Abstract
Introduction. The article examines the activities of the Russian repressed scientist, agronomistsoil scientist, laureate of the Lenin Prize in the field of agriculture Alexandra Zaitseva and her contribution to the development of agriculture in Kazakhstan. Materials. The article uses archival documents, and many sources are introduced into scientific circulation for the first time. In particular, the documents of the State Archive of Karaganda region on scientific and technical documentation, the State Archive of Akmola region and materials of periodicals of those years were studied. Analysis and results. The authors comprehensively investigate her scientific activities in Akmola and Karaganda regions and pay special attention to her contribution and new scientific discoveries in the steppe arid zone. The study examines the merits of A. Zaitseva in the opening of an experimental station as part of the Akmola camp of wives of “traitors to the Motherland”, known as the women’s camp in the Soviet Union. It also presents her activities as a researcher in Karlag as a head of the department of agrotechnics and agrochemistry during the Great Patriotic War and in the difficult post-war years. In particular, her contribution to the sowing of winter wheat on the stubble of spring crops and grassland crop-rotation, introduced into the production practice of collective and state farms in Karaganda region. Separately, her activities in the All-Union Research Institute of Grain Farming in Akmola region as a head of the department of agrosoil science have been investigated. Particular attention is paid to her participation in the practices to reduce wind erosion while developing virgin and fallow lands in Northern Kazakhstan.