Nikolay Nikolayevich Konstantinov (; 2 January 1932 – 3 July 2021) was a leading

Soviet The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

and Russian mathematical educator and organizer of numerous

mathematics competitions Mathematics competitions or mathematical olympiads are competitive events where participants complete a mathematics, math test. These tests may require multiple choice or numeric answers, or a detailed written solution or proof. International mat ...

for

high school student A secondary school, high school, or senior school, is an institution that provides secondary education. Some secondary schools provide both ''lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) and ''upper secondary education'' (ages 14 to 18), i.e., b ...

s. He is best known as the creator of the system of math schools and math classes and as the creator and chief organizer of the Tournament of the Towns. For his work he was awarded the

Paul Erdős Paul Erdős ( ; 26March 191320September 1996) was a Hungarian mathematician. He was one of the most prolific mathematicians and producers of mathematical conjectures of the 20th century. pursued and proposed problems in discrete mathematics, g ...

award in 1992.

Biography

Konstantinov was born and grew up in

Moscow Moscow is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Russia by population, largest city of Russia, standing on the Moskva (river), Moskva River in Central Russia. It has a population estimated at over 13 million residents with ...

Soviet Union The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

. He graduated from the Physics Department of the

Moscow State University Moscow State University (MSU), officially M. V. Lomonosov Moscow State University,. is a public university, public research university in Moscow, Russia. The university includes 15 research institutes, 43 faculties, more than 300 departments, a ...

in 1954, and later received a

Ph.D. A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, DPhil; or ) is a terminal degree that usually denotes the highest level of academic achievement in a given discipline and is awarded following a course of graduate study and original research. The name of the deg ...

physics Physics is the scientific study of matter, its Elementary particle, fundamental constituents, its motion and behavior through space and time, and the related entities of energy and force. "Physical science is that department of knowledge whi ...

. In the 1950s, he started a

math circle A math circle is an extracurricular activity intended to enrich students' understanding of mathematics. The concept of math circle came into being in the erstwhile USSR and Bulgaria, around 1907, with the very successful mission to "discover futu ...

in Moscow University and since the 1960s in a number of Moscow high schools. He continued working with schools developing special classes with mathematics concentration and individual approach to learning. His students went on to win mathematics competitions on all levels and dozens of them became well-known mathematicians. In 1978, Konstantinov started the

Lomonosov Mikhail Vasilyevich Lomonosov (; , ; – ) was a Russian polymath, scientist and writer, who made important contributions to literature, education, and science. Among his discoveries were the atmosphere of Venus and the law of conservation of ...

tournament, a multi-subject science competition. This tournament is continued every year since then. In 1980, he started the international Tournament of the Towns which is now organized in over 150 towns in 25 countries. Until his late 80s, Konstantinov continued working in Moscow High School 179 and was an editor of Kvant magazine, a popular Russian science publication. In 1990, Konstantinov was one of the founders of

Independent University of Moscow The Independent University of Moscow (IUM) () is an educational organisation with rather informal status located in Moscow, Russia. It was founded in 1991 by a group of Russian mathematicians that included Vladimir Arnold (chairman) and Sergei No ...

, one of the leading institutions of higher learning in mathematics in Russia. Konstantinov died from the effects of

COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2. In January 2020, the disease spread worldwide, resulting in the COVID-19 pandemic. The symptoms of COVID‑19 can vary but often include fever ...

on 3 July 2021, during the

COVID-19 pandemic in Russia The COVID-19 pandemic in Russia was a part of the pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 () caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (). The virus was confirmed to have spread to Russia on 31 January 2020, when two Chinese citi ...

. He was 89 years old.

Books

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Scholarly publications

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References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Konstantinov, Nikolay N. 20th-century Russian mathematicians 1932 births 2021 deaths Moscow State University alumni Academic staff of the Independent University of Moscow Mathematicians from Moscow Soviet mathematicians Russian mathematics educators Soviet educators Deaths from the COVID-19 pandemic in Russia