The paper offers a new perspective on the early Soviet research on tick-borne encephalitis (TBE) ... more The paper offers a new perspective on the early Soviet research on tick-borne encephalitis (TBE) - a dangerous and potentially lethal viral infection of the brain spread by ticks. That early Soviet research, including the isolation of the TBE virus in 1937, has been crucial for the understanding of TBE, its etiology, clinical picture, and epidemiology until the present day, both in Russia and internationally. However, some of this early research has in fact been misrepresented in the scientific literature and obscured by Soviet censorship. In the current chapter, based on the analysis of previously unstudied historical documents, I would like not only to retell the key steps of that familiar story, but to discuss how those early expeditions fit into the broader Soviet scientific, environmental, and socio-political context and what it means for the interpretation of Soviet TBE research and the history of TBE. Considering the wide spread of TBE across Eurasia, it is remarkable that TBE - supposedly - captured
scholarly attention only in the 1930s. The first subchapter analyzes the history of TBE “before the TBE virus”, that is before 1937, and puts together scientific records on the localization and understanding of this disease before it received its name and before its etiology became known. The second subchapter asks why, then, this disease became particularly visible in the 1930s and why specifically in the Soviet Far East. Looking at the social, environmental, and political developments in the region, it shows the “emergence” of this disease was inseparable from the geopolitical agendas and the Stalinist colonization of the Far Eastern peripheries through involuntary resettlement and forced labor. Finally, the last subchapter looks at how this influenced early Soviet studies of TBE and the interpretation of their findings.
The article explores how Russia’s governmental authorities, scientists, engineers, and industrial... more The article explores how Russia’s governmental authorities, scientists, engineers, and industrialists engaged with the problem of factory waste and water pollution. It argues that industrial pollution of rivers emerged as a subject of considerable public debate in Russia in the 1880s and the enforcement of water protection laws grew stricter towards the end of the Empire. However, the vagueness of the legislation and the lack of clear quality standards opened the way for contingency and arbitrariness in the persecution of violators. This persecution did not lead to the reduction of pollution in the imperial period, but it raised awareness of the dangers of industrial discharge for riverine environments.
The paper offers a new perspective on the early Soviet research on tick-borne encephalitis (TBE) ... more The paper offers a new perspective on the early Soviet research on tick-borne encephalitis (TBE) - a dangerous and potentially lethal viral infection of the brain spread by ticks. That early Soviet research, including the isolation of the TBE virus in 1937, has been crucial for the understanding of TBE, its etiology, clinical picture, and epidemiology until the present day, both in Russia and internationally. However, some of this early research has in fact been misrepresented in the scientific literature and obscured by Soviet censorship. In the current chapter, based on the analysis of previously unstudied historical documents, I would like not only to retell the key steps of that familiar story, but to discuss how those early expeditions fit into the broader Soviet scientific, environmental, and socio-political context and what it means for the interpretation of Soviet TBE research and the history of TBE. Considering the wide spread of TBE across Eurasia, it is remarkable that TBE - supposedly - captured
scholarly attention only in the 1930s. The first subchapter analyzes the history of TBE “before the TBE virus”, that is before 1937, and puts together scientific records on the localization and understanding of this disease before it received its name and before its etiology became known. The second subchapter asks why, then, this disease became particularly visible in the 1930s and why specifically in the Soviet Far East. Looking at the social, environmental, and political developments in the region, it shows the “emergence” of this disease was inseparable from the geopolitical agendas and the Stalinist colonization of the Far Eastern peripheries through involuntary resettlement and forced labor. Finally, the last subchapter looks at how this influenced early Soviet studies of TBE and the interpretation of their findings.
The article explores how Russia’s governmental authorities, scientists, engineers, and industrial... more The article explores how Russia’s governmental authorities, scientists, engineers, and industrialists engaged with the problem of factory waste and water pollution. It argues that industrial pollution of rivers emerged as a subject of considerable public debate in Russia in the 1880s and the enforcement of water protection laws grew stricter towards the end of the Empire. However, the vagueness of the legislation and the lack of clear quality standards opened the way for contingency and arbitrariness in the persecution of violators. This persecution did not lead to the reduction of pollution in the imperial period, but it raised awareness of the dangers of industrial discharge for riverine environments.
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Papers by Anna Mazanik
scholarly attention only in the 1930s. The first subchapter analyzes the history of TBE “before the TBE virus”, that is before 1937, and puts together scientific records on the localization and understanding of this disease before it received its name and before its etiology became known. The second subchapter asks why, then, this disease became particularly visible in the 1930s and why specifically in the Soviet Far East. Looking at the social, environmental, and political developments in the region, it shows the “emergence” of this disease was inseparable from the geopolitical agendas and the Stalinist colonization of the Far Eastern peripheries through involuntary resettlement and forced labor. Finally, the last subchapter looks at how this influenced early Soviet studies of TBE and the interpretation of their findings.
scholarly attention only in the 1930s. The first subchapter analyzes the history of TBE “before the TBE virus”, that is before 1937, and puts together scientific records on the localization and understanding of this disease before it received its name and before its etiology became known. The second subchapter asks why, then, this disease became particularly visible in the 1930s and why specifically in the Soviet Far East. Looking at the social, environmental, and political developments in the region, it shows the “emergence” of this disease was inseparable from the geopolitical agendas and the Stalinist colonization of the Far Eastern peripheries through involuntary resettlement and forced labor. Finally, the last subchapter looks at how this influenced early Soviet studies of TBE and the interpretation of their findings.