Outstanding
personalities
Russia gave the world a lot of great writers, artists, musicians,
philosophers, sportsmen, and politicians. The names of Russian scientists and
inventors are known all over the world. Almost in all branches of science and
technology the Russian scientists played the leading role.
The achievements of the Russian scientists are great.
Vladimir Vernadsky (1863-1945), a Russian scientist, is considered to
be one of the founders of geochemistry and biogeochemistry. The son of a
professor, Vernadsky graduated from St. Petersburg University in 1885 and
became curator of the university's mineralogical collection in 1886. In 1890
he became a lecturer on mineralogy and crystallography at Moscow University,
where he earned his Ph.D. in 1897. He served as a professor at Moscow
University from 1898 to 1911. After the Revolution he was active in scientific
and organisational activities. He founded and directed (from 1927) the
biogeochemical laboratory of the Academy of Sciences at Leningrad (St.
Petersburg).
Vernadsky's initial work was in mineralogy. He was also a pioneer in
geochemistry. He made a detailed study of the Earth and chemical processes
going on in its crust, including the migration of chemical elements.
Vernadsky was one of the first scientists to recognise the tremendous
potential of radioactivity as a source of energy, and he was also one of the
first to put forward the idea that radioactivity is vital to many processes of
the Earth's life. His later years were taken up with the study of the life
processes in the atmosphere and in the Earth's crust. Vernadsky is regarded
the founder of the theory of the biosphere, that is the total mass of living
organisms, which process and recycle the energy and nutrients available from
the environment. His name is well known today. For example, an avenue and a
metro station in Moscow bear the name of Vernadsky.
I also admire the work of Alexander Tchijevsky (1897-1964), a Russian
scientist of space biophysics, and a young friend of Tsiolkovsky. Konstantin
Tsiolkovsky (1857-1935) was among the first to work out the theoretical
problems of rocket travel in space. He is the greatest Russian research
scientist in aeronautics and astronautics who pioneered rocket and space
research.
Tchijevsky worked in the tradition of late Cosmic Philosophy. The son of a
Russian general, Tchijevsky spent the early years of his life in Kaluga. There
he got his education and then worked. In this town he made friends with
Tsiolkovsky, who became his advisor and scientific colleague.
For the rest of his life Tchijevsky lived and worked at different research
institutions in Moscow. His theories of sunspot activity and human activity
stated that sunspot cycle activity increased and decreased in a cycle of
approximately 11 years. During World War I Tchijevsky continued his studies at
the war front. He noticed that a dependence existed between the severe battles
and solar activity.
To test his hypothesis that sunspot cycle influenced human lives, Tchijevsky
analysed the data covering each year form 500 BC to 1922 AD. Then he studied
the histories of 72 countries during that period, noting signs of human unrest
such as wars, revolutions, riots, expeditions and migrations. Tchijevsky found
that 80 percent of the most significant events occurred during the years of
maximum sunspot activity. Tchijevsky observed that the Russian Revolution of
1917 occurred during the height of the sunspot activity. The scientist spent
long years in Soviet prisons because his theory challenged the established
system.
Tchijevsky did not believe that solar disturbances caused discontent among
people. Solar activity simply served as detonators that set off the reaction
of the people who had many grievances and causes for complaint. The recent
studies tend to confirm Tchijevsky's hypothesis.
- Can you tell us about an outstanding American personality?
- John Fitzgerald Kennedy (1917-1963), 35th president of the United States
(1961-63), faced a number of foreign crises, especially in Cuba and Berlin,
but managed to secure such achievements as the Nuclear Test-Ban Treaty and the
Alliance for Progress.
John Kennedy grew up in a large family. He was the second of nine children,
and his father wanted all his children to compete physically and
intellectually with each other. Kennedy graduated from Harvard University. For
six months in 1938 he served as secretary to his father, then U.S. ambassador
to Great Britain.
In the fall of 1941 Kennedy joined the U.S. Navy and two years later was sent
to fight in the Pacific against the Japanese during Word War II. Originally
John's elder brother was to become the U.S. president, but he was killed
during the war. So, John who originally planned to become a scholar or a
journalist was to replace his brother. In 1960 the Democratic Party nominated
Kennedy as its official candidate for the presidency.
In 1960 John Kennedy became one of the most famous political figures in the
country. He was young and ambitious, people believed that he would open a new
era in the American history. During the television debates Kennedy appeared as
a good looking and promising person. Kennedy won the election and in 1961 he
became the president of the United States. John F. Kennedy was the youngest
man and the first Roman Catholic ever elected to the presidency of the United
States. His slogan was "Let's get this country moving again". His
administration lasted 1,037 days. From the onset he was concerned with foreign
affairs.
Kennedy was an immensely popular president, at home and abroad. At times he
seemed to be everywhere at once, encouraging better physical fitness,
improving the morale of government workers, bringing brilliant advisers to the
White House, and beautifying Washington, D.C. His wife joined him as an
advocate for U.S. culture. Their two young children were known throughout the
country. In 1963 John Kennedy was killed, but the Kennedy mystique was alive.
- Who glorified Great Britain?
- Great Britain is proud of its writers such as William Shakespeare, Daniel
Defoe, Robert Burns, George Gordon Byron, Walter Scott, Charles Dickens, Oscar
Wild, John Golsworthy. James Cook, William Harvey, Michael Faraday, Edward
Jenner, Alexander Mackenzie, Isaac Newton, George Stephenson, James Watt -
glorified Great Britain too.
- What are they famous for?
- In 1628 William Harvey discovered the circulation of blood and this led to
great advances in medicine in the study of human body. James Cook discovered
Australia and New Zealand, and sailed round the world three times. Isaac
Newton formulated the law of gravitation, he discovered that white light was
made up of rays of different colours, and developed a mathematical method,
which is known as the Binomial Theorem, and also differential and integral
calculus. Michael Faraday is famous for his work in electricity; he is known
as the father of electric motor. James Watt invented the universal
steam-engine. Smallpox has almost disappeared due to Edward Jenner who
introduced the smallpox vaccination in 1800. The name of George Stephenson is
connected with the first railway; he is often called the "Father of Railways".
Alexander Mackenzie is known for his exploration of the Arctic.
- Well, what can you tell us about Russian painting? When did a truly Russian
tradition of painting begin?
- A truly Russian tradition of painting began in the 1870s with the appearance
of the "Wanderers" - the Peredvizhniki. This society was formed by a group of
Romantic artists who regarded themselves as Realists. Rejecting the classicism
of the Russian Academy they formed a new realist art that served the common
men. The "Wanderers" depicted Russian middle-class and peasant life in an
easily understood style.
- Why did the "Wanderers" organise mobile exhibitions?
- When they set up a Society of Wandering Exhibitions, they organised mobile
exhibitions of their works in order to bring serious art to the people.
- Who belonged to this group?
- The greatest Russian artists of the 1870s and 1880s, including Ivan Kramskoy,
Il'ya Repin, Vassily Surikov, Vassily Perov, and Vassily Vereshchagin,
belonged to this group. The Wanderers attached much importance to the moral.
Their artistic creed was realism, national feeling, and social consciousness.
The Wanderers were dominant in Russia for nearly 30 years.
- Can you describe the "Wanderers'" paintings?
- I am impressed by Il'ya Repin's paintings. He is known for the power and
drama of his works. He created realistic and historical paintings. His
powerful "Volga Boatmen", depicting bargemen harnessed together like beasts of
burden, is full of realism. In his "Religious Procession in the Kursk
Guberniya" Repin depicted almost all the estates of provincial Russia. With
the development of realism, historical painting underwent great changes. In
his large historical paintings "Ivan the Terrible and His Son Ivan, November
16, 1581" and "Zaporozhian Cossacks" Repin revived the spirit of historical
events, he recreated historical characters, their fates and passions. The
painter also made portraits of his great contemporaries, such as Leo Tolstoy,
Mikhail Glinka, and Modest Mussorgsky.
- What do you know about English painting?
- English painting up to the 18th century was dominated by foreign
portraitists. The modern British school of painting originated in England in
the 18-th century. Its founder was William Hogarth. He invented a new form of
secular narrative painting. In his moralizing paintings William Hogarth showed
the life of his contemporaries. Thomas Gainsborough is known for his
landscapes and elegant portraits. The mainstream of English painting in the
first half of the nineteenth century was landscape. Constable and Turner were
the greatest landscapists of that time.
- Can you dwell on one of them?
- Yes, of course. I'll tell you about John Constable. The son of a miller
Constable honoured all that was natural and traditional. He never left England
and made dutiful sketching tours through regions of scenic beauty. "The Hay
Wain" sums up Constable's ideals and achievements. The painting shows
Constable's beloved river Stour with its trees, a mill, and distant fields. In
1829 Constable became member of the Royal Academy. One of his late works of
art is "Stroke-by-Nayland". In this large canvas John Constable depicted the
distant church tower, the wagon, the plough, the horses, and the boy looking
over the gate. The breadth of the picture, and colours painted in a rapid
technique are equalled to Titian's or Rembrandt's landscape backgrounds.