The fates of important mathematical ideas are varied. Sometimes they are instantly appreciated by the specialists and constitute the foundation of the development of theories or methods. It also happens, however, that even ideas uttered by distinguished mathematicians are surrounded with respectful indifference for a long time, and every effort of inter- preters and successors has to be made in order to gain for them the merit deserved. It is the second case that is encountered in the present book, the author of which, the Leningrad mathematician E.M. Polishchuk, reconstructs and develops one...