The first few decades of the <i>Journal of the Russian Chemical Society</i> are marked by an interesting feature, especially when compared relative to contemporary Western European chemical societies: the steady presence of women in its pages. While by no means a large cohort, it is nonetheless striking that women joined the Russian Chemical Society, attended its meetings, published papers in the <i>Journal</i>, and even on occasion served as the acting chair of meetings when the elected President was absent. This talk will track — as far as we can from the historical record — the careers of these women chemists, with an emphasis on two features: first, the pedagogical and professional connection, especially in the early years, of these women to specific leaders of the Russian Chemical Society, such as D. I. Mendeleev and A. P. Borodin; and, second, the context of women’s chemical education in Russia in the 1870s, during a period when higher education for women was formally proscribed in the Russian Empire.

Volkova effect: Women in and behind the pages of the Journal of the Russian Chemical Society

2019 Fall National Meeting

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