Microbiologists Z.V. Yermolyeva and L.A. Zilber: science, family, and friendship

In recent years, the problem of the scientific family has become increasingly popular in Russian historiography. Historians, following sociologists, cultural scientists and psychologists, turn to various aspects of family and kinship relations among Russian scientists of the pre-revolutionary and Soviet periods. This article examines the relationship between famous Soviet scientists in the field of microbiology, Zinaida Vissarionovna Ermolyeva (1898/1897–1974) and Lev Alexandrovich Zilber (1894–1966): their marriage lasted several years, friendship for the rest of their lives, as well as professional and scientific intersections. The initial stage of the scientific biography of both scientists is considered, common and different aspects of their entry into the path of research are revealed, as well as the general circle of their scientific acquaintances. Special attention is paid to the role of Z.V. Ermolyeva in the struggle for the release from prison of L.A. Zilber, who got there during the repression. This aspect has not been studied by the authors before, which allows us to note the novelty of this article. The main source base was unpublished documents from the State Archive of the Russian Federation, the Russian State Archive of Economics, the Russian State Archive of Literature and Art, as well as published sources represented by memoirs of these scientists.