What Lebedev invented in computer science. Biography. The scientific feat of S.A. Lebedeva

At the time of the grandiose scientific breakthrough of the young Soviet state there was no such area of ​​science, wherever the true genius worked. And although the rights to the advanced Computer techologies rightfully belong to the Americans and the Japanese, nevertheless, at the dawn of the emergence of artificial intelligence, there were also Soviet scientists who made discoveries often in complete secrecy. Alekseevich was one of such scientists, who possessed exceptional genius and extraordinary creative potential, whose brief biography, it would seem, quite obviously leads us from the Faculty of Electrical Engineering to the creation of the first computer.

The beginning of the way

The pioneer of the era S., a brief biography of which is set out in this article, of course, had no idea at the origins of which discovery he was. The future academician was born in Nizhny Novgorod on November 2, 1902 into a family of intellectuals and teachers. In addition, his father was a writer, and his mother was from a noble family. It should be added that his sister, who took her mother's maiden name, Anastasia Mavrina, was a famous artist.

When the future academician turned 18, the family moved to the Russian capital. A year later, he went to study at the Bauman Moscow Higher Technical School at the Faculty of Electrical Engineering, where he studied for seven years and received a diploma in electrical engineering. In his final work, S. A. Lebedev, whose short biography gives rise to associations with the biographies of other Soviet scientists of that time, studied the problems of the power systems that were created in those years according to the developments of the State Commission for the Electrification of Russia.

Further work

After completing his studies, he continued to work in the field of electrification. For two years he worked at the All-Union Electrotechnical Institute. After the electrical engineering faculty of the technical school, which he graduated from, was allocated to a separate educational institution - the Moscow Power Engineering Institute - he moved there to teach. His research and their results were later used in the work of Soviet power plants and power lines.

After six years of teaching practice, S. A. Lebedev, whose short biography, unfortunately, cannot reflect the entire gamut of the research path along which he went, received the status of a professor. In 1939 he became an academician with his doctoral dissertation. The topic of his research this time was the theory of artificial stability of power systems.

War and the continuation of scientific activities

Of course, Lebedev, like any Soviet scientist, used his invaluable knowledge in the field of electricity and energy to help the Soviet military industry during the war with Nazi Germany. Basically, he was engaged in the development of projects for new types of weapons or the improvement of existing weapons. So, he owns a project of homing torpedoes. In addition, the stabilization system of a firearm on tanks during aiming also came out from under his pen. For his work, he was immediately presented with two awards - the Order of the Red Banner of Labor and in the Great Patriotic War of 1941-45. "

After the war, serious changes will take place in the professor's life - a new scientist, S. A. Lebedev, will appear. A short biography - a computer, or rather its prototype, will henceforth become its main goal - makes a sharp turn, after which not only laurels will await the scientist.

Moving to Kiev

It is worth noting that it was the original professor that led him to his future discovery. Energy (and everything related to it) required a huge amount of computation. At some point, the scientist was puzzled by the issues of automating computational processes. After the war, in 1946, he moved to Kiev. This is where the new invention comes in. Sergei Alekseevich will head the Institute of Energy at the Academy of Sciences of the Ukrainian SSR. Then he will become a member of the Academy of Sciences. A year later, the institute was reorganized, and S. A. Lebedev, whose short biography would be quite suitable as a plot for a historical drama, will head the Institute of Electrical Engineering.

As the biographers of the scientist note, during two years of work in Kiev, he summed up his research in the field of energy, co-writing with Lev Tsekernik a work on the device of generators for power plants. For her, the scientist was awarded the USSR State Prize. Then he devoted the next three years to digital computing. His research, development and results became fundamental for further work in this area.

First in continental Europe

It is worth noting that from the first days of work in the new place, Academician Lebedev organized a laboratory for modeling and computing, where they began to develop a model of a small electronic calculating machine (MESM). The work was carried out for more than two years. And in November 1950, the first launch was made. MESM was the prototype of the computer created later, and it was the first in continental Europe. And it was created by S. A. Lebedev. A short biography - the computer has become the main and most important invention of the academician - should talk about the glory that has instantly collapsed. However, the reality was quite different.

This is amazing, but they began to talk about the academician more or less only after his death. During the life of the scientist, no one wrote anything about him. And the reason for this is two objective factors. Since any progress begins with the military industry, and the creation of a computer presupposed the development of an anti-missile defense, the name of the great scientist was strictly classified, which is logical. But, in addition to this, Academician Lebedev himself possessed the rarest modesty and did not at all like communicating with journalists.

Merit

In the year of the first tests of the MESM, Academician Lebedev was recalled to Moscow to work at the Institute of Fine Mechanics and at the USSR Academy of Sciences. A high-speed electronic calculating machine (BESM) is being designed under his leadership. Later, two years later, he will head the institute, which later received his name.

The biography of S. A. Lebedev is filled with the joy of scientific discoveries, absolute genius and painstaking, unrestrained work. It's no joke to say that during his leadership of the institute, fifteen types of computers were created, starting with the first vacuum tubes and ending with super computers that worked on integrated circuits. Even in spite of a serious illness that forced him to leave the post of director since 1973, he continued to work from home. His latest developments formed the basis for the Elbrus supercomputer. The scientist died at the age of 72.

Perhaps you have read or seen articles on the portal about how the domestic industry of electronic computing technology developed. If not, then before reading this material, I recommend that you familiarize yourself with at least the first part.
So, the main figure in this story was the scientist Sergei Alekseevich Lebedev, who paved the way for all the current developments in Russia and the former Soviet Union. In 1948 he designed the first in the USSR "MESM" computer - the Small Electronic Counting Machine. His merits and work are remembered to this day. Prestigious awards, streets in cities are named in his honor, and most importantly, ITMiVT proudly bears his name - the Lebedev Moscow Institute of Precision Mechanics and Computational Engineering.

Within its walls, Sergei Alekseevich developed the most productive computer in the USSR "BESM" - the Big Electronic Counting Machine, which in many respects surpassed even the western counterparts of that time. In the Soviet Union, this was completely nonsense. Despite its name, "BESM" was more compact than another popular computer "Strela". For "BESM" required 100 square meters in the room, and for "Strela" as much as 800. Despite the reduced dimensions, "BESM" was much more productive than "Strela". Again, you can read more about the hardware.

Today we will talk about a quiet, modest man who did his job without wanting fame or money. He did this for himself, for his Motherland, for the future, which has already become real for you and me. There will not be a beautiful story of the "American Dream" of an ambitious entrepreneur who gave up everything for the sake of his business. This story is about an ordinary person, like you and me, who loved his family, loved his job, loved to study and teach, worked hard and hard, dreaming to change the world.

Childhood

Young Lebedev

Sergei Lebedev was born on October 20, 1902 in Nizhny Novgorod in Tsarist times.

Sergei's parents

Father Alexei Lebedev was a teacher and writer, and mother Anastasia Petrovna was a hereditary noblewoman. In addition to Sergei, Alexei and Anastasia also had the eldest daughter Tatyana.

Tatiana Alekseevna Lebedeva (Mavrina)

Just like Sergei, Tatyana Alekseevna was an outstanding person, but in the absolutely opposite area - in the creative one. All her life she was engaged in book illustrations and painting.

Tatiana Lebedeva in her youth

From 1921 to 1929 she studied at the Moscow Higher Artistic and Technical Institute "VKHUTEMAS", now known as RAZhViZ (Russian Academy of Painting, Sculpture and Architecture) named after Ilya Glazunov. For her work, in 1981, Tatiana was awarded the honorary order of the Honored Artist of the RSFSR.

So Sergey had worthy people in his family, who served as an example for him, thanks to whom they brought up love for the homeland, courage and patience in the young man, without which he could not achieve such heights. In the same year as his sister, Sergei entered the Bauman Moscow Higher Technical School.

Student years

During his studies, Sergei loved sports. Active hobbies were an integral part of his life. He often took part in group hikes in the mountains, skiing and river rafting. And all this did not interfere with the pursuit of science.

The topic of his thesis was the problem of power system installations. The whole process of writing the thesis took two years. The process was led by the Russian and Soviet electrical engineer Karl Adolfovich Krug, who owns many scientific works on induction motors, as well as on the problems of converting electric current.

After defending his diploma, Sergei becomes a teacher at the Moscow Power Engineering Institute (MEI). In 1936, he received the title of professor, having defended his doctorate on the theory of stability of energy systems. In 1939 he defended his thesis for a doctorate. In the early 1940s, Sergey was engaged in the design of the famous Kuibyshevskaya hydroelectric power station (now the Zhigulevskaya hydroelectric power station) on the Volga River. Even today, this hydroelectric power station is the second largest hydroelectric power plant in Europe.

He combined his main work with a hobby, which consisted in the development of a device for calculating differential equations. This project, on which Sergey worked, became the starting point before designing the famous MESM (Small Electronic Computing Machine).

The Great Patriotic War

Unfortunately, the Great Patriotic War postponed the plans of the young scientist for several years. Wanting to defend his homeland, in 1941, Sergei joined the ranks of the people's militia, since by age he was not subject to military conscription. As a result, he was not taken to the front, since VEI (All-Russian Electrotechnical Institute) urgently moved to Sverdlovsk for the period of hostilities, where Lebedev continued to engage in teaching.

At this time, Sergei's family was in poverty. They had to live in barns and other temporary shelters. In 1943, the threat of an attack by the fascist invaders on Moscow passed. And all the staff of the institute, together with Sergei, returned back to the white stone.

Experienced, incredibly terrible and bloody era influenced the scientist in the future. One of the applications of his computers was the development of anti-aircraft defense technology. Lebedev himself personally participated in the work on them together with the USSR army. He was not interested in the murder weapon. What he worked on was intended to protect the homeland from military incursions from the air. So many modern Russian defense complexes also take roots from the developments of Sergei Alekseevich.

Creation of MESM

At first, the scientist's attempts to develop the creation of computing devices were not taken seriously by the organizational bureau of the Soviet Union. The scientist almost lost heart, however, on the recommendation of his friends, Lebedev moved to the Kiev Institute of Energy to take the post of its head.

In 1947, the institute was divided into two separate institutions, one of which was engaged in heat power engineering, and the other in electrical engineering. Lebedev became the director of the Institute of Electrical Engineering, which finally allowed him to organize a laboratory, in which, together with his colleagues, he began to develop the first computer.

In one of the points above, I mentioned that Lebedev was working on the design of the Kuibyshev hydroelectric power station and at the same time was engaged in research in the field of computer technology. Because of the Great Patriotic War, he had to postpone these studies on the back burner. At that time not a single computer had been created in any country in the world. So, if not for the attack of Nazi Germany, the USSR could have become the country in which the world's first computer was developed. But this happened a little later.

In 1949, Lebedev began the first work on the design of the MESM. About 42 people took part in its creation. After the launch, it was debugged around the clock. Lebedev himself did not leave his workplace for days, remaining with his brainchild. After successful testing by engineers, it was recorded that the machine could solve complex equations that would take a long time to solve even for a well-educated person.

After that, a report on the work done was sent to the supervisory authorities. This time the work of the scientist was duly appreciated by the authorities. For this, in 1952, Lebedev was appointed head of the institute in Moscow.

The building in which the work on the MESM was carried out is located in Feofaniya on Akademika Lebedev Street, 19

MESM is the first computer developed in Europe.

BESM

Having gained vast experience in the development of MESM, Sergei Lebedev immediately applied it to the creation of another project - the Large Electronic Computing Machine (BESM). There is a legend that Lebedev wrote down the entire scheme of the new computer on the packages of Kazbek cigarettes. Lebedev himself chuckled sarcastically when asked about the veracity of this legend.

And only a few saw huge thick notebooks, covered with diagrams of the computer in the smallest detail.

BESM was the most productive computer in Europe at that time. She could perform ten thousand operations per second. Due to such computational capabilities, BESM complexes were actively used in research and military institutes for complex calculations requiring high accuracy. The launch of the first artificial satellite, and then a man into space, would have been impossible without the computers created by Lebedev.

Later, Lebedev developed the next generations of BESM - (BESM-2 - BESM-6), as well as a separate line of supercomputers M-20, M-40, M-50. You can learn more about all this in our article about the "early computers" released in the Soviet Union.

In the early 1970s, Sergei Lebedev, who was an academician of the Russian Academy of Sciences, was faced with a difficult task - to create a computer with a computational speed of about 100 million operations per second. At that time, even abroad, there was no computer with a similar performance. This is how the Elbrus project was born, which lives on to this day.

Lebedev chose this name for a reason. In his youth, being a lover of outdoor activities, he managed to conquer the highest mountain peak in Russia and Europe - Elbrus.

I must say on my own that there is a certain symbolism in this. After all, creating a high-class and super-productive computer, which has no analogues anywhere else, is just as difficult as conquering Elbrus.

At that time, there was a tendency to copy Western IBM computers. Lebedev was an ardent opponent of this, since he believed that without unique developments and inventions of his own technologies, domestic science could stop developing and begin to degrade. Unfortunately, Lebedev's words did not really affect anything. And over time, clones of IBM began to become the main models of Soviet computers.

Fortunately, today, albeit in a very dubious implementation, the creation and development of domestic computer technology is beginning to improve. I really hope and believe that in the future the quality indicators of Russian technological products and industries will improve. And perhaps we will use devices that are being developed and assembled in our native land.

Last years

Sergei Alekseevich Lebedev died in the summer of July 3, 1974 at the age of 71 from a serious illness. All his life he was surrounded by the most the best people- your family, friends, colleagues. He was a very caring and hardworking person. He loved his homeland. While still in his native Volga region, he vowed to serve his fatherland forever and continued to do so until the end of his days.

During the analysis of the documentation belonging to the scientist, one folder was allocated - these were drawings and detailed descriptions of the very first MESM computer, created by Lebedev. It was signed with the words “Keep forever”.

Academician Sergei Alekseevich Lebedev (1902−1974) - an outstanding electrical engineer, power engineer and the founder of domestic computer technology.

The first half of his life, Sergei Alekseevich devoted to the problems of electric power engineering and automation, and the second - to the creation of electronic digital computers. And everywhere he was accompanied by tremendous scientific success, which entailed recognition of his services not only in our country, but also abroad.

Sergey Alekseevich was born on November 2, 1902 in Nizhny Novgorod in the family of the writer Alexei Ivanovich Lebedev and Anastasia Petrovna Mavrina. From childhood, the future scientist was fond of technology, photography, loved music, art, theatre.

Years of study at the Moscow Higher Technical School. N.E. Bauman (MVTU), then the Institute of Mechanics and Mathematics, were for Sergei Alekseevich a time not only of intensive studies, but also of the first scientific searches.

After graduating from the institute in 1928 S.A. Lebedev becomes a teacher at the Moscow Higher Technical School. N.E. Bauman and a junior researcher at the All-Union Electrotechnical Institute (VEI), where he worked until 1946. At VEI, Sergey Alekseevich dealt with the problems of stability and regulation of power systems. In the same years, his abilities as a leader and organizer of science were manifested.

In 1935 S.A. Lebedev received the title of professor, in 1939, without being a candidate of sciences, he defended his doctoral dissertation related to the theory of artificial stability of power systems developed by him. For 10 years, he headed the VEI automation department. During the war, Sergei Alekseevich completely switched to defense topics.

In 1945, under the leadership of the scientist, one of the country's first electronic analog computers was created for solving systems of ordinary differential equations, which are often found in problems related to power engineering.

In 1946 S.A. Lebedev was invited to the Academy of Sciences of Ukraine as director of the Institute of Energy. A year later, the Institute of Energy split into two, and S.A. Lebedev became the director of the Institute of Electrical Engineering of the Academy of Sciences of Ukraine. Here, together with L.V. Tsukernikom Lebedev carried out research on the management of power systems and the development of automation devices that increase the stability of power systems. In 1950 they were awarded the USSR State Prize.

Solving problems of electrical engineering and power engineering with the help of analog computers, S.A. Lebedev came to the formulation of the problem of creating a digital machine.

In 1946, at the Institute of Electrical Engineering of the Academy of Sciences of Ukraine, Sergey Alekseevich headed research in the field of computer technology, the result of which was the creation of the first domestic computer - a small electronic calculating machine (MESM).

At the beginning of 1957 S.A. Lebedev writes: “... In 1948−1949. I have developed the basic principles of building electronic calculating machines. Considering their exceptional importance for our national economy, as well as the lack of any experience in their construction and operation in the Union, I decided as soon as possible to create a small electronic calculating machine, on which it would be possible to study the basic principles of construction, check the methodology for solving individual problems and gain operational experience ... ”.

In the minutes of the Academic Council of the Institute of Electrical Engineering and Heat Power Engineering of the Academy of Sciences of Ukraine, it was noted "According to foreign literature, the design and construction of the machine has been carried out for 5-10 years, we want to build the machine in 2 years."

In the book How It Began, the main assistants of S.А. Lebedeva L.N. Dashevsky and E.A. Shkabar recalls: “... At the end of 1951, a very representative commission of the Academy of Sciences of the USSR arrived in Feofania from Moscow to commission the MESM. This commission was headed by Academician M.V. Keldysh. I passed the MESM exams for three days. And although the exams were not competitive, since she had no competitors, everyone was terribly worried. Academicians with impenetrable faces walked from the MESM room, where they asked her all sorts of "tricky tasks," to Sergei Alekseevich's office, and there they conferred for a long time. And our MESM went out to people. The jubilation was universal. Finally, the tests were completed, and the commission decided: to take the car into operation from December 25, 1951. "

25 years after the creation of the first universal computer in our country, the documentary"Keep forever", which includes the most unique shots of the work of this machine. Only a few minutes on the screen MESM counts (executes the program), but these shots make a very strong impression and are remembered forever.

After MESM, the creation of a specialized computer SESM began for solving systems of linear algebraic equations. The main ideas for constructing the SESM were put forward by S.A. Lebedev.

In 1950 S.A. Lebedev began the development of BESM (High-Speed ​​Electronic Counting Machine). In March 1950, he was appointed head of the laboratory of the Institute of Precision Mechanics and Computer Science (ITMiVT), the director of which was Academician M.A. Lavrentiev. In the first quarter of 1953, BESM was established, and in April 1953 it was accepted into operation by the State Commission. Due to the shortage of cathode-ray tubes, which were then supplied only for the Strela computer, for the first three years the BESM was operated with memory on acoustic mercury tubes, which reduced its performance several times. In 1956 BESM was adopted by the State Commission for the second time - with memory on potentioscopes.

In 1956 the report of S.A. Lebedev about BESM at the international conference in Darmstadt made a sensation - BESM was at the level of the best American machines and the fastest in Europe.

In 1953, Sergei Alekseevich was elected a full member of the USSR Academy of Sciences. At a banquet on the occasion of the election of new members of the Academy S.O. Schmidt said: "Today we have chosen two remarkable scientists as Academicians - SA Lebedev and AD Sakharov."

In 1955 S.A. Lebedev began the development of the M-20 (the number in the name indicated the expected performance - 20 thousand op./s). At that time no other machine in the world had such a speed of computation. In 1958, the State Commission adopted the M-20 and recommended it for serial production. For the first time in domestic practice in M-20 S.A. Lebedev, in order to increase productivity, the combination of the operation of the arithmetic device and the selection of instructions from memory, the introduction of buffer memory for the arrays of data issued for printing, the combination of input and output of data with the count, etc. were implemented. Later, semiconductor versions of the M-20 were developed, implementing the same architecture: - M-220 and M-222.

In April 1959, a delegation of Soviet computer specialists headed by Academician S.A. Lebedev, visited the United States of America, in particular, IBM, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Harvard, Philadelphia, Washington, National Bureau of Standards in New York. And everywhere they were warmly greeted by representatives of universities, the largest firms in America. The obstacles caused by the Cold War did not prevent the scientists of the two countries from fruitfully communicating, sharing their accumulated experience in the field of computer technology and discussing all the problems that arose.

Under the leadership of S.A. Lebedeva ITMiVT, after completing work on lamp BESM-2 and M-20, began designing a semiconductor BESM-6, which had a speed of 1 million op./s. State Commission chaired by M.V. Keldysh accepted BESM-6 with a high assessment and recommended it for serial production. BESM-6 had complete software. Many leading programmers of the country took part in its creation.

On the basis of BESM-6, computing centers for collective use for scientific organizations, systems for automating scientific research in nuclear physics and other fields of science, information and computing systems for processing information in real time were created. It was used to simulate the most complex physical processes and control processes in design systems software for new computers. BESM-6 was produced by the Moscow plant SAM for 17 years.

For the development and implementation of BESM-6, its creators (from ITMiVT - S.A. Lebedev, V.A.Melnikov, L.N.Korolev, L.A. Zak, V.N. A. Sokolov, A. N. Tomilin, M. V. Tyapkin, from the CAM plant - V. A. Ivanov, V. Ya. Semeshkin) were awarded the State Prize.

ITMiVT together with the CAM plant based on BESM-6 developed the AC-6 computing system, the modular organization and unified exchange channels of which made it possible to build decentralized multi-machine computing systems. The AC-6 operating system provided operation in the modes of batch processing, remote batch processing, time sharing, and real time. AC-6 was used for data processing and control in systems space experiments, as well as in a number of computing centers of large research organizations.

For 20 years, Sergei Alekseevich headed the team of thousands of the Institute of Precision Mechanics and Computer Engineering (ITMiVT) of the USSR Academy of Sciences.

Specialized computers created under the leadership of S.A. Lebedev for the missile defense system, became the basis for achieving strategic parity between the USSR and the United States during the period " cold war". In 1952−1955, a student of SA Lebedev, VS Burtsev, specialized computers" Diana-1 "and" Diana-2 "were developed for automatic data retrieval from the radar and automatic tracking of targets. Defense (missile defense), the general designer of which was G.V. Kisunko, in 1958 the M-40 tube computer was proposed, and a little later the M-50. The creators of the first missile defense system received the Lenin Prize. , SA Lebedev and VS Burtsev.Sergey Alekseevich Lebedev died on July 3, 1974 in Moscow.He was buried in the Novodevichy cemetery.

Sergei Alekseevich Lebedev, a talented scientist and organizer, is rightfully considered the founder of domestic computer technology. The name of S.A. Lebedev now wears ITMiVT, which has a small museum. The students of S.A. Lebedev created their own scientific schools and teams.

The world scientific community recognized the merits of S.A. Lebedev in 1996, having awarded him the title of "Pioneer of Computer Engineering".

“... He lived and worked during the period of rapid development of electronics, computer technology, rocketry, space exploration and atomic energy. As a patriot of his country, Sergei Alekseevich took part in largest projects I.V. Kurchatov, S.P. Koroleva, V.M. Keldysh, who ensured the creation of the shield of the Motherland. In all their works, the role of electronic computers created by Sergei Alekseevich, without exaggeration, is enormous. His outstanding works will forever be included in the treasury of world science and technology, and his name should stand next to the names of these great scientists, ”wrote academician B.Ye. Paton.

Prepared by:

Smolevitskaya M.E. - Pioneer of domestic computer engineering Sergei Alekseevich Lebedev (1902−1974) // Problems of cultural heritage in the field of engineering: collection of articles. - Issue 4. - M., 2003 .-- P.64−89.

The article is dedicated to the 105th anniversary of the birth of Academician S.A. Lebedev - an outstanding scientist and engineer, the founder of domestic electronic computing technology, the creator of 15 types of computers, including the legendary BESM series.

Computers and digital technology have become so firmly established in our lives that they are now taken for granted. And few people ask themselves questions about who and by what labor paved the way to modern information technologies. Unfortunately, over the years of artificially created informational closure of the state, a stereotype of national computer nihilism has developed in the minds of many people. Meanwhile, knowing the facts of the development of science and technology firsthand, we can safely talk about the presence of deep roots and traditions of domestic computer engineering, which we have had world-class achievements in this area.

The story about the contribution of Academician Sergei Alekseevich Lebedev to the formation of electronics and computer technology both in our country and in the world is intended to contribute to the awareness of the true scale of the participation of our compatriots in world computer history.

According to the president Russian Academy Sci. Academician Yu.S. Osipov, unique developments of S.A. Lebedev "determined the main road of world computer engineering for several decades to come." It was Academician Lebedev who created in the difficult post-war years the first domestic computer and subsequent more and more efficient computers. The advent of electronic computers was a scientific and technological revolution that radically changed the development of society.

The scientific feat of S.A. Lebedeva

Any significant scientific discovery is preceded by years of tireless research and work. After graduating from the Moscow State Technical University. Bauman in 1928, Sergei Alekseevich devoted himself to work in the field of electrical engineering. The results of his work were used in the commissioning of the first domestic power plants and high-voltage transmission lines. Already in 1939 S.A. Lebedev, bypassing his Ph.D., defended his doctoral dissertation on the theory of artificial stability of power systems.

After Germany's attack on the Soviet Union, the future academician volunteered for the militia, but due to the strategic importance of the work performed, he was not released to the front. Lebedev continued his research and, during the war, developed a torpedo homing at emitting or reflecting radiation targets, as well as an automatic homing system for an aircraft torpedo and a stabilization system for a tank gun when aiming.

The creation of such systems required an enormous amount of computation. It was this circumstance that led the scientist to understand the need to automate computational processes. In 1945, S. A. Lebedev creates the first analog computer for solving a system of ordinary differential equations. Sergei Alekseevich had really great courage and believed in his own strength. At the age of 45, already a famous scientist, he took up a completely new direction in the creation of computer technology.

Sergei Alekseevich's enthusiasm for the new business was so all-consuming that when in 1948 he was invited to speak at the Paris International Conference on Large Electric Power Systems, he, having prepared the report "Artificial Stability of Synchronous Machines", entrusted another person to read this work. And he himself did not go to the conference - he was so immersed in the development of the principles of the operation of an electronic calculating machine.

As you know, abroad the principles of computer engineering and electronic accounts were developed by von Neumann, the classical computer architecture is called "von Neumann". The scientific feat of Lebedev lies in the fact that in the conditions of information isolation of those years, Sergei Alekseevich came to the same conclusions as von Neumann, but six months earlier.

The developed theoretical calculations allowed Sergei Alekseevich to move on to practical work. The first significant result was the Small Electronic Computing Machine (MESM), which was accepted into operation by the commission in 1951, and in 1952 it was already solving important scientific and technical problems in the field of thermonuclear processes, space flights, rocketry, long-distance transmission lines, etc. In Kiev, in National Academy Sciences of Ukraine, where the MESM was created, the design documentation and folders with materials about the first domestic computer have been preserved, most of which were compiled by S.A. Lebedev. Someone's hand more than 50 years ago was written on them: "To keep forever."

Folder with materials about the first Russian computer Block diagram of BESM development

Sergey Alekseevich Lebedev

BESM-6

Computer Pioneer Award Medal for Outstanding Innovation in Computer Science

In parallel with the final stage of work on the MESM in 1950, the development of the first Large (later renamed to High-Speed) Electronic Computing Machine began. The development of BESM was carried out already in Moscow, in the laboratory of ITMiVT, which was headed by S.A. Lebedev. And here his scientific talent as a constructor-practitioner manifested itself.

In those years, there was no own element base, the necessary structures for computing units, cooling systems. We had to make the chassis and stands ourselves, drill and rivet, mount and debug various variants of triggers, totalizers counters, check them for reliability in operation.

Sergei Alekseevich was always at the center of these works, often re-soldering circuits with a soldering iron in his hands, making the necessary changes to them, correcting found problems. He unmistakably found out-of-order radio tubes and parts. After a busy, hard day, SA Lebedev would sit at the console or oscilloscope until 3-4 o'clock in the morning, debugging the machine.

Strenuous intellectual work and an overloaded schedule, however, did not prevent the scientist from remaining calm and prudent in any situation. When a local fire broke out at the institute on the first floor, where the already assembled and prepared for state tests BESM was located, Sergei Alekseevich, without losing a second, resolutely said: "Turn off all electricity." The car was not damaged. Perhaps the decisiveness of its creator saved that first copy of the legendary computer.

SA Lebedev combined the talent of a scientist-researcher with the remarkable abilities of an organizer and inspirer of works. He knew how to select a strong team, to captivate it with work and to concentrate all efforts to solve a common problem. In the 50s, when the country, exhausted by the war, did not have enough scientific personnel, Lebedev made a bet on young people - and he was not mistaken. He gathered around him talented students - graduates and graduates of MSTU, MEPhI, MIPT. For the students of S.A. Lebedev, the development of BESM became the start of scientific activity, later many of them became famous scientists, academicians.

In the ITMiVT Museum, a half of a notebook sheet from the manuscript of Sergei Alekseevich has been preserved - it contains a detailed structural diagram and a calendar plan for the development of BESM. It is surprising that the entire car, which in reality occupied 100 sq. m, fit on a small piece of paper. But this required a tremendous strain of intellectual and physical forces - the substantiation and theoretical calculations on BESM took dozens of thick notebooks from Lebedev.

As a result, the colossal work was rewarded with a victory - the conceived computer was created. The first BESM launch took place in the fall of 1952, and it passed state tests in 1953. In the same year, Lebedev became the director of the Institute of Precise Mechanics and Computer Science and a full member of the Academy of Sciences of the USSR in the Department of Physical and Mathematical Sciences. He became the first academician to specialize in calculating devices.

A remarkable fact of history - the report on our achievements presented by S. A. Lebedev in October 1955 in Darmstadt (FRG) at the International Conference on Electronic Computing Machines made a sensation - the BESM was recognized as the fastest machine in Europe. Its performance turned out to be a record - 8,000 op / s.

Sergei Alekseevich's student, academician V.A. Melnikov emphasizes in his memoirs: “The genius of S.А. Lebedev consisted precisely in the fact that he set a goal taking into account the prospects for the development of the structure of the future machine, knew how to choose the right means for its implementation in relation to the capabilities of the domestic industry. "

After the triumphant victory of BESM, under the leadership of Lebedev, work immediately began on the next version of the computer, with improved characteristics: increased speed, more memory, increased time of stable operation. This is how the following versions of the BESM family appeared - BESM-2, BESM-3M, BESM-4. These machines have already been mass-produced at the ZSAMM Counting and Analytical Machines Plant, first in dozens of copies, then in hundreds.

The best in the BESM series is the famous BESM-6 - the world's first serial "million-plus" (1 million op / s). The chief designer implemented in it many revolutionary solutions for that time, thanks to which the machine survived three generations of computing technology and was produced for 17 years. During this time, about 450 machines were produced, which is an absolute record for a supercomputer class computer. Until now, the last copy of BESM-6 has survived, operating near St.Petersburg in Training center Navy.

The development of BESM-6 is a vivid example of S.A. Lebedev's creative approach to the creation of a computer, taking into account all the possibilities of the technical base, mathematical modeling of structural solutions, as well as production to achieve the best characteristics of the machine. Do not forget that the production of BESM computers has created real conditions for the emergence of several domestic schools for the development of software for these computers, original in their architecture.

The role of the scientist is also great in the development of computer software. Sergey Alekseevich Lebedev was one of the first to understand the importance of system programming and the importance of cooperation between programmers-mathematicians and engineers in the creation of computer systems that include software as an integral part. On his initiative, a mathematical software laboratory was organized at ITMiVT, which developed system software for all systems created at the institute.

The creative energy of Sergei Alekseevich was enough to conduct both scientific projects and specialized ones intended for defense purposes. To strengthen the strategic parity of the state, ITMiVT developed a line of computers M-20, M-40, 5E92, on the basis of which the first Moscow anti-missile defense system was built.

In March 1961, the state successfully tested the first anti-missile system - it was repeatedly possible to shoot down a real ballistic warhead with a volume of 0.5 cubic meters with almost a direct hit. According to eyewitnesses, during the first tests there was a hitch, which became, probably, one of the most dramatic moments in the life of S.A. Lebedev and the employees participating in the tests. The target was launched, it was guided by all locators. The programmer presses a button, marking the target on the screen. Following the launch of an anti-missile missile, its flight was supposed to last 3 minutes, and then a computer malfunction occurs.

However, in two minutes, the malfunction is eliminated by the forces of ITMiVT employee Andrei Mikhailovich Stepanov, and the anti-missile, guided by the computer network, knocks down the ballistic missile. The computer screen displays the inscription: "Target detonation". The next day, the data of the film-photo registration confirmed: the head part of the ballistic missile fell to pieces.

One more interesting fact: The first computer network was created by Lebedev at the Sary-Shagan training ground in 1956, just during the tests of the missile defense system. The Americans somehow found out about this and began work on the creation of a network that later became the "World Wide Web" - the Internet.

On the basis of BESM-6, the AS-6 multicomputer complex was created, which was used for 15 years in spacecraft flight control centers to process information in real time. So in 1975, with a joint flight spaceships Our AS-6 "Soyuz" and "Apollo", processing the information, calculated the flight trajectory data in 1 minute, while for the American side such a calculation took half an hour.

None of the types of machines S.A. Lebedev was not a copy of any foreign computer, everything was created on its own scientific basis, using original approaches to solving theoretical and applied problems. And this is the manifestation of the high intellectual abilities of a truly outstanding Russian scientist and his scientific feat.

Modest person and strong leader

Sergei Alekseevich was a modest man and even a little shy. He always knew how to find mutual language with their young colleagues, and they treated him with great and sincere respect. He combined kindness and trust in people, high adherence to principles and exactingness. He rarely raised his voice to anyone. If his order was not completed on time, he would pick him up and do the task himself. Such "punishment" was remembered better than any severe reprimands.

Personal example from S.A. Lebedeva was the main principle of education. ITMiVT recalled such a case for a long time. There was very little time left to complete the BESM project, but there were still some imperfections. Someone said: "We will not make it in time, there are few days left." Sergei Alekseevich replied: "We will have time, there are still nights, work well at night - no one interferes." He worked, sometimes, for three days, without leaving the workplace, forgetting about fatigue, and carried away others by his example.

Companions of the academician recall another episode, which remarkably characterizes the adherence to principles of S.A. Lebedev regarding the assessment of the merits and demerits of his work and scientific inventions. The State Commission accepted the BESM-6 machine in combination with its software, which was a new precedent for the acceptance of computer technology. By the time the commission was presented, the D-68 operating system did not fully meet the terms of reference for its development.

Responsible for the complex as a whole, chief designer S.A. Lebedev insisted that the D-68 developers themselves list all the existing flaws in the operating system, although many of them could well have been silent. As a result, the honesty and objectivity of the scientist conquered the State Commission, which accepted the complex as a whole, proposing to eliminate the deficiencies noted by the developers, which was done on time.

Sergei Alekseevich Lebedev was able to create an atmosphere of a large and friendly family at the institute. Many colleagues often visited his home for family holidays, and went to work in such a mood as they come to their home. Together with all employees, Sergei Alekseevich took part in the improvement of the territory of the new ITMiVT building on Kaluzhskoe highway (now Leninsky prospect), planted trees and ornamental shrubs that bloom in spring and now.

Sergei Alekseevich paid much attention to the development of independence in his students and employees. If the solution proposed by the student was not worse than his experience, then the employee's proposal was often taken as the basis.

Despite his kindness and gentleness towards colleagues, contemporaries noted his decisiveness and even categoricalness when it came to matters of principle. Once Lebedev was summoned to the Central Committee, where he was asked to start copying foreign computers instead of developing his own machines. Lebedev firmly refused. Unfortunately, his position did not stop the ministers of those years.

Another characteristic feature of S.A. Lebedev was that he never demanded of himself special privileges, relying on his academic status, has never separated himself from the research team. During the difficult tests at the Sary-Shagan training ground, in living conditions that were far from comfortable, he lived in the same place as his employees, and ate in the same canteen.

Sergei Alekseevich was not a “armchair scientist”. In his intense intellectual life there was a place for rest. Whenever the opportunity to take a vacation appeared, he always chose an active vacation - mountain climbing or kayaking. Lebedev's son Sergei, talking about his father's manner of resting, emphasized how S.A. Lebedev skillfully spent his strength, chose a uniform rhythm and calmly walked towards the goal. Sergei Alekseevich always applied this approach “to hurry slowly” in his work, painstakingly creating another computer.

The life of Academician S.A. Lebedeva lives

For our country, the creation of our own computing technologies was a great breakthrough. Sergei Alekseevich, back in the distant 60s, understood that electronic computing technology would be one of the most powerful means of scientific and technological progress, would have a tremendous impact on the development of science, economy and defense of the country. Subsequently, in one of his articles, he wrote: "The introduction of such machines, the reorganization of human mental labor according to their results can be compared only with such a stage in human history as the introduction of machine labor instead of manual labor."

The first BESM became the basis for a series of 6 generations of machines that made a huge contribution to the development of domestic science and technology: in space exploration, in the nuclear industry, in the creation of antimissile defense. Without a doubt, without Lebedev's computer technology in these industries it would be difficult to achieve such results. This contribution was so significant that it was highly appreciated by the designers themselves, in whose interests the computers were created.

Academician Korolev said that without the machines made in time by Lebedev, it would be difficult to start exploring space. Even in the famous formula 3K - as journalists called the classified scientists I.V. Kurchatov, S.P.Korolev and M.V. Keldysh - knowledgeable people and the designer themselves added the letter L (S.A. Lebedev, his name was also kept secret ). The validity of the formula "3K + L" is beyond doubt, everyone understood that without a computer there could be no such achievements.

Sergei Alekseevich Lebedev managed to form a domestic school of research and development, which for many years held leading positions in the world in a number of areas. Only from the mid-70s of the XX century began a gradual lag behind Western developers. This was largely due to the copying of the IBM series, as well as the emerging gap in the area of ​​the element base.

International recognition came to Lebedev many years after his death. The International Computer Society IEEE Computer Society awarded S. A. Lebedev with its highest award - the Computer Pioneer Award medal for outstanding innovative work in the field of computer technology. The medal reads: “Sergei Alekseevich Lebedev. Developer and designer of the first computer in the Soviet Union. Awarded in 1996 ".

Academician Lebedev's life work continues to live in his native Institute. After 40 years of successful work, ITMiVT in the difficult 90s, like many other state institutions, has gone through difficult times. The revival began in 2005 with a change in management and restructuring of the Institute's work, the future of which is now seen in the formation of ITMiVT as a leading R&D center in an international format.

Today, the research team is successfully developing embedded systems for critical applications, intelligent solutions based on sensor networks, system and embedded software, advanced computing architectures, etc.

The Institute has a basic computer department, training specialists in the main areas: the basics of computer design, computer-aided design systems, computer networks and systems, architecture of specialized computing systems, etc. Work is underway with senior students of Moscow State University and Moscow Institute of Physics and Technology, who study on real projects and many, after defending their diplomas, come to work at ITMiVT, write Ph.D. papers, and become scientists.

It is remarkable that at that historical stage of scientific and technical development, when computers with programmed control were inevitably to be born, such a scientist appeared who, with all his experience of previous work, his creative enthusiasm, sincere belief in the correctness of his ideas, was ready to lead the formation of computer engineering in our country.

Right now, observing the rapid development of the electronics industry and its penetration into literally all spheres of science and life of society, we can only marvel at the unprecedented sagacity of Sergei Alekseevich Lebedev, who managed to assess the emergence of the fateful scientific and technical direction, identify, propose and implement fundamental solutions, see prospects their development and successfully lead their implementation.

Expert Group / R & D.CNews

Read the original article on the website

Sergey Alekseevich Lebedev(years of life 1902 - 1974) - the founder of computer technology in the USSR, academician, developer of power plants, developed advanced systems for weapons during the Second World War.

Sergei Alekseevich Lebedev (1902 - 1974)

S. A. Lebedev trained scientific personnel, he headed the computer department at MIPT, lectured, personally supervised scientific work many graduate and postgraduate students. For twenty years, 15 high-performance computers were created under his leadership.

In the process of designing, adjusting and commissioning machines MESM, BESM, M-20, he acted as a chief designer, as an adjustment engineer, and if circumstances required, then as an installation technician. Later, with the emergence of qualified specialists, Lebedev entrusted them with a significant part of the work, leaving for himself the most difficult areas associated with the substantiation of innovations, with the theoretical substantiation of the structure and parameters of the computer.

SA Lebedev Biography

S. A. Lebedev was born on November 2, 1902 (October 20, old style) in Nizhny Novgorod. In 1921, Lebedev entered the Faculty of Electrical Engineering at the Moscow Higher Technical School, from which he graduated in 1928, becoming an electrical engineer. The results of his further work were used in the operation of domestic power plants and high-voltage transmission lines. In 1939, Lebedev defended his doctoral dissertation on the theory of artificial stability of power systems.

During the war, Lebedev was engaged in the development of homing torpedoes, developed a system for stabilizing a tank gun when aiming. Lebedev was awarded the order Of the Red Banner of Labor and the medal "For Valiant Labor in the Great Patriotic War of 1941-1945".

In 1945 Lebedev was elected a full member of the Academy of Sciences of the Ukrainian SSR and became the director of the Institute of Electrical Engineering of the Academy of Sciences of the Ukrainian SSR. At the end of 1947, this institute began to create a model of a digital electronic calculating machine (MESM), a test run of which took place on November 6, 1950. MESM could calculate factorials of natural numbers and solve the parabola equation.

At the same time, Lebedev in laboratory No. 1 of ITM and VT in Moscow worked on the creation of BESM - a high-speed electronic calculating machine. Lebedev himself developed the BESM structure and drew up a plan for the implementation of the project for its development, he constantly monitored the progress of this project, which was successfully completed in April 1953.

In June 1953, Lebedev was appointed director of ITM and VT, which has been named after him since 1975. On October 23, 1953, Lebedev was elected a full member of the USSR Academy of Sciences in the Department of Physical and Mathematical Sciences. He became the first academician to specialize in calculating devices. For the creation of BESM, Lebedev was awarded the Order of Lenin in 1954, and in 1956 he was awarded the title of Hero of Socialist Labor.

After the creation of the Computing Center of the USSR Academy of Sciences in February 1955, ITM and VT were tasked with preparing the BESM for serial production. Almost all large computing centers of the country were equipped with BESM-2 machines. At BESM-2, calculations were carried out during launches artificial satellites Earth and the first spacecraft with a man on board.

In October 1955, in Darmstadt (Germany), at the International Conference on Electronic Computing Machines, foreign specialists read a report by Lebedev on BESM. This report created a sensation: BESM turned out to be the best computer in Europe!

After the success of BESM, Lebedev began to create the principles and architecture of the new M-20 computer, which was to become the fastest in the world. To work with this computer, many textbooks were written, and courses on studying the M-20 and programming for it were included in the program of universities.

In parallel with the development and creation of general-purpose computers, Lebedev paid great attention to work related to the country's defense. On his initiative, in 1955, special vehicles Diana-1 and Diana-2 were developed to guide fighters at air targets. The future academician and director of ITM and VT V.S.Burtsev took part in these works, their continuation led to the creation of a whole series of computers designed to solve the problems of anti-missile defense. On the basis of these machines, the country's first missile defense system was created, for which its authors, including Lebedev and Burtsev, received the Lenin Prize.

The pinnacle of Lebedev's work on the creation of universal computers was the world's most famous domestic computer BESM-6 (1967). Based on the results of work on BESM-6, Lebedev with a group of ITM and VT employees, which included the future academician V.A.Melnikov and the future chief designer of the modular conveyor processor (the best computer in Russia in the 90s) A.A. Sokolov, received the State Prize ...

SA Lebedev set himself the goal of creating a computer with a speed of 100 million op / s. The work began with a computer complex for the air defense system, known as the S-300, which is still being mass-produced in a modernized form. The element base worked out on machines for the S-300 was used in the development of MVK Elbrus 1.

An important result of his development was the AS-6 multi-machine real-time information and computing complex, which was actively used in spacecraft flight control centers.

The Russian Academy of Sciences has established the S. A. Lebedev Prize, which is awarded once every two years to Russian scientists who have made a great contribution to the development of domestic computer technology.