Soviet Belarusian psychologist, (November 17 [O.S. November 5] 1896 – June 11, 1934)

Lev Vygotsky was born in the town of Orsha, Belarus, in the Russian Empire into a non-religious middle class Jewish family. His father was a banker.

Vygotsky was admitted to the Moscow State University through a "Jewish Lottery"There he studied law and, in parallel, he attended lectures at fully official, but privately funded and non degree granting "Shanyavskii People’s University".

His early interests were in the arts and he might have aspired to be a literary critic, fascinated with the formalism of his time.