Ivan Vladimirovich Michurin - Lysenkoism

Lysenkoism

During the Lysenkoism campaign, Michurin (after his death) was promoted as a Soviet leader in the theory of evolution, Soviet propaganda contrasting the "productive" "Soviet Michurinist Biology" (мичуринская биология) with the "fruitless" "capitalist" Weismanist-Morganist-Mendelist genetics. In fact, Michurin's theory of influence of the environment on the heredity was a variant of Lamarckism. He maintained the position that the task of a selectioner is to assist and enhance the natural selection. The following phrase of Michurin's was widely popularized in the Soviet Union: "Мы не можем ждать милостей от природы. Взять их у нее – наша задача" ("We cannot wait for favors from Nature. To take them from it – that is our task.") For this reason, in the Soviet Union he was portrayed as the only true follower of Darwinism.