Behind the Bastards

Part One: The Russian Scientist Who Helped Kill 30 Million People

Nov 13, 2018
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INSIGHT

Science as Social Mobility Path

  • Early 20th century Russia excelled in science despite social stagnation.
  • Science offered one of the few paths to social mobility in tsarist Russia.
ANECDOTE

Ilya Ivanov's Ape-Human Experiment

  • Ilya Ivanov attempted to hybridize humans and apes using sperm insemination.
  • His unethical experiments were halted and discredited after colonial authorities intervened.
INSIGHT

Vavilov's Seed Bank Legacy

  • Nikolai Vavilov was a pioneering plant geneticist focused on ending famine.
  • He collected a vast seed bank to boost Soviet agricultural knowledge and resilience.
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