Declaration of the Russian-American Science Association RASA-America
On the completion of activity of the Association of Russian-American Scholars in the USA, May 17, 2018
With deep appreciation the Russian-American Science Association RASA-America acknowledges the outstanding activity of the Association of Russian-American Scholars in the USA (hereinafter referred to as the ARAS in USA) for the preservation and development of Russian academic science, tradition and culture in North America. For over six decades, ARAS was one of the main spiritual and intellectual centers that united Russian-speaking scientists and cultural figures in North America.
ARAS was created by several former deans of the faculties of UNRRA (United Nations Relief and Rehabilitation Administration) in Munich (KG Belousov, AD Bilimovich, AN Mitinsky, VI Svintitsky) who emigrated to USA after World War II. Their original goal was to continue the work of UNRRA University, because many of their students emigrated to USA. They promoted the creation of the Association of American and Foreign Scholars, Inc., which included a Russian section. The work of the Russian section became particularly active after a prominent scientist and public figure of the Russian emigration, former Rector of the Moscow University (1918-1922), Professor MM Novikov moved to New York in 1949. In 1953 under his direction, the group adopted the modern name – “Association of Russian-American Scholars in the USA”.
According to the charter, a member of the ARAS in USA could be “anyone who works in the field of culture and respects the basic principles and traditions of free and ideologically independent science “. Members of the group in different years were prominent scientists and public figures, such as: NP Avtonomov, EA Aleksandrov, NS Arsenʹev, AD Bilimovich, GV Vernadsky, AA Bogolepov, GK Gins, RB Gul, SA Zenkovsky, YuP Ivask, VN Zhernakov, NA Zhernakova, BS Izhboldin, AE Klimov, EE Klimov, PE Kovalevsky, archpriest DV Konstantinov, VP Kreid, FYa Kulomzin, ND Lobanov-Rostovsky, SA Levitsky, NO Lossky, EL Magerovsky, archpriest IF Meyendorff (John Meyendorff), AN Mitinsky, NA Natova, MM Novikov, AP Obolensky, BN Odintsov, SA Panin, NP Poltoratsky, SG Pushkarev, VA Ryazanovsky, NN Savvin, VI Svintitsky, VI Seduro, YuA Sementsov, BV Sergievsky (Boris Siergiejewski), II Sikorsky, PA Sorokin, EV Spectorsky (Evgenij Spektorski), GP Struve, SP Timoshenko (Stephen Timoshenko), LM Tikhvinsky, NA Troitsky (Boris Jakovlev), BG Unbebaun, VN Fedorov, VS Fedukovich, ET Fedukovich, BA Filippov (Boris Filistinski), GV Florovsky, IV Chino (Igors Činnovs), MYu Sheftel (Marc Szeftel), PS Shidlovskii, AP Shcherbatov, VI Yurkevich, EA Jakobson and many others.
For many years ARAS was the only and the most authoritative public organization, uniting the scientific forces of the Russian emigrates in the USA and Europe. It contributed substantially to the development of the Russian academic science, provided assistance to Russian scholarly emigrants, maintained contacts between Russian educational institutions abroad, trained young scientists, and helped Russian refugees in admission to higher educational institutions. Starting 1967 and to the present time, the group has regularly published a scientific almanac “ Transactions of the Association of Russian-American Scholars in the USA” that played a great enlightening and educational role in the life of the Russian emigrants and has an important cultural and historical value. It can be said with certainty that ARAS fulfilled its historic mission with honor and dignity.
Following the end of RAG activities in the United States on May 17, 2018, the Russian-American Science Association RASA-America acknowledges its deepest appreciation in recognition of outstanding achievements of this group in the development of Russian science and culture in North America and pledges to preserve the memory of their remarkable activities in the name of free and ideologically independent science.