№5, 2013 The founder of the national academic scienceAmong the prominent scientists-naturalists, who are closely related to Ukraine, the important place belongs to academician Volodymyr Ivanovych Vernadskiy who made a significant contribution to the development of such sciences as geology, geochemistry and biogeochemistry and geochemistry, radiogeology, mineralogy, crystallography. Besides, he studied the cosmic substance, the structure of the Earth, and many other scientific fields, created the theory of living substance, biosphere, noosphere.
In 1921 V.Vernadskiy wrote in a letter to M.Vasylenko: “You know how much I love Ukraine and how deep the Ukrainian revival penetrates to all my national and personal view of the world, and, I think, I’m so lucky to take part in it. I believe not only in its future, but, in particular, in the future of Kyiv Academy of sciences and the National library”. By the way, Vasylenko was in communication with Vernadskiy for the whole life, informing about events in Ukraine. During the period of the “red terror” in Kiev, when scientists and statesmen of Ukrainian governments were shot without trial, he personally appealed to the authorities to release them, proving this by the exceptional scientific value of these people for the country. He managed to save S.Yefremov, P. Stebnytskiy, E. Kivlytskiy, Y.Korshun and many others. Many of them worked then at the academy and the National library. Volodymyr Ivanovych did not finish with Ukraine even after he had left the presidency of the UAS. He appreciated the scientific communication and maintained the constant friendly correspondence with Ukrainian academics –historian D.Bagaliy and orientalist A.Krymskiy; known botanist and microbiologist, academician M.Kholodnyi; botanist, florist and science historian, organizer of botanical gardens, academician and president of the UAS (1922-1928) V. Lypskiy; geologist, lagislator, academician F.Taranovskiy; economist and academician L.Yasnopolskiy. The scientist delt with the matters of his numerous students, continuing the active correspondence with them. Anatoliy ZAGORODNIY, Oleksiy ONYSHCHENKO, Lubov DUBROVINA |