Konstantin Nikolayevich Kornilov was a Soviet psychologist. Kornilov is known for being the initiator of restructuring the science of psychology on the basis of Marxist philosophy in the Soviet Union, which made him to be considered the "first Soviet psychologist".

Lev Semyonovich Vygotsky was a Russian and Soviet psychologist, best known for his work on psychological development in children and creating the framework known as cultural-historical activity theory. After his early death, his books and research were banned in the Soviet Union until Joseph Stalin's death in 1953, with a first collection of major texts published in 1956.