Materiality of marine sciences in late Imperial Russia and early Soviet Union: Research vessels, instruments, laboratory practices

Abstract

The paper discusses the materiality of marine science in Russia from the example of the Barents Sea. This sea became a scientific frontier in the late nineteenth century and in the first decades of the twentieth century by being included into the international research programme of the International Council for the Exploration of the Sea. The advantage of Russia was the possibility to get the very first Europe research vessel. The legacy of this period lasted into early Soviet time, when oceanography also developed around a research vessel that became a core of the Floating Maritime Institute. The study of the materiality of research is enriched by a focus on gender in marine science.

Fonctionnalités territoriales traditionnelles et émergentes en contexte (post-)socialiste : la transition pêche-aquaculture en question

“…En dehors de la France, plusieurs territoires ne sont pas en reste et la « culture du poisson » est déjà en vogue (Bérard, 1993). L'Etat libre de Prusse et l'Empire Russe sont actifs dans la recherche aquicole (Lajus, 2021a), et jettent les bases d'une structuration soviétique. En Prusse, la question des pêches en général est centrale, puisqu'elle assure des revenus douaniers important sur le pourtour Baltique/Mer du Nord et permet une alimentation en produits halieutiques de la population, grâce à la conservation par séchage, salaison ou fumaison.…”

Changing Narratives in the History Oceanography

“…This absence is doubly notable given Russian scientists' early entry into these fields. For example, Russia commissioned one of the earliest custom-built vessels for marine exploration, the Andrei Pervozvanny, launched in the 1899 (Lajus 2021). Even a transnational history of American and Soviet ocean sciences during the Cold War remains to be written.…”