The Vexing Case of Igor Shafarevich, a Russian Political Thinker

This is the first comprehensive study about the non-mathematical writings and activities of the Russian algebraic geometer and number theorist Igor Shafarevich (b. 1923). In the 1970s Shafarevich was a prominent member of the dissidents’ human rights movement and a noted author of clandestine anti-communist literature in the Soviet Union. Shafarevich’s public image suffered a terrible blow around 1989 when he was decried as a dangerous ideologue of anti-Semitism due to his newly-surfaced old manuscript Russophobia. The scandal culminated when the President of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States suggested that Shafarevich, an honorary member, resign. The present study establishes that the allegations about anti-Semitism in Shafarevich’s texts were unfounded and that Shafarevich’s terrible reputation was cemented on a false basis.

From the reviews:

“The book under review consists of 11 chapters. … The book is supplemented by a bibliography and index of personal names. The book will be of interest to mathematicians, historians of mathematics as well as historians of dissident movement.” (Roman Murawski, Zentralblatt MATH, Vol. 1238, 2012)

“This meticulously researched book looks carefully at Shafarevich’s own writing as well as his record with students and colleagues and convincingly argues that Shafarevich was not anti-Semitic. The author, with equal care, analyzes in detail the writings of Shafarevich’s numerous critics. This book is based on the author’s 2009 doctoral thesis at the University of Helsinki … . Clearly, The vexing case of Igor Shafarevich is intended for serious students of Russian intellectual history.” (John J. Watkins, Mathematical Reviews, Issue 2012 k)