Curated playlist

Saint Petersburg State University alumni

Nikolai GogolNikolai Gogol burned his manuscript for Dead Souls, part two, in 1852. He blamed the Devil and died nine days later.
Ayn RandWhen Ayn Rand died in New York City on the 6th of March 1982, her funeral included a six-foot floral arrangement shaped like a dollar sign. The tribute suited a woman who had turned self-interest into a moral code. She was born Alisa…
Vladimir LeninLenin's name came from no person, and the N in N. Lenin stood for nothing. One theory points to the Lena River.
Vladimir PutinVladimir Putin's grandfather cooked personal meals for both Lenin and Stalin. Putin later joined the KGB in 1975.
George GamowGeorge Gamow added Hans Bethe's name to a physics paper as a prank. Bethe had not written a word of it.
Dmitry MedvedevIn March 2023, Dmitry Medvedev posted that a missile could hit The Hague courthouse.
Grigori PerelmanGrigori Perelman turned down a million dollars. He had already refused the Fields Medal, math's top honor.
Dmitri MendeleevDmitri Mendeleev missed a Nobel Prize in 1906 by a single vote. The Swedish academy chose Henri Moissan instead.
Lev LandauPhysicist Lev Landau was jailed in 1938 over a leaflet comparing Stalinism to Nazism. A letter to Stalin freed him.
Ivan PavlovIvan Pavlov spent his early career studying how a dog's stomach works. His famous discovery came almost by accident.
Alexander ProkhorovWhile studying ruby in 1957, physicist Alexander Prokhorov realized it could serve as a laser's active medium.
Michael RostovtzeffMichael Rostovtzeff saw one empire collapse in Russia, then wondered if Rome fell the same way.
Oleg KaluginIn 1959, Newsweek ran a photograph of Oleg Kalugin, introduced to readers as a 24-year-old student in the United States. He told the magazine: "I like Americans very much. But after seven months here I am convinced more than ever that the…
Dmitry MerezhkovskyDmitry Merezhkovsky's ruined reputation rests on a 1941 radio speech his biographer believes Nazis fabricated.