Thread by @akoz33

Today's fragment of Ivanov's memoires is about Stalin's interest in linguistics and how it influenced Ivanov's career. And the effect was actually positive, although this was just luck. Today Stalin's official status as the "world's greatest linguist" is the subject of jokes,

but Stalin's times the tyrant's capricious influence hovered over almost all intellectual disciplines. The official totalitarian ideology was marxism-leninism which it was declared, was applicable to everything.

But what was the correct marxist-leninist view on genetics or developement of language was not obvious, and here Stalin, the world's greatest marxist-leninist was the ultimate arbiter.

The pattern was like this: in some discipline a point of view, let's say ×, appeared to many to be the most marxist-leninist. the opponents of × would then & attacked, expelled from their posts and seemingly on the verge of arrest. And then an article word appear in Pravda

stating that actualy not-× was the correct view. Although the article was not signed, everybody knew who the author was. And the situation wond now be reversed, supporters of × wond now be fired and arrested, their opponents would triumphantly take their place.

This happened in linguistics Theory × wast the theory of Nicolay Marr, which claimed , that "class struggle" influenced the developement of language. It seemed obviously marxist and was on the point of becoming the official orthodoxy, when Stalin decided it was wrong:

languages were national and did not change because of class struggle.
Now Ivanov:

“I entered the university in 1946. The darkest time! I was present at terrible outrages - the expulsion of Jews from the university and so on. And a strange thing: on the other hand, this insanity of the last years of Stalin affected my fate in the most positive way.

Contrary to my expectations. Because they assigned me somewhere horribly: on the radio, so that I would work in foreign broadcasting ... This is basically complete nonsense, and everyone said that there could be nothing good for me there.

But suddenly, Stalin became interested in linguistics, and my wonderful professor, from whom I studied Sanskrit and comparative grammar ... Many years then it remained my specialty, and here, in Los Angeles, I also teach comparative grammar of Indo-European languages.

This was the specialty of my teacher, Professor Mikhail Nikolayevich Peterson. He was accused of God knows what, but he continued to teach. I remember it well: early in the morning I took out the newspaper “Culture and Life” and see an article there, where, incidentally,

he was called a fascist. Just because he quoted some German scientist who was published in Germany in those years. And now - “fascist”. Then I go to the class and think: what will he tell us, how will he behave?

He entered as usual with his youthful gait ... He was engaged in physical education and always said that you need to be in shape. He came in excellent form and began to read a Sanskrit text. Well, just like nothing had happened!

And all this discipline of ours was born because without asking anyone, he put up handwritten announcements: "Those who wish to practice Sanskrit please meet at such and such a room with Professor Peterson." He was a respected and rather old professor already.

And it turned out that, since Stalin became interested in linguistics, everything was allowed, and Peterson demanded that three students who studied Sanskrit with him, woukd become his doctoral students. And, then, when he got sick, I began to teach courses for him.

So, in a completely random way, the leader’s quirks affected my life. Due to Stalin’s intervention, linguistics suddenly become the only area of humanities where everything was allowed, no one asked whether there was were Marxism there or not.

Well, the link to Stalin was solid, and you coukd write whatever you want, do whatever you like and refer to any Western authors and so on. And go abroad, as I was then allowed. Well, once. After the death of Stalin. Since I was such a young scientist who became famous,

I was promoted in every possible way by the main person in linguistics - Academician Viktor Vladimirovich Vinogradov, who himself imprisoned three times and experienced everything in the world. He was close to a genius as a scientist, but as a person he later showed himself

very poorly. And politically too. He completely sold out to them. Imagine this Vinogradov was completely out of work, he was defamed in newspapers at the moment when Stalin intervened in linguistics. And then - Vinogradov told me - he was called to the Central Committee

and ordered to go to Malenkov. Non-party member professor. And Malenkov received him very kindly, asking what he was doing ... And then he said that there was such an idea - to put him in charge of linguistics. So, he will be an academician, director of the

Institute of Linguistics, secretary of the Department of Literature and Language of the USSR Academy of Sciences, editor-in-chief of the journal “Questions of Linguistics”, where he appointed me as a deputy. And all these high ranks were given to one person. The idea was that

in every area there should be one trusted person. Vinogradov was anti-Soviet, witty, not even hiding his taste for jokes against the authorities - but they didn’t care. They don’t care what this person thinks.

It is important that he performs their tasks, and for this they give him all these titles . This was a situation that made the communication of people more or less tolerable, because with the same Vinogradov I could be as honest as with myself. I knew that he would not betray

me, would not betray me. But in bad cases he still betrayed. Not me, but principles.

Thanks to Vinogradov, I ended up in the upper ranks of an important area of humanities. Therefore, without having to give any assurance to the party, that is, without having to sign any

document, the sent me to the International Congress in Oslo, wher the most famous linguists from the whole world gathered. So it all began with a great fanfare. Later, with equally great fanfare, they would expel me from the University. “