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Tournament of Towns: Mission
Table of Contents:
Development of Education in Russia:
Mathematics education formally began in Russia in 1701 when Peter the Great
founded the School of Mathematical and Navigational Sciences. Mathematics in
this school was taught by L. F. Magnitsky, the first professional teacher of
mathematics and the author of the first Russian course on mathematics.
The first gymnasiums were opened by decree of Catherine the Great in St.
Petersburg at the Petersburg Academy of Sciences, in Moscow at the Moscow
University and in Kazan. Later, by the edict of Alexander I, more gymnasiums
were opened gradually in all the principal towns of the Russian provinces.
However, the general understanding of the importance of education did not
spread in Russian society until the 1960s when ordinary people began to enter
gymnasiums, vocational schools and universities.
At the beginning of the 20th century the standard of mathematics teaching was
sufficiently high. The textbooks of that time are the models for later
generations. At about the same time, the system of extra-curricular
mathematical education began to develop in Russia. The first mathematical
study group was founded at the Moscow University. Students attended without
having to pay less. The journal Mathematics Education appeared, edited
by Professor B. K. Mlodzeevsky.
Next in the history of mathematics is the Soviet period. The development of
the public school system took place till 1960. But the standard of teaching
declined slightly, though it was still true to the old traditions established
by the great teachers of the past. There were only a few centers of highest
mathematical culture - Moscow, Leningrad and some regional centers. In the
1930s the new forms of extra-curricular activities appeared: mathematical
study groups and Olympiads at universities and later at municipal Education
Departments.
The second part of the Soviet period - from 1960 until recently - is
characterized by the fact that high mathematical culture extended beyond
urban centers and spread all over the country. The journal Quantum
appeared. The Russian Mathematical Olympiad became an All-Union affair.
Mathematics schools appeared everywhere.
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