Dmitri Fomin – författare

'This is a sample of rich Russian mathematical culture written by professional mathematicians with great experience in working with high school students...Problems are on very simple levels, but building to more complex and advanced work...contains solutions to almost all problems; methodological notes for the teacher...developed for a peculiarly Russian institution (the mathematical circle), but easily adapted to American teachers' needs, both inside and outside the classroom' - from the Translator's notes.What kind of book is this? It is a book produced by a remarkable cultural circumstance in the former Soviet Union which fostered the creation of groups of students, teachers, and mathematicians called 'mathematical circles'. The work is predicated on the idea that studying mathematics can generate the same enthusiasm as playing a team sport - without necessarily being competitive. This book is intended for both students and teachers who love mathematics and want to study its various branches beyond the limits of school curriculum. It is also a book of mathematical recreations and, at the same time, a book containing vast theoretical and problem material in main areas of what authors consider to be 'extracurricular mathematics'. The book is based on a unique experience gained by several generations of Russian educators and scholars.

This book covers thirty years of the Leningrad Mathematical Olympiad, which was, ostensibly, the very first formally organized, open, official city-level mathematical contest in the world. Founded in 1934 by a group of dedicated Soviet mathematicians, it played an outstanding (and often underappreciated) role in creating the Leningrad (St. Petersburg) school of mathematics of the 20th century.The book begins with the extensive introduction containing two prefaces (one of them written specifically for this edition), a large historical survey of the Leningrad Mathematical Olympiad, a section describing the logistical side of the contest, and a small chapter dedicated to the very first Mathematical Olympiad held in 1934, whose problems were recently found in the Soviet-era library archives.The main text contains approximately 1,100 highly original questions for students of grades 5 through 10 (ages 11–12 through 17–18) offered at the two concluding rounds of the Leningrad City Mathematics Olympiads in the years of 1961–1991. Full solutions, hints and answers are provided for all questions with very rare exceptions.It also includes 120 additional questions, offered at the various mathematical contests held in Leningrad over the same thirty-year period — on average, their difficulty is somewhat higher than that of the regular Mathematical Olympiad problems.