Trofim Denisovich Lysenko died in Moscow. His death marked the end of a controversial career that had significantly impacted Soviet biology and agriculture.

Lysenko was removed from his post as director of the Institute of Genetics at the Academy of Sciences and restricted to an experimental farm in Moscow's Lenin Hills.

Physicist Andrei Sakharov spoke out against Lysenko in the General Assembly of the Academy of Sciences of the USSR.

Three of the most prominent Soviet physicists, Yakov Zeldovich, Vitaly Ginzburg, and Pyotr Kapitsa, presented a case against Lysenko, proclaiming his work as pseudoscience.

The Great Chinese Famine started

Pravda, in an editorial dated 14 December 1958, argued that after the massive introduction of technology on Soviet farms, which made it possible to sow in a shorter time, vernalization of seeds 'was not always necessary.'

The People's Republic of China under Mao Zedong adopted Lysenko's methods starting in 1958, with calamitous results, contributing to the Great Chinese Famine of 1959 to 1962, in which some 15–55 million people died.

The death of Stalin led to a decline in Lysenko's influence on Soviet agricultural practice.

At the end of a week-long session organized by Lysenko and approved by Stalin, the VASKhNIL announced that from that point on Lysenkoism would be taught as 'the only correct theory.' Soviet scientists were forced to denounce any work that contradicted Lysenko.

The Session of the All-Union Academy of Agricultural Sciences (VASKhNIL) took place.

Yuri Zhdanov made a report at the Polytechnic Museum at a seminar of regional party committee lecturers on the topic 'Controversial issues of modern Darwinism.'

Nikolai Tsitsin, in a letter to Stalin dated 2 February 1948, noted the low grain yield in stubble crops

Lysenko wrote an article titled 'Genetics' for the 3rd edition of the Agricultural Encyclopedia.

Lysenko was awarded the Order of Lenin 'for the successful completion of the government's task in difficult war conditions to provide the front and the country’s population with food, and industry with agricultural raw materials.'

Lysenko was awarded the title of Hero of Socialist Labor with the Order of Lenin, 'for outstanding services in the development of agricultural science and increasing the productivity of agricultural crops, especially potatoes and millet.'

At a ceremonial meeting of the Soviet Academy of Sciences dedicated to the 100th anniversary of the birth of Kliment Timiryazev, Lysenko made a report: 'K. A. Timiryazev and the tasks of our agrobiology.'

Lysenko received the Stalin Prize of the first degree 'for the scientific development and introduction into agriculture of a method of planting potatoes with the tops of food tubers.'

The first edition of Lysenko's collection was published, titled Agrobiology: Work on genetics, breeding and seed production.

Nikolai Vavilov died in prison

At a session of the All-Union Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Lysenko argued that 'in 1940, millet on millions of hectares had already become the highest-yielding grain crop' and called for 'a turn towards millet.'

Lysenko stated that the yield of planting material from the Moscow region will always be significantly greater than the yield of planting material from the Odessa region, in a lecture given at the Polytechnic Museum

Lysenko became director of the Institute of Genetics of the Soviet Academy of Sciences, a position he used to suppress dissenting opinions and promote his anti-Mendelian theories.

Vavilov was arrested

Yarovizatsiya published an article by Prezent 'On pseudoscientific theories and genetics', in which Prezent compared the works of Vavilov with those of the anti-Marxist philosopher Eugen Dühring. In the same year, the journal Pod znamenem marksizma held a discussion on genetics. At the conclusion of this discussion, its organizer, philosopher Mark Mitin, sharply criticized the activities of Vavilov.

The 7th International Genetic Congress took place in Edinburgh.

According to official data, by changing the agricultural technology of millet, Lysenko increased the yield of millet from 2-3 to 15 centners per hectare

The newspaper Sotszemledeliye published an article titled “Improve the Academy of Agricultural Sciences: Ruthlessly uproot enemies and their rumps from scientific institutions,” where Vavilov, Mikhail Zavadovsky, and Pyotr Konstantinov were indicated as accomplices of the enemies of the people.

Lysenko became president of the All-Union Academy of Agricultural Sciences.

In the spring of 1937, the journal Yarovizatsiya, founded and edited by Lysenko, published a speech by the head of the agricultural department of the Central Committee of the All-Union Communist Party of Bolsheviks, Yakov Yakovlev, where Vavilov's theory of homological series of plant variability and the chromosomal theory of heredity were sharply criticized.

The 7th International Genetic Congress in Moscow in 1937 was canceled and instead took place in 1939 in Edinburgh.

Lysenko and his supporters, including Isaak Prezent and Alexander Kohl, began their campaign against geneticists, accusing them of colluding with the anti-Stalinist opposition and reactionary sabotage.

The discussion continued on 23 December 1936 at the 4th session of the All-Russian Academy of Agricultural Sciences, where Lysenko made a report 'On two directions in genetics'.

At a visiting session of the grain section of the All-Union Academy of Agricultural Sciences in Omsk, Lysenko made a report 'On intravarietal crossing of self-pollinating plants,' in which he entered into a discussion with Vavilov and other geneticists.

Lysenko was appointed director of the VSGI.

Lysenko was awarded the Order of Lenin and elected a full member of the Lenin All-Union Academy of Agricultural Sciences.

Lysenko was elected a full member of the Academy of Sciences of the Ukrainian SSR

Lysenko began experiments on summer planting potatoes in the south.

A similar resolution to that in September of the same year, was adopted by the All-Union Conference on Combating Drought

The All-Ukrainian Breeding Conference adopted a resolution on a report by Lysenko, in which he noted the theoretical and practical significance of his work on vernalization.

Lysenko was invited by the People's Commissariat of Ukraine to Odessa, to the newly formed Breeding and Genetics Institute where he headed the laboratory for vernalization of plants.

Lysenko reported main provisions of work at the All-Union Meeting of Sugar Trust in Kiev.

Lysenko embarked on the research that would lead to his 1928 paper on vernalization, which drew wide attention because of its potential practical implications for Soviet agriculture.

Lysenko published a large work, 'The influence of the thermal factor on the duration of plant development phases.' In this work, Lysenko came to the conclusion that each phase of plants begins its development at a strictly defined intensity of thermal energy, that is, at a certain, always constant degree Celsius, and requires a certain amount of degree days.

Lysenko reported the main provisions of the work at the congress convened by the People's Commissariat for Agriculture of the Azerbaijan SSR at the Ganja station

Lysenko was sent to Azerbaijan, to a breeding station in the city of Ganja to introduce legume crops (lupine, clover, peavine, vetch) into Azerbaijan, which could solve the problem of starvation of livestock in early spring, as well as increasing soil fertility when plowing these crops in the spring.

Lysenko graduated from the Kiev Agricultural Institute with a degree in agronomy. This marked the formal end of his agricultural education and prepared him for a career in agricultural research and practice.

Lysenko published his first scientific works: 'Techniques and methods of tomato selection at the Belotserkovskaya selection station' and 'Grafting of sugar beets.'

Soviet power was proclaimed in Uman, after which until 1920 the city periodically passed into the hands of the red and white armies

Soviet power was proclaimed in Uman, after which until 1920 the city periodically passed into the hands of the red and white armies

Trofim Denisovich Lysenko, the Soviet agronomist and proponent of Lysenkoism, was born in the village of Karlovka, Poltava Governorate, Russian Empire (present-day Poltava Oblast, Ukraine). This marks the beginning of the life of a controversial figure who would later have a significant and detrimental impact on Soviet biology and agriculture.