The objectives of studying the history of science in the USSR: the situation in 1952

Abstract

The historiographic situation in the history of natural sciences in 1952 is reviewed based on the archive documents that are introduced for scientific use for the first time. A previously unknown fact from the history of science is established, which is important for understanding the processes occurring in social sciences and the humanities in the USSR in the mid-20th century. The paper describes the conditions characteristic of the period of late Stalinism that had very negatively affected the work of Soviet historians of science, narrowed the scope of research, and sought to turn the history of science into an instrument for ideologically manipulating the society. At the same time, the archive documents we have studied indicate that the Soviet community of historians of science has been striving to overcome the isolationism and dogmatism forced on them by the regime. The analytical memorandum on the state of the studies on the history of science in the USSR and the tasks faced by this discipline, created at the Institute for the History of Science of the USSR Academy of Sciences at the end of 1952, is a valuable source.

Ten Years of Research on History of Science (Physics): A Bibliometric Analysis

“…Associated with the discussion in the course of the history of physics, we know that wherever and whenever, physics will experience developments in any aspect when the conditions of society and the existing government are also supportive and in a stable state (Baldwin, 2018;Grinina, I. R., & Ilizarov, S. S. (2020). The discussion that is studied related to the contribution of a society or nation to the development of physics, the development of physics content from time to time, and a brief biography of scientists who are essential contributors to the development of physics are some of the main aspects of the history of physics that are important for students to know and are essential to developing.…”