Abstract:
Early “topological” period in the scientific biography of N. A. Shanin (before his turning to constructivism) is considered on the basis of the letters by P. S. Alexandroff and A. A. Markov to N. A. Shanin (1941–47) and their reports on his doctoral thesis (“state doctorate”, 1945).
Key words and phrases:history of mathematics, general topology, products of topological spaces, constructive mathematics.