Komi Branch of the Academy of Sciences of the USSR

an association of the scientific institutions of the Academy of Sciences of the USSR (AN SSSR) in the northeastern European part of the country. Organized in 1949 in the city of Syktyvkar, the Komi branch of the AN SSSR includes institutes of geology, biology, language, literature, and history, departments of economics, power engineering and water resources, and chemistry, and a commission for conservation.

There are a number of basic trends in the scholarly activity of the Korni Branch of the AN SSSR, including a study of the history of the geological development of the northern territories of the European USSR and research on the characteristics of the development and distribution of sedimentary, metamorphic, and magmatic formations and the minerals associated with them, so that they may be estimated and explored. Theoretical principles for the rational use and conservation of the natural resources of the northeastern European USSR are being developed. Scientists are studying those physiological, biochemical, and genetic characteristics of agricultural animals that are associated with specific conditions in the north. In addition, research is being conducted on zonal changes in the biological properties of the main varieties of trees and in the productivity of forests.

A study of the history, culture, and way of life of the Komi peoples is under way, as well as research on the history and present condition of the Komi language and the development of Komi national literature and folklore. Among the projects of the economics department of the Komi Branch of the AN SSSR is a scientific elaboration of the prospects for the development and distribution of branches of the economy in the north and the discovery of ways to raise the economic efficiency of industrial and agricultural production, taking into consideration conditions in the north. Research is being done on the rational use of fuel and water resources and on the integrated processing of local raw materials, especially wood. A study of the influence of man’s activities on nature under the conditions in the north is in progress.