The Chair of Theoretical Cybernetics was founded in 1965 by A.A. Lyapunov, a well-known mathematician, the corresponding member of The USSR Academy of Sciences, who was the head of the chair till 1973. Later on, the chair was headed by A.P. Ershov, the corresponding member of The USSR Academy of Sciences, V.L. Makarov, the corresponding member of The USSR Academy of Sciences and Professor V.T. Dementyev.

Since 2010 Professor A.I. Erzin has been the head of the Chair.

Every year, about 30 students of the Department major at the Chair of Theoretical Cybernetics in the following areas:

• Operations research
• Optimization methods
• Discrete analysis
• Graph theory
• Scheduling theory
• Coding theory
• Optimal control
• Data analysis and automatic recognition.

The main objectives of the Chair are the following:

• to provide general and special courses, lectures, discussion sessions and special seminars for the students within main disciplines of mathematical cybernetics;
• to provide undergraduate and postgraduate students with specialization in mathematical cybernetics and its applications;
• to conduct scientific research according to the chair plans.