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Archival Collections Portal > Rare Book & Manuscript Library Collections > Finding Aid: Raisa Berg
Papers
Raisa Berg
Papers,
1898-2006.
Preferred Citation
Identification of specific item; Date (if known); Raisa Berg Papers; Box and Folder;
Bakhmeteff Archive, Rare Book and Manuscript Library, Columbia University Library.
COinS Metadata
available (e.g., for Zotero).
Summary Information
Abstract
The papers comprise correspondence, writings, memoirs, personal documents,
research materials, photographs, drawings, printed materials of Raisa L'vovna Berg
(1913-2006), prominent geneticist and biologist.
At a Glance
| Call No.: | BA#0531 |
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| Bib ID: | 6761446 View CLIO record |
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| Creator(s): | Berg, Raisa, 1913- |
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| Title: | Raisa Berg
Papers,
1898-2006.
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| Physical description: | 44 linear feet (73 archival document boxes; 3 oversize flat
boxes)
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| Language(s): | Material is in English, French, German, Russian
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| Access: |
This collection is located off-site. You will need to request this material at least
two business days in advance to use the collection in the Rare Book and Manuscript
Library reading room.
This collection has no restrictions.
More information » |
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Arrangement
Arrangement
This collection is arranged in six series:
Return to top Description
Scope and Content
The bulk of the collection consists of Raisa Berg's professional and personal
correspondence, her manuscripts, research notes, and photographs. There are also
personal documents, biographical materials, extensive collection of reprints and
publications on genetics and biology by various authors, art works, and materials
related to her human rights activity.
Berg corresponded with many prominent scholars, leading biologists, geneticists,
historians, writers, political activists from Russia, USA, Germany, France, Israel
including Ivan Shmal'gauzen, Vladimir Efroimson, Vadim Delone, Zhores Medvedev, Naum
Korzhavin, Alik Ginzburg, Andrei Sakharov, and many others.
The collection contains Berg's scientific writings, articles and publications on the
history of science, her dissertations, memoirs, essays about various people and on
popular science, publicistic works, her prose and poetry. Files include published and
unpublished works, extensive research notes and data, drafts and fragments.
The collection includes photographs of many prominent scholars, poets and writers,
political activists. There are also slides and negatives of R.Berg graphic works and
paintings. Among research and reference materials there is an extensive collection of
reprints and publications on genetics and biology by various authors, including some
rare editions.
There are cross-references provided throughout the finding aid. When the cross-reference
refers to another item within the same series, the reference includes the specific name
or title and box and folder number (this also applies to the references within same
subseries and sub-subseries). If the cross-reference is to an item in another series,
the reference includes the series number, series name, folder title, and box and folder
numbers (this also applies to references to the items in another subseries and
sub-subseries).
Series I: Correspondence, 1941-2005
The series consists of Berg's professional and personal correspondence with
various people and organizations and includes letters from many prominent figures.
Correspondence includes various related materials, such as manuscripts and
clippings. Organized in two subseries.
Subseries I.1: Correspondence with Individuals, 1941-2005
Contains professional and personal letters (many with Raisa Berg's replies) of
various individuals including many prominent scholars, writers, poets, and
public figures. Arranged alphabetically. Unidentified, family, and outgoing
letters, group greetings and postcards are stored at the end of the series.
Unidentified correspondence organized chronologically; outgoing letters to
identified addressees organized alphabetically and to unidentified addressees
in chronological sequence.
Subseries I.2: Correspondence with Organizations, 1975-2001
Comprises correspondence with various organizations, including publishers,
universities, magazines, etc. Organized in alphabetical order. (Some
correspondence with organizations is a part of personal correspondence and
could be found in Subseries I.1: Correspondence with Individuals)
Series II: Works and Writings by R.Berg; Research Data and Notes,
1937-2006
The series comprises published and unpublished articles, monographs, papers
presented at conferences and congresses, talks, memoirs, reviews, prose and
poetry, essays, extensive research notes and data. Arranged in five subseries.
Subseries II.1: Scientific Writings and Works on the History of
Science, 1937-2002
Typescripts, manuscripts, and reprints of writings on Drosophila research,
genetics and the history of genetics, general biology and the history of
biology. Materials are arranged in several groups: articles and talks,
lectures, dissertations, monographs and projects (organized alphabetically
within each group); collection of works; reviews, forewords, abstracts, grant
proposals, expeditions logbooks, experiments and research logbooks and data
(organized chronologically within each group); tables, data, and notes related
to various unidentified research and works, slides, photographs, and microfilms
with research data and reference materials don't have formal organization.
Subseries II.2: Memoirs, 1980s-1990s
Manuscripts and typescripts of R. Berg's memoirs
Sukhovei,
its English translation
Acquired
Traits;
Zolotye rytsari v strane sotsializma,
and memoir
note on Iosif Brodskii. There are also reviews on published memoirs and related
materials.
Subseries II.3: Essays about Various People and on Popular Science;
Publicistic Works, 1950s-2006
Published and unpublished articles and essays; radioscripts; reprints,
typescripts, manuscripts, notes; related research materials. Arranged in few
groups: personalia, popular science, publicistic works. Contains Manuscripts,
typescripts, reprints, andclippings. See also Subseries II.1--Collection of
works in 3 volumes
Genetika i evoliutsiia:
Box
34, Folders 8-16
Subseries II.4: Prose and Poetry, 1940s-1990s
Manuscripts and typescripts of Berg's original prose and poetry of various
years.
Series III: Human Rights Activity, 1975-1990s
This series contains Raisa Berg's letters to political leaders, newsletters,
leaflets and press on dissidents and refuseniks, materials of campaign for Mikhail
Meilakh defense. More materials on R. Berg's human rights activity are parts of
other series of the collection.
Series IV: Personal Documents and Biographical Materials, 1939-2003
Contains certificates, educational and financial documents, IDs, immigration and
travel documents of Raisa Berg. Biographical materials include autobiographies,
CVs, bibliography of Berg's works, interviews with her, articles about her,
materials on emigration of Raisa Berg's daughter Maria Shenderova; address books,
business cards, calendars, exhibit catalogs, playbills, and other related
materials.
Series V: Photographs, Art Works, and Video-Audio Materials, 1898-2000s
Photographs and slides of various people including many prominent figures, such as
Iosif Brodskii, Vadim Delone, Evgenii Shvarts, Anton Chekhov, Maksim Gorky, Lev
Berg, Sergei Chetverikov, Vladimir Efroimson, Andrei Sakharov, Ivan Shmal'gauzen,
Viktor Sosnora, Nikolai Timofeev-Resovskii, Galina Starovoitova, Iosif and Leon
Orbeli, and many noted scholars. Photographs arranged alphabetically. Unidentified
photographs, photos of faculty members of the Department of Darwinism, and family
photographs stored at the end.
This series also includes original prints, negatives, and slides of Raisa Berg's
graphic works and pictures. There are also video- and audiotapes with her
interviews.
Series VI: Research and Reference Materials, 1919-2004
The series comprises writings by various authors, printed materials, and various
research and reference materials. Organized in three subseries.
Subseries VI.1: Writings by Others, 1919-2003
Articles on scientific subjects and history of science. Reprints, off-prints,
typescripts (many with authors' inscriptions). Organized alphabetically by
authors. Also contains programs and publications of various conferences (stored
at the end of the subseries). Writings on general subjects, literature, etc.
are parts of other series of the collection; references are provided.
Subseries VI.2: Printed Materials, 1937-2004
Contains books and brochures, magazines, newspapers and clippings. Oversize
materials stored in Flat boxes #1-3.
Subseries VI.3: Various research and reference materials, 1939-2004
Publications on various scholars by various authors; articles of various
authors on retinoblastoma; and records of "Soveshchanie po genetike i selektsii
pri redaktsii zhurnala 'Pod znamenem marksizma'" of 1939.
Return to top Using the Collection
Offsite
Access Restrictions
 This collection is located off-site. You will need to request this material at least
two business days in advance to use the collection in the Rare Book and Manuscript
Library reading room.
This collection has no restrictions.
Restrictions on Use
Single photocopies may be made for research purposes. Permission to publish material
from the collection must be requested from the Curator of the Bakhmeteff Archive. The
RBML approves permission to publish that which it physically owns; the responsibility to
secure copyright permission rests with the patron.
Preferred Citation
Identification of specific item; Date (if known); Raisa Berg Papers; Box and Folder;
Bakhmeteff Archive, Rare Book and Manuscript Library, Columbia University Library.
Return to top About the Finding Aid / Processing Information
Columbia University Libraries. Rare Book and
Manuscript Library; machine readable finding aid created by Columbia University
Libraries Digital Library Program Division
Processing Information
Papers processed 2011 Katia Shraga
Finding aid written 06/2011 Katia Shraga
Machine readable finding aid generated from MARC-AMC source via XSLT conversion
August 23, 2011
Finding aid written in English.
2011-08-23
xml document instance created by Carrie Hintz
Return to top Subject Headings
The subject headings listed below are found in this collection. Links below allow searches at Columbia University through the Archival Collections Portal and through CLIO, the catalog for Columbia University Libraries, as well as ArchiveGRID, a catalog that allows users to search the holdings of multiple research libraries and archives. All links open new windows.
Genre/FormSubjects| Heading | CUL Archives:
Portal | CUL Collections:
CLIO | Nat'l / Int'l Archives:
ArchiveGRID |
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| Alpatov, V. V. (Vladimir Vladimirovich), b. 1898. | Portal | CLIO | ArchiveGRID |
| Berg, L. S. (Lev Semenovich), 1876-1950. | Portal | CLIO | ArchiveGRID |
| Binevich, E. M. (Evgenii Mikhaĭlovich). | Portal | CLIO | ArchiveGRID |
| Biology--Soviet Union--History. | Portal | CLIO | ArchiveGRID |
| Bonnėr, Elena, 1923- | Portal | CLIO | ArchiveGRID |
| Brodsky, Joseph, 1940-1996. | Portal | CLIO | ArchiveGRID |
| Chetverikov, S. S. (Sergei Sergeevich),
1880-1959. | Portal | CLIO | ArchiveGRID |
| Delone, Vadim, 1947-1983. | Portal | CLIO | ArchiveGRID |
| Dissenters--Soviet Union--Correspondence. | Portal | CLIO | ArchiveGRID |
| Ėfroimson, V. P. (Vladimir Pavlovich),
1908-1989. | Portal | CLIO | ArchiveGRID |
| Ėtkind, E. G. (Efim Grigor'evich), 1918-1999. | Portal | CLIO | ArchiveGRID |
| Geneticists--Soviet Union. | Portal | CLIO | ArchiveGRID |
| Genetics--Soviet Union--History. | Portal | CLIO | ArchiveGRID |
| Gershenzon, S. M. (Sergei Mikhailovich). | Portal | CLIO | ArchiveGRID |
| Ginzburg, Aleksandr, 1936-2002. | Portal | CLIO | ArchiveGRID |
| Human Rights--Soviet Union. | Portal | CLIO | ArchiveGRID |
| Ignatov, Pavel Grigor'evich. | Portal | CLIO | ArchiveGRID |
| Korzhavin, N. (Naum), 1925- | Portal | CLIO | ArchiveGRID |
| Liubishchev, A.A. (Aleksandr Aleksandrovich),
1890-1972. | Portal | CLIO | ArchiveGRID |
| Medvedev, Zhores A., 1925- | Portal | CLIO | ArchiveGRID |
| Meilakh, Mikhail. | Portal | CLIO | ArchiveGRID |
| Popovskii, Mark Aleksandrovich. | Portal | CLIO | ArchiveGRID |
| Refuseniks--Soviet Union. | Portal | CLIO | ArchiveGRID |
| Sakharov, Andrei, 1921-1989. | Portal | CLIO | ArchiveGRID |
| Shmal'gauzen, I. I. (Ivan Ivanovich), 1884-1963. | Portal | CLIO | ArchiveGRID |
| Shvarts, Evgenii, 1896-1958. | Portal | CLIO | ArchiveGRID |
| Smakov, Gennady. | Portal | CLIO | ArchiveGRID |
| Sosnora, Viktor. | Portal | CLIO | ArchiveGRID |
| Starovoitova, G. V. (Galina Vasil'evna). | Portal | CLIO | ArchiveGRID |
| Timofeev-Resovskii, N. V. (Nikolai Vladimirovich),
1900-1981. | Portal | CLIO | ArchiveGRID |
| Vorontsov, N. N. q(Nikolai Nikolaevich). | Portal | CLIO | ArchiveGRID |
Return to top History / Biographical Note
Biographical Note
Raisa L'vovna Berg, prominent geneticist, evolutionary
biologist, specialist in population and evolutionary genetics and morphology, historian
of science, defender of human rights in the Soviet Union, self educated painter, author
of numerous publications and published memoirs, was born on March 27, 1913 in St.
Petersburg, in the family of the member of the Russian Academy of Sciences Lev
Semenovich Berg.
In 1935 Berg graduated from the Department of Genetics and
Experimental Zoology of the Leningrad State University. Her diploma studies were done at
the Institute of Genetics, Russian Academy of Sciences, under supervision of the future
Nobel Prize winner Hermann Muller. In 1939, Berg defended her dissertation and moved to
Moscow and began her doctorate studies at the Severtsov Institute of Evolutionary
Morphology of Animals. From 1944 to 1947, Raisa Berg worked as a senior researcher at
the Severtsov Institute of Evolutionary Morphology of Animals and part time at the
Zoological Institute of Moscow State University. In 1948, she started working as
associate professor at the Department of Zoology and Darwinism of the Herzen Leningrad
Pedagogical Institute, and in 1949 shifted to the All-Union Research Institute of Lake
and River Fish Management. From 1954 to 1957, Raisa Berg worked as an assistant, and
from 1957 to 1960, as an associate professor at the Department of Darwinism of Leningrad
State University. In 1954, Berg was awarded the academic degree of senior research
associate in genetics; in 1957, that of associate professor. In this period, she
lectured on evolutionary genetics and genetic bases of evolution and on Darwinism at the
Faculty of Biology and Soil Science of Leningrad State University. In 1960 through 1963,
she was appointed a senior research associate of the Biological Institute of this
University. In 1963, on invitation by the director of the Institute of Cytology and
Genetics, she moved to Akademgorodok near Novosibirsk. In this institute, she organized
the Laboratory of Population Genetics, which she headed from August of 1963 through June
1968. In 1964, Raisa Berg defended doctoral dissertation at the Komarov Botanical
Institute, Russian Academy of Sciences (Leningrad). She was elected a member of the
Academic Council of the Institute of Cytology and Genetics. She worked as a lecturer at
the Biological Department of the Natural Science Faculty of Novosibirsk State
University, giving courses on history of biology and Darwinism (1964-1965) and on
population and evolution genetics (1965-1968). In 1968, along with 46 researchers
working in institutions of the Siberian Division of the Russian Academy of Sciences,
Raisa Berg signed a letter to the Prosecutor General of the Soviet Union and the Supreme
Court of the Russian Federation claiming the inadmissibility of conducting closed trials
of dissidents. On March 4, 1968, the Academic Council of the Institute of Cytology and
Genetics condemned Berg for "political irresponsibility," which manifested in her
signing the letter. Shortly after that, in June 1968, Berg was retired from work. She
has returned to Leningrad. From 1968 to 1970, Berg heads a group in the Agrophysical
Institute of VASKhNIL (All-Union Academy of Agricultural Sciences); in 1968-1974, she
was a professor of Leningrad Pedagogical University. In December 1974, Raisa Berg
emigrated to the United States, where she worked at University of Wisconsin (Madison)
from 1975 through 1981. In 1981, she moved to St. Louis, Missouri, where worked for
three years as a visiting professor at the Washington University. During her "American
period", Raisa Berg participated in numerous conferences around the world, lectured in
Germany and Nehterlands. In 1994, she moved to France.
Raisa Berg died on March 1, 2006, in Paris and was buried in
the Pere Lachaise cemetery.
Sources: Zakharov, I.K., Kolosova, L.D., Shumny, V.K. Raisa L’vovna Berg
(March 27, 1913–March 1, 2006)
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