“...During the War Years, His Famous ‘Akmolinka 1’ Fed Hundreds of Thousands of People With Bread”: Scientist from Leningrad in Northern Kazakhstan

Abstract

Introduction. Based on the new archival documents of the State Archives of Akmola region, the article examines the activities of the famous breeder and exiled scientist of the All-Union Institute of Plant Industry, Doctor of Sciences (Agriculture), Valentin Kuzmin, during the Great Patriotic War. Solving food problems in Northern Kazakhstan was very relevant, and it had been on the agenda for a long time. During the Great Patriotic War, this region remained deep in the rear. Breeder V. Kuzmin and other employees of the Shortandy Agricultural Experimental Station in wartime strove to speed up breeding and research work and create new, resistant varieties for the Kazakh steppe. During these years, V. Kuzmin provided the whole of Northern Kazakhstan with new varieties of agricultural crops, as well as other regions of the republic. At the station, soft and durum wheat varieties were bred, as well as varieties of potatoes, sunflowers, millet, poppy, lentils, chickpeas, and peas that were productive and resistant to growing in steppe areas. Methods and materials. Used documents of the State Archives of Akmola region, previously not introduced scientific turnover. In the course of the study, the principles of historicism, scientific objectivity, and consistency were used. Analysis. The article describes in detail a widely used new wheat variety, resistant to the steppe zone of Akmolinka 1, produced by V. Kuzmin. This variety was known throughout Kazakhstan; in the literal sense of the word, it saved the people from famine. People, in gratitude, still remember and talk about it. And also, an important role in the war years was played by several varieties of potatoes, which were useful in their qualities, and it was they who provided the population of Kazakhstan with the most important food product during the war. The work carried out by the scientist Kuzmin shows his greatest contribution to saving people from hunger during the harsh years of the war. Results. In the course of the study, on the basis of new statistical data, we were able to present the crops of the Akmola region and other regions of the republic with selections of varieties from the Shortandy agricultural experimental station. And also, a short excursion was conducted on the results of selection work in the post-war years. Particular attention is paid to the zoning of various crops and obtaining copyright certificates and other awards for breeding new varieties of grain and oilseeds by the breeder V. Kuzmin. Authors’ contribution. A.S. Mussagaliyeva carried out the general management of the study, formulated the main results, and edited the final text; R.M. Mussabekova performed the interpretation of sources, a literature review, and wrote the text of the article.