The history of creation of a computer in the USSR

1952-1965

In the 1952nd the pioneer of the Soviet ADP equipment, the academician Sergey Alekseyevich Lebedev created the machine BESM-1, for that time the most productive in Europe. The following machine of Lebedev with a performance of 10 thousand operations per second (1959) became the basic settlement machine of the Soviet space program. And in 1961 Lebedev's machine M-40 already brilliantly solved problems of calculation of a trajectory of an antimissile (on the solution of this task at Americans ten more years will leave)^[1].

Developers of 64-processor "Burrouse-7700", basic machine of the American air defenses in the 70th, recognized that they did not manage to reach the level of the Soviet BESM-6 of 1967. To the middle of the 1960th in the USSR had own practices in all major areas of ADP equipment, it is frequent being ahead of Americans by steps, and at times showing also absolutely unique samples as, for example, the legendary machine "Xietun" on the ternary code.

The first desktop personal computer (when computers had an appearance of monstrous cabinets to several rooms) was also created in the USSR and shown at the London exhibition of 1967. And it is possible to explain only with internal diversion the fact that the sample of the machine MIR of V. Glushkov having all signs of the modern PC was immediately sold to IBM.

By 1965 the Soviet institutes were developed, and the Soviet industry produced already dozens of unique computers. However on December 30, 1967 there was an accident. The joint resolution obliging the Soviet institutes to stop own developments and to be reoriented on copying of the American machine of IBM System/360 1964 years was accepted the Central Committee of the CPSU and Council of ministers of the USSR.

The formal reasons why the soviet leadership took this self-destructive step, are clear. The Soviet computers were developed by kulibiny-enthusiasts, they were far from perfect – and, the main thing, are incompatible with each other. The coming computer era required unification. And the Soviet administration went on the simplest way, without wasting efforts to own know-how (the benefit of IBM 360 it was supported by already considerable software). The solution, we will repeat, was clear.

As the USA spied on production of chips in the USSR

Main article: As the USA spied on production of chips in the USSR

ARPANET

Main article: ARPANET

Nation-wide automated system (OGAS) of the USSR

Main article: Nation-wide automated system (OGAS) of the USSR

Notes