Dmitrij Volkov, super-Poincare group and Grassmann variables

A fundamental role of the Hermann Grassmann anticommuting variables both in physics and mathematics is discussed on the example of supersymmetry. The talk describes how the D. Volkov question about possibility of the existence of Nambu-Goldstone fermions, realized by the Grassmannian variables, resulted in the discovery of the super-Poincare group, its spontaneous breaking and gauging.