Physicists were listening
to humanitarians and admiring

On 2 July, at the JINR Scientists’ Club, the series "Meridian of interaction", timed to coincide with the anniversary exhibition "First Star", ended with a lecture by Galina Orlova "Physicists or Archimedes of interaction". The lecture drew a line with three months of work of the exposition and the lecture hall, and the lecturer formulated the concept of interaction that was the basis of the story about the establishment of JINR and was the result of the implementation of a joint historical and archival initiative of HSE and JINR.

As the Associate Professor of the School of Historical Sciences of the Higher School of Economics and the curator of the "First Star" showed, in the mid‑1950s, a request for interaction that meets the spirit of the times could be found everywhere - in the official papers of managers, official notes of leading physicists, popular science articles in magazines and films. In the newsreel materials, the history of the founding meeting on the establishment of JINR begins with ceremonial bows, strong handshakes and wide smiles. A round table (stolotoron), created specifically for a friendly discussion, played a role; the art of hospitality that Soviet physicists showed during excursions to accelerators; as well as new requirements imposed by the international Institute and the time itself on the organizers of science and their communicative talents. Summing up, Galina Orlova outlined the unique position of physicists in the worlds of interaction that they studied, mastered and establsihed.

The hall was attended by the participants that had attended all the lectures of the series. During the discussion, the participants expressed gratitude to the lecturer and regretted that the exhibition could no longer be looked at from a new perspective.

So, Advisor to Director of the Museum of History of Science and Technology of JINR Igor Blokhintsev admitted that the exhibition was opened for him gradually, "Now, I see the whole world in interaction and this is very interesting. I was at the exhibition four times, over time, I really appreciated it and came to the conclusion that it should be treated in a special way and now, I'm waiting for the catalog." Few people know that the idea with the name of the exhibition at Galina Orlova and Head of the Historical Archive of JINR Elena Malaya arose in the kitchen of Igor Dmitrievich right in the process of examining the photo albums of the first Director of the Institute, later, included in the exposition. It means that without the support of JINR local memory enthusiasts and the keepers of its heritage, the exhibition and the history of interaction would be completely different.

A chief researcher at MLIT Gennady Alekseevich Ososkov shared his impressions, "Summing up the whole series, I want to say that it was an extraordinary event for our city. It was not easy to treat the exhibition immediately with proper interesting and respect. At the beginning, I was among those who did not appreciate what was happening. But of course, you shouldn't have done it - to come unprepared, without a guide to see, to be surprised and... to understand nothing. Then, I found one of the audio points playing a clip of my interview. In one of the sections of the exhibition, I found a trace of the mysterious diplomat Semen Tsarapkin. But I happened to meet with him when in 1967, I was one of the first JINR employees in Germany, where Semen Konstantinovich was Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary. Afterwards, he unexpectedly invited me to his place, spent two hours asking in all details about our Institute. I couldn't understand his interest. Only at this exhibition, they explained to me that it turns out, he was one of those who contributed to the organization of the Joint Institute in 1955‑1956. I was also surprised - why these long chains of photos when there is a film? Now, it becomes more understandable and therefore - interesting what has been done. And I honestly feel sorry that the exhibition is over and you can't go again and see. I also want to express my admiration for Galina Orlova. How she can speak is a gift! She kept us on our toes for an hour and a half and wanted the story to go on. In addition, her appearance here made a whole coup for me personally. Thanks to her, the archive group became interested in me as the oldest JINR employee who still works as a living "archive with legs" that can tell what is not written anywhere. And today, before the start of the event, I signed the first volume of the book of my memoirs. Just fantastic! I would never have thought that I would write about myself, about my life and that archival materials would turn into a whole book. That's wonderful! A whole event for our city and the Institute. Enthusiasts have appeared here - people who can show us things from the most unexpected side, since we ourselves do not always know how to look. I was incredibly interested in listening to the whole story. Thanks!”

Deputy Head of the Department of International Cooperation Elena Badawi said that she had long been interested in the activities of Galina Orlova, "I want to express my admiration and admit that three years ago, long before our personal acquaintance, I had a folder "Galina Orlova" in my computer, in which I collected materials about Obninsk. When I read them, the thought did not leave me - I want to be told about Dubna as well. I consider it a real miracle that today, Galina Anatolievna is with us. I am absolutely delighted with everything that is happening. She did the incredible: physicists listened to humanitarians and admired. It happens very rarely. Self-reflection from such an angle was not typical of JINR. And today's confessions that the exhibition was at first, incomprehensible and then, began to be liked - are worth a lot. I believe that coming through denial and skepticism to sincere admiration is the highest degree of recognition."

Maria KARPOVA