One of the most fundamental results in combinatorial optimization is the polynomial-time 3/2-approximation algorithm for the metric traveling salesman problem. It was presented by Christofides in 1976 and is well known as "the Christofides algorithm". Recently, some authors started calling it "Christofides-Serdyukov algorithm", pointing out that it was published independently in the USSR in 1978. We provide some historic background on Serdyukov's findings and a translation of his article from Russian into English.

中文翻译：

---

关于度量旅行商问题的 3/2 近似算法的历史记录

组合优化中最基本的结果之一是度量旅行商问题的多项式时间 3/2 近似算法。它由 Christofides 于 1976 年提出，被称为“Christofides 算法”。最近，一些作者开始称其为“Christofides-Serdyukov 算法”，指出它于 1978 年在苏联独立发表。我们提供了有关 Serdyukov 的发现的一些历史背景以及他的文章从俄文翻译成英文的历史背景。