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The Role of the Military in the Electrification of Russia, 1870–1890

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Science, Technology and the Military

Part of the book series: Sociology of the Sciences ((SOSC,volume 12/1/2))

Abstract

The history of electrification is usually considered as being without a military component, as inventors creating light bulbs, firms working to electrify cities, governments building large dams. Yet for the first two decades of electric lighting in Russia, the military led the way in the research, development, and application of electricity. The army and navy created the base from which civilian electrification grew to eventually outstrip military application in the 1890s.

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Notes

  1. The words and concept of “weak” and “strong” current are taken directly from German.

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  2. In July 1872, for example, an artillery captain named Kulakov was posted to assist the installation of electrical equipment on the Navy frigate Petropavlovsk (Central State Military Historical Archives, Moscow [hereinafter, TsGVIA], f. 506, o. 1, d. 409, 537).

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  3. For an overview, see the preface in A. la. Averbukh, Vasilii Formich Petrushevskii ( Moscow: Gosenergizdat, 1967 ).

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  4. The research originated in the Napoleonic era when P. L. Shilling and Jakobi worked on electric mines (le. le. Chekmenev, “Rol Voenno-inzhenernoi Akademii imeni V. V. Kuibyshev v razvitii otechestvennoi elektrotekhniki,” Elektrichestvo, 1969, 11: 68.

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  48. Personal communication from Andrew Butrica, February 9, 1987. Radio’s ability to transmit information over vast distances attracted much military interest (see Susan J. Douglas, “Technological Innovation and Organizational Change: The Navy’s Adoption of Radio, 1899–1919,” Smith, op. cit., 1985 (9), pp. 118–173 ).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Texas A&M University, USA

    Jonathan Coopersmith

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  1. Jonathan Coopersmith
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  1. Harvard University, USA

    Everett Mendelsohn

  2. Massachusetts Institute of Technology, USA

    Merritt Roe Smith

  3. University of Bielefeld, Germany

    Peter Weingart

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© 1988 Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht

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Coopersmith, J. (1988). The Role of the Military in the Electrification of Russia, 1870–1890. In: Mendelsohn, E., Smith, M.R., Weingart, P. (eds) Science, Technology and the Military. Sociology of the Sciences, vol 12/1/2. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-017-2958-1_1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-017-2958-1_1

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Dordrecht

  • Print ISBN: 978-90-481-8455-2

  • Online ISBN: 978-94-017-2958-1

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