St Petersburg school of linear groups. I. Prehistorical period

Abstract

The present survey describes the contribution of St Petersburg mathematicians to the theory of linear, classical and algebraic groups. The first part is dedicated to the prehistorical period, the historical genesis of Tartakowski and Faddeev algebra schools, and to the general outline of the works by Borewicz and Suslin of the mid-1970s that initiated systematical research in the fields of classical groups and algebraic K-theory in St Petersburg.