The investigative CASE against the state Academy for the History of material culture (1936–1937): background, formation, results

Political repressions against the scientific staff of academic institutions in Leningrad led to the destruction of scientific schools and the reorganization of institutes. Significant changes in the institution-building process of Russian archaeology occurred largely due to the tragic events that took place in the State Academy for the History of Material Culture (GAIMK) in 1934–1936. Personnel changes, scandals and “squabbles” that began after the death of the long-time Chairman of the Academy N.Ya. Marr were aggravated by the events of the “Kirov series” and the subsequent mass arrests among the pro-Trotsky-Zinoviev opposition. The “terrorist organization at the GAIMK” was included in the criminal “Case of a network of counter-revolutionary pro-Trotsky-Zinoviev groups in research institutions of Leningrad” framed-up by NKVD. Mass arrests within this case deprived the Academy of its entire administrative staff and became the reason for the inclusion of GAIMK in the USSR Academy of Sciences as an ordinary institute. Unpublished materials from criminal investigative cases contribute to more detailed restoration of the last chapter in the history of GAIMK.