Mstislav Vsevolodovich Keldysh never hid his noble origin, of which he was clearly proud: his father was a professor, major general of the engineering and technical service. “Our father was one of the pioneers of the use of reinforced concrete in domestic construction,” recalled Mstislav’s elder brother Yuri. “I remember how, on his 70th birthday, he received a congratulatory telegram from someone addressed to the “father of Russian reinforced concrete.” Of course, he is not the only one, but, as far as I remember, he is in Riga Polytechnic Institute taught the first special course on reinforced concrete in Russia.” Vsevolod Mikhailovich Keldysh was involved in almost everyone large construction projects 20–30s in the USSR: for example, he acted as an expert at the discussion of the construction plan for the first stage of the Moscow Metro, and advised on the construction of the Dnieper Hydroelectric Power Station.
Mstislav was born in 1911 in Riga, and four years later his family left the front-line zone and moved to Moscow. He studied first in Ivanovo-Voznesensk, where his father taught at the Polytechnic Institute, and then in the capital, at a school with a construction focus. I had a serious internship - in the summer I worked as a laborer building houses. The profession of a civil engineer attracted him, and from devoting his life to the construction of plants and factories, he was saved by chance - in construction institute, where his father taught, he was not accepted because of his age: he had not yet turned 18. On the advice of his older sister Lyudmila, who graduated from the Physics and Mathematics Department of Moscow State University, he entered the same department. His professor, the famous founder of the Moscow mathematical school Nikolai Luzin, reproached Keldysh for his extreme passion for applied problems. Slava graduated from University early - at the age of 20. While still in his fifth year, the young man began his teaching career - he taught mathematics at the State Electrical Engineering Institute.
Stop trembling
After university, Keldysh was hired by TsAGI - the cradle of the domestic aircraft industry. Here he became an active participant in a scientific seminar led by the outstanding mechanic Sergei Chaplygin. Mstislav combined his work at TsAGI with postgraduate studies (and later doctoral studies) Mathematical Institute them. V.A. Steklov (MIAN), where he studied mechanics and aerogasdynamics aircraft.
Keldysh's solution to the series complex tasks aviation technology played a significant role in creating the air superiority of the USSR during the Great Patriotic War. For example, Keldysh found a solution to the flutter problem, which seemed to pose an insurmountable obstacle to the development of high-speed aviation. Flutter (from the English flatter - shaking) is an inexplicable vibration that led to the fact that the planes of that time fell apart in the air. Flutter occurred at speeds of 200–300 km/h, and dozens of test pilots became its victims. Those of them who managed to survive said that the car was suddenly seized by a frenzied tremor that literally tore the device into pieces. At first, researchers tried to associate the causes of flutter with the phenomenon of resonance, but this direction did not bear any fruit. Finally, it was found that flutter is generated by the interaction in the aircraft structure of elastic, inertial and aerodynamic forces - acting on different structural components, air flow, the resistance force of the materials of the aircraft itself, as well as the inertial force created by the mass of individual parts of the aircraft, lead to the fact that parts of the aircraft structure receive a significant impulse along unintended vectors and begin to quickly destroy the aircraft. Despite the fact that the phenomenon of flutter became theoretically clear, it was not possible to solve the problem - let us recall that engineers and mathematicians of that time did not have at their disposal computer models, which could suggest how to design a high-speed aircraft resistant to it.
Central Aerodynamic Institute named after N.E. Zhukovsky (TsAGI). Photo: Sergey Preobrazhensky / TASS
Keldysh was able to apply the resonance model to the problem, which researchers had already abandoned: he proved that flutter is similar to the resonance effect observed when an elastic spring oscillates with an attached mass and a certain elasticity coefficient. Left to its own devices, such an elastic system will perform harmonic vibrations with a certain frequency. And if an external force is applied to the mass, changing harmoniously over time with a certain frequency (in the flutter phenomenon, the air flow played the role of such a force), a sharp increase in the amplitude of oscillations will be observed. To avoid resonance when the wing moves in the air flow, Keldysh proposed redistributing the masses along the wing and arranging the elastic elements in such a way as to avoid the coincidence of the wing’s natural vibration frequencies with the frequencies acting on it external forces. This is how Keldysh managed to solve the most important problem in aviation of the 30s.
In 1941, the mathematician took the position of head of the department of dynamic strength at TsAGI, and in June 1944 he became head of the department of mechanics at the Mathematical Institute of the Academy of Sciences. Another important issue aircraft construction, which Keldysh managed to solve already during the war years, was the elimination of the so-called shimmy: aircraft of that time began to use a three-legged landing gear with a front wheel. When a certain speed was reached, the front landing gear began to shake from vibrations, which led to its breakdown. Keldysh calculated a chassis design scheme in which shimmy was eliminated.
In the post-war decade, Keldysh lectured at the mechanics-mathematics and physics-technical faculties of Moscow State University, where he headed the department of thermodynamics. “He entered the audience for the first lecture with his quick gait, slightly leaning forward with his whole body. Black eyes, thick black eyebrows, graying hair of that noble shade that is called “steel” - and, to match the whole appearance, a suit made of material with a silvery sparkle, well covering it slim figure, - here are our impressions - the impressions of the “first glance” at the new lecturer. The female half of the course gasped quietly. And the male half, I believe, did not remain indifferent. It’s nice to look at a person who is elegant in everything!” - recalls one of Keldysh’s students.
From bomb to computer
In 1946, Mstislav Vsevolodovich said goodbye to TsAGI - rockets, not airplanes, became the leading edge of defense technology after the war, and he was appointed to the post of head of the Jet Research Institute (NII-1). In 1942, when it began to be created nuclear project, Kurchatov, Khariton and Zeldovich asked academician Ivan Vinogradov for advice on which mathematician to involve in this project. “Take Keldysh, you won’t miscalculate,” he replied, warning in advance that the aviation industry would not give up Keldysh so easily. Physicists wrote a letter to Beria, in which they asked to involve Keldysh in work on atomic bomb, however, the Minister of Aviation Industry of the USSR Mikhail Khrunichev really did not want to lose a talented specialist. The parties began correspondence through Beria, which greatly surprised the seasoned apparatchik. In the end, a compromise solution was reached - Keldysh worked on the thermonuclear project several times a month.
Sergei Korolev, Igor Kurchatov and Mstislav Keldysh, 1959. Photo: RIA Novosti
When the United States tested its first thermonuclear bomb in 1952, the USSR hastily created working group to develop our own bomb of this type. Since the field was new, the key to the success of the tests was the computational verification of physical and mathematical models. It was here that Mstislav Vsevolodovich’s team played a decisive role - and largely thanks to the scientist’s personal participation in the development of new computational methods and algorithms that were used over the next decades to solve problems mathematical physics. For participation in calculations for the creation of the first Soviet hydrogen bomb Keldysh was awarded the title of Hero Socialist Labor. In 1953, he also became director of the Institute of Applied Mathematics of the Academy of Sciences, a position he held until 1978. In 1954 Mstislav Vsevolodovich was appointed scientific supervisor work on the creation of the intercontinental cruise missile "Storm". The rocket was successfully tested in 1960, demonstrating best characteristics than its American counterpart, the Navajo cruise missile. So, together with Korolev and Kurchatov, Keldysh was one of the three “Ks” who built a nuclear missile shield over the USSR.
In 1954, Keldysh, Korolev and Tikhonravov sent a letter to the government proposing the creation of the first artificial satellite Earth. Keldysh was engaged in calculations of the trajectory of launching the satellite into orbit. The launch of the satellite opened a new era in the activities of the Steklov Mathematical Institute: under the leadership of Keldysh, work began on tracking the satellite and predicting its trajectory, on the ballistic design of interplanetary flights of spacecraft with minimal energy consumption. These calculations allowed Soviet robots to enter the orbit of the Moon, and later - into the orbits of the nearest planets solar system, ushering in the era of space exploration. For preparing Gagarin's flight into space, Keldysh was awarded the title of Hero of Socialist Labor for the second time.
Our contemporary people rarely remember that computers were a by-product of the arms race: the rocket and space industry gave a powerful impetus to the development of computers in both the USSR and the USA. To calculate the trajectories of rockets and satellites, devices were required that could carry out calculations faster than any team of mathematicians. Of course, Keldysh himself was not involved in the design of the computer, but acted as the customer for this technology, determining what qualities it should have. The quality of tube computers of that time, however, left much to be desired. Steklov Mathematical Institute employees recalled that Keldysh, arriving at work exactly at 9:00, first of all went to the computer room, where the most powerful Soviet computer, the Strela, stood, and if Calculating machine was in good order, became cheerful and thanked the engineers on duty. But if she didn’t work again, he silently walked around the machine room and, making sure that everyone was busy with work, left: his silent reproach had a stronger effect on the engineers than any reprimands. He always took Soviet officials who came to the Steklov Mathematical Institute to the same hall and urged them not to regret public funds to create such machines. In 1957, Keldysh participated in a commission created to study the reasons for the USSR lagging behind Western countries in Computer Science.
Mstislav Vsevolodovich Keldysh is one of the outstanding Soviet scientists in the field of applied mathematics and mechanics, a major organizer of Soviet science, as well as one of the ideologists of Soviet space program.
Mstislav Vsevolodovich was born on February 10, 1911 in Riga in the family of associate professor Vsevolod Mikhailovich Keldysh. In 1915, the family was evacuated to Moscow. 
M.V. Keldysh in early childhood. 1912
Vsevolod Mikhailovich Keldysh
In 1927, Keldysh graduated from school, but was not accepted into the institute; There were also difficulties with admission to the Faculty of Physics and Mathematics of Moscow State University due to social origin and the presence of an uncle who left with the White Army. 
M.V. Keldysh in the arms of his great-grandmother, surrounded by his brothers, sister and mother (1914−1915)
M.V. Keldysh at the age of 9 years. 1920
However, thanks to his outstanding abilities, in 1931 Keldysh graduated from the university and became an employee of TsAGI (in the city of Zhukovsky, Moscow region). Then he worked at Moscow State University and the Steklov Mathematical Institute of the USSR Academy of Sciences. 
M.V. Keldysh with a group of Moscow State University graduates (top row 3rd from right) (1931)
In 1938 he became a Doctor of Science, in 1946 - an academician. In 1946, together with S.P. Korolev and I.V. Kurchatov, he led the creation of nuclear missile weapons. 
S. P. Korolev, I. V. Kurchatov, M. V. Keldysh
Photo of M. V. Keldysh in the group of Stalin Prize laureates at the Moscow House of Scientists after the presentation of diplomas and badges of honor (1947). From left to right: M. V. Keldysh, ac. N. I. Meshchaninov, Doctor of Technical Sciences V. A. Vanyukov, V. I. Zborsky, G. V. Akimov.
In 1953, Keldysh took the position of director of the Institute of Applied Mathematics of the USSR Academy of Sciences. The scientist’s main works relate to the fields of mathematics, mechanics and aerogasdynamics of aircraft. Keldysh made a great contribution to the development of computational and machine mathematics, and led the work on the creation of computers. 
Photos of M. V. Keldysh with children at the dacha. 1950s
He was one of the initiators of the development of space exploration, heading it from the mid-50s. development of theoretical premises for the conclusion artificial bodies to near-Earth orbits; took part in the creation of the first artificial Earth satellite. 
Photo of M. V. Keldysh in the Kremlin. 1956
Among those present: L. I. Brezhnev, I. G. Ehrenburg, ac. I. G. Petrovsky, M. I. Romm
Formed a number of main theoretical provisions modern aerodynamics and rocket and space technology. 
M.V. Keldysh during a speech at the House of Scientists at the General Meeting dedicated to human space flight.
In 1961, after the flight of Yu. A. Gagarin, Keldysh became president of the USSR Academy of Sciences. He was an honorary member of many foreign academies. He was awarded seven Orders of Lenin, three Orders of the Red Banner of Labor, medals and various foreign orders. 
Photos of M. V. Keldysh with cosmonauts Yu. A. Gagarin and K. P. Feoktistov at a press conference. 10/21/1964
Photo of M. V. Keldysh among the participants in the session of the General Meeting of the USSR Academy of Sciences in the House of Scientists (11/16/1961)
From left to right: K. I. Skryabin, V. A. Trapeznikov, M. V. Keldysh, A. V. Topchiev, A. N. Nesmeyanov, K. V. Ostrovityanov
After the end of the Cold War, Soviet-American scientific cooperation took on new forms. Bilateral meetings and symposia were held, problems of mathematics, meteorology, radio astronomy, etc. were jointly discussed. In 1962, between the USSR Academy of Sciences and National Directorate in Aeronautics and Research outer space The United States concluded an agreement on cooperation in the use of outer space for peaceful purposes. 
Photo of M. V. Keldysh during a meeting with the president National Academy USA F. Seitz (09/16/1963)
In subsequent years, the USSR Academy of Sciences established and expanded connections with other scientific organizations in the United States. In 1963, the President of the US National Academy of Sciences F. Seitz and the President of the American Council of Cognitive Societies F. Burkhard visited the USSR Academy of Sciences. 
Photo of M. V. Keldysh with American cosmonaut T. Stafford. 1972
Photo of M. V. Keldysh as part of a delegation of Soviet scientists in Stockholm in connection with the 50th anniversary of the Swedish Royal Academy engineering sciences. 1972
Interesting Facts:
- When S. A. Chaplygin (according to other sources, I. F. Petrov) demanded that his employees at TsAGI learn (under the guidance of an instructor) the ability to fly airplanes, Keldysh’s successes were so impressive that he was offered to become a professional pilot (according to his recollections M. L. Gallaya).
- In 1960, in preparation for the launch of the first automatic station to Mars, as part of the scientific equipment at the station, it was supposed to place a device (a spectroreflexometer) that should determine whether there is water on Mars, and thereby whether there is life on Mars. Keldysh suggested testing the device in terrestrial conditions. The device showed that there is no life on Earth and was removed, resulting in a savings of 12 kilograms (according to the memoirs of B.E. Chertok). 
Bust of M. V. Keldysh in Riga
Mstislav Vsevolodovich died on June 24, 1978 in Moscow; An urn with his ashes is installed in the Kremlin wall.
Keldysh Mstislav Vsevolodovich - Soviet scientist in the field of mathematics, mechanics, space science and technology, organizer of science, academician of the USSR Academy of Sciences, Doctor of Physical and Mathematical Sciences, professor. Born on January 29 (February 10), 1911 in Riga. In 1915, the Keldysh family moved from front-line Riga to Moscow. In 1919-1923 Keldysh lived in Ivanovo. After graduating from the Physics and Mathematics Department of Moscow State University in 1931, M.V. Keldysh was sent to work at the Central Aerohydrodynamic Institute. Keldysh worked at TsAGI until December 1946, first as an engineer, then as a senior engineer, head of a group, and from 1941 as head of the dynamic strength department.
Continuing to work at TsAGI, Keldysh entered the graduate school of the V.A. Mathematical Institute in the fall of 1934. Steklov of the USSR Academy of Sciences to Lavrentiev, where he worked on issues of the theory of approximations of functions, closely related to the applied topics of his work (hydro-, aerodynamics). In 1935 he was assigned without protection academic degree candidate of physical and mathematical sciences, in 1937 - the degree of candidate of technical sciences and the title of professor in the specialty "aerodynamics".
Back in the mid-thirties, Academician I.M. Vinogradov invited M.V. Keldysh for doctoral studies at the Mathematical Institute. V.A. Steklov Academy of Sciences of the USSR (MIAN). Here Keldysh defended in 1938 doctoral dissertation on the topic "On the representation by series of polynomials of functions of a complex variable and harmonic functions". By the end of the war, M.V. Keldysh, continuing to work at TsAGI, had the opportunity to return to active work again scientific activity at the Steklov Mathematical Institute, where in April 1944 the department of mechanics was created, which he headed until 1953. Over time, the main tasks of the department became rocket dynamics and applied celestial mechanics.
During the war years, M.V. Keldysh worked at aircraft factories, where he, as the head of the TsAGI department, oversaw anti-flutter structures. In April 1942 he was awarded the Stalin Prize of the 2nd degree for scientific works to prevent aircraft destruction. During the war years, along with scientific and experimental research at TsAGI, he was involved in the implementation of the developed recommendations in aircraft design bureaus and aircraft factories. This activity was marked by the Order of the Red Banner of Labor (1943) and Lenin (1945). In 1944 Keldysh was awarded a medal"For the defense of Moscow."
In September 1943, Mstislav Vsevolodovich was elected corresponding member of the USSR Academy of Sciences in the Department of Physical and Mathematical Sciences. In June 1944, he became the head of the recently created department of mechanics at the Mathematical Institute of the USSR Academy of Sciences and remained in this position until 1953. A scientific seminar worked at the department, bringing together specialists in aeromechanics. At the same time resumed teaching activities at Moscow State University, which began in 1932, he lectured at the mechanics-mathematics and physics-technical faculties, was the head of the department of thermodynamics, and led a research seminar on the theory of functions of a complex variable. From 1942 to 1953 Keldysh was a professor at Moscow State University.
In August 1950, he was appointed head of the scientific director of the leading research institute (NII-1 of the Ministry of Aviation Industry, now the M.V. Keldysh Center). With the arrival at NII-1 in his field creative activity there are problems associated with the creation of high-power jet propulsion systems to equip cruise missiles with all the train of scientific and technical issues on supersonic gas dynamics, heat and mass transfer, thermal protection, etc.
Recognition of the scientist’s merits in solving the defense problem was the assignment of M.V. Keldysh in 1956 the title of Hero of Socialist Labor, and in 1957 awarded Lenin Prize. In 1961 for special merits in the development of rocket technology, in the creation and successful launch of the world's first spaceship"Vostok" with a man on board M.V. Keldysh was awarded the title of Hero of Socialist Labor for the second time. In 1971, for exceptional services to the state in the development of Soviet science and technology, great scientific and social activities and in connection with his sixtieth birthday he was awarded for the third time the title of Hero of Socialist Labor and the Hammer and Sickle gold medal. Awarded a gold medal named after. K.E. Tsiolkovsky for his outstanding contribution to scientific development problems of study and exploration of outer space (1972); gold medal named after M.V. Lomonosov for outstanding achievements in the field of mathematics, mechanics and space research (1975).
Heading the USSR Academy of Sciences from 1961 to 1975, he provided full support to the development in our country not only of mathematics and mechanics, but also of new areas of modern science, such as cybernetics, quantum electronics, molecular biology and genetics.
President of the USSR Academy of Sciences from May 19, 1961 to May 19, 1975. In 1971, for exceptional services to the state in the development of Soviet science and technology, great scientific and social activities, and in connection with his 60th anniversary, Keldysh became three times Hero of Socialist Labor.
Keldysh's works explore various issues of mechanics and mathematics: theory of oscillations, aerodynamics, theory of waves on the surface of a heavy liquid, theory of impact on water, approximate integration of differential equations, degenerate elliptic equations on the boundary of a region, potential theory, conformal mappings, theory eigenfunctions And eigenvalues for non-self-adjoint differential equations. In the field of aeromechanics, he worked on the development of the theory of unsteady wing movements. He proved Zhukovsky's theorem for gas, posed and solved the main problems of stability of solutions to the Dirichlet problem. Keldysh played a leading role in the development of the theory of approximation of functions of a complex variable by series of polynomials. In the theory of quasiconformal mappings, the Keldysh and Keldysh-Sedov theorems are known. Keldysh's works on the theory, calculation and development of measures to eliminate various types of vibrations on an aircraft are of great importance. He is the author of the monograph “Shimmy of the front three-wheeled chassis” (1945). Keldysh's works on aerohydrodynamics provide important qualitative conclusions about the properties of the movement of liquids and gases; in particular, Keldysh discovered that with certain types of vibrations of a wing moving in the air, a pulling force appears. Participating in the creation of hydrofoil ships, he developed the theory of wings moving at a shallow depth under the surface of the water. Of fundamental importance theoretical works Keldysh to determine the effect of air compressibility on the lift of a wing. In the field of aerodynamics and hydrodynamics, Keldysh is a talented continuator of the research of N.E. Zhukovsky and S.A. Chaplygin. Many of the mathematical methods developed by Keldysh are successfully used in solving problems in physics and technology. He made a great contribution to the development of astronautics, computational mathematics and technology in the USSR.
Mstislav Vsevolodovich awarded with orders Lenin (1945, twice 1954, 1956, 1961, 1967, 1975), Red Banner of Labor (1943, 1945, 1953), medals “For Valiant Labor in the Great Patriotic War” (1945), “800 Years of Moscow” (1947), “20 years of Victory” (1965), “For valiant work in commemoration of the 100th anniversary of the birth of V.I. Lenin” (1970), “30 years of Victory” (1975). Knight of the Order of the Legion of Honor (Commander) (1971), highest orders a number of other countries.
Keldysh Mstislav Vsevolodovich 1911-1978). Soviet scientist in the field of mathematics, mechanics, space science and technology, statesman, organizer of science.
Born on January 29 (February 10), 1911 in Riga in the family of Vsevolod Mikhailovich Keldysh, an adjunct professor at the Riga Polytechnic Institute, a major civil engineer (later an academician of architecture). Mother - Maria Alexandrovna (nee Skvortsova) - a housewife. In 1915, the Keldysh family moved from front-line Riga to Moscow. In 1919-1923 Keldysh lived in Ivanovo, where his father taught at the Polytechnic Institute, organized on the initiative of M.V. Frunze. In Ivanovo he began studying at high school, having received the necessary initial training at home from Maria Alexandrovna. Upon returning to Moscow (1923), he studied at a school with a construction focus, in the summer he went with his father to construction sites and worked as a laborer. Keldysh's penchant for mathematics manifested itself in the 7th and 8th grades; teachers even then recognized his extraordinary ability for the exact sciences.
Keldysh Mstislav Vsevolodovich
In 1927 he graduated from school and wanted to get his father’s profession of a civil engineer, which he liked, but he was not accepted into the construction institute where his father taught because of his youth (only 16). On the advice of his older sister Lyudmila, who graduated from the Faculty of Physics and Mathematics of Moscow State University and studied mathematics under the scientific guidance of N.N. Luzin, he entered the same faculty of Moscow State University. While studying at the university, Keldysh got married scientific contacts with M.A. Lavrentiev, which later grew into long-term scientific cooperation and friendship. In the spring of 1930, simultaneously with his studies, he began working as an assistant at the Electrical Mechanical Engineering Institute, then also at the Stanko-Instrumental Institute (STANKIN).
After graduating from Moscow State University in 1931, on the recommendation of Academician A.I. Nekrasov, Keldysh was sent to the Central Aerohydrodynamic Institute named after N.E. Zhukovsky (TsAGI). The scientific life of TsAGI at that time was headed by S.A. Chaplygin, and seminars were regularly held under his leadership. Participants in the seminar were also M.A. Lavrentiev, N.E. Kochin, L.S. Leibenzon, A.I. Nekrasov, G.I. Petrov, L.I. Sedov, L.N. Sretensky, F.I. Frankl, S.A. Khristianovich; many of them subsequently became famous mechanical scientists. Keldysh worked at TsAGI until December 1946, first as an engineer, then as a senior engineer, head of a group, and from 1941 as head of the dynamic strength department.
The initial period of Keldysh’s work at TsAGI was associated with research into nonlinear flow problems. In the works of this series, the External Neumann Problem for Nonlinear elliptic equations with an application to the theory of a wing in a compressed gas (1934) and a rigorous substantiation of the theory of Zhukovsky’s propeller (1935) (done in collaboration with F.I. Frankl), To the theory of an oscillating wing (1935, together with M.A. Lavrentiev) was for the first time strictly the influence of the compressibility of the medium on the aerodynamic characteristics of streamlined bodies is considered and the well-known Zhukovsky theorem on lift is generalized; It was established for the first time that thrust occurs under certain modes of wing oscillation. He studied the theory of the impact of a body on a liquid and the movement of bodies under the surface of the liquid (float of a seaplane, hydrofoil.
We worked selflessly, but did not think about the meaning of our work. And only when, barely catching our breath after the launch, we heard how this launch was perceived throughout the world, we realized that the space age of mankind had begun.
Keldysh Mstislav Vsevolodovich
Continuing to work at TsAGI, in the fall of 1934 Keldysh entered graduate school (then supplemented by a two-year doctoral program) at the Steklov Mathematical Institute of the USSR Academy of Sciences under Lavrentiev, where he studied issues of the theory of approximation of functions, closely related to the applied topics of his work (hydro-, aerodynamics) . In 1935, without defense, he was awarded the academic degree of Candidate of Physical and Mathematical Sciences, in 1937 - the degree of Candidate of Technical Sciences and the title of professor in the specialty "aerodynamics". On January 26, 1938, he defended his doctoral dissertation on the topic On the representation of functions of a complex variable and harmonic functions by series of polynomials.
The repressions of the 1930s did not spare the Keldysh family. In 1935, Maria Alexandrovna spent several days in prison; a campaign was taking place in the country to confiscate gold from the population. In 1936, brother Mikhail, at that time a graduate student in the history department of the university, studying medieval Germany, was arrested. He received 10 years without the right to correspondence (as was later established, he was shot in the spring of 1937). In 1938, brother Alexander was arrested on charges of espionage, then the charge was changed to anti-Semitism. In court, however, the charges were dropped and he was released.
The series of works by Keldysh and his colleagues in the pre-war and war years was devoted to vibrations and self-oscillations of aircraft structures. His research laid the foundations for methods of numerical calculation and modeling in wind tunnels of the flutter phenomenon (strong vibrations of the wings of an aircraft that occurred at certain speeds of the aircraft and led to its destruction). Keldysh's results not only led to the development of simple and reliable measures to prevent flutter, but also became the basis of a new branch of science on the strength of aircraft structures. It is known that in German aviation in the period 1935-1943, 146 accidents due to flutter were recorded. In the process of work, Keldysh’s group had to endure intense polemics; opponents appealed to high authorities (up to the Central Committee of the All-Union Communist Party (Bolsheviks)).
The results of Keldysh’s work played a big role in the creation of high-speed aviation in our country.
In October 1941, Keldysh with his wife Stanislava Valerianovna and three children, along with other TsAGI employees, were evacuated to Kazan, where he continued to work. In April 1942 he was awarded the Stalin Prize, II degree, for scientific work on preventing the destruction of aircraft. During the war years, along with scientific and experimental research at TsAGI, he was involved in the implementation of the developed recommendations in aircraft design bureaus and aircraft factories. This activity was marked by the Order of the Red Banner of Labor (1943) and Lenin (1945). In 1944 Keldysh was awarded the medal "For the Defense of Moscow".
Closely related to his studies of aircraft vibrations and flutter are his studies of the stability of the front wheel of a three-wheeled landing gear, which made it possible to propose expedient and simple design measures to eliminate shimming (self-excited rotations and displacements) of an aircraft wheel during takeoff or landing, which led to the destruction of the front landing gear of the aircraft. According to available data, there were more than 150 shimmy-related accidents in German aviation, and none in domestic aviation. In 1946, for research in this area, he was awarded the Stalin Prize of the 2nd degree for the second time.
Success applied works Keldysh is due not only to his deep intuition as a mechanical engineer and experimenter, but also to his outstanding talent as a mathematician, a subtle theorist and creator of computational algorithms and methods. Conversely, many of his fundamental mathematical studies had their origin in problems arising from his work in mechanics. As a mathematician, Keldysh contributed to the theory of functions, potential theory, differential equations, and functional analysis. Keldysh's results in mechanics, covering hydrodynamics, aerodynamics, gas dynamics, and mechanics of aircraft structures, are of great importance. Keldysh learned a lot from communicating with aircraft designers, primarily S.A. Lavochkin and A.N. Tupolev.
In September 1943, Keldysh was elected a corresponding member of the USSR Academy of Sciences in the Department of Physical and Mathematical Sciences. In June 1944, he became the head of the recently created department of mechanics at the Mathematical Institute of the USSR Academy of Sciences and remained in this position until 1953. A scientific seminar worked at the department, bringing together specialists in aeromechanics. At the same time, he resumed teaching at Moscow State University, which began in 1932, he lectured at the faculties of mechanics, mathematics and physics and technology, headed the department of thermodynamics, and led a research seminar on the theory of functions of a complex variable. From 1942 to 1953 Keldysh was a professor at Moscow State University. Many of his students of that time became prominent scientists, among them academicians A.A. Gonchar, D.E. Okhotsimsky, T.M. Eneev.
At the end of 1946, Keldysh was elected a full member of the USSR Academy of Sciences in the Department of Technical Sciences. Has begun new period his activities, associated with the names of the “three Ks”: I.V. Kurchatov, S.P. Korolev and M.V. Keldysh. Immediately after his election as an academician, he was appointed head (since August 1950, scientific director) of the leading research institute (NII-1 of the Ministry of Aviation Industry, now the M.V. Keldysh Center), which dealt with applied problems of rocketry. Since that time, the main direction of Keldysh’s activity has been associated with rocket technology. The world's first intercontinental missile was launched in the USSR on August 21, 1957.
In 1949 Keldysh became a member communist party, was subsequently elected a member of the CPSU Central Committee (since 1961), a delegate to the CPSU congresses (XXII, 1961; XXIII, 1966; XXIV, 1971; XXV, 1977).
IN post-war years. Keldysh was involved in solving problems of nuclear energy and computational mathematics. New research methods were required, first of all effective methods and means of mathematical calculation. The need to create them caused a revolution in the field of computational mathematics, which radically changed its general scientific significance. Keldysh was one of the first to predict the role of computational mathematics in increasing the efficiency of scientific and technical research. Having met the creators of the first domestic computer, M.A. Lesechko and Yu.Ya. Bazilevsky, he became an expert in this field. In 1953, he became the founder of the Institute (until 1966 - Department) of Applied Mathematics of the USSR Academy of Sciences and its permanent director. The development of modern computational mathematics in our country is largely connected with the activities of this institute, which now bears his name.
In the works to create nuclear missile shield Keldysh took part both as a leader of large teams and as the author of many scientific and technical ideas and computational methods. At this time he published works on assessing the consequences nuclear explosion: On assessing the effect of an explosion at high altitudes (1950, together with L.I. Sedov) and Point explosion in the atmosphere (1955, together with D.E. Okhotsimsky and others)
In 1956 he was awarded the title of Hero of Socialist Labor, and in 1957 his scientific achievements awarded the Lenin Prize.
He made outstanding contributions to the development of Soviet space science and technology. Having started working on space topics in 1946 in creative collaboration with S.P. Korolev, he was one of the initiators of a wide expansion of work on the study and exploration of space. From the beginning of 1956 he headed one of the leading areas in their implementation. His contribution to the formation and successful development of such scientific directions like mechanics space flight and space navigation. Since 1953, work has been carried out at the Mathematical Institute of the USSR Academy of Sciences to solve the problems of launching an artificial satellite into Earth orbit, culminating in its successful launch and placement into orbit on October 4, 1957. Decisive role Keldysh played in the creation of a relatively cheap launch vehicle for launching satellites into orbit for scientific programs (satellites of the “Cosmos” family). He led the “Lunar” program, including flights of automatic stations of the “Luna” family, directed by Keldysh. Involved research teams in the program, led meetings and seminars to discuss research results and adopt further plans. The first apparatus was sent to the Moon on January 2, 1959. On October 4, 1959, images were received reverse side Moon (from the Luna-3 spacecraft). In 1966, a soft landing was made on the surface of the Moon, and an artificial satellite (Luna-10) was launched into its orbit. In October 1970, Luna-16 launched, delivering samples lunar soil to Earth, then the launch of the automatic station "Luna-17" with the self-propelled vehicle "Lunokhod-1"; In total, by 1976, 34 devices of the Luna series were launched. The first three launches of spacecraft to the Moon ended in disasters: the R-7 rockets, which successfully launched artificial satellites into Earth orbit, exploded in flight. Keldysh was able to understand the cause of the disasters - the development of vibrations in the rocket fuel system. No less effective is Keldysh’s participation in the Venus research program associated with the automatic stations of the Venus family (starting with Venera-4, 1967); the Venera-7 apparatus (1970) showed that the pressure on the surface of Venus is 100 earth's atmosphere, temperature 400° C. The role of Keldysh in the exploration of Mars is great. In 1960, in preparation for the launch of the first automatic station to Mars, Keldysh proposed testing instruments intended for the study of Mars under terrestrial conditions. This made it possible to identify ineffective equipment and save tens of kilograms in the weight of the automatic station. He traveled to test sites and cosmodromes during the preparation and launch of spacecraft, was a member of various commissions on space problems, was the chairman of expert commissions, commissions to analyze the causes of accidents, in particular, he was the chairman of the emergency commission to determine the causes of death of the crew spacecraft"Soyuz-11" (cosmonauts G.T. Dobrovolsky, V.N. Volkov and V.I. Patsaev (1971).
Identification of new scientific and technical problems, development of space technology, formation of comprehensive scientific and technical programs, flight control issues are far from full list problems that were within the scope of Keldysh’s activities. In 1961, for special services in the development of rocket technology, the creation and successful launch on April 12, 1961 of the world's first spaceship "Vostok" with a man on board, he was awarded the title of Hero of Socialist Labor for the second time.
On March 18, 1965, the first human spacewalk was carried out (cosmonaut Alexei Leonov). Keldysh made a huge contribution to the joint Soviet-American space flight Soyuz-Apollo (1975) and the development of flights under the Intercosmos program.
He was one of the initiators of the creation in 1951 of the Moscow Institute of Physics and Technology(in Dolgoprudny, Moscow region) and gave lectures for some time, for a long time was the head of the department.
A large period of Keldysh’s life is associated with his activities in the Presidium of the USSR Academy of Sciences, which began in October 1953 and continued until the end of his life. Since 1953 he has been Academician-Secretary of the Department of Mathematics of the Academy of Sciences. In 1960 he was elected vice-president, and in May 1961 - president of the USSR Academy of Sciences.
Heading the USSR Academy of Sciences from 1961 to 1975, he provided full support for the development in our country not only of mathematics and mechanics, but also of new areas of modern science, such as cybernetics, quantum electronics, molecular biology and genetics. In 1062, the Presidium of the USSR Academy of Sciences decided to build a complex of biological institutes in the city of Pushchino. Under Keldysh, a comprehensive audit of the activities of T.D. Lysenko took place, which made it possible to expose the pseudoscientific concepts of “Lysenkoism”, which denied genetics. N.I. Vavilov was posthumously restored to the list of full members of the Academy, and his merits in biology and agricultural sciences were confirmed.
The years when Keldysh held the post of President of the USSR Academy of Sciences were the period of the most rapid growth of the Academy, turning it into the largest center fundamental science. In 1971, for exceptional services to the state in the development of Soviet science and technology, great scientific and social activities, and in connection with his 60th anniversary, Keldysh became three times Hero of Socialist Labor (the eleventh three times Hero for the entire time this title was awarded).
Developed international scientific cooperation and coordination in every possible way scientific research. On scientific visits he visited Germany and England (1965), Czechoslovakia (1963, 1970), Japan (1964), Poland (1964, 1973), France (1965,1967), Romania (1966), Bulgaria (1966, 1969), Hungary (1967), Canada (1967), Italy (1969), Sweden (1969), Spain (1970), USA (the first official visit of the Russian Academy of Sciences for its entire existence, 1972). Keldysh spoke German fluently and French, also read in Italian, already in mature age(after 50) began to study English. His merits received international recognition, among his titles: academician of the German Academy of Naturalists "Leopoldina" (GDR, 1961), academician of the Academy of Sciences of Mongolia (1961), academician of the Academy of Sciences of Poland (1962), academician of the Academy of Sciences of Czechoslovakia (1962), honorary member Academy of Sciences of Romania (1965), honorary foreign member of the Academy of Sciences of Bulgaria (1966), honorary foreign member of the American Academy of Sciences and Arts in Boston (1966), corresponding member of the German Academy of Sciences in Berlin (1966), honorary member of the Royal Society of Edinburgh ( 1968), honorary member of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences (1970), honorary member of the Academy of Finland (1974); honorary doctor from the University of Delhi (1967), honorary doctor from the University of Budapest (1967), honorary doctor from the University of Lagos (Nigeria, 1968), honorary doctor from Charles University in Prague (Czechoslovakia, 1974), honorary doctor from the Indian Statistical Institute (1974).
Keldysh did a lot of work in the Committee for Lenin and State Prizes of the USSR in the field of science and technology, heading it from 1961 until his death. His reviews of the presented works have independent scientific interest. He fully supported the transition to mass machine production, which made labor easier. He highly appreciated the introduction of cotton and tea harvesting machines. IN last years life Keldysh was interested in the problem of creating solar power plants in space orbit.
On January 10, 1973, Keldysh underwent surgery on blood vessels, performed by American professor M. De Becky (who refused the fee for the operation and expressed gratitude for the honor of operating on Keldysh).
Awarded the Order of Lenin (1945, twice 1954, 1956, 1961, 1967, 1975), the Red Banner of Labor (1943, 1945, 1953), medals "For Valiant Labor in the Great Patriotic War" (1945), "800 Years of Moscow" (1947) ), "20 years of Victory" (1965), "For valiant work in commemoration of the 100th anniversary of the birth of V.I. Lenin" (1970), "30 years of Victory" (1975). Knight of the Order of the Legion of Honor (Commander) (1971), the highest orders of a number of other countries.
Gold medal named after M.V. Lomonosov of the USSR Academy of Sciences (1976).
He died on June 24, 1978. The urn with Keldysh’s ashes was buried in the Kremlin wall near Red Square in Moscow.
Mstislav Vsevolodovich Keldysh - photo
Mstislav Vsevolodovich Keldysh - quotes
We worked selflessly, but did not think about the meaning of our work. And only when, barely catching our breath after the launch, we heard how this launch was perceived throughout the world, we realized that the space age of mankind had begun. 
The Academy became the headquarters of Soviet science.
For forty years now, the outstanding Soviet scientist Mstislav Vsevolodovich Keldysh has not been with us. He passed away on June 24, 1978.
Mstislav Vsevolodovich was rightfully a luminary national science, a well-known scientist in the field of applied mathematics and mechanics in the country and the world. He was one of the ideologists of the Soviet space program, a man who devoted his life to the development of Soviet science, and a major statesman. From 1961 to 1975 he was president of the USSR Academy of Sciences.
The famous Soviet scientist was born in Riga on February 10 (January 28, old style) 1911 in the family of an adjunct professor at the Riga Polytechnic Institute and a major civil engineer Vsevolod Mikhailovich Keldysh (future academician of architecture). A professor and major general of the engineering and technical service, he was considered the founder of the methodology for calculating building structures; he would later be called the “father of Russian reinforced concrete.” The mother of the future famous scientist, Maria Alexandrovna (née Skvortsova), was a housewife.
Mstislav Keldysh's parents came from noble families and knew well foreign languages, in particular, German and French, loved music and art, played the piano. The family was large, there were seven children, with Mstislav being the fifth child. Parents devoted a lot of time to the upbringing and development of their children and worked with them.
After Riga was approached in 1915 German troops, the Keldysh family was evacuated to Moscow. Having survived safely revolutionary events, they lived in Ivanovo in 1919-1923, where the head of the family taught at the local polytechnic institute. In 1923 they returned to the capital again. In Moscow Mstislav Keldysh studied at special school with a construction focus (experimental school No. 7), in the summer he often went with his father to various construction sites, communicated a lot and worked with ordinary laborers. At the same time, while still studying in grades 7-8, Keldysh began to show great abilities in mathematics; teachers noted the young man’s extraordinary abilities in the field exact sciences.
In 1927, he successfully graduated from school and was going to become a builder, continuing the path of his father, but he was not accepted into the Institute of Civil Engineering because of his age; at that time he was only 16 years old. Taking advantage of the advice of his older sister Lyudmila, who graduated from the Faculty of Physics and Mathematics of Moscow State University, he entered the same faculty that same year. Since the spring of 1930, Mstislav Keldysh, while studying at Lomonosov Moscow State University, worked as an assistant at the Electrical Engineering Institute, and then also at the Machine Tool Institute.
In 1931, after graduating from Moscow State University, Keldysh was sent to the Central Aerodynamic Institute named after N. E. Zhukovsky (TsAGI). He worked at this institute until 1946. Having gone a long way from an engineer to a senior engineer and group leader, he headed the dynamic strength department (this was in 1941). Since 1932, already working at TsAGI, Mstislav Keldysh also lectured at Moscow State University, doing a lot of teaching work.
While working at TsAGI, Mstislav Keldysh did a lot for the development of Soviet aircraft manufacturing. Under his direct leadership, a number of important research in the field of aerohydrodynamics. Being a TsAGI specialist, in the fall of 1934 he entered graduate school (subsequently supplemented by a two-year doctorate) at the Steklov Mathematical Institute of the USSR Academy of Sciences. In 1935 he successfully defended his dissertation, after which he was awarded the degree of Candidate of Physical and Mathematical Sciences, and in 1937 - the degree of Candidate of Technical Sciences and the title of professor in the specialty "aerodynamics". On February 26, 1938, Mstislav Vsevolodovich successfully defended his doctoral dissertation, becoming a Doctor of Physical and Mathematical Sciences. In the same year, he joined the Scientific and Technical Council of TsAGI, later becoming a member of the Scientific Council of this institute.
During the Great Patriotic War, Mstislav Vsevolodovich Keldysh worked at various Soviet aircraft factories, and also, as head of the dynamic strength department at TsAGI, supervised work on the problem of vibrations in aircraft construction. It should be noted that in the 1930s and 1940s, getting rid of “flutter” (spontaneous vibration of the wing when the aircraft’s flight speed increases) was one of the most current problems. Thanks to the work carried out by Keldysh together with his colleagues, a solution was found that allowed the development of high-speed aviation. For their work in this area, Mstislav Vsevolodovich Keldysh and Evgeny Pavlovich Grossman were awarded the Stalin Prize of the 2nd degree in 1942, and a year later Keldysh received his first Order of the Red Banner of Labor.
Along with his main work, even during the war years, Mstislav Vsevolodovich did not stop teaching at Moscow State University. From 1942 to 1953 The professor headed the department of thermodynamics at Moscow State University and taught a course in mathematical physics. Then, during the war years, on September 29, 1943, Mstislav Vsevolodovich was elected corresponding member of the USSR Academy of Sciences in the Department of Physical and Mathematical Sciences. In 1946 he became a full member of the Academy, in 1953 a member of its Presidium, in 1960-61 vice-president, and from 1961 - president of the USSR Academy of Sciences.
At the same time, the significance of Mstislav Keldysh’s research for the development of mathematics in our country and in the world was no less than his work in the field of aerodynamics and research in the interests of the aviation industry. His work on differential equations and approximation theory, functional analysis surprised many of his colleagues because he in simple form could formulate problems to be solved. Keldysh was fluent in many of the sections mathematical science, being able to find the most unexpected analogies, which contributed to effective use existing mathematical apparatus, as well as the creation of new techniques. The work of this Soviet scientist in mathematics and mechanics in the mid-1940s received not only recognition from his colleagues, but also brought the scientist fame in scientific world, including far beyond Soviet Union.
After the end of the Great Patriotic War, Mstislav Vsevolodovich Keldysh worked on the creation of Soviet missile systems and nuclear power. In 1946, Keldysh was appointed head of the Jet Research Institute (NII-1 of the Ministry of Aviation Industry, today Research Center(IC) named after M.V. Keldysh), who was involved in the decision applied problems rocket science. From August 1950 to 1961, he was the scientific director of NII-1, the main direction of his activity was related to the development of Soviet rocketry. In 1951, Keldysh was one of the initiators of the creation of the Moscow Institute of Physics and Technology, located in the Moscow region in the city of Dolgoprudny. Here he gave lectures and was the head of one of the departments.
Mstislav Keldysh took a direct part in the creation of the Soviet thermonuclear bomb. For this purpose, in 1946 he organized a special settlement bureau at the Steklov Mathematical Institute. In 1956, Mstislav Vsevolodovich was awarded the title of Hero of Socialist Labor for his participation in the creation of thermonuclear weapons; later he would become a Hero of Socialist Labor three times (1956, 1961 and 1971). In the USSR, Mstislav Keldysh was one of the founders of work on the creation of rocket and space systems and the exploration of space; it is no coincidence that he joined the Council of Chief Designers, which was headed by Sergei Pavlovich Korolev.
Since the mid-1950s he has been involved theoretical basis and research in the field of launching artificial bodies into low-Earth orbit, and in the future – flights to the Moon and planets of the Solar system. In 1954, together with S. Korolev, a letter was submitted to the government with a proposal to create an artificial Earth satellite (AES). Already on January 30, 1956, Mstislav Keldysh was appointed chairman of the special commission of the USSR Academy of Sciences on artificial satellites. The scientist managed to play very important role on the issue of creating in our country a launch vehicle designed to launch satellites into orbit under scientific programs (spacecraft of the Cosmos family). Managed the “lunar” program, including flights to natural satellite Lands of automatic Soviet stations "Luna". In addition, Keldysh took part in programs aimed at studying Venus with automatic space stations of the Venus family. Considering his contribution to space exploration, in 1960 he was appointed chairman of the established Interdepartmental Scientific and Technical Council for space research at the USSR Academy of Sciences.
Heading the Academy of Sciences from 1961 to 1975, Mstislav Vsevolodovich provided all possible support for the development of mathematical science and mechanics in our country, as well as the development of new areas of science, which included cybernetics, molecular biology, genetics and quantum electronics. In addition to his main work, the scientist was a member of various commissions on space problems. In particular, he was the chairman of the emergency commission, which was engaged in establishing the circumstances and causes of the death of the crew of the Soyuz-11 spacecraft. Mstislav Keldysh made a huge contribution to the implementation of the first joint Soviet-American space flight as part of the Soyuz-Apollo program, as well as the development of flights within the Intercosmos program. In the last years of his life, Mstislav Vsevolodovich paid a lot of attention to the work on creating solar power plants located in orbit; this problem really fascinated him.
The merits of the scientist were highly appreciated in his homeland. Mstislav Vsevolodovich Keldysh was three times Hero of Socialist Labor, winner of seven Orders of Lenin, three Orders of the Red Banner of Labor, numerous orders and medals, including from foreign countries. He was elected a foreign member of 16 Academies of Sciences around the world, and also served as honorary doctorate from six universities.
About views and life position Mstislav Keldysh is best spoken by his parting words to academician Ivan Petrovsky, whom the scientist blessed to become rector at Moscow State University. He recommended that the newly appointed rector follow three rules in his work, which, apparently, were his main ones life principles: do not fight evil, but try to do good, kind deeds; do not listen to complaints in the absence of those about whom they are complaining; Do not promise anything to anyone, but if you promised, then do it, even if the situation or circumstances worsen. In a conversation with Petrovsky, Keldysh tried to explain his rules in the most understandable way. In particular, he noted that one should not fight evil, because in this fight evil will use all available means, and good will only use noble ones, so lose and suffer from this fight. Not listening to complaints about other people is very useful: the number of complainers immediately decreases, and when both sides come to you, the analysis of the situation speeds up due to the absence of people having unfounded complaints against each other. Finally, it is better to never promise and do what is asked of you than to promise and not do if circumstances prevent you.
Mstislav Vsevolodovich Keldysh passed away on June 24, 1978. An urn containing the ashes of the famous Soviet scientist was buried in the Kremlin wall on Red Square. By official version, the scientist died of a heart attack, his body was discovered in his Volga in the garage at the dacha in the village of academicians in Abramtsevo. At the same time, a version was spread that the famous scientist committed suicide by poisoning himself with the exhaust fumes of a car engine. Some note that at that time the professor was deeply depressed and also seriously ill. Due to his illness in 1975, he resigned as president of the USSR Academy of Sciences. Regardless of the causes and circumstances of the death of the great scientist, his passing was a truly difficult loss not only for the entire country, but also for domestic and world science. The scientist passed away relatively early; at that time he was 67 years old.
The memory of Mstislav Vsevolodovich Keldysh was immortalized by his descendants. Numerous streets and squares are named after him, and many monuments to him have been erected in various cities of the country and the former Soviet Union, including in Riga, where he was born. A Russian Academy Sciences for outstanding scientific work in the field of applied mathematics and mechanics, as well as theoretical research in the field of space exploration today presents gold medals named after the outstanding domestic scientist Mstislav Vsevolodovich Keldysh.
Based on materials from open sources
