>Pontryagin was accused of anti-Semitism on several occasions. For example, he attacked Nathan Jacobson for being a "mediocre scientist" representing the "Zionism movement", while both men were vice-presidents of the International Mathematical Union.[2][3] He rejected charges of anti-Semitism in an article published in Science in 1979,[4] claiming that he struggled with Zionism, which he considered a form of racism.[3] When a prominent Soviet Jewish mathematician, Grigory Margulis, was selected by the IMU to receive the Fields Medal at the upcoming 1978 ICM, Pontryagin, who was a member of the Executive Committee of the IMU at the time, vigorously objected.[5] Although the IMU stood by its decision to award Margulis the Fields Medal, Margulis was denied a Soviet exit visa by the Soviet authorities and was unable to attend the 1978 ICM in person.[5] Pontryagin also participated in a few notorious political campaigns in the Soviet Union, most notably, in the Luzin affair.
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