Post-Soviet fins: Russian models 2

[David Wilson]

I'm devoting this thread to fins made by Ярославский завод резиновых технических изделий, or Yaroslavl Rubber Technical Plant. In recent years, such fins have been sold under the brand name "SPINE". A couple of models in the YaRTI range are solid black versions of fins with the same names in the Al'faplastik canon and we'll start with those.

Del'fin

These fins closely resemble the original Del'fins from the 1960s. Note the dolphin logo on the blade in the third image. These fins are available in four European sizes: 35-37, 38-40, 41-43 and 44-46.The paper sticker on the blade in the fourth image indicates that the fins are size 4, the biggest in the range. This translates to EU 44-46, which in turn equates roughly to US 11-13. They cost 550 roubles, which would be $9.61 at today's exchange rates, although this version of the Del'fin may be going out of production and hence hard to source in the West.

Here's a label embossed on the instep:

Within the ring, the first line indicates the European sizing, namely 44-46, the second line indicates the Russian size, namely 285-295 (mm), the third line indicates the 1977 national Standard accrediting the fin, namely GOST 22469-77, the fourth line indicates the initials of the manufacturer, namely "ЯРТИ" (YaRTI), standing for "Ярославский завод резиновых технических изделий", or Yaroslavl Rubber Technical Plant.

The next message will be about another adult fin found in both the Al'faplastik and the YaRTI catalogues, the Strela or "Arrow".

 

[David Wilson]

As promised, YaRTI's version of the "Стрела" (Transliteration: Strela; translation: Arrow) fin. It is available in one size: EU 35-37 / 225-235 mm. The blade is reinforced by two side rails and a centre rib on the bottom.

Strela

These fins closely resemble Mosrezina Nerpa fins from the 1960s. Note the arrow logo on the blade in the third image. These fins are available in European size 35-37.The paper sticker on the blade in the fourth image indicates the price of the fins, 400 roubles, which would be $6.84 at today's exchange rates, although this version of the Strela may be going out of production and hence hard to source in the West.

There is information embossed near the heel of the fin:

This mark indicates the size (EU 35-37) and the national accreditation standard (ГОСТ 22469—77; English: GOST (Soviet State Standard) 22469 of 1977) entitled ЛАСТЫ РЕЗИНОВЫЕ ДЛЯ ПЛАВАНИЯ: ОБЩИЕ ТЕХНИЧЕСКИЕ УСЛОВИЯ (RUBBER SWIMMING FINS: GENERAL SPECIFICATIONS). This Russian-language standard still applies to all rubber swimming fins manufactured in Russia and Ukraine. Finally, the initials "ЯРТИ" (YaRTI) stand for "Ярославский завод резиновых технических изделий", or Yaroslavl Rubber Technical Plant, the manufacturer of the fin.

YaRTI do not make children's fins, so there is no equivalent of the Al'faplastik Malyutka or Zolotaya rybka fins. The next few postings will focus on the remaining closed-heel fins made by YaRTI and then cover the open-heel fins in the range.

 

[David Wilson]

Next up in the YaRTI range are Ikhtiandr fins, which have a long history already outlined in my other threads going back to the 1960s when the prototype (below) was simply dubbed "Model 5" before earning the name "Barrakuda":

The post-Soviet version retained the closed-heel, open toe design of this idiosyncratic fin with its long reinforcement ribs stretching from blade to heel on the base. The name "Ikhtiandr" derives from the Greek words for "fish" and "man", which passed into Russian as "Ихтиандр" and into English as "Ichthyander".

Ikhtiandr

The first image above illustrates the top and bottom of the fin. The second image shows the product name and logo on the top of the blade. The third image provides more pieces of information, namely (1) the shoe size 225-235 (foot length in millimetres), (2) the national accreditation standard (ГОСТ 22469—77; English: GOST (Soviet State Standard) 22469 of 1977) entitled ЛАСТЫ РЕЗИНОВЫЕ ДЛЯ ПЛАВАНИЯ: ОБЩИЕ ТЕХНИЧЕСКИЕ УСЛОВИЯ (RUBBER SWIMMING FINS: GENERAL SPECIFICATIONS). This Russian-language standard still applies to all rubber swimming fins manufactured in Russia and Ukraine. Then (3) there are the initials "ЯРТИ" (YaRTI), standing for "Ярославский завод резиновых технических изделий", or Yaroslavl Rubber Technical Plant, the manufacturer of the fin. Finally (4), the oval shape with the Trade Mark sign encloses the word "SPINE", which was chosen as the brand name of YaRTI's underwater swimming products.

The Ikhtiandr fins came in an adjustable open-heel version too, but I'll postpone discussion of this model until we move on to YaRTI's range of open-heel fins. There are three more closed-heel fins to go before then.

 

[David Wilson]

Onwards to YaRTI's Murena fins. "Мурена" is Russian for "Muraena", a genus of twelve species of large eels in the family Muraenidae. Murena fins are closed-heel closed-toe fins with side-rails and two additional reinforcement ribs on the bottom of the blade only. As such they resemble a cross between Del'fin and Strela fins.

Murena

The fourth image shows the embossed label near the instep. The first and second lines confirm that the fins come in European size 41-43 and conform to the national accreditation standard (ГОСТ 22469—77; English: GOST (Soviet State Standard) 22469 of 1977) entitled ЛАСТЫ РЕЗИНОВЫЕ ДЛЯ ПЛАВАНИЯ: ОБЩИЕ ТЕХНИЧЕСКИЕ УСЛОВИЯ (RUBBER SWIMMING FINS: GENERAL SPECIFICATIONS). This Russian-language standard still applies to all rubber swimming fins manufactured in Russia and Ukraine. The initials "ЯРТИ" (YaRTI) on the third line stand for "Ярославский завод резиновых технических изделий", or Yaroslavl Rubber Technical Plant, the manufacturer of the fins. The picture below shows a version of the Murena with the brand name "SPINE":

We'll proceed next to YaRTI's "Skat" closed-heel fins.

 

[David Wilson]

YaRTI's "Skat" ("Скат": Russian for "slope" or "pitch") closed-heel closed-toe fins are replicas of Akvanavt fins (below) with their shovel-like blades manufactured by Kiivguma in the Ukrainian capital:

Skat

Embossed on the sole of the fin is the product name SKAT, the European shoe size (42-44) and the brand name (SPINE). Unlike the Ukrainan model, Skat fins were only available in one size (42-44) and in one colour (black).

YaRTI's final two closed-heel fins came in blue as well as black. They will be the subject of subsequent messages in this thread.

 

[dmaziuk]

YaRTI's "Skat" ("Скат": Russian for "slope" or "pitch")

Stingray, actually, or more precisely: batoidea. Fins typically have fishy names so in this context it's definitely ray of some sort. (I think back when I'd get an F for using skat as in slope, pitch, too, but ICBW.)

 

[David Wilson]

Thank you, that does make far more sense in this context. My paperback copy of the "Akhmanova Russian Dictionary" only offered "slope" and "pitch" as renderings into English. The Russian Academic Dictionary (Скат — с русского на английский), which I should have consulted before posting, has the following translations for "скат":

ramp (скат, аппарель, трап, уклон, наклонная плоскость, борт)
slope (склон, наклон, уклон, крутизна, откос, скат)
stingray (скат)
skat (скат)
skate (конек, скат, роликовый конек)
chute (желоб, парашют, лоток, скат, спускной желоб, спуск)
ray (луч, скат, радиус, проблеск)
pitch (высота, смола, питч, подача, пек, скат)
inclination (наклон, наклонность, наклонение, склонность, влечение, скат)
descent (спуск, происхождение, снижение, нисхождение, падение, скат)
incline (наклон, уклон, скат, наклонная плоскость, бремсберг, наклонная шахта)
talus (осыпь, таранная кость, скат, откос, дилювий, отвалочный материал)
gradient (градиент, уклон, наклон, скат, склонение, степень уклона)
hang (вид, наклон, смысл, манера, склон, скат)
fall (падение, осень, снижение, спад, выпадение, скат)
staple (основной продукт, штапель, скоба, скрепка, скобка, скат)
devilfish (морской дьявол, каракатица, осьминог, скат)

Coincidentally, during the 1970s or 1980s, the then American US diving equipment company Voit named one of its outsourced Malaysian-made fin models "Stingray" (below):

The name "Stingray" was also given to a compensator and purge-valve diving mask manufactured in England by Haffenden-Richborough during the 1970s:

The Russian word transliterated as "skat" also closely resembles "skate", which is a tasty though annoyingly bony fish offered occasionally as an alternative to cod, haddock, plaice and sole in better British fish restaurants.

Your correction will enable me to avoid the same mistake when I proceed to my next thread concerning post-Soviet Ukrainian fins, one of which is also called "Skat" but differs markedly from the Russian version.

 

[David Wilson]

"Vega" (Вега) is the name of the second-brightest star in the northern celestial hemisphere. It is also the name of one of YaRTI's closed-heel, closed-toe fins, which come in a blue colour:

Note the initials "ЯРТ" (YaRT) on the top of the foot pocket and the imprint of "Vega" (Вега) on the blade.

 

[David Wilson]

YaRTI's sixth and final closed-heel, closed-toe fin is called the "Volna" ("Волна", meaning "wave") and comes in a blue colour like the "Vega".

Volna

Uniquely, the manufacturing and sizing information is embossed on the heel of the fin (fourth image above). "265-275" represents the range of matching foot lengths in millimetres. "ГОСТ 22469—77" (English: GOST (Soviet State Standard) 22469 of 1977) refers to the national accreditation standard (ЛАСТЫ РЕЗИНОВЫЕ ДЛЯ ПЛАВАНИЯ: ОБЩИЕ ТЕХНИЧЕСКИЕ УСЛОВИЯ (RUBBER SWIMMING FINS: GENERAL SPECIFICATIONS). This Russian-language standard still applies to all rubber swimming fins manufactured in Russia and Ukraine. "ЯРТИ" (YaRTI) stands for "Ярославский завод резиновых технических изделий", or Yaroslavl Rubber Technical Plant, the manufacturer of the fin.

We'll be moving on next to YaRTI's half-dozen open-heel fins, beginning with the "Volna-2", the open-heel version of the "Volna" closed-heel fin.

 

[David Wilson]

YaRTI's "Volna-2" (Волна-2) is an adjustable open-heel fin with blades resembling the company's closed-heel Del'fin. "Volna" is Russian for "Wave".

Volna-2

Other versions have appeared on Russian online auction sites such as Avito:

Note the multiple decorative lines on the blade and the central ribs on both sides of the blade. I am inclined to believe that this design is the open-heel equivalent of the "Vega" fin, which has the same multiple longitudinal lines, but I've not yet been able to establish whether this is so.

The next message will be about the "Akula", another of YaRTI's adjustable open-heel fins.