Lysenkoism

   Trofim Denisovich Lysenko (1898–1976) was elevated to a position of considerable power and influence in Soviet agriculture on the basis of his theory of inheritance of acquired characteristics in plants and his claims that the seasonal patterns and yields of crops could be dramatically changed on the basis of his theory. His views went completely against the emerging science of plant genetics, but backed by Josef Stalin and Nikita Khrushchev his proletarian science held sway in the Soviet Union over the “capitalist” science of genetics. As president of the Soviet Academy of Agricultural Sciences (1938–1956 and 1961–1962) he promoted his approach and theory and purged the Soviet scientific community of those who supported genetics, even to the extent of their being imprisoned or shot. Lysenkoism as science was completely wrong and contributed to the failures of Soviet agriculture. Lysenkoism also serves as a term to denote a policy of ideological and state intervention in science and the dangers of such an approach.