Novikov's original motivation was the theory, in the simply connected case, of Browder-Novikov and Wall, which led to the classification of manifolds in high dimensions. Novikov discussed his conjecture in a lecture given at the 1970 International Congress of Mathematicians in Nice where he received a Fields Medal .
Novikov ng orihinal na-uudyok ay ang teorya, sa simpleng connected kaso, ng Browder-Novikov at Wall, na humantong sa pag-uuri ng manifolds sa mataas na sukat. Novikov-usapan ang kanyang haka-haka sa isang panayam na ibinigay sa 1970 International Congress of Mathematicians in Nice kung saan siya ay nakatanggap ng isang patlang na medalya.