Anatoly Kitov: Monologue with Soviet Sachems
Vladimir Kitov  1  , Valery Shilov  2  , Sergey Silantiev  1  
1 : Plekhanov Russian University of Economics
2 : National Research University Higher School of Economics

Life and work of outstanding Soviet scientist Anatoly Kitov (1920-2005) is now attracting the attention not only of historians of science, but also cinema producers and writers. His biography is full of grand ideas and plans, pioneering publications and dramatic episodes. These are: cruel battles of the World War II, the struggle for the recognition of cybernetics in the USSR, very first monographs on computers and programming, the project of national computer network etc. It concerns also the years of struggle for the introducing of mathematical methods and models based on the extensive application of computers in the socialist planned economy. It would have provided Soviet leadership by objective and operative information. This history lasted for thirty years, since 1959, when Kitov appealed to the Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev. In 1985 he appealed once more to General Secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union Mikhail Gorbachev. Unfortunately (in first turn for the country...) all his attempts have remained unsuccessful. Several subsequent appeals to the political authorities in 1987-89 also brought no results. The dialogue did not take place – only monologue remained. Really, it is hard to consider as a dialogue party the party which, at best, depreciatingly mutters something unintelligible, and at worst, organizes your personal persecution. So, scientist's warnings about the imminent collapse of the USSR have come true. Ideas and achievements of Anatoly Kitov in the development of nationwide and local industrial management systems are described and analyzed in this report in broad economic and political context.



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