Russian geologists and mining engineers in Asia and Pacific Rim Countries after 1917

Abstract

The article describes the activities of Russian geologists and mining engineers in Asia and Pacific Rim countries (mostly China, Japan and the USA) after the 1917 October revolution and their contribution to the development of geological science in these countries. In China and the USA, they have become recognized experts in the geology of coal, oil, and other resources with their theoretical works and practical developments that contributed to the economic growth of these countries. The role of scientists from Russia is also evident in the promotion of Japanese research in geology. The studies have proved geology and mining to belong to the areas where immigrants from Russia have shown themselves most revealingly in the USA. This was due, to a great extent, to the attention the US government paid to this sphere. Despite the problems of the initial period of their stay in the new country, they made successful careers. They held senior positions at enterprises and professorships at universities, established their own companies, and were members of large scientific organizations. As university professors, they initiated scientific schools, developing their teachers’ ideas and spreading the traditions and methods of Russian higher education abroad. Russian geologists’ active work in public organizations contributed to the popularization of the geological knowledge and research methods transferred from Russia. They left behind a rich scientific heritage, such as articles, monographs, and dissertations, which have been highly appreciated by mate geologists and remain in demand up to nowadays. The article is written with materials from foreign archives and libraries. Previously unknown biographical data about Russian specialists in mining and geology and their contribution to science and economics are being introduced.The authors would like to thank those who assisted in the article writing. They are Yves Franquien, the Hoover Archives research officer; Patricia Polansky, a Russian bibliographer at the University of Hawaii, Ziniyat Gimyaldinovich Badredinov and Igor Yuryevich Chekryzhov, Candidates of Geology and Mineralogy, Senior Researchers at the Institute of Geology, the Far Eastern Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences.