In the aftermath of the October Revolution, Russia was in ruins and its people was starving. The famine of 1921 claimed more than 5 million lives. The young Soviet state thus pinned its hopes on scientific progress to revive agricultural production and counter the crisis.
Two contrasting figures then stood out. Nikolai Vavilov, a passionate, renowned and innovative botanist and geneticist, carried out intensive and fruitful research to restore food security in USSR. Trofim Lysenko, an agronomist with demiurgic ambitions and a firm apathy for genetics, claimed to be able to multiply crops thanks to pseudo-sciences. As collectivization was failing, Stalin incriminated the defender of pure science and turned the impostor - the embodiment of communist ideals - into a hero...
Bringing to light precious visual and audio documents, this 100% archive film tells the story of one of the greatest scientific deceptions of the 20th century and reveals the violence of a relentless political spiral. It also invites us to question the future of our food system, at a time when wheat is becoming a weapon of war.
Direction: Gulya Mirzoeva
Production: Point du Jour & Sunset for ARTE France