Lysenkoism promoted the inheritance of acquired characteristics, rejected Mendelian genetics, and emphasized environmental influence over genes. It advocated for practices like close-planting and vegetative hybridization, often without scientific basis.

Lysenkoism was enforced across the Soviet Union and in other communist countries. Classical genetics was banned from textbooks and curricula. Scientists were forced to denounce their previous work.

The infamous August Session of the VASKhNIL formally denounced classical genetics as 'bourgeois pseudoscience,' marking the official triumph of Lysenkoism and the beginning of a period of intense repression of dissenting scientific voices.

Lysenkoist methods led to significant agricultural failures, particularly in grain production. The emphasis on unproven techniques undermined scientific advancements and contributed to food shortages.