Why did the Soviet government make Lamarckism part of official biology in 1948?

The Soviet government adopted Lamarckism as official state biology in 1948 primarily for political and ideological reasons rather than scientific ones. Communist theoreticians, including Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels, were proponents of the theory, believing that the inheritance of acquired characteristics supported the potential for rapid improvement of the human race under socialism.1

By endorsing Lamarckism, Soviet biologists gained a tactical advantage in the socialist competition for status. The movement was spearheaded by Trofim Lysenko, who promised that his version of biology—termed "Michurinism"—would yield rapid, low-cost improvements in agriculture during a period of crisis.12

At the 1948 meeting of the Lenin Agricultural Academy, the party solidified its stance: Mendelism was denounced as reactionary and capitalistic, while Lamarckism was established as the official doctrine. This shift effectively outlawed standard genetics research, leading to the persecution of dissenting scientists and the elevation of Lysenko to the position of dictator over Soviet biology.12