I. Grekova (pseudonym of Elena Sergeevna Venttsel', Е.С. Вентцель) ranks among the most prominent women writers in Soviet literature. She began writing fiction in the 1960s while still engaged in a successful career as a scientist and professor of mathematics. As Venttsel', she has published influential studies on game theory and probability, including Issledovanie operatsii (1972; translated as Operations Research, 1983) and Teoriia veroiatnosti (1958, Probability Theory). As Grekova, she has written stories and novels about women's lives in the former Soviet Union.