Hidden pages of Mikhail Lomonosov’s biography

Abstract

This article сonnects the unknown and hidden pages of M.V. Lomonosov’s biography with the exceptional role that this great polymath played in the development of Russian national science and higher education. Mikhail Lomonosov was born in the northern part of the Russian Empire, which fact had a significant influence on his personality. There, in the absence of serfdom, the “pomors” (“near sea”) — a subethnic group of the Russian people — acquired a freedom-loving mentality. An assumption is made about the genetic and social connection of Lomonosov with the Shuvalov family, who were famous public figures. An analysis of Lomonosov’s scientific ideas is carried out in the historical context of the world’s science in the 18th century.