When one considers the most outstanding scientists of modern time Pavlov's name is among the first to enter one's mind. Men like Pavlov may occasionally be born in any country, come from any class of society and yet be so independent in judgment, so original in thought, that they develop into international figures and command universal admiration for centuries. Such exceptional personalities require certain conditions for their development, not the least of which is liberty—liberty to choose a field of work, liberty to develop original interests and liberty to estimate the value of their own achievements.
These traditions of freedom in Russian science have been firmly established by such towering personalities as Lomonosov, Lobacherski, Pirogov, Mendeleeff, Schenov and many others. Russian science was flourishing at the time of Pavlov's student days, and in retrospect it is easy to see how it happened that he was carried away by the thrill