Part 2/10:
Tetris's creator, Alexey Pajitnov, was born on March 14, 1956, in Moscow. Growing up in a classically intellectual family—his mother a journalist and his father a philosopher—he imbibed a love for pop culture and puzzles from an early age. His childhood experiences with games like Pentominoes and his exposure to the competitive nature of the U.S.-Soviet space race left him enchanted by computer technology, leading him ultimately to the Moscow Institute of Aviation.