Vladmir is both a great person and great teacher. Once you get past his heavy accent, he is a good lecturer. The class content is not very difficult especially if you took AP Physics. I will say his tests are very difficult and the class average are typically around 50% but if you pay attention in class and don't cheat on the homework its very manageable to get well above that. Vladmir's grading scale is very generous and he will most likely curve the exams tremendously.

Vlad is a kind-hearted old man who is undoubtedly a genius but lacks a few basic but critical skills to make this class manageable. His accent is definitely a factor to consider because at 8am he is unintelligible without 110% focus, which I often could not muster. The real kicker however was that the slides and formula were PREWRITTEN AND NOT DERIVED LIVE. No other math or science class that I've taken has ever had every formula prewritten and not allowed students to derive along with the professor. This makes it extremely difficult to remain engaged - instead of following along with the lecture, we would have to copy down the lecture frantically while Vlad rambled in the background.
The demonstrations that supposedly make mechanics interesting were mediocre at best, although that had more to do with faulty equipment than it did with Vlad's teaching. The tests were difficult but also closely rooted in textbook problems and curved somewhat generously with extra credit opportunities, so in theory they should have been approachable to a well-prepared student. The worked out solutions to homework problems would make a huge difference - I found them in week 8 but they would have greatly enhanced my understanding if they had been outright provided instead of pirated independently.

Overall, as far as Physics 1A goes Professor VVV is certainly not the worst possible options. He means well and wants his students to succeed because he is passionate about physics. Unfortunately, his inability to deliver lectures in a meaningful or engaging way is his one downfall, but thanks to my AP physics background I was able to skate by.

Before I go into detail, me and my friend made a deal with him to write a review in exchange for a picture with him (it was so funny, but he was so kind about it). Overall, he is a very nice person and is an entertaining lecturer that keeps you engaged, making the class pretty interesting (although I fell asleep often). You can tell he is passionate about physics, so it motivates you to actually want to learn from him, he teaches off of his slides and emphasizes key concepts that we circle back to in later chapters. You should definitely try to truly understand the examples and homework he assigns, if you're unsure about anything definitely go to his office hours (although I didn't go) or go to TA office hours to help clarify anything, our TA went over the homework problems and worked it out with us. His tests are pretty difficult (avg around 55% which he doesn't curve if it falls in the range of 51-59%), they aren't too similar to the homework and examples he gives but if you can solve those then you might be in a decent spot, there is also extra credit opportunities although they are even more difficult. There is pretty generous partial credit given so even writing the equation you think applies to the problem gets you credit, always write something b/c you have a good chance to get some credit for it. I think this class is manageable if you're willing to put in a lot of time and effort into it. The tests consist of 5 problems where he highlights the topic of each problem before the test, a formula sheet is provided but you are also allowed to bring your own formula sheet (which you should to have how equations relate to each other via derivations). The final isn't cumulative as well so that's a plus, also the homework has extra credit which you should always do to have a minor buffer for your grade, also there is a point deduction for each wrong response you give in the homework. Discussion is mandatory, the TA has a worksheet that he explains all the problems entirely which is pretty helpful (shoutout the goat Kewei Sun). Overall Vassiliev's class was enjoyable, difficult but doable, and worth taking imo especially if you have a friend you can experience this class with lol.

I am a physics major and his class made me hate doing physics even though I usually love it. His lectures genuinely make no sense, he has all the lecture problems pre-done on the slides so its very hard to follow what he did. His accent is so heavy and really hard to understand. His tests are extremely different from homework and textbook materials. If I hadn't taken AP Physics C in high school I would have failed. I don't think I learned anything from him directly, I relied on my TA and prior knowledge. I definitely would avoid this class if you want to learn physics. he has a pretty weird grading style, he is generous at times (like a 50% is a B-) and sometimes not. I just was upset because I wanted to actually learn, but he just assumed we knew way more than we did and likes to solve things the most difficult way possible where even the TAs would say he did it weird.

Nightmare class. Do not take. VVV is an extremely bad lecturer. A lot of the stuff he talks about (and is of course in the test) is not even in the textbook, and is not covered by other professors. Tests are insanely hard, and the lectures are extremely boring. PLEASE do not take this class, it will ruin physics for you, which is otherwise a very interesting field.

Vassiliev is a great guy and an amazing professor. It was hard to fall asleep in his class (the only problem is we had an 8am). He explains really well, and he is a super sweet person and will take the time to explain stuff in detail to you during office hours. However, that being said, his tests are insanely difficult. He makes his own questions so you can never find them anywhere else, and he never repeats questions from previous years. If he tells you that he's going to put questions similar to the ones in the homework, do not trust him. The only way you can get through this class is by practicing.

Also, if you get a low score don't worry. As long as you're around the class average (which is pretty low) you will do great! Plus, he curves very generously and adds the extra credit (from such questions on the test) after the curve.

There was very little opportunity for help and I feel as if the professor didn't teach to what was on the test. I also never did get past his accent. His slides are also horrible. I had no prior physics knowledge so this was quite the struggle.

I wouldn't recommend VVV for anyone who didn't take physics in high school. I took AP physics C and I agree with this previous review that said his lectures were only barely comprehensible with 110% focus. If you slip for one second, he leaves you in the dust as you scramble to copy down derivations that you don't fully understand. Personally, I feel like he overcomplicated introductory physics. Our TA Noah was the only TA of the course and managed like 200 students. He was pretty goated tho and was the saving grace of this course.

There is generous extra credit from HW and exams. Try the HW and textbook questions w/o chatgpt. If you can, get your hands on past exams. In our class of 171, there were 10 A+, 12 A, and 29 A-. Overall, VVV means well, and wants students to succeed, but... doesn't really set people up to do that.

Avoid this class if you can.

He offers a lot of extra credit through homework and tests but tests are still extremely challenging (avg is around 50%)