ON THE HISTORY OF THE INSTITUTE DEVELOPMENT
(FROM THE MEMOIRS OF YU.A. OSIPYAN)

In the late 1950s G.V. Kurdyumov and his closest assistant, Prof. R.I Entin, a Deputy Director of the Institute for Metal Physics, decided to leave the Central Research Institute for Ferrous Metallurgy (CRIFM). At that time the institute was headed by Prof. I.N. Golikov. By that time G.V. Kurdyumov had been a man of authority in AS USSR, a famous scientist, a Director of the institute, a Deputy Academician-Secretary of the Department of General Physics and Astronomy. Today we take founding of a new institute quite calmly. However, that time it was very difficult, this problem was limited by the Government and the Central Committee of the Communist Party. The issues on founding of scientific institutions, building of a new institute had to be resolved by a Resolution of the Council of Ministers.

Earlier G.V. Kurdyumov had appointed me as an Academic Secretary of the Scientific Council on Solid State Physics AS that is still functioning. Being a Secretary of the Council I gained inside into all the works that were being done in this direction in the Academy. Together with Georgii Vyacheslavovich we had written the big article enumerating the main tasks of this field for the journal “Herald of Academy of Sciences USSR” at the Academy request. Later Georgii Vyacheslavovich offered me to found a new institute. He introduced me to academician N.N. Semyonov. It was clear that it was difficult to build such an institute in Moscow. A special governmental permission would have been required in this case. We started searching for a suitable place in Moscow region, something located not far from Moscow. There were several variants, but eventually the choice reduced to two variants: to build the institute either in Troitsk (at that time it was called Akademgorodok in Krasnaya Pakhra) or in Chernogolovka. At first we arrived to Troitsk where it was decided to build the Institute for High Pressure Physics headed by Leonid Fyodorovich Vereshchagin. I did not like this place very much. Though it is closer to Moscow, this place is stretched along the highway and it is not isolated but it is located close to the road. Then at N.N. Semyonov’s invitation Georgii Vyacheslavovich and I arrived to Chernogolovka where F.I. Dubovitskii, N.N. Semyonov’s trustee, was “reigning”. Earlier one was driving to Chernogolovka across shosse Entuziastov and Gorkovskoye shosse and then across Noginsk. By that time F.I. Dubovitskii had made a great effort to organize Chernogolovka, and Moscow region Government had already decided to build the radial highway. When we decided to go, one had already been able to drive across Shchelkovskoye shosse. We liked this place very much; besides, F.I. Dubovitskii and N.N. Semyonov were inviting us repeatedly. By that time N.N. Semyonov had had an idea, and F.I. Dubovitskii had picked it up: they wanted to transform the Institute of Chemical Physics, later the Branch of the Institute of Chemical Physics, to the Scientific Center of AS engaging other institutes.

When G.V. Kurdyumov and I arrived to Chernogolovka, it had turned out that quite a big company had gathered there. Vladimir Alekseevich Kirillin who was the Head of the Department of Sciences of the Central Committee and then a Vice-President of AS, and his closest coworker, academician A.E. Sheindlin, a Director of the Institute for High Temperatures, arrived. They were looking for the place to build the branch of this institute. Alexander Pavlovich Vinogradov, an outstanding geochemist and geologist, Vladimir Ivanovich Vernadsky’s closest coworker, follower and successor also took part in this meeting. At that time he was a Vice-President of AS and he supervised the development of the Earth science. A.P. Vinogradov decided to build the so-called backgroundless laboratory in Chernogolovka. At that time space technologies were developing actively, and the idea that soon we would get to the Moon was discussed. That is why for planetary geochemistry it was necessary to find the place where one could study weak radioactivity of the samples obtained from lunar soil. By that time the idea to build here an institute carrying out researches in the field of inorganic chemistry had appeared.

So, G.V. Kurdyumov and I chose Chernogolovka and decided to build the Institute of Solid State Physics here. There was the following situation. There was the Branch of the Institute of Chemical Physics, and there were the proposals to build the Institute of Solid State Physics, the Institute of New Problems of Chemistry under the leadership of N.M. Zhavoronkov, the Backgroundless Laboratory of the Vernadsky Institute of Geochemistry under the leadership of A.P. Vinogradov (in fact, Corresponding AS Member D.M. Ryabchikov should have had become a Director of the Laboratory); V.A. Kirillin and A.E. Sheindlin were planning to found the Branch of the Institute for High Temperatures here. Thus, it was being planned to found quite a big number of the institutes carrying out researches in the fields of geology, chemistry and physics and forming a multidiscipline Scientific Center.

N.N. Semyonov by agreement with M.V. Keldysh, a President of AS USSR, had decided to found Scientific Center of AS in Chernogolovka. In 1962 a Decree of AS Presidium on founding of such a Scientific Center was signed. The Branch of the Institute of Chemical Physics was transformed to the Scientific Center of AS, where founding of several institutes was provided. In 2002 it was the 40th anniversary of our Scientific Center. In the same year, in 1962, a Decree of the Government on permission for building of the Institute of Solid State Physics, the Institute of New Chemical Problems, and the Backgroundless Laboratory was signed.

I have forever memorized the historical meeting where we had presented. It should be mentioned that N.N. Semyonov was a very energetic person regarding holding of meetings. The meetings under his leadership lasted for many hours without a break. So, we held such a meeting for many hours here and decided to found several institutes. In the evening G.V. Kurdyumov and I stayed for a night at a hotel. It was the extant two-storeyed old hotel on Pervaya Street. Georgii Vyacheslavovich and I stayed in one room. Before we went to sleep, we had discussed the future. We woke up at about 5 o’clock. It was summer, and we decided to go for a walk; we swam in the lake located at the end of Pervaya Street, then we came back to the hotel and continued our discussions.

So, one received a Decree on building of the institute, the Government took the responsibility for funding for building; however, we needed people to found the institute. G.V. Kurdyumov charged me to find them. Another not less important question on the choice of a construction contractor had arisen.

N.N. Semyonov and I agreed that the conditions that had been given to the Institute of Chemical Physics by the Government for construction in Chernogolovka would be applied to our construction. It meant that construction was charged to the General Directorate for Construction of Ministry of Defense.

Beginning of building of GLK (the main laboratory building), 1964;

Building of the institute is in full swing, 1966

Then I had to decide my own fate, because in fact I was a researcher at G.V. Kurdyumov’s institute that was the part of the CRIFM. By that time Academy of Sciences had decided to charge GIPRONII to work out the project of the Institute of Solid State Physics. A workshop was allocated to them for these purposes. I started working with the designers from GIPRONII and supervising them on a voluntary basis. Meanwhile I started to contact actively with the Institute for Physical Problems. G.V. Kurdyumov and I visited a Director of the IPP Pyotr Leonidovich Kapitsa. He promised to help us and said that we could turn to his researchers, and they would help us. 2 persons started to help us actively. They were: Alexander Iosifovich Shalnikov who was the Head of a laboratory at the IPP and the Head of the Department of Low Temperature Physics at MSU at the same time; and Yuri Vasilyevich Sharvin who was the member of his laboratory. They had invented a lot of experimental tricks that should have had been built into the designed laboratory building; we had done it eventually. Our institute was built rationally and was supplied with the experimental equipment modern for those times.

Boris Konstantinovich Vainshtein, a Director of the Institute of Crystallography, also showed the interest to construction and activity of our future institute. At that time he was looking for the place for the so-called pilot semi-industrial facilities for crystal growth. The point was that the Institute of Crystallography had taken responsibility for creation in the Soviet Union of the industry of synthetic crystals, quartz in particular. The first range for this purpose was launched in Alexandrov near Moscow. It had represented the large institute called VNIISIMS. The researches in laser physics had been already developing swiftly. Solid-state lasers were created in our country under the leadership of N.G. Basov and A.M. Prokhorov. B.K. Vainshtein in collaboration with A.M. Prokhorov took responsibility for the creation of crystalline laser mediums. It was necessary to develop industry in ruby crystal growth. This technology had been already developed at the Institute of Crystallography, then it transformed to the corresponding industry. B.K. Vainshtein decided to organize his own small branch for crystal growth at our institute. Since we had allowed him to organize the branch of the Institute of Crystallography at our institute, G.V. Kurdyumov suggested B.K. Vainshtein to appoint me as a Deputy Director of the Institute of Crystallography so that I could work in AS and one could charge me officially to found the Institute of Solid State Physics. B.K. Vainshtein agreed with pleasure, and I became a Deputy Director of the Institute of Crystallography.

However, it was difficult to do all this. I.N. Golikov, a Director of the CRIFM, did not want to give up. That is why the first thing he did was his attempt to prevent me from my leaving from the CRIFM. He said: “Well, try to appoint him, but for this purpose he should leave the CRIFM, and I will not let him leave”. Then I wrote the application so that one would let me leave and strike me off the party register. The Party Committee of the CRIFM was convoked where one forbad me strictly to leave. Thus, I did not have the right to go to AS and I had to stay at the CRIFM. This situation lasted for about half a year, it started in spring and came to the end in late autumn. G.V. Kurdyumov made great efforts to “extract” me from the CRIFM. He took the advantage of V.A. Kirillin’s (he was the Head of the Department of Sciences of the Central Committee) favourable attitude both towards me and the institute. N.N. Semyonov also joined very actively. V.A. Kirillin blessed me. Finally, one struck me off the register, and I moved to the Institute of Crystallography. The story of my moving was over. It was a great relief for G.V. Kurdyumov. Being the Member of AS I could be engaged into founding of the ISSP on the legal ground.

By that time the project of the institute buildings had been almost developed. It should be mentioned that it was more or less clear in my mind what the main laboratory building and the technological building should look like. When I moved to the Institute of Crystallography, the idea to go to Germany (that time it was FRG) where G.V. Kurdyumov had been training had come into his head. And three of us went there: G.V. Kurdyumov, I and Mikhail Alekseevich Shchusev, the main architect of our project. There we spent 20 days. In fact, in Germany I had noticed the architecture of the experimental-technological building (ETK). It was similar to the structure of the same building at the Institute of Metal Physics in Düsseldorf. The project was developed; I drew it, M.A. Shchusev constructed it and carried the idea to its conclusion.

Legally the Institute of Solid State Physics was founded in 1963. M.V. Keldysh signed a Decree of AS Presidium on establishment of the ISSP. A funny symbolic coincidence had occurred. The Decree was issued on my birthday, on February 15. That year I was 32. At first I was the only research worker of the institute, G.V. Kurdyumov, a Founding Director, was working on a voluntary basis. Yu.V. Sharvin and A.I. Shalnikov were helping me on a voluntary basis, too. The idea to construct the strong magnetic fields building (now it is called the magnetic building) came into Yu.V. Sharvin’s head. We were planning that the researches in strong magnetic fields at low temperatures would be carried out there. I had a big dream: to engage Cheslav Vasilyevich Kopecky, my old friend and a university mate, in founding of the institute. And more generally I knew his excellent organizational abilities very well. However, by that time Ch.V. Kopecky had already become a Deputy Director of the Institute of Metallurgy AS. That is why he was helping me to create experimental-technological equipment on a voluntary basis staying a Deputy Director there. Also it was time to look for researchers for our future institute.

Academician A.I. Shalnikov during preparation of an experiment

The Member of the first Academic Council of the ISSP Yu.V. Sharvin

In 1965 N.N. Semyonov and F.I. Dubovitskii allocated temporary premises in their institute’s territory to us so that we could begin deployment our staff and equipment and carrying out research works. We started our activity on the second site of the Branch of the Institute of Chemical Physics. We got the three-storyed building that further was being planned for Nikolai Markovich Emanuel’s laboratory. The half of the ground floor and the whole second floor were allocated to the ISSP. The second half of the ground floor and the whole first floor were allocated to the Institute of New Chemical Problems. That is how our life in Chernogolovka had started. The first researchers and then the first students came. The first experiments at temperatures of liquid helium were carried out on the second floor.

Ch.V. Kopecky’s moving to our staff is related to this period. This event was accompanied by some dramatic details. M.V. Keldysh and M.D. Millionshchikov, the Heads of AS, under the influence of some factors decided to remove institutes of technical direction from AS. Perhaps, N.S. Khrushchev’s sweeping character played the role in this decision. In due time many former researchers of technical direction had stayed in AS though they had transferred to other departments. They were staying together and were following their way striving for return of the institutes to the AS system. Many in the AS administration, N.N. Semyonov in particular, supposed that it had been the wrong step and it was necessary to return the institutes. However, for us these events had turned out into coming of Ch.V. Kopecky and the materials scientists invited by him.

By that time we had had the following staff. G.V. Kurdyumov was a Founding Director; I was a Deputy Director formally, but in fact I was playing the role of a Director and was engaged in the development of fundamental investigations; Ch.V. Kopecky was a Deputy Director, he was responsible for the experimental-technological direction. Little by little the institute was enlarging, and N.N. Semyonov and F.I. Dubovitskii agreed to allocate one more part of the polymer building and the part of the experimental-technological building to us; there we had put our technological equipment. Thus, inside the Institute of Chemical Physics the prototype of our main laboratory building (there the physical laboratories were located) and the prototype of our experimental-technological building were developing. Preparations for the recurrent subbotnik: Yu.A. Osipyan and the Head of Administration and Maintenance Department A.Ya. Barankov

In those years construction in Chernoglovka was being carried out very energetically. Boris Petrovich Zolotoi was the head of construction; he was an outstanding person and a clear head, and, of course, his role in organization of Chernogolovka is huge. Boris Petrovich could solve arising problems quickly and rapidly and forecast the future situation competently.

Finally, it was time to move to our own buildings. Development of the main laboratory building in 1968 was the first our move.

We commissioned one building per year, so in the early 1970s the ISSP had been already located in its own territory. The speed of building was extremely high.

At first we were gathering the staff chosen at random, because that time it was a great risk to go to Chernogolovka. And established researchers, of course, were not hurrying up to do it. In the late 1960s the development of the Landau Institute for Theoretical Physics was started in Chernogolovka. G.V. Kurdyumov and I decided to determine our position in a following way. We had realized that it is impossible to make theoreticians work by force. They will work if they are interested in their work. That is why we did not prioritize the name of the theoretical establishment in Chernogolovka – if it would be the Institute for Theoretical Physics or our theoretical department. So, we not only agreed, but also helped actively theoreticians to found the institute. The basic staff of the theoretical team was the following: I.M. Khalatnikov, L.P. Gorkov, A.A. Abrikosov, I.E. Dzyaloshinskii. They were the founders of the Institute for Theoretical Physics that during its organization and at first after its establishment was playing the role of our theoretical department, since its subject-matter was connected mainly with condensed matter physics and solid state physics. It included superconductivity, magnetism and liquid helium. All these people were leading experts in their field, and they were extremely excited, because outstanding scientific school had got organizational independence. There was no analogue of the Institute for Theoretical Physics in the world. We were utterly lucky, because all the Landau theoretical school (its members were the scientists living all around the Soviet Union) was going to move to Chernogolovka. The unique for our country chance to settle people in Chernogolovka and to register them in Moscow region arose. For people living in the provinces it was a rare opportunity and luck. The Institute for Theoretical Physics started to gain strength and develop quickly.

People often ask me who the first member of our institute was. As we had agreed with Ch.V. Kopecky, I invited two graduates of MISIS: Veniamin Sholomovich Shekhtman and Yevgeniy Genrikhovich Ponyatovskii; they were elder than me. E.G. Ponyatovskii under the leadership of G.V. Kurdyumov was the Head of the Laboratory of High Pressure Physics. So, he was working at one institute and moved to another institute also under the leadership of G.V. Kurdyumov. And V.Sh. Shekhtman was the really first member of our institute.

In fact, E.G. Ponyatovskii’s, V.Sh. Shekhtman’s, Ch.V. Kopetsky’s and my coming continued the scientific course proclaimed by G.V. Kurdyumov and R.I Entin: we were trying to create the analogue of the Institute of Metallography and Metal Physics. However, one should have had enriched it with specialists in other fields of solid state physics. Legally V.I. Nikitenko, V.L. Indenbom’s postgraduate student of the Institute of Crystallography, became the first member of our institute. At that time he was already actively studying dislocations. I offered him to move to our institute for the position of an Academic Secretary. Under the leadership of V.L. Indenbom V.I. Nikitenko had developed the optical method for visualization of stress field around dislocations. So V.I. Nikitenko became our specialist in the field of dislocations, he was studying their motion in semiconductors. I was also studying dislocations. I invited E.M. Nadgornyi from Leningrad; he was working in Stepanov’s laboratory and was studying dislocation motion using etch patterns. There he was a junior researcher. I offered him to move to our institute and promised that he would be the Head of a laboratory. That is how we had started: E.M. Nadgornyi and V.I. Nikitenko were the specialists in the field of dislocations; V.Sh. Shekhtman was the specialist in the field of global X-ray structural analysis; Ch.V. Kopetsky started to work with technological materials; E.G. Ponyatovskii was studying high pressure physics.

Further we invited some researchers from the Institute for Physical Problems: V.F. Gantmakher, E.P. Volskii and L.P. Mezhov-Deglin. E.P. Volskii was the first who had moved to Chernogolovka. He became the Head of our Low Temperature Laboratory. E.P. Volskii was working with the de Haas–van Alphen effect, i.e. he was studying experimentally Fermi surfaces of metals. V.F. Gantmakher was staying in Moscow for some time, but he had already been the member of our institute. Having arrived to the institute, he began his experimental works. At the same time V.M. Teplinskii and V.S. Tsoi came to our institute. All of them were people of one generation; all of them graduated from PhysTech and were working in the field of low-temperature physics. Such a team had been organized, which laid the foundation for the direction of low-temperature physics. At the same time Semyon Shmurak and Ira Smirnova came to our institute. They graduated from MIPT, too. S.Z. Shmurak was occupied with optics; he was the first specialist in the field of optical spectroscopy at our institute. In my opinion, the first notable I. Smirnova’s research was our attempt to systematize and calculate dislocations in wurtzite crystals, A2B6 crystals. It was quite a famous research published in the West journal “J. of Physics and Chemistry of Solids”. As far as I'm concerned, it was my first research in the field of dislocation physics that had become famous enough.

V.L. Broude Professor, dr.phys.-math.sc., the Lenin Prize Laureate

The institute was growing; new researchers and new research directions were appearing. My life had made me think and decide which research direction I should choose. It was very useful and productive for me. I decided to study the effect of dislocations on the properties of solids, primarily the electric and the optical ones. By that time V.L. Broude and E.F. Sheka had moved to our institute, and one began works on optical spectroscopy and excitons. V.B. Timofeev came after them. Edik Shteiman came to us as a student. Yu.A. Osipyan, V.B. Timofeev and E.A. Shteiman carried out and published a research of the effect of dislocations on the optical properties of crystals. It was one side of the question: how the presence of dislocations affects the behavior of electrons in a solid. And an idea came into my head: one should change this medium not changing crystal lattice. In fact, the following experiment was planned: one should take a semiconductor, a CdS photoconductor, illumine it with light and measure its mechanical properties at the same time. By that time Ira Savchenko, a young researcher who was graduating from the university, had come to the institute. In the process of the experiment we could observe the so-called photoplastic effect; it was a huge discovery comparable in its significance with the discovery of photoconductivity. In several years I defended my doctoral thesis on this theme.

В.А. Гражулис. Профессор, д.ф.-м.н.

One more researcher, Vitas Grazhulis, a young graduate student of MPEI, came to our institute. He was making a fast progress. And then Vitaly Kveder, a graduate of MIPT, came. He had defended his degree at the IPP. Together we were observing electron paramagnetic resonance in dislocations.

In general, the whole scientific field had appeared: interaction of electrons and dislocations in solids. It was connected with my name and the names of my learners working at the Institute of Solid State Physics.

So, the staff was settling down in the buildings commissioned one after another. All the specialists in the fields of low temperatures and magnetic fields settled down on the ground floor of the main laboratory building. They were: V.F. Gantmakher, E.P. Volskii, L.P. Mezhov-Deglin, V.S. Tsoi and V.M. Teplinskii. By that time young specialists had come to the institute. V.F. Gantmakher’s learner was V.T. Dolgopolov (now he is a venerable scientist); V. Petrashov and V. Kopylov also came. My preserve was on the first floor. On the second floor it was the preserve of V.L. Broude who was studying optical spectroscopy; V.Sh. Shekhtman and his X-ray Laboratory were on the same floor. The third floor was divided between E.M. Nadgornyi and V.I. Nikitenko who were carrying out classical dislocational researches. Young researchers also came to dislocational laboratories: E. Gutmanas came to E.M. Nadgornyi, L. Dedukh and Yu. Kabanov came to V.I. Nikitenko. They were the students of the Institute of Steel and Alloys. In fact, a normal life of our institute had begun. It became a fully-fledged academic institute carrying out researches in several scientific directions.

All this had happened very fast. By 1968 when we moved to GLK the backbone of our institute had already appeared. As I have already mentioned, people who were not the members of our institute helped me a lot to found the institute; they were Yu.V. Sharvin and A.I. Shalnikov. They were studying low temperatures and they were men of authority for our staff. We were collaborating with V.L. Indenbom very actively; at that time he was a very productive person and he had a lot of ideas in the field of dislocational physics. V.L. Broude, an established venerable scientist, was working at the institute. Spectroscopy was developing under his leadership. By that time V.M. Fain had come to our institute; he was studying high-frequency properties of crystals. The idea to study high-dense excitons had arisen. M. Fain joined this idea actively; though he was not a specialist in the field of optical spectroscopy, he made some empirical estimation. It should be mentioned that V.L. Broude was developing this theme actively. The idea on experimental observation of possible phase transitions in the system of high-density excitons is connected with him. At that time L.V. Keldysh supposed that one can observe thermo superconductivity in dense exciton medium. When there are a lot of excitons, they coalesce, and some medium is forming (at that time it was unknown which medium). N.N. Semyonov joined these discussions with enthusiasm; it promoted widening of interest to this problem.

We commissioned one building almost per year. The experimental-technological building was commissioned; there we put a big amount of semi-industrial production equipment: metallurgical furnaces, rolling mills, presses. All of this was Ch.V. Kopetsky’s services; he had made great effort to achieve this. E.G. Ponyatovskii’s Laboratory of High Pressure Physicswas was located in this building, too. We bought and set several presses for E.G. Ponyatovskii. Also we bought and set the unique equipment for melting and rolling of refractory metals in vacuum. That is how an excellent technological metal base for development of works in the field of metal physics was created. In general terms, one set the very latest heavy production equipment in ETK; no one institute in the AS system had such an equipment. A little later several people came to us from Nobosibirsk. They were: S.T. Mileiko, A.V. Serebryakov and M.M. Myshlyaev; they had engaged in the development of the technological direction.

We all were developing the new buildings with enthusiasm not reckoning with time and effort. There was not so big number of staff at the Institute, but one put quickly, installed and launched all the equipment; and we began our research work immediately. At the institute one had created a good base for obtaining of high-purity both refractory and low-melting metals including superconductors; they were used by R.K. Nikolaev’s group to prepare massive monocrystalline samples that were necessary for many physical laboratories.

The growth direction started developing simultaneously with the technological one. We started growing crystals of semiconductors on the second site of the Institute of Chemical Physics because I had promised to organize production of CdS, A2B6 crystals. This was done by the Growth Department; A. Magomedov who had completed post-graduate course at the Institute of Crystallography and A. Timirbaev were the members of this department. They were growing CdS crystals from a gas phase. M.P. Kulakov also joined this work. A short time later V.A. Tatarchenko, Stepanov’s learner, came to our institute from Leningrad. Together with young specialists V.A. Borodin and S.K. Brantov they started developing works on shaped crystal growth. In time one of our former learners, V.A. Borodin, grew into a Director of the Plant of Experimental Equipment; that is why our works in the field of crystal growth reduced somewhat. But then, when G.A. Emelchenko had come (he had completed post-graduate course at the Institute of Crystallography), this field of crystal growth intensified greatly again.

V.V. Shmidt. Professor, dr.phys.-math.sc.

Soon the magnetic fields building went into service. V.F. Gantmakher and V.B. Timofeev moved there from GLK. V.F. Gantmakher’s researchers (V.T. Dolgopolov and others) moved together with him. The experimental scientists who stayed at the institute after V.M. Fain had leaved, and also V.M. Kulakovskii, MSU graduate, joined V.B. Timofeev’s group. Then V.V. Shmidt came to our institute; it was very useful for us. V.V. Shmidt was mainly a theorist; in fact, he was the leader of experimental researches on superconductivity. He was working productively himself, some members of the institute, L.Ya. Vinnikov in particular, joined him. That is how the Laboratory of Superconductivity had appeared. Later V.V. Ryazanov, A. Ustinov and other young researchers joined the laboratory. By the time when V.V. Shmidt came, some Ch.V. Kopecky’s researchers, for example, V.A. Marchenko and V.P. Korzhov, had been studying the technological aspects of superconductivity. After V.V. Shmidt had deceased untimely, I.F. Shchegolev became the Head of the Laboratory of Superconductivity. I.F. Shchegolev being P.L. Kapitsa’s learner was a person of outstanding abilities and a very good research worker. When he had come to our institute, he blossomed out. He was elected a Corresponding Member, and then a Member of AS USSR. Now V.V. Ryazanov is the Head of the Laboratory of Superconductivity; he was well trained by V.V. Shmidt and I.F. Shchegolev. I.F. Shchegolev. RAS Member, Professor, dr.phys.-math.sc.

The “Orsk” building built of blocks is located next to the magnetic building. There the Laboratory of Disperse Systems headed by A.V. Serebryakov is located. At first A.V. Serebryakov was working in the technological building. He had two learners: G. Kokhanchik and Yu.B. Levin. Together with Yu.B. Levin A.V. Serebryakov started developing researches of the properties of amorphous alloys obtained by fast quenching from a liquid state. Yu.B. Levin was studying actively amorphous alloys and metallic glasses, he obtained some practical results, and decided to use a ribbon made of amorphous soft magnetic materials as a storage medium. The components for high-quality tape recorders were being produced on the basis of this ribbon. After that Yu.B. Levin started studying different ways for data recording, firstly on magnetic, and then on electronic circuits. The “Orsk” building was constructed not on the AS funds but on the funds of the Ministry of Communications that terminated afterwards. So, we became the owners of the building where Yu.B. Levin’s group transformed to an independent industrial enterprise.

It should be mentioned that the institute development was not only physical, but also ideological one. We had certain atmosphere that was developing gradually. The presence of high-qualified scientists heading the institute was very important for the creation of this atmosphere. Besides, as I have already written, Yu.V. Sharvin, a man of scrupulous honesty and decency, had done much for us. He was a member of our Academic Council for many years. We had such ideology, that one can make a good study [согласен] only by his own strength but not by exploitation of wage labor. This ideology runs through all our existence, it determines all our success. All our research advisors of older generation can work themselves. It is the main thing. Our ideology was formulated in the first Statue of the Institute. The Statue is written in simple and clear words. We adopted the Statue in 1966, when there were no statues at other academic institutes. At that time we were working on the second site of the Institute of Chemical Physics. The first Statue was signed on the general meeting of the Academic Council. It should be mentioned that the authorities considered this Statue to be almost the Declaration of Decembrists. Generally speaking, we had a lot of troubles because of the Statue. They told us: “What statue do you need in the Soviet Union, where everything is oriented?” But we had written down the certain theses: our researchers should work themselves and not exploit the others. In general, various general human principles had been written in the Statue that is still exsisiting.