Records released in the USSR. USSR vinyl records
November 11 - Day of Remembrance of those killed in the First World War .
Vladimir Agte.
"Dispel the fog of oblivion."
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On November 11, 1918, silence fell on Europe - the First World War ended. World War. In Russia during the Soviet period, this war was called “imperialist”, so it was believed that its participants had nothing to be proud of, and in general it was better to forget about it and its participants. But politicians start wars, and all their burden falls on the common people, first of all, on soldiers and officers. It is they who, obeying their oath and duty, go to their death, endure hardships and suffering.
On the fronts of the First World War. Here and below are photographs of 1914-1916, taken by second lieutenant of the 22nd Infantry Division of the Russian Army, Vladimir Antoninovich von Agte (1894-1949). From the author's archive.
During the First World War, over 15 million people were mobilized into the Russian army. More than six hundred thousand of them died at the front. Almost four million were wounded: not all of these people even lived to see the end of the war - others remained disabled for life. Two and a half million were captured, and how many of them died there and did not return to their homes, to their loved ones.
Who remembers these people? Their children are very old, if they have not already passed away. Grandchildren? Great-grandchildren? Not every family keeps the memory of its ancestors for a long time. Unfortunately...
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It is also very sad that at a certain period in our history it was not always safe to even remember our ancestors. It was impossible to be proud of your fathers and grandfathers - officers or generals of the tsarist army, and even if one of your relatives fought in Civil War on the white side, they were talked about even at home in a whisper, if at all.
Once, at the end of the 80s of the last century in Riga, in one of the old cemeteries I came across a small monument to the soldiers of the Russian army who died in that war. I don’t know what’s wrong with this monument now. And Riga is now the capital of a foreign state, which is not at all friendly to us.
A silent reproach to our oblivion towards our grandfathers and great-grandfathers is the fact that in Germany, the main enemy of our country in two world wars, cemeteries of our soldiers who died in German captivity in 1914-1918 exist and are maintained in exemplary order. Memorial signs are installed above their eternal rest. For example, a cross for those who died in the Kassel-Niedersweren prisoner of war camp. Former irreconcilable enemies of Russia take care of the memory of its soldiers. And we? There is something to think about.
Of course, now it is difficult, almost impossible, to name everyone who participated in that distant war. Yes, this is not necessary. But it is simply necessary to perpetuate their memory. Indeed, in many religions there is a belief that a person is alive as long as he is remembered. This is probably true.
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And on November 11, many countries, including now Russia, celebrate the Day of Remembrance of those killed in the First World War. Let's not forget about this.
Vladimir Agte, member of the Union of Journalists of Russia.
On September 1, 1910, a factory for the production of domestic gramophone records was opened in Aprelevka near Moscow. Over time, it became the largest record producer in Russia, and then in the USSR. The first record released at the factory was a record with the gypsy song “Tramp”; this record weighed about 400 grams. Now record collectors are willing to pay a lot of money for such a rarity. During the first year of operation of the factory, 400 thousand gramophone discs were produced. And within several years the factory occupied one of the leading places in Russia in the production of gramophone records.
The factory's new life began after the revolution, when production was nationalized. In those years, gramophone records were used for propaganda and agitation; recordings of speeches by new Russian leaders, including V.I. Lenin, were released on them.
By the early 1930s, the factory began producing records again, and was soon transformed into a plant where the annual production of records reached 19 million.
During the war years, the production of records decreased significantly. And after the war, in the late 40s, the factory began producing long-playing records. The first stereo records were released in 1961, but regular 78 rpm records continued to be produced until 1971.
In 1964, the Melodiya recording company was created in the USSR and a new stage in the life of the plant and record production began. The plant began to produce not only musical records, but also a significant number of records for children. Entire generations grew up in the USSR on fairy tales recorded on April records. But the main shortage in the 60-80s was records of pop performers.
In the early 90s, the production of records began to decline and in 1995 the production of records completely ceased and the plant switched to producing tape cassettes.
I would like to believe that the age of gramophone records is not over. And old recordings, many of which were made in Aprelevka, will delight true music connoisseurs for a long time.
Evgeniy Maksimov ©
There is a lot of controversy and legends on this issue, but before drawing conclusions, let's take an interest in this company.
In this article, I used material from Wikipedia and selected the most significant facts about the enormous work and excellent quality of the Melodiya company.
The foreign trade association "International Book" became the representative of "Melody" abroad. Contracts were concluded and exported through the International Book.
Through mediation, in 1965, Melodiya entered into a contract with Ariola-Eurodisc, a German company Ariola Records (also known as Ariola, Ariola-Eurodisc) - a German record label. 
The Ariola-Eurodisc label was founded in 1958. In the 1980s, Ariola Records founded a subsidiary to develop computer programs and video games, Ariolasoft.
By the way, since the late 1980s it has belonged to Bertelsmann Music Group, as its part Ariola entered Sony Music Entertainment.
In accordance with the agreement, Ariola received special rights to publish and distribute classical music from the Melodiya music library.
The success of sales of Soviet recordings in Germany became a factor in the signing of an exclusive contract for Melodiya with the US company Capitol in August 1966.
Capitol Records- a major US record label.
It was founded in 1942. In 1955 it was purchased by the British major record company EMI. In 2001, EMI merged Capitol Records with another label, Priority Records. 
According to Capitol President Alan Livingston, most the material was planned to be recorded in Russia; At the same time, he noted that the high quality of Soviet sound recording is not inferior to American.
By 1970, Capitol planned to release 300 million records of classical music from the Melodiya library.
For this purpose, the joint company Melodiya-Angel was founded. Moreover, expectations from sales in America were justified, and later, in connection with the sale of 250,000 records of Soviet recordings, Melodiya was awarded a Golden Disc from Capitol.
In 1968, a contract was signed with HMV, with HMV Group PLC inheriting its name from the famous “Voice of His Master” logo, featuring a dog, HMV Group PLC is one of the leading 
UK music, book, and entertainment media retailers, entries from the "Tunes" catalog were in the UK.
The dog at the gramophone is the main value of the HMV Group. The HMV logo, which appeared at the beginning of the twentieth century, is one of the legendary ones. It shows the fox terrier Nipper listening to the recorded voice of his deceased owner. By the way, the name HMV itself stands for “His Master’s Voice” (“His Master’s Voice”), the company was originally called The Gramophone Company.
At one time, she paid 100 pounds sterling for the right to depict Nipper.
(1884-1895) was a dog who served as a model for a painting called His Voice 
The owner of “His Master’s Voice”. This image was the basis for logos that were used by several audio brands: Victor Talking Machine Company, HMV, EMI, RCA, RCA Victor, Victrola, Electrola, Bluebird, Zonophone, JVC and Deutsche Gramophone.
As of 1970, Soviet gramophone records were exported to more than 65 countries, including France, the Netherlands, and even Japan; Moreover, contacts were established with the countries of Eastern Europe.
Since 1973, after the USSR joined the Universal Copyright Convention, licensing agreements began to develop.
The desire to expand production and improve Melodiya products began with the launch of a new enterprise - the Moscow Experimental Plant Gramzapis (MOZG), which came into operation in 1978.
In 1986, a contract was signed with Mobile Fidelity- Founded in 1977 by Brad Miller, MFSL 
specializes in remastering major label music for the "" market. became the exclusive distributor of Melodiya recordings in North America.
By 1991, Firma Melodiya owned 21 enterprises, including factories and record stores.
But the circulation of Melodiya products began to gradually decline. This was explained economic situation in Russia, a reduction in orders.
In the early 1990s, the director of Melodiya, Valery Vasilyevich Sukhorado, signed an agreement with the recording concern BMG.
According to the agreement, licenses for phonograms and distribution rights were transferred to BMG for exclusive use, which, according to Troshin, led to the destruction of the entire structure of the Melodiya company. In 2003, the contract with BMG expired. so, what is next????
In terms of recording equipment, the studio had, in particular, a Swiss four-track tape recorder Studer J-87 (1971).
From the editor-in-chief of the magazine “Sound Engineer” Anatoly Weizenfeld.
- The microphones were really tube Neumann 47, 87, etc.
- Both Leningrad and Ekran, now Nevaton, were used
- Consoles – Amek, Neve, Siemens, Valley People
- There was very little processing mainly: Valley People compressors, Klark teknik, Sony, Trace Elliot equalizers.
- sheet reverberators AKG, Tesla.
- Tape recorders - Studer, Sony, Otari, and Telefunken.
The master disc was cut on an Ortofon machine from the so-called “corrected take”; the equipment in the studios was the best that existed then, but not all operators were allowed to use such high-quality equipment and not all were able to work - and the quality of the Melody records is on sale was very different. Hence there are many questions about the differences between records by labels, factories - .
The studio's sound engineer, Rafik Ragimov, talked about working on the first albums of the Pesnyary group in 1979-1980, mentioning 24-track Studer and Otari, an English Amec console, and German Neumann U47 microphones. Since the early 1960s, all VSG recordings were made only in , and in the 1970s, the development of quadraphonic recording began. In 1966-1976, VSG received about 50 international awards. not bad for those times!!!
In the 1980s there was also a mobile studio "Tonvagen", also known as "MCI", manufactured in London and 
demonstrated at the Moscow exhibition “Svyaz-80”. Some groups used it underground: they followed the studio and worked in it at night.
So in 1983 the groups Aquarium and Strange Games recorded their albums, and in the period from 1987 to 1989 the albums “Block of Hell” and “The Sixth Forester” by the group Alice were recorded. Of the ones officially recorded at the studio, the first studio album of the group “Master” is known.
The All-Union Recording Studio (VSG) was organized on November 5, 1957, recordings took place in a specially equipped building of the former Anglican Church, with large (on the first floor) and small (on the second floor) studio halls.
There were also special equipment rooms for editing recordings and taking takes, which were equipped with numerous devices for recording on magnetic tape and copying onto discs, and a restoration equipment room for restoring particularly old recordings from archives, as well as private collections. Available for recording from the Great Hall of the Moscow Conservatory and Bolshoi Theater. The editorial and management of the VSG was located in the parsonage at the church.
The Leningrad recording studio was opened on April 29, 1959. In 1964, the studio became part of Melodiya as an independent structure.
All recordings took place in the building of the Academic Chapel, and since 1988 in the premises of the Lutheran Church on Bolshoy Prospekt of Vasilievsky Island. Initially, the studio was equipped with equipment developed by the Leningrad Optical-Mechanical Association, then with Czech equipment from Tesla - I have such layers - very good. good ones. And again )))
In 1964, together with the Riga plant, it became part of Melodiya. From the first days of its foundation, the permanent editor-in-chief John Juštšuk (Estonian: Joann Juštšuk) worked in the studio. In 1967, the studio already had 8 people on staff. Sound engineer and music researcher Heino Pedusaar enhanced the high quality of the recordings.
The main part of the cultural heritage of the Melodiya studio was the work on a series of recordings of organ music. I want this series for myself)))
In 1978-1986, musicologist Ruta Skudienė (lit. Rūta Skudienė), a compiler of collections of Lithuanian jazz, worked as the editor of the studio.
Over time, the studio was equipped with the most modern equipment, stereo and multi-channel recording methods were mastered: in 1987, the studio had an 8-channel Studer mixing console, 2-channel Studer A-80 and C37 tape recorders and 8-channel Ampex 440B, sound speakers.
The Leningrad plant of gramophone records was put into operation under the leadership of director and innovator Yu. Kh. Tsomaev in 1948 at Tsvetochnaya street, building 11. The equipment of this plant was assembled on the basis of the expropriated German gramophone plant Tempo.
In 1956, they began producing long-playing gramophone records, and in 1962, stereophonic records. Since August 1957, it began to be called “Accord” and came under the control of the chemical industry department of Lensovnarkhoz.
On July 11, 1964, the plant was included in the Melodiya company under the name “Leningrad Record Plant of the All-Union Company of Gramophone Records “Melodiya”. He released records at 78 (grands) and 33 rpm. (flexible, minions, grandees, giants). In 1972, the plant began producing color records. In the mid-1980s, in addition to the main ones, he printed records for the Polish company Tonpress.
Of course, it’s up to you, gentlemen, to draw your own conclusions, but based on this material we can judge that the Melodiya company was equipped with excellent imported equipment and could compete well with the well-known record labels of those years.
Our recent fashionable hit parade of Soviet shortages did not include gramophone records - because they are not the most valuable food product, like stew, not “a girl’s last hope to get married,” like jeans, and not a status detail of the interior, like the spines of a Dumas waste paper.
But this shortage existed, and a certain subculture formed around it..
Music in the USSR was the subject of the vigilant care of party ideologists. Starting from the repertoire plan of artists and concert organizations, and ending with particularly tricky “mastering”, i.e. final processing of sound, those recordings of Western artists who seeped drop by drop into the catalog of the All-Union Recording Company "Melodiya". But even with the lower frequencies cut off, the “company” records released by Melodiya were snapped up instantly, left under the counter, and ended up on the black market - to the “plastomaniacs”.
Objectively, the “plastomaniacs” were mostly not stupid blackmailers, like those who pushed More blocks.
It was still, with some exceptions, a subculture of people in love with music, music lovers and collectors.
But, since the price of everything is dictated by the market, in conditions of shortage, a record of the Osmonds family, obtained from under the counter of a record store, in the hands of a “plastic addict” was “valued” at 10 rubles, a disk of the “democrat” Czeslav Nemen - at 15-20, a Yugoslav "reprint" of live Deep Purple- 40, fresh ELO - 70, and the newest “sealed” album Space reached 120 rubles, i.e. up to the monthly salary of a university graduate.
"Activities of plastic addicts"
So what did the “plastomaniacs” do anyway? These parasitic citizens spent hours hovering around the few specialized record stores, carrying a bag over their shoulder containing stacks of records. They exchanged these very records, and when the exchange was clearly unequal, an additional payment in money was used. Actually, they also performed commodity-money transactions.
And here sharp-eyed citizens from the OBKhSS - Departments for Combating the Theft of Socialist Property - appeared on the stage. The plastic man was escorted under white hands to the nearest police station, where interrogators tormented him with questions, leading him to the line beyond which criminal profiteering began, i.e. buying and selling for the purpose of profit, confiscation of property loomed ahead, and, if not a trip at government expense to a “sanatorium” near the Arctic Circle, then “corrective work at construction sites of the national economy.”
Where did all this music get to the “plastic fans”? Yes, just like chewing gum, jeans and books - something was imported by the state in small quantities and for a limited circle, something was brought by business travelers from abroad.
But the time has come, Article 154 for speculation went into oblivion, and soon after it went into history and Soviet Union, and “plate lovers” turned into ordinary music lovers who collect records. Although, the most cunning of them turned their hobby into a serious business, but that’s a completely different story.
