The story of Dina Kaplan is the story of a mother who managed to raise not just a talented child, but one of the most enigmatic and great mathematicians of our time – Grigori Perelman. Her life is an example of traditional Jewish motherhood, where wisdom, selflessness and deep faith in knowledge as the highest value are combined. Her fate reflected not only the difficulties of a Jewish family in the Soviet Union, but also the immutable values ​​that helped her son reach the heights of scientific Olympus.
Dina Kaplan was born into a family of Leningrad Jews who had lived through the horrors of war and Stalin's repressions. Jewish families in the Soviet Union often faced discrimination, especially in science and education, where there was an unspoken "ceiling" for Jews. However, it was precisely in such conditions that families like Kaplan developed fortitude and steadfastness in the face of difficulties.
She graduated from the Leningrad Pedagogical Institute and became a mathematics teacher. Her professional path largely determined the future of her son. Unlike many women of her generation, Dina did not believe that a mother’s fate was only to take care of the house. She saw education as the key to success and raised her son in the spirit of traditional Jewish reverence for science.
From his earliest childhood, Grigori Perelman grew up in an atmosphere of intellectual exploration. Dina Kaplan persistently and carefully instilled in her son a love of mathematics, explaining complex theorems and problems as if they were bedtime stories. She did not simply teach him arithmetic, she revealed to him the beauty of science.
Jewish families in the USSR always tried to give their children the best education, despite state barriers. Dina Kaplan encountered this in practice when Grigoriy had to enter the Leningrad State University. In those years, it was extremely difficult for Jews to get into leading scientific centers; they were turned away at exams, regardless of their abilities.
Nevertheless Dina Kaplan knew how to fight. She did everything to ensure that her son could join the mathematical elite. Grigory entered the Specialized Physics and Mathematics School at Leningrad University, and then the university itself, where his abilities fully manifested themselves. This was not only a personal victory for his mother, but also a victory for the Jewish character – the desire to overcome any obstacles for the sake of knowledge.
Like many Jewish mothers, Dina Kaplan was ready to sacrifice a lot for the sake of her child’s future. In the 1990s, when the mass exodus of Jews from the former USSR began, she emigrated to Israel. However, Grigory refused to leave Russia. This decision became a difficult test for her. Knowing that her son was withdrawn, not cut out for everyday life and did not know how to take care of himself, she returned to Russia. Perelman became a global mathematical phenomenon by solving the Poincaré conjecture, one of the most difficult problems in history. However, he refused all awards, including the prestigious Fields Medal and a million dollars.
This behavior is often attributed to his character, but his mother’s influence can also be traced here. Dina Kaplan raised her son in the spirit of Jewish modesty. In Jewish tradition, learning is always valued above wealth, and truth is valued above fame. She taught him that knowledge is important for its own sake, not as a way to achieve recognition or material success.
Grigory Perelman remains a devoted son. He lives in St. Petersburg with his elderly mother in an ordinary apartment, leads a modest lifestyle and avoids any contact with the press.
This fact further underscores the strength of Jewish family values. In Jewish tradition, caring for one’s parents is not just an obligation, but a sacred duty known as “Kibud Av Va’em” (honoring one’s father and mother). Perelman, who has given up millions and fame, shows respect for this commandment in the most natural way – by remaining close to the mother who dedicated her life to raising him.
This adds another dimension to Dina Kaplan's image as a Jewish mother. Her dedication to raising her son has not gone unrequited - he reciprocates her with the same  devotion, embodying one of the main principles of Jewish ethics.