V.I.Romanovskiy Institute of Mathematics, Uzbekistan Academy of Sciences

Among the deceased scholars, writers, and artists who made a great contribution to the development of our country's science, literature, and art, and left behind a rich spiritual and creative heritage, a special place is held by the wonderful person, prominent scientist, and generous mentor, Vsevolod Ivanovich Romanovskiy.

The scholar was born in 1879 in the city of Verniy (present-day Almaty). His father was exiled to this city for participating in movements against the Russian Empire for Polish freedom. When Vsevolod was 12 years old, his father passed away, and he moved to Tashkent with his mother to earn a living. Here, he graduated from a vocational school and entered the Saint Petersburg Institute of Technology. However, his interest in mathematics prevailed, and he decided to study at the university. This required a gymnasium certificate. Therefore, he returned to Tashkent, studied for another year, and in 1901 was admitted to the Faculty of Physics and Mathematics of Saint Petersburg University.

V.I. Romanovskiy's talent became apparent during his student years, and after graduation, he was kept at the university to conduct scientific research. It is noteworthy that during this period, the young mathematician also studied Eastern poetry and philosophy, and later even said, "I should have been an orientalist; I regret not having studied Eastern poetry and philosophy." This is not surprising, as V.I. Romanovskiy proudly considered himself a "Turkestani," and Saint Petersburg was one of the major centers of oriental studies.

Despite great opportunities for growth in the field of science, financial difficulties forced V.I. Romanovskiy to return to Tashkent. Here, he taught mathematics at the same school he had attended. In 1910, he was invited to a professorship at the University of Warsaw. He then worked as a professor at Rostov University. Despite achieving high status in both cities, he thought of returning to Tashkent. His diary contains the following entries on this matter: "Not even a year had passed since I left Tashkent, and I began to long for Turkestan. I have had no peace since the day I came to work here. Every year with the arrival of autumn, I want to leave the university and return to my homeland. During my walks in the Chirchiq oasis and the mountains, I have felt so much consciousness and beauty. The separation from them tears my heart apart. Even the rain reminds me of the mountains of Central Asia" (quotes are translated from the book "Vsevolod Ivanovich Romanovskiy" by A.N. Bogolyubov and G.P. Matvievskaya, published in Moscow in 1997). He even sought solace by putting his feelings of longing into poetry. One of them, dedicated to Samarkand, is called "To the Heart of Asia":

Registan, domes, golden tiles,

Mausoleums – majestic, huts – weary.

A brow furrowed from a thousand years of sorrows,

Its distinction – both enigmatic and clear.

Finally, in 1918, V.I. Romanovskiy returned to Tashkent for good. The scientist, who started working at a school, dreamed of opening a university here as well. He wrote letters and articles justifying its necessity. In an article published in the first issue of the newspaper "Turkestanskiy uchitel" in 1918, we read these lines: "Turkestan is a land of ancient and high culture, a rich and unique country with great potential for development. It has seen the greatness of the era of Amir Temur. But not long after his death, it fell into decline. Now, a new era of revival must begin in its place. This revival must be based on the harmony of reason and nature. The future of Turkestan, the future of its entire land and all its peoples – lies in this. The first step on this path is the establishment of a university in Tashkent."

From the first day of the opening of the Turkestan People's University (now the National University of Uzbekistan named after Mirzo Ulugbek) until the end of his life, V.I. Romanovskiy taught at this institution. In 1943, when the Institute of Mathematics and Mechanics of the Academy of Sciences of Uzbekistan was established and he was appointed its director, he continued to teach. The distinguished scientist passed away in 1954.

In accordance with V.I. Romanovskiy's will, his personal library of 10,000 volumes was donated to the Faculty of Mathematics. Thus, the scientist's books became the foundation of the faculty library. This institution, now called the "Romanovskiy Cabinet," is one of the favorite study rooms for students and doctoral candidates of the Faculty of Mathematics.

Let us return to the period when the university was founded in Tashkent. The opportunity for representatives of the local nationality to study at this institution was limited. The fact is that to study at the university, students had to have a certain amount of knowledge. However, both the rulers of the Russian Empire and the Bolsheviks maintained Uzbek schools at a level that "served to eliminate illiteracy." Moreover, it was necessary to train teachers who could provide secondary education. In such circumstances, V.I. Romanovskiy paid special attention to every representative of the local nationality who managed to enter the faculty.

One of the first Uzbek youths to enter the university was T.N. Qori-Niyoziy. A friendly relationship later developed between them. T.N. Qori-Niyoziy recalls in his book "The School of Life": "Of the Russian scientists who worked at the Central Asian State University, I was in particularly close friendly relations with V.I. Romanovskiy (mathematician), L.N. Korzhenevskiy (geographer), and L.A. Oshanin (anthropologist). This was not accidental. Each of these scientists spent almost their entire life in Uzbekistan. Common traits for all three were affability, honesty, and humanism, and sincerity and nobility were felt in conversation and work. V.I. Romanovskiy was my direct teacher. He knew the East, especially Central Asia, well in almost every aspect. He knew many languages, in particular, French, German, English, Arabic, and Persian. Romanovskiy was extremely modest, one could even call him a model of modesty."

In addition to teaching, V.I. Romanovskiy was a European-renowned scientist in the field of probability theory in mathematics. He can even be called one of the founders of mathematical statistics. For this reason, as early as the 1920s, he established the training of scientific personnel in the field of mathematics at the university. He nurtured mathematicians such as N.N. Nazarov and V.N. Peregudov. At the same time, he closely observed every young student belonging to the local nationality. Academician T.A. Sarimsoqov, who was admitted to the university in 1931, notes this in his book "The Passes of Life": "Although Professor V.I. Romanovskiy did not teach me directly in the first year, he paid attention to me and inquired about my studies." Noticing the young man's aptitude for mathematics, the professor involved him in scientific research. T.A. Sarimsoqov recalls: "In 1936, I defended my diploma thesis with honors and graduated from the Faculty of Physics and Mathematics of SAGU. The supervisor of my diploma thesis was my esteemed teacher and mentor, V.I. Romanovskiy."

The following passage from the scientist's book is also noteworthy: "According to the distribution plan, I was appointed as a teacher at the Bukhara State Pedagogical Institute. But due to Professor V.I. Romanovskiy's insistence on keeping me at the university, I was kept as an assistant at the university itself. I entered postgraduate studies. My scientific supervisor was again my constant teacher – Professor V.I. Romanovskiy."

Under the scientific supervision of the scholar, T.N. Qori-Niyoziy became the first doctor of science in mathematics from among the representatives of the local nationality. T.A. Sarimsoqov became the first research mathematician-professor in Central Asia.

Another of the scholar's favorite students is Academician S.H. Sirojiddinov. Unfortunately, Sa'dikhon domla, who passed away prematurely, did not have the opportunity to write memoirs about his teacher. However, from the domla's conversations and the memories of his contemporaries, it is well known that the teacher and student were extremely close. In particular, S.H. Sirojiddinov's brother, A. Hasanov, recalls: "My brother was serving at the front. In 1942–43, major changes occurred in the war; the fascists were defeated first on the outskirts of Stalingrad, and then on the Oryol-Kursk front. In this connection, V.I. Romanovskiy went to see Usman Yusupov, who was the head of the republic at that time, and said that it was necessary to think about the fate of scientific personnel and to make efforts to save them. As a result, scientists, miners, teachers, and artists were recalled from the front. In particular, Sa'di Hasanovich also returned from the war. He came from the front and entered the postgraduate school founded by V.I. Romanovskiy and soon defended his candidate's dissertation."

Knowing S.H. Sirojiddinov's mathematical potential well, V.I. Romanovskiy sent him to the doctoral program of Moscow State University. He called one of the most famous professors of this university, A.N. Kolmogorov, and asked him to supervise the young scientist. As a result, S.H. Sirojiddinov defended his doctoral dissertation in a short period. After working at Moscow State University for several years, the scientist returned to Tashkent in 1956 with the intention of leading the scientific school of probability theory and mathematical statistics, led by T.A. Sarimsoqov after the death of V.I. Romanovskiy, and strengthening mathematical research in our country.

It is no exaggeration to say that in the second half of the 20th century, the Romanovskiy-Sarimsoqov-Sirojiddinov scientific school was the main "factory" that supplied mathematical personnel to all higher educational institutions of Central Asia. Dozens of doctors of science and hundreds of candidates of science emerged from its institution.

Today, in our country, scientific and pedagogical personnel in professional mathematics, applied mathematics, mechanics, informatics, modeling, statistics, and economic mathematics are being trained in more than 20 higher educational institutions, and a number of research institutes of the Academy of Sciences of the Republic of Uzbekistan, especially at the V.I. Romanovskiy Institute of Mathematics. Whichever educational institution of our independent Uzbekistan you take, you will find students of V.I. Romanovskiy's students or teachers who were educated by them.

The teacher V.I. Romanovskiy, who considered Turkestan and Uzbekistan his "homeland," who loved it and served it with devotion, was awarded the "Buyuk xizmatlari uchun" ("For Outstanding Services") order in 2004.

Academician A.A. AZAMOV