But neither have anything to do with Darwin. Lamarck at least was a scientist who just happened to get a lot of things wrong, but can't really be blamed given the data he had access to. Lysenko, whom Stalin backed, was not a scientist by any definition of the word. Calling Stalin a believer in evolution is a huge stretch, as his conception bears zero relation to what scientists believe.
Try, E. Yaroslavsky, Landmarks in the Life of Stalin, Foreign Languages Publishing House, Moscow, 1940, p. 8
Thanks, I will. I've ordered a copy of the book at my local university library. I might add my mild bemusement at the fact that Stalinist propaganda is being treated as an authoritative source, but I'll check it out regardless.
Well, if challenging the authenticity of the source didn't work I was going to suggest either this tack on my use of a Bolshevik source, or the "out-of-context" maneuver. And you might still have the "out-of-date" (1940) riposte at your disposal, too:^). Nevertheless, sometimes a statement or admission from a hostile witness is the most valuable because the source cannot be accused of bias in my favor.
But neither have anything to do with Darwin.
I know! But I said evolutionists, not, "Darwinists". Darwin and evolution are not exactly synonymous. Darwin popularized and shaped in his own way prior evolutionary theories.
Cordially,