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.

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