Matvey Zaharovich (Zalmanovich) Steingart was born March 23, 1921 in the Belorussian border town of Velizh. After graduating from high school he entered a medical school. But the war prevented him from finishing it. M.Z. Steingart was drafted into the Red Army. His first baptism of fire was received during the defense of Moscow. In the battles for Moscow M.Z. Steingart was seriously wounded. After the hospital he fought in the airborne assault of the 3rd Ukrainian front, many times he parachuted down into the enemy rear. By the end of the war Matvey Zakharovitch had a rank of guards of the senior lieutenant of medical service. Orders of the Red Star, the Patriotic war of the first degree, a silver medal "For war merits", medals "For a capture of Vienna", "For clearing of Belgrade", "For a capture of Budapest", "For a victory over Germany in the Great Patriotic war of 1941-1945" gleamed on his breast. In May 1945, shortly after the Victory Day, Matvey Zakharovitch left for the Far East, where he participated in the battles with the Japanese Kwantung Army. This is evidenced by the medal "For Victory over Japan" awarded to him. Then he served in Mongolia. And only in 1947 the young man of the Order comes back to his homeland, becoming a student of the N.A. Schors Omsk Military Medical College, where Matvey Zakharov's tutor was Major Anatoly Rybakov, a future academician. In Omsk there was a civil medical college of the Ministry of Health, the head of which at that time was Evgeny Ivanovich Gavrilov, a future professor, honored worker of science of Russia. Back then, in Omsk, the strong male friendship of these extraordinary, intelligent and strong people began and lasted for many years.