Digital Electronic Computer 'MINSK-2'

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Gennady Dmitrievich Smirnov, Anatoliy Vikentevich Grekovich

Chief designer: V.V. Przhijalkovskiy, dep. chief designer: Klochkov
Designers: G.D. Smirnov, Y.G. Bostanjyan, N.A. Maltsev, Mukhin

1. Developing organization: Special Design Bureau of G.K. Ordzhonikidze computing machines plant in Minsk. Subjected to the Byelorussian Council of national economy.
2. Manufacturing plant:  Minsk, G.K. Ordzhonikidze computing machines plant.
3. Finishing of design phase: 1962.
4. Beginning of serial production: 1963.
5. Finishing of serial production: 1965.
6. Number of manufactured computers — 118 pieces.

Application field: Computer «Minsk-2» was most widely used for scientific, engineering and economy-planning calculations, for operation at scientific research institutes, computer centres, design bureaus and at industrial enterprises.

Description of the computer
(structure and architecture, including peripheral devices)

ЭВМ Computer «Minsk-2» in operation at a Dutch company

2-addreses with flexible structure. Length of word – 37 bits (a sign + 12 octal or 9 decimal places). Possibility of forming various different configuration. The first computer with text information processing due to photo-input with perforated tape and roll teletype writer for the output.

Components

Diode-transformer valves, semiconductor instruments P16A (П16А). Clock frequency— 250 kHz.

Design

Bloсk/structured. Assembled. Units control for mass production.

Technology

Traditional technological plastics materials, mechanical processing and assembly technologies were applied. New technology of ferrites manufacturing and control, new technology of the computer integral and partial (single units) testing and adjustment.

Software

Testing programs, symbolic instruction coding system (SICS), autocode for engineering problems.

Technical and operational characteristics

• Average performance — 5,000-6,000 ops;
• capacity of operational memory, RAM — 4096 words;
• magnetic tape memory, ROM —400.000 words.

Distinguishing features of the computer

Electronic digital computer «Minsk-2» was one of the first soviet low-cost small semiconductor computers with processing and input-output devices for text information.

Sources:
Literature, patents, author's certificates:

1. V.V. Przhijalkovskiy. Design and operational characteristics of computer «Minsk-2». –M., Statistika, 1964. 
2. M.S. Margolion, V.K. Nadenenko, G.D. Smirnov Electronic Computer «Minsk-22». Minsk; Vysshaya Shkola, 1969.
3. Universal Computing Machine Auth. Cert. 226281. The USSR Council of Ministers Committee on inventions and discoveries, 24.01.1968.

Translated by A. Nitussov