Vertushka

The Vertushka (Russian: Вертушка) was a special internal telephone system in the Soviet Union. The telephone is dial-less and directly linked to Kremlin. It connected the leader to key subordinates, like regional party secretary, high ranking military officials or big state-owned factory chiefs. Having a Vertushka reflected the high status of the owner in the hierarchy of governance.[1][2] The telephone was designed for only receiving calls from the leader. [3] Parallel systems existed in other cities as well as in the capitals of Soviet satellite states. The name is derived from the Russian word for rotary dialers, which were first installed on a special telephone used by Lenin and considered a novelty at the time.

References
  1. Space vacuums and dial-less phones: Surprise designs behind the Iron Curtain. CNN.
  2. Sistema: How power works in modern Russia. Russia Direct.
  3. Made in Russia—In praise of the unsung icons of Soviet design. Calvert Journal.

Further reading
  • Breaking with Moscow, Arkady Shevchenko, Knopf (1985) ISBN 0-394-52055-6
  • Nomenklatura : the Soviet Ruling Class, Michael Voslensky ; translated by Eric Mosbacher ; preface by Milovan Djilas, Doubleday (1984) ISBN 0-385-17657-0
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