Translation. Region: Russian Federal
Source: Novosibirsk State University –
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A photo exhibition dedicated to the 125th anniversary of the birth of the outstanding Russian scientist, brilliant organizer, founding father of the Siberian Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences and the Novosibirsk Akademgorodok, Academician Mikhail Alekseevich Lavrentyev, "Thank you, Mikhail Alekseevich! You did it!" opened as part of the 10th All-Russian Conference "Lavrentyev Readings in Mathematics, Mechanics and Physics" on August 25. Its exposition consisted of about a hundred rare photographs revealing the personality of this multifaceted person who made a significant contribution to the development of Russian science. The initiator of the exhibition was the dean Faculty of Information Technology Novosibirsk State University Mikhail Lavrentyev. His idea was supported by the conference organizing committee.
— We decided to make the exhibition not formal, but warmer, more homely. That is why there are very few "ceremonial" photographs in the exhibition and no official "ceremonial" shots at all. That is why we came up with such a name, which reflects the soul of Akademgorodok, which has taken place and continues to develop. It is at this conference that it is appropriate to recall how its glorious history began and to pay tribute to the unique personality of Mikhail Alekseevich, thanks to whom this grandiose project was brought to life, — said Dean of the NSU FIT, Corresponding Member of the Russian Academy of Sciences Mikhail Lavrentyev.
The photographs show Mikhail Alekseevich Lavrentyev in official settings and with his family, in classrooms and at construction sites, during scientific experiments and on vacation, on expeditions and at official receptions, on a ski trip and playing with his grandchildren. Around him are colleagues and students, cosmonauts and politicians, high-ranking military personnel and students. In one of the photo portraits, the academician is captured with his pet, a fox terrier. Many of the photographs are being shown for the first time.
— The exhibition presents printed photographs not only from the family archive, some of the originals were provided by the Lavrentyev Institute of Hydrodynamics of the Siberian Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences and the Exhibition Center of the Siberian Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences. Andrey Guryevich Marchuk, who has an extensive photo and film archive, also responded. Thanks to such support, it was possible to collect a huge database of rare photographs that were processed and enlarged. A significant contribution to the formation of the exhibition was made by Lyudmila Megaeva and Anastasia Surkova, who were engaged in the selection and preparation of photographs for the exhibition. The printing part of the work was carried out at NSU. It should be noted that not all of the selected photographs are presented at the exhibition. Some have remained "behind the scenes" for now — we tried to choose the most interesting and expressive ones. It seems to me that we have created a very interesting exhibition, — Mikhail Lavrentyev explained.
Behind each photo there is an interesting story from the life of an outstanding scientist and Akademgorodok itself as a whole. A photo of the academician taken several years before the founding of Akademgorodok during the work to drain swamps in Ukraine can rightfully be considered historical. Mikhail Alekseevich Lavrentyev proposed using wet gunpowder for these purposes. Earlier, his colleague and comrade Nikolai Maksimovich Syty discovered that such gunpowder has detonation properties, that is, it is also an explosive, albeit non-flammable, substance. At that time, the disposal of gunpowder was a big problem and was a dangerous process. Under the leadership of Mikhail Aleksandrovich Lavrentyev, significant volumes of this waste were successfully used to drain swampy areas. Mikhail Lavrentyev notes that to a certain extent this contributed to the creation of Akademgorodok: at that time, Nikita Khrushchev headed the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Ukraine. Excellent relations were established between the future General Secretary of the CPSU Central Committee and Mikhail Alekseevich Lavrentyev, and years later the party leader, who became the head of state, supported the project to build a city of scientists in Novosibirsk and in every way contributed to the creation of Akademgorodok, allocating the necessary financial resources for its construction and the resolution of contradictions between its creators and the leadership of the Novosibirsk region.
– Mikhail Alekseevich was called an “academician in the Kirsov boots” for a reason. He not only delved into all the details of the construction of institutions, infrastructure and residential buildings of Akademgorodok. It could be seen at the construction site, as evidenced by several photographs taken at the construction site of the Institute of Hydrodynamics, which was later named after him. His life is inseparable from the history of Akademgorodok, therefore, in the photographs that captured Mikhail Alekseevich in the circle of friends and associates, we see how the Akademgorodok acquired the features we know and how he was many decades ago – one -story houses in the Golden Valley, surrounded by wooden fences and an almost complete absence of roads; The institutions under construction, the picturesque surroundings, the small house of the forester, where for the first time Mikhail Alekseevich was placed with his family. The construction of a two -story spacious house, which was built for Mikhail Alekseevich by order of Nikita Sergeyevich Khrushchev, also fell into a photograph. But in this house, the founder of Akademgorodok and his wife Vera Evgenievna did not live long – they returned to the forester house, who underwent reconstruction and became a little more comfortable. Nevertheless, there is a picture in the exposition in which Mikhail Alekseevich hosts guests in a new house. In one of the pictures, we see an academician at a dressed up New Year tree playing in Sharades. But much more photos with a forester house. Here is Mikhail Alekseevich and Alexei Pavlovich Okladnikov clearing snow, here the academician plays with his grandson on the snowball, here he is with his colleagues on a walk. Also, according to the pictures, you can see how, during several reconstructions, this modest house changed, which for many associates of the academician became a point of attraction and a place of pleasant meetings, ”said Mikhail Lavrentiev.
Among the rare photographs is a photo taken at the celebration of Mikhail Alekseevich Lavrentyev's 60th birthday, where his colleagues present him with a huge cake with 60 burning candles. In another photo, the academician is captured shoulder-deep in snow. This photo was taken during the installation of TNT charges for an experiment involving explosions. Next to it is a photo of a yurt set up in deep snow. It was this yurt that served as the academician's field shelter during one of his expeditions. The exhibition also features photos from other expeditions – to Baikal, Sakhalin, Kazakhstan, Yakutia… As Mikhail Lavrentyev said, Mikhail Alekseevich loved to travel, work "in the field", and spend time in nature.
A special place in the exhibition is occupied by photographs where the founder of Akademgorodok is captured with famous people. His circle of friends was incredibly wide, it included world-famous scientists, government officials, senior military officials, and heads of enterprises. And Mikhail Alekseevich often became the life of the party – at official receptions, in his office, and in informal settings. Two photographs in this part of the exhibition are noteworthy. In one of them, Mikhail Alekseevich is flying in the cabin of an airplane together with three cosmonauts – Frank Borman (USA), German Titov (USSR), and Konstantin Feoktistov (USSR). In the other photo, Academician Lavrentyev is cooking fish soup on a campfire in the open air in the company of three other cosmonauts – Alexei Leonov, Georgy Beregovoy, and Neil Armstrong – the man who first stepped on the surface of the Moon.
It is assumed that the exhibition audience will not be limited to conference participants. Some of the photographs will be transferred to the Lavrentyev Institute of Hydrodynamics of the Siberian Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences. The collection of photographs will also be received by the Exhibition Center of the Siberian Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences. An exhibition is planned for the House of Scientists. Perhaps, a permanent exhibition will be placed in the Technopark.
Academician of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Scientific Director of the Institute of Thermophysics of the Siberian Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences Sergei Vladimirovich Alekseenko:
— The exhibition is interesting both from the point of view of the history of science and from the position of photography as a carrier of information. I am seeing many of the pictures for the first time, and they, it seems to me, reflect the scale of Academician Lavrentyev’s personality. Of great interest are the photographs related to the foundation and development of Akademgorodok. In these pictures we see the difficulties its first residents faced, but looking at them, we see optimism and faith in the future. Such photographs do not leave anyone indifferent. Akademgorodok became a unique project of that time, which was broadcast in other countries, and this experience is invaluable for future generations. Therefore, photographs from those years, capturing these significant events, should be available to everyone interested in the history of Akademgorodok.
Director of the Institute of Hydrodynamics named after. M.A. Lavrentiev SB RAS Evgeniy Valerievich Ermanyuk:
— Our institute has two photo albums that we show to distinguished foreign and domestic guests, but at this exhibition I saw many photographs that are not even in our archives. These are rare shots that are of particular value. Our institute has contributed to this exhibition by providing photographs from its archives, which we have only recently begun to sort through, but have already discovered very interesting photos. I am sure that this exhibition will decorate many conferences. Our institute has preserved the memorial office of Mikhail Alekseevich Lavrentyev. I would be happy to decorate the part of the building where it is located with these photographs.
The conference will be held on August 25-29 at NSU in the main scientific areas: mathematical problems of continuum mechanics, physics and mechanics of high-energy processes, mechanics of liquids and gases, mechanics of deformable solids. Participants can expect plenary reports, as well as short oral presentations followed by discussion at the poster session.
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