Birth-Certificate (Munchen)
Birth-Certificate
Extract from the house-register
Application to the Petrograd University
Certificate of student's acceptance
Statement to the paid education committee
Faculty membership of Petrograd State University Certificate
The test book
The test book
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Certificate of education finishing in Leningrad State University
Curriculum Vitae
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PETROGRAD PERIOD
Wassily Leontief is a great scientist who made a tremendous
contribution to economic development not only in Russia but also in
various countries of the world. He was born in Munich in 1906 as his
parents moved to Germany especially for the delivery to be in one of
the best clinics. Right after the born of the baby the Leontiefs
moved back to Russia and aged three weeks he was baptized in St.
Petersburg, in Spaso-Preobrazhenskaya Kolotyshinskaya Church. The
young family settled down with the grandfather, an owner of a
textile mill, in the house where non-bourgeois climate reigned.
The young family settled in His father, professor of social science,
and his mother, historian went home right after his birth. The young
family settled down with the grandfather, an owner of a textile
mill, in the house where non-bourgeois climate reigned.
Wassily Leontief-senior would even organize strikes on the family
factory in his days, still family conflicts never occurred, he
became a professor of economics of Saint Petersburg University,
seriously studied Marxism and held the doctorate about the
economical state of workers in Russia.
The
childhood and youth of the scientist passed in Saint Petersburg. His
family lived on the Krestovskiy Island in the house of father’s
brother, who was the chief of the Leontiefs’ factory. The parents of
the scientist socialized with many actors of the artistic bohemia of
that times, and the well-known painter Petrov-Vodkin drew a portrait
of 8-years old Wassily (“Wassya Leontief. Back View”). From time to
time the Leontiefs helped different illegal parties either by giving
money or offering their summer house on the Karelian Isthmus to the
illegal politicians, who made their way to Finland. It might be
possible, that mother of Wassily followed not only typical for
intelligentsia of those times opposition moods, but also some
personal reasons as one of her brothers was executed for
participation in rebellion of prisoners. But all in all raging
external world did not touch the family life of the Leontiefs.
Wassily Leontief-junior was infatuated by revolutionary disorders
when he was 11 years old, he would even participate in protest
marches, but rather for curiosity and ambition than for his views.
The stories about this experience, even slightly embroidered,
would raise his prestige among his gymnasium-fellows and at home.
Especially, when famous mischief-makers’ names were added to his
emotions. It is said that he even listened to Lenin once.
For their class affiliation the Leontief family was accepted into
the “bourgeois” group, which actually meant that from the Bolshevik
point of view that they deserve nothing more then “the tail of a
herring”. Nevertheless Wassily Leontief, being an expert in
financial and economic questions continued teaching in the
University. In 1919 the Leontiefs were offered to move from their
own house in 24 hours. A seaman, standing in the doors told them
what of their belongings they could take along, and what they were
to leave. In those times the portrait of Wassily by Petrov-Vodkin
disappeared. Soon afterwards the father said to his son: “We had
enough money to give you good education abroad. Now it’s all gone
and you have to try to do everything by yourself”. But in fact
Wassily did not have to educate himself. In the period of 1917 —
1919 either his mother or tutors were his teachers. Other 2 years he
studied in the 27th Soviet Union Labor School, though it
was made only to receive the testimonial, as the knowledge gain
there could not be compared with that, gained at home. Finally,
1921 Wassily Leontief junior easily passed the final exams and
received a diploma of secondary education. He was only 14, but he
had to determine his future. And than he chooses the path, which ,
as it seemed at that times, has only copied his father’s.
He
was so well educated by his 15 that the Petrograd University
enrolled him. The faculties at that time were not separated
strictly, that allowed Leontief to study philosophy, sociology and
gradually, according to his own words, “descend” to economy while
perceiving increasingly critically the then situation in Russia.
His public speeches and unofficial talks were becoming (or seemed
to someone) more freethinking and dangerous. His analytical
summarizing of real economic statistics was not to political
commissars liking either. They were not able to grasp the value of
his researches but it was clear that the words about public
development benefit did not persuade them.
Eventually, the meticulous and scrupulous researcher was several
times invited for speeches at the notorious house in Gorokhovaya
Street as an enemy of revolutionary proletariat. His visits to this
place Leontief saw as a kind of adventure, and night time
conversations were as an intellectual puzzle for him.
In 1925 Leontief graduated from the Leningrad (former Petrograd )
University and received the diploma of economist. He was only 19,
but the talented graduate was highly valued and he was able to stay
within the University- at the department of economic geography and
teach.
Parallel to that he continued his thinking about the ways of science
development. He wrote an article on this theme to the “Annals”
magazine, but, this absolutely innocent article was prohibited for
publication due to ideological reasons. Apparently this fact played
its role in Leontief’s decision to leave the country. “This was an
article about casual and normative attitudes in science. I took this
two attitudes development in works of several philosophers, starting
from 18th century, through Kant and Hegel, and to Bergson.
That was a historical and analytical article, far from politics or
ideology. And if even it was forbidden, I realized that it was
impossible to do serious science in Soviet Union. And my work is the
most important in my life. And when I realized that I decided to
leave.”
Leontief started writing claim for the government to let him go
abroad to make a PhD course in University of Berlin. The case could
have taken much time, but Leontief got into serious trouble with his
health: the doctors recognized sarcoma. So he got another reason for
applications- he had to go abroad to receive medical treatment.
Therefore, the young economist and statistician was set free and let
go to Germany to die, as they thought. W.W. Leontief: “I got
sick, I had a swelling on my face. The doctors made s surgery and
decided that it was a sarcoma. So they gave me my passport. They
decided- let him go, anyway, he’ll die soon. And when I came to the
doctors in Germany they said it was not a sarcoma and I staid alive.
So sarcoma helped me a lot. Will you agree- sarcoma does not
regularly help people.”
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