Anatoly Ivanovich Kitov – the creator of the Computer Centre №1
Mironov Georgiy Akimovich
In 1950 Anatoly Kitov graduated from the (educational) F.E. Dzerzhinskiy Artillery Academy of the USSR Ministry of Defence in Moscow, being distinguished with a gold medal. His name is engraved on special marble wall-plate, placed in the academy’s celebration hall. Kitov had been also awarded with a personal “Stalin Stipend” for his success in studies.
In 1952— 1953 A.I. Kitov headed department of computing machines at the Academy of Artillery Sciences[1] (USSR Ministry of Defence), which existed until 1953. USSR Marshall of artillery N.N. Voronov was the president of that military scientific academy, which -among other- headed a network of some scientific-research institutions and centres belonging to the Ministry of Defence. Marshall Voronov invited Kitov to be his adviser. As an excellent student, Kitov had right of the appointment free choice[2] of all vocations available within the – both scientific and administrative– area, controlled by the ministry.
It was at the Academy of Artillery Sciences (AAS), where Kitov started his preparations for establishing the first computer centre at the ministry. In 1952 he successfully submitted dissertation thesis at the Academy Scientific-Research Institute N4 and received degree “Candidate of Technical Sciences”. His dissertation research topic was named ‘Digital Computer Programming of Ballistics Problems’. That was the USSR first scientific dissertation on electronic computer programming for military problems (technical).
In July 1953 the AAS was closed and Kitov received appointment as the head of computer department at his «Alma mater»– F.E. Dzerzhinskiy Artillery Academy. He remained in that position until May 1954. By that time computer department grew to be a serious scientific team – about forty people were working there, most of them officers. That was primarily the result of Kitov’s inexhaustible energy and ceaseless efforts.
The first three departments of the Computer Centre N1 (CC-1) with officially confirmed lists of personnel, registered as the military Regiment N-01168, were established by the directive of the Ministry of Defence. The date of its issue should be also considered as the foundation date. From the 1st of May 1954 A.I. Kitov was appointed as the first head of the developed Computer Centre N-1 (Regiment N-01168) of the USSR Ministry of Defence. So read the official Directive N-0873 of the Main Personnel Department of the USSR Ministry of Defence. Kitov was just 33 then. He received military rank “Engineer – Lieutenant-Colonel”[3] only half-year before, in December 1953. So, Regiment N-01168 was born at the F.E. Dzerzhinskiy Artillery Academy and remained there for about a year.
By 1954 only computers of the first generation were in operation. They were based on electron tubes and didn’t have universal programs[4], which could be used by all programmers working on that machine. That time Soviet computers were practically as advanced as the American ones. Some technical lagging was in peripheral devices (input-output systems, magnetic tapes). There were three basic development centres[5]: Institute of Precession Mechanics and Computer-engineering (under S.A. Lebedev), Laboratory of electric modelling of the USSR Academy of Sciences and powerful research, design and production complex – Special Design Bureau 245 (SDB-245) belonging to the USSR Ministry of Radio-Engineering (integrated into military production complex). After graduation in 1950 Kitov himself was sent to the SDB-245 to study electronic computers and possibilities of their military applications[6].
By that time regular training of young computer specialists – engineers and programmers – had already started. Thus, the Moscow Power-Engineering Institute[7] already had in its curriculum –and conducted– the courses for speciality “Computer Engineering”. Academician S.A. Lebedev himself was the lecturer. The first group graduated with this speciality in 1953. Practically all those graduates eventually grew into prominent scientists, applied specialists and leaders of famous research and design teams.
In the beginning the Computer Centre N-1 (CC-1) had three scientific departments: department with operating computer STRELA – “Integral”, programming department and so called maintaining group.
One of the first and most important organisational problems of the centre was the need in quick but correct completion of the staff. Here the leading role was performed by its factual founder A.I. Kitov. Ministerial administration charged A.I. Kitov with the task of finding the suitable graduates of the Artillery Academy, Moscow Power-Engineering Institute (MPEI), Moscow State University (MSU) and some others for the work at computer centre.
Among them there were also the students who first graduated form MPEI, MSU, etc., and then studied at the Artillery Academy to obtain the second specialisation, with military diploma. They all naturally received military rank ‘Lieutenant’. The CC-1 (regiment N-01168) was first subjected to Marshall Voronov, if I am not mistaken, and then directly to the, educational, F.E. Dzerzhinskiy Artillery Academy. Here, Kitov and – generally speaking, the Ministry of Defence – rather unexpectedly got a piece of luck. There was the whole group of the MPEI graduates among the academy students. All of them received the speciality “Computer Engineering”, which was absolutely new educational subject then and was taught only at the MPEI. At the academy they were trained to be specialists on rocket control. Those young people were graduates of the second group, the first one received diplomas a year before, but Kitov managed to find A.N. Nechaev from that first group. Nechaev had already a year experience of the work with computer STRELA at the SDB-245 and was also enlisted to the CC-1. Therefore CC-1 received a team of the best possibly prepared Soviet young specialists available at that time. Here are their names: Artem Nechaev, Boris Bukin, Anatoly Gusev, Vladimir Isaev, Gennady Ovsyannikov, Gleb Smirnov, Alexander Sukhov, Boris Trifonov and Yuri Uvarov. They all formed the core of the computer STRELA operation and maintenance department, named ‘Integral’. Then STRELA was the centre’s main (and practically the only) computer; beginning from 1956 it calculated flight orbits of all satellites launched in the USSR.
To make final selection of the candidates A.I. Kitov himself had an interview with each one of them and thoroughly looked through their personal files and lists of marks (points) supplemented to diplomas. Of course it’s difficult to recollect what the people were thinking then, but many years after all of them agree that the work at CC-1 had decisive influence on their whole professional life. Thus, for example, Gleb Smirnov said that he was deeply grateful to Kitov, who chose him from many others because it determined all his further life.
Many of the F.E. Dzerzhinskiy academy graduates were specialists on electric and electronic instrumentation, they came from MPEI and from polytechnic institutes of Kiev and Lvov. Vladimir Davydov, Lev Golubev, Vitaly Stashevskiy and Evgeniy Shklyar received positions at the computer maintenance department ‘Integral’. I and Alexey Bukhtiyarov (MPEI) joined the programmers.
My first meeting with Kitov happened in July 1954 and looked the following. On the 4th of July I, a young graduate returned from the vacations given after finishing the academy and, according to directives given to me earlier by the academic appointments commission, appeared in the room 412. Nearing the door I first had to wait a little outside since somebody was speaking on telephone and did not want to begin with interfering. Then knocked and on being invited reported to the sitting young officer, “Comrade Lieutenant-Colonel, lieutenant Mironov arrived for joining the service”. The officer was A.I. Kitov himself. He was performing duties of the commander of regiment, later named “Computer Centre of the Artillery Chief Commander”, still later, “MD Computer Centre N-1” and finally “MD USSR Central Scientific-Research Institute N-27”. Nowadays, all these names one can literally read in every boulevard newspaper, but then they were exceptionally a subject of secret official correspondence, one might openly use only the regiment number – famous 01168.
In fact our first meeting had rather formal and official character. It was not much more than my introducing to a new commander. Really serious and constructive talk took place a little later, when Kitov studied in detail my work on new computer program. That time I was really impressed, since he did not summon me to his study – and made waiting in a line of other visitors – as some ‘big bosses’ used to do, but unexpectedly entered the hall were we – the programmers were working together and sat beside me at my desk. That was a real scientific discussion; it lasted several hours. The working day was over, all colleagues left and only we two remained in empty room emotionally and enthusiastically analysing endless variants of programming, until the darkness fell. I think that was the decisive moment in my professional life. Later I noticed that it was Kitov’s style to study his future collaborators. Same as with me he used to sit together with each programmer and analyse the problem he was working upon. Although Kitov was strict when it concerned the matters of work, he was generally very friendly, informal, but not frivolous. Such common talks were normally long, but that was enough for him to get an impression of the collaborator. For example, same as in my case, he also stayed hours long together with Aleksey Bukhtiyarov – later famous programming expert – and remained satisfied. I also ‘witnessed’ his talks with some of other our young colleagues: Gleb Smirnov, Artem Nechaev, Boris Trifinov, Peter Komolov, Vladimir Isaev, Vladimir Golubev and some others. Those were the only ‘interviews’ by Kitov he did not need anything else.
Kitov himself was sincerely involved and very enthusiastic during such discussions, what created atmosphere of mutual confidence and cooperation, in spite of the big difference in ranks. In reality Kitov was still young and friendly by his nature and for him, the work – new ideas and projects were the only things that counted. Differently to many ‘classical administrators’, who traditionally preferred ‘to downstream’ their orders and directives to ‘bosses of lower grade’, etc. A.I. Kitov was first of all the scientist with profound knowledge on computers; the professional involved in all principal problems of the CC N-1. That was the most important and attractive thing about him. His rich erudition and high qualification made him able to understand and evaluate every problem being solved by each collaborator. We all learned a lot from him.
Kitov, in his turn, did not need much time to understand professional potential and attitude of each of us. Anyway, I think he made his opinion on my scientific abilities already after our common ‘midnight’ analysis of my program. Notably, everybody gained much more respect from colleagues and, so to say, ‘equal rights’ at the centre after working discussions with Kitov (provided his work was approved). Thus, the friendly atmosphere created by Kitov strongly backed successful scientific progress of our CC-1 and obligatory military discipline was in our case a sort of ‘auxiliary decoration’ (if one may say so). Most important result of it consisted in extremely enthusiastic, selfless attitude to work. It was typical to work until late, sometimes up to midnight, not for additional payment of course, but merely of the interest to receive the best possible results. The results were really very good. Now, many years after, I realise that we were lucky to be among the world’s first programmers working at the USSR first computer centre, which was then one of the most powerful centres in the world.
That friendly and true creative atmosphere of the CC-1 was typical for all discussions with leading scientists – collaborators of the centre: A.A. Lyapunov, L.A. Lusternik, N.A. Krinitskiy, N.P. Buslenko, I.A.Poletaev, O.V. Sosura and others. Besides being intellectuals they all were people of high cultural level that is why all sensible proposals, no matter whose – experienced professional’s or yesterday graduate’s – were accepted and objectively studied by them.
Intensive engagement of new collaborators lasted all time during the 1950-s. Graduates of the Moscow State University Gennady Frolov, Vladimir Bitutskiy and some others first were civil specialists, but later received officer ranks. Bitutskiy was especially famous for his programs – he did not make a single mistake during all time of his work at the CC-1.
Among them there was Igor Pottosin – graduate of the University of Tomsk. He received appointment to the CC-1, worked for several years gaining profound experience and then, in the beginning of the 1960-s, left for Novosibirsk, to newly-founded Siberian branch of the USSR Academy of Sciences, where he eventually became a director of a research institute. The CC-1 was a good school.
Besides purely scientific work Kitov performed administrative functions, what he also did conscientiously and efficiently. Thus, during all those years a new building was constructed for CC-1, not far from the city centre. He ‘monitored’ it constantly and did not hesitate to personally participate if necessary.
Mathematician Lieutenant-colonel Nikolay Andreevich Krinitskiy was deputy chief of our programming department. In spite of the difference in age – he was ten years older than Kitov, they were close friends and efficient collaborators. Their computer books were famous not only in the USSR but in some other foreign countries. It was Kitov who invited Krinitskiy to the CC-1. Before that he worked at the F.E. Dzerzhinskiy Artillery Academy at the chair of mathematic. The chair was very strong, besides permanent collaborators there were famous professors mathematicians from the Moscow State University: A.A. Lyapunov, M.R. Shura-Bura, Levitan, Tumarkin. Colonel G.P. Tolstov headed the chair; he himself was the author of a good course book on mathematical analysis.
Simultaneously with development of working projects Kitov organised upgrading and training for practically all CC-1 collaborators. One could say that we had university, technical institute and college under our roof at the same time. Often the same people were both students and teachers. There were several courses taught for engineers and programmers. Thus, A.N. Nechaev conducted lectures on “Design of computers”, Kitov himself delivered “Computer programming”, lieutenant - colonel Yavna was in charge of the “Theory of automatic control”. All collaborators of the CC-1 attended these lectures therefore the auditorium was always full.
Beside those common lessons, each department had its own courses. At the department of operation scientists and engineers lectured on their professional subjects, e.g.: Smirnov and Gusev worked with central arithmetic devices, Uvarov and Isaev told about memory storage, Bukin about peripheral devices, Sukhov and Trifonov about control units and Ovsyannikov about magnetic tapes. At the same time, our programming department was given rather ambitious task to study basic courses of the Moscow State University mathematical faculty curriculum. The lessons were conducted by the three CC-1 collaborators with superb level of qualification. Corresponding member of the Academy of Sciences Prof. L.A. Lyusternik taught variational (tensor) calculus, N.A. Krinitskiy taught theory of the functions of complex variables, professor of the Artillery Academy and the Moscow State University A.A. Lyapunov ran the course, “Some problems of the set theory”.
The first years of its existence CC-1 was located within the Academy campus and we were grateful that academy ‘tolerated’ us. The programmers who spent most of their time working there naturally had the strongest impressions. According to the rules of internal order we had the same rights as the academy lecturers and teachers. Thus, we could use special (teachers’) sections of the library and its special storage with various secret documents. We were also allowed to have meals in the special teacher’s hall of the academy canteen and wear trousers and common shoes – same as the teachers and professors; while the students were wearing ridding breeches and high-boots. That caused many humorous stories, since many of them had higher military ranks than we – young lieutenants, however – some automatically and some of ‘newcomer’s fear’ (candidates and beginners) – they dutifully saluted us at the academic corridors, as if we were really their commanders. It’s not difficult to imagine our great amusement with that “saluting our trousers”.
As I’ve already mentioned, from the very beginning we, collaborators of the CC-1, formed an impression of A.I. Kitov as of high qualified expert and very friendly man, but strict in the matters of work and, besides, “seeing you through” with all your pro and contra. He set both for us and his own self a very impressive goal – to create so powerful computer centre that it would be able to accept every reasonable scientific challenge, that is perform theoretical development and practical application of every computer project initiated by the state. For that purpose he managed to invite some famous scientists (his teacher A.A. Lyapunive, academician L.A. Liusternik, N.A. Krinitskiy, etc.) for permanent or part-time work at the CC-1. Kitov also established co-operation with some more scientists, for example with director of the Laboratory of Electrical Modelling (AS USSR), Prof. Gutenmakher. And of course, he went on taking new graduates from the Moscow State University and Moscow Power-Engineering Institute, military academies, etc. After a year of intensive completing the staff, upgrading personnel’s qualification and establishing principle directions of researches – that is by the autumn 1955, the CC-1 turned into a scientific centre able for conducting serious researches and doing other works corresponding to the Ministry of Defence problems.