The Invention of Mikhail Lomonosov: A Russian National Myth

301 Pages·2013·9.816 MB·English

by  Steven A. Usitalo

The Invention of Mikhail Lomonosov
A Russian National Myth
j
Imperial encounters in Russian history
series editor: Gary MARKER
(state University of new York, stony Brook)
The InvenTIon
of MIkhaIL LoMonosov
A Russian National Myth
steven a. UsITaLo
BosTon / 2013
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data:
A catalog record for this book as available from the Library of Congress.
Copyright © 2013 Academic Studies Press
All rights reserved
ISBN - 978-1-61811-173-9 (hardback)
ISBN - 978-1-61811-195-1 (electronic)
Book design by Ivan Grave
Published by Academic Studies Press in 2013
28 Montfern Avenue
Brighton, MA 02135, USA
[email protected]
www.academicstudiespress.com
To Margarita

Contents
Acknowledgements 8
Introduction 10
Chapter 1 27
Honor and Status
in Lomonosov’s “Autobiography”
Chapter 2 75
Russia’s “Own Platos and Quick-Witted Newtons”:
Inventing the Scientist
Chapter 3 129
Lomonosov in the Age of Pushkin
Chapter 4 167
Commemorating Russia’s “First Scientist”
Chapter 5 207
Boris Menshutkin
and the “Rediscovery” of Lomonosov
Epilogue 248
Afterlife of the Myth
Bibliography 261
Index 290
Acknowledgements
This work has been in progress for a number of years; it is a particular
pleasure, therefore, to finally express my appreciation to the many
friends, colleagues, and organizations that have assisted me along
the way. Paul Austin, Kees Boterbloem, Robert Collis, James Cracraft,
James Delbourgo, Simon Dixon, the late Il’ia Serman, Marina
Swoboda, the late Viktor Zhivov, and Ernest Zitser read portions
of this work, primarily at its earliest stages. Their assessments were
appropriately critical and encouraging. My work was made much
easier due to the accommodating library staffs at the McClennan
Library at McGill University and in St. Petersburg, at the Russian
Academy of Sciences Library and at the National Library of Russia
(Bronsilava Gradova was especially helpful at the latter institution).
McGill University, Northern State University, the American Council
for Teachers of Russian, and the Fulbright Program provided much-
needed support to me over the years. Thanks to their generosity
I was able to spend much time—perhaps too much time—
in St. Petersburg.
My good friend and former office mate at McGill University,
Ismail Rashid, first read this work when it began life as a dissertation.
He has continued to read and critique it over the years. His always
friendly advice and support remain one of my fondest memories
of my time at McGill. Jeffrey Veidlinger listened patiently to many
conference presentations based on this work, and has always
been forthright and supportive. Colum Leckey, Kirill Ospovat,
and Joachim Klein read the latest iterations of this volume, and
I am indebted to each of them for their perceptive judgments. Ben
Whisenhunt, my old friend from St. Petersburg and Chicago, read
and re-read many versions of my manuscript and offered what
is always most useful: encouragement. No one should have been
— 8 —
acknowledgements 9
forced to spend so much time reading my various efforts to make
Lomonosov’s life cohere. Ben, thank you!
Gary Marker buoyed me in a most effective manner,
commisioning this work for the series he edits at Academic Studies
Press. Gary’s insightful appraisal of the work has decidedly
improved the final product. Sharona Vedol was an ideal editor; in
addition to shepherding the manuscript through publication, she
responded to all my queries and concerns with alacrity. To Igor
Nemirovsky, thank you for ensuring the acquisition and publication
of The Invention of Mikhail Lomonosov.
I had the good fortune as a graduate student to study,
principally, with Valentin Boss. Valentin was more than an
encouraging advisor, later a friend; he inspired in me an enduring
fascination with eighteenth-century Russian culture. Our
discussions at the Lomonosov Museum were memorable. I could
not have asked for a more interesting, erudite teacher. My late father
Arnold and my mother Seija always provided me with what parents
should: unconditional love and security. Words fail me—or almost
fail me—when I think of my wife Margarita and daughter Izabella.
Suffice it to say that I am profoundly happy, at times astonished, to
have both of them in my life. Well, Margarita, now that Lomonosov
is out of our life, it’s off to our next adventure.
Versions of the introduction and some of the text were
previously published. My thanks to the publishers for giving
permission to partially reprint the following: “Russia’s ‘First’
Scientist: The Self-Fashioning of Mikhail Lomonosov,” in Steven A.
Usitalo and William Benton Whisenhunt, eds., Russian and Soviet
History: From the Time of Troubles to the Collapse of the Soviet Union
(Rowman & Littlefield, 2008); and “Lomonosov: Patronage and
Reputation at the St. Petersburg Academy of Sciences,” Jahrbücher
für Geschichte Osteuropas, 59, no. 2 (2011): 217-39.