History

The need to establish the All-Union Research Institute for Non-Contagious Animal Diseases was dictated by the wide spread of these diseases and the absence of a specialized scientific institution dealing with their study in the country.

Against the background of the successes in the fight against infectious diseases achieved by the beginning of the sixties, non-contagious animal diseases caused enormous economic damage and damage to the country’s collective farms and state farms. According to veterinary reports for 1959-1969, the death of livestock from non-contagious diseases annually amounted to 10-17 million animals. Collective farms and state farms lost more than 5 million calves and about 2.6 million tons of milk every year from the barrenness of cows. Milk losses from mastitis in cows amounted to about one million tons. Gastrointestinal and pulmonary diseases of young animals, metabolic diseases and others caused great damage to animal husbandry.

The research institutes and veterinary stations available at that time studied mainly infectious and parasitic diseases. Only about 30 scientific associates were employed for the study of non-contagious pathologies in those institutes. Considering the situation in connection with non-contagious diseases, the Main Veterinary Authority of the USSR Ministry of Agriculture established a Department for Non-Contagious Animal Diseases in its structure, which was headed by V.I. Dulnev, Candidate of Veterinary Sciences. Candidates of Veterinary Sciences Kondrakhin I.P., Silaev A.M. and Senior Veterinarian Okunkov P.S. worked at the department. This department took the initiative in organizing the Institute and carried out all the necessary work. If this department had not been in the Head Office and if it had not shown perseverance and selflessness, this Institute would not have existed for many years, and maybe not at all.

The path of establishing the Institute was long and difficult, and there were many supporters and opponents on the way to resolving the issue. We had understanding and support from the Head of the Main Veterinary Authority Tretyakov A.D., his Deputy Goloshchapov Yu.N., Deputy Minister of Agriculture of the USSR Morozov P.I., Vice-President of the All-Union Academy of Agricultural Sciences named after V.I. Lenin (VASKhNIL) Brezhnev D.D., an employee of the Central Committee of the CPSU Vinokurov L.V., party and agricultural bodies of Moscow region, et. al.

The decision to organize the Institute at that time was taken by the State Committee of the USSR Council of Ministers for Science and Technology on the proposal of the relevant ministry. Such a decision required a convincing justification with many agreements.

As an initiator, direct executor and organizer of the Institute, who gave six years to its establishment and development (1966-1972), I describe the stages of the organization of the Institution in chronological order.

The beginning of work on the organization of the Institute should be considered a meeting of scientists held on the initiative of our department by the Main Veterinary Authority of the USSR Ministry of Agriculture on March 2, 1966 (Chairman Goloshchapov Yu.N., Secretary Kondrakhin I.P.). The meeting was attended by Professor Ionov P.S. (Moscow Chemical and Technological Institute of the Meat and Dairy Industry), Professor Kudryavtsev A.A. (VIEV), professor Afonskiy S.I. – Rector of Moscow Veterinary Academy (MVA), Professor Sharabrin I.G., Professor Plakhotin M.V., Professor Zaytsev V.I., Associate Professor Alikaev V.A. (MVA), Academician of VASKhNIL Orlov I.V., Shcherbakov V.M. (Head Office of Science of the USSR Ministry of Agriculture), Bondarenko V.P. (Head Office of universities of the USSR Ministry of Agriculture of), Professor Shmulevich A.I. (GNIK), Kuznetsov V.F. (Head Office of Veterinary Medicine of the Ministry of Agriculture of the RSFSR), Dulnev V.I.

At the meeting, it was decided to ask the Minister of Agriculture of the USSR to join the Government with the question of establishing the All-Union Research Institute of Non-Contagious Animal Diseases. Moscow Veterinary Academy, the All-Union Institute of Experimental Veterinary Medicine, the Republican Veterinary Laboratory (Kosino village), etc. were proposed as the production base of the Institute.

After this meeting, the Department of Non-Contagious Diseases prepared a substantiated submission to the Minister of Agriculture of the USSR V.V. Matskevich, signed by A.D. Tretyakov on December 2, 1966. This presentation had been prepared for about 9 months, since we needed not only a comprehensive justification, but also numerous agreements with various departments of the Ministry, VASKhNIL and other institutions. Establishing an institution for the country was expensive.

The Minister of Agriculture of the USSR Matskevich V.V. by the letter No. 011-9 dtd. July 22, 1967 applied to the Committee of the Council of Ministers of the USSR on Science and Technology with a request to organize the All-Union Research Institute of Non-Contagious Animal Diseases on the basis of Moscow Veterinary Academy, but at the Department of Agriculture of the Committee of the Council of Ministers on Science and Technology, this proposal was not supported.

It was decided to find another place to locate the institute in Moscow region. The choice fell on the experimental farm “Istrinskoe” of the All-Union Research Institute of Mechanization and Electrification of Agriculture of the All-Union Academy of Agricultural Sciences. The lands of this farm are directly adjacent to the city of Istra, located in the forest park zone of Moscow. For the placement of the institute in this place, written support was received from the first secretaries of the district committees of five districts of the northwestern zone of Moscow region, the consent of the experimental farm “Istrinskoe”, VIESKh, VASKhNIL, Istra City Executive Committee, the SES of the district and region, the service of the Chief Architect of Istra, Moscow and Moscow region, etc.

On August 4, 1969, Yu.N. Goloshchapov by the letter No. 117-2 addressed the Deputy Chairman of Moscow Regional Executive Committee Zhdanov N.A. with a request to agree to the placement of the Institute in the village of Yabidino, Istra district, on the territory of the experimental farm “Istrinskoe”. This request was supported by the Head of Moscow Regional Department of Agriculture Deryabin A. (letter dtd. August 31, 1969 No. 6-3/141). On November 27, 1969, the issue of allotment of a land plot in the experimental farm “Istra” was considered at the presidium of Moscow Regional Executive Committee. It was reported by A.D. Tretyakov – at that time a delegate to the All-Union Congress of Collective Farmers. A. Deryabin was also a delegate to the congress of collective farmers, who also attended the meeting of the presidium. I recall the words of the Chairman, “Two delegates of the congress of collective farmers are asking, let’s satisfy their request”. The issue was resolved positively.

On January 6, 1970, the Minister of Agriculture of the USSR V.V. Matskevich by the letter No. 011-9 addressed the Chairman of the State Committee of the Council of Ministers of the USSR for Science and Technology V.A. Kirillov for the second time with a request to organize the Institute with its placement on the basis of the OPKh “Istra” VIESKh.

In the State Committee, this proposal was supported by the Head of the Department of Agricultural Science Koziner A.B. However, the officials from other departments (V. Puzanov, E. Sklyarov, E. Grishaev) were against it, and it did not pass. The formal reason for the refusal was the alleged lack of an adequate material and technical base to accommodate the Institute. The actual reason for the refusal was something else – intradepartmental competition for finances. However, the Main Veterinary Authority was forced to prepare a proposal to place the Institute on a different base. By this time, the USSR Ministry of Agriculture received the letter No. 158-I dtd. March 16, 1970, signed by the first secretary of Voronezh Regional Committee of the CPSU N.M. Miroshnichenko and Chairman of the Regional Executive Committee N.A. Evstigneev, which proposed the establishment of the Institute on the basis of Voronezh Research Veterinary Station (NIVS). This proposal came from the Deputy Head of Voronezh Regional Department of Agriculture Goncharov P.I.

To study the issue in Voronezh, I.P. Kondrakhin and Senior Engineer of the Head Office of Veterinary Medicine Mikhaylova G.M.. Having familiarized themselves with the proposed base and received assurance from the leaders of the regional party and Soviet bodies of support, they submitted a certificate with a conclusion on the possibility of locating the Institute on the basis of Voronezh NIVS.

On July 25, 1970, in addition to the letter of the USSR Ministry of Agriculture No. 011-9 dtd. January 9, 1970, Tretyakov A.D., Head of the Main Veterinary Authority, submitted the necessary material to the State Committee for Science and Technology with a proposal to locate the Institute on the basis of Voronezh Research Veterinary Station. In the letter, it was stated that Voronezh NIVS had a production area of ​​1585 sq. m, had engineering communications, appropriate laboratory facilities with modern equipment sufficient for scientific research, allowing to expand the work of the Institute. At first, it was planned to staff the Institute with scientific personnel at the expense of Scientific Associates from NIVS, scientists from the Veterinary Faculty of Voronezh Agricultural Institute and other related institutes.

On July 28, 1970, the Board of the USSR Council of Ministers on Science and Technology adopted the proposal of the USSR Ministry of Agriculture, agreed with the All-Union Academy of Agricultural Sciences named after V.I. Lenin on the organization of the All-Union Research Institute of Non-Contagious Animal Diseases on the basis of Voronezh Research Veterinary Station within the limits of the wage fund and appropriations provided for in the plans of the USSR Ministry of Agriculture, research work (protocol No. 38). The meeting was attended by Yu.N. Goloshchapov and I.P. Kondrakhin.

On August 6, 1970 P.I. Morozov signed letter No. 011-8 to the Council of Ministers of the RSFSR on the transfer of Voronezh NIVS from the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Agriculture of the RSFSR to the direct subordination of the USSR Ministry of Agriculture. On September 10, 1970, by the order No. 189, the Council of Ministers of the RSFSR transferred Voronezh NIVS to the jurisdiction of the USSR Ministry of Agriculture. After that, by the order of the USSR Ministry of Agriculture No. 294 dtd. September 21, 1970, the All-Union Research Institute of Non-Contagious Animal Diseases was organized. The order of the Ministry was signed by the Deputy Minister I.P. Volovchenko. Thus, September 29, 1970 is the Institute’s birthday.

In accordance with this order, the All-Russian Research Institute of Non-Contagious Animal Diseases is the lead research organization for the development of theoretical foundations and practical methods for combating non-contagious diseases of farm animals (including poultry), zoohygienic requirements in conditions of intensive animal husbandry and it coordinates scientific research in these areas, conducted in other institutions, organizations and enterprises of agriculture.

The institute was entrusted with conducting scientific research on the following main problems: studying the causes of non-contagious diseases in farm animals, including diseases that lead to infertility and barrenness of the breeding stock and developing measures to combat these diseases; development of modern methods for diagnosing non-contagious diseases, development of prototypes of new diagnostic and therapeutic equipment; finding effective methods and means of combating animal toxicosis; study of the influence of existing and newly developed milking machines and other mechanisms on the physiological functions of the animal organism; research and production of test batches of new therapeutic and prophylactic agents and drugs; development of methods for calculating losses and economic justification for preventive and therapeutic measures.

The USSR Ministry of Agriculture appointed the Acting Director of the Institute Nikolay Dmitrievich Mikhaylyukov, Doctor of Veterinary Sciences, and the Deputy Director for Research, Ivan Petrovich Kondrakhin, Candidate of Veterinary Sciences.

Nikolay Dmitrievich Mikhaylyukov was a talented scientist. Skillful organizer of production. Unfortunately, the Institute suffered a great misfortune; On May 21, 1972, Nikolay Dmitrievich died tragically. During his lifetime, it was possible to solve a number of the most important crucial tasks: allotment of a land plot for the construction of the Institute, formation of scientific departments of the Institute and staffing them with appropriate personnel, development of scientific topics for the five-year period, etc.

The question of the location of the Institute was difficult. The solution to this issue on instructions from N.D. Mikhaylyukov was found by I.P. Kondrakhin and the Deputy Director for Housekeeping Unit I.P. Lantsev. First of all, it was necessary to obtain a land plot for the construction of the Institute. Two variants were proposed: OPKh “Otradnoe” and the territory of Voronezh Agricultural Institute. N.D. Mikhaylyukov insisted on the second variant, as it was much more profitable than the first one. However, the Director of Voronezh Agricultural Institute V.V. Korenev became an obstacle to resolving the issue. He avoided meeting with us in every possible way. I had to ask A.D. Tretyakov, and then P.I. Morozov, that they should influence Korenev V.V. connecting with the Main Directorate of Universities. Only after that the Director of the Institute received us on December 3, 1971. At the same time, he demanded the arrival of the Chief Architect of the city A.G. Kosyukov. The Chief Architect refused to go to the Agricultural Institute, apparently having previously talked with the Director of the Institute about the essence of the matter.

After long negotiations, the rectorate of Agricultural Institute decided to agree to allocate a land plot on the territory of the Institute.

On December 8-10, 1971, the consent of the SES and the Chief Architect of Voronezh was obtained. The agreed upon material with the draft decision was handed over to the Chairman of Voronezh Executive Committee Pospeev V.V. To the great chagrin Pospeev V.V. refused, referring to the fact that the site was a part of the forest park zone of the city.

Nevertheless, Pospeev V.V. signed the decision of Voronezh Executive Committee on the allotment of a land plot of 5 hectares on the territory of Voronezh Agricultural Institute on December 14, 1971. Thus, a fateful issue for the Institute was resolved – its location in Voronezh. It took more than a year to resolve the seemingly predetermined issue.

It was not easy to form the scientific departments/units of the Institute, especially the re-profiling of the scientific area of Voronezh NIVS that had developed over the years. As a result, the units were identified, the scientific topics were formed and approved.

During the formation of the Institute, its scientific units were the following laboratories: obstetrics and gynecology (headed by Cand. of Vet. Sciences Cheremisinov G.A.), pathology of metabolism (headed by Cand. of Vet. Sciences Kondrakhin I.P.), diseases of young farm animals (headed by Cand. of Vet. Sciences Anokhin B.M.), pathological morphology (headed by Doc. of Vet. Sciences Mikhaylyukov N.D.), diseases of poultry (headed by Cand. of Vet. Sciences Kozhevnikov E.M.), pharmacology and toxicology (headed by Cand. of Vet. Sciences Buzlama V.S.), laboratory for the fight against mastitis (headed by Cand. of Vet. Sciences Ivashura A.I.), clinical biochemistry and biophysics (headed by Cand. of Vet. Sciences Petrov P.E.), microbiology and differential diagnostics (headed by Cand. of Vet. Sciences Shakhov A.G.). At that time, 17 Candidates and one Doctor of Sciences worked in 9 laboratories. Subsequently, the heads of the laboratories Cheremisinov G.A., Kondrakhin I.P., Anokhin B.M., Kozhevnikov E.M., Ivashura A.I., Buzlama V.S., Shakhov A.G. became Doctors of Sciences. Out of the employees of the above mentioned laboratories, Konyaev M.T., Rakova T.N., Nezhdanov A.G., Kuznetsov N.I., Suleymanov S.M., Kachalova E.Ya. and many others successfully defended their doctoral dissertations.

The Institute proved its viability and necessity by its scientific products. For a relatively short period of the most productive work, the Institute prepared and transferred to production more than 60 complex systems, guidelines and recommendations, more than 70 chemotherapeutic drugs, premixes and additives, 72 copyright certificates for inventions were received, 3 patents were issued (until 2001). The Institute successfully prepares Candidates and Doctors of Sciences, there are two Doctoral Dissertation Councils in five specialties. The Institute coordinates the scientific topics of more than 20 scientific institutions and institutes, systematically holds conferences, symposiums, publishes scientific papers. Thus, now the All-Russian Veterinary Research Institute of Pathology, Pharmacology and Therapy of the Russian Academy of Agricultural Sciences has acquired the status of the largest scientific institution. The organization of the Institute was timely and fully justified. Despite all the difficulties, the Institute will live and develop, enrich veterinary science with new achievements, arm practice with reliable methods and means for combating animal diseases.