Kitov Anatoliy Ivanovich

V.V. Shilov

Edited and translated by Alexander Nitusov

Kitov Anatoliy Ivanovich (09.08.1920, Samara – 14.10.2005, Moscow)

Soviet/Russian scientist in the field of cybernetics, computer sciences and programming. Distinguished Scientist and Engineer of the Russian Soviet Federal Socialist Republic[1] (1984), colonel-engineer (1957). Graduated from the F.E. Dzerzhinskiy Artillery Academy of the Red Army in Moscow. Founded and headed the USSR’s first computer department (1952) at the Academy and the Computer Centre № 1 of the USSR Ministry of Defence (1954). During the period of “struggle against the cybernetics” A.I. Kitov authored (and published) the USSR’s first positive article about the cybernetics (S.L. Sobolev, A.A. Lyapunov as the co-authors). Designed and produced computer M-100 the most powerful in the USSR and one of the world’s best in 1958-1959 (performance 100,000 ops). M-100 was devised for the radar station information processing, with following solving the problems of the anti-aircraft missiles aiming at the flying targets. It was –naturally– used in the USSR’s anti-aircraft defence system. In 1959 A.Kitov (and his collaborators) developed principle of combining operations in computer, which is still in use. In January 1959 he developed and proposed complex program of the large-scale development of computer engineering in the USSR, which became the basis for the joint USSR’s Central Committee of the Communist Party and the Council of Ministers (government’s) directive, “On intensification and extension of the computer production and implementation in the national economy”. In the Autumn 1959 A.Kitov proposed the (next) project, “Creation of the national large-scale network of ‘double-purposed’ computer centres, for management of the national economy development in periods of peace and solving of military problems in emergency situations”. However the project was rejected. In 1963-1972 A.Kitov was a chief designer of the standard serial Automated Management System (AMS) for ministries engaged in military industry. In 1970-1980 s. he was the chief designer of the AMS (national) “Healthcare”.

A.Kitov developed two algorithmic languages: “Algem” for national economy and “Normin” for medical problems. Developed the theory of associative programming. In 1975-1982 worked as the USSR’s representative at the IFIP  (International Federation for Information Processing) and MEDINFO (MEDINFO is the name of the international medical informatics conference organised every 3 years by the International Medical Informatics Association. It is the most important international conference in the field, with 3000+ health and medical informatics professions attending from all over the world.) In 1980-1997 he held a chair at the G.V. Plekhanov Institute of the National Economy (Since 1991, G.V. Plekhanov Russian Academy of Economics).

Authored 12 books, translated in 9 foreign languages, among them the first Soviet books on computers and programming (1956) and the first course-book on computers and programming (1959) written jointly with I.A. Krinitskiy.