The book «Essays on the History of Computer Science in Russia» (edited by D.A. Pospelov and Ya. I. Fet) is a collection of various materials concerning the period of origin of computer science in Russia. Papers by leading specialists are included analyzing the ways of development of cybernetics in this country, as well as memoirs of the participants of these events, essays on most distinguished scientists and scientific schools, reprinting of some important papers of the ‘50s and ‘60s. A series of archive materials is published related to the activities of famous scientists of those days.
The dramatic history of the struggle for cybernetics in Russia followed by the recognition of the new science, its subsequent rapid development in the ‘60s which assured a front-rank position of the Russia computer science, as well as later events in the history of cybernetics and computer science in Russia, all deserves to enter the annals of the history of science.
The birth of cybernetics is usually associated with the publication, fifty ears ago, of Norbert Wiener’s book «Cybernetics or control and communication in the animal and the machine». In fact, 1998 may be considered an anniversary year in more than one sense: it has been 50 years since Wiener’s book was published, 40 years since it was first translated into Russian, and 40 years since the publication of the first original Russian monograph on cybernetics, the «Signal» by Igor Poletaev.
Therefore, the appearance of the present collection seems to be rather timely.
The book contains 70 articles, most of which are published for the first time. The book is in Russian, however, an English translation of the Summary, the Preface, and the Contents is also included. The volume has 664 pages, and is illustrated by 28 historical photographs.
The first paper is a comprehensive «Development of computer science in Russia» by Dmitri Pospelov. The main content of the book is divided into 6 parts entitled: Early history of Soviet cybernetics, Computer linguistics, Cybernetical problems of biology, Cybernetics in economics, Biographical materials, and Supplements.
The principal hero of this book is Professor Alexey Lyapunov (1911 – 1973) recognized as «the father of Russian cybernetics». Recently the IEEE Computer Society has honored several Computer Pioneers from Central and Eastern Europe. One of these Pioneers was Professor Lyapunov. As the Computer Society stated, Lyapunov «developed the first theory of operator methods for abstract programming and founded Soviet cybernetics and programming». We have included in the book materials on the honorable ceremony held in Moscow at the 1st October, 1997 where the President of IEEE computer Society presented Lyapunov’s «Computer Pioneer» medal to his daughter, Natalia Lyapunova.
Among the heroes of our book, several other true computer pioneers can be found: Leonid Kantorovich, Nobel Laureate, inventor of linear programming, Victor Glushkov, the founder of the first USSR Institute of Cybernetics in Kiev, academician and admiral Axel Berg, the Head of the Cybernetics Council of USSR Academy of Sciences, and others.
The book «Essays on the History of Computer Science in Russia» is, perhaps, the first such work on the history of Russian cybernetics. Moreover, because many computer scientists from the NIS and other Eastern European countries participated in the events described, the book can be considered as the first scientific publication concerning the history of cybernetics in Eastern Europe.