De-Stalinizing Soviet science: rethinking the moral implications of scientific progress in Khrushchev-era film

Abstract

ABSTRACTThis article analyses Mikhail Romm's 1962 film Deviat' dnei odnogo goda/Nine Days of a Year and Sergei Mikaelian's 1965 feature Idu na grozu/Into the Storm in order to examine Khrushchev-era attitudes toward science. In contrast to the regime's absolute faith in the possibilities of scientific research under the Party leadership, these two films construct a more nuanced stance towards science and its practitioners. An examination of these two exceptionally well-attended motion pictures within a broader historical context reveals that rhetoric underpinning de-Stalinization injected an ethical dimension into contemporaneous discussions about science. Nikita Khrushchev's revelation of Stalinist crimes led to compromising questions about the state's ability to manage scientific discoveries responsibly. Even the overwhelmingly positive public image of scientists and technocrats, which had become ubiquitous after the launch of Sputnik 1 in 1957, was tied intimately with the scientific community's abilit...

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