On Vladimir Goncharov

It is with great sadness that I write these lines about Vladimir Goncharov; it is somewhat innatural that an older person writes an obituary for a younger friend: it is not the right way that life should pass, and makes you think that life is unfair.

Volodya, as all of us know, was, besides a good mathematician, a cultivated person, with strong interest in music and art, kind and shy. He spoke several languages and knew a lot. I keep thinking that he would have deserved to enjoy a long and happy life. After someone passes away, one thinks of what he did not do that could have done. So I think that may be I should have proposed to him to write a paper together or to have some project together and I feel a little guilty for not having done it.

I wish he was still with us today.

Arrigo