How is the Actor Made. The Anniversary Interview with N.N. Nechaev. Part 1, Psychology and Life

Abstract

The article represents the author’s view of his way in psychology including science research, university lecturing, organizational and other professional lines of its development. It is demonstrated through some fragments of the author’s biography closely connected with the initial period of the Department of Psychology of the Moscow State Lomonosov University (MSU) that was established in the middle of sixties of the last century and also — with some facts of the author’s following activity in the fields of psychological science and practice. The role of the school of thought is underlined since the author was lucky to meet such outstanding psychologists as P.Ya. Galperin, A.V. Zaporozhets, B.W. Zeygarnic, A.N. Leontiev, D.B. Elconin etc. as his teachers. However the special role of P.Ya. Galperin as a Teacher in science and life for the author is underlined. The article consists of two parts. The first part published here uncovers some episodes of the author’s biography where some of his family roots are described. Several outstanding church figures, theologists, preachers and teachers among them, are meant, some of them appeared to be connected with the MSU. There is also the story of the mother’s fate who was repressed at Stalin’s period. Certain attention is paid to the the author’s life as a university student. Beside some episodes of “psychological life” that may be interesting within the context of time and place there are some fragments that demonstrate the author’s active position at the choice of his scientific path. The post-graduate stage where the author was forming his own “school of thought” is also described. Then there are periods of the further research and teaching activity as a professional psychologist working at the level of post-graduate and continuing education at the leading Moscow universities, including MSU. The Moscow Architectural Institute is also one of them. It is as the institution where the author’s doctoral theses on the problems of project simulation and creativity in the architectural education were prepared and defended. Another working period connected with organisational activity at the high levels of managing of the educational system of the USSR and the at the Russian Academy of Education are also briefly described. The article is made in the form of interview with the author conducted within the frames of the project “Psychologyst-and-I”. Live stories” of the Moscow State University of Psychology and Education (MSUPE). The author and leader of the project: V.T. Kudriavtsev. The meeting took place on the 4-th of February 2021.