Nikolai
VAVILOV

You must take on as much as you can. It is the best way to do as much as possible.*

We are teachers, educators out of love for science. For each of us sees the meaning of life in doing as much as we can, laying as deep a path as possible and handing over what we have done and built up to the country to which we are devoted.

The calibre of science in a country is not only determined by the funds allotted from the state budget or the number of research institutions but, above all, the perspective and knowledge of scientists and the extent of their daring.

We will step into the fire and burn at the stake but we will not renounce our beliefs.

The ranks of Russian scientists are thinning day after day and I fear for the fate of our science as there are many with titles but not many with talent.

I would give my life easily for a smallest thing in science. As I wandered through the Pamirs and Bukhara, I often came within an inch of death. It was eerie. Still, you get a thrill from risking your life.

The point of our disagreement is that under the guise of advanced science, they want us to go back to the views that science has outlasted and eradicated, that is, the views of the first half or mid-19th century.

I am very fond of breaking Newton’ first law, the law of inertia at rest, by turning it into inertia of movement.

I am 54 years old. Having vast experience and knowledge – particularly, in plant cultivation, I am also fluent in the main European languages, and I would happily give it all to my motherland and die doing useful work for my country.

Work equals personal life.

* The information is based on the accounts of the personas featuring in this section as well as accounts of their family members, acquaintances and colleagues