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Primary sourceDocument24 January 1921

Sovnarkom Decree on Academician Pavlov

Vladimir Lenin · 24 January 1921

Lenin's 1921 Soviet government decree recognizing Pavlov's scientific merits and guaranteeing support for his work.

This decree shows the Soviet government's effort to protect and support Pavlov's scientific work despite his hostility to Bolshevism.

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Scanned page of a Soviet government resolution in Russian, headed Postanovlenie Soveta Narodnykh Komissarov, dated 24 January 1921 in Moscow, Kremlin, with a signature at lower right. It recognizes academician I. P. Pavlov's scientific merits, sets up a commission, and grants supplies, a rations package, and housing.
Council of People's Commissars, decree on Academician I. P. Pavlov, 24 January 1921.

About this source

What it is

This is a decree issued by the Council of People's Commissars (Sovnarkom) of the Soviet government, dated 24 January 1921 in Moscow, signed under the authority of Vladimir Lenin. It recognizes the scientific achievements of academician Ivan Pavlov, sets up a special commission to support his work, and grants him supplies, rations, and housing.

Why it matters

This document shows how the new Bolshevik government, despite Pavlov's open hostility toward it, still wanted to keep him working in Russia and protect his research. It reveals the tension between revolutionary politics and the desire to retain a world-famous scientist, and shows how the state used material privileges to secure the loyalty or at least cooperation of important figures.

Look closer

  • Why might the government go to such lengths to support someone openly critical of it?
  • What does the decree's language about Pavlov's work being important

This document is part of the curated material that grounds the AI version of Ivan Pavlov on Humy.ai — when students ask about related events, the AI can quote it and cite it.

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