Alexander Stoletov successfully brought together representatives of the scientific community and intelligent individuals. As a professor at Moscow University, Alexander Stoletov joined one of the most established scientific organizations — the Moscow Society of Naturalists. Furthermore, he became a member of the Mathematical Society and the Society for the Advancement of Science, Natural History, Ethnography, and Anthropology.

In 1870, Stoletov began hosting a physics club at his house, attended by both colleagues from the university, such as Zinger, Bredikhin, and Sludsky, as well as young scientists like Umov and Zhukovsky. It can be stated that Stoletov introduced the young mathematician Nikolay Umov, the physicist Nikolay Zhukovsky, and the astronomer Konstantin Tsiolkovsky to the scientific community. The young physicists Preobrazhensky, Schiller, Zilov, Fischer, and Kolli were also frequent guests at Stoletov’s residence. After Stoletov established the university laboratory, his home continued to be a hotspot for friends and colleagues, many of whom were prominent figures of the time.

Alexander Stoletov truly appreciated and knew how to maintain friendships. His closest friends included the mechanical engineer Vasily Zinger, the mathematician and mechanical engineer Fyodor Sludsky, the astronomer Fyodor Bredikhin, and the zoologist and anthropologist Anatoly Bogdanov.

Stoletov also found a loyal and closest confidant in Kliment Arkadievich Timiryazev, a botanist and a prominent researcher of photosynthesis. These seemingly different individuals — the passionate Kliment Timiryazev and the reserved Alexander Stoletov — built their friendship on the basis of their similar worldviews. Both were eminent scientists, explorers of the secrets of nature, each within their respective fields — physics and biology. They viewed science as a means of transforming Russia and tirelessly advocated for universal access to education and enlightenment.

This photograph depicts Alexander Stoletov’s Moscow residence. At the table, alongside Stoletov are the physicists Tserasky, Bryusov, Lebedev, Sokolov, Schiller, Golitsyn, Zhukovsky, the chemist Markovnikov, and the biologist Timiryazev. Stoletov’s assistant Usagin stands by the wall.