A. G. STROMBERG First Class Scientist, Second Class Citizen Letters from the GULAG and a History of Electroanalysis in the USSR P766tp.indd 1 2/16/11 8:40 AM This page intentionally left blank A. G. STROMBERG First Class Scientist, Second Class Citizen Letters from the GULAG and a History of Electroanalysis in the USSR Richard G. Compton Oxford University, UK Alexander S. Kabakaev Tomsk Polytechnic University, Russia Michael T. Stawpert Oxford University, UK Gregory G. Wildgoose University of East Anglia, UK Elza A. Zakharova Tomsk Polytechnic University, Russia Imperial College Press ICP P766tp.indd 2 2/16/11 8:40 AM Published by Imperial College Press 57 Shelton Street Covent Garden London WC2H 9HE Distributed by World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd. 5 Toh Tuck Link, Singapore 596224 USA office: 27 Warren Street, Suite 401-402, Hackensack, NJ 07601 UK office: 57 Shelton Street, Covent Garden, London WC2H 9HE British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library. A G STROMBERG — FIRST CLASS SCIENTIST, SECOND CLASS CITIZEN Letters from the GULAG and a History of Electroanalysis in the USSR Copyright © 2011 by Imperial College Press All rights reserved. This book, or parts thereof, may not be reproduced in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording or any information storage and retrieval system now known or to be invented, without written permission from the Publisher. For photocopying of material in this volume, please pay a copying fee through the Copyright Clearance Center, Inc., 222 Rosewood Drive, Danvers, MA 01923, USA. In this case permission to photocopy is not required from the publisher. ISBN-13 978-1-84816-675-2 ISBN-10 1-84816-675-3 Typeset by Stallion Press Email: [email protected] Printed in Singapore. Sanjeed - A G Stromberg.pmd 1 1/26/2011, 2:25 PM b1103_FM.qxd 3/1/2011 4:36 PM Page v A. G. Stromberg — First Class Scientist, Second Class Citizen Foreword This book tells the story of the life of Armin G. Stromberg, a significant and influential chemist whose scientific work was carried out in the Siberian cities of Sverdlovsk (now Ekaterinbrg) and Tomsk. He was born before the Russian revolution and died after the collapse of the USSR. He experienced the GULAG, contributed to the Soviet atomic bomb project, and founded an academic school of electroanalytical chemistry of high impact, especially within the USSR. The idea of this book derives from a visit by two of us (RGC and GGW) to Tomsk in September 2006 where we met many of Stromberg’s former students, and in particular our future co-authors ASK and EAZ. We were impressed by the tangible legacy that Stromberg had left upon our fellow chemists and friends at Tomsk Polytechnic University, and fasci- nated to learn that some documents still survived from his internment in the GULAG. The book was realized and flourished because of the support of the Research Centre of St John’s College, Oxford and the enthusiasm and interest of its Director, Professor Linda McDowell, which enabled the development of the project to the point where Imperial College Press/World Scientific were persuaded to publish this book. We also thank an anonymous referee of our proposal who asserted that ‘you do not need to be a professional historian to write an excellent history book’! We hope (s)he is correct; four of the five authors (but not MJS) are chemists and include the daughter of Armin Stromberg (EAZ). RGC & GGW June 2010 v b1103_FM.qxd 3/1/2011 4:36 PM Page vi A. G. Stromberg — First Class Scientist, Second Class Citizen This page intentionally left blank b1103_FM.qxd 3/1/2011 4:36 PM Page vii A. G. Stromberg — First Class Scientist, Second Class Citizen Contents Foreword v List of Tables and Figures xi 1. The Deportation of the Ethnic Populations of Russia 1 2. ‘A Willow in Siberia’: The Family History and Early Life of Armin G. Stromberg Pre-1937 15 Introduction 15 Ancestry and Nationality 16 Armin’s Parents Heinrich and Magda 20 Letter of Doctor Berezantsev to the Widow Magda R. Stromberg 25 A Letter about Heinrich H. Stromberg’s Death, Written by Vladimir Mamontov 26 A World Turned Upside Down 32 Revolution and a Second Shock for Magda 34 Educating Armin 38 Walking on the Edge of a Precipice 42 Scientific Isolation 44 3. Letters from the GULAG (March 1942–September 1943) 45 Letter 1 53 Letter 2 54 Letter 3 55 Letter 4 57 vii b1103_FM.qxd 3/1/2011 4:36 PM Page viii A. G. Stromberg — First Class Scientist, Second Class Citizen viii A. G. Stromberg — First Class Scientist, Second Class Citizen Letter 5 59 Letter 5A 62 Letter 6 63 Letter 7 66 Letter 8 67 Letter 9 68 Letter 10 70 Letter 12 79 Letter 13 82 Letter 14 87 Letter 15 91 Letter 16 94 Letter 16A 98 Letter 16B 103 Letter 17 107 Letter 18 109 Letter 19 114 Letter 20 116 Letter 21 119 Letter 21A 121 Letter 22 122 Letter 23 125 Letter 24 128 Letter 25 129 Letter 26 135 Letter 27 140 Letter 28 146 Letter 29 149 Letter 30 150 Letter 31 153 Letter 32 155 Letter 33 158 Letter 34 162 Letter 35 164 b1103_FM.qxd 3/1/2011 4:36 PM Page ix A. G. Stromberg — First Class Scientist, Second Class Citizen Contents ix Letter 37 168 Letter 38 170 Letter 39 172 Letter 41 174 Letter 42 176 Letter 43 177 Letters 44–45 179 Letter 46 183 Letter 47 189 Letter 48 192 Letter 49 195 Letter 50 197 Letter 51 199 Letter 52 204 Letter 53 206 Letter 54 208 Letter 55 211 Letter 56 213 Letter 58 216 Letter 59 218 Letter 60 221 Letter 61 222 Letter 62 224 Letter 63 226 Letter 64 227 Letter 66 229 Letter 67 230 Letter 68 232 Letter 69 235 Letter 70 237 Letter 71 240 Letter 72 242 Letter 73 244 Letter 74 247 Conclusion 250 b1103_FM.qxd 3/1/2011 4:36 PM Page x A. G. Stromberg — First Class Scientist, Second Class Citizen x A. G. Stromberg — First Class Scientist, Second Class Citizen 4. Release, Work in Sverdlovsk and the Start of Polarography in the USSR 253 Introduction 253 The 1959 Nobel Prize for Chemistry Goes to Electroanalysis 253 The Origins of Polarography 257 Polarography Revolutionizes Analytical Chemistry 267 Polarography Changes: Pulse Voltammetry, Static Mercury Drops and Stripping Voltammetry 270 Polarography Arrives in the USSR 274 Stromberg’s Research in Sverdlovsk: Wartime and After 279 Chelyabinsk 287 Stromberg is Sacked – An Academic Life Begins 293 5. The Tomsk School of Electroanalysis 303 Early Years In Tomsk: 1956–1962 303 The Special Research Laboratory: 1962–1985 311 Life as a Graduate Student in the Special Research Laboratory 319 Stromberg and Semchenko: Physical Chemistry 327 Stromberg’s Reflections on Running His Laboratory and on His Relationships with the Scientific Community 332 The Special Research Laboratory: The Science 335 Appendix 342 6. Life in Tomsk After Retirement 347 Leaving the Department in 1985 to Retire 347 Perestroika and Stromberg’s Return to Nizhni Tagil 348 Science in Retirement: Teaching an Old Dog New Tricks 353 Hobbies 359 Vita Brevis Est… Ut Volito Oportet! 359 b1103_FM.qxd 3/1/2011 4:36 PM Page xi A. G. Stromberg — First Class Scientist, Second Class Citizen List of Tables and Figures Map of the Baltic region 19 Heinrich G. Stromberg 21 Magda and Heinrich Stromberg, young Armin 23 First call-up papers received by Armin in 1941 47 Mobilization order received by Armin in 1942 49 Layout of brick plant and barracks of Special Force 18–74 51 Scan of Letter 5A 62 One of two surviving certificates granting Lydia permission to buy a train ticket 133 Sketch by Armin of his daughter picking mushrooms 135 Scan of letter written by Elza to her father 143 Sketch by Armin of Elza beside a Christmas tree 180 Stromberg’s sketch: ‘Elza is washing’ 190 ‘Elza goes to kindergarten’ sketch by Armin 203 Elza’s drawings to her father 214 Armin’s demobilization certificate 1943 250 Heyrovský receiving the Nobel Prize in Chemistry 1959 and a Younger Heyrovský and Shikita 256 A caricature of Sir William Ramsey from Vanity Fair 259 Figure 4.1: Surface tension vs potential curves and the experimental set-up for some of the earliest polarographic experiments 263 Figure 4.2: The first ever polarograms to be published in the Scientific literature 266 xi b1103_FM.qxd 3/1/2011 4:36 PM Page xii A. G. Stromberg — First Class Scientist, Second Class Citizen xii A. G. Stromberg — First Class Scientist, Second Class Citizen Figure 4.3: The automated polarograph instrument invented by Shikita and Heyrovský 268 Portraits of Vladimir Vernadsky and Alexander Vinogradov 276 Maps of the Chelyabinsk region 288 A. N. Frumkin, the father of Russian theoretical electrochemistry 297 Stromberg and members of his department in 1960 305 PhD student Vladimir Gorodovih in 1960 310 Staff of the Special Laboratory and Sub-Department of Physical and Colloidal Chemistry in 1970 312 Table 5.1: Scientific subjects (groups) in the development of Stripping voltammetry within the Special Research Laboratory of Micro-impurities 315 Table 5.2: Initial destinations of the first 87 doctoral students of the Special Research Laboratory of Micro-impurities 317 Armin Stromberg and Anatole Kaplin discussing a polarogram in 1960 318 Table 5.3: Distribution of research papers in the Special Research Laboratory of Micro-impurities 319 Stromberg working on his textbook in 1970 330 Map showing the distribution of industries and institutes that collaborated with Stromberg’s laboratory 335 Table 5.4: List of USSR collaborations with Stromberg’s laboratory 336 Figure 6.1: Stromberg’s return to Nizhni Tagil in 1990 350 Stromberg’s certificate of formal ‘rehabilitation’ in 1992 352 Stromberg with his students, Serge and Ella Romanenko 356 Stromberg at the opening of the garden courtyard and alley bearing his name in 2000 360 b1103_Chapter-01.qxd 3/1/2011 4:36 PM Page 1 A.