To the Centenary of the Nobel Prize Winner’s Birth: N. G. Basov as a Scientist and a Leader

In 1964 the research leading to the creation of masers and lasers was awarded the Nobel Prize. The laureates were Nikolai Basov, Alexander Prokhorov, and Charles Townes. N. G. Basov and A. M. Prokhorov did not leave any memoirs. In connection with the 100th anniversary of N. G. Basov, one of the authors of this article (IAA) in his ICXR talk briefly spoke about his life and the appearance of lasers and masers in Russia. Some of the material presented in this paper became known during Basov’s centenary year 2022.