L.D. Landau

Lev Landau was a unique personality among physicists of XX century. This not only because of his scientific results. Many great physicists lived in this century (Einstein, Bohr, Planck, Schrödinger, Heisenberg, Dirac…) and Landau himself estimated their achievements higher than his owns. Of course, the results of Landau were of a highest level (theory of quantum fluids, theory of phase transitions and many others). But there were other points as well. He was a rare example of a universal physicist, he had profound knowledge in all the branches of physics. And then he was a Teacher. He created the famous "Landau school" and the Course of Theoretical Physics by Landau and Lifshitz is an encyclopedia, text-book and reference book at the same time. It is, probably, the most consulted course in the world. There are many stories about Landau but some of them are far from being true. I had a privilege to know him, to work with him and I can present some of my personal memories.