«Mozart of psychology»

The interview reveals the contribution of Lev Vygotsky in science and education, his main scientific achievements being drawn particular attention to. His innovative concepts in pedagogy and psychology are far ahead of time and are relevant up today. Lev Vygotsky put forward ideas that disclosed the principles of cultural development of human individual, his/her mental functions (speech, attention, thinking), and explained the internal mental processes of the child, their relationship with the environment. Lev Vygotsky introduced a number of terms and concepts that are the basis of modern psychology and pedagogy. Among them there are «higher mental functions», «interiorization», «mediation», «signification», etc. There extraordinary versatility Lev Vygotsky is emphasized in the paper. He is known not only as a psychologist, but also as a philosopher, methodologist, teacher, therapist, and even as the author of the brilliant theater and literary reviews. There are also facts about Vygotsky’s scientific path and his biography. The importance of Vygotsky’s ideas in the development of the educational process is highlighted. The scientist laid the most important principles of the child education. Such concepts developed by him as «zone of proximal development», «social situation of development», «critical age», «sensitive periods in the child development» are still successfully used by leading psychologists and educators. He made a huge contribution to the development of ideas about the origin and development of speech, its role in the development of thinking. The whole galaxy of prominent scientists were raised under the influence of Vygotsky. Closest students and colleagues were the author of the activity theory A.N. Leontyev, the world-renowned neuropsychologist A.R. Luria, the author of the concept of the child’s mental development D.B. El’konin, the author of the theory of stage development of mental activity P.Ya. Galperin. Lev Vygotsky is famous on the international scale: his works are translated into 19 languages. Research centers and institutes based on the approach of Vygotsky and developing his ideas exist today in many countries, e.g. in France, Portugal, Brazil, Angola. Seminars, conferences and congresses in different parts of the world are devoted to his ideas scientific