3 years.... Listening to your playlist and thinking of you.

Really wish I wasn't writing to you here dude. Thinking of you, miss ya so much. Going to blast out some of your fav tunes today. Hope you enjoy buddy. You'd probably tell me to shut up being sentimental haha. Always in our thoughts dude x

Oh Mikhail, Mikhail, Mikhail. How I miss you mate. Sorry I'm a bit late for your Birthday this year brother. Always thinking of you and remembering your stories and our wonderful chats with a smile pal. Love you bro xxx

Mish, sad I can't be with you on your birthday. 37 years ago today the world was made a brighter place. Missing you so much buddy xo

Gone but not forgotten. RIP

It's already been two years. But even though your body is gone, your spirit lives on in the memories of others.

Mikhail, I’m heartbroken to find the news about your passing. You are brilliant and gentle. I regret that we’ve fallen out of touch and never got the chance to catch up. May your soul find peace.

Dear Mish. Saddened I can't be there with you today at your final resting place. Though I am with you always. R.I.P buddy, miss you so much xo

I knew Mikhail Volkov as an undergraduate student of the Department of Electronic and Electrical Engineering. I lectured him both in his First and Second years of his BAI course. He was an excellent talented student. He was elected as a Trinity Scholar in his second year. I was very delighted to know of his success especially in MIT and his father told me whenever I met him that his son was highly inspired by my lectures on the basics of Electrical Engineering/Electro-technology.

I am greatly saddened to learn of Mikhail's sad demise. He was a highly talented young man and he would have made many original contributions to the subject of his choice.
I pray his soul may rest in peace. I am also saddened to know that his father Yuri Volkov also died some 2 weeks later. This is a double blow to the family on the loss of two very able persons. I give my deep condolences to the family and their friends.

Mikhail,
I am lost for words. I will always remember the precious time we shared in and out of the office in Tokyo.
Rest in peace my friend.
My deepest condolences to your family.
Fabrice

Dear Irina and Liza
I cannot say how sorry I am for your double loss. I had no idea that Misha passed away in February 2021. He was a star and now I know that he was a shooting star flying through our dark nights and leaving a trail of light never to be forgotten. May his soul rest in peace and both of you enough strength to bear the shock. I still remember him in his first year engineering student sitting right in the front row in a class of 200 students, intently following my lecture. One day I asked him after looking at the attendance list whether he was related to now the late Yuri. He said he was his son and can he come and see me. Sure enough he arrived and said he wanted to switch to computer science. We have had a long discussion and he was persuaded to stay put. The following year he sat the Scholarship examination and passed with flying colours. He had worked with me during the vacations and he was so good at analysing problems, programming solutions and documenting what he did that was beyond his age and experience. He was the only candidate in his class at MIT 2 years later and then he continued with his journey through robotics and onto financial engineering. There was no problem too complex for him! I had intermittent contact with him via Facebook and LInked in. I got to know his news from Yuri on campus occassionally. And now Yuri is gone as well. I feel so sad and bewildered ans the only other time that has happened to me when my parents passed away. You are in my thoughts and my prayers are Mikhail and Yuri!!

Mikhail, it's been a few years since we last hung out, but your strength training book is still on my shelf. You'd be so proud of my numbers these days, man, though still not quite yet at your level. Take care and see you... Rest in peace.

A gentle man and a gentleman each time I had the pleasure to meet. RIP X

Our relationship was never significant but you have always been the person I think of when I play Diablo, and listen to Pink Floyd or Radiohead. To me you will always live on through those things. Any time I remember you, I just feel a calmness about you that nobody else has. When I found out you were gone, it felt like a part of me disappeared too. Thanks for letting me go to the secret cow level on your account in Diablo II back in the day. I'll be thinking of you when I go there again when the remaster comes out.

I first met Misha in Moscow a long time ago with his parents Yuri and Irina and I was so pleased that the family was able to come to live and work in Dublin. My family got to know Misha as a small boy who would come to our house with his parents and we had the privilege of watching him grow from the small kid who got off the plane in Shannon to a new world and a new life into a young man and then into this extraordinary smart guy so clearly loved by all his friends and colleagues around the world. I remember that he got the chance to play Gaelic football in Croke Park and that he later developed the love of music that is reflected in the playlist. But my best memories of Misha are just of walking across College Park and hearing that fantastic bright cheerful voice saying "Hi Dermot" and then he would tell me about what he was studying in computing and how into it he was. He would always cheer you up. We haven't seen him for a long time with our travels and his but we will remember him fondly always. Rest in Peace, Misha from Dermot, Jean, Clara and Sean

Dear Mikhail
We never met you but heard you were a fan.
Condolences RIP mate ❤️
Darren Emerson
X

Mikhail,

My dear friend and colleague,

May your brilliance, boundless energy, kindness and passion endure forever, and inside the many people that you touched.

Where Soever you go, go with all your heart.
For you will always be in our hearts.

It's not the last time...

Nick Shindo
Tokyo, Japan

On behalf of Eoin Bourke, colleague and of Mikhail's at KX in Tokyo:

Eoin Bourke:

Mikhail and I were colleagues at Kx. In my short time knowing him, it was clear he had a brilliant mind, but that’s only part of his story. He was principled in his beliefs, had a vision for how things should work and it was never just for his own benefit - he cared so much about the development of the people around him, encouraging everyone to think big and think creatively. That attitude earned admiration and respect from those around him. Strong willed and kind-hearted, I will miss him dearly.

My deepest sympathy for your loss,
Eoin

On behalf of Yang An, colleague and member of Mikhail's team of developers at KX:

Yang An:

Dear Mikhail's family:

I feel so sorry for your terrible loss.
Mikhail had been my manager upon my joining this company.
Mikhail had always been a fantastic mentor, he could always solve or give me direction on my questions.
It is a great honour and pleasure for me to work with him on the same project,
and I appreciated so much that he helped me a lot in understanding everything about my very first project.
I will never forget he was always caring and willing to help others and also his excellent professional talent in computer science.

Please accept my condolences to you.

My sincerest sympathy,
Yang

On behalf of Kazu Hiroshige, colleague and member of Mikhail's team of developers at KX:

Kazuhiko Hiroshige:

Dear Mikhail,

It is very sad that we cannot see and hear you anymore.
You saved us a lot of time.
Thank for your help, support, kindness, and generosity for us.

Kazuhiko

On behalf of Tomoaki Goto, colleague and member of Mikhail's team of developers at KX:

Tomoaki Goto:
I am sorry beyond words for your loss.
I joined as Mikhail's colleague in January, and he was really thoughtful and kind.
I regret that I could not spend more time with him. It was a pleasure to know Mikhail.
My condolences.

Tomoaki Goto

On behalf of Rena Kawasaki, colleague and member of Mikhail's team of developers at KX:

Rena Kawasaki:
I'm very sorry for your loss.

Mikhail had such a strong passion for computer science that he shared with us.
He deeply cared that we are driven by motivation, and was always coming up with creative projects that would spark that excitement.
A lot of the conversations we've had discussing these ideas were inspirational and fun.
I regret that we were not able to actualize those ideas, but I thank him for reminding me of all the aspirations I had when I joined this industry.

His intelligence, passion and insights will be missed and remembered by many of us.
I would like to offer my deepest condolences. 

Rena

There are so many stories, so many hilarious moments, but sadly (or perhaps ironically) few that are 'decent' enough to detail here. So instead, I'll just remember ...
Faithless, Underworld, Mauro Picotto, Ferry Corsten, Dave Clarke, Laurent Garnier, The Chemical Brothers, Jeff Mills, Radiohead, Aussie Pink Floyd, Richie Hawtin, Sasha & Digweed, Judge Jules, Eddie Halliwell, Boys Noize, Coldplay, Pete Tong, Timo Mass, Armin van Buuren and many, many more.
My life would have taken a very different path had I not have known you and called you my friend. You shall be missed mate, peace.

Dear Mikhail, you will be missed dearly, it is hard to describe in words how important you were during all the significant portions of my life and how much I always enjoyed hanging out with you. Here are some of the memories:
You were a day trader for options in Bitcoins before anyone had Bitcoins even on the radar - and I won’t forget our ambitions plans to build something like Venmo across borders... while we should have been doing our lab research. I could always count on yiu when I had to move house, you were such a good soul and a truly good friend. I won’t forget the countless poker nights we had, your poker face was always the best (and it is embarrassing how often I lost). The many times I was in a pinch and needed help with looking after little Colin, you always took the time and enjoyed it so much to hang out with him. When my life was going a bit belly up in 2015, you were there and helped me through all of it. All the times you accompanied me to work through the difficulties I was facing. Colin and I are very grateful for this. The secret Diet Coke club in the lab, you were the mastermind ensuring that the boss would not find out when your pals would have their acidic beverages together. I will never forgot how you all of the sudden decided to sign up as volunteers and go for long shifts to the MGH hospital and look over the shoulders of world-class surgeons, just so you could learn what can be improved about health care using computer vision, machine learning, big data techniques, and just your brilliant mind. You truly left a long-lasting impact through your research, there are many people out there grateful for your insights and results. I will never forget our endless discussions about philosophy and religion, you never got tired to keep going even when we already had spent several hours about the most obscure intricacies of life. And yeah, When everyone left town, Alex, you and I had our epic thanksgiving meals in the MIT student dorms. I will start again playing squash after the lockdown, it will remind me of all the fun times we spent the court together and hit the ball.
I could go on forever, but I will save this for my speech tomorrow. I know you are at a good place and I very much hope to see you again in your next life!
Yours, Robert

For as long as I can remember, my brother Eoin and Misha were best of friends. They had spent almost all of their years in school together, and Misha was more than a familiar face to our house in Rathmines. Even as Misha moved from Ireland to the US and onto Japan he and Eoin always remained in contact, and Eoin was always excited to tell us about the next great thing that Misha was working towards. I could tell that Eoin always looked up to Misha and the influence they had on each others' lives can't be understated.

Myself, Cormac and our mother Claire were extremely grateful when Misha made the long journey from Japan to Ireland for Eoin's funeral in 2019. Such an act of kindness, undertaken without hesitation, was no doubt an example of the kind person he had become. Despite the circumstances, it was a joy to meet Misha again after all those years.

From the O'Shea family, our condolences to all of Misha's family and friends, and I'm sure him and Eoin are having a great time listening to music and playing games once more.

Dear Mikairu,
I still remember the first time we met. Robert was trying to play matchmaker and he brought you to one of the MIT boat cruises to make the introduction... You looked tall, strong, with this smirky smile on your face, a really cute accent, soft voice, and an eyebrow ring that looked so rebel (especially for the MIT crowd :)). We went on a couple of dates and decided to be friends instead - I know, most of the time, people say that just to be polite, but we really became great friends... we talked about everything... music, life, depression, therapy, politics, meditation, love, dating, gambling, hippies, hamsters, drum and bass, boyfriends, girlfriends, and MIT. You quickly became one of my best friends I can talk about "forbidden things" with... and someone I knew I could lean on when the time got tough...
Fast forward, it is 2016 and we were both writing our PhD thesis... we made a pact - studying together at the student center, and send each other the finished chapters... all I remember now is the smell from Anna's Taqueria's burritos you ordered and the snacks we were trying to chew loudly with a bunch of undergrads around.... and those emails we sent to each other, very seriously timed, with the chapters...
You also helped me with the job-searching journey... and I will never forget when you said.. Alex, come on, you will get this job, you are perfect for the job!
When I went through a soul-crushing heartbreak in 2018, I came to you, in Tokyo... you and Lisa spent time with me every day.. you took me to the famous Robot show, shared with me your favorite Japanese whiskey, and took me to IAIDO, the Japanese sward experience, and probably the biggest electronics superstore in the world... we were making fun of all the cameras that were out of style, but we had so much fun!
I've always asked you and hoped that you'd move back to the US, so we could look after each other.. and now... you are looked after by God..
I miss you, my dear friend, Mikairu! I will never forget you!!

Hi Misha, I've been telling pretty much every person I know stories about you since I met you. You have a great sense of humor, a deep curiosity and a heart of gold. We had a lot of fun together, like when we moved all our house into my lab overnight, or when you became a Subway sandwich maker for ten minutes, but also when we just relaxed, had a slow-cooker dinner and a beer, and watched something on the TV. I only wish I had met you sooner. I'll see you again when it's time, for now I'll keep telling everyone your stories and how great you are.

Rest in peace, Mikhail. Please say hi to all the hammies (Krishna, Nate & his brother) that we raised. I'm sure they'd be glad to see you again. Thank you for everything you did for us, and all the time we had together.
Wherever you are right now, I hope you are happy. With love <3

Mikhail, you were such a fun and generous person. You helped make the lab a fun and inviting place. Creating the secret Diet Coke club with Jeff and John. :) You had a perpetual smile. I'm sorry our time was short.

Dear Misha,

Where to begin dude. I have so so many fond memories of our time together. For that I am eternally grateful to know such a unique person. I want to let you know that I have always looked up to you a lot. You were pretty much my role model growing up. If people didn't know you, I would likely be telling them about you. I could never get over how hilarious you could be, all the while having the brains to burn yet the mentality of self reliance, determination of will and 100% effort you seem to always apply throughout your life. You always had a new topic at hand. Be it music, science, gaming, MMA or any number of countless interests you passionately shared. I will never forget the many music gigs we'd hit and the chats late into the small hours. You were a big source of inspiration to me and others I'm sure of that.

I was so happy to see you home for Eoin's funeral, it was very hard, but seeing you there made it that much easier. I know you two will be right back to where you left off. I wish I could of shared some of your years in America and Asia, but I am delighted to know you were surrounded with loving people and you were living your best life. A truly kind friend to me and others. I will always miss you buddy.

R.I.P Misha, Love ya buddy.
Lahcen

Dear Misha, it was an absolute honour to have shared an amazing friendship with you, right from the very first day you started in St Louis Primary School. I still remember the day you walked into class with your mop of blonde hair and not a word of English! We had some great times together over the years, whether that was hanging out in Eoin O'Shea's in Rathmines or while in De La Salle College. You're humour and stupidity always made me laugh and you're intelligence used to blow me away! I'm so sorry we didn't keep in touch as much as I would have liked but Eoin and the lads used to keep me up to speed with your adventures. I was so happy to see you again at Eoin's funeral last January 12 months and I'm sorry you couldn't make it to my wedding the following April. The memories of our friendship will stay with me forever. Rest in peace pal, Derek

Mikhail, I only knew you a few years but very happy and privileged to have gotten to know you. It was great having someone else who grew up in Clondalkin and was also a fellow Trinity alumni on my doorstep here in Tokyo. We all loved your gentle and witty personality and the knowledge (that far exceeded everyone else’s!) you brought to pretty much every conversation. You will be dearly missed. RIP my friend

Hey Mikhail (dude!). It's been many years since we hung out, but my memory of you is as bright and vivid as ever. You made commons infinitely more interesting and enjoyable. From all these photos, it's no surprise to me to see how many people you've touched over the years, because you're such a genuine and decent guy, not to mention blisteringly intelligent. RIP my friend, see you again one day.

Mikhail, I didn't know you for long here in Tokyo, but in the short time I did I felt we really connected. In part, due to our shared interests (I will miss our UFC chats that no one else was interested in!) but mainly due to your kind, generous, gentle and warm nature which made you so easy to talk to. You were a light in this sometimes cold world that will be missed by many. Rest in peace my friend, I'll see you in time.... Aron.

Mikhail was one of the rare people (and for me, the only person) where you could talk about high-dimensional geometry and MMA matches in the same conversation.  I told him how I found it hard to exercise because of Covid lockdowns, then he went and ran a full-length marathon by himself through Tokyo.  It's my great loss to not be able to finish all the conversations that ended with "more on that over a beer in Tokyo".

Mikhail! I won't say goodbye. You'll be in my heart, forever. Rest in paradise, Mimi. There's nothing to worry about anymore.
I'll see you when the time comes. And I'll definitely punch you in the face when i meet you there, so Be ready for it!! Love you. lots of kisses & hugs.

Mikhail, I will always remember you as a dear friend who I can talk to about anything, at any time. You have a great mind and a soft heart, and you are a kind and supportive friend I've treasured.
May you rest in peace, and I will keep our memories in my heart.. ju jitsu classes, ice creams, the field, phoenix landing, the underground bar/dance club in Tokyo... and all the political debates we've had over the last 5 years.. I miss you!