Nine months ago I began a journey behind the Iron Curtain. I was on a quest to bring home the second Russian Leningrad T-2 television/radio into the USA. I say the second because the US Air Force imported the first over 60 years ago (more on this later). When I first laid eyes on a photograph of the Leningrad T-2 some years ago I vowed that I would find an example some day and add it to my collection. I had no idea how difficult that would be. Not speaking Russian, or living in Russia, meant huge language and geographical obstacles had to be overcome. Dealing with Russia, a country that most Americans see as an enemy, and likewise many of them see us as an enemy, meant huge cultural obstacles had to be overcome. Add to that the fact that Russia bans the export of objects over 50 years old which meant huge bureaucratic obstacles had to be overcome. It seemed to be an insurmountable task...
After a year of searching online sources for an example worth bringing home, I found my Leningrad this February. He (the Russian language assigns gender to objects which I've found myself adopting for this set) was listed on the Russian equivalent of Craigslist. There were 4 dim, terrible quality, cell phone photos along with a very brief description posted in the ad. What drew my attention was the original paper label behind the knobs seemed to be intact. This piece is very often missing and I wanted to find an example that included this original label. Here were the original photos:
I wrote the seller via Goggle Translate (WOW did I use that a lot during this process) and explained that I was interested in her television. Her price was higher than what I had seen other sets sell for so I knew it was not going to be sold anytime soon. Ekaterina had posted the ad, but her mother was the current owner. Ekaterina was friendly and easy to talk to. I am working with her and her mother to get the full family history of the set and will share that with everyone when I write it. What I know so far was the set originally belonged to her Grandfather. Here is a fantastic early photo of the family.
I knew I had to see better photographs of the set in order to determine if he was "the one." I called on a man named Anton Gorsky, who I had communicated with previously, and asked if he could photograph the set for me. Anton is a photographer and very well known in the Russian collector community. Anton agreed and traveled to Ekaterina's home with camera in tow. After seeing Anton's photographs I knew her set was the one I would try to get home. My next step was figuring out Russia export laws and finding help getting him packed and shipped. Enter a man named Dmitry Solomatin and his daughter-in-law Elena Kalegina. Dmitry is a well respected collector and without him I would never have been able to add this television to my collection. I often say that my favorite part of this hobby is the amazing, friendly, helpful people that are in it, and never has that been more true than in Moscow Russia and the help that Dmitry has given me, all while asking nothing in return.
Dmitry does not speak English, and of course I do not speak Russian, but his daughter-in-law Elena speaks and writes in fluent English. Elena worked her way through the bureaucracy in Moscow and managed to secure an official release letter from the Ministry Of Culture allowing the Leningrad to legally leave the country, something that most people thought would be impossible. With the release letter secured Dmitry purchased the set on my behalf and prepared it for shipping. He removed the CRT as well as the lamps (Russians refer to tubes as lamps) and packed the set it three custom made wooden crates that he built by hand. I can only describe this process as one made with love. Even the fellow who unloaded the shipment at the airport in Pittsburgh remarked "wow, those are some very nice boxes." I was shaking with excitement when I picked up the set and heard those words. I wholeheartedly agreed with him.
Unfortunately the entire set did not arrive completely unharmed. Something was loose inside the CRT that scratched the phosphor of the face of the tube. So the saga is not yet complete and I will now search for a replacement CRT. Rome wasn't built in a day, and getting a complete Leningrad T-2 won't be done for some time yet. The rest of the cabinet and chassis is amazingly well preserved. It gives me a huge smile to see this set in my collection!
