Academician Lebedev biography. Sergei Alekseevich Lebedev
Academician Sergei Alekseevich Lebedev (1902−1974) is an outstanding electrical engineer, power engineer and founder of domestic computer technology.
Sergei Alekseevich devoted the first half of his life to the problems of electric power industry and automation, and the second to the creation of electronic digital computer technology. And everywhere he was accompanied by a huge scientific success, which led to the recognition of his merits 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, he loved music, fine arts, theater.
Years of study at the Moscow Higher Technical School. N.E. Bauman (MVTU), then the Mechanics and Mathematics Institute, 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 Moscow State Technical University. 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 science, he defended his doctoral dissertation related to the theory of artificial stability of energy 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 first electronic analog computers in the country was created for solving systems of ordinary differential equations, which are often encountered in problems related to energy.
In 1946 S.A. Lebedev was invited to the Academy of Sciences of Ukraine to the post of director of the Institute of Energy. A year later, the Institute of Energy was divided into two, and S.A. Lebedev became director of the Institute of Electrical Engineering of the Academy of Sciences of Ukraine. Here, together with L.V. Tsoukernik 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 State Prize of the USSR.
Solving the problems of electrical engineering and energy 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 developed the basic principles for the construction of 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 to create a small electronic calculating machine as soon as possible, on which one could study the basic principles of construction, test the methodology for solving individual problems and gain operational experience…”.
The protocol of the Academic Council of the Institute of Electrical Engineering and Thermal Power Engineering of the Academy of Sciences of Ukraine noted “According to foreign literature, the design and construction of the machine takes 5-10 years, we want to complete the construction of the machine in 2 years.”
In the book “How it began”, the main assistants of S.A. Lebedeva L.N. Dashevsky and E.A. Shkabara recall: “... At the end of 1951, a very representative commission of the USSR Academy of Sciences arrived in Feofaniya from Moscow to accept the MESM into operation. This commission was headed by Academician M.V. Keldysh. I took 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 passed from the premises of the MESM, where they asked her all sorts of "tricky problems", to the office of Sergei Alekseevich and there they deliberated for a long time. And our MESM came out to the people. The jubilation was universal. Finally, the tests were completed, and the commission decided: to accept the car from December 25, 1951 into operation.
25 years after the creation of the first universal computer in our country, a documentary film "Keep Forever" was filmed, which included the most unique footage of this machine. Only a few minutes on the screen, the MESM counts (executes the program), but these frames make a very strong impression and are remembered forever.
After MESM, the creation of a specialized SESM computer for solving systems of linear algebraic equations began. The main ideas for building SESM were put forward by S.A. Lebedev.
In 1950 S.A. Lebedev began the development of BESM (high-speed electronic calculating machine). In March 1950, he was appointed head of the laboratory of the Institute of Fine Mechanics and Computer Engineering (ITMiVT), whose director was Academician M.A. Lavrentiev. In the first quarter of 1953, the BESM was set up, and in April 1953 it was accepted into operation by the State Commission. Due to the shortage of cathode ray tubes, which were supplied then only for the Strela computer, for the first three years the BESM was operated with acoustic mercury tube memory, which reduced its speed by several times. In 1956, BESM was adopted by the State Commission for the second time - with memory on potentialoscopes.
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 elected 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 title indicated the expected speed - 20 thousand ops / s). At that time, no other machine in the world had such a computing speed. In 1958, the State Commission accepted the M-20 and recommended it for mass production. For the first time in domestic practice in M-20 S.A. Lebedev, in order to increase productivity, implemented the combination of the operation of an arithmetic unit and fetching instructions from memory, the introduction of buffer memory for data arrays issued for printing, the combination of input and output of data with an account, etc. 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 specialists in computer technology, headed by Academician S.A. Lebedev, visited the United States of America, in particular, IBM, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Harvard, Philadelphia, Washington, the National Bureau of Standards in New York. And everywhere they were warmly welcomed 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, exchanging accumulated experience in the field of creating computer technology and discussing all the problems that arose in this.
Under the leadership of S.A. Lebedev ITMiVT after completion of work on tube BESM-2 and M-20 began designing a semiconductor BESM-6, which had a speed of 1 million op./s. The State Commission chaired by M.V. Keldysha accepted BESM-6 with high marks and recommended it for mass production. BESM-6 had full 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 model the most complex physical and control processes, in software design systems for new computers. BESM-6 was produced by the Moscow CAM plant 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. Laut, V.I. Smirnov, A 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 SAM plant based on BESM-6 developed the AS-6 computer 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 batch processing, remote batch processing, time sharing, and real time modes. AC-6 was used for data processing and control in systems of space experiments, as well as in a number of computer centers of large research organizations.
For 20 years, Sergei Alekseevich headed the many thousands of staff of the Institute of Fine Mechanics and Computer Engineering (ITMiVT) of the USSR Academy of Sciences.
Specialized computers created under the direction of S.A. Lebedev for the anti-missile defense system, became the basis for achieving strategic parity between the USSR and the USA during the Cold War. In 1952−1955. student S.A. Lebedeva V.S. Burtsev developed specialized computers "Diana-1" and "Diana-2" for automatic data acquisition from the radar and automatic tracking of targets. Then for the anti-missile defense system (ABM), 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. Among them were G.V. Kisunko, S.A. Lebedev and V.S. Burtsev. To see the release of the next series of high-performance computers, which were developed by ITMiVT, S.A. Lebedev did not have a chance. Sergei Alekseevich Lebedev died on July 3, 1974 in Moscow. He is buried at the Novodevichy Cemetery.
Sergey Alekseevich Lebedev, a talented scientist and organizer, is rightfully considered the founder of domestic computer technology. Name S.A. Lebedeva now wears ITMiVT, which has a small museum. 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, awarding him the title of "Pioneer of Computer Engineering".
“... He lived and worked during the period of rapid development of electronics, computer technology, rocket science, space exploration and atomic energy. Being a patriot of his country, Sergey Alekseevich took part in the largest projects of 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 be next to the names of these great scientists,” academician B.E. wrote about him. Paton.
Prepared by:
Smolevitskaya M.E. – Pioneer of domestic computer engineering Sergey Alekseevich Lebedev (1902−1974) // Problems of cultural heritage in the field of engineering activity: collection of articles. – Issue 4. - M., 2003. - S.64−89.
Sergey Lebedev was born on November 2, 1902 in Nizhny Novgorod in the family of the remarkable educator Alexei Ivanovich Lebedev and Anastasia Petrovna, a teacher of elementary grades in a public school. Father - Alexei Ivanovich Lebedev - was known in Russia as the author of the famous "ABC" and "Dictionary of incomprehensible words." Soon after the revolution, he was invited to work in Moscow by the People's Commissar of Education A. V. Lunacharsky, and the Lebedev family moved to the capital. In 1921, 19-year-old Sergei passed the exams as an external student for secondary school and entered the Moscow Higher Technical School (MVTU) named after. N. E. Bauman at the Faculty of Electrical Engineering.
In 1928, he received a diploma in electrical engineering from Moscow State Technical University. Bauman and stayed there to teach, at the same time holding the position of junior researcher at the All-Union Electrotechnical Institute (VEI). Soon he headed a group in it, and then a laboratory of electrical networks.
In 1933, together with the famous scientist P.S. Zhdanov, he published the monograph “Stability of parallel operation of electrical systems”, supplemented and republished in 1934. A year later, the Higher Attestation Commission awarded him the title of professor. In 1939, Lebedev, not being a candidate of science, defended his doctoral dissertation. It was based on the theory of artificial stability of energy systems developed by him.
Lebedev worked in Moscow for almost 20 years, ten of which he headed the automation department, dealing with the modeling and regulation of power facilities. At the beginning of the Great Patriotic War in September 1941, Sergei Alekseevich was evacuated from VEI to Sverdlovsk. Here, in a surprisingly short time, he designed a system for stabilizing a tank gun when aiming, which was quickly put into service. This system made the tank less vulnerable and saved the lives of many tankers, as it allowed the gun to be aimed and fired without stopping the vehicle. For this work, 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." To create a stabilization system, he used the so-called. analog elements on electron tubes.
In 1944 - the war was still going on - Sergey Alekseevich moved to Kyiv, where he was elected an academician of the Academy of Sciences of the Ukrainian SSR and appointed director of the Institute of Energy of the Academy of Sciences of Ukraine.
The son of S.A. told about the history of moving to Kyiv. Lebedev. It turns out that after receiving an offer from the Academy of Sciences of the Ukrainian SSR, Lebedev still doubted whether to accept it. Then Lebedev's wife Alisa Grigorievna suggested casting lots. Two folded pieces of paper with the inscriptions "Kyiv" and "Moscow" were lowered into a cap and carefully mixed. Dropped Kyiv.
Having received at his disposal an institute where two little compatible scientific areas were developing - electrical engineering and heat engineering, the new director decided to divide them into two institutes. Lebedev himself became director of the Institute of Electrical Engineering of the Academy of Sciences of the Ukrainian SSR.
Initially, he set up a modeling and control laboratory and continued his previous research on the development of generator compounding devices for power plants, which increase the stability of power systems and improve the operation of electrical installations. In 1950, for these works, together with L.V. Tsoukernik awarded him the State Prize of the USSR for these works.
The binary system also did not remain out of sight of the scientist. If it were not for the war, then the scientist would have started work on creating a computer using the binary number system earlier - the employees who worked with him recalled this. At that time, there were no sufficiently complete publications on the binary number system and methods of operations on binary numbers. The technique developed by S.A. Lebedev for performing arithmetic operations in the binary number system and the previously developed numerical methods for solving mathematical problems became the theoretical basis for building a digital computer, conceived by S.A. Lebedev.
After moving to Kyiv, starting from the end of 1948, Sergey Alekseevich devoted himself entirely to the execution of his long-planned idea - the creation of an electronic digital calculating machine. According to Lebedev himself, in 1948-1949 he had already developed the basic principles for their construction. At the first stage of work, Lebedev's new brainchild was called the Electronic Computing Machine Model (MESM). In November 1950, the first calculations were already performed on the MESM - the calculation of the sum of the odd series of the factorial of a number and raising to a power, and in December 1951 the MESM was accepted into operation by the State Commission of the USSR Academy of Sciences.
In March 1950, Lebedev was concurrently appointed director of Laboratory No. 1 at the Moscow Institute of Precision Mechanics and Computer Engineering (ITM and CT) of the USSR Academy of Sciences and began active work on the Large Electronic Computer (BESM). In 1952, he moved to Moscow, leaving in Kyiv the development of a specialized computer (SESM) for solving systems of algebraic equations, begun on his idea. The former graduate student Z.L. Lebedeva was appointed the chief designer of the machine. Rabinovich.
According to the recollections of employees who worked with Sergey Alekseevich in Kyiv, he was an ideal leader. He presented his work to the smallest detail. Suffice it to say that he designed the future MESM himself, involving employees only after the necessary explanations of what and how to do.
He never raised his voice even to those who were obviously guilty, he treated everyone exceptionally evenly and fairly. He did not have "favorites", he always noted even the small successes of his employees. In the process of debugging the machine, there was no equal to him, he excelled everyone in understanding the malfunctions and failures in the machine. Sergey Alekseevich had his own “methods” to determine faults with an accuracy of a block. “In many blocks of the first BESM, ferrite transformers were used in the anode circuit of the lamp,” says V.S. Burtsev. – Since these transformers were made in a handicraft way, they often burned out, while emitting a pungent specific smell. Sergei Alekseevich had a wonderful sense of smell and, sniffing the rack, pointed to the defective block to the nearest block. There were almost no mistakes."
MESM was performed in one copy. Serial production of machines developed at ITM and VT of the Academy of Sciences of the USSR began seven years later from 1958. The production of BESM was not launched earlier, since the USSR Ministry of Mechanical Engineering and Instrumentation did not provide the supply of potentialoscopes for the storage device necessary for BESM. As a result, Lebedev had to use mercury tube memory, which reduced the speed of the BESM by five times. This is what prevented BESM from becoming the first mass-produced machine in the USSR and the most productive at that time in the world.
In 1958, the ITM and VT team, under the leadership of Lebedev, developed and put into serial production two computers: BESM-2 (modernized BESM) and M-20. In BESM-2, a random access memory device based on ferrite cores was implemented, semiconductor diodes were widely used, and the design (small-block) was also improved. On this machine, the solution of important tasks has already begun, in particular, the flight path of the rocket that delivered the pennant of the Soviet Union to the moon was calculated. The M-20 computer was the first to use automatic address modification; combining the operation of an arithmetic unit and fetching commands from memory; used buffer memory for arrays printed. The technical speed of the machine was 20 thousand operations per second.
In 1965, a computer based on semiconductor elements BESM-4 appeared, which had software compatibility with the M-20 computer.
In 1967, the BESM-6 computer, the first supercomputer of the second generation in the USSR, was accepted into serial production. BESM-6 had a speed of 1 million operations per second.
BESM-6 had a main or water supply principle of management organization. With its help, instruction and operand streams were processed in parallel (up to eight machine instructions at various stages). It used associative memory based on ultrafast registers, which reduced the number of calls to the ferrite memory and made it possible to perform local optimization of calculations in the counting dynamics. BESM-6 also had a stratification of RAM into autonomous modules, which made it possible to simultaneously access memory blocks in several directions. The multi-programming mode of operation made it possible to solve several tasks with specified priorities, and the hardware mechanism for converting a mathematical address into a physical one made it possible to dynamically allocate RAM in the process of computing by means of the operating system. The machine was characterized by the principle of sheet-by-sheet organization of memory and the protection mechanisms developed on its basis by numbers and commands; a developed interrupt system, necessary for automatic transition from solving one problem to another, accessing external devices, monitoring their work. In the electronic circuits of BESM-6, 60 thousand transistors and 180 thousand semiconductor diodes were used. The elemental base of BESM-6 at that time was completely new, it laid the foundations for the circuitry of computers of the third and fourth generations.
In 1990, one of the BESM-6 copies was transported to London and installed in the Science Museum as the best supercomputer for its time in Europe.
Among the specialized computers designed at ITM and VT of the Academy of Sciences of the USSR, it is worth noting the Diana-1 and Diana-2 (1955) computers associated with research into the construction of anti-missile defense (ABM) (designer Burtsev V.S.). These were sequential machines with a switched processing program, having automatic data removal from a surveillance radar station with selection of an object from noise and calculation of the trajectory of a possible target.
In 1958, the M-40 computer was created with a floating operation control cycle and an interrupt system. For the first time, a combination of operations with an exchange was used, a multiplex exchange channel, operation in a closed control loop as a control link, operation with remote objects via radio-relay duplex communication lines. In the M-40, timekeeping equipment was first introduced, ferrite-transistor elements and a fixed point were used. The speed of the M-40 was 40 thousand operations per second. A few years later, a modification of the machine appeared - the M-50 computer, designed for use in an experimental missile defense system.
Then, in 1963, the 5E92 computer (S.A. Lebedev, V.S. Burtsev, etc.) was released with the widespread use of ferrite-transistor elements in low-frequency devices and the use of specially designed control and recording equipment with the possibility of remote recording of information coming from high-frequency communication channels.
Its modification 5E92b, released in 1965, became one of the first fully semiconductor computers. The speed of the large machine was 500 thousand operations per second, the small machine 37 thousand operations per second. The 5E92b computer formed the basis of the Main Command and Computing Center (GKVTS) of the anti-missile defense system of the Soviet Union.
In 1970, ITM and VT put into operation the 5E65 computer, a transportable high-performance computer complex for special applications that provides real-time research in the field with a high degree of reliability through the use of non-destructive readout memory, full hardware control, and means of eliminating the consequences of failures. The efficiency of the computational process was facilitated by the variable word length and the store organization of the arithmetic unit. With the use of the complex, research was carried out on various on-board means of radio measurements and radio navigation in the atmosphere and space.
In 1973, a modification of this machine, the 5E67 computer, appeared - a transportable multi-machine high-performance complex with a common external memory field and hardware and software reconfiguration at the machine level. It provided operation in severe climatic conditions, as well as unique radio measurements of moving objects in the upper atmosphere in real time.
The last lifetime development of Sergei Alekseevich Lebedev, which he managed to put into serial production, was the first mobile multiprocessor high-performance structure with modular memory of the computer 5E26 (S.A. Lebedev, V.S. Burtsev, E.A. Krivosheev, etc.). It has been easily adapted to various performance and memory requirements in special purpose control systems. It was the first machine with automatic redundancy at the module level, which ensured the restoration of the computing process in case of failures and hardware failures in control systems. It also worked in real time, was equipped with advanced software, an efficient programming automation system, and the ability to work with high-level languages. In the 5E26 computer, a non-volatile instruction memory based on microbiaxes was implemented with the possibility of electrically rewriting information by external recording equipment, and an efficient operation system was introduced with a two-level localization of a faulty cell, ensuring the efficiency of equipment recovery by medium-sized technical personnel.
The experience of creating the 5E26 computer served as the basis for the design of the Elbrus supercomputer family. The name was suggested by Lebedev. The appearance of "Elbrus" completed the creation of the USSR missile defense system, but he himself did not have time to take part in their creation.
In the year of the 95th anniversary of the birth of S.A. Lebedev's merits of the scientist were also recognized abroad. As a pioneer of computer technology, he was awarded a medal of the International Computer Society with the inscription: "Sergei Alekseevich Lebedev 1902-1974. Developer and designer of the first computer in the Soviet Union. Founder of Soviet computer engineering."
The article is dedicated to the 105th anniversary 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 the questions by whom and with what work the path to modern information technologies was paved. Unfortunately, over the years of artificially created informational closeness 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, we had world-class achievements in this area.
The story about the contribution of Academician Sergei Alekseevich Lebedev to the development of electronics and computer technology both in our country and in the world is intended to help us understand the true extent of the participation of our compatriots in world computer history.
According to the President of the Russian Academy of Sciences Academician Yu.S. Osipov, unique developments by S.A. Lebedev "determined the high road of world computer engineering for several decades to come." It was Academician Lebedev who, in the difficult post-war years, created the first domestic computer and subsequent more and more productive computers. The appearance of electronic computers became a scientific and technological revolution that radically changed the development of society.
Scientific feat S.A. Lebedev
Any significant scientific discovery is preceded by years of tireless search and work. After graduating from 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 the Ph.D., defended his doctoral dissertation on the theory of artificial stability of energy systems.
After the German 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 allowed to go to the front. Lebedev continued research and during the war he developed a torpedo homing to emitting or reflecting radiation targets, as well as an automatic homing system for an aircraft torpedo and a system for stabilizing a tank gun when aiming.
The creation of such systems required a colossal amount of computation. It was this circumstance that led the scientist to understand the need to automate computational processes. In 1945, S. A. Lebedev created the first analog computer for solving a system of ordinary differential equations. Sergey Alekseevich had really great courage and believed in himself. At the age of 45, already a well-known scientist, he took up a completely new direction in the creation of computer technology.
Sergey 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. But he did not go to the conference himself - he was so immersed in the development of the principles of operation of an electronic calculating machine.
As is known, von Neumann developed the principles of computer engineering and electronic accounting abroad, and the classical architecture of a computer is called “von Neumann”. Lebedev's scientific feat lies in the fact that in the conditions of the 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 put into operation by the commission in 1951, and in 1952 important scientific and technical problems in the field of thermonuclear processes, space flights, rocket technology, long-range transmission lines and other In Kyiv, in the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine, where the MESM was created, the design documentation and folders with materials on the first domestic computer were preserved, most of which were compiled by S.A. Lebedev. Somebody's hand more than 50 years ago, it was written on them: "Keep forever."
Folder with materials about the first domestic computer Structural scheme of BESM development
Sergei Alekseevich Lebedev
BESM-6
Medal "Computer Pioneer Award" for outstanding pioneering work in the field of computer technology
In parallel with the final stage of work on the MESM in 1950, the development of the first Large (later renamed High-Speed) Electronic Computing Machine was started. The development of BESM was already carried out in Moscow, in the ITMiVT laboratory, which was headed by S.A. Lebedev. And here his scientific talent as a practical designer manifested itself.
In those years, there was no own element base, the necessary structures for computing units, and cooling systems. We had to manufacture chassis and stands ourselves, drill and rivet, mount and debug various versions of triggers, adder counters, and check them for reliability in operation.
Sergey Alekseevich was always at the center of these works, often soldering the circuits with a soldering iron in his hands, making the necessary changes to them, correcting the problems found. He accurately found failed radio tubes and parts. After a busy, busy day, S. A. Lebedev sat at the console or oscilloscope until 3-4 in the morning, debugging the machine.
Intense intellectual work and an overloaded schedule, however, did not prevent the scientist from remaining calm and reasonable in any situation. When a local fire broke out at the institute on the first floor, where the BESM, already assembled and prepared for state tests, was located, Sergey Alekseevich, without wasting a second, resolutely said: “Turn off all the electricity.” The car was not damaged. Perhaps the determination of its creator saved that first copy of the legendary computer.
S. A. Lebedev combined the talent of a scientist-researcher with the remarkable abilities of an organizer and inspirer of work. He knew how to pick up a strong team, captivate it with work and concentrate all efforts to solve a common problem. In the 1950s, when the country, exhausted by the war, did not have enough scientific personnel, Lebedev made a bet on the youth - and he was not mistaken. He gathered around him talented students - graduates and graduates of MSTU, MEPhI, MIPT. For students of S.A. Lebedev, the development of BESM became the start of scientific activity, later many of them became famous scientists and academicians.
In the museum of ITMiVT, 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 whole machine, which in reality occupied 100 square meters. m, fit on a small piece of paper. But this required a huge effort of intellectual and physical strength - the justification and theoretical calculations on BESM took dozens of thick notebooks from Lebedev.
As a result, the colossal work was rewarded with victory - the conceived computer was created. The first launch of the BESM took place in the fall of 1952, and it passed state tests in 1953. In the same year, Lebedev became director of the Institute of Fine Mechanics and Computer Engineering and a full member of the USSR Academy of Sciences in the Department of Physical and Mathematical Sciences. He became the first academician in the specialty "counting devices".
A significant fact of history - presented by S. A. Lebedev in October 1955 in Darmstadt (Germany) at the International Conference on Electronic Computing Machines, a report on our achievements made a sensation - BESM was recognized as the fastest machine in Europe. Its speed turned out to be a record - 8,000 op / s.
A student of Sergei Alekseevich, Academician V.A. Melnikov in his memoirs emphasizes: “The genius of S.A. Lebedev was precisely in the fact that he set a goal taking into account the prospects for the development of the structure of the future machine, he 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, and increased stable operation time. This is how the following versions of the BESM family appeared - BESM-2, BESM-3M, BESM-4. These machines were already mass-produced at the ZSAMM Calculating and Analytical Machines Plant, at first several dozen copies - then hundreds.
The best in the BESM series was by right the famous BESM-6 - the world's first serial "millionaire" (1 million ops / s). The chief designer implemented in it many solutions that were revolutionary for that time, thanks to which the machine survived three generations of computer 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. To date, the last copy of BESM-6 has been preserved, operating near St. Petersburg in the Training Center of the Navy.
The development of BESM-6 is a vivid example of S.A. Lebedev's creative approach to the creation of computers, taking into account all the possibilities of the technical base, mathematical modeling of structural solutions, as well as production to achieve the best performance of the machine. It should not be forgotten that the production of BESM computers 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 field of development of mathematical software for computers. Sergei 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 creating computer systems that include software as an integral part. On his initiative, a 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 missile defense missile defense system was built.
In March 1961, the first anti-missile complex was successfully tested by the state - it was repeatedly possible to shoot down a real ballistic warhead with a volume of 0.5 cubic meters with an almost direct hit. According to eyewitnesses, during the first tests there was a hitch, which probably became one of the most dramatic moments in the life of S.A. Lebedev and employees participating in the tests. The target was launched, it was conducted by all locators. The programmer presses a button, marking the target on the screen. Following the launch of an anti-missile, its flight was supposed to last 3 minutes, and then a computer failure occurs.
However, in two minutes, the malfunction is eliminated by the ITMiVT employee Andrei Mikhailovich Stepanov, and the anti-missile, induced using a computer network, shoots down a ballistic missile. On the computer screen, the inscription: "Undermining the target" is displayed. The next day, the data of film and photo recording confirmed: the head of the ballistic missile fell apart into pieces.
Another interesting fact: the first computer network was created by Lebedev at the Sary-Shagan test site in 1956, just during the testing of the missile defense system. The Americans somehow found out about this and began work on creating a network that later became the "World Wide Web" - the Internet.
On the basis of BESM-6, a multi-machine computer complex AS-6 was created, which for 15 years was used in spacecraft flight control centers for real-time information processing. So in 1975, during the joint flight of the Soyuz and Apollo spacecraft, our AS-6, processing information, calculated data on the flight trajectory 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.
A humble person and a strong leader
Sergei Alekseevich was a modest and even a little shy person. He always knew how to find a common language with his young colleagues, and they treated him with great and sincere respect. He combined spiritual kindness and trust in people, high integrity and exactingness. He rarely raised his voice to anyone. If his order was not fulfilled on time, he would pick him up and do the task himself. Such a "punishment" was remembered better than any severe reprimands.
S.A. has a personal example. Lebedev 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 imperfections. Someone said: “We won’t have time, there are few days left.” Sergei Alekseevich replied: "We'll have time, there are still nights, it's good to work at night - no one bothers." He used to work for three days, without leaving the workplace, forgetting about fatigue, and by his example he captivated others.
Companions of the academician recall one more episode that remarkably characterizes 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. The D-68 operating system, by the time it was presented to the commission, 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 shortcomings 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 shortcomings noted by the developers, which was done on time.
Sergei Alekseevich Lebedev knew how to create an atmosphere of a large and friendly family at the institute. Many colleagues often visited his house for family holidays, and went to work with the same mood as when they come to their own home. Together with all the employees, Sergey Alekseevich participated in the improvement of the territory of the new ITMiVT building on Kaluga Highway (now Leninsky Prospekt), planted trees and ornamental bushes that bloom in spring and now.
Sergey Alekseevich paid much attention to the development of independence among his students and employees. If the solution proposed by the student was no worse than his work, 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 claimed for himself the special privileges due to his academic status, he never separated himself from the scientific team. During severe trials at the Sary-Shagan training ground, in living conditions far from comfortable, he lived in the same place as his employees, ate in the same canteen.
Sergei Alekseevich was not an "armchair scientist." In his intense intellectual life there was a place for rest. When the opportunity arose to use the vacation, he always chose active recreation - mountain climbing or kayaking. Lebedev's son Sergei, talking about his father's manner of relaxing, emphasized how skillfully S.A. Lebedev spent his strength, chose a uniform rhythm and calmly walked towards the goal. Sergey Alekseevich always used this approach “hurry slowly” in his work, painstakingly creating the next computer.
The life work of Academician S.A. Lebedeva lives
For our country, the creation of our own computing technologies was a big 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 huge impact on the development of science, the economy and the defense of the country. Subsequently, in one of his articles, he writes: "The introduction of such machines, the reorganization of human mental labor based on their results can only be compared with such a stage in the history of mankind 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 anti-missile 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 Lebedev's timely machines, it would be difficult to start exploring space. Even in the famous formula 3K - as journalists called the secret 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 legitimacy of the formula "3K + L" is beyond doubt, everyone understood that such achievements could not have been possible without a computer.
Sergei Alekseevich Lebedev managed to form a national school of research and development, which for many years held a leading position 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 field of the element base.
International recognition came to Lebedev many years after his death. The International Computer Society IEEE Computer Society honored S. A. Lebedev with its highest award - the "Computer Pioneer Award" medal for outstanding innovative work in the field of computer technology. The medal says: “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, went through difficult times. The revival began in 2005 with the change of leadership and the restructuring of the work of the Institute, the future of which is now seen in the development of ITMiVT as a leading international R&D center.
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, the architecture of specialized computing systems, and so on. 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 candidate theses, and become scientists.
It is remarkable that at that historical stage of scientific and technological development, when computers with program control inevitably had to be born, 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 development of computer engineering. in our country.
Right now, observing the rapid development of the electronic technology industry and its penetration into literally all spheres of science and life of society, we can only be surprised at the unprecedented insight of Sergei Alekseevich Lebedev, who was able to appreciate the emergence of a fateful scientific and technical direction, to identify, propose and implement fundamental solutions, to see the prospects their development and successfully manage their implementation.
Expert group / R&D.CNews
Read the original article on the website
→In 1928 S.A. Lebedev graduated Moscow Higher Technical School. N.E. Bauman (MVTU). His thesis work, carried out under the guidance of an outstanding scientist K.A. circle, was devoted to the problem of stability of parallel operation of power plants and was of great scientific and practical importance. Upon graduation from the institute, S.A. Lebedev became a teacher at Moscow Higher Technical School and at the same time an employee All-Union Electrotechnical Institute. IN AND. Lenin (VEI), first as a junior researcher, head of the group, then head of the Laboratory of Electric Networks. In 1933, together with A.S. Zhdanov S.A. Lebedev published a monograph " Stability of parallel operation of electrical systems". In 1935, he received the title of professor, in 1939, without being a candidate of science, he defended his doctoral dissertation related to the theory of artificial stability of power systems developed by him. For 10 years, S.A. Lebedev headed the department of automation of VEI. In this Many well-known scientists started their work in the department: D.V. candlestick, A.V. Mikhailov, A.V. Feldbaum, N.N. Sheremetevsky and etc.
During the war, S.A. Lebedev developed a system for stabilizing a tank gun when aiming, adopted for service, an analog system for automatic homing to the target of an aircraft torpedo. In 1945 S.A. Lebedev created the country's first electronic analog computer for solving systems of ordinary differential equations, which are often encountered in problems related to energy.
In 1946 S.A. Lebedev was invited to the Academy of Sciences of Ukraine for the position of director of the Institute of Energy. A year later, the Institute of Energy was divided into two, and S.A. Lebedev became director Institute of Electrical Engineering of the Academy of Sciences of Ukraine.
Here, together with L.V. Tsoukernik S.A. 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 S.A. Lebedev and L.V. Tsoukernik was awarded the State Prize of the USSR.
Solving the problems of electrical engineering and energy with the help of analog computers, S.A. Lebedev came to the formulation of the problem of creating a digital machine.
Since the autumn of 1948, S.A. Lebedev began development (). To determine the set of MESM operations, he invited me to come to Kyiv and K.A. Semendyaev. Building Basics MESM were discussed in January-March 1949 at the created S.A. Lebedev seminar, in which they participated, B.V. Gnedenko, A.Yu. Ishlinsky, A.A. Kharkevich and laboratory staff S.A. Lebedev.
By the end of 1949, the block diagram of the machine was determined. In 1950 MESM was mounted in a two-story building of the former monastery in Feofaniya (near Kiev), where the laboratory of S.A. Lebedev.
At the end of 1951 MESM passed the tests and was accepted into operation by the Commission of the Academy of Sciences of the USSR headed by Academician . The commission included academicians, professors K.A. Semendyaev, A.G. Kourosh.
In 1952 on MESM the most important scientific and technical problems from the field of thermonuclear processes were solved ( I WOULD. Zeldovich), space flights and rocket technology ( M.V. Keldysh, ), long-distance power lines (S.A. Lebedev), mechanics ( G.N. Savin), statistical quality control ( B.V. Gnedenko).
In 1950, when the layout was tested MESM, such a machine worked only in England - M. Wilks, 1949, and the arithmetic unit was consistent.
After MESM the creation of a specialized COMPUTER SESM for solving systems of algebraic equations. Its chief designer was Z.L. Rabinovich. Basic building ideas SESM put forward by S.A. Lebedev.
In 1950 S.A. Lebedev began the development of the USSR Academy of Sciences. In March 1950, he was appointed head of the laboratory of the Institute of Fine Mechanics and Computer Technology ( ITM and VT), whose director was M.A. Lavrentiev.
The development of an arithmetic device by S.A. Lebedev instructed P.P. Golovistikov, and control devices - K.S. Neslukhovsky. Internship students from universities also worked on BESM, who completed their diploma works - the layout of individual blocks and a description of the relevant sections of the BESM draft design:, A.G. Louth, I.D. Vizun, A.S. Fedorov And L.A. Orlov. In April 1951, the State Commission, chaired M.V. Keldysh accepted the draft designs of machines and "".
In the first quarter of 1953, the BESM was set up, and in April 1953 it was accepted into operation by the State Commission.
Due to the shortage of electronic tubes, which were then supplied only for "", the first three years it was operated with memory on acoustic mercury tubes, which reduced its speed by several times. In 1956, BESM was adopted by the State Commission for the second time - with memory on potentialoscopes.
In 1956 report by 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 1958, BESM with a memory on ferrite cores with a capacity of 2048 words was put into mass production, it was produced under the name factory them. Volodarsky.
In 1953, on the recommendation M.A. Lavrentiev, who became vice-president of the Academy of Sciences of the USSR, S.A. Lebedev was appointed director. In 1953 he was elected a full member of the USSR Academy of Sciences. At a banquet for the election of new members of the Academy S.O. Schmidt said: "Today we have chosen two remarkable scientists as academicians - S.A. Lebedev And HELL. Sakharov".
In 1955 S.A. Lebedev began development (the figure in the title indicated the expected speed - 20 thousand ops / s). At that time, no other machine in the world had such a computing speed. By a decree of the Government of the USSR, the creation was entrusted to and. S.A. Lebedev became chief designer M.K. Sulim(SKB-245) - his deputy. The ideology and structure of the M-20 was developed by S.A. Lebedev, command system -, circuitry of the element base - P.P. tadpoles. M.K. Sulim supervised the development of technical documentation and the manufacture of a prototype in SKB-245.
In 1958, the State Commission adopted the M-20 and recommended it for mass production.
For the first time in domestic practice in S.A. Lebedev, in order to improve performance, implemented automatic address modification, combining the operation of an arithmetic unit and fetching instructions from memory, introducing buffer memory for data arrays issued for printing, combining data input and output with an account, and using fully synchronous signal transmission in logical circuits.
Later, semiconductor versions of the M-20 were developed, implementing the same architecture:
- and (chief designer - M.K. Sulim);
- BESM-3M and (chief designer - O.P. Vasiliev).
ITM and VT after completion of work on tube lamps, he began designing a semiconductor one, which had a speed of 1 million op. / s. The chief designer of BESM-6 was S.A. Lebedev, deputies - his students and.
In 1967, the State Commission, under the chairmanship, accepted with high appraisal and recommended it for mass production.
BESM-6 had full software. Many leading programmers of the country took part in its creation.
On the initiative and with the active participation of S.A. Lebedev, during the development, the future machine was simulated using software models.
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 model the most complex physical and control processes, in software design systems for new computers.
BESM-6 was produced for 17 years. For the development and implementation of BESM-6, its creators (from ITM and VT - S.A. Lebedev, V.A. Melnikov, L.N. Korolev, L.A. Zak, V.N. Laut, V.I. Smirnov , A. A. Sokolov, A. N. Tomilin, M. V. Tyapkin, from the CAM plant - V. A. Ivanov, V. Ya. Semeshkin) were awarded the State Prize.
ITM and VT, together with the SAM plant, developed a computer system based on BESM-6, the modular organization and unified exchange channels of which made it possible to build decentralized multi-machine computing systems. An efficient implementation of compilers from high-level programming languages, a multi-level memory protection system based on state stack mechanisms were provided. , built on the principle of decentralization, provided operation in batch processing, remote batch processing, time sharing, real time. AC-6 was used for data processing and control in systems of space experiments, as well as in a number of computer centers of large research organizations.
Specialized computers created under the direction of S.A. Lebedev for the anti-missile defense system, became the basis for achieving strategic parity between the USSR and the USA during the Cold War. In 1952-1955. student of S.A. Lebedev, specialized ones were developed for automatic data acquisition from the radar and automatic tracking of targets. Then for the missile defense system, 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 (floating point).
The possibility of hitting ballistic missiles, provided by missile defense, forced the United States to look for ways to conclude an agreement with the USSR on limiting missile defense, which appeared in 1972.
The creators of the first missile defense system received the Lenin Prize. Among them were G.V. Kisunko, S.A. Lebedev and V.S. Burtsev.
See the release of the next series of high-performance computers that were developed by ITM and VT, S.A. Lebedev did not have a chance.
Sergei Alekseevich Lebedev died on July 3, 1974 in Moscow. He is buried at the Novodevichy Cemetery.
Name S.A. Lebedeva now wears ITM and VT. Students of S.A. Lebedev created their own scientific schools and teams.
Sergei Lebedev is rightfully considered the leading designer and developer of domestic electronic computers. His contribution to this branch of science is compared with the role of Korolev in rocket science and Kurchatov in the creation of nuclear weapons. In addition to scientific work, he was active in teaching and trained many young scientists of world renown.
Childhood and youth
Sergey Alekseevich Lebedev was born on November 2, 1902. His father, Alexei Ivanovich, having graduated with honors from a school for orphans and a teacher's institute, taught in the village of Rodniki, Ivanovo-Voznesensk province. Sergei Lebedev's mother, Anastasia Petrovna, was a hereditary noblewoman. She left her rich estate to also become a teacher.
Sergey had three sisters, one of whom - Tatyana - is a world famous artist. The parents of the future scientist tried to be a model for their students and children. Such qualities as diligence, decency and honesty were placed at the head of education. There were a lot of books in the Lebedev's house, and children were instilled with love for the theater, music and folklore.
Sergei's favorite pastimes as a child were swimming, music, reading, chess and carpentry, which his uncle taught him. Even then he was fond of electrical engineering - he made a dynamo, an electric bell, a Leyden jar.
After the revolution in 1917, the family of teachers was transferred from one city to another. In 1919, Sergei moved to Moscow with his father, who was entrusted with the organization of the production of transparencies for educational and propaganda purposes. In 1921, S. A. Lebedev passed the exams in the school curriculum and was admitted to the Moscow State Technical University. N. E. Bauman.
Studying at the institute
In his student years, the young scientist was fond of sports: he went to the mountains, skied, and kayaked. An active lifestyle did not prevent him from doing science - in his graduation project, he developed the problem of the stability of the operation of large power plants in a system where consumers and producers of electricity were located at great distances.
This was his first serious scientific work, the work on which took 2 years. At the age of 26, having defended his diploma at Moscow Higher Technical School, he became the most competent specialist in this matter.
Work in the prewar years
The work biography of Sergei Lebedev begins with teaching at the Moscow Higher Technical School. At the same time, he was on the staff of the All-Union Electrotechnical Institute (VEI). Under his leadership, a special laboratory was created, in which the scientist continued to work on the chosen topic. Its complexity lay in the fact that when designing main power networks, it was necessary to make very complex calculations. This prompted the young scientist to develop models of electrical networks and search for new methods for calculating their mode of operation.
In 1935, Sergei Alekseevich Lebedev was awarded the title of professor. The basis of his doctoral dissertation, which he defended in 1939, was a new theory of the sustainability of energy systems. In 1939-1940. he participated in the design of the Kuibyshev hydroelectric complex. In addition, he was engaged in the creation of a device for solving differential equations, and then began to develop an electronic computer based on the binary number system.
The Great Patriotic War
In 1941, Lebedev signed up for the people's militia, since he was no longer subject to military conscription due to age. He was not allowed to go to the front, and VEI was evacuated to Sverdlovsk. The work switched to defense topics. In a short time, the scientist mastered aerodynamics and started developing homing aircraft torpedoes, as well as a system for stabilizing a tank gun during aiming.
Like all VEI employees, in winter Sergey Alekseevich worked at logging sites. During the evacuation, the Lebedev family was in poverty: they had to live in a waiting room, the children were often sick. In 1943, when the threat of a Nazi attack on Moscow had passed, the institute was transferred back to the capital.
There Lebedev continued his teaching and research activities. In 1943, he was appointed head of the Department of Automation of Electrical Systems of the Moscow Power Engineering Institute, and in 1944 - head of the Central Design Bureau of Electric Drives and Automation. In 1945, the scientist was elected a member of the Academy of Sciences of the Ukrainian SSR.
On the way to computers
In 1945, the scientist made the first attempt to organize work on the design of digital machines. But the leadership of the Central Committee of the All-Union Communist Party of Bolsheviks did not take Sergei Lebedev's idea seriously. Under the patronage of acquaintances, he was offered to move to Kyiv and head the Institute of Energy, which made it possible to develop this work.
In 1947, this institution was divided into two institutes - thermal power engineering and electrical engineering. S. A. Lebedev became the director of the latter. Here he finally created a laboratory for solving problems related to electronic computing.
Even during the design of the Kuibyshev power line, the scientist was simultaneously developing the basics of the binary number system, but because of the war, he had to interrupt his research. At that time, there were no computers in the world yet. It was only in 1942 that Atanasov's computer was assembled in the USA, designed to solve systems of simple linear equations. Lebedev came to his technical solution on his own, so he can be called a pioneer of domestic computer technology. If not for the war, the first computer could have been created in Russia.
BESM and MESM - large and small electronic computing machine
In 1949, S. A. Lebedev began work on the design of MESM. It was conceived as a fixed-point layout rather than a floating-point one, since the latter option resulted in a 30% increase in hardware size. Initially, it was decided to stop at 17 binary digits, then they were increased to 21.
The first circuits were cumbersome, and many nodes had to be reinvented, since standard reference books on the circuitry of digital devices simply did not exist then. Suitable schemes were entered into a journal. Due to lack of funds, household electronic lamps were installed in the car. Debugging of the MESM went around the clock, and Lebedev himself worked continuously for 20 hours. In 1951, the first working computer in the USSR and Europe was built. She could perform 3000 operations per minute, and the data was read from a punched card. The area occupied by the machine was 60 m 2 .
Since 1951, MESM has been used to solve important defense and theoretical problems in the field of space flight, mechanics, and thermonuclear processes. For Lebedev, the creation of this machine was only a stepping stone on the way to the development of BESM. Its performance was 2-3 times higher than that of the MESM, and in 1953 it became the most productive computer in Europe. BESM could work with floating point numbers, and the number of digits was 39.
In 1953, Sergei Alekseevich Lebedev was elected an academician of the USSR Academy of Sciences, and then he was appointed head of ITMiVT (Institute of Precision Mechanics and Computer Technology), where he worked almost until his death.
Further developments
Following MESM and BESM, Lebedev designed more advanced electronic computers (BESM-2 - BESM-6, M-20, M-40, M-50, 5E92b, 5E51, 5E26). Some of them were used in the defense and space industries. M-20, built using semiconductors, became the prototype for the mass-produced BESM-4.
In 1969, Sergei Alekseevich Lebedev, Academician of the Russian Academy of Sciences, was given a very difficult task for those times: to create a computer with a performance of 100 million operations per second. There were no analogues with such characteristics even abroad. The scientist called his project to create a super-productive computer "Elbrus", in memory of the summit conquered in his youth.
The first step towards the goal was the Elbrus-1 computer, which was put into operation after the death of the scientist in 1979. Its performance was still far from the required one - almost 7 times less. The second modification that followed it demonstrated already 1.25 times the speed of work than required. The Elbrus computer, a development of Soviet engineers, was 14 years ahead of the first superscalar computer Pentium-I.
Personal qualities
Relatives and colleagues of Sergei Alekseevich Lebedev noted his kindness, modesty, directness and adherence to principles in everything: from household trifles to work. He easily found a common language with young people and was respected among students and graduate students.
The scientist never fawned over the authorities, and one of the revealing facts is that when he was awarded the Order of Lenin in 1962, he sat next to each other. None of the invitees wanted to compromise themselves by communicating with the head of the church.
Many friends always came to the Lebedev's house, among them were eminent actors and musicians. He never retired to work in the office, but studied in the common room while talking to the children.
With his future wife, 16-year-old cellist Alisa Shteinberg, Sergey Alekseevich met in 1927, and after 2 years they got married. The scientist treated his wife with respect and addressed her as you. After the birth of the first child - the son of Seryozha - Alisa Grigorievna fell ill and ended up in the hospital. Lebedev himself looked after the baby and carried it twice a day to his wife so that she would breastfeed the child. In 1939, the twins Katya and Natasha were born into the Lebedev family, and in 1950 an adopted son, Yakov, appeared.
Lebedev Sergey Alekseevich: awards
For his fruitful work, the scientist received many awards, including the Order of the Red Banner of Labor, the title of Hero of Socialist Labor, the Lenin and State Prizes of the USSR, and others.
For merits in the development of Soviet electronic computing technology, Lebedev was awarded the Order of Lenin 4 times during his lifetime, and in 1996 (posthumously) he was awarded the Pioneer of Computer Technology medal.
Memory of Sergei Alekseevich
In 1974, after a long illness, the scientist died. Sergei Alekseevich was buried at the Novodevichy cemetery in Moscow. Now the ashes of his wife, who outlived her husband by only 5 years, and her son also rest there.
In Moscow, the S. A. Lebedev Institute of Fine Mechanics and Computer Engineering is still functioning and graduating specialists. RAS (Russian Academy of Sciences) awards them every year. Lebedev for the developments of domestic scientists in the field of information systems. In honor of Sergei Alekseevich, streets are also named in his hometown - Nizhny Novgorod and in Kyiv, where he worked.
