Scientist sent to Africa in Stalin's plan for species that felt no pain

Published on Monday 28 April 2008 22:24

THE controversial fascination with crossing humans and chimpanzees has a colourful history.

Records suggest that in 1926 the Russian dictator Joseph Stalin decided he wanted to try to create a new species of superhuman.

Kirill Rossiianov, of the Russian Academy of Sciences in Moscow, has studied Soviet archives that detailed the work.

His findings, published in the journal Science in Context in 2002, outlined how Russia's leading animal breeding scientist, Professor Ilya Ivanov, was ordered to turn his skills to the quest for an ultimate soldier by crossing humans with apes.

Stalin reportedly told the scientist: "I want a new invincible human being, insensitive to pain, resistant and indifferent about the quality of food they eat."

Ivanov was sent to French West Africa and on 28 February, 1927, he wrapped two female chimps in nets and inseminated them with sperm from a local man. On 25 June, he inseminated another chimp with human sperm, this time using a special cage and knocking her out with ethyl chloride.

None of the three became pregnant, and at that point he changed tack. He reportedly went on to ask the authorities whether he could, instead, inseminate native women with the sperm of a dead male chimpanzee in a local hospital.

He even suggested the experiment could be carried out without the women's knowledge because he was concerned they would resist.

According to records, the authorities refused permission because the studies would be taking place in a hospital.

Instead they suggested the procedure could be done outside, where no regulations existed, but Ivanov was apparently offended, believing his research should take place in a clinical setting.

It is believed that Ivanov left Africa with a number of primates and went to the Soviet Republic of Georgia.

There, it is thought he worked in a government primate station, where rumour has it he attempted to arrange further experiments on the artificial insemination of women volunteers. No evidence exists that these experiments actually took place.