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Lot 294
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Joseph Stalin Signed War-Dated Award for Soviet Scientist Who Would Later Propose Melting Polar Ice Caps. Superb!
Joseph Stalin Signed War-Dated Award for Soviet Scientist Who Would Later Propose Melting Polar Ice Caps. Superb!
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Description:

Joseph Stalin Signed War-Dated Award for Soviet Scientist Who Would Later Propose Melting Polar Ice Caps. Superb!

A Russian-language diploma or award signed by Soviet premier Joseph Stalin (1878-1953) in Cyrillic letters as "J. Stalin" on the sixth page. Issued from the Kremlin in Moscow, the Soviet Union, ca. 1942. Also countersigned by Soviet bureaucrat Yakov Chadayev (1904-1985) as "Y. Chadayev" under Stalin's signature. Bearing a hand-stamp reading "Council of People's Commissars, Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, national emblem of the Soviet Union." The paper packet is simply bound in between two hardcovers and protected by an original plastic book jacket. Unpaginated, 8pp. The diploma measures 10" x 14.25" x .5" overall. Accompanied by a full English translation.

The supple brown leather front cover is decorated with a gilded round medallion showing profiles of Vladimir Lenin and Joseph Stalin in bas relief. The pastedown endpapers are fabric, as is the ribbon-like binding at center. Ornamentation includes a Stalin frontispiece, gilt- and blind-embossed hammer and sickle emblems, fancy gilt titles, and fancy gilt headpieces and endpieces. The text of the diploma is printed. The paper shows uneven toning, especially to the front and back free endpapers. Minor ghost impressions from gilt headpieces and endpieces and text blocks. Isolated tarnish to the bas relief on the front cover. Expected yellowing and chips to the book jacket. Else very good to near fine.

This Stalin Prize, Second Degree was given to Arkady Andreevich Markin, Chief Engineer of "Azneftezavody," or Az oil plants, in 1942. Markin was one of eight Soviet engineers so honored for "the development and introduction into the industry of a method for increasing the production of aviation gasoline at existing plants and factories." (Markin's name is listed fifth in the list of eight award recipients.) Increasing airplane fuel output during wartime would have been of critical importance to the Soviets as they battled the Axis powers on many fronts during World War II.

Translated in full:

"TO LAUREATE OF THE STALIN PRIZE COUNCIL OF PEOPLE'S COMMISSARS OF THE U.S.S.R. 1942 DIPLOMA OF THE LAUREATE OF THE STALIN PRIZE SECOND DEGREE

BY THE RESOLUTION OF THE COUNCIL OF PEOPLE'S COMMISSARS
OF THE U.S.S.R. OF APRIL 10, 1942, THE STALIN PRIZE OF THE SECOND DEGREE WAS AWARDED TO

RYBAK Boris Moiseevich, Deputy People's Commissar of the Oil Industry
SKOBLO Aleksander Ivanovich, Deputy Head of the Production and Technical Department of People's Commissar of Oil
FEDOROV Viktor Stepanovich, Manager of Trust “Grozneftezavody” (Groz Oil Plants)
PRIGORNEV Ivan Grigorievich, Chief Engineer of the same Trust
MARKIN Arkady Andreevich, Chief Engineer of “Azneftezavody” (Az oil plants)
GUTYRYA Viktor Stepanovich, Deputy Director for Scientific Affairs, Azerbaijan Research Institute
GORELIK Mikhail Aronovich, the Chief Engineer of the oil refinery plant named after Stalin in Baku
SAMOILOV Lev Borisovich, Deputy Head of the main laboratory of the same plant,

for the development and introduction into the industry of a method for increasing the production of aviation gasoline at existing plants and factories.

THIS DIPLOMA IS ISSUED
TO MARKIN Arkady Andreevich

Chairman of the Council of People's Commissars of the U.S.S.R.
[handwritten signature]
/ J. Stalin /

Administrator of the Council of People's Commissars of the U.S.S.R.
[handwritten signature]
/ Y. Chadayev /

Moscow, Kremlin

[Stamp]: Council of People's Commissars, Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, national emblem of the Soviet Union."

The Stalin Prize was issued in first, second, and third degrees to award recipients whose work promoted the Soviet Union or socialism in general. Honorees were selected from the fields of mathematics, science, literature, architecture, and the arts, and awards were often distributed to groups rather than to individuals. This appears to be the case with our diploma, where eight engineers from different plants across the Soviet oil industry were selected.

In 1958, sixteen years after receiving this Stalin Prize, Arkady Andreevich Markin was employed as an engineer at the U.S.S.R. Power Institute at the Soviet Academy of Science. At the Brussels World Fair held that year, Markin made a controversial proposal to manipulate the earth's land mass quotient and water levels. Markin's idea was two-fold: to construct an intercontinental tunnel accommodating both rail and car traffic across the Bering Strait, as well as to build a dam which would span the same area. Nuclear-powered pumps would force the warm waters of the Pacific Ocean into the Arctic zone, melting polar ice caps, and converting previously permafrosted areas into arable farm land.

Markin's scheme was just one of many that emerged from the Soviet Union in the 1950s and 1960s, when Soviet interest in climate engineering and modification reached its zenith. Another popular idea consisted of scattering coal dust on the polar ice caps to accelerate melting, also in the view towards increasing agricultural potential. These ideas are of course unimaginable today, as we desperately attempt to reverse the negative effects of climate change at the time of this writing, in August 2021.

The Stalin Prize was overseen by the Council of People's Commissars of the Soviet Union, the highest administrative and executive body in the Soviet Union between 1923-1946. Its far-reaching authority encompassed many sectors, including the economy, agriculture, and industry, but also religion, censorship, criminal prosecution, and "societal cleansing" (deportation, gulags, etc.)

Joseph Stalin served as Chairman of the Council of People's Commissars of the Soviet Union between May 1941 and the council's dissolution in March 1946. Our co-signer Yakov Chadayev served as an administrator of the Council of People's Commissars of the Soviet Union between November 1940 and the group's disbandment in March 1946.

This item comes with a Certificate from John Reznikoff, a premier authenticator for both major 3rd party authentication services, PSA and JSA (James Spence Authentications), as well as numerous auction houses.

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