- how Russian scientists changed the world

By Anastasia Safronova, RT editor

The country’s contributions to research and discovery impact all our lives

©  RT

February 8 marks the day of Russian science, when past achievements are celebrated to inspire new generations for the future. The list of Soviet and Russian specialists who have made crucial contributions to physics, chemistry, medicine and biology amongst others is too long to outline, but their work is used every day around the world. 

The Periodic Table

The Periodic Table of Chemical Elements, a basic tool used by scientists to explore matter and foresee the existence of new elements, was created by Russian scientist Dmitry Mendeleev in 1869. In 2019, the UN celebrated The International Year of the Periodic Table, to mark the 150th anniversary of the discovery it called“a window on the universe.”

Humanity has known about several chemical elements since ancient times. In the 17th century, German alchemist Hennig Brand accidentally discovered a new element – phosphorus – and triggered a wave of scientific experiments. A hundred years later, French chemist Antoine Lavoisier wrote ‘Elementary Treatise of Chemistry’, considered to be the first modern chemistry textbook.