Vladimir Baburin: Today our guest is Academician Vitaly Ginzburg, winner of the 2003 Nobel Prize in Physics.
Vitaly Lazarevich, professors, academicians in films, in books are usually portrayed as some kind of eccentrics, people who are somewhat out of the world today. That's how much such a portrait of a scientist, which has already become a stencil, corresponds to reality?
Vitaly Ginzburg: I don't think it matches. What you said reminded me of my youth, when such old professors wore yarmulkes at Moscow State University. But now I don't see anyone with yarmulkes. And, in my opinion, we are the most ordinary people. Maybe not of this world - this is a kind of impracticality. It also depends on the specialty; theorists differ from experimenters. But I don't see any profound differences.
Vladimir Baburin: Well, Academician Vitaly Ginzburg today will be answering questions from the Moscow correspondent of the Second German Television Roland Fritzsche and Mark Smirnov, editor-in-chief of the NG-religion supplement, columnist for Nezavisimaya Gazeta.
And first, according to tradition, about the biography of our guest. Immediately after the Nobel Prize was awarded, Academician Ginzburg said that he was surprised at the excitement that unfolded around this event, although, to be honest, he was touched. At the same time, the mass media widely replicated the facts of the biography of the new Nobel laureate.
He himself singled out such facts in one of the interviews (I will use this interview). His father married for the first time at the age of 51, his mother was 28; Vitaly Ginzburg was born two years later, in 1916. Mother practically does not remember, she died of typhoid when Vitaly was 4 years old. He lived almost all his life in Moscow.
Memories of childhood are hard. So in 1920, I saw a cart going through the center of the city, and on it - coffins, from which arms and legs stick out. Another memory is also characteristic of that time: somewhere we managed to buy fresh meat, but it turned out that it was a dog. I did not go to school until the 4th grade, and when I did, I only finished my studies until the 7th grade. Someone, somewhere, decided that a complete secondary school was not needed in the USSR, and it was liquidated. It was revived only a few years later, but in the end, the future academician studied at school for only 4 years and already completed the missing school course at the Physics Department of Moscow State University in three months.
He was drafted into the army in 1938, but the physics department obtained a deferment for his graduate students, including Ginzburg. He has no doubt: if it were otherwise, his bones would have long been lying in the ground. Of Ginzburg's comrades at the university, who ended up in the army, only a few survived the war. A couple of times he tried to go to war voluntarily, but did not go through for health reasons. Now he notices: "I'm not going to prevaricate and say that I regret it, but then the mood was such that it is better to die in battle than to be in German occupation."
In 1948, he joined the scientific team of his teacher, Academician Tamm, who was involved in the nuclear program. The "atomic" team left for the facility in Arzamas-16 in 1950, but Ginzburg had to stay in Moscow: the fact that he was married to an exile had an effect. Nevertheless, a sentry was placed at the door of the apartment - and so it worked. The degree of secrecy was monstrous, simply idiotic. In the reports, instead of the word "uranium" it was necessary to write "iron", and by hand. In the first half of the 1950s, work began on thermonuclear fusion, but soon Ginzburg was removed from this work. Beria instructed that, given the special secrecy of the development of a new type of reactor, it is necessary to ensure a careful selection of people, Ginzburg just did not pass this careful selection. And because of his political unreliability, they even stopped showing him his own reports.
In today's Academy of Sciences, Ginzburg also, by his own admission, does not like much. For example, there are few women in the Academy, he considers this a consequence of some kind of discrimination. In Soviet times, he repeatedly spoke out against material privileges for members of the Academy of Sciences, because the privileges had the most detrimental effect on elections: not only scientists, but also designers and high-ranking officials sought to get into the Academy. The fantastic bureaucracy that reigns in Russian science is also considered a significant disadvantage.
This is what Vitaly Ginzburg's autobiography looks like in my somewhat free retelling. Vitaly Lazarevich, do you want to add something? Did I miss something important?
Vitaly Ginzburg: There are some minor inaccuracies, but it does not matter. The sentry, of course, was not at the apartment, but at the room at the institute. But this is nonsense, in general.
Vladimir Baburin: Nevertheless, you yourself retold your biography and did not indicate when you defended your Ph.D., when you defended your doctorate, when you became an academician, what orders and awards you have. Once I saw you about the award in an interview, when quite a few years ago you, together with academicians Kapitsa, Kharitonov, Zeldovich and Kantorovich, completely independently of each other, but there were 5 of you in the entire Academy of Sciences of the then Soviet Union, refused to sign letter condemning Sakharov. As you said then, you did not like this letter, and as a result, you were not awarded any order, and for the sake of the order you did not want to sacrifice your convictions.
There were 5 of you for the entire Academy. Do you think that the rest of the people were really just scared, because they showed that the system twisted such a titan as Sakharov (academician, three times Hero of Socialist Labor), or played a big role, perhaps, that very difficult relations between academicians, and in First of all, it was not fear, but envy?
Vitaly Ginzburg: Many signatories simply waved their hands, but I think that it was possible not to sign any more. I don't want to be a hero either. If I thought that I would be beaten, I might have signed. But since I was threatened that they wouldn’t give me something there, I don’t think there was anything to talk about here. I was not afraid, I do not need an extra order.
Vladimir Baburin: That is, you do not think that not only the fear factor, but also the envy factor played a role?
Vitaly Ginzburg: No. In fact, many did not understand. And Sakharov is one of the most interesting, I think, phenomena of the Soviet era. This is a deep misunderstanding. And I also reproach myself in this sense, for a very long time I did not understand that communism is the same fascism in fact, and did not understand the situation at all.
This is a mass phenomenon, many do not understand it. And I noticed that those who, for example, had their parents repressed, do not understand, and they somehow faced this from childhood. And in our family there was not a single repressed person, my father was an old engineer. And I just didn't understand. When they trumpet you all day long: the great Stalin, socialism, the fifth or tenth, then a boy who is not specifically interested in politics goes in this direction and thinks that all this is true. It's terrible, but it's a fact.
For me, in this respect, it was very interesting what Alexander Nikolayevich Yakovlev wrote in his book, which I highly recommend in all respects, "Twilight", and earlier, in others. He was present at the congress when Khrushchev spoke, at Khrushchev's speech at the 20th Congress. He was not a member of the Central Committee, a delegate, he was some kind of petty official in the Central Committee of the CPSU and just got a guest ticket. And he describes there: it was a deathly silence. These people, even those who knew quite a bit, were amazed and shocked. And what can we say about people from the street who didn't know a damn thing?
And, by the way, the Soviet government in this respect, the Bolsheviks, brilliantly knew how to keep the situation secret. I was married to a woman who spent time in prison and in the camp. Later I married her when she was in exile in Gorky, actually in exile. So I knew from her, from the source - and I, an idiot, thought that this was not the work of Stalin. It was some kind of celestial being, what did we understand? Well, I specifically reproach myself, because I was passionate about science and somehow, maybe, I didn’t think about many things enough. But there was a mass psychosis among the masses - this is a fact.
Vladimir Baburin: Mark Smirnov, Nezavisimaya Gazeta, NG-religions supplement.
Mark Smirnov: Please tell me, you are now a Nobel Prize winner, and of course, you have received this prize. How do you want to use it, for what purposes? Will you spend it on science, maybe on the development of your own laboratory?
Vitaly Ginzburg: You know, this is a funny question. I am often asked, but this is a complete misunderstanding. This money that I will receive is approximately the price of one apartment, I don't know, two- or three-room apartment in Moscow. I can't really do anything with this money.
I will tell you an interesting episode. I was congratulated by Academician Gaponov-Grekov, director of the Institute of Applied Physics in Gorky, and the conversation turned to money. He told me: "We sell such devices abroad - gerotrons - these are really valuable devices for heating plasma, and they sell them abroad." One device costs half a million dollars. And I was supposed to get something like 400 thousand dollars. He says: "Well, I'll sell you one gerotron at a discount on acquaintance." That's what's the matter.
If I received many millions, I would undoubtedly - believe it or not - use it to help science, buy some instruments, make some scholarships. And with the money that I received ... I do not hide at all, I have a wife who is no longer young, I will die - what will she live on? So, I left her a significant part. I have a daughter, I have grandchildren, even great-grandchildren. Well, then, you need to make 4 banquets. That's all this money, what to talk about?
And so I want to publicly say, especially for you. He intends to give 10 thousand dollars to the Russian Humanist Society for the publication of atheistic, in particular, literature.
Vladimir Baburin: You know, I remembered that Joseph Brodsky, when he received the Nobel Prize, he was also asked this question, and he said: “Well, you see, in terms of buying jeans, this is, of course, a large amount, but I’m already buying a house in New York I can not". But he, however, was not lucky: just then in the United States they introduced a tax on the Nobel Prize, and he was the first to pay a tax on the Nobel Prize.
Roland Fritzsche, please.
Roland Fritzsche: Vitaly Lazarevich, you once criticized the forgetfulness of the Russian people regarding Stalin's repressions. But now repressions are also being observed, because it was not in vain that you, like other academicians, signed a letter to Patrushev in favor or in defense of, say, Danilov. Is there already an answer from Patrushev?
Vitaly Ginzburg: I don't remember about this letter... Of course I signed it. But no more than the day before yesterday - and it seems that this was broadcast even here, on this radio station - there was a press conference chaired by a very good woman - Lyudmila Alekseeva. She is great in every way. True, she is much younger than me, I do not know her age, but she formulated everything very well there. And there, as they once said, with Bolshevik straightforwardness (you understand that I say this ironically), I expressed what I think, and it was transmitted. This is the most outrageous abomination. But there is no verdict yet, maybe our performance will even help.
I think this is a very interesting topic, but you probably don't have the time. I think this is one of the biggest mistakes that is being made right now. I even referred there to Fouche's famous remark that "this is worse than a crime - it is a mistake."
Vladimir Baburin: Then, in continuation of the question of the German colleague, after all, Danilov's case is not the only one. Just on January 26, supporters and friends of Igor Sutyagin, who has an even more difficult situation, gathered ... I will remind you literally in a nutshell, he is an employee of the Institute for the USA and Canada, the FSB is accused of treason, the case is being heard by a jury. The consideration of the case was started on November 3, 2003, then a break was announced, and so far the person has not been able to continue the hearings.
And here is what is called "spy trials of the times of Vladimir Putin" - this is the Sutyagin case, and the Danilov case, and the Pasko case, a rather long list. Of course, the comparison with Stalin's times is an obvious excess, but, nevertheless, the list is already quite long. What do you think caused it?
Vitaly Ginzburg: Simply by the fact that, of course, the relevant people in the FSB are trying to make a career, they understand little in essence. I do not want to use the term "saboteurs", which was once discredited, but these people are objectively acting against our country, this is absolutely certain, because this is madness - what is being done.
Since I am an old man, I was 14 years old in 1930, but I remember the Ramzin trial, the Industrial Party trial, because my father was an old engineer and this business was in engineering circles. And then it went, rolled. It also caused great harm. Since you know my biography so well, you may have read my polemic with Academician Alferov. And there is such a point of view that, they say, these are colossal mistakes that were made during the liquidation of Soviet power, in particular, these same democrats, and so on, and so on ...
The most significant point is that the old good shots were kicked out. Two well-known economists - Churaev, it seems, one (it flew out of my head, I forgot, sorry), Kondratiev, some other - were shot. A lot of people were destroyed. There is a book, published in 1995, it is called "Repressed scientists of the Academy of Sciences". There is a list of 105 members of the Academy of Sciences, and then there were not so many of them who were repressed.
I can give you the names of physicists who were repressed. The great Landau did not die by accident, he was saved by Kapitsa. Landau personally told me that he was on the verge of death, because he was a man of a very frail physique, which, as you know, then had a tragic effect when he got into a relatively small, it would seem, accident and, in essence, could not continue to work . He was on the verge of death - he spent exactly a year in prison for absolutely nothing. I want to say that this led to huge, difficult consequences.
Undoubtedly, privatization was carried out with huge mistakes. Why? Because there were no good, experienced personnel. In general, in the economy, people were completely independent to a large extent, there were no corresponding people.
So, now we are talking about the fact that the brain drain brings enormous damage to Russian science. Agree. There are real measures that can be taken to combat this leak.
Vladimir Baburin: I think we will definitely talk about the brain drain, but I still want to return to spy processes.
Vitaly Ginzburg: Yes, it is directly related. I think that if one hinders the development of science in this way - by means of such frivolous accusations - then this acts in the same direction as the brain drain. I don't mind fighting real spies, if there are any (probably there are), and abuse in general. But you need to do it skillfully.
In the same case of Danilov - I know him, because I know Academician Kruglyakov, and we read it out - there are opinions of experts, specialists. They don't want to hear it at all, unqualified people. If you work in such conditions, it will have the most tragic consequences.
Vladimir Baburin: So you think that the special services are just unskilled people?
Vitaly Ginzburg: Partly - unskilled, partly - making a career in this way. They need, as they said before and now, to shake hands.
Vladimir Baburin: Because after all, the head of the country is a man who came out of these very special services. True, it is likely that the secret services, the prosecutor's office and the courts in Russia are so "independent" that the president cannot even always reach the prosecutor general by phone.
Vitaly Ginzburg: Well, you can't follow everything. By the way, the president hasn't received me yet. Somehow I was informed that on November 28 the president would receive me together with Abrikosov, and then I was informed that this reception was cancelled. And there, in Stockholm, I saw Abrikosov and asked him: "Were you invited at all?" He said, "Yes, I was invited, but I refused to come." Well, obviously, that's why the reception was canceled, maybe they won't accept me alone.
If the president accepts me, then, of course, it will be a protocol act on his part. But I intend, if he permits me, to take advantage of this and speak, in particular, about this disgrace. What, I'll be at the reception to see the furniture, so to speak, what is there? I will say this and some other outrages that I do not want to tell you now.
Vladimir Baburin: And it won't, really.
Mark Smirnov: So you said that you want to spend the nth part - well, a little, only 10 thousand dollars - to help the atheistic society that exists here in Moscow.
Vitaly Ginzburg: This is not an atheistic society, this is the Russian Geographical Society - the Russian Humanistic Society, headed by Professor Kuvakin. You probably know.
Mark Smirnov: Yes, but I also know that you want to spend this on the publication of atheistic literature.
Vitaly Ginzburg: You know, I didn't say exactly. They publish a good magazine called Common Sense. It is somewhat wider, it is a humanistic magazine. I am a supporter of humanism. I am also a supporter of atheism, but one is connected with the other, this is the so-called sicular or secular humanism. I have no doubt that you know this well and that you yourself can say it better than me.
Mark Smirnov: Therefore, it is interesting. Lately you have been appearing very often in the press and not even on television, I remember you spoke about this in the program of Academician Kapitsa, and you are walking like a free-thinking person, even with some, I would say, anti-clerical approach.
Vitaly Ginzburg: Precisely anti-clerical, not anti-religious, and I once again take this opportunity to emphasize this. This is complete nonsense that I had to face, that I am an enemy of religion and a supporter of the fight against religion. Not in any way. It was the militant atheists who were doing it. Atheism, that is, the denial of the existence of God, is in no way identical with the militant atheists, who, in essence, contradict the freedom of conscience.
I am an unconditional supporter of freedom of conscience, that is, the freedom to perform religious rites, cults, whatever you want. Unless, of course, they are not bandits, not terrorists - here, of course, I am completely determined in the most resolute way that there is no need to deal with them in white gloves, with this stupid political correctness. But believers - please. My father believed in God.
Mark Smirnov: Is your anti-clericalism fueled by something, caused by something? Is this some kind of reaction to the too active, perhaps, presence in our modern Russian society of the church, interference in politics?
Vitaly Ginzburg: Yes, absolutely. I am very glad to your question, because it is useful. I have now been driving for two hours, and it was hard for me, but I see that I did not go in vain, because not all people understand such things.
Please send your religious... anything, believe in God. I am against theism, and if you ask this question, I can clarify. But in no way am I going to interfere. I believe that our church is separated from the state, and it should be separated from the state. Teaching the church in schools, for example, is an outrageous act. We need cultured, knowledgeable people, not those who do not believe that 5 thousand years ago, I don't know, 10 billion, as they claim, God created everything without evolution. This is ridiculous, it is contrary to the scientific worldview.
Vladimir Baburin: Let's do it this way, the rights of believers and the rights of unbelievers, freedom of conscience... What is this - a religious insult? For some reason, they talk only about the rights of believers, and no one ever - I have never heard, at least - speaks about the rights of people like Academician Ginzburg or me. Here, for example, he is an atheist, and I am an agnostic, which is practically the same thing.
So, in Russia they talk a lot about spiritual rebirth, and everyone is talking about it. Even Communist leader Gennady Zyuganov wrote a book about Orthodoxy, I even read it.
Vitaly Ginzburg: This is especially outrageous - in the mouths of people, you know, who shot a huge number of clergy, destroyed churches. This is doubly outrageous. I am generally a determined opponent. I am not against the ideals of freedom, justice and so on, but the position of the Communist Party is simply disgusting. People who were supporters of the militant atheists, persecuted the churches, are now pretending, you see, that they are for it. Hypocrites.
Vladimir Baburin: What is spiritual rebirth anyway? Because the official who stands in the church with a candle, and often holds the candle in his right hand, not knowing that it is necessary to be baptized with the right hand, and hold the candle in the left. This is the spiritual revival in Russia today. And secondly, already several times from various people, including the President of Russia, we have heard the following saying: Russia is a Slavic country, Russia is an Orthodox country. Thus, in fact, they are deleted from the state ...
Vitaly Ginzburg: Did Putin really say that?
Vladimir Baburin: At least, "Slavic country" - said. "The union of Russia and Belarus is the union of two Slavic states" - this is what he said 100 percent.
How do you think this is random?
Vitaly Ginzburg: You know, it's hard for me to say. I have already explained that I am not an opponent of religion, but I am a supporter of atheistic enlightenment. Let the believers believe, but it has absolutely no future. And a great argument. It would seem that a more Orthodox country than tsarist Russia is hard to imagine. I already forgot this formula...
Vladimir Baburin: Orthodoxy, autocracy, nationality.
Vitaly Ginzburg: That was the basis, that was the ideology. That helped? Not to mention the fact that Comrade Stalin studied at the seminary, and the believers beat each other there. Sometimes blamed on the Jews. But how many were Jews? This is nonsense. Baptized people killed each other first of all, what does nationality and Slavism have to do with it?
So I'm sure that this direction to Orthodoxy will do absolutely nothing good. This is not a spiritual rebirth. The real spiritual revival of Russia is following the path of civilized countries - humanism, democracy, and above all. Democracy, democracy and once again democracy, although I know very well the wonderful statement, rather trivial, by Churchill that this is a disgusting form of government, but no one has come up with a better one.
Therefore, the future of Russia, I am sure, lies in democracy, freedom and, of course, freedom of religion, but in no case should religion penetrate into public life. The consecration of buildings is ridiculous. Water is poured over... And what about the barracks? Why there should be Orthodoxy in the barracks, I don't understand. We have 20 percent Muslims.
The church must be separated from the state. In addition, I consider it completely unacceptable that the word "God" appears in the country's anthem - this is completely contrary to the separation of church and state and the secular nature of our state. I just can't figure it out, how is this possible? Maybe you can explain to me? Let's.
Vladimir Baburin: Then after the recording, because my job here today is to ask questions and give the right to ask questions to my colleagues. Roland Fritzsche, we studied together at the University of Leipzig (this was during the Soviet Union, of course), and I just now thought that in the GDR of that time and, in particular, at the University of Leipzig there was no subject "scientific atheism", but theological faculty.
I do not know what religion Fritzsche's colleague adheres to and whether he wants to continue this topic.
Vitaly Ginzburg: By the way, I want to add a small remark, in parentheses. One person explained to me why our theological faculties are also trying. Because theology - in Russian is theology. And what is theology, the masses do not know, so it's just a way to cloud the brains. Theological faculties are being revived - I think this is outrageous, in state institutions, at any rate.
Roland Fritzsche: Vitaly Lazarevich, I agree and stand in solidarity with you, especially since I am also an atheist myself. And when in May 2000 an atheistic society was created in Moscow, you then urged, first of all, representatives of the Russian Orthodox Church to moderate their revanchist ardor. What did you mean by this concept - "revanchist ardor"?
Vitaly Ginzburg: The Church wants to win back... By the way, I know only one priest - this is your columnist Yakov Krotov, a very cultured person, of course, and very well erudite. But, of course, we disagree.
Vladimir Baburin: But he just has nothing to do with the Russian Orthodox Church.
Vitaly Ginzburg: Yes. Therefore, I cannot speak for the Russian Orthodox Church. But my impression is that they want, in essence, to take the same position that the church occupied in Tsarist Russia. They want her to be so dominant... I don't know exactly, it's hard for me to put it into words. I think this is completely unacceptable.
I am for the church to have complete freedom, churches to be opened, churches not to be destroyed. Although I am resolutely, for example, against the construction of the Cathedral of Christ the Savior. I remember the old Cathedral of Christ the Savior, I played there as a boy. And its destruction is barbarism, disgrace, all words can be uttered here. But to spend money on the restoration, colossal money, of this temple, although we have so many destitute, poor... We had to build hospitals, hospices, I don't know what, but not such a luxurious temple.
Vladimir Baburin: But it was not built with state money.
Vitaly Ginzburg: In fact, they took - I don't know the details - some ... I don't know what to call it, all sorts of entrepreneurs, I'm not up to date. But money was spent. And this money had to be spent for the benefit of people, and not to build a giant temple. I am for the fact that, please, build churches, let the parishioners build churches, but I am not against it. And it is known that there - I'm afraid to admit some inaccuracy - some money was exempted from taxes - on tobacco, wine, and so on. This money does not belong to them. Here is my attitude, and by no means against religion and honest people among believers.
You know what I'll say, I envy the believers, and I'm not ashamed to say it. I am 87 years old, I understand that I will die soon. I don't want to suffer, I have a family. If I believed, I would be much happier. And where does faith come from? Faith comes from fear, a person is afraid, especially in the past, when there were no medicines, nothing ... After all, think, there is no time for this, but you perfectly understand how people lived 2000 years ago, how they were afraid, life expectancy was some insignificant, I don’t remember the figure, almost 20-30 years. And so religion arose out of fear. And now the fear is the fear of death, the fear of illness. Here is the source of religion.
But I say that I am jealous, but I have brains, it seems to me, although I am old. I can't believe in what I can't believe.
Vladimir Baburin: I want to propose a related question - the question of nationality, and start with nationality in science or the nationality of science. In autumn I went to visit my very old friend, who for many years has been a university professor in Canada. He left the Soviet Union long ago. He sent me the documents for me to get a Canadian visa and a copy of my passport. It says: "Place of birth - Georgia, Tbilisi, former Soviet Union. Nationality - Canadian." Canadian professor who was born in the former Soviet Union.
Vitaly Ginzburg: He's still Jewish, maybe.
Vladimir Baburin: He is a Tbilisi Armenian who considers himself Russian.
Vitaly Ginzburg: It's clear. You know, you directly, as they say, look into my mouth.
Vladimir Baburin: May I finish the question then? Here in Russia they wrote that the Nobel Prize was awarded to two Russian physicists and an Englishman who works in America. The American media wrote that the Nobel Prize was awarded to two American physicists and one Russian.
Vitaly Ginzburg: You see, I want to say the following. First, fortunately, physics, unlike some other sciences, some social ones, is absolutely international. There is no Russian physics, no American physics, no Canadian physics, no, there is only one physics. There is a common language for all physicists, well, we speak English more often, you understand... There are differences there, a conflict of opinions, but there is no national physics, it is international. Therefore, nationality does not play any role in this sense.
Now you are asking a broader question. We used to have the fifth point. For example, I am a Jew, and there was... But now, I think it's right that there is no such clause. I have national feelings, and I consider it a shame if I concealed the fact that I am a Jew, in conditions where there are anti-Semites and all sorts of bandits. I do not hide it, but I am, of course, an absolute atheist and in no way a Jewish nationalist.
What is a nationalist? This is the one who considers his nation better than others. If any particular Jew is a crook, then the Jewish nationalist must forgive him something. Well, I don't have that in the slightest. On the contrary, my national Jewish feeling is primarily expressed in the fact that if I see a Jew - a scoundrel and a swindler, even some half-Jews, I must say (maybe you can guess who I mean), then I am ashamed. Here is my national feeling. And if a good Jew - on the contrary, I'm glad. So I'm glad that Einstein was a Jew, for example, and I don't see anything shameful in that. If I thought that the Jews were better than others, let's say, better than the Arabs, that would be a shame. I am an internationalist in this sense. Although this is what the communists once proclaimed, but in essence they acted against it. I deeply consider all nations perfectly equal.
I don’t know, maybe they didn’t quite take me to your topic, I went somewhere into the bushes. I've lost a thread.
Vladimir Baburin: No, I just wanted to transition from that to the brain drain. If physics has no nationality, does it really matter where a person works?
Vitaly Ginzburg: In this sense, you know, it's a slightly different question. For example, I have already told you such things, but at the same time, in a good sense, I am even a Russian patriot. I was born here, this is my native language, and I never wanted to go anywhere. Of course, if they were persecuting me, you understand, I might have left or wanted to. But in fact... Well, I heard several times that I was called a "kid", but this, in the end, can be experienced.
This is also, by the way, a terrible thing, unpleasant - this Jewish emigration. A lot of capable, talented people who probably did not want to leave Russia at all, were essentially forced to leave. It is clear that if a person is persecuted, not admitted to a university, then he leaves. This is a property of a person.
In general, I am in favor of the national question playing as little role as possible. There is a wonderful term - "Russians", there are - "citizens of Russia". And that's it. And what nationality he is is his own business. It is shameful if a person is shy and hides his nationality, but there is no reason to stick it out either. I don't quite understand if I answered your question accurately.
Vladimir Baburin: Yes exactly. Now I looked at Roland and again remembered that he also did not have "German" in his passport, because in East Germany everyone had "citizen of the GDR" written on them. Right?
Roland Fritzsche: Yes.
Vitaly Ginzburg: Well, it's citizenship. Americans say "American". And we, you know, began to clarify. As regards nationality, I must grieve the supporters of the national question very much. Abrikosov's mother is Jewish.
And Abrikosov there reminded me of an interesting story that I can tell you about how he got into the university. They didn't take him because his mother was Jewish. She was a pathologist, and Marshal Choibalsan died, it was some kind of ruler of Mongolia. And then the newspapers published such messages from the medical commission, well, that the autopsy showed what he died from. And there appeared the signature of the Abrikosov's mother. I forgot whether her last name was Abrikosova or something else, I'm afraid to lie, but, in any case, it was clear that it was her. After that, he was admitted to the university. He just told me this in Stockholm, and I'm telling you. I already knew this, but I forgot. But he reminded me of this.
Of course, he is absolutely... I don't know who he considers himself to be, we have not discussed this issue. Don't misunderstand me that he considers himself a Jew. I think that he considers himself Russian, and has every right, his father is Russian.
Actually, it's not that important. I have a daughter and granddaughters and so on. My first wife, the mother of these children, she was Russian, and they consider themselves Russian, and I have nothing against it, of course, this is their right.
Vladimir Baburin: I think that Academician Abrikosov, who has lived in America for many years, considers himself an American.
Vitaly Ginzburg: Yes, he told me that he did not want to come here and considers himself an American. I believe that this is his right. Although in his place I would not have left and returned now, but this is a completely different question.
Vladimir Baburin: Mark, please, your question.
Mark Smirnov: I don’t even have a question, but I want to talk about a small story in the life of Vitaly Lazarevich. In March 1942, together with his friend Yevgeny Fainberg, also a physicist, he took part in the funeral of Vladimir Solovyov's nephew, the poet and priest Sergei Solovyov, in Kazan. As Academician Feinberg describes it: on a small, very narrow droshky, where only the coffin was placed, and literally hugging him, he had to drive several kilometers to the burial place; there was a terrible frost.
Did you understand who you were burying, and what was your attitude to this?
Vitaly Ginzburg: You know, I played a completely secondary role in this case. The fact is that Solovyov's daughter was married to Yevgeny Lvovich's brother, they later divorced, and so on. I have never seen this woman, but Yevgeny Lvovich speaks of her with warm feeling. And she asked him to somehow take care of his father.
To be honest, I don’t remember any details, and here I played the role of just a friend of Yevgeny Lvovich. He is my close friend, and he just asked me to physically help. So I don't remember. Of course, I would help completely independently, if it were such a famous person as Solovyov ...
Mark Smirnov: But did you know that this is a priest, that this is a nephew, a philosopher?
Vitaly Ginzburg: Yes, more or less yes, but it honestly didn't matter. If he had not been a nephew and had not been a priest, I would behave in this sense in the same way. Well, poor man, he did, apparently, have schizophrenia. He died...
Mark Smirnov: In a psychiatric hospital.
Vitaly Ginzburg: He either declared a hunger strike... in general, this is a tragic story.
It's funny that now in Stockholm a very person with the same, apparently, history, approached me. You probably know Evgeny Lvovich's note, his story.
Mark Smirnov: He gave it to me, and I published it in due time.
Vitaly Ginzburg: So, that person also knows, and he wrote some kind of treatise about this Solovyov.
Vladimir Baburin: Roland Fritzsche, please, your question.
Roland Fritzsche: You, as a member of the Russian Academy, oppose the bureaucracy in the Russian Academy of Sciences, and at the same time you are a member of a special commission that has been working since 1998, which has been fighting against the so-called alternatives in science, against pseudoscientists. Could you please tell me if this work at least led to positive results? Moreover, I remember that you and other members of the commission wrote a letter to the President, and President Putin has not yet responded. Are there any positive results of the commission's work within the Academy of Sciences?
Vitaly Ginzburg: You see, such a thing is difficult to weigh, but I personally believe that it is. Because we need to shout about it, we need to talk about it - and we do it. A striking example - astrology just outrages me, it's absolutely anti-scientific nonsense. And I oppose all the time, and I see in some newspapers where I wrote - I don’t know, really, under my influence or not - astrological forecasts, for example, have disappeared. And in other matters, I am sure this is a very necessary work. Cultural countries must fight against pseudoscience, against any distortion of science.
There is, by the way, perhaps, interest for another program. The fact is that either illiterate people or demagogues do not understand what pseudoscience is and what the fight against pseudoscience is. Since there is no time, I will allow myself to refer to my article, which was published in the 9th issue of the Bulletin of the Russian Academy of Sciences, where I explain this issue. I'm ready to explain to you, but I'm afraid our leader...
Vladimir Baburin: Or maybe I'll just ask myself. Is it really that scary? Lysenko is still not here today.
Vitaly Ginzburg: No, what is so terrible... Lysenko is generally beyond the categories, this is the most outrageous thing that has brought enormous, incalculable harm to our country. That's for sure, I'm not comparing.
Vladimir Baburin: There is no Lysenko, but there is cybernetics, there is genetics. Well, there is this astrology - is it really all that serious?
Vitaly Ginzburg: I am very glad to answer you, if you allow it. Also, I'm ready to speak on this topic - you can use it later - because I think it's useful, people should know it.
There really is such an opinion that, just think, fun - when, under what sign of the zodiac, interesting, funny ... I think this is a delusion. And I give examples in my articles and everywhere. Just take a specific astrological forecast. What it is? Well, let's say, a specific example, today there will be a forecast: today I should not come, I should sit quietly at home, or, on the contrary, I should have fun today. In general, all sorts of life advice is given, what a person should do, without the slightest reason for that.
It's out of thin air, and I don't understand how it can be considered innocent. It can distort the whole human life. Of course, those who look at these forecasts just as fun or do not pay any attention to them - they do not care. But there are people who believe in it.
They give advice to gardeners, for example - I give examples there - absolutely wrong. And now, let me give you one of the best examples, one that I recently learned myself. Izvestia published a letter from four academicians - namely, Alexandrov, mine, Kruglyakov and Fortov - dedicated to this very astrology and related to the fact that there are astrologers in the Armed Forces. Think what a disgrace, what a horror, if the military will be guided by astrological forecasts. But there is a wonderful example there that I did not know before, which does not belong to me, but in this article my other colleagues introduced it. It consists in the following: they took a certain number (it seems two thousand) of people who were born up to a minute on Earth at a certain moment, and traced their fate. It would seem that from the point of view of astrology, everything should coincide. Absolutely no correlation.
Astrology is nonsense, it is completely anti-scientific nonsense. Moreover, this must be approached in historical terms. Why? Because even 400-500 years ago - very little compared even with "homo sapiens" (our kind of man is about 100 thousand years), an absolutely insignificant piece - astrology could not be considered pseudoscience. Why? Because we didn't know how planets affect people. But now we know that the forces with which the planets - not to mention the stars, which are much further away - act on us are negligible. Here you act on me with gravitational forces stronger than these planets, because of the great distance. So there is nothing behind it.
Plus statistics, which I have already mentioned. Now with the help of computers and so on, a huge amount of material is being processed, and it is clear that these forecasts are nonsense. But what to do, sometimes coincides. And when something matches, a person clings: well, you understand... If out of a million cases one matched, then this case is remembered, but the fact that all the others do not give anything is not remembered. Therefore, it is an absolute pseudoscience.
And you need to understand that the members of this commission, I by no means call pseudoscience just different opinions. There are a lot of different opinions in science, and this is necessary, and they must be tolerated. Pseudoscience can only be called that which is firmly proven to be nonsense. Well, the demagogues are starting to say: how can one prove it firmly? Here I gave you an example. If we deny at all that something can be proven, then we generally slide into no one knows where.
Vladimir Baburin: Earnestly. I would, of course, hope that the military astrologers, about whom I first ...
Vitaly Ginzburg: The military is an outrageous thing.
Vladimir Baburin: ... I heard from you that they are still guided by observations of the stars on shoulder straps. But I am afraid that in this case I am mistaken, and seriously mistaken.
Well, we listened to Academician Ginzburg for almost an hour. It was interesting for me and, I hope, for my colleagues too. And now, according to the tradition of our program, I want Academician Ginzburg to listen to us journalists for three minutes.
What was the most important thing in this conversation, in your opinion, the most interesting thing?
Roland Fritzsche: Of course, this hour flew by so quickly, it was impossible to find out everything that I would like to hear from you. Especially when you say that the future of Russia lies in democracy, although just after the infamous results of the Duma elections, there are some doubts for the coming years. Still, I would like to meet with you again, to talk. And I think it would be interesting for listeners to hear more of your arguments.
It was interesting to me. I am very glad to have this meeting with you and, first of all, I wish you good health in the new year.
Vitaly Ginzburg: Not prevent.
Mark Smirnov: Very interesting conversation, very frank and very sincere. And I must say that I am deeply touched by some kind of personal courage of Academician Ginzburg, who is not afraid to speak out so directly and frankly on such problems as clericalism in our society, and the dominance of religion. And his integrity is highly respected. Although, of course, not all of our radio listeners will agree, perhaps, with such an atheistic approach, but honesty and frankness are always worth a lot. I was also very interested.
Vladimir Baburin: And I will finish. I'm sorry, I'm really sorry that this show only has 50 minutes. I would, honestly, make a series, because many topics that I would like to talk about remained outside the program, there was simply not enough time for them.
There were a lot of different people in this studio. Very rarely, perhaps, for the first time I talk and look into the eyes of a genius. Thank you.
Vitaly Ginzburg: Well, drop it you.
Vladimir Baburin: Honestly. And the decision of the Nobel Committee confirms my correctness.
Vitaly Ginzburg is a world-famous Soviet and Russian theoretical physicist, as well as a professor, academician and doctor of physical and mathematical sciences. In 2003 he received the Nobel Prize. And in 1950, in collaboration with the famous scientist Landau, he created a semi-phenomenological theory of superconductivity.
Childhood
Vitaly Ginzburg was born in 1916 in the Moscow family of engineer Lazar Ginzburg and doctor Augusta Ginzburg. At the age of four, he was left without his mother, as she died of typhoid fever. After such a terrible loss, the younger sister of Augusta, Rose, took up the upbringing of the baby.
He spent his early childhood at home receiving home education. All processes and successes were controlled by Vitaly's father. In 1927 he moved to the fourth grade of a comprehensive seven-year secondary school. After graduating in 1931, he entered the factory school.
Further scientific life
In 1938 he graduated from Moscow University, where the young student carefully studied physical and mathematical sciences, after which he entered where he began to study theoretical physics.
Ginzburg Vitaly Lazarevich (whose biography is described in detail in this article) paid great attention to the theory of superfluidity and superconductivity. And in 1950, together with the famous physicist Landau, put forward the theory of superconductivity.
He was also able to solve very important questions of quantum electrodynamics. During the hostilities, he made every effort to solve the problems of the defense of his state. In 1940 he put forward the theory of superluminal radiation in crystals. Ginzburg Vitaly Lazarevich was an incredibly smart and inventive person.
Nobel Prize
In 2003, the famous scientist received the Nobel Prize in Physics, together with A. Abrikosov and E. Leggett. The Ginzburg-Landau theory made it possible to determine some thermodynamic relationships and gave an explanation for the behavior of a superconductor in a magnetic field. Vitaly Ginzburg was the first to identify the critical role of gamma and x-ray astronomy.
He knew in advance about the existence of radio emission, which appears in the outer regions of the solar halo. He proposed a method for studying the near-solar space using special radio sources.
According to the Ginzburg-Landau theory, the electron gas in a superconductor is a superfluid liquid flowing through a crystal lattice without signs of resistance at very low temperatures.
In addition, he received many medals not only of the Soviet and Russian scale, but also of the world.
Attitude towards religion
Vitaly Ginzburg was an atheist, therefore he denied the existence of God. For him, all knowledge is based only on science, evidence, analysis and experiments.
Religious faith implies the presence of miracles that do not require explanation from a scientific point of view. The scientist considered astrology a pseudoscience, and horoscopes are just fun and entertainment. After reading an astrological forecast in a magazine, a person can use the advice presented in it and ruin his life. The physicist believed that an educated person would not believe in God, since the evidence for his existence was not proven. The same applies to the holiness of books, which are a historical reminder.
Vitaly was an opponent of teaching religious subjects in children's educational institutions. He considered it a terrible phenomenon when priests came to schools and read passages from the Bible to children. Children's education should contribute to the development of logic and the formation of critical thinking.
Major writings
Ginzburg Vitaly, whose contribution to science was invaluable to all mankind, is the author of four hundred articles and ten monographs on theoretical physics, as well as radio astronomy. In 1940 he put forward the theory of radiation in crystals. And six years later, together with I. Frank, he invented the theory of transition radiation, which occurs when the boundary of two different media of one particle crosses.
Social activity
Ginzburg Vitaly, whose biography fascinates readers even after the death of the physicist, indicates that the scientist led an active social life. In 1955, he signed the "Letter of Three Hundred", and a year later - a petition directed against articles in the legislation that pursued "anti-Soviet propaganda and agitation." He was a member of the commission directed against bureaucracy, and was also the editor of several scientific journals. He considered an educated person to be someone who had mastered the entire school curriculum taught in secondary schools. It was for such people that articles were written under the guidance of a physicist.
Multiple events
Ginzburg Vitaly (interesting facts describe the personal life of a scientist) was married twice. The first time was on Olga Zamsha, a graduate of Moscow University, and the second time, on the experimental physicist Nina Ermakova. He had a daughter from his first marriage and two granddaughters.
He died on October 8, 2009, at the age of ninety-three, from heart failure. He left behind an invaluable contribution to all mankind. Vitaly Ginzburg was not only an outstanding theoretical physicist, but also a remarkable person. He was buried in Moscow at the Novodevichy Cemetery.
Academician of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Nobel Prize winner Vitaly Ginzburg died on Sunday evening at the 94th year of his life, a representative of the Physical Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences. Lebedev, where the scientist worked since 1942.
Vitaly Lazarevich Ginzburg was born on October 4 (September 21, according to the old style), 1916 in Moscow.
In 1938 he graduated from the Faculty of Physics of Moscow University, in 1940 - postgraduate study of the Faculty of Physics of Moscow State University.
Since 1940, Vitaly Ginzburg worked at the Physical Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences. P.N. Lebedev (FIAN), for many years (since 1971), heading the theoretical department of the institute.
In 1945-1968 he was a professor at Gorky University, and since 1968 - a professor at the Moscow Institute of Physics and Technology. At this institute, Ginzburg created the Department of Problems of Physics and Astrophysics.
Vitaly Ginzburg was one of the founders of the phenomenological theory of superconductivity (the Ginzburg-Landau theory) and the semi-phenomenological theory of superfluidity (the Ginzburg-Pitaevskii theory). His scientific works were devoted to quantum electrodynamics, elementary particle physics, radiation theory, optics, condensed matter theory, plasma physics, radio physics, radio astronomy, astrophysics.
Even before the war, Vitaly Ginzburg solved a number of problems in quantum electrodynamics. In 1940 he developed the quantum theory of the Cherenkov-Vavilov effect and the theory of Cherenkov radiation in crystals. Together with Landau, Ginzburg created the phenomenological theory of superconductivity. In 1946, together with Ilya Frank, he created the theory of transition radiation that occurs when a particle crosses the boundary of two media.
Since 1958, Ginzburg has been investigating the theory of excitons and crystal optics. He developed the theory of magnetic bremsstrahlung of cosmic radio emission and the radio astronomical theory of the origin of cosmic rays.
Vitaly Ginzburg became a corresponding member of the USSR Academy of Sciences in 1953, later, in 1966, an academician of the Academy of Sciences.
In recent years, Academician Ginzburg worked as the editor-in-chief of the journal Uspekhi fizicheskikh nauk.
Academician Vitaly Ginzburg was not only a world-famous scientist and public figure, but also a brilliant publicist who expressed his opinion on the most pressing problems of our time. He regularly appeared in periodicals with articles of an analytical nature.
An important task for the scientist was the fight against pseudoscience. He believed that a clear and unambiguous position should be taken in relation to any anti-scientific concepts and outright juggling of facts.
He spoke quite harshly about the dialogue between science and religion. In his opinion, the forcibly cultivated interest in Orthodoxy has nothing to do with the task of the nation's spiritual development.
Vitaly Ginzburg was a member of nine foreign academies, including the US National Academy of Sciences, the US Academy of Sciences and Arts, the Royal Astronomical Society of London, the European Academy, the International Academy of Astronautics, the academies of sciences of Denmark, India, etc.
Member of the commission on anti-science at the Presidium of the Russian Academy of Sciences (1999).
Vitaly Lazarevich Ginzburg was the winner of the Nobel Prize in Physics (2003), the USSR State Prize (1953), the Lenin Prize (1966), the Wolf Foundation Prize (the prize was awarded jointly with University of Chicago professor Voishiro Nambu in 1994).
Laureate of the Russian Academy of Sciences - them. L.I. Mandelstam and them. M.V. Lomonosov.
Winner of the "Triumph" award in 2002 - for fundamental work on the theory of Cherenkov and transition radiation of charges in anisotropic media and the Ginzburg-Landau theory of superconductivity.
He was awarded the Order of Lenin, the Order of Merit for the Fatherland, III degree (1996), the Lomonosov Grand Gold Medal of the Russian Academy of Sciences, the S.I. Vavilov (1995), the Gold Medal of the Royal Astronomical Society of London, the Gold Medal "UNESCO-Niels Bohr", the Nicholson medals of the American Physical Society, the Smoluchowski Medal of the Polish Physical Society.
On November 8, 2009, Academician of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Nobel Prize winner Vitaly Lazarevich Ginzburg died after a long illness.
The material was prepared on the basis of information from RIA Novosti and open sources
Vitaly Lazarevich Ginzburg(rus. Vitaly Lazarevich Ginzburg; October 4, 1916, Moscow - November 8, 2009, Moscow) - Soviet and Russian theoretical physicist, Academician of the USSR Academy of Sciences (1966-1991) and Russian Academy of Sciences (1991-2009), Doctor of Physical and Mathematical Sciences (1942), Nobel Prize winner in physics (2003).Vitaly Ginzburg was born on October 4, 1916 in Moscow. Until the age of 11, his father worked with him at home, so Ginzburg went to school right away in the fourth grade. At that time, educational reforms were being carried out in the USSR, nine-year secondary education was abolished, and school ended in the seventh grade. The quality of the education itself was also very questionable - there were not enough teachers, many subjects (for example, history) were canceled. Ginzburg will regret until the end of his life that he did not receive an elementary base.
After the seven-year period, those who wanted to continue their education could join the factory school (FZU), and then go, for example, to the workers' faculty. Ginzburg did not enter the FZU, but got a job as a laboratory assistant, first at the Bubnov Moscow Evening Machine-Building Institute, and then at the X-ray laboratory of the Lepse Institute. There Vitaly Lazarevich met the young physicists Lev Vladimirovich Altshuler and Veniamin Aronovich Tsukerman. Ginzburg continued to maintain friendship with them for many years.
During his work in the laboratory, Vitaly Lazarevich mastered the skills of experimental work, and also independently completed the program for grades 8-11. In 1933, he tried to enter the physics department of Moscow State University. Ginzburg passed the exams decently, but, as he wrote himself, "not brilliantly", and he was not accepted. He entered the correspondence department of the physics department and only a year later transferred to full-time.
At the university, Ginzburg studied only with excellent marks, but he did not consider himself an outstanding student. In graduate school, Vitaly Lazarevich got into the physics of Igor Evgenievich Tamm, and the scientific work “left”. In two years, Ginzburg wrote seven or eight articles on the quantum justification of Vavilov-Cherenkov radiation and the theory of Cherenkov radiation in crystals, the radiation of an oscillator located in an anisotropic medium. On the basis of these works, in 1940, Ginzburg defended his Ph.D. thesis ahead of schedule.
After receiving his degree, Vitaly Lazarevich left the university for the Physical Institute of the USSR Academy of Sciences (FIAN) for reasons unrelated to science. There, in 1942, he received his Ph.D. As Ginzburg himself writes in his memoirs, he was forced to transfer to FIAN by the intensification of anti-Semitic sentiments. Ginzburg worked at the Physics Institute until the end of his life. In FIAN, since 1971, he became the head of the department of theoretical physics, at the same time he was in charge of the department of problems of physics and astrophysics, which he created, at the Moscow Institute of Physics and Technology.
Ginzburg's research relates to several areas of physics and astronomy. At the same time, Vitaly Lazarevich admitted that he did not know the constellations and was poorly versed in celestial coordinates, since he did not study astronomy either at school or at the university. The lack of school knowledge did not prevent Ginzburg from creating the theory of magneto-halmic cosmic radio emission and the radio astronomical theory of the origin of cosmic rays. Since 1946, he has been actively studying radio emissions from the Sun and researching general issues of radio astronomy.
Since the 1940s, Ginzburg has been occupied with the theory of superconductivity and superfluidity. In 1950, Ginzburg, together with Lev Davidovich Landau, developed a new phenomenological theory of superconductivity (the Ginzburg-Landau theory). In 1958, Vitaly Lazarevich and Lev Petrovich Pitaevsky created a new phenomenological theory of superfluidity (the Ginzburg-Pitaevsky theory). In 2003, for his work in the field of superconductivity and superfluidity, Ginzburg was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics (the award was shared with him by Alexei Alekseevich Abrikosov and Anthony Leggett). In his Nobel speech, Ginzburg explained that the decision to study superconductivity at low temperatures was due to his work as a nuclear physicist in the cold winter of 1942.
Author of the monographs Theory of Radio Wave Propagation in the Ionosphere (1949), Origin of Cosmic Rays (together with S. I. Syrovatsky, 1963), Propagation of Electromagnetic Waves in Plasma (1967), On Physics and Astrophysics (1974) and etc.
One of his main tasks as a scientist Ginzburg considered the fight against pseudoscience. It was on his initiative that in 1988 the Commission for Combating Pseudoscience and Falsification of Scientific Research was established under the Presidium of the Academy of Sciences. The activities of the commission were criticized by people whose projects were recognized (or theoretically could be recognized) as unscientific. Ginzburg himself regularly appeared in the press, defending the need to continue the work of the commission.
Just as categorically as to torsion engines and anti-gravity, Ginzburg treated the strengthening of the clericalization of society. Vitaly Lazarevich did not deny the right to existence of religion as such, but he categorically objected to the possibility of combining faith in God and scientific thinking. Ginzburg was one of the authors of the famous "letter of ten academicians" to Vladimir Putin. In this appeal, scientists protested against the inclusion of the specialty "theology" in the list of scientific disciplines of the Higher Attestation Commission and the introduction of lessons on the basics of Orthodox culture at school. The letter provoked a backlash and contributed to the controversy about the possible strengthening of the role of the church in society in the media.
Ginzburg not only fought against the opponents of science, but also tried to strengthen her own position. Vitaly Lazarevich drew attention to the decline in the prestige of scientific activity and the intensification of the "brain drain" to the West. In order to somehow stop this process, Ginzburg created the Achievements in Physics Foundation.
At the same time, Vitaly Lazarevich always defended the Russian Academy of Sciences and actively argued with its critics. He categorically disagreed with the arguments of the opponents of the academy, who called the RAS an inefficient structure that contributed to the collapse of Russian science. Ginzburg admitted that not all of the academy's initiatives and decisions taken by it were correct, but he remained a supporter of the structure itself as such.
In addition to defending the interests of science, Vitaly Lazarevich opposed censorship and oppression of the rights and freedoms of Russians. So, he actively protested against the bill on the abolition of the jury, calling this initiative "a return to Stalinism."
Ginzburg explained his successes in areas of science that were very far from each other by a passionate desire to "invent effects", as well as a general "understanding of physics". Vitaly Lazarovich did not hesitate to talk about his achievements. In his memoirs, he tried to figure out what exactly became the key factor in his success. Ginzburg recalls not only his strengths, but also his weaknesses, such as vanity and a desire to stand out. This amazing sincerity was in all his undertakings, and in addition to scientific work, Vitaly Lazarevich was a very active public figure.
Over the past few years, Ginzburg almost never got out of bed, but at the same time continued to be active in all areas. Among other things, Vitaly Lazarevich continued to edit the journal Uspekhi fizicheskikh nauk, of which he had been editor-in-chief since 1998.
Vitaly Ginzburg was awarded the Order of Merit for the Fatherland, 1st class (2006), Order of Merit for the Fatherland, 3rd class (1996), the Order of Lenin, two Orders of the Red Banner of Labor, and two Orders of the Badge of Honor.
Stalin Prize (1953) and Lenin Prize (1966).
He has a large Gold Medal named after M.V. Lomonosov (1995), a Gold Medal named after S.I. Vavilov (1995).
Vitaly Ginzburg is a Nobel laureate. The scientist-physicist had been nominated for this prize for 30 years, therefore, when on the morning of October 7, 2003, the phone rang in Ginzburg's office and was informed that he had been awarded the Nobel Prize, he did not really believe it. The prize was awarded to physicists Alexei Alekseevich Abrikosov and Anthony James Legett. The exact wording of the Nobel Committee: "for pioneering work on superconductivity and superfluidity."
First wife - Olga Ivanovna Zamsha (born 1916), Candidate of Physical and Mathematical Sciences (1945), Associate Professor at MEPhI. The marriage lasted from 1937 to 1946.
The second wife is Nina Ivanovna Ginzburg (nee Ermakova), an experimental physicist. The wedding was played in 1946. Their daughter Irina Vitalievna Dorman (b. 1939) is a historian of science, candidate of physical and mathematical sciences.
Ginzburg Vitaly Lazarevich is a world-famous theoretical physicist, Nobel Prize winner, holder of the Order: "For Merit to the Fatherland" I degree.
In 1916, in the family of a Moscow engineer Lazar Efimovich, a professional in treatment facilities, who received an excellent education at the Riga Polytechnic University and a physician, Augusta Veniaminovna, a boy was born. Mother adored astrology, numerology and was fond of them. She named her child Vitaly, because. she learned that the bearer of this name is successful in engineering and design, maybe a physicist and mathematician. She did not live to see her son's success in scientific work, she died (1920) from typhoid fever when the child was 4 years old, and was raised by his aunt Rosa, her mother's younger sister.
Little Vitaly went through elementary school at home, his father took care of him. At the age of 11, Ginsburg passes the exam and enters the fourth grade of a school with a seven-year education system. In 1931 he continued his studies at the FZU (factory - factory school). After receiving a secondary education, he begins to work at the Institute. Lepse in the laboratory of x-ray analysis.
In 1933, he tries to pass the exam at the Moscow State University for the Physics Department. All summer he was intensively preparing for exams with two teachers, but the knowledge of the FZU does not make it possible to enter such a prestigious university. Vitaly does not despair and gives documents for distance learning. Applicants were faced with the task of choosing a specialization. Ginzburg decided to study thoroughly optical physics. He chose the spectral analysis of "channel rays" for his work and began to study under the guidance of S. M. Levy.
In 1940, Ginsburg defended his candidate's minimum, and at the beginning of the war he became a doctor of science. He was not taken to the front due to poor health. In addition, reservations were made for promising scientists in order to retain personnel for the scientific present and future of the country. 1940, Ginsburg is engaged in theoretical physics, studies crystals, develops the theory of radiation, based on the work of Cherenkov-Vavilov. 1946 in collaboration with I.M. Frank, Ginsburg created a theory that explains the origin of transition radiation to the boundaries of two media. 1945-1968, he is a professor at the Moscow Institute of Physics and Technology. From 1950 to 1951, Ginzburg was engaged in thermonuclear physics. In 1953 he became a corresponding member of the USSR Academy of Sciences.
Vitaly Ginsburg in recent years was the head of the Department of Theoretical Physics of the Russian Academy of Sciences. He was the author of the theory of the radio astronomical nature of the origin of cosmic rays. V.L. Ginzburg became one of the theorists who, in his works, scientifically substantiated the feasibility of creating a hydrogen bomb. The scientist devoted his whole life to science, the work brought him joy and sorrow, ups and downs, but he never regretted the chosen path.
His whole life was connected with physics, astrophysics, radiophysics - he devoted his best years to these sciences, created scientific schools. He wanted all conditions to be created in Russia for the development of science and raising the prestige and attractiveness of the profession - a scientist, for young promising people.
He wrote hundreds of works, monograms, scientific articles devoted to the problems of science, education and upbringing. He was an uncompromising fighter against pseudosciences, to which he attributed: astrology, ufology, alternative medicine. During his lifetime, the physicist had many enemies who did not like the open uncompromising nature of the scientist. He was a "militant atheist" (as they said in the old days) and a great opponent of the study of religion in school, only for historical and educational purposes.
The scientist was awarded awards, prizes:
1996 Order "For Merit to the Fatherland" III s. - for great achievements in scientific activity, and the training of highly professional specialists for science and the industrial sector.
2003 He is awarded the Nobel Prize for his work on superconductivity, which he started at the beginning of his scientific career (1943). This award is the pinnacle of success and the appreciation of a lifetime's work.
2006 Order "For Merit to the Fatherland" I p. - for many years of activity and contribution to domestic and foreign science.
Was married twice. All of his women were scientists. The first wife of O. I. Zamsha is an associate professor at MEPhI. The second wife is experimental physicist N. I. Ginzburg. Daughter - Irina, physicist - mathematician. The granddaughter lives in America, is engaged in physics. The great physicist died of heart disease in Moscow in 2009.
Cavaliers of the Order of Merit for the Fatherland, 1st class.
