I've heard that was just the cover story, and the article seems to agree: > The study of genetics had been essentially banned in the USSR, as the country's dic

I've heard that was just the cover story, and the article seems to agree: > The study of genetics had been essentially banned in the USSR, as the country's dictator Joseph Stalin sought to discredit the genetic principles set out by Gregor Mendel. Stalin's death in 1953 gave scientists more freedom, but in the early years Belyaev nevertheless worked under the cover that he was breeding foxes to make better fur coats.