive papers, unable to stop, as if I were reading a detective story. I realized that this creation of Mind had been years ahead of western publications on the same topics. They were genuine scientific reports I had in my hands...

On my arrival back in Moscow I was passionately looking forward to a new visit of Nikolay Vladimirovich, as I decided by all means to make his acquaintance. In autumn I learned that he would give a lecture at the department of mechanics and mathematics, at Moscow University, at the Chair of A.A.Lyapunov. We had already known by that time that the biophysics laboratory of the Institute of Biology in Sverdlovsk, the Urals department of the Academy of Sciences of the USSR, had a biological station on the coast of a local lake, Bol'shoe Miassovo, on the territory of the Ilmen natural reserve. The ex-prisoner Timofeeff- Ressovsky was the Head of the laboratory. As we went to the lecture we made our minds to ask for permission to go there on summer vacations. We quite easily got it.

In summer 1958 we came to Miassovo together with G.G.Polikarpov, who worked in Sevastopol at the time. We had just completed and defended our thesis and got the degree of candidates of science. The social climate at the station was amazingly informal, such notions as "working discipline" or "working day" simply didn't exist there. On the contrary, it was a natural unison of life and work."While doing research work you should not be aggressively serious,"- Nikolay Vladimirovich liked to say, and his words became real there. Laboratory work, excursions around the reserve, discussions at seminars and during the meals, jokes and tricks played on each other and newcomers, lectures on genetics given by Nikolay Vladimirovich, especially, for visitors - our studies had a wonderful aura of a holiday, full life and the triumph of mind...

We saw that the results of our work were evaluated at the seminars in Miassovo and in the discussions with Nikolay Vladimirovich and our colleagues, our ideas and plans were taken into account. And it was not only that. Results and ideas were corrected, comprehended and interpreted, since Nikolay Vladimirovich constantly insisted on everybody keeping to these rules. To my mind, it was even more important than the educational aspect of his lectures, though from them did many of us learn (me too, personally) for the first time the meaning of the term "formal genetics", the notorious "weismannism- mendelism-morganism". As a result, those who worked in Miassovo became invisibly marked with a special token, like Moslems after they visited Mecca.

In autumn 1958 drosophila was returned to the department of biology at Moscow University after ten years of oblivion. In this way we celebrated the decade since "the historical session of the All-Union Academy of agricultural sciences " (in 1948 formal genetics was offially banned by I.V.Stalin at the session of the Academy). But the atmosphere at the department of biology was disgusting. The Dean L.G.Voronin attempted to arrange a lecture of Nikolay Vladimirovich during one of his visits to Moscow, but his attempt failed: the communist party leaders of the University were against the idea of inviting "that fascist". Only the Chair of biophysics was open to him, where the Chairman was B.N.Tarusov. Nikolay Vladimirovich delivered three lectures there. After one of them some students from the Chair of genetics decided to invite him to a meeting of a students' scientific society. The person who arranged this lecture was the Head of the society D.M. Glazer (he was in his third year at the time, now he is senior lecturer at the Chair of genetics) (I would like to express my gratitude to D.M.Glazer as he kindly sent me his memoirs about this event. I use them here on his permission).

As far as I remember, the arrangements of this lecture didn't have a smooth start. On the one hand a preliminary invitation was severely rejected by Nikolay Vladimirovich - it was beyond his patience to stand one more unfortunate attempt. On the other hand, it was only too obvious that the communist party leaders of the department of biology and, especially, the departments of genetics and darvinism, would strongly object to the idea of lectures. The new Head of the Chair V.N.Stoletov who was at the same time the Minister of Senior special and Higher education made up his career at the time of T.D.Lysenko, an odious figure in scientific pro-communist circles. (Lysenko T.D. was the president of the All-Union Academy of agricultural sciences of the USSR, named after V.I.Lenin in the 1930s). Stoletov used to "flirt" with "not completely done away with" geneticists, so he gave his permission for a lecture. It was appointed the next day. Nikolay Vladimirovich liked to read lectures to young audience, where the response was adequate - the listeners were biologists. It was a methodologic report which finished with a statement that " a scientist is like a boxer. He has to know how to hit the opponent from any position". Aplause, exclamations, manifestations of enthusiasm. Later Nikolay Vladimirovich made his acquiantance of Stoletov and - what was most important to us - received an official proposal to deliver lectures as a course of genetics at the Chair of genetics of Moscow state University. He delivered the same course of lectures at the Chair of genetics at Leningrad University.

We often met now with Nikolay Vladimirovich - each time he came to Moscow. During one of such encounters he told me he had been proposed to organize an institute in the vicinity of Sverdlovsk to study radioactive contamination of a vast territory with isotopes after a radioactive hazard at a waste storage centre (Kyshtym accident shown close-up // Priroda. 1990, 5, p.47-76).

Nikolay Vladimirovich planned to be the scientific leader of the institute and he suggested me to take the post of the administrative director. My dream of mutual work came true. I immedeately gave my consent, and we plunged into work. We discussed the institute scheme, projects, structure, necessary premises, equipment, staff, etc. One or two days later all the documentation was completed and sent to the concerned offices. Soon I was told to come and arrange my accommodation licence which permitted me to live in Moscow and to sign my job appointment. But quite by chance I happened to hear the news that Timofeeff- Ressovsky would not "be allowed" to work there, even as a consultant. Obviously, I cancelled my trip to the Urals, many other scientists had to do the same. I haven't got the slightest idea who organized the dismissal of Nikolay Vladimirovich, but it evidently led to the complete failure of the plan. The institute was not opened and we lost a unique chance to study in detail the impact of radioactive contamination of large areas and work out scientific approach in basic methods of new ways of these areas' exploitation after the contamination. Neither scraps of research on sites after accidents, nor studies conducted at different secret centres or at the All-Union Institute of agricultural radiobiology established many year after near Obninsk could fill in this tremendous gap - create a systematic unified programme of combined approach to radioactive contamination. As a result, we absolutely failed to be ready to face the Chernobyl accident...

In Obninsk

In 1962 I became a staff member of the Institute of medical radiology which had just been established by the Academy of Medical Sciences of the USSR. Its director was G.A.Zedgenidze. It was a new institution and it seemed to have a promising future. I decided to pursuade the director to invite N.V.Timofeeff-Ressovsky to work at the Institute. As soon as I had a suitable moment I started the conversation with Zedgenidze. "Timofeeff- Ressovsky?" - he asked me, - "The name sounds familiar... Has he ever worked in Berlin?" "Yes," - I said. " He was the Head of the genetics department at the Brain Institute in Berlin-Buch." "Ah! That's where I saw him. I was in the commission on German research institutes. What equipment he had in his laboratory !" " He has the same equipment in Sverdlovsk." "How could it be? Was he permitted to transport his facilities to Russia?" "He'll bring them here if he comes to work with us..."

After a few-week "investigation" I informed the director that there were no "bans" hanging behind Timofeeff-Ressovsky's back, that he was allowed to live anywhere and occupy any official position. "Very good. The rest I'll do myself. We shall ask him to deliver a lecture. You'll introduce me to him, and I'll offer him a post at the institute".

The occation of "being introduced" took place six months later, in my flat. During the dinner Zedgenidze proposed Nikolay Vladimirovich to work at our institute. He immediately agreed saying that he "was born in the region of Kaluga and would be very glad to die in his homeland." In the course of the next year his personnel moved from Sverdlovsk to Obninsk. Timofeff-Ressovsky became the Head of the radiobiology and experimental genetics department, which included two laboratories, a laboratory of molecular radiobiology (its leader was Zh.A.Medvedev) and a group of medical genetics (its leader was N.P.Bochkov), and the laboratory of radiation immunology (headed by K.P.Kashkin) which joined the department later. The most active group of the experimental genetics laboratory consisted of the specialists from Sverdlovsk (the "Sverdlovskers"): E.A.Timofeeva-Ressovskaja, V.I.Ivanov, N.P.Glotov and other people who came later - I.D.Alexandrov, E.K.Gunter, Yu.D.Abaturov, A.N.Tyuryukanov, Yu.M.Svirezhev and V.A.Mglenets.

Soon Nikolay Vladimirovich was attested at the Higher Attestation Commission and given the degree of Doctor of Science (based on the total ammount of his works), then he was given the degree of Professor. The point was that he had never had any scientific degree, even a candidate one, because he had no Russian certificate on Higher education. Due to all this he had never had a good salary.

The following years, till the end of the 60s, were the best period of the institute life, to my mind. Obviously, they were the best years for us all - for those who worked together in the department of Nikolay Vladimirovich. The director fully approved of the activities of our department, especially the research conducted by Nikolay Vladimirovich. "There are two types of scientists in our institute,- he used to say - those who are introduced to foreign visitors and those whom foreign visitors are introduced to." Our laboratory belonged to the second group, not very numerous in number. The director's concept of work was based on the slogan "Not to be disturbed." The department occupied first class premises, we had all necessary equipment, the Heads of the laboratories were free to select staff and to plan research objectives. We didn't have the slightest feeling of being under any administrative pressure. Zedgenidze appreciated in people selfdignity and ability to work independently, and he didn't conceal it. This disposition of his impressed us very much, and certainly, it gave rise to an open, free and creative atmosphere which used to be so natural with Nikolay Vladimirovich.

Creative atmosphere means to enjoy working, come to the office in a high mood, as if it's a holiday, when your success impresses other colleagues, when your failures or mistakes are met with help and consideration, not backbiting or malevolent smiles. It's a strong desire to work. It's your ability to be proud of your achievements and evaluate results with a cool head. The relations between the colleagues are based not on a Diploma or a degree, not on the official post or age, but are determined only by the results of the work... All these features inevitably became typical of the groups of Nikolay Vladimirovich. They were so natural that the people who had worked with him since student years often thought that it was the usual order of things .

I must stress here that Nikolay Vladimirovich was a criterion of "significance". The present absence of this criterion is a chronic disease of our science. The public opinion does not practically include views of scientists, researchers as they have no influence on public life. "Big" scientists have also "faded" somewhere, after achieving career aims, when prizes and honours became dependent on pleasing the administration and not on the results of research. Once respected, the title of academician transformed into a way to reach benefits of power and loyal service, the disproportion between the public status and scientific merits of most "learned" men lead to the loss of their opinion significance. New substitutes came along - the number of publications, especially in foriegn journals, skills to present recent data published in foreign press, references to one's papers, especially in foriegn literature... Our Science was gradually turning into an imitative one... But even in this condition it was not easy to achieve success, it took long time and hard effort to reach it. In fact, the "significance" criterion exists to keep the scientific interest always alert, it is a kind of backfire which corrects one's decisions. It was only natural for Nikolay Vladimirovich to be that criterion. It was as natural as he breathed or had tea. It was his permanent frame of mind, it showed during coffee break chat, at the laboratory inspection, in reports and speeches at seminars - when he summed up the achievements and cut off the "non-significant" from the "significant". It showed even when he knocked ignorance out of a speaker or a post-graduate after their first paper.

People from other laboratories and institutes - from under-graduates to academicians - considered it a matter of honour to make a report at our seminar and be praised by Nikolay Vladimirovich. Often, chatting or other informal contacts which had started at a seminar, continued in the evening at Timofeeff-Ressovsky's lodgings, where different people used to come - laboratory assistants, post-graduates, well-known scientists like E.I.Tamm, I.V.Obreinov, S.V.Vonsovskij, O.G.Gazenko, L.A.Blyumenfeld, B.L.Astaurov, V.V.Sakharov, A.A.Prokof'eva-Bel'govskaja, L.N.Gumilev and many others - historians, art specialists, psychiatrists, econimists, producers. I wish I could remeber them all. We met every evening at the famous Timofeeff-Ressovsky's tea parties for almost ten years.

The Timofeeff-Ressovskies lived not far from the railway station, in a small three-room flat, with one room being a through room. (The flats of this design are called in Russia "the Khrushchev's slums" because of a very small size of the rooms and adjoining places, i.e. bathroom, toilet and kitchen. Besides, they were designed and built in huge apartment blocks during the rule of the country communist leader N.S.Khrushchev - 1953- 1964.) The flat of the Timofeeff-Ressovskies consisted of a little study with a worn sofa and a desk, with rows of bookshelves along the walls; a room of Elena Alexandrovna - it was the only room in the flat with a furniture set; and a lounge (it could be a dining room, a bedroom for guests who used to come quite often). In the lounge there was a big table in the middle, a record player, bookshelves along the walls and pictures, painted by Oleg Tsinger, hanging on the walls without any frames. (They were presented that way by the author).

Evening tea parties at the Timofeeff-Ressovskies' were part of our life in Obninsk. They were so natural and true as the routine studies at the laboratory, on weekdays and at weekends. The Timofeeff-Ressovskies were always glad to meet guests, every evening, at about 7 p.m. After the door bell rang Nikolay Vladimirovich hurried to open the door; if it was a cold season he helped the new-comer with his overcoat and put it on the stand ( seeing guests off, Nikolay Vladimirovich used to hand them their overcoats); showing the visitor into the lounge he used to ask him to sit "anywhere" he chose. If there were too many guests, they gradually " diffused" into the study and even the bedroom, sitting everywhere. Without any regard to the number of people, tea and coffee were served. Cups were brought in by Elena Alexandrovna, this angelic guardian of Nikolay Vladimirovich and all of us. The Timofeeff-Ressovskies assured us that the procedure was always the same - in Sverdlovsk, at secret site "C", in Berlin-Buch... We often gathered on holidays - New Year and Easter.

But in spite of the tradition that anyone could come to that flat, it did not mean that any visitor was met heartily. If Nikolay Vladimirovich thought someone dishonourable he didn't hesitate to say it openly in the face and ask that man not to come to his place any more; once I was a witness of such a converstaion. He respected honesty and clean hands more than any other (including professional) merits in people. He believed that a dishonest man could not be a successful researcher and would say : "Honesty is the best quality."

Our "Thursdays" were very popular for discussions of new books or films and interesting articles, for listenning to music. Nikolay Vladimirovich used to tell us episodes from his life, abundant in events and experience. Elena Alexandrovna and Nikolay Vladimirovich were very fond of inviting young people, they even made special parties for the young, where classical music and lectures on the creative work of famous composers were topics of discussions. Later, the parties were regarded by the authorities as "discrediting" - they said Nikolay Vladimirovich "demoralized the young".

Seminars and discussions of current work in the department, evening tea parties, lectures and reports in Moscow, Leningrad (now, St. Petersburg), Yerevan, Minsk, Dushanbe and other cities, contacts with agronomists, teachers, schoolchildren, militia officers and fire- brigade officers... Nikolay Vladimirovich was always ready to share his knowledge with all those who were eager to learn...

He was constantly working - doing research, discussing plans and results in the studies which he guided: on population genetics and drosophila phenogenetics, on radiation genetics of arabidopsis, radiobiology of soil micro organisms, radiation cytology of mammals. He was busy with accounts and reports of numerous post-graduates from Armenia, Ukraine, Tadjikistan, he worked on articles and books, often dictating chapters to his co-authors. Five monographs were written by him with disciples and colleagues from other institutes during the Obninsk period. They were thoroughly checked, all facts and references, each phrase was "polished" and verified. It should be noted that he didn't like writing (dictating, more precisely) books, at the beginning he would disagree and grumble.

Those years were marked by outstanding prizes received by Nikolay Vladimirovich. They were the L.Spallanzani Medal (Italy), the Darwin Medal (Germany), the Mendel Medal (Czechoslovakia) and the Kimber Prize (USA). Obviously, at that time Timofeeff-Ressovsky was never allowed to go abroad to get them himself - so, breaking all rules, the authorities awarded him with them in Moscow.

Nikolay Vladimirovich was a full member of the German Natural Science Research Academy "Leopoldina" in Halle (Germany), an honorary member of the American Academy of Sciences and Arts in Boston (USA), Italian Society of Experimental Biology (Italy), Mendel Society in Lund (Sweden), British Genetical Society in Leeds (England) and M.Planck Society (Germany). In his motherland (deeply respected by him) he was an honorary member and co-founder of the All-Union of Geneticists and Selectionists, named after N.I.Vavilov, a full member of Moscow Naturalists' Society, Geographical Society and All-Union Botanic Society. But he was never awarded any home prizes, he was never officially greeted or offered a post in the Academy of Sciences of the Soviet Union. The Academy's authorities pretended not to notice him, ignored his acievements, though many academicians were close acquaintances of his. Possibly, the reasons for such attitude were not only in the fact that he was "in disfavour" or "politically unreliable". Mainly, it could be explained by his independent character, inability to come to compromises, or to betray anyone, to toady - in other words, it was his strong nature to be always himself, under any circumstances. It could be a challenge to many co-researchers who managed to establish and secure their career through compromises and silence - Nikolay Vladimirovich was absolutely unable to live like that.

Communist party authorities of Obninsk and Kaluga not in the least ignored Nikolay Vladimirovich. They were not like their Moscow colleagues. Independent way of thought and conduct of Nikolay Vladimirovich, his manner to tell the truth, "to call a spade a spade", never to toady disturbed them to great extent. After the "Prague" spring (1968) they passed over to active actions. It was the period of growing reaction everywhere. In Obninsk the party and civil administration was "swingled"; instead of the liberal first secretary of the city committee a new one was appointed. The life of the institute now was full of political disputes, "socialist competition", gathering potato harvest and hay-making in kolkhozes, with "visual propoganda" in the institute corridors. Soon the authorities demanded that the director ought to discharge Zh.A.Medvedev, who was the Head of the laboratory in our department. The next victim was Timofeeff- Ressovsky. The Head of the personnel division suggested him to retire. Timofeeff- Ressovsky wrote a statement. He was "shown the door" without any ceremonial meetings of the Scientific Council, without official expression of gratitude or memmorable gifts. At the department we made a farewell party to Nikolay Vladimirovich, with Champaign, flowers, speaches and tears. After the party he left home and never came back to the institute...

We visited him at his lodgings almost every evening. The Timofeeff-Ressovskies lived as usual and didn't complain of anything. The retirement was never a topic of discussion. Later Nikolay Vladimirovich said that O.G.Gazenko, an old friend of his and the director of the Institute of Medical Biological Problems of the USSR Public Health Ministry, invited him as a consultant. Nikolay Vladimirovich remained at this post for 10 years, till his death. First years he punctually went to the Institute twice a week to work on projects and reports, to meet colleagues and read lectures. Later, when it became difficult to him, the Institute researchers came to his place to Obninsk. Nikolay Vladimirovich could not live without being preoccupied with research. The consultant status satisfied him because his only wish was to participate in scientific life. From all over the country people came to him, he dictated articles, chapters of his new books, with evening tea parties still a vivid and pleasant tradition. Everything seemed to be as it used to have been. But...The trouble was that the persecution of scientists in the department of Timofeeff-Ressovsky didn't cease. The Institute founder and director Zedgenidze was also "shown the door". The laboratory headed by Zh.A.Medevedev was closed immediately after the director's dismissal, the laboratory of Nikolay Vladimirovich was cancelled. Soon the scientists from the laboratory moved to Leningrad, Moscow, Novosibirsk. As a rule, they were able to find better posts than in Obninsk.

Not all of us had left Obninsk when Elena Alexandrovna died. It happenned on Easter. As usual, we were celebrating Holy Sunday at the Timofeeff-Ressovskies'. That year we made a present to Elena Alexandrovna - it was a golden watch on a golden chain. She had dreamed of it for a long time. She had made a new blue dress for the occasion, it fitted her very much, and she was merry and excited on that Sunday. She sipped the Cogniac, made a short speech with gratitude and congratulations. We enjoyed the party very much, everything was as it had used to be... After the guests had left she went to her room. But after our departure, as soon as we came home, Nikolay Vladimirovich phoned and pleaded to come back: "Please, come, Lelya has just died". She died very peacefully, on Holy Sunday, with a light heart and without suffering.

Nikolay Vladimirovich took the death of Elena Alexandrovna dramatically. He couldn't do anything, he couldn't talk to anyone. He only kept on saying: " Without Lelya I can't manage the technique of being alive..." His friends were with him all the time, trying to keep him away from sorrowful thoughts. But only the extraordinary vitality of Nikolay Vladimirovich helped him to overcome that trajedy, to outlive it, in order to be ready for his own death. He absolutely rejected the idea of moving to his son's to Sverdlovsk (now Ekaterinburg), or to his relatives in Moscow. He wished to die here and to be buried with Elena Alexandrovna, next to her grave. He also objected to the offer of some friends of his to live at his flat to help him about the house - strangers in the flat, and in the room of Elena Alexandrovna in particular, annoyed him. People visited him, brought food, cooked for him. Occasionally, he went to Moscow, but every summer, in the first part of it, he would go to Leninskie Gory (a region in Moscow) to a small church near the university, where he and his close friends ordered a requiem service.

Now, more and more often, Nikolay Vladimirovich recalled various periods of his life, as if he looked through them from a new point of view, and made ethical evaluations. He was making conclusions now. His intellect was still powerful, but concentration on the outer world was loosening. Actually, his last report on the 28th of February 1980 at the session the Moscow department of VOGiS (All-Russian Society of Geneticists and Selectionists) on the problem of evolution, may be considered final. The new vision of the problem which had not been discussed before, was presented now in the report and sounded like his scientific testament. In autumn 1980, on his birthday, he invited his friends to his flat with a clear intention to say goodbye: