Technikatörténeti szemle 19. (1992)

KÖNYVISMERTETÉS - Papers of the First „MINERALKONTOR” International Conference on the History of Chemistry and Chemical Industry (Veszprém, 12-16 August, 1991)

As a result, foreign capital influx into Russian economy was considerable. Before the revolution foreign capital in Russia's chemical industry accounted for 50 percent. Foreigners constituted the bulk of enterprises' managerial staff in Russia, too. In 1889, out of 145 head managers of chemical enterprises with scientific and technical degrees 51 were foreign nationals (4, p. 60). In Russia, chemical engineers used to study and undergo on-job training in foreign higher educational establishments. Germany, France and Switzerland were the preferred choice. Interestingly, Russian specialists practically never studied in Great Britain, while German chemical engineers clearly preferred this country. In England, German chemical engineers largely received practical experience at industrial enterprises, rather than in university labs or technical schools. 4. Lack of certain elements of scientific infrastructure of chemical industry in Russia as compared to developed European countries such as Germany, France, Great Britain and, in late 19th century, the US may be attributed as first thing to the underdeveloped national chemical industry. In 1897, Russia's chemical industry output was 8th in the list of industrial sectors, i. e. 2.5 percent in value terms (5, p. 199). The distribution of joint-stock companies' capital (in thousand rubles) as of the year 1915 provides a clear indication of the status of Russia's chemical industry at the time: mining — 71.110, processing of fibres — 15.300, chemical indusry — 2.050 (6, p. 77). Start-up conditions of Russia were much less favorable than in Great Britain, Germany and France. If one takes the production of artificial sodium carbonate using Leblanc's method as the start of the present-day chemical industry in Russia, the industry was practically non-existent before 1864, when the first sodamanufacturing plant was started (4, p. 92). Most enterprises in mid 19th century were based exclusively on practical experience. Chemists' involvement in Russia's chemical industry was very insignificant. Though prominent chemists existed in the 19th-century Russia, their ideas failed to be promptiy implemented. According to Mendeleyev, „... no branch of chemical industry in Russia is properly developed" (7, p. 53). The bulk of chemical products were imported to Russia from abroad. The industry's development largely hinged on innovations and inventions introduced by workers and foremen. The industry's progress depended to a large extent on western technology. National scientific achievements were widely ignored. Even such landmark discoveries as the method of producing grape sugar from starch invented in 1811 by K. Kirghoff or nitrobenzene-based aniline, invented in 1842 by N. Zinin, were commercialized only after they had been introduced in the West. 5. Chemists' coming to industrial plants signalled the first historically momentous event in the emergence of SICI. Thus, university and technical schools' labs and chairs established ties with the industry. While in 18—19th-century France the link emerged as a result of the obvious need to developed national industry and in Germany of the third quarter of 19 century the link was established through „free-lance" chemists, whom German universities started after J. Liebig's example in Gissen, in the end of 19th century the relationship was already a result of direct science-industry interaction. At that time a version of