Western influence or local efforts? John Bernal and the Soviet organization of scientific information

Purpose This paper examines the relationship between John Desmond Bernal (1901–1971) and the Soviet approach to organize scientific information, focussing on the establishment of the All-Union Institute of Scientific and Technological Information (VINITI). Design/methodology/approach First, we highlight that the current science of science historiography carries a certain imbalance in acknowledgement of Western and Eastern contributions to the field during the Cold War. Then, we trace how Bernal was generally canonized in Anglophone histories of the science of science and how this canon was subsequently mapped onto and essentialized with the Soviet developments. Additionally, we reconstruct early Soviet initiatives in abstracting, indexing and information policy, highlighting the importance of the existing local scientific culture for future organizational innovations. Eventually, we engage with the archival materials from the Cambridge University Library (Bernal Archive) to support our argument in favour of a rather locally emerged approach than externally imposed influence. Findings Drawing on the newly consulted materials from the Cambridge “Bernal Archive”, we argue that the idea of VINITI and the general Soviet approach to the organization of scientific information may be better understood as the outcome of endogenous Soviet trajectories that emerged as a natural expansion of the Soviet scientific efforts. Originality/value This paper is a systematic attempt to balance the narratives in science of science canonical history to appreciate locally emerged scientific traditions instead of imposing explanation models based on Western external influence.