Russian geneticist dismissed over controversial claims that sin shortened human lifespan
Representational image of medical treatment
Russia's Ministry of Science and Higher Education has removed the head of a prestigious genetics institute, Alexander Kudryavtsev, who stirred controversy by asserting that ancient humans lived for centuries, and the reduced lifespan of modern humans is a result of ancestral sins.
While the dismissal reason wasn't explicitly stated, the influential Russian Orthodox Church labeled it as religious discrimination. Kudryavtsev, who led the Vavilov Institute of General Genetics at the Russian Academy of Sciences, presented his views at a 2023 conference, claiming that people lived up to 900 years before the Biblical Flood.
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He argued that genetic diseases leading to shortened lifespans were caused by "original, ancestral, and personal sins." According to the Russian news website Meduza, Kudryavtsev suggested that children "up to the seventh generation are responsible for the sins of their fathers."
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Fyodor Lukyanov, the head of the Russian church's commission on family issues, criticised the dismissal, stating that it "violates the ethics of the scientific community" by penalising Kudryavtsev for his religious beliefs and related statements.
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Lukyanov further remarked on the historical context, saying, "We have already gone through Soviet times when genetics was long considered a pseudoscience."
"We have already gone through Soviet times, when genetics was long considered a pseudoscience," he further said.
The Russian Orthodox Church holds a central position in the religious and cultural identity of the Russian people.
Throughout Russian history, the Orthodox Church has played a crucial role in shaping the nation's identity. Since the fall of the Soviet Union in 1991, there has been a revival of religious practices in Russia.
The Russian Orthodox Church has regained its position as a central institution in the country's cultural life. It continues to be involved in various social issues.
(With inputs from agencies)