There is a theory in scientific circles that the brain of a genius is significantly different from the brain of an ordinary person. This theory was especially popular in the first half of the 20th century, when the brains of the most prominent representatives of humanity were actively studied in the USSR, as well as abroad. It is not surprising that V. I. Lenin was examined in the first place.
The brain of an ideal person
The very next day after the death of the leader of the world proletariat, his internal organs, including the brain, were carefully removed from the body, which was to be embalmed. It was assumed that in the future, the brain of Vladimir Ilyich will be examined in order to determine those of its features that were responsible for the genius of this person. At least, this is exactly what Lenin's contemporaries thought. At the same time, the most surprising thing is that if Soviet scientists were able to embalm Lenin's body, which no one had ever done before, then for some reason the German scientist Oscar Vogt was invited to study the leader's brain on the recommendation of Clara Zetkin. However, he was really an outstanding specialist, who headed the Institute for Brain Research in Germany of the Kaiser Wilhelm Society for the Promotion of Sciences. The main goal of his work was an attempt to reveal the characteristics of the brain of an "ideal person" by studying the brains of great people. In turn, the Bolsheviks considered V. I. Lenin, deciding that it was his brain that Oskar Vogt should examine. Vladimir Ilyich died at the end of January 1924, and in February the scientist arrived in Moscow to participate in a meeting of the country's leading scientists at the V. I. Lenin. The meeting was attended by doctors who performed the autopsy of Vladimir Ilyich, his embalming and removal of internal organs.and already in February, the scientist arrived in Moscow to participate in a meeting of the country's leading scientists at the V. I. Lenin. The meeting was attended by doctors who performed the autopsy of Vladimir Ilyich's body, his embalming and removal of internal organs.and already in February, the scientist arrived in Moscow to participate in a meeting of the country's leading scientists at the V. I. Lenin. The meeting was attended by doctors who performed the autopsy of Vladimir Ilyich, his embalming and removal of internal organs.
The brain of a genius or an imbecile?
The main question of the meeting, voiced by the head physician of the 2nd Gradsky hospital Boris Veisbord: “Can a cytoarchitectonic study give an indication of the material substantiation of V. I. Lenin. Everyone present, including Vogt, replied in the affirmative. The eminent scientist proposed making several thousand of the thinnest slices of the leader's brain for research, including by comparing them with similar slices of ordinary people. Equipment from the Vogt laboratory was delivered to the USSR from Germany. In May 1925, an agreement was signed and work began. The brain of the leader was divided into 30963 slices using a special microtome tool. Then each slice was stained with a contrast agent and placed between the slides so that they could be viewed as slides.
The most interesting thing is that quite quickly Oskar Vogt discovered that the third and fifth layers of Lenin's brain are more developed than similar layers of the brain of an ordinary person. The People's Commissariat for Health, as well as Soviet newspapers, immediately loudly announced that during the study of the leader's brain, his genius had been scientifically proven. In 1927, Oskar Vogt reported on the work done to the Soviet government, and in 1929 he made a presentation in Germany. His research on Lenin's brain has sparked a lively scientific debate around the world. And then, unexpectedly, a scandal broke out. Professor Spielrein, who also carefully studied the “slides” of Lenin's brain slices, given to him by Vogt, categorically stated that the same deviations are present in the mentally retarded. His conclusion was closer to the truth, since it is known that before his death Lenin was seriously ill, was partially paralyzed, wrote and spoke with difficulty. The Kremlin was indignant. Vogt's visa to the USSR was canceled, and the equipment of his laboratory at the V. I. Lenin was confiscated. Further studies of Lenin's brain were carried out by Russian scientists.
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Genius - away from doubt
The final point on the issue of V. I. Lenin was delivered on May 27, 1936. The Politburo of the CPSU Central Committee received a report "Study of Lenin's Brain". In it, the authors argued that the power of one leader's brain is equivalent to the work of ten hemispheres of "average people." As a confirmation of these words, the results of measurements of the furrows of the frontal lobe and the furrows of the remaining lobes in the brain of Lenin and other prominent citizens of the USSR were given: Bogdanov, Michurin, Mayakovsky, Tsiolkovsky, Academician Pavlov and many others. From that moment on, the image of V. I. Lenin as a man of genius was finally entrenched in Soviet historiography.
Dmitry Sokolov