Russian Virtual Computer Museum.  → Balakirev Nikolay Evgenievich

Balakirev Nikolay Evgenievich

(born. 09.04.1949 )

Deputy Chairman of the „Russian Virtual Computer Museum”.

Nikolay Evgenievich Balakirev was born on April 9, 1949, in Pervouralsk, Sverdlovsk Region. He holds the degree of Candidate of Technical Sciences (1984) and is a specialist in computer engineering and systems programming.

In 1967, he graduated from the Sverdlovsk Suvorov Military School and served in the army from 1967 to 1969. In 1970, he spent six months working at the Pervouralsk Chromium Chemicals Plant before enrolling at the Faculty of Computational Mathematics and Cybernetics of Lomonosov Moscow State University. He graduated in 1975 with a specialization in Applied Mathematics.

From 1975 to 1980, Balakirev worked at the Keldysh Institute of Applied Mathematics, advancing from research trainee to research fellow. In February 1980, he transferred to the Institute of Precision Mechanics and Computer Engineering, where he served as lead designer and head of a sector. In March 1991, he became head of the “Supercomputer” Association. Since 1998, he has devoted himself fully to academic work, first as an associate professor and later as a professor at the Department of Computer Complex Design at MATI named after K.E. Tsiolkovsky (since 2015 – Moscow Aviation Institute). Under his supervision, more than one hundred master’s theses and several PhD dissertations have been defended.

In July 1975, as a member of the Keldysh Institute team, he participated in supporting the Soyuz–Apollo joint space mission. Under the guidance of V.F. Tyurin, he developed task management modules and a budgeting system, and was involved in implementing the DISPAK operating system in major computer centers across the country. From 1978, he worked on debugging hardware and porting the DISPAK OS to the Elbrus 1-K2 computer complex, while also developing software for the Data Transmission Processor (DTP) of the Elbrus multiprocessor system. At VNIIEF, together with Yu.G. Bartenev, he implemented the DISPAK OS, enabling— for the first time—production tasks to run in parallel mode on an Elbrus 1-K2 multiprocessor complex with three central processors. In 1982, he contributed to the development and debugging of the Elbrus 1-KB computer complex. In recent years, his work has focused on text analysis and the recognition of informational content in oscillatory processes, including speech.

Balakirev was one of the founders and organizers of the “Supercomputer” Association in the USSR, which united more than 50 organizations engaged in computer development. The association ceased to exist following the dissolution of the Soviet Union.

He is a laureate of the USSR Council of Ministers Prize (1991) for the development and production of the Elbrus 1-KB computer complex. His awards also include two medals from the Ministry of Defense—“For Strengthening Combat Commonwealth” and “For Merit in Perpetuating the Memory of Fallen Defenders of the Fatherland”—as well as the public medal “For Service to the Fatherland” and the Cadet Cross “For Loyalty to the Fatherland.”