Confrontations of 1905 in Persons: The Position of the St. Petersburg Academy of Sciences.

Abstract

The article examines a serious conflict that arose in the St. Petersburg Academy of Sciences in January 1905 and lasted for a month and a half. Many researchers who have ever considered the history of the Academy or the biographies of its members have addressed this period of the Academy's work. It should be noted that materials on this topic are widely scattered. The purpose of the study based on a wide range of publications and documents, to look at already known facts and events from a different angle. The task was to consider the clash between academicians and President Grand Duke K.K. Romanov, which occurred due to the fact that 17 members of the Academy signed a document known as the "Note of 342 Scientists" and did not remove their signatures at his request. The article used classical methods of historical research, such as biographical, historical and comparative. The work provides a brief description of the St. Petersburg Academy of Sciences of the early 20th century. The emphasis is on  the personality of the President of the Academy, Grand Duke Konstantin Konstantinovich, and his reaction to the protests of the academicians. The article does not simply formally present the chain of events, but shows the main actors in this confrontation and their behavior in the current situation. Academics were firm and showed civic courage, and the president had to be flexible enough to preserve the Academy and continue its work, at a time when the entire empire was engulfed in peasant revolts, and dissatisfaction with the economic situation and government policy took many forms.