History of the Creation of BESM: The First Computer of S.A. Lebedev Institute of Precise Mechanics and Computer Engineering

Abstract

Abstract. Some aspects of the history of the first Soviet computer development are described. The idea of this work was offered by Sergey Lebedev who formulated the principles, wrote a plan and suggested the structure of the computer which was named BESM -Fast Electronic Calculating Machine. Some new documents are presented -a working notebook with Lebedev's handwritten notes and a plan of a preliminary project draft development. BESM computer became the first in the long series of Soviet computers built under the leadership of Lebedev. It also was used as a prototype of the first Chinese computer built with the help of Soviet engineers.

Early Nordic Compilers and Autocodes

“…Some modern Russian sources in possession of Lebedev's scientific notebooks appear to claim that Lebedev invented everything himself [44]. Although Lebedev clearly was an extraordinarily resourceful designer and constructor, and successful despite difficult circumstances, this seems highly implausible.…”