Nikolay Luzin, his students, adversaries, and defenders (notes on the history of Moscow mathematics, 1914-1936)

TL;DR

This paper provides a detailed historical account of Moscow mathematics from 1914 to 1936, focusing on Nikolay Luzin's central role, his students, and the political and academic shifts during this period.

Contribution

It offers a comprehensive historical and mathematical analysis of Luzin's influence and the evolution of his school within the broader context of Soviet mathematics.

Findings

Luzin's period of greatest influence was 1915-1924.

The decline of Luzin's school occurred between 1922-1930.

Luzin's administrative power peaked in 1934-1936 and ended with his fall in 1936.

Abstract

This is historical-mathematical and historical notes on Moscow mathematics 1914-1936. Nikolay Luzin was a central figure of that time. Pavel Alexandroff, Nina Bari, Alexandr Khinchin, Andrey Kolmogorov, Mikhail Lavrentiev, Lazar Lyusternik, Dmitry Menshov, Petr Novikov, Lev Schnirelman, Mikhail Suslin, and Pavel Urysohn were his students. We discuss the time of the great intellectual influence of Luzin (1915-1924), the time of decay of his school (1922-1930), a moment of his administrative power (1934-1936), and his fall in July 1936.