Советская наука в погоне за физическим долголетием
Soviet science in pursuit of physical longevity

Summary/Abstract: The presented publication is a review of a monograph by R. A. Fando and I. V. Sozinov devoted to the history of biomedical projects for rejuvenation and prolongation of life that took place in the USSR in the 1920s and 1950s. The review notes the relevance of the topic of the monograph. The study of biomedical projects can shed light on little-known pages from the history of Russian science. The monograph is based on a wide range of sources and literature. Here we can see archival materials from the collections of many central archives. These sources are supplemented by an extensive corpus of published documents, memoirs and research literature. The authors of the monograph examined in detail four subjects: V. M. Danchakova’s work on stem cells; I. N. Kazakov’s research on lysotherapy; A. A. Zamkov’s project on the introduction of the drug “gravidan”; O. B. Lepeshinskaya’s developments on the treatment of chicken eggs with live matter. Each chapter of the monograph is based on a wide range of sources and literature. Considerable attention is paid to the relationship of the study’s heroes with the Soviet government. These relationships could range in a wide range, from full acceptance and approval to criticism and prohibition. This introduces the monograph into the framework of intellectual studies, where the problem of “intelligentsia and power” is one of the main ones. The review notes some private comments that do not change the overall favorable impression. The monograph has an undoubted scientific novelty, can be recommended to anyone who is engaged in the history of science and scientific intelligentsia in the USSR and in Russia.

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