Zhores Medvedev facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Zhores Medvedev
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| Жорес Медведев | |
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| Born |
Zhores Aleksandrovich Medvedev
14 November 1925 |
| Died | 15 November 2018 (aged 93) |
| Nationality | Russian |
| Alma mater | Russian State Agricultural University |
| Known for | Human rights activism and participation in dissident movement in the Soviet Union |
| Scientific career | |
| Fields | Agronomy, biology, gerontology |
Zhores Aleksandrovich Medvedev (Russian: Жоре́с Алекса́ндрович Медве́дев) was a smart Russian scientist. He was born on November 14, 1925, and passed away on November 15, 2018. Zhores was an expert in many fields, including farming science (agronomy), the study of living things (biology), and how things change over time (history). He was also known as a dissident, which means he spoke out against the government when he felt things were unfair. His twin brother, Roy Medvedev, was also a famous historian.
Contents
Zhores Medvedev: Scientist and Activist
Early Life and Learning
Zhores Medvedev and his twin brother Roy were born in Tbilisi, a city in what was then the USSR. This happened on November 14, 1925. Their mother, Yulia, played the cello. Their father, Alexander, was a philosopher.
Zhores was named after a French leader, Jean Jaurès. His brother Roy was named after an Indian revolutionary. In 1943, Zhores joined the army. But he was hurt in a battle and had to leave. After that, he started studying biology. He went to the Timiryazev Agricultural Academy in Moscow. In 1950, Zhores earned his PhD degree for his research.
His Work in Biology
Zhores started as a junior scientist at the Timiryazev Academy. He studied agrochemistry and biochemistry. By 1954, he became a senior scientist. He stayed there until 1963.
From 1952, Zhores became very interested in how living things age. He looked at how proteins and nucleic acids change. In 1961, he wrote a paper. It suggested that aging happens because of mistakes in how proteins and nucleic acids are made.
In 1962, Medvedev wrote a book about the history of Soviet genetics. The book was ready to be published. But the government stopped it. It was later published in the United States in 1969. Its title was The Rise and Fall of T.D. Lysenko.
In 1963, Medvedev moved to Obninsk. He worked at the Institute of Medical Radiology. There, he led a lab that studied molecular radiobiology. He also wrote two more books. These were about protein making and how living things develop and age.
Speaking Out for Freedom
In 1969, Medvedev lost his job. Between 1968 and 1970, he wrote two more books. One was about scientists working together across countries. The other was about postal censorship in the USSR. These books were shared widely among scientists in the USSR.
Because of his writings, Medvedev was arrested in May 1970. He was unfairly held in a psychiatric hospital. But many scientists and writers protested. Famous people like Andrei Sakharov and Solzhenitsyn spoke up for him. Their protests helped Medvedev get released. He and his brother Roy later wrote a book about this experience. It was called A Question of Madness.
In 1971, Medvedev got a new job. He became a senior scientist. He worked at an institute in Borovsk.
Life in London
In 1972, Medvedev was invited to London. He went to the National Institute for Medical Research. He was supposed to do research there for one year. But in August 1973, his Soviet passport was taken away. He also lost his Soviet citizenship. So, he stayed in London. He worked as a senior research scientist until he retired in 1991.
Sharing News About Nuclear Safety
In 1977, Medvedev published a book called Hazards of Nuclear Power. In it, he mentioned the Kyshtym disaster. This was a nuclear accident that most people didn't know about. At first, many people didn't believe him. They thought it was just propaganda.
Medvedev then published Soviet Science in 1978. In this book, he showed proof from Soviet publications. This evidence proved that the disaster had happened. He wrote another book in 1979 called The Nuclear Disaster in the Urals. Later, in 1990, he wrote The Legacy of Chernobyl. He explained that these accidents happened because of similar problems in science and engineering in the USSR.
Continuing His Work
In London, Medvedev also helped his brother Roy. He managed Roy's book deals and money. In 1975, Zhores started a small publishing company. It was called "T.C.D. publications." He used it to publish his brother Roy's journal, XX Century, in Russian.
The two brothers also wrote books together. They wrote Khrushchev: The Years in Power (1978). Their last book together was The Unknown Stalin (2007).
Zhores Medvedev passed away in London. It was on November 15, 2018, one day after his 93rd birthday. His family was with him. In 2019, his own memories were published in Russian. The book was called A Dangerous Profession.
His Impact and Legacy
Medvedev wrote about 170 research papers and reviews. About sixty of these were written while he was in London. In 1973, he signed the Humanist Manifesto II. This is a statement about human values.
He won awards for his work on aging. He received the Aging Research Award in 1984. In 1985, he got the Rene Schubert Prize in Gerontology.
According to Michael Gordin, a professor at Princeton University, Medvedev's criticisms of the Soviet Union were "powerful, persuasive and principled." Medvedev believed in the good ideas of the Russian Revolution. But he was against the unfairness and strict rules that came later.
Books He Wrote
- Protein Biosynthesis and Problems of Heredity, Development and Ageing. New York: Plenum Press, 1966. Edinburgh: Oliver and Boyd Ltd, 1966
- Unknown Stalin: His Life, Death, and Legacy (with Roy Medvedev, Ellen Dahrendorf - Translator) (Overlook Press, 2005), ISBN: 1-58567-644-6
- Legacy of Chernobyl (W. W. Norton & Co Inc, 1992), ISBN: 0-393-30814-6
- Soviet Agriculture (W. W. Norton & Co Inc, 1988), ISBN: 0-393-02472-5
- Gorbachev (W. W. Norton & Co Inc, 1987), ISBN: 0-393-30408-6
- Andropov (W. W. Norton & Co Inc, 1983), ISBN: 0-393-01791-5
- Nuclear Disaster in the Urals (1980), ISBN: 0-394-74445-4
- Gorbachev (1986), ISBN: 0-631-14782-9
- Molecular-Genetic Mechanisms of Development (1970), ISBN: 0-306-30403-1
- Medvedev Papers: Fruitful Meetings between Scientists of the World (1971), ISBN: 0-333-12520-7
- Ten Years after Ivan Denisovich (1974), ISBN: 0-394-71112-2
- Hazards of Nuclear Power (with Alan Roberts) (1977), ISBN: 0-85124-211-1
- Secrecy of Correspondence Is Guaranteed by Law (1975), ISBN: 0-85124-128-X
- Soviet Science (1978), ISBN: 0-393-06435-2
- Stalin and the Jewish Question: New Analysis (2003, in Russian), ISBN: 5-7712-0251-7
- Solzhenitsyn and Sakharov: Two Prophets (with Roy Medvedev) (2004, in Russian) ISBN: 5-94117-065-3
- The Rise and Fall of T. D. Lysenko (translated by I. Michael. Lerner) Columbia University Press (1969), ISBN: 0-231-03183-1
- Medvedev Papers: The Plight Of Soviet Science, ISBN: 3-331-25207-7
- A Question Of Madness (with Roy Medvedev), ISBN: 0-14-003783-7
- Nuclear Disaster In The Urals (trans. George Saunders), ISBN: 0-207-95896-3
- Khrushchev: The Years In Power (with Roy Medvedev), ISBN: 0-8357-0154-9
- National Frontiers / International Scientific Cooperation (Medvedev Papers), Spokesman Books, 1975, ISBN: 0-85124-127-1
- Nutrition and Longevity (2011, in Russian), publ. "Vremya" Moscow, ISBN: 978-5-9691-0513-3
- Nutrition and Longevity (in Russian), 2007, ISBN: 978-5-7712-0380-5
- Polonium in London (in Russian), 2008, Molodaya Gvardia, Moscow:ISBN: 978-5-235-03160-9
