Mathematical Walks. A Collection of Interviews

Mathematical Walks is a science education project initiated by the Institute for Information Transmission Problems of the Russian Academy of Sciences (Kharkevich Institute) and the Skolkovo Institute of Science and Technology (Skoltech). The project was implemented during 2016 with the support of a number of Russia's leading media companies. Magazines, newspapers and Internet portals published interviews with leading Russian mathematicians and scientists working in fields related to mathematics. Over 20 researchers were invited to be interviewed while strolling along the streets of Moscow and St. Petersburg, discussing maths, politics, music, poetry, the current status of academic research in Russia and abroad, and many other things. A few of the interviews, marked as 'special issues,' use a more traditional format. This book is an English translation of the interviews. A lot of what they contain is specifically Russian, but that is part of their interest. We hope that the book will help a foreign reader to get a feeling for what Russian mathematicians talk about, what concerns them and what they aspire to. The careers of many of the interviewees overlap the Soviet and post-Soviet periods, so their memories take us on a 'walk through time'. Start from the beginning or start in the middle. We guarantee that you will be drawn in. Join us for a walk! Compiled by Inessa Grigaliunene.