<s>
The	O
Agat	B-Device
(	O
)	O
was	O
a	O
series	O
of	O
8-bit	O
computers	O
produced	O
in	O
the	O
Soviet	O
Union	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
It	O
used	O
the	O
same	O
MOS	B-General_Concept
Technology	I-General_Concept
6502	I-General_Concept
microprocessor	B-Architecture
as	O
Apple	B-Device
II	I-Device
.	O
</s>
<s>
First	O
introduced	O
at	O
a	O
Moscow	O
trade	O
fair	O
in	O
1983	O
,	O
the	O
Agat	B-Device
was	O
primarily	O
produced	O
between	O
1984	O
and	O
1990	O
,	O
although	O
a	O
limited	O
number	O
of	O
units	O
may	O
have	O
been	O
manufactured	O
as	O
late	O
as	O
1993	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
Agat	B-Device
was	O
inspired	O
primarily	O
by	O
Apple	B-Device
II	I-Device
,	O
though	O
being	O
largely	O
different	O
from	O
it	O
in	O
design	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
A	O
domestically	O
produced	O
"	O
partitioned	O
588	O
series	O
"	O
CPU	O
was	O
used	O
on	O
early	O
pre-production	O
series	O
,	O
which	O
simulated	O
the	O
MOS	B-General_Concept
Technology	I-General_Concept
6502	I-General_Concept
microprocessor	B-Architecture
instruction	O
set	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
While	O
this	O
permitted	O
some	O
degree	O
of	O
compatibility	O
with	O
the	O
Apple	O
,	O
timing	O
differences	O
between	O
the	O
two	O
CPUs	O
rendered	O
certain	O
tasks	O
(	O
such	O
as	O
floppy	B-Device
disk	I-Device
access	O
and	O
sound	O
generation	O
)	O
impossible	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Later	O
models	O
incorporated	O
actual	O
MOS	B-General_Concept
6502	I-General_Concept
CPUs	O
which	O
permitted	O
a	O
greater	O
degree	O
of	O
interoperability	O
between	O
the	O
two	O
platforms	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Early	O
editions	O
of	O
the	O
Agat	B-Device
came	O
with	O
a	O
cassette	O
tape	O
reader	O
and	O
a	O
keyboard	B-Device
,	O
although	O
later	O
editions	O
replaced	O
the	O
tape	O
reader	O
with	O
a	O
5¼	O
inch	O
floppy	B-Device
disk	I-Device
drive	I-Device
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
keyboard	B-Device
utilised	O
the	O
standard	O
Russian	O
keyboard	B-Device
layout	O
,	O
and	O
offered	O
a	O
choice	O
between	O
either	O
Cyrillic	O
or	O
Latin	O
symbols	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Apart	O
from	O
the	O
initial	O
model	O
,	O
there	O
were	O
a	O
number	O
of	O
different	O
versions	O
of	O
the	O
Agat	B-Device
produced	O
:	O
</s>
<s>
Agat-4	O
:	O
A	O
small	O
quantity	O
of	O
this	O
model	O
was	O
released	O
in	O
1983	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Agat-7	O
:	O
The	O
first	O
mass-produced	O
model	O
,	O
introduced	O
in	O
1984	O
,	O
it	O
featured	O
more	O
internal	O
memory	O
(	O
96	O
KB	O
)	O
and	O
disk	O
capabilities	O
than	O
the	O
Agat-4	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Agat-8	O
:	O
An	O
updated	O
and	O
enhanced	O
version	O
of	O
the	O
Agat-7	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Agat-9	O
:	O
The	O
final	O
mass-produced	O
model	O
,	O
introduced	O
in	O
1986	O
with	O
many	O
improvements	O
upon	O
the	O
Agat-7	O
and	O
Agat-8	O
,	O
including	O
additional	O
video	O
modes	O
,	O
improved	O
memory	O
management	O
(	O
128	O
KB	O
or	O
256	O
KB	O
)	O
,	O
and	O
improved	O
compatibility	O
with	O
the	O
Apple	B-Device
II	I-Device
+	O
64K	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
initial	O
run	O
of	O
Agat-4	O
machines	O
were	O
produced	O
at	O
the	O
"	O
Lianozovsky	O
Electromechanical	O
Plant	O
"	O
(	O
LEMZ	O
)	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Production	O
was	O
difficult	O
,	O
as	O
the	O
LEMZ	O
facilities	O
were	O
more	O
intended	O
for	O
the	O
production	O
of	O
motor	O
vehicles	O
and	O
radar	O
equipment	O
,	O
rather	O
than	O
computers	O
,	O
and	O
the	O
administration	O
of	O
the	O
plant	O
was	O
not	O
closely	O
associated	O
with	O
the	O
designers	O
of	O
the	O
Agat	B-Device
.	O
</s>
<s>
Compared	O
to	O
other	O
computers	O
available	O
in	O
the	O
Soviet	O
Union	O
at	O
the	O
time	O
,	O
the	O
Agat	B-Device
was	O
several	O
times	O
cheaper	O
,	O
which	O
led	O
to	O
its	O
widespread	O
adoption	O
in	O
schools	O
and	O
other	O
educational	O
institutions	O
across	O
the	O
Soviet	O
Union	O
and	O
the	O
Eastern	O
Bloc	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
This	O
is	O
reflected	O
in	O
the	O
fact	O
that	O
most	O
of	O
the	O
software	O
available	O
for	O
the	O
Agat	B-Device
is	O
of	O
an	O
educational	O
nature	O
—	O
including	O
a	O
BASIC	O
interpreter	O
,	O
text	O
editing	O
programs	O
,	O
and	O
the	O
"	O
Shkol'nitsa	O
"	O
(	O
"	O
schoolgirl	O
"	O
)	O
package	O
,	O
designed	O
to	O
assist	O
teachers	O
in	O
the	O
classroom	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
official	O
selling	O
price	O
for	O
the	O
Agat	B-Device
was	O
3,900	O
rubles	O
,	O
as	O
much	O
as	O
twenty	O
times	O
the	O
average	O
monthly	O
salary	O
,	O
which	O
put	O
it	O
out	O
of	O
reach	O
of	O
all	O
but	O
the	O
most	O
privileged	O
of	O
private	O
individuals	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
"	O
Schoolgirl	O
"	O
with	O
Robic	B-Language
programming	O
language	O
included	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
BYTE	B-Application
in	O
November	O
1984	O
called	O
Agat	B-Device
"	O
a	O
bad	O
copy	O
of	O
the	O
Apple	O
"	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
While	O
stating	O
"	O
my	O
overall	O
impressions	O
were	O
favorable	O
,	O
considering	O
the	O
source	O
"	O
,	O
the	O
reviewer	O
found	O
that	O
"	O
the	O
operating	O
system	O
and	O
ROM	B-Device
seemed	O
to	O
be	O
a	O
direct	O
lift	O
from	O
the	O
Apple	O
"	O
,	O
the	O
internals	O
were	O
a	O
"	O
nightmarish	O
wire	O
maze	O
"	O
,	O
and	O
that	O
performance	O
was	O
noticeably	O
slower	O
than	O
that	O
of	O
a	O
real	O
Apple	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Yuri	O
Rogachyov	O
,	O
one	O
of	O
the	O
key	O
figures	O
in	O
the	O
history	O
of	O
the	O
Soviet	O
computer	O
industry	O
,	O
co-founder	O
of	O
M-series	B-Device
computers	I-Device
,	O
and	O
head	O
of	O
the	O
Scientific	O
Research	O
Institute	O
of	O
Computer	O
Complexes	O
in	O
1983	O
—	O
1988	O
,	O
stated	O
that	O
Agat	B-Device
computers	I-Device
were	O
not	O
produced	O
at	O
the	O
time	O
when	O
the	O
BYTE	B-Application
reviewer	O
arrived	O
in	O
the	O
Soviet	O
Union	O
,	O
and	O
that	O
what	O
he	O
saw	O
during	O
a	O
visit	O
to	O
the	O
Fyodorov	O
Eye	O
Microsurgery	O
Complex	O
in	O
Moscow	O
in	O
1982	O
was	O
a	O
custom-built	O
mock-up	O
device	O
intended	O
for	O
testing	O
and	O
debugging	O
medical	O
software	O
,	O
bearing	O
little	O
relation	O
to	O
even	O
the	O
early	O
Agat	B-Device
systems	O
.	O
</s>
