History

I've recently taken a greater interest in Soviet history than ever before, and I was thinking of particular topics to focus in on. Being disabled & neurodivergent, my first thought was to look into the Soviet disability paradigm and how it evolved over the years. But then I remembered a song by The Decemberists, titled "When The War Came". It's about the Siege of Leningrad, in particular the 9 scientists at the Vavilov Institute of Plant Industry who had the strength of will to face fatal starvation before they would betray the solanum by eating of the seeds (which had gone through decades of genetic modification) contained within the vault. Now, having researched further into Vavilov's work, I find him often contrasted with Lysenko, framed as a sort of martyr standing up for the field of genetics, being imprisoned for a famine he did not cause only to die, ironically, of malnutrition. I know this isn't some whole and simple truth, and I don't take Lysenko to be some one-dimensional pseudoscientist villain hellbent on ruining the careers and lives of other scientists. So what I am left with, lacking the Soviet perspective on the internet of course, are questions. Mainly questions about what led to Lysenkoism, further context behind Vavilov's life & death, and maybe some resources I can use in future to cross-examine the mainstream historical consensus. Thanks in advance, –Zero