Word: lysenko
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Dates: during 1990-1999
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...TROFIM LYSENKO...
...Joseph Stalin's favorite scientist, and it's easy to see why. Lysenko was a peasant-born agronomist and Marxist ideologue who rejected Mendel's ideas because they contradicted the doctrine of dialectical materialism. He offered instead to solve the Soviet Union's chronic crop failures through a process he called vernalization, by which he would "train" spring wheat to be winter wheat and thus increase the number of annual harvests. Lysenko believed all living organisms passed on to succeeding generations characteristics acquired in their lifetime. This untested theory was at odds with what Lysenko scathingly called "alien bourgeois" genetics...
When the delegation returned with word that the Russians had absolutely no intention of cooperating, the Clinton Administration's response was equally straightforward. Sometime this week, another plane will leave Washington with an unusual addition to its passenger list: Lysenko, who was declared persona non grata last Friday and told he had seven days to leave the country...
Wary of inflicting collateral damage on his relationship with the man he feels is Russia's best bet for nurturing a stable, peaceful democracy, Clinton opted last week for a two-stroke response to Moscow's recalcitrance. The dramatic gesture of Lysenko's expulsion -- too little and too late satisfy congressional critics -- was combined with a strongly worded statement affirming that support remains unchanged. "I do not think," declared Clinton, "that the facts of this case undermine in any way, shape or form the policy we have followed the last year toward President Yeltsin and the forces of change...
...from Washington any Russians involved in the alleged espionage, and called for cooperation in U.S. efforts to assess the damage. A high-level CIA team was dispatched to Moscow to obtain information from the Russian Foreign Intelligence Service. After they returned empty-handed, Clinton ordered the expulsion of Alexander Lysenko, a Washington-based Russian "diplomat" who is reputedly the MBRF's top-ranking official...