Historical - mathematical studies in Moscow in the XX-th century

Active interest in the historical-mathematical research emerged in the mainstream of the nascent Moscow philosophical-mathematical school in Moscow. Already in 1867, in the second volume of "Mathematical Collection" published an article about the arithmetic treatise of Ibn al-Banna, Moroccan mathematician and astronomer XIII - XIV centuries, and in its 5 - 10 volumes in 1870 - 1883 a translating of "History of Geometry" by Michel Chasles came out as a special appendix. In 1872, Dean and Secretary of the physico-mathematical faculty of the University, A.U. David and V.J. Zinger, raised the question of the need to lecture the history of the mathematics. But they had to wait 10 years, until managed to realize this idea: only in the fall semester 1882 an optional course the history of mathematics privat-docent V.V. Bobynin (1849 - 1919) began to lecture an optional course the history of mathematics at Moscow State University. He had just defended his master's thesis on the history of ancient Egyptian mathematics. Bobynin became the first Russian professional historian of mathematics. It was Bobynin who made course on the history of mathematics as element in the students study in mathematics at Moscow University. The history of mathematics, both a scientific discipline and a subject of mathematics education, has particularly importance in periods of rapid development of mathematical schools: their collective self-consciousness, recognition of their own place in the world and the role of their activities are increasing, which is possible only in a historical perspective. Therefore, when school of the theory of functions of Egorov and Lusin appeared, Moscow came to the forefront of modern mathematics, the need for awareness of Muscovites their own place in the national and world science has escalated, which naturally increased the interest to the history of mathematics. This interest has been repeatedly reinforced by an ideological factor: Marxist philosophy was a kernel of new Soviet ideology, which attached to the history of science a particular importance. So the history of science, history of mathematics in particular, acquires special status. The logical consequence of this was the emergence of Historical-mathematical center in Moscow University (S.A. Yanovskaya, M.Y. Vygodskiy). The main objective was declared a construction of a Marxist history of mathematics. As part of this task it was designed course on the history of mathematics and a workshop was organized. It was founded in 1933, A.P. Yushkevich was also arraigned to its leadership. The scientific publication of mathematical manuscripts of Karl Marx was a certain ideal goal in those years. Therefore the history of the bases of mathematical analysis was the focus of Muscovites. Here were origins of Vygodskiy's reflections about Democritus ideas in the Calculus history, about the features of Euler's method of approaching to its principles, early Yushkevich's works on L.Carnot's philosophy of mathematics, or English philosophy of empiricism in its relation to the theory of fluxions. Of course, other relevant issues of the history of mathematics has got into the field of attention of Muscovites, such as works of Otto Neugebauer about Chaldean tradition. A research area of representatives of the school was expanding with its growth. By mid-century, a stable configuration of the Moscow center of historical-mathematical research took shape. Staff of Mechanics and Mathematics Faculty of Moscow State University, where the study the history of mathematics functioned (S.Yanovskaya, K.Rybnikov, I.Bashmakova and their students), and staff of Institute of History of Science and Technology of Academy of Sciences of the USSR, which were part of a problem group of history of mathematics (Yushkevich and his disciples), formed a core of the center. In addition to these a number of excellent professionals worked in many Moscow institutes. Research Seminar on History of Mathematics and Mechanics, Moscow State University, united their efforts. It has taken a head role in the field of history of mathematics in the country. Of course, a serious historical-mathematical work was outside the capital - a major centers of research were in Leningrad, Kiev, Tashkent, however, which is characteristic for our country, the extreme centralization of all social and cultural life, put Moscow in a special position, is determined by the concentration of all official structures, leading research and educational institutions. The totality of all the circumstances imparted to Moscow seminar a particular importance. Almost all the important achievements of Soviet scientists, national projects, approvals of theses were discussed here. Arriving to Moscow celebrities delivered lectures in this workshop. Already in 1948 there began publication of a leading historical-mathematical edition of the country - "Historical and Mathematical Research", with responsible editors A. Yushkevich and G. Rybkin. In Moscow, often enough were going all-USSR conferences on the history of mathematics, in 1973 an Institute of History of Science and Technology began to hold School on the history of mathematics. The central figure of the entire historical and mathematical activities in Moscow and in the country was A.Yushkevich, who set out to organize a powerful historical and mathematical school that covers (as far as this can be) the whole field of mathematical research activity of mankind since ancient times to the present day. His immediate disciples and followers developed the history of mathematics: the problems of the Middle Ages, mathematics 17-th - early 20-th century, national mathematics. According to his plan, one of the main directions of activity of the Soviet school was to be the creation of a multivolume work on the development of mathematics from ancient times to the mid-20th century. To solve this problem, he created a large team of authors in Moscow and other Russian scientific centers. In 1970 - 72 years the first three volumes covers the period from antiquity until the early 19th century, were published. For the continuation of this project, he has attracted to a management of the edition A.N. Kolmogorov, in cooperation with which has been prepared another three volumes (1978 - 1987), devoted to the development of mathematics in the 19th century. The development of mathematics in the first third of the 20th century was in the plan too. An important center of historical and mathematical research, perhaps the largest in the then world, has formed in Moscow in the course of this work. In our opinion, this center (and the entire Soviet historical and mathematical school) reached its peak in the 60s - 70s. It was then that took place in Moscow International Congress of Mathematicians (1966), and International Congress of historians of science (1971), which became a triumph of Soviet historians of mathematics. In the sequel (as well as in the whole of Soviet mathematics) a recession started slowly at first, and in the nineties dramatically, the causes of which were external circumstances known to all.