Moses Weinstein – The Tragedy and Fate of Rector of Odesa State University

In the article, based on the study of unpublished archival documents, as well as materials of periodicals, the biography of the economist, associate professor, first vice-rector and one of the rectors of Odesa State University (OSU) M. Weinstein is reproduced for the first time. Dedicating the article to the 120th anniversary of the birth of the scientist and administrator, his life path is traced in as much detail as possible. The novelty of the study consists in the clarification of biographical information: place of birth, social origin, behavior patterns in management positions at the State University, analysis of the motivation of actions, scientific activity, etc. In 1937, having fallen into the millstones of the “Great Terror”, he was forced to secretly leave Odesa. The overview of the events was made that allowed us to provide the motives for the repression against the heads of state universities, in particular, OSU. At the same time, the factors that led to the deployment of massive repressive campaigns against university rectors simultaneously influenced the processes of forming the socialist subjectivity of Soviet realities. In this regard, a typical conflict situation was reconstructed, which determined the extreme contradiction of the position of conscientious managers from among the early Soviet generation in the mid‑1930s. It was observed that when propaganda promoted labor collectives as the true creators of a new socialist civilization, M. Weinstein had to deviate from the imperative principle of the collectivist worldview. In the true interests of the case, he was forced to rely on the professional core of university specialists, opposing himself to the majority of teachers, graduate students and students, but such a position was not welcomed by the proletariat and the state. The fate of M. Weinstein repeated the fate of many heads of higher education institutions who were caught up in the conditions of radical socio-political changes of the 1930s.