Academician Lev P. Pitaevskii: Saratov years of life, family aura

Background and Objectives: The article covers the Saratov period in the life of Academician of the Russian Academy of Sciences Lev P. Pitaevskii (1933–2022) in the context of the genealogical line of several generations of Pitaevskiis from the beginning of the 19th century, when L. P. Pitaevskii’s great-great-grandfather Trofim Efimovich bore the surname Pitaev. Detailed biographical information is provided about the academician’s close relatives: Petr I. Pitaevskii, father, Anna S. Feigelson, mother, Lubov’ L. Lukashinskaya, wife. All of them received higher education at Saratov State University. The article provides original materials about L. P. Pitaevskii’s school years and his studies at the Physics Department of Saratov University. Materials and Methods: When writing this article, data from the State Archive of the Russian Federation, the Russian State Archives of Socio-Political History, the State Archive of the Saratov Region, the State Archive of the Modern History of the Saratov Region, the Archive of the Saratov State University, as well as the recollections of people who knew L. P. Pitaevskii closely were used. Conclusion: The high intellectual level of the family in which the future academician was born and raised, his early, clearly expressed desire for scientific creativity have been observed. The political and social peculiarities of the country in the 20th century have been reflected in the biographies of the Pitaevskii’s.

Lev P. Pitaevskii, Saratov State University, Department of Physics