“It is technically impossible for madmen to attempt to clone themselves for spare parts”

On January 12, 1998, the Protocol banning human cloning was signed in Paris. Kommersant asked scientists, public and cultural figures who they would like to reproduce.

Vadim Pokrovsky, Head of the Department of the Central Research Institute of Epidemiology of Rospotrebnadzor, Academician of the Russian Academy of Sciences:

– Geniuses, and ordinary people, are not cloned – their talent or at least skill is formed under the influence of external circumstances. Mozart, before becoming a genius, endured a lot from his father, including in the form of forced labor. Some of the greats had previously been very ill, someone was subject to debilitating life trials.

There is logic in using cloning techniques to create a generation of healthy, genetically flawless people. But this is not full cloning, but gene therapy.

So far, I see only one reason that can tip the scales towards cloning. If, under the pressure of Western standards imposed on society, normal sexual relations cease and, roughly speaking, the “woman” stops giving birth to many normal healthy children, then the transition to the bleak world of cloning, at least for this part of society, cannot be avoided.

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Alexey Stolyarov, prankster Lexus:

– Each person is an individual. Unfortunately not ideal. And therefore there is no point in cloning!

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Kirsan Ilyumzhinov, entrepreneur, former head of the Republic of Kalmykia:

“Human curiosity is boundless, and if given the opportunity, I would like to clone the Buddha. For a single conversation with him. I’m kidding, of course. Although we have genetic material.

According to Buddhist principles, everything that brings happiness and good is good. Therefore, if the cloned creature is happy and can make someone else happy, then that’s probably not bad.

But the most important thing in this matter is the impossibility of repeating consciousness, which means that we cannot talk about the complete identity of individuals. This greatly reduces the value of such experiments. And in Buddhism, in my opinion, even without these manipulations, there is the possibility of cloning, carried out by the Higher Mind – reincarnation, rebirth. This is when consciousness does not die, but is born again in a new person.

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Mikhail Gelfand, Professor of the Faculty of Bioengineering and Bioinformatics of Moscow State University, Professor of the National Research University Higher School of Economics and the Skolkovo Institute of Science and Technology:

– I would be terribly interested in talking with Charles Darwin, but in the current situation it is hardly possible to “grow” him. So no need to clone anyone. First, there is no relevant technology, so there is no meaningful subject for discussion. Secondly, from a moral and ethical point of view, a person’s personality is made up not only of his genetic determinants, but also of his life history.

If we talk about medicine, then attempts to grow organs for transplantation, apparently, are quite charitable. But, fortunately, it is technically impossible for madmen to attempt to create a clone of themselves for spare parts. You can dream, but you can’t do it!

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Yulia Bordovskikh, TV presenter:

– I can joke that I would start with myself, because there is sorely not enough time for everything. Lost loved ones are sorely missed! You can briefly dream about the pleasure of meeting Marilyn Monroe, Eduard Streltsov, Valery Kharlamov. Of course, I would return the great Pele.

And quite seriously: there is not a single mother who would not want to hug her child again, whom she lost, or restore his health if he is sick. Sometimes you can only pray, hoping for a miracle. But tragedies repeat themselves, and in everyday life love, compassion and help in word, deed and ruble are needed! And cloning – at least today – is the skin of that very bear or running ahead of the locomotive.

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Georgy Vasiliev, producer, screenwriter, director of musicals and cartoons, bard:

– I would not recommend cloning even the best of all our compatriots. Great genes are not a guarantee that a great person will grow out of a clone.

As scientists assure, more than half of our strengths and weaknesses are formed by the environment and education, and not by chromosomes. Our education system is steadily degrading. And I would not trust her to grow a beautiful person of the future, even from the most promising clone!

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Alexey Kortnev, leader of the “Accident” group:

– First of all, dad. He died early and did not see grandchildren. It happened unexpectedly, and most importantly, undeservedly, and I still worry very much, although more than 20 years have passed.

Of course, there is a danger in cloning that the result will be a completely different person. But, as they say, who does not take risks does not drink champagne. Someone has to start at some point. For those interested in this topic, I recommend reading Never Let Me Go by Japanese-born British writer Kazuo Ishiguro, which describes how people are cloned to create living organ donors for transplants. When I read it, I fell into a three-day depression.

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Alexander Alexandrov, USSR pilot-cosmonaut, twice Hero of the Soviet Union:

I am a categorical opponent of such actions. I don’t even want to comment on this, because it goes beyond all our ideas about morality, good and evil. Just like creating babies in a test tube.

The only time this could be done is in the most urgent cases, when you can save someone’s life. Cloning, in my opinion, is already from the realm of excesses, so to speak, from a great mind. In our life, everything is very finely arranged, nature has done its job, and there is no need to touch anything.

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Dmitry Shagin, artist, founder of the Mitki project:

– If from a personal point of view, then, of course, dad and mom, they were amazing artists. And if we are not talking about the personal, then there is no need to clone politicians and leaders, as well as all sorts of scoundrels and criminals.

I am not against cloning those who positively influence others and make our life better and more beautiful, primarily composers, artists, poets. There are many good people for cloning: from the Russians – Tchaikovsky and Lyadov, from the Dutch – Van Gogh, from the British – Lennon and Harrison. The very idea of ​​cloning refers us to the thoughts and ideas of the philosopher and founder of Russian cosmism Nikolai Fedorov, who spoke almost the same thing, and he also inspired Tsiolkovsky to explore space.

Group “Direct speech”