  This book is expository and is in Russian. It is shown how in the course of
solution of interesting geometric problems (close to applications) naturally
appear main notions of algebraic topology (homology groups, obstructions and
invariants, characteristic classes). Thus main ideas of algebraic topology are
presented with minimal technicalities. Familiarity of a reader with basic
notions of topology (such as 2-dimensional manifolds and vector fields) is
desirable, although definitions are given at the beginning. The book is
accessible to undergraduates and could also be an interesting easy reading for
professional mathematicians.
