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The first chapter is concerned with the problems which are settled in the book. L.I. Mandelstam was a prominent figure in Russian science and his biography is outlined in the introductory paper which opens his 5 volume "Complete Works". His personal life and scientific activity have also been elucidated in a number of recollections and analytical papers. However, the author's task in the book is not reduced to review and systematization. There are "blank spots' and contradictions in the materials written about Mandelstam. What are the reasons of his polemic activity during his Strasbourg period? What was the reaction of the persons whose writings were taken under criticism by Mandelstam? In which way was Mandelstam's polemic activity elucidated in the Russian literature? The introductory article to Mandelstam's "Complete Works' says that the decades of Mandelstam's life (after his move to Moscow in 1925) were the "golden age" of his scientific and pedagogical work. Some of biographers write about Mandelstam in a different light. "Mandelstam… completely and sharply rejected the Soviet regime and all ideology and practice of Soviet life introduced by the Communist Party". So, Mandelstam who actively and successfully participated in the life of two Soviet establishments (Moscow State University and the Academy of Sciences) rejected the theory and practice of Soviet life. How can we understand this? The book is based not only on the documents which are kept in the Archives of the Academy of Sciences and Lomonosov Moscow State University. The collections which are kept in the Archives départementales du Bas-Rhin (Strasbourg), Deutches Museum, Siemens Forum Archives (Munich), and Physics Institute of the Academy of Sciences (Moscow) were also used. An important source which was introduced by the present author into the history of science studies is a collection of Mandelstam's correspondence to R. von Mises (the Harvard University Archives).

DOI: 10.1007/978-3-319-00572-0_1

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