"An ideological man not of this world": the image of Academician E.S. Fedorov in the memoirs of the scientist's wife

Filippova Tatiana Petrovna PhD in History Scientific Associate, Komi Scientific Centre of Ural Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences 167000, Russia, Komi Republic, Syktyvkar, 24 Kommunisticheskaya str., office 311 tanya.tatiana-fil@yandex.ru Other publications by this author

Currently, in the humanities, there is a close interest in the problems of man in history, the formation of his identity, the place of man in society and attitudes towards him. One of the directions of such research is the study of the biographies of scientists. The connection between the personality of a scientist and his epoch is established, as a rule, through sources of personal origin, which may concern not only "oneself", but also "others". With the growing attention to the person in history and the socio-cultural dimension of the past, the importance of these sources increases.

Independent historical and cultural interest among the sources of personal origin are the memories of scientists, as well as their loved ones. The study of such sources expands the boundaries of the functioning of the scientific community at different historical stages. They become the main evidence for studying people's perception of historical events, give researchers valuable details and signs of the time that are missing in other sources. The information from these documents allows you to form an image of a man of science, to understand his inner world, the motives that drive him to achieve scientific goals, to know his research laboratory, as well as to form the image of a famous scientist in other social roles – a family man, father, etc.

This study focuses on the personality of the famous crystallographer, mineralogist, academician of the Russian Academy of Sciences Yevgraf Stepanovich Fedorov (1853-1919), whose name is world famous. E.S. Fedorov belonged to a galaxy of talented scientists of the turn of the XIX–XX centuries. who gave a powerful impetus to the development of scientific knowledge in Russia. A large number of studies have been devoted to his scientific biography ^[1-7]. The scientist's scientific heritage includes outstanding achievements in the field of crystallography, mineralogy, petrography, geometry, as well as inventions in the field of measurement and optical research of crystals. Documentary evidence of the scientist's biography is not only his scientific heritage, including archival documents about his activities, published articles in periodicals and scientific works, as well as a set of epistolary sources and memoirs of his wife Lyudmila Vasilyevna Fedorova "Our everyday life, joys and sorrows".

In 1927, the manuscript of L.V. Fedorov's memoirs was deposited at the Fedorovsky Institute of Crystallography at the Leningrad Mining Institute. L.V. Fedorova began writing memoirs after Yevgraf Stepanovich passed away, at the request of his students and colleagues. But L.V. Fedorova herself, as she noted in her manuscript, wanted to create a memory for her grandchildren about their family and famous grandfather. The document was addressed only to a narrow circle of people and was not prepared for publication ^{[8, p. 11]}. She dedicated her memories to her husband, as a person and a scientific figure: "It's like they took the soul out of me when they buried him. I dedicate the notes not only as a husband, but as an ideological person not of this world" ^{[8, p. 12]}.

Academicians V. I. Vernadsky and A. E. Fersman wrote about the significance of the scientific heritage of E.S. Fedorov and the need to preserve historical memory about him in their works ^{[4, 9]}. In 1927, Academician V. I. Vernadsky personally petitioned the Physics and Mathematics Department of the USSR Academy of Sciences to restore a pension for L. V. Fedorova, who after her death the spouse found herself without means of livelihood ^{[8, pp. 8-9]}.

In the 1920s, the reading of memoirs "Our Everyday Life, joys and Sorrows" and reviews to them took place at meetings of the Fedorov Institute of Crystallography of the Leningrad Mining Institute, which were read by students of E.S. Fedorov – A. K. Boldyrev, O. M. Ansheles, V. N. Lodochnikov, etc. The work was highly appreciated and recommended for publication as soon as possible. However, the repressions that broke out in the USSR in the late 1920s-1930s, which led to the arrests of many geologists, employees of the Mining Institute, did not allow them to carry out their plans. In 1954, the documents of E. S. Fedorov were transferred to the Archive of the USSR Academy of Sciences, where the personal fund of the scientist was formed. Among the transferred documents were the memoirs of L. V. Fedorova [St. Petersburg Branch of the Archive of the Russian Academy of Sciences. F. 831.Op. 2. d. 47. 376 l.].

The issue of publishing these memoirs was raised more than once, but there was no result ^{[8, p. 10]}. Although in the works in which the biography and scientific activity of the scientist were revealed, these memories were used everywhere ^{[1, 6, 7]}. Only in 1992, on the initiative of I. I. Shafranovsky and V. A. Frank-Kamenetsky, L. V. Fedorova's manuscript "Our Everyday Life, Joys and Sorrows" was published in the series "Scientific Heritage" of the Russian Academy of Sciences ^[8]. According to I. I. Shafranovsky, this document "contains the most valuable information about the life of E. S. Fedorov" ^{[7, p. 7]}.

In this study, the task is to reconstruct the image of E. S. Fedorov as a scientific figure, presented in the memoirs of his wife, which will be considered in relation to the surrounding reality and its challenges. The main attention is focused on the period of the scientist's scientific biography in the 1880s-1890s, which can be considered the most difficult in the life of E. S. Fedorov. At this time, his activity in the Geological Committee falls, when a novice scientist had to fight for a place in the scientific world, prove the prospects of his scientific direction and his innovative ideas. The study of this historical source in this perspective has not been carried out by researchers until now.

L. V. Fedorova 's memoirs cover a wide historical period of the second half of the XIX century – the beginning of the XX centuries . Lyudmila Vasilyevna described in detail not only the daily life of their family, but also recorded for history the evolution of her husband's scientific activity and his relationship with teachers, mentors and colleagues. The memoirs consist of sections that are the life stages of the Fedorov family: "My childhood"; "Smolny Institute"; "Meeting with E.S. Fedorov"; "Participation in the revolutionary movement"; "Student of the Mining Institute"; "Work in the Geological Committee. Ural expeditions"; "Ural. Turyinsky mines. Moscow Agricultural Institute"; "Director of the Mining Institute"; "World War. Revolution"; "Loneliness". The events described are arranged in a strict chronology. The document is supplemented by the correspondence between the spouses included in it, as well as their letters to other persons. Lyudmila Vasilyevna began her account of events from her childhood in Kungur. The events of childhood, youth and the student period of E. S. Fedorov are also reflected in detail.

The eventful biography of the scientist speaks of his tireless search for a creative path. Even as a teenager, at the age of 15, E. S. Fedorov became seriously interested in the mathematical theory of polyhedra, this path subsequently determined the main direction of his future scientific activity. However, the young man has been looking for his purpose in life for a long time.

Initially, E. S. Fedorov planned to follow in his father's footsteps and build a military career, in 1872 he graduated from the Military Engineering School with the rank of second lieutenant. But in 1874, he retired from military service and decided to devote himself to medicine, becoming a volunteer at the Imperial Medical and Surgical Academy. At this time, the acquaintance of the future spouses took place. L. V. Panyutina came from Kungur to study at St. Petersburg medical courses. Already in 1875, E. S. Fedorov left medicine and began studying chemistry and physics at the St. Petersburg Institute of Technology. While studying at the institute, he began to try himself in a political career.

In 1876, E. S. Fedorov joined the secret revolutionary society "Land and Freedom" and took an active part in underground work. On the instructions of the society in 1877, he traveled around Europe to establish contacts with foreign revolutionary organizations and obtain progressive publications for distribution in Russia. A strong emotional bond between the future spouses was established already during this period.  L.V. Panyutina, not sharing the political views of E. S. Fedorov, helped him to correspond with members of a secret organization: "I agreed to be a link with the party without being a socialist personally – it was a fog in the clouds for me, a utopia: but Yevgraf Stepanovich seemed to inspire me, ignited me. Without him, I kind of went out. The charm of his highly moral personality had an irresistible effect on me, but my mind was on guard" ^{[8, pp. 56-57]}.

After returning from abroad, E. S. Fedorov married Lyudmila Vasilyevna. In this strong marriage, which lasted about forty years, three children were born. An underground printing house was organized in the apartment of the young spouses, where the illegal newspaper "The Beginning" was printed, later renamed "Land and Freedom". His spouse continues to support him in this activity ^{[8, p. 71]}. However, by 1880, having diverged in views with the populists on the issue of terror, he finally abandoned political activity. In addition, the calmness of the spouse and the birth of the first child in the family for E. S. Fedorov became serious reasons for abandoning a political career and deciding to devote himself to science. The defeat of the party after the assassination of Alexander II and the mass arrests did not affect the family of E. S. Fedorov, despite the fact that his name was on the lists of possible accomplices. But, apparently, in many ways these events influenced his further scientific career.

Back in 1879, continuing to develop the mathematical theory of polyhedra, E. S. Fedorov prepared his first book, The Beginnings of the Doctrine of Figures, which presented the classification of polyhedra and the derivation of all types of symmetry for finite figures. The work became decisive in the scientific biography of the scientist and laid the foundations for his brilliant achievements in the field of geometric crystallography and the theory of crystal structure. It was at this time that Yevgraf Stepanovich became interested in studying crystals – natural polyhedra, which was the reason for an important decision – to get a geological education.

In 1883, E. S. Fedorov graduated from the St. Petersburg Mining Institute. Despite the fact that his name was entered on a marble plaque, the leadership of the Department of Crystallography, represented by Professor P. V. Eremeev, decided not to leave the scientist to work at the department. The probable reason for this decision was the political past of Yevgraf Stepanovich. He was temporarily assigned to conduct only practical classes at the Museum of the Mining Institute. This job gave him only 40 rubles a month. The articles he translated for technical journals were also poorly paid ^{[8, p. 83]}. E.S. Fedorov needed to think about serious earnings.

In 1883, Professor of the Mining University, one of the mentors of E. S. Fedorov, I. V. Musketov, suggested that the scientist go on a Northern expedition to the Urals for several years, which was organized by the Mining Department. At the same time, E. S. Fedorov was offered the position of a conservator in the Geological Committee with a payment of 75 rubles per month ^{[8, p. 105]}.

Serious decisions that concerned the appointments of E. S. Fedorov or relocations, the spouses decided together. Yevgraf Stepanovich always enlisted the support of his wife. Despite the fact that this expedition activity in the Northern Urals assumed a long absence of E. S. Fedorov, his wife supported him. From the memoirs of L. V. Fedorova: "And then I realized that for seven years [E.S. Fedorov conducted expeditionary research in the Northern Urals in the period from 1884 to 1889] in a row, I had to part with Yevgraf every summer, but the job was already done. It's important for Yevgraf. You can't keep him at your skirt all the time" ^{[8, p. 105]}.

The wife of the scientist was wary of the future trip of E. S. Fedorov. By the end of the XIX century . The Northern Urals, like practically the entire North of Russia, represented a sparsely populated, little-studied territory, which was famous for its severity. Yes, and E. S. Fedorov himself felt considerable anxiety before the upcoming. From the scientist's diary: "An anxious and at the same time solemnly joyful feeling seized me when I was invited to take part in the work of the Northern expedition equipped by the Mining Department [...] I expected something terrible, terrible, which I could not imagine" ^{[8, p. 245]}.

From 1884 to 1889, on the instructions of the Mining Department and the Geological Committee, E. S. Fedorov conducted research in the Northern Urals every summer. Lyudmila Vasilyevna prepared the expedition equipment for E. S. Fedorov herself. She sewed a tunic, a hiking outfit ^{[8, p. 105]}. The difficult scientific activity became a test for the Fedorov family, because for many years, every summer season Yevgraf Stepanovich was forced to stay away from home. In order to spend less time apart, the scientist's family often came to Kungur, the homeland of Lyudmila Vasilyevna, from where E.S. Fedorov went on an expedition. During this period, correspondence was conducted between the spouses, included in the text of the memoirs. The letters vividly convey the warm connection that existed between the spouses and even at a distance of thousands of kilometers was a powerful support for the scientist L. V. Fedorov. From the letter of E. S. Fedorov: "We have just settled down in a tent for the first night, and my first thoughts, of course, flew to you, my incomparable. The tent is put up for the first time and shines with whiteness, cleanliness and convenience. I had a snack of bread with caviar and various sausages and will soon lie down to sleep, mentally hovering around you" [St. Petersburg branch of the Archive of the Russian Academy of Sciences. F.831. Op.3. d.114. l. 31 a].

Over the years, the expedition has traveled routes along the Western and Eastern slopes of the Urals, where more than one researcher has not yet reached ^{[10, 11]}. Unfortunately, the research carried out by E. S. Fedorov received scientific recognition only in the Soviet period, when the practical results of his work were determined.

Despite the research conducted in the Northern Urals, E. S. Fedorov did not receive recognition among geologists. A scientific position in the Geological Committee was never offered to him, he continued to work in the office of the Geological Committee for ten years. As his wife wrote in her memoirs, "he was kept in a black body by an official, without being given the opportunity to study science ^{[8, p. 119]}. A small salary of an official led to the search for additional means of earning. After the end of the expeditions to the Northern Urals, E. S. Fedorov continues his research in other regions of Russia. In 1891 he visited the expedition on the Kola Peninsula, in 1892 in Kostroma province, in 1893 in Vyatka province.

During his active expeditionary activity, the works of E.S. Fedorov on crystallography ^[12-19] were published one after another, creating a new era in science. Only in 1885, after long attempts, the work "The Beginnings of the Doctrine of Figures" was published ^[14], which was published on the pages of the journal "Notes of the St. Petersburg Mineralogical Society" on the initiative of Academician A.V. Gadolin, working on the problems of symmetry. The research of E. S. Fedorov offered a new scientific direction in crystallography – the study of the structure of crystals, as opposed to the then existing approach in describing only the external shape of crystals. For a series of these works, Yevgraf Stepanovich received the prize of the St. Petersburg Mineralogical Society.

In 1890 and 1892, E. S. Fedorov tried twice to submit his works on the theory of crystal structure for prizes awarded by the St. Petersburg Academy of Sciences. However, they were ignored, although almost immediately they received the support of foreign scientists who wrote letters of approval to Yevgraf Stepanovich ^{[8, p. 138]}. These failures and the inability to develop in science, of course, according to his wife, affected E. S. Fedorov, who saw the attitude of other scientists towards him: "He felt and saw that he was treated as an abnormal subject" ^{[8, p. 134]}. L. V. Fedorova emotionally describes the criticism that was addressed to the scientist during this period: "Yevgraf had the courage of a genius to climb into the field of other sciences in order to pave the way for his own. He was a pioneer, the founder of it, before him crystallography was not a science, actually. For this visit, though on the way to their holy of holies, narrow specialists hated him, scolded him in private, not being able to criticize him explicitly, not understanding his work" ^{[8, pp. 122-123]}.

Unable to find support among fellow scientists, E. S. Fedorov often sought it from his teachers. In her memoirs, L. V. Fedorova points out three people whom Yevgraf Stepanovich considered his main mentors – the head of the Department of Crystallography of the St. Petersburg Mining Institute P. V. Eremeev, Director of the Geological Committee A. P. Karpinsky, Professor of the Department of Geology, Geognosy and Ore Deposits of the St. Petersburg Mining Institute I. V. Mushketov.

According to L. V. Fedorova, Professor P. V. Eremeev, in conversations with E. S. Fedorov avoided scientific topics and always translated conversations into everyday life. From Lyudmila Vasilyevna's memoirs: "From Yeremeyev, Yevgraf often returned angry: "Imagine: I come to him, my head is full of thoughts, they are asking to come out, I begin to expound them, and he begins to tell about his wife, who is prowling abroad. You judge what I care about all this" ^{[8, p. 116]}. If it came to discussing scientific issues, the professor suggested that E. S. Fedorov abandon attempts to establish activities in St. Petersburg and go to work as a mining engineer in the province. According to L. V. Fedorova, P. V. Eremeev "deliberately trampled" the scientist so that he would not surpass his teacher ^{[8, p. 117]}. We find confirmation of this opinion in the assessments of the work of Professor P. V. Eremeev by geologist I.I. Shafranovsky. In the work dedicated to E.S. Fedorov, studying the biographies of other students of Professor P.V. Eremeev, he came to the conclusion about the peculiarities of his pedagogical method. The teacher's attention was drawn to a large number of students, without highlighting particularly talented ones, he tried to instill a love of science in everyone. In the future, most of his students worked in the province as mining engineers, providing mineralogical finds for their mentor's research ^[7]. The same road could have been waiting for E. S. Fedorov.

E.S. Fedorov did not meet support in the approval of scientific ideas in the field of crystallography from his teacher A. P. Karpinsky. According to L. V. Fedorova, the scientist received indifference from him, according to E. S. Fedorov, he was a "sphinx" for him, who only listened to him attentively and patiently, but never gave either positive or negative assessments ^{[8, p. 117]}, which were so necessary for a young scientist.

Unlike the others, Professor I. V. Musketov saw in E. S. Fedorov an innovator. He believed that a scientist needed his own department, where he could develop and prove the prospects of new research in the field of crystallography. Professor I. V. Musketov repeatedly sought to include the name of Yevgraf Stepanovich in competitions for the replacement of the head of the department in various educational institutions ^{[8, p. 117]}.

Unable to hold a scientific position, E. S. Fedorov experienced great financial difficulties. This is evidenced by the letters of E. S. Fedorov to his brother Evgeny Stepanovich, from whom the scientist regularly borrowed money ^{[8, pp. 136-137]}. The difficult financial situation of E. S. Fedorov and his inventions "Fedorovsky goniometer" and "universal Fedorovsky table" did not improve. Despite the fact that they were later recognized as outstanding for the development of crystallography, these proposals were rejected by the Geological Committee.

In L. V. Fedorov's memoirs, he describes in detail the event that was associated with the scientist's inventions. In 1891, E. S. Fedorov invited P. V. Eremeev and A. P. Karpinsky to demonstrate an optical table to a microscope, which made it possible to examine a crystal under a microscope in various directions. Yevgraf Stepanovich expected to hear the opinion of his mentors at this meeting. However, according to Lyudmila Vasilyevna, they showed "complete indifference without the slightest encouragement" ^{[8, p. 140]}. The scientist again heard neither positive nor negative assessments.

According to his wife, the wariness towards E. S. Fedorov was felt not only in relation to his scientific activities, but also in simple communication between the families of geologists. The activity of E.S. Fedorov in the Geological Committee expanded the circle of communication of their family, often dinners were organized in their apartment, where employees of the Geological Committee and members of the expedition to the Northern Urals were invited (F. N. Chernyshev, L. A. Lebedzinsky, S. N. Nikitin, etc.). Despite the fact that the Fedorov family did not like communication and was reluctant to meet new people, Lyudmila Vasilyevna often organized evenings to help her husband establish personal contacts with colleagues: "This year I had to make new acquaintances. We generally avoided dating and only supported the old ones, as both were too busy. We were not attracted to people, we had a lot of our own inner content" ^{[8, p. 110]}. However, gradually these techniques came to naught, as well as communication between families. L. V. Fedorova felt the hostile attitude of the staff of the Geological Committee to her husband, which she explained by a misunderstanding of his ideas. She felt a similar atmosphere among the geologists of the Mining Institute, with whom E. S. Fedorov maintained communication. L. V. Fedorova considered envy to be the main reason for this, which led to a struggle with competitors in the scientific world. At the Mining Institute, E. S. Fedorov could not even get study hours for teaching students, which he was ready to conduct free of charge. From the memoirs of L. V. Fedorova: "I did not fall in love with this world of the Mountain for his cold attitude to such an outstanding pet as Evgraf, it is a selfish, vain world, mercantile, "Darwinian", as Evgraf called it, without a spark of the ideal" ^{[8, p. 122]}. In this emotionally difficult situation, E. S. Fedorov found an outlet in his studies in science and in his family.

In the morning he went to the Geological Committee, where he performed clerical duties all day. Returning home, he could devote himself to science. And nothing could stop him, neither conversations, nor the noise of children, nor the approaching dinner ^{[8, p. 134]}. The scientist, according to his wife, cared little about his appearance. "He did not pay attention to this, firstly, he was completely absorbed in science, secondly, the means did not allow him to dress luxuriously [...] he used to go so shabby that I warned him that they met him by his clothes, but only saw him off by his mind. But he was both met and escorted off" ^{[8, p. 116]}. According to L. V. Fedorova, the spouse was a "silverless person" who did not set himself the goal of earning money, the main thing for him was the scientific result. Although he was always very worried about the lack of funds, realizing his responsibility for the family. Therefore, he often took up work in distant expeditions, which gave good earnings.

In the memoirs of his wife, the image of E. S. Fedorov as a family man and father is also presented. He loved his family immensely, both his wife's memories and the scientist's letters to his loved ones are filled with this feeling. When he worked in the Geological Committee, Yevgraf Stepanovich had a tradition: despite a small salary, he arranged a holiday for the children on this day, took them with him, bought a lot of sweets for the future, and then treated them for a whole month ^{[8, p. 109]}. Three small children, of course, were sick a lot, but he, despite the difficulties, continued to work: "I am surprised at Yevgraf, how stoically he endured all the hardships and worked, worked...." ^{[8, p. 113]}, L. V. Fedorova wrote in her memoirs.

In his busy work schedule, he found time to engage in the education of children, to whom he taught mathematics, physics, chemistry, etc. A special cultural environment reigned in the Fedorov family, which contributed to the formation of the next generations, the creation of a scientific dynasty. Son Yevgraf Yevgrafovich Fedorov (1880-1965) later became a geophysicist-climatologist, corresponding member of the USSR Academy of Sciences, and grandchildren followed in the footsteps of a famous grandfather and became geologists.

In 1893, the name of E. S. Fedorov was included in the list of candidates for membership of the St. Petersburg Academy of Sciences. However, the candidacy of E. S. Fedorov was rejected. Another failure was a big blow for the scientist. In the 1890s, E. S. Fedorov's debts reached large proportions, he needed to seriously think about earning money for his family. About this event in her memoirs , L. V. Fedorova noted: "Here is the task! Now Yevgraf began to think about where to go. He was not attracted by big money, honor, or fame, he was only looking for opportunities to develop scientific ideas that were constantly flooding into his brain and wanted to bring them into the world" ^{[8, p. 150]}.

In 1894, E. S. Fedorov accepted an offer to engage in a detailed geological study of the Theological Mining District in the Urals and lead exploration work there. In May of the same year, together with his family, he moved to the Urals. The deposits of valuable minerals discovered by scientists in the Turyinsky mines made it possible to establish geological exploration in this area ^[20].

But a year later, E. S. Fedorov was waiting for big changes. In 1895, the Fedorov family moved to Moscow, where E. S. Fedorov headed the Department of Geology at the newly opened Moscow Agricultural Institute. He owed this appointment to Professor I. V. Mushketov, who petitioned for his inclusion in the competition. In the same year, for his scientific achievements, Yevgraf Stepanovich was awarded the degree of Doctor of Mineralogy of Geognosy of Moscow University.

Despite the non-recognition of the scientist's achievements by the St. Petersburg Academy of Sciences, in 1896, for a series of works in the field of crystallography, E. S. Fedorov was elected to the Bavarian Academy of Sciences, which began his international recognition. In 1905, E. S. Fedorov became the first elected director of the St. Petersburg Mining Institute. His second election in 1910 was not approved because of his "unreliability", which was connected with his political past. E. S. Fedorov greeted the revolutionary events with enthusiasm, expecting great changes in the life of Russia from them. In 1919, E. S. Fedorov was elected a full member of the renewed composition of the Russian Academy of Sciences, but the harsh cold and hungry winter of this year in Petrograd did not allow the scientist to continue his path.

L. V. Fedorova's memoirs "Our everyday life, joys and sorrows" is a unique source about the life and scientific activity of E.S. Fedorov. The wife of the scientist made an invaluable contribution to preserving the historical memory of him. In her memoirs, she recorded for future generations not only his image as a brilliant scientist, but also as an ordinary person, a loving spouse and father. In the historical context, elegantly presented by the author of the memoirs, we see the image of an ideal scientist-seeker, extraordinary for his time, purposeful and determined, who, despite the thorny path, continued to develop a new scientific direction. The period of the 1880s-1890s was the peak of the scientific creativity of E. S. Fedorov, at this time the fundamental works of the scientist were created, which formed the basis of his scientific achievements. However, it was at this time that his innovative ideas were not understood and accepted by most Russian scientists. The analyzed memoirs significantly expand the biographical context of the life of E. S. Fedorov and are a valuable historical monument about the functioning of the scientific community of Russia at the turn of the XIX and XX centuries.

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