On March 19, 2026, the Jubilee session of the General Assembly of the Mathematics Department of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine was held, organized jointly with the Kharkiv Mathematical Society. The event was dedicated to the 125th anniversary of the birth of Naum Ilyich Akhiezer, a prominent scientist, corresponding member of the Academy of Sciences of the Ukrainian SSR (now the NAS of Ukraine), and one of the founders of the Kharkiv Mathematical School. We tell how it all happened and publish exclusive photos that have never been published before.
The solemn session of the General Assembly was opened by the academic secretary of the Mathematics Department of the NAS of Ukraine, academician of the NAS of Ukraine Oleksandr Mykolayovych Tymokha. In his opening remarks, he emphasized the exceptional role of Naum Ilyich Akhiezer as a prominent scientist and organizer of science. He stressed that Naum Ilyich laid a solid foundation for several scientific schools. The presence of nearly a hundred leading scientists from various parts of the world at the meeting was the best evidence of the scientist’s influence and the relevance of his works, which remain a source of inspiration for the mathematical community today.
Among the participants were members of the Mathematics Department of the NAS of Ukraine, members of the Kharkiv Mathematical Society, and scientists from the USA, Austria, Norway, France, and Israel.
The first to speak was the head of the Kharkiv Mathematical Society, chief research fellow of the Department of Differential Equations and Geometry at the B.I. Verkin Institute for Low Temperature Physics and Engineering (ILTPE) of the NAS of Ukraine (Kharkiv), academician of the NAS of Ukraine Yevhen Yakovych Khruslov. In his report, Yevhen Yakovych thoroughly analyzed the life and creative path of Naum Akhiezer, highlighting his development as a world-class scientist, one of the founders of the Kharkiv Mathematical School, and an outstanding organizer of science:
"On March 6, 1901, the outstanding Ukrainian mathematician, Doctor of Physical and Mathematical Sciences, professor, corresponding member of the Academy of Sciences of the Ukrainian SSR, and one of the founders of the famous Kharkiv Mathematical School, Naum Ilyich Akhiezer, was born.
The scientific heritage of Naum Ilyich covers fundamental areas of mathematics: approximation theory, entire function theory, the moment problem, as well as the theory of differential and integral operators. His research style was distinguished by a harmonious combination of classical approaches from the theory of functions of a complex variable and functional analysis. This enabled N.I. Akhiezer to solve a number of complex classical problems, including those concerning polynomials that deviate least from zero on a system of intervals, finding the best constant in Jackson's theorem, and investigating weighted approximation problems. In the early 1960s, while studying the inverse spectral problem for the finite-zone Schrödinger operator, N.I. Akhiezer introduced a special class of functions. For the last fifty years, these have played a key role in the theory of nonlinear integrable equations and are known as Baker–Akhiezer functions.
A significant contribution of the scientist was an effective method for solving inverse spectral problems. Later, this method found brilliant applications in explicitly finding solutions to a number of nonlinear equations in mathematical physics. The methods he developed for studying the trigonometric moment problem and properties of orthogonal polynomials had practical implementation in aerodynamics and the integration of nonlinear differential equations.
The creative path of N.I. Akhiezer became a model of combining profound science with extensive educational activity. For over forty years, he taught at Kharkiv State University, where from 1933 to 1950 he headed the Research Institute of Mathematics and Mechanics. His activities were also closely connected with the Polytechnic and Aviation Institutes of Kharkiv. Naum Ilyich formed an authoritative scientific school, preparing over 20 candidates of sciences, and was one of the founders of the famous Physical and Mathematical Lyceum No. 27.
In 1934, he was elected a corresponding member of the All-Ukrainian Academy of Sciences [as the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine was then called], and the degree of Doctor of Physical and Mathematical Sciences was awarded to him without defending a dissertation — for a body of exceptional scientific achievements.
In the post-war years, Naum Ilyich managed to unite a galaxy of outstanding mathematicians in Kharkiv — Israel Markovich Glazman, Boris Yakovych Levin, Volodymyr Oleksandrovych Marchenko, Oleksandr Yakovych Povzner, Oleksiy Vasylovych Pogorelov — who, together with their students, defined the vector of development of mathematical science for decades. In the early 1960s, N.I. Akhiezer joined the creation of mathematical departments at the B.I. Verkin Institute for Low Temperature Physics and Engineering of the Academy of Sciences of the Ukrainian SSR, where from 1961 to 1963 he headed the Department of Function Theory.
The mathematician's scientific output includes over 150 works, among which are 10 fundamental monographs. Nine of them gained worldwide recognition and were translated into many languages. In 1949, for outstanding scientific work, the scientist was awarded the P.L. Chebyshev Prize.
His outstanding merits to the state and the world community ensured Naum Akhiezer's unquestionable authority. Today, the Naum Akhiezer Foundation operates in Kharkiv, continuing the scientist’s work by supporting talented youth — the future of Ukrainian mathematical science."
Professor of the Institute of Analysis at Johannes Kepler University Linz (Austria) Petro Yudytskyi delivered a scientific report titled "Constructive Function Theory in Operator Theory and Approximation".
He noted that Sergei Bernstein considered constructive function theory as a basis for qualitative research and computation of solutions to natural problems of analysis. Naum Akhiezer, developing the ideas of his teacher, enriched this direction with the apparatus of geometric theory of functions of a complex variable and the theory of Riemann surfaces. For initial acquaintance with Naum Ilyich's ideas, sections 52 and 53 of his famous monograph "Elements of the Theory of Elliptic Functions," dedicated to polynomials that deviate least from zero and orthogonal polynomials on two intervals, are recommended.
Today, Akhiezer's research on orthogonal polynomials on a finite system of intervals is viewed through the prism of Christian Remling's fundamental result on reflectionless Jacobi matrices. The development of Naum Ilyich's ideas led to a parametric description of reflectionless Jacobi matrices with spectra on Cantor sets of positive measure, which in turn allowed solving the long-standing Kotani–Last and Deift problems. Based on Akhiezer's methods, we analyze:
- asymptotics of Chebyshev polynomials on Cantor sets of positive measure;
- the complex version of the classical Chebyshev problem (according to Bernstein);
- the best polynomial approximations of the sign function on two intervals.
Akhiezer himself motivated his searches by the desire to extend the classical results of Sergei Bernstein and Gábor Szegő. He hypothesized that the measure of the orthogonality set, where the weight is zero, is null. His works made it possible to include cases where the weight vanishes on entire intervals into the modern general scientific context.
"Baker–Akhiezer Functions and Nonlinear Equations" was reported by the head of the Department of Differential Equations and Geometry at the B.I. Verkin ILTPE of the NAS of Ukraine, corresponding member of the NAS of Ukraine Dmytro Heorhiyovych Shepelskyi. The report emphasized N.I. Akhiezer's decisive contribution to the establishment of the theory of finite-zone integration and highlighted the role of the functional objects he introduced in the theory of integrable systems. In particular, the speaker considered the Riemann–Hilbert problem method as a modern development of the analytical approach, which allows effective construction and analysis of solutions to a wide class of problems in modern mathematical physics.
The most interesting part of the meeting was the memories shared by participants whose life and professional paths crossed with Naum Ilyich. Attendees shared stories about the scientist’s influence on their formation, recalling his sincere willingness to help in difficult times. The speeches of colleagues and students once again confirmed what an outstanding scientist Naum Ilyich was and how often his support became a decisive factor in the lives of many mathematicians.
Corresponding Member of the NAS of Ukraine Volodymyr Drinfeld
The memoir part of the session was opened by corresponding member of the NAS of Ukraine Volodymyr Hershonovych Drinfeld, laureate of many prestigious international mathematical awards, the first Ukrainian mathematician awarded the Fields Medal. He recalled the history of the name "Baker–Akhiezer functions":
"At that time, I was studying in Moscow as a graduate student and attended lectures by Krichever and Novikov. Krichever's lecture on his work played an extremely important role in my scientific life.
What do I remember from those times? At the lecture Krichever gave in 1975, this object was called simply the "Akhiezer function." Baker's name (Henry Frederick Baker) was not mentioned then for a very simple reason: his works had been forgotten at that time, and Naum Ilyich apparently did not know about them.
I also remember this story. Novikov and Krichever were then working on the description of pairs of commuting ordinary differential operators — an aspect that interested me most. This problem interested them due to applications to nonlinear differential equations, although it is valuable in itself. Solving it, they (or one of them) invented something similar to the Akhiezer function, not yet knowing about Naum Ilyich's work.
As Novikov told, later he went to Kharkiv and gave a lecture there about his work. And it was there that the Kharkiv mathematicians — and possibly Naum Ilyich himself, who was still alive then — noticed that it was the same function that Akhiezer had invented back in 1961.
This is what I remember from the words of Sergei Novikov and Igor Krichever, who, unfortunately, are no longer with us. Perhaps someone present knows this story from another perspective; I know it from the "Moscow side," from memories and reports.
It is clear that both Baker and Akhiezer created these theories independently of nonlinear differential equations, as the theory of integrable systems in its modern form arose only at the end of the 1960s."
Tetyana Akhiezer
Next, memories were shared by Tetyana Oleksandrivna Akhiezer — granddaughter of Naum Ilyich:
"My father, the eldest son of Naum Ilyich, Oleksandr, was born in 1928 in Kyiv. Ten years later, my grandfather’s first wife — my grandmother Zoya Lvivna — died. I want to show three pre-war photographs that have never been published before.
In this photo — Naum Ilyich, his wife Zoya Lvivna, mother Nataliya Hryhorivna, and son Oleksandr.
My father recalled that when in 1933 our family moved from Kyiv to Kharkiv, the entire course of the Aviation Institute came to the station to see Naum Ilyich off. In one of the photos from that time, he is even captured wearing an aviation cap.
In his memoirs, my father, Oleksandr Naumovych, described the family’s path from the beginning of the evacuation in September 1941 to their return to Kharkiv in 1947. Among his papers, there is also an interesting manuscript — memoirs of Oleksandr Ilyich, brother of Naum Ilyich, about the pre-war period. Anyone interested can familiarize themselves with these texts.
In other photos, you see the early years: Naum Ilyich in Belarus, in Cherykaw. In the center is his father, zemstvo doctor Ilya Oleksandrovych.
Young Naum Ilyich with his parents: in front — Ilya Oleksandrovych and Nataliya Hryhorivna, on the left — younger brother Shurochka (Oleksandr).
Here is a photo of my father with his eldest son Alik (Oleksandr).
This is a later photo of my father with his eldest son Alik.
With his second wife — Halyna Vasylivna.
Naum Ilyich with his younger son Dmytro.
With granddaughter Tetyana.
With granddaughter Tetyana.
They married in 1946 in Moscow, and the following year their son Dmytro was born. Halyna was an amazing woman: bright, beautiful, with a wonderful sense of humor. She worked for many years as a professor in the Department of Mineralogy and Petrography at Kharkiv University. They lived a very happy life together.
I was born in 1958 and constantly lived with my parents in my grandfather’s apartment. It was a large double apartment where initially eight of us lived. There was not only a grand mathematical library but also a wonderful collection of fiction. Interestingly, the books were arranged not alphabetically but according to some personal logic.
Grandfather was keenly interested in my education. He always woke up very early and worked a lot. Despite worldwide recognition, he never traveled abroad and generally traveled little — mostly to Moscow or Kyiv.
Naum Ilyich’s works continued to be published after his death. Literally a month before he passed away, in May 1980, he completed the manuscript "Calculus of Variations" (published in 1981). In 1984, "Lectures on Integral Transforms" were published.
A special story is connected with the two-volume "Selected Works." His sons — Alik and Dima — did a huge amount of work on it. My father woke up every day at five in the morning and before work translated my grandfather’s articles and dissertation from German, and Dmytro checked these translations as a mathematician. The scientific editor was Yuriy Illich Lyubich. The first volume was published in 2001 — with the very photo on the cover that you see.
Naum Ilyich did not like to dwell on sad memories of the past. He never despaired or, as he himself said, fell into a "partridge mood." He was an extraordinarily bright and cheerful person."
Academician of the NAS of Ukraine Leonid Pastur
Chief Research Fellow of the Mathematical Department of ILTPE named after B.I. Verkin of the NAS of Ukraine, academician of the NAS of Ukraine Leonid Andriyovych Pastur recalls Naum Ilyich as follows:
"For my generation, Naum Ilyich Akhiezer was already a true legend. I attended his lectures at the Polytechnic Institute and later began working at ILTPE, where he headed a department. Although we did not have very close personal relations, I would like to emphasize two defining traits of his personality and activity.
First: Naum Ilyich was the informal head and elder of the Kharkiv Mathematical School. The school itself was formed back in the 19th century and is associated with the names of Aleksandr Lyapunov, Volodymyr Steklov, and Sergei Bernstein. However, its rapid development in the post-war years was largely due to Naum Ilyich.
He was not an authoritarian leader — on the contrary, he was an extremely cultured person with a subtle sense of humor. But he had his own, extremely effective methods. For example, it was Akhiezer who played a decisive role in convincing the outstanding geometer Oleksiy Pogorelov to move from Moscow to Kharkiv in 1947. This was a very delicate diplomatic matter, and Naum Ilyich handled it brilliantly. Thanks to his efforts, mathematics in Kharkiv remained at the highest level — from the founding of the 27th Physical and Mathematical School to the leadership of the Institute of Mathematics.
Second: my colleagues and I called him a "mathematical writer." His ten monographs are already significant proof, but it’s not just about quantity. Books can be written in different ways. Naum Ilyich had a unique gift of formulation.
I recall an episode told to me by colleague Volodymyr Hurariy. He once complained to Naum Ilyich that he had a good theorem but could not formulate it elegantly — it came out somewhat "clumsy." Akhiezer listened and in a second proposed a formulation: precise, concise, and truly beautiful. This was his talent as a "writer" — he saw the inner harmony of mathematical thought and could give it a perfect form. His book "The Classical Moment Problem," which I read with delight, is the best confirmation of this."
Academician of the NAS of Ukraine Yevhen Khruslov
Memories about the outstanding scientist were shared by the chief research fellow of the Mathematical Department of ILTPE named after B.I. Verkin of the NAS of Ukraine, academician of the NAS of Ukraine Yevhen Yakovych Khruslov:
"Naum Ilyich Akhiezer was an outstanding educator. His lectures impressed with originality and sophistication. It is said that he delivered them extremely artistically, fully dedicating himself to the process while showing great attention to the audience. I was not fortunate enough to attend his lectures, but I repeatedly heard his reports at meetings of the Kharkiv Mathematical Society.
We became better acquainted when Naum Ilyich agreed to be the opponent of my candidate dissertation. Academician Volodymyr Oleksandrovych Marchenko asked him to do so. As Marchenko recalled, Naum Ilyich wanted to delve deeper into the problem of homogenization of boundary value problems in fine-grained domains, to which my work was devoted. At that time, this direction was just beginning to develop actively in France, at Jacques-Louis Lions' school.
Naum Ilyich studied the dissertation text very carefully. Since some parts of my work were not presented very well, he invited me for a discussion. During this discussion, he drew my attention to a little-known work by Norbert Wiener. The problem considered there was very close to homogenization in its formulation. Wiener was then working at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, was fascinated by cybernetics, and probably was thinking about the structure of the first computers.
These conversations with Naum Ilyich were a real revelation for me. I realized what a highly erudite person he was, who deeply knew world publications not only in mathematics but also in physics. His ability to see connections between modern problems and classical works of the past was phenomenal."
Corresponding Member of the NAS of Ukraine Hennadiy Feldman
How Naum Akhiezer is remembered was also told by the deputy director for scientific work of ILTPE named after B.I. Verkin of the NAS of Ukraine — head of the Mathematical Department of this Institute, corresponding member of the NAS of Ukraine Hennadiy Mykhailovych Feldman:
"First of all, I want to add to Yevhen Yakovych’s words about the International Congress of Mathematicians in Edinburgh (1958). The Soviet Union was then one of the leading scientific centers, but only 22 mathematicians worldwide were invited to give a plenary hour-long lecture. Five of them were from the USSR: Aleksandr Aleksandrov, Mykola Bogolyubov, Lev Pontryagin, Israel Gelfand, and Naum Akhiezer. This list best illustrates the global scale of Naum Ilyich’s figure.
For me, Naum Ilyich was a true "demigod." I belonged to the first cohort of the 27th Physical and Mathematical School founded by him. I remember that after entering the Mechanics and Mathematics Faculty, I asked him: "What should I pay special attention to in my studies?" To my surprise, he named not analysis or differential equations, but linear algebra.
Naum Ilyich played a decisive role in my fate. I was an exemplary excellent student, headed the student scientific society, and had publications. However, due to a conflict with the party bureau at the previous graduation distribution, I was denied a recommendation for graduate school. Moreover, I was told directly: the maximum I could expect was to work in a rural school.
Depressed, I accidentally met Naum Ilyich in the corridor. He asked why I was so gloomy, and I told him everything. I still remember his words: "Nothing terrible. I also worked in a school once. The main thing is to continue doing mathematics; the rest depends only on you." He did not say a single condemning word about the dean’s office or the party committee; he only encouraged me.
Later, I learned that Naum Ilyich, having colossal authority, intervened in the situation. He arranged for me to receive a recommendation for graduate school (on the condition that I would not apply to the university) and placement in a design institute in Kharkiv. Thanks to this meeting and his support, I was able to enter graduate school at ILTPE in 1970, where I still work. It is hard to imagine how my life would have turned out without Naum Ilyich’s help.
Hennadiy Mykhailovych also recalled that at Naum Akhiezer’s funeral in 1980, which was attended by almost the entire mathematical community of Kharkiv, a non-mathematician asked one of the mathematicians who were Naum Ilyich’s students. The mathematician simply gestured around at the hundreds of scientists present and said: "They are all Naum Ilyich’s students." And it was indeed so. Akhiezer was a mentor not for a separate group but for the entire Kharkiv Mathematical School."
Leading research fellow of the Department of Function Theory at ILTPE named after B.I. Verkin of the NAS of Ukraine, Doctor of Physical and Mathematical Sciences, professor Volodymyr Oleksiyovych Zolotaryov recalled:
"My relationship with Naum Ilyich began in 1970 at the Department of Mathematical Physics of Kharkiv State University [now V.N. Karazin Kharkiv National University], where he was head. I was then a third-year student.
My story largely resonates with Hennadiy Mykhailovych’s memories. At the graduation distribution in 1973, Naum Ilyich personally stood up and announced that the department planned to keep me in graduate school. However, the then rector Volodymyr Khotkevych insisted that the state order for personnel distribution must be fulfilled first, and only then think about science. Naum Ilyich asked me to wait in the corridor. When I was called again, almost no vacancies remained. There was only one vacancy at a research institute. I looked at Naum Ilyich in confusion, and he calmly nodded: "Sign." In the corridor, he added: "They will give you a release there." Thanks to this tactic, I was able to enter graduate school at my home department.
Then our joint work began. Naum Ilyich lectured on calculus of variations, and I was assigned to conduct practical classes. We communicated weekly. It was essential for him that mathematical problems had physical meaning or practical significance: whether the principle of least action or extremal problems in geometry. He personally selected exercises from classical problem books by Mykola Maksymovych Günter and Rodion Osiyovych Kuzmin, demanding from students not just calculations but understanding of the essence.
Naum Ilyich always repeated a phrase that sounds especially relevant today in the context of talks about the Baker–Akhiezer function: "If mathematics is beautiful and good, it will definitely find its application." He believed in the intrinsic value of aesthetics in science, and time has confirmed his correctness: the objects he studied purely theoretically became the foundation for modern mathematical physics."
Assistant professor of the Department of Higher Mathematics and Physics at the Faculty of Transport Process Management of the Ukrainian State University of Railway Transport (Kharkiv), Candidate of Physical and Mathematical Sciences Volodymyr Ivanovych Khrabustovskyi recalls:
"I studied at the 27th school, in the same class as Naum Ilyich’s son — Dmytro. Perhaps that is why Naum Ilyich paid special attention to our class. Although my family was purely humanitarian, and at first I did not fully realize the scale of Akhiezer’s figure, his lessons and lectures at school remained in my memory for life.
I especially remember his lecture on Euler’s theorem for polyhedra. To demonstrate, he brought a paper model of a dodecahedron. Later, I asked Dmytro: "Did your father ask you to glue this model?" To my surprise, Dima replied: "No, father himself prepared for the lecture in the eleventh grade and made this polyhedron by hand." This episode best illustrates the responsibility and love with which Naum Ilyich approached teaching, even at the school level.
Later, as a student of the Department of Mathematical Physics, I attended almost all his special courses — from "Moment Problems" and "Elliptic Functions" to a series of lectures on generalized functions and hydrodynamics. Even after becoming a graduate student at ILTPE, I continued attending his classes. Each lecture by Naum Ilyich was a true artistic performance. I remember that due to certain circumstances, he could not deliver the last lectures of the course "Integral Transforms" and gave me his notes. I carefully copied his records on convolution-type equations — they were impeccably structured.
Naum Ilyich never behaved like a "boss," although his authority was unquestionable. He was an extremely polite and noble person. Thanks to him, I began working with Fedor Semenovich Rofe-Beketov. Even in photographs, it is clear that he was not only a great but also an internally beautiful, bright person. The memory of him will remain with me forever."
Next, memories were shared by Professor Roald Mykhailovych Tryhub:
"Although I did not study in Kharkiv but received my education and completed graduate school in Dnipro, Kharkiv became the place of my scientific defense. It was a unique case: my opponents were Naum Ilyich Akhiezer and Boris Yakovych Levin, and the review was written by Naum Ilyich Geronimus. Akhiezer’s review as an opponent became a model for me for life — I still reread it every time I act as an opponent myself. It is a true standard of scientific depth and correctness.
In 1967, when I was working in Sumy, Naum Ilyich called me. Then, for the 50th anniversary of Soviet power, large review articles were being prepared. Akhiezer was commissioned to write a review of achievements in approximation theory over the last decade. To my great surprise, he offered me: "I invite you to be not just an assistant but a full co-author." For me, then a young scientist, this was incredible recognition. Unfortunately, due to ideological censorship at that time (the names of many authors of scientific works were disliked by the then party supervisors of science), this review was never published in its original form, but the gesture of Naum Ilyich remained forever in my memory.
Later, when I was already working at Donetsk University, I congratulated Naum Ilyich on his 80th birthday by telegram. I wrote that he opened the way to great mathematics for me. Although I signed simply as a "Donetsk mathematician," he somehow immediately guessed who it was and sent a reply with warm thanks.
Naum Akhiezer was for me not just a great scientist but a person who set the moral bar in our profession. Having worked 45 years in Donetsk, I always felt his invisible influence and support."
Here is how the well-known scientist, who for many years headed the Department of Higher Mathematics at the Kharkiv Automobile and Road Institute, Doctor of Physical and Mathematical Sciences, professor Yakiv Isakovych Zhytomyrskyi, spoke about Naum Ilyich:
"I want to add a few words about how Naum Ilyich — may he rest in peace — sincerely helped young mathematicians in their formation.
In 1960, after graduating from the graduate school of Moscow State University and defending my candidate dissertation, my wife Valentyna Mykhailivna Borok and I dreamed of returning to our native Kyiv. We were both born there, graduated with honors from the Mechanics and Mathematics Faculty of Kyiv University, but at that time it was almost impossible to get a job in the capital due to the prevailing anti-Semitism.
Our scientific supervisor, Professor Heorhiy Yevhenovych Shilov, turned to Naum Ilyich with a request to help us find employment in Kharkiv. Thanks to the help of Akhiezer and Professor Hershon Ikhelovych Drinfeld, Valentyna Mykhailivna was immediately taken to the Department of Analysis at Kharkiv State University. I, however, did not manage to get into the university then and began my path as an assistant professor at the Kharkiv Automobile and Road Institute.
Naum Ilyich did not stop trying to transfer me to the university. He even managed to negotiate with the then vice-rector, Professor Khotkevych, to announce a special competition for the position of assistant professor in 1963. However, the system proved stronger: when I came to submit documents with a positive recommendation, I was dryly informed that the competition was canceled without explanation.
Despite these failures, Naum Ilyich continued to support me scientifically. When a few years later I brought him my doctoral dissertation, we had a long and deep conversation. He was extremely pleased with the direction of my research — the theory of functions satisfying differential equations. It was he who presented my work for defense at ILTPE, where I successfully defended it in 1967.
Naum Ilyich was an amazing, charismatic person. For us, young scientists, it was not just pleasant but extremely honorable to communicate with him. The memory of his kindness and professional nobility will remain forever in the hearts of many of us."
At the end of the meeting, academician of the NAS of Ukraine Leonid Pastur and corresponding member of the NAS of Ukraine Hennadiy Feldman recalled the history of the creation of the landmark two-volume "Selected Works on Function Theory and Mathematical Physics". This edition, dedicated to the 100th anniversary of Naum Akhiezer, was the result of the devoted volunteer work of his family and students. The basis of the two-volume set consisted of little-known early articles by Akhiezer, which his sons, Oleksandr and Dmytro, personally translated from German. The scientific editor of the project was Yuriy Lyubich. The first volume was published in 2001, with the well-known photo of the scientist on the cover. Later, the second volume was also printed. The books were published in Kharkiv by the efforts of a publishing firm headed by a student of Akhiezer. Although this edition existed for a long time only in paper form and was available to a narrow circle of specialists, it fulfilled an invaluable mission — preserving for world science unique works previously considered practically lost to the wider public.
A kind of final touch to the portrait of the scientist was the memories of former employee of the Department of Function Theory at ILTPE named after B.I. Verkin of the NAS of Ukraine, Candidate of Physical and Mathematical Sciences Oleksandr Myronovych Rusakovskyi, who noted the profound influence of Naum Ilyich’s personality even on those who did not communicate with him personally. Thanks to a long friendship with Tetyana Akhiezer, he had the rare opportunity to use the mathematician’s home library, reading in the original works by Shakespeare, Shelley, and Byron. This allowed him to directly feel that extraordinary cultural layer in which exact sciences and world classics harmoniously coexisted. The speaker was especially impressed by an incident at a meeting of the Kharkiv Mathematical Society in 1980, where Naum Ilyich, demonstrating amazing foresight and calm, began his report with words that this speech would be his last. In 2019, this report was published in the "Journal of Mathematical Physics, Analysis, and Geometry."
Closing the meeting of the jubilee session of the General Assembly of the Mathematics Department of the NAS of Ukraine, held jointly with the Kharkiv Mathematical Society, academic secretary of the Mathematics Department of the NAS of Ukraine, academician Oleksandr Mykolayovych Tymokha thanked colleagues for their active participation and memories. "Today, we had the opportunity once again to be convinced of what an extraordinary personality Naum Ilyich Akhiezer was. He left Ukraine and the world a colossal scientific legacy, but his most valuable achievement is the Kharkiv Mathematical School. This is a living intellectual environment that continues to develop today. Our common task is to preserve this legacy!" — he emphasized in his concluding remarks.