Science under Siege: the History of Conferral of the Candidate of Sciences Degree to Ya. Kh. Ioselev

The article examines the activities of Yakov Khaimovich Ioselev, a Leningrad hydrometeorologist and member of the All-Union Geographical Society, during the Great Patriotic War. Ioselev was called to the Red Army and defended Leningrad as head of the hydrometeorological division of the Leningrad Front Headquarters’ Operations Office. While tackling the problems of hydrometeorological service for the troops, he took the lead, applied scientific approach, and was highly respected by the commanding officers. When tasked with summarizing the hydrometeorological service’s experience, Ioselev’s report turned out to be so informative that it was forwarded to Leningrad State University and defended there as a Candidate of Sciences dissertation. The actual defense took place in the last days of the University’s functioning within the blockade ring, after which it was evacuated to Saratov. Until 2000, Yakov Ioselev’s dissertation was held in classified storage in the Central Archive of the RF Ministry of Defense. This document, which is of significant interest for the historians of the hydrometeorological service and science and for the historians of the defense of Leningrad, has been declassified and is now available to researchers.