Related papers: An American mathematician in Moscow, or how I dest…
I was lucky to meet (and even cooperate at some extent) with Israel M. Gelfand, and tried to write down (mainly in 2003-2013) my recollections about his work style and lessons I learned from him about teaching and writing mathematics…
I try to recreate the scientific atmosphere during Wilson's visits to Moscow in '60-s and '70-s
The first half of the 20th century in the history of Russian mathematics is striking with a combination of dramaticism, sometimes a tragedy, and outstanding achievements. The paper is devoted to St. Petersburg-Leningrad Mathematical School.…
These are reminiscences of I.M.Gelfand's mathematical seminar of 1970s-1980s. The essay will appear in the March 2016 issue of Notices of the AMS.
To an extent, the 1966 congress was a hole in the iron curtain. At least that how a young Soviet mathematician saw it.
The history of the very first mathematical contests for high school students is discussed. The main body of the article is dedicated to the mathematical and scientific contests held in imperial Russia in the XIX century. More specifically,…
This paper is an introduction to our ongoing more comprehensive work on a critically important period in the history of Russian mathematics education; it provides a glimpse into the socio-political environment in which the famous Soviet…
This is a brief overview of the role of mathematicians in the so-called "Luzin Case" as well as some analysis of the mathematical and humanitarian roots of the affair.
2023 year marks the hundredth birth anniversary of prominent Russian mathematician and thinker Igor Rostislavovich Shafarevich (1923-2017). The article presents a selection of quotations from various works of him, devoted to the future of…
This is a short overview of the influence of mathematicians and their ideas on the creative contribution of Mikhailo Lomonosov on the occasion of the tercentenary of his birth.
In this brief note, there is a short recollection of my scientific interactions with the great Russian mathematician Sergey Konstantinovich Godunov.
A recollection of special moments spent with Yakov Borisovich Zeldovich and with the scientists of Soviet Union and abroad.
What are the effects of authoritarian regimes on scholarly research in economics? And how might economic theory survive ideological pressures? The article addresses these questions by focusing on the mathematization of economics over the…
We survey emigration of mathematicians from Europe, before and during WWII, to Russia.
This paper discusses, from a mathematician's point of view, the thesis formulated by Israel Gelfand, one of the greatest mathematicians of the 20th century, and one of the pioneers of mathematical biology: "There is only one thing which is…
This Master's Thesis analyzes thoroughly the topic of the Mathematics Education in Russia and Mathematical Circles. It deals with the historical context of the Mathematics Education in Russia in the XVIIIth, XIXth and XXth centuries; the…
An extended text of the talk given at the conference ``2001: A Spacetime Odyssey'', to be published in the Proceedings of the Inaugural Conference of the Michigan Center for Theoretical Physics, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, 21-25 May…
This is an overview of the life and works of Pavel Florensky, an important and singular figure of the period rightly described as the \emph{Silver Age of Russian mathematics}, with a substantial overlap with the \emph{Silver Age of Russian…
The recollection of souvenirs on great theoretical physicist, addressed to wide physical audience on the occasion of Bogoliubov centenary. Contains four parts: 1. Personal impressions; 2. Joint work; 3. Bogoliubov cp. Landau and 4.…
This is a slightly edited translation of a paper in Dutch which appeared in Nieuw Archief voor Wiskunde (5) 25 (2024), No.2, 87-90 on the occasion of I.G. Macdonald's death in 2023, and aimed at a very broad mathematical audience. First we…