People
Women and men who made things, wrote, painted, played music, or asked fair questions.
- Mikhail Lomonosov
Михаил Ломоносов · Mikhail Lomonosov
1711–1765
He studied science, glass, and poetry, and helped start Moscow University.
- Yekaterina Dashkova
Екатерина Дашкова · Yekaterina Dashkova
1743–1810
She led the Academy and helped make a dictionary.
- Alexander Pushkin
Александр Пушкин · Aleksandr Pushkin
1799–1837
He wrote poems, tales, and Eugene Onegin.
- Mikhail Lermontov
Михаил Лермонтов · Mikhail Lermontov
1814–1841
He wrote poems and the novel A Hero of Our Time.
- Nikolai Gogol
Николай Гоголь · Nikolay Gogol
1809–1852
He wrote stories and plays about ordinary mix-ups.
- Leo Tolstoy
Лев Толстой · Lev Tolstoy
1828–1910
He wrote long novels about families and about right and wrong.
- Fyodor Dostoevsky
Фёдор Достоевский · Fyodor Dostoevsky
1821–1881
He wrote novels about right and wrong.
- Anton Chekhov
Антон Чехов · Anton Chekhov
1860–1904
He wrote plays and short stories. He was also a doctor.
- Boris Pasternak
Борис Пастернак · Boris Pasternak
1890–1960
He wrote poems and Doctor Zhivago, which the state would not print at home.
- Osip Mandelstam
Осип Мандельштам · Osip Mandelstam
1891–1938
He wrote poems. He spoke against the ruler and did not come home.
- Alexander Solzhenitsyn
Александр Солженицын · Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn
1918–2008
He wrote about people the state sent away. He was forced to leave.
- Wassily Kandinsky
Василий Кандинский · Vasily Kandinsky
1866–1944
He painted with strong colours and shapes.
- Natalia Goncharova
Наталья Гончарова · Natalya Goncharova
1881–1962
She painted with bold colour, using folk art and new art.
- Zinaida Serebriakova
Зинаида Серебрякова · Zinaida Serebryakova
1884–1967
She painted quiet rooms, workers, and her family.
- Pyotr Tchaikovsky
Пётр Чайковский · Pyotr Tchaikovsky
1840–1893
He wrote ballets and symphonies, including Swan Lake.
- Modest Mussorgsky
Модест Мусоргский · Modest Musorgsky
1839–1881
He wrote Pictures at an Exhibition and operas.
- Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov
Николай Римский-Корсаков · Nikolay Rimsky-Korsakov
1844–1908
He wrote Scheherazade and taught many composers.
- Sergei Rachmaninoff
Сергей Рахманинов · Sergey Rakhmaninov
1873–1943
He wrote piano music. He left after 1917 and later lived in America.
- Igor Stravinsky
Игорь Стравинский · Igor Stravinsky
1882–1971
He wrote The Firebird and The Rite of Spring.
- Dmitri Shostakovich
Дмитрий Шостакович · Dmitry Shostakovich
1906–1975
He wrote symphonies. The state watched his music.
- Sofia Gubaidulina
София Губайдулина · Sofiya Gubaidulina
1931–2025
She wrote music with unusual sounds.
- Sergei Diaghilev
Сергей Дягилев · Sergey Dyagilev
1872–1929
He brought Russian dance to other countries.
- Mstislav Rostropovich
Мстислав Ростропович · Mstislav Rostropovich
1927–2007
He played the cello and stood by friends the state punished.
- Dmitri Mendeleev
Дмитрий Менделеев · Dmitry Mendeleev
1834–1907
He found a pattern in the elements. Julius Lothar Meyer also found a pattern.
- Sofia Kovalevskaya
Софья Ковалевская · Sofya Kovalevskaya
1850–1891
She was a mathematician and became a professor in Sweden.
- Nikolai Lobachevsky
Николай Лобачевский · Nikolay Lobachevsky
1792–1856
He worked on a new kind of geometry. Bolyai and Gauss did too.
- Ilya Mechnikov
Илья Мечников · Ilya Mechnikov
1845–1916
He studied how the body fights germs. The Nobel Prize was shared with Paul Ehrlich.
- Nikolai Vavilov
Николай Вавилов · Nikolay Vavilov
1887–1943
He saved seeds and would not give up his science.
- Konstantin Tsiolkovsky
Константин Циолковский · Konstantin Tsiolkovsky
1857–1935
He wrote ideas for rockets that could leave Earth.
- Yuri Gagarin
Юрий Гагарин · Yury Gagarin
1934–1968
He flew in space in 1961. He did not build the craft alone.
- Valentina Tereshkova
Валентина Терешкова · Valentina Tereshkova
born 1937
She was the first woman in space. A team did the work.
- Svetlana Savitskaya
Светлана Савицкая · Svetlana Savitskaya
born 1948
She was the first woman to walk in space.
- Alexander Popov
Александр Попов · Aleksandr Popov
1859–1906
He worked on early radio. Guglielmo Marconi also belongs in that story.
- Alexander Lodygin
Александр Лодыгин · Aleksandr Lodygin
1847–1923
He made an early electric lamp. Swan and Edison also belong in that story.
- Vladimir Zworykin
Владимир Зворыкин · Vladimir Zvorykin
1888–1982
He worked on television. Philo Farnsworth also belongs in that story.
- Igor Sikorsky
Игорь Сикорский · Igor Sikorsky
1889–1972
He built aircraft and helicopters in America. He was not the only person in that story.
- Andrei Sakharov
Андрей Сахаров · Andrey Sakharov
1921–1989
He worked on a weapon, then spoke for people's rights.
- Pavel Cherenkov
Павел Черенков · Pavel Cherenkov
1904–1990
He found a blue light in water. The Nobel Prize was shared.
- Andrei Geim
Андрей Гейм · Andrey Geym
born 1958
He worked on graphene. The prize was shared with Konstantin Novoselov.
- Konstantin Novoselov
Константин Новосёлов · Konstantin Novosyolov
born 1974
He worked on graphene. The prize was shared with Andrei Geim.
- Grigori Perelman
Григорий Перельман · Grigory Perelman
born 1966
He solved a very hard maths problem and would not take the prizes.
- Mikhail Gorbachev
Михаил Горбачёв · Mikhail Gorbachyov
1931–2022
He led when the Soviet Union ended in 1991.
- Mikhail Glinka
Михаил Глинка · Mikhail Glinka
1804–1857
He wrote some of the first famous Russian operas.
- Sergei Prokofiev
Сергей Прокофьев · Sergey Prokofiev
1891–1953
He wrote Peter and the Wolf so children could hear each instrument.
- Ivan Krylov
Иван Крылов · Ivan Krylov
1769–1844
He wrote fables about animals that teach a human lesson.
- Alexander Ostrovsky
Александр Островский · Aleksandr Ostrovsky
1823–1886
He wrote plays about town life and families.
- Fyodor Tyutchev
Фёдор Тютчев · Fyodor Tyutchev
1803–1873
He wrote short poems about nature and feeling.
- Ivan Bunin
Иван Бунин · Ivan Bunin
1870–1953
He wrote stories of memory and country life. He won the Nobel Prize in 1933.
- Korney Chukovsky
Корней Чуковский · Korney Chukovsky
1882–1969
He wrote children's poems such as Doctor Aybolit.
- Vladimir Vysotsky
Владимир Высоцкий · Vladimir Vysotsky
1938–1980
He sang poems with a guitar. Friends passed the songs along.
- Lyudmila Petrushevskaya
Людмила Петрушевская · Lyudmila Petrushevskaya
born 1938
She writes stories and plays about ordinary families.
- Vladimir Vernadsky
Владимир Вернадский · Vladimir Vernadsky
1863–1945
He studied the biosphere, the layer of life around the Earth.
- Pavel Yablochkov
Павел Яблочков · Pavel Yablochkov
1847–1894
He made an early electric light called the Yablochkov candle.
- Olga Ladyzhenskaya
Ольга Ладыженская · Olga Ladyzhenskaya
1922–2004
She worked on the equations of flowing liquids.
- Andrey Kolmogorov
Андрей Колмогоров · Andrey Kolmogorov
1903–1987
He built a clear way to think about chance.
- Pyotr Kapitsa
Пётр Капица · Pyotr Kapitsa
1894–1984
He studied matter at very low temperatures. The Nobel Prize was shared.
- Pelageya Kochina
Пелагея Кочина · Pelageya Kochina
1899–1999
She used mathematics to study flowing water.
- Mikhail Dolivo-Dobrovolsky
Михаил Доливо-Добровольский · Mikhail Dolivo-Dobrovolsky
1862–1919
He helped send electric power with three-phase current.
- Valentin Serov
Валентин Серов · Valentin Serov
1865–1911
He painted portraits, including Girl with Peaches.
- Viktor Vasnetsov
Виктор Васнецов · Viktor Vasnetsov
1848–1926
He painted Russian stories and fairy tales.
- Karl Bryullov
Карл Брюллов · Karl Bryullov
1799–1852
He painted a famous picture of an old city by a volcano.
- Nicholas Roerich
Николай Рерих · Nikolay Rerikh
1874–1947
He painted mountains and old stories, and asked countries to protect museums.
- Anna Golubkina
Анна Голубкина · Anna Golubkina
1864–1927
She made sculptures of living, thoughtful faces.
- Olga Rozanova
Ольга Розанова · Olga Rozanova
1886–1918
She painted bold colour and made books of new art.
- Elena Polenova
Елена Поленова · Elena Polenova
1850–1898
She painted folk designs and pictures for children.
- Pavel Tretyakov
Павел Третьяков · Pavel Tretyakov
1832–1898
He gave his collection of Russian paintings to Moscow.
- Feodor Chaliapin
Фёдор Шаляпин · Fyodor Shalyapin
1873–1938
He was a singer with a deep, powerful voice.
- Alexander Scriabin
Александр Скрябин · Aleksandr Skryabin
1872–1915
He wrote piano music that glows and strains upward.
- Alexander Alexandrov
Александр Александров · Aleksandr Aleksandrov
1883–1946
He wrote the tune used for the state anthem.
- Maria Yermolova
Мария Ермолова · Mariya Yermolova
1853–1928
She was a great actor at the Maly Theatre in Moscow.
- Vera Komissarzhevskaya
Вера Комиссаржевская · Vera Komissarzhevskaya
1864–1910
She acted in new plays and ran her own theatre.
- Praskovia Zhemchugova
Прасковья Жемчугова · Praskovya Zhemchugova
1768–1803
She was born unfree and became a famous singer.
- Anna Dostoevskaya
Анна Достоевская · Anna Dostoevskaya
1846–1918
She wrote down Fyodor Dostoevsky's books and helped print them.
- Nadezhda Suslova
Надежда Суслова · Nadezhda Suslova
1843–1918
She trained as a doctor when few women could.
Things they made or found
A dated printed book in Moscow
Ivan Fyodorov printed it in 1564. Printing was already used in China, Korea, and Western Europe.
A pattern in the elements
Dmitri Mendeleev set the elements in a table in 1869. Julius Lothar Meyer also found a pattern in the elements.
A new kind of geometry
Nikolai Lobachevsky worked on it. János Bolyai and Carl Friedrich Gauss also worked on this kind of geometry.
Studies of digestion
Ivan Pavlov's Nobel Prize was for digestion.
How the body fights germs
Ilya Mechnikov studied this. The Nobel Prize was shared with Paul Ehrlich.
Early radio signals
Alexander Popov showed a way to receive them. Guglielmo Marconi also belongs in the radio story.
An early electric lamp
Alexander Lodygin made one. Joseph Swan and Thomas Edison also belong in the lamp story.
The Yablochkov candle
Pavel Yablochkov made this early electric light. Other people also worked on electric light.
Television
Vladimir Zworykin worked on sending pictures. Philo Farnsworth also belongs in the television story.
Aircraft and helicopters
Igor Sikorsky built aircraft and helicopters in America. He was not the only person in that story.
Ideas for rockets
Konstantin Tsiolkovsky wrote about rockets that could leave Earth. Later teams built the craft.
Crewed spacecraft
Sergei Korolev led the team that built the spacecraft. A large team did the work.
Cherenkov light
Pavel Cherenkov found a blue light in water. The Nobel Prize was shared with Igor Tamm and Ilya Frank.
Graphene
Andrei Geim and Konstantin Novoselov studied this sheet of carbon. They later worked in Britain. The prize was shared.
A proof of a very hard maths problem
Grigori Perelman solved it. He would not take the prizes.
Three-phase electric power
Mikhail Dolivo-Dobrovolsky helped send power this way. Nikola Tesla and Galileo Ferraris also worked on this kind of current.
Equations for flowing liquids
Olga Ladyzhenskaya worked on the mathematics of how liquids move.
A clear way to think about chance
Andrey Kolmogorov set down rules mathematicians still use. Other people had studied chance before him.
Seed collections
Nikolai Vavilov saved seeds from many lands.
The biosphere
Vladimir Vernadsky showed how life shapes the Earth. Eduard Suess had used the word before.
Work on equations
Sofia Kovalevskaya worked on hard equations. Augustin-Louis Cauchy also belongs in that story.
A way to join some chemicals
Alexander Borodin found one. Charles-Adolphe Wurtz also studied this kind of reaction.
A dictionary of the Russian language
Yekaterina Dashkova led the work. Many scholars worked on it.
Mathematics of water in the ground
Pelageya Kochina studied how water moves through soil and rock.