Council for the Study of Productive Forces

Natural Productive Forces Commission

1915-1917

With the outbreak of World War I, it turned out that the Russian Empire did not have accurate data on the strategic raw materials necessary for the production of modern weapons ( tungsten , molybdenum , pyrite , sulfur , lead , nitrate , etc.). Academician V.I. Vernadsky noted that “only 31 out of the 61 chemical elements necessary for the economy are mined and produced in Russia” ^[2] . It was required to reduce the available disparate data, and to conduct surveys on the missing ^[3] . To accomplish these tasks, on January 21, 1915, at a meeting of the Physics and Mathematics Department of the Imperial St. Petersburg Academy of Sciences V.I. Vernadsky made a statement about the need to create a Commission for the Study of Natural Productive Forces of Russia (KEPS). The statement was also supported by academicians N.I. Andrusov , B. B. Golitsyn , A. P. Karpinsky and N. S. Kurnakov ^[4] .

According to V.I. Vernadsky, the natural productive forces should be understood:

1. forces associated with the works of wildlife - soil fertility, forest wealth, wildlife, vegetation products, fish wealth, etc .;
2. various sources of energy - the forces of waterfalls, rivers, wind, natural gases, sea tides and other manifestations of dynamic processes on the surface of the earth;
3. natural resources concentrated in underground bowels, ores of metals and metalloids, combustible gases, mineral springs, oil, coal, groundwater, etc. ^[5]

The first expanded meeting of KEPS was held on October 11, 1915, the number of its participants reached 56. At the meeting, V. I. Vernadsky was elected Chairman of the Commission, B. B. Golitsyn and N. S. Kurnakov were the Chairman. Academicians A. S. Famintsyn and P. I. Walden , vice-director of the Department of the Ministry of Agriculture V. K. Brazhnikov were elected to the Council of the Commission. AEPS Fersman and S.F. Zhemchuzhny became the secretaries of KEPS. In 1917, as part of KEPS, there were already 139 people representing 10 scientific and scientific-technical societies and 5 ministries ^[4] .

To solve similar problems in 1916, the National Research Council, still existing , was created at the National Academy of Sciences of the USA ^[4] .

By the end of 1916, KEPS included:

• Drafting Committee for the publication of "Materials for the Study of Russia's Natural Productive Forces";
• subcommissions -
  • according to the publication of the collection "Natural Productive Forces of Russia",
  • on bitumen
  • on clay and refractory materials,
  • on platinum
  • by salts ^[2] .

Expeditions became an important area of ​​the Commission's work; in 1916, 14 trips were made. On behalf of the Chemical Committee (represented by V.N. Ipatiev ) at the Main Artillery Directorate of the Ministry of War, N. S. Kurnakov and S. F. Zhemchuzhny traveled to Crimea to study the salt lakes of the Perekop group . In order to check the “old indications of the presence of bauxite,” V. I. Vernadsky and A. E. Fersman traveled to the Tomsk province . P. A. Zemyatchensky examined deposits of refractory materials in the Voronezh province , and G. G. Urazov visited the Caucasus, where he examined lakes and oil waters for iodine. A. A. Tvalchrelidze was engaged in the study of minerals in the Kutaisi province . Field work was also carried out in the Novgorod , Yekaterinoslav and Olonets provinces , in the region of Krivoy Rog , Gzhel volost , on Taman and in other regions ^[4] .

The results of the KEPS required consolidation in publishing. In 1915, No. 1 of “Reports on the activities of KEPS”, minutes of meetings dated May 2 and 12, 1915, notes by V. I. Vernadsky “On the Study of the Natural Productive Forces of Russia”, “On the Immediate Tasks of the Commission for the Study of the Natural Productive Forces of Russia” were published "And a note by A. S. Famintsyna" On the first measures to create KEPS and the prospects for its development. " In 1916, published No. 2-6 of "Reports on the activities of KEPS" and 13 essays in the series "Materials for the study of the natural productive forces of Russia." Nine essays highlighted the problems of research and development of mineral resources, the remaining four were devoted to the characterization of fishing and the use of plant resources. The Russian Chamber of Commerce at the Embassy in Paris proposed to publish “Materials ...” in French , but this idea could not be realized ^[4] .

1918-1930

In mid-March 1918, the Council of People's Commissars and the People's Commissariat for Education asked the Academy of Sciences what role the Academy, and especially KEPS, could play in solving the scientific problems of socialist construction. On March 24, the Council of the Commission informed the President of the Academy of Sciences A.P. Karpinsky of its complete readiness to begin work on the instructions of the government ^[6] .

The People's Commissariat for Education approved the Commission's estimate of 780 thousand rubles, it envisaged the creation of 5 large scientific colleges and 2 new scientific institutions - the Institute of Physico-Chemical Analysis and the Institute for the Study of Platinum and Other Noble Metals (today they are combined into the N. Institute of General and Inorganic Chemistry S. Kurnakova RAS ). At the same time, by the end of April 1918, KEPS consisted of 15 departments instead of the planned five collegia: soil study; study of agricultural regions of Russia; on commercial animals; on the survey of livestock; on mineral waters; on white coal; on platinum; by salt; on clay; on building materials; on small fossils; on rare metals; exploration of the North; on questions of a statistical survey of Russia; cartographic survey of Russia ^[6] . By the end of the year, a total of 20 departments (and a cartographic warehouse) appeared in the Commission ^[2] .

Thus, after the October Revolution, the activities of the Commission expanded significantly. The publication “Natural Productive Forces of Russia” was completed, which included the following volumes: Volume I, “Wind as a Motive Force” ( 1919 ), Volume II, “White Coal” ( 1921 - 1923 ), Volume III, “Artesian Waters”, Volume IV “Minerals” (1917-1919), Volume V “Flora” (1917-1923), Volume VI “Animal World” (1919) ^{[6] [7]} . Despite the conditions of the Civil War , KEPS continued its expeditionary activities. The expeditions of 1918 laid the foundation for the systematic study of the Kursk magnetic anomaly , and the expedition of 1920 began the study of the Kola Peninsula and the Khibiny Apatite deposit ^[6] .

December 18, 1918 V. I. Vernadsky presented at the general meeting of KEPS a generalized program report on the creation of a network of research institutes as public institutions ^[5] . The very next year, the Commission organized the State Hydrological Institute ^[8] , in 1922, the Radium Institute began to operate on the basis of the radium department ^[5] , the energy department gave rise to the Energy Institute (ENIN) in 1930, and the Institute of Fuels grew from the sapropel department in 1934 fossils . In total, 14 research institutes, 3 laboratories and a museum arose on the basis of the KEPS departments, this process lasted until 1938 ^[8] .

The main imperative of KEPS activity was participation in the development of the GOELRO plan and plan I of the five-year plan ^[3] . The studies underlying the GOELRO plan were carried out by the KEPS Department of Energy, formed in 1916 , which later turned into the Energy Institute of the USSR Academy of Sciences ^[8] .

Council for the Study of Productive Forces

After a speech by V.I. Vernadsky on March 6, 1929, at a meeting of the Technical Group of the USSR Academy of Sciences , it was decided to establish a Subcommission on the reorganization of KEPS. One of the members of KEPS D. I. Shcherbakov presented the report “On the Unified Scientific Council on Productive Forces” (SOPS). Accelerated industrialization of the country required increasing natural resource potential.

In April 1930, the Session of the Academy of Sciences merged KEPS with academic institutions similar in profile:

• Special Committee for the Study of Union and Autonomous Republics (OKISAR)
• Expeditionary Research Commission (CEI) ^[5] .

1941-1960 - SOPS carries out work aimed at mobilizing the resources of the eastern regions for the needs of the national economy in the Great Patriotic War, post-war reconstruction and economic development;

1960-1991 - SOPS passes into the system of the USSR State Planning Commission, giving the functions of the parent organization in territorial and economic research, develops General schemes for the development and deployment of productive forces and related preplanned materials;

1992-1997 - SOPS is transformed into the Council for the deployment of productive forces and economic cooperation - SOPS and EC of the Ministry of Economy of the Russian Federation and the State Committee of the Russian Federation for Economic Cooperation with the CIS member states, while retaining the leading role in the development of regional programs for socio-economic development;

1997 - SOPS reorganization by combining the Council for the deployment of productive forces and economic cooperation - SOPS and EC of the Ministry of Economy of the Russian Federation and the Ministry of Economic Cooperation with the CIS member states and the Commission for the Study of Productive Forces and Natural Resources of the Russian Academy of Sciences (KEPS), in 1967 under the Presidium of the USSR Academy of Sciences.

In practice, the SPS was an applied activity of the Academy of Sciences: in the 1930-1950s, the Council organized at the same time about 100 complex scientific expeditions to mobilize the country's resources, improve the distribution of productive forces and bring the regional energy in line with the demands of the defense industry.

Since the 1960s, the nature of SOPS activity has changed, which was associated with its transfer from the Academy of Sciences to the USSR State Economic Council (later the USSR State Planning Commission). Proposals were prepared on the development of scientifically-based schemes for the development and deployment of industries, as well as territorial schemes. Later, the development of general schemes for the distribution of productive forces was included in the list of the main problems of the general perspective.

After the collapse of the USSR, the Russian branch of SOPS was transformed into the State Research Institution “Council for the Study of Productive Forces” at the Russian Academy of Sciences and the Ministry of Economic Development of the Russian Federation, due to which ministerial and other programs are being implemented quite successfully.

The success of SOPS is in the following features:

1. Ability to plan at the level of "territorial-production complex - region - country".
2. Integrated use of natural resources.
3. Production chains line up in energy production cycles uniting dozens of enterprises (the organizational counterpart is holdings, the scientific one is clusters).
4. Attracting scientists of various specialties to research, which gives a more effective result due to a comprehensive solution to the problem.

SOPS subordination

• 1930-1960 - USSR Academy of Sciences
• 1960-1962 - under the State Economic Council under the Council of Ministers of the USSR (USSR Academy of Sciences carried out scientific and methodological guidance)
• 1962-1991 - under the USSR State Planning Commission
• 1991-1991 - under the jurisdiction of the USSR Ministry of Economics and Forecasting
• By the Decree of the President of the Russian Federation of June 11, 1992 No. 616, the SOPS was transformed into the Council for the Distribution of Productive Forces and Economic Cooperation (SOPSiES). Reported to the Ministry of Economy of the Russian Federation .

Since 2016, the SOPS has been reorganized by combining the Council and the All-Russian Academy of Foreign Trade of the Ministry of Economic Development of the Russian Federation ^[9] .

Institutions established on the basis of KEPS / SOPS

• 1919 - State Hydrological Institute
• 1922 - Radium Institute. V. G. Khlopina
• 1927 - Soil Institute named after V.V. Dokuchaev
• 1929 - Permafrost Research Commission
• 1930 - Energy Institute
• 1934 - Institute of Combustible Minerals

Chairs

Expeditions organized by KEPS / SOPS ^[10] :

• Regional economy and territorial organization of the national economy
• The development of general schemes for the development and deployment of the productive forces of the USSR for promising periods.
• The concept of long-term socio-economic development of the Russian Federation.
• The concept of the investment mega-project "Ural Industrial - Ural Polar".
• Model of the Strategy for the Long-Term Development of Russian Maritime Use.
• Territorial features of Russia's interaction with the CIS countries.
• Reforming the system of state regulation of spatial development. Federal and subfederal regional policies.
• Modeling of spatial socio-economic development of the Russian Federation, development of forecasts of socio-economic development in the context of macro-regions of the country

• Transcaucasian Commission

• Commission for the Study of the Natural Productive Forces of Russia // Big Russian Encyclopedia
• Adamescu A. The oldest scientific center in Russia. 90th anniversary of KEPS-SOPS (Russian) // Browser: journal. - M. , 2005. - No. 3 (182) .
• Asaul A. N. KEPS economic program and its significance for the revival of the economies of Russia and Ukraine . - SPb. : Economic revival of Russia, 2005. - 56 p. (inaccessible link)
• Bibliography of published works of the Commission for the Study of Natural Productive Forces and the Council for the Study of Productive Forces (1915–1967). M., 1969.
• Block G.P. Review of the scientific and publishing activities of the Commission for the Study of the Natural Productive Forces of Russia, 1915-1920 . - Pg. : Comis. for the study of production. forces of Russia RAS, 1920. - 120 p. (inaccessible link)
• Koltsov A.V. Activities of the Commission for the Study of the Natural Productive Forces of Russia: 1914-1918 (Russian) // Questions of the History of Natural Science and Technology : Journal. - M. , 1999. - No. 2 . - S. 128-139 . - ISSN 0205-9606 .
• Koltsov A. V. Creation and activities of the Commission for the Study of the Natural Productive Forces of Russia. 1915–1930 SPb., 1999.
• Commission for the Study of the Natural Productive Forces of Russia // St. Petersburg. Petrograd. Leningrad: Encyclopedic Reference / Ed. call L. N. Belova and others. - M .: Big Russian Encyclopedia , 1992.
• Kurbatova A.S. KEPS and SOPS are needed today by Russia, like the State Planning Commission (Russian) // Territory and Planning: Journal. - M. , 2010. - No. 2 (26) . - ISSN 2074-2037 .
• Noskova O. L. Activities of the Commission for the Study of the Natural Productive Forces of Russia under the direction of V. I. Vernadsky (Rus.) // Bulletin of the Samara Scientific Center of the Russian Academy of Sciences : journal. - Samara, 2013 .-- V. 15 , No. 3 . - S. 33-37 .
• Pystina L.I. Council for the Study of the Productive Forces of the USSR // Historical Encyclopedia of Siberia: In 3 volumes / Ch. ed. Corr. RAS V.A. Lamin . - 1st ed. - Novosibirsk: Publishing House "Historical Heritage of Siberia"; Institute of History SB RAS , 2009. - 3,000 copies. - ISBN 5-8402-0230-4 .
• The work of the Russian Academy of Sciences in the study of natural resources of Russia: a review of the activities of KEPS for 1915–21 / Comp. B.A. Lindener. Pg., 1922.
• Council for the Study of Productive Forces // Great Soviet Encyclopedia : [in 30 vol.] / Ch. ed. A.M. Prokhorov . - 3rd ed. - M .: Soviet Encyclopedia, 1969-1978.
• Shcherbakov D. I. From the history of the commission for the study of the natural productive forces of Russia // Life and work of Vladimir Ivanovich Vernadsky according to the memoirs of his contemporaries: on the 100th anniversary of his birth. - M .: Publishing House of the Academy of Sciences of the USSR , 1963. - S. 34-45.