It is with great sadness that we inform you - our dearest friend Gur Ofer passed away. Gur was a founding father of NES. It is impossible to imagine how our School would look like without Gur’s energy, kindness, wisdom and great will. We express our deepest condolences to Gur's family and friends, to everyone who knew and loved him.
NES Rector Anton Suvorov:
“It is impossible to overestimate the importance of this outstanding scientist for modern economic science in Russia and the whole world. In Hebrew “nes” is a “miracle” as I learnt from Gur’s book, and Gur’s own talent and effort are something that helped immensely this miracle happen.
For me personally Gur was exemplary in how he combined his devotion to the great endeavors such as NES with sincere attention to people, his sense of purpose and persistence with fine and subtle humor.”
Gur Ofer is one of the most prominent researchers of the soviet economy, his article "Soviet Economic Growth: 1928-1985" having become classics in the field. We are grateful to Gur for his talent and enthusiasm, for putting so much effort and energy into the New Economic School, for inspiring so many young economists in Russia.
GURU, a popular science website of the New Economic School, was named after professor Gur Ofer. The mission of the portal is to popularize economic and financial knowledge, as well as knowledge in the field of education among a wide audience.
You can leave your memories of Gur Ofer here.
If you have some photos of Gur to share, please send them to [email protected].
We all will remember Gur Ofer and his great contribution to NES, to the development of Russian economic science and education.
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Barry W. Ickes, Professor, Pennsylvania State University
"It is surely true that without Gur Ofer there would be no New Economic School. He conceived the idea (along with Valery Makarov) and was the driving force behind its creation. His energy and drive were crucial to its birth and development. He secured the initial funding, recruited the International Advisory Board and the visiting professors. Moreover, he saw to all the little things to make the school operated. He carried a fax machine to Moscow in his luggage to assure communication with the outside world in the early 1990’s. He did not take no for an answer, and he was creative in finding solutions to problems. I personally will not forget his fixation on the production of a NES banner for the first graduation, for he called me almost daily for a progress report. Of course, it would have been a tragedy not to have a NES banner for the graduation, but only Gur thought about it and insured that we had one.
Gur had tireless drive, and NES was the beneficiary. He could easily have coasted and focused on his very important research, but he was intent on seeing that NES would be successful. That NES is now 30 years old is a testament to that effort."
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NES Professor Emeritus Viktor Polterovich:
"I met Gur Ofer in Moscow in the spring of 1990. We had a long conversation in my apartment on Leninsky Prospekt. It was a period of tectonic shifts for Russia and we had many things to discuss.
In January 1991, we met at Gur's house in Jerusalem. I came to Israel by the invitation of a colleague from the Weizmann Institute. Gur's mother, who spoke fluent Russian, recited Lermontov's "Demon" by heart.
Then there was a long-term series of business and friendly meetings, the foundation and development of the NES, and political discussions. In addition, we worked on a joint article about the NES experience, which was published in 2000.
In the 2010s, Gur began to visit Moscow less frequently. But almost always we found time for a meeting, which we spent over a glass of wine with our wives. Gur was a wonderful person, very kind, honest and responsible. We did not always agree with each other, sometimes there were misunderstandings and resentments, but today, when I remember all past days, my heart pinches from the irreparable loss.
Gur has made a huge contribution to the development of economic education in Russia, and I believe that his name will forever remain in the memory of the Russian scientific community."