They were not very tall, quite young, thirty-something men, who were walking around our department, wearing the badges of Lenin prize laureates. They had excellent suits on. All of this made an irresistible impression on us, because at that time the announced Lenin prize laureates were literally a handful, and we knew them. But these two guests were unfamiliar to us.
News travels fast among students.
It turned out that these mysterious people had come to the dean's office and accurately examined the students' records. Then, two or three days later, it turned out that they had chosen several candidates, with whom they wanted to have a talk. There were either 6 or 7 candidates chosen from the final year physics students. I got included in this list of potential candidates. The interview was private and concerned matters of physics, in order for them to get a picture of the candidate.