Post-Soviet masks: Russian models

[David Wilson]

Time to start a new thread, this time about another piece of underwater swimming equipment, the diving mask. I'm going to start with the current era, which is where I left off in my threads about Soviet and post-Soviet fins, and post further threads focusing on the historical development of masks back in the USSR from the 1960s onwards.

So far as I am aware, there is just one remaining Russian diving mask manufacturer, the Yaroslavl Plant for Rubber Technical Products (Russian: Ярославль – Резинотехника) 150 kilometres northeast of Moscow. It continues to make wonderfully retro- and vintage-style masks as well as similarly styled fins. Let's begin with the Spine (YarRTI's retail arm) "Laguna" (Russian: Лагуна; English: Lagoon).

Laguna

Several Russian online retailers, including Alpha-plastik.ru, A-ludi.ru, Alzamarket.ru, Ost64.ru, Pulscen.ru, Sportoptom.ru and Sportvsem48.ru, stock the mask. Below is an English translation of a Russian advice slip that may be enclosed with the product:

Storage and use of rubber underwater swimming masks

Purpose: Sea and freshwater swimming.

Storage: Store in packs in premises with ambient temperature from 0 to 25°C at least 1 metre from heat-radiating appliances. Do not expose to direct sunlight, oil or petrol. Do not hit against hard surfaces. Do not drop.

Directions for use: Check all parts are complete, wash mask body and glass with soap and water and adjust head strap for size. After a swim, dry off or wipe mask with a cloth.

Here is a typical product description:

This Spine Laguna underwater swimming mask features ear-clearing accordion bosses, demountable rim and strap locks. Made in Russia and priced to be affordable by anyone leading an active life, the mask is designed for outdoor recreation.

Laguna masks aim to increase visibility when sea or freshwater swimming and when carrying out underwater work. Large tempered-glass window provides wide viewing angles. Secured by two screws, yellow plastic rim can be dismantled to clean, repair or replace lens.

Laguna masks are suitable for most types of face. Mask skirt and adjustable strap are made of high quality rubber. Head-strap cradle delivered unsplit. Quick-adjusting buckles can lock strap in position. Fitted with nostril-pinching accordion bosses for relief of underwater ear pressure.

Accreditation: Russian Standard GOST 20568-75 (Rubber masks for submarine swimming).
Colour: Skirt and strap — blue. Frame — yellow.
Material: Window — tempered glass. Skirt and strap — high quality rubber. Frame — PVC plastic.

The original Spine Laguna mask (above) came with a metal rim. Such early models appear now and then on the Russian online auction site Avito.ru. The current version of the Spine Laguna mask resembles the Akvanavt (Russian: Акванавт; English: Aquanaut) diving mask (below) produced by rubber goods manufacturer Kievguma in the capital of Ukraine, which was once a Soviet republic. Both models feature split plastic rims with removable screws on either side securing the mask lens.

I'll move on next to YaRTI's "Neptun" mask, which has become something of a firm favourite over the years.

 

[flyboy08]

I would dive with this mask

Where does your knowledge of all things Russian come from?

 

[David Wilson]

I would dive with this mask

And I have already done so, while snorkelling in the North Sea off the North East of England coast. It's a little wide for my narrow face, though, so it leaks a little. For practical rather than aesthetic reasons I prefer using the Nimfa (Nymph) mask in the YaRTI range (below) because it's intended for the narrower faces of female and teenage divers and it fits my face perfectly:

Where does your knowledge of all things Russian come from?

Somebody recently told me that I was a person who preferred his "paths less trodden", an allusion to the Robert Frost poem whose final lines read as follows:

Two roads diverged in a wood, and I —
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference.

I wouldn't disagree. My degrees are in modern foreign languages (French and German) and I became curious about the countries behind the Iron Curtain when I visited East Berlin in the early 1970s. While researching a Master's thesis in the mid-1970s I spent two weeks in the German Democratic Republic (East Germany) and was fascinated how time had stood still in that country and was also delighted that I was given an opportunity to practise my spoken German there while the West Germans thought I had come to their country to let THEM practise their English. Further curiosity led me to visit Poland, Czechoslovakia, Yugoslavia and Hungary, all very memorable places.

My interest in the Soviet Union and the Russian language began in the early 1960s in the final years of secondary education, when I decided to respond to a UK government report on the national importance of the teaching of Russian and signed up for a year of evening classes in the language, which stood me in good stead when I eventually visited Moscow and Leningrad (now St Petersburg) in the mid-1970s. One year was enough to learn the rudiments of grammar, the Cyrillic alphabet and a handful of small-talk phrases and this got me through when we were let loose during the guided tour and I was able to decypher the street signs.

On the diving equipment side, I've noticed that the gear States-side is so much better documented than it is here on the other side of the pond. I love the historical texts and artefacts on the Skin Diving History site, which has no European counterpart. So, taking those "roads less travelled by", I want to capture, now I'm in my late 60s, the history of underwater swimming equipment in Europe before it's too late. I began with Russian gear because there's been plenty of Russian-language diving books for sale on eBay recently and one or two of these document 1960s and 1970s gear much more thoroughly than western European diving books do when discussing the availability of masks, fins and snorkels made in their neck of the woods. I also like using and improving my limited knowledge of Russian in retirement; that has become one of my hobbies, and every man needs a hobby!

 

[David Wilson]

The next mask up is the Spine Neptun (Russian: Нептун; English: Neptune) underwater swimming mask, which like the Laguna is manufactured at the Yaroslavl Plant for Rubber Technical Products (Russian: Ярославль – Резинотехника), 250 kilometres northeast of the Russian capital, Moscow, and distributed by its sales arm Spine.

Neptun

Below is an English translation of a Russian advice slip that may be enclosed with the product:

Storage and use of rubber underwater swimming masks

Purpose: Sea and freshwater swimming.

Storage: Store in packs in premises with ambient temperature from 0 to 25°C at least 1 metre from heat-radiating appliances. Do not expose to direct sunlight, oil or petrol. Do not hit against hard surfaces. Do not drop.

Directions for use: Check all parts are complete, wash mask body and glass with soap and water and adjust head strap for size. After a swim, dry off or wipe mask with a cloth.

A typical product description reads:

This Spine Neptun underwater swimming mask features ear-clearing accordion bosses and plastic rim. Made in Russia and priced to be affordable by anyone leading an active life, the mask is designed for outdoor recreation.

Neptun masks aim to increase visibility when swimming in sea or fresh water and when carrying out underwater work. Large tempered-glass oval-shaped window (14.5 cm × 11 cm) provides wider viewing angles than twin-lens models.

Neptun masks are suitable for most types of face. Mask skirt and adjustable strap are made of high quality rubber. Head-strap cradle delivered unsplit. Quick adjusting buckles. Fitted with nostril-pinching accordion bosses for relief of underwater ear pressure.

Accreditation: Russian Standard GOST 20568-75 (Rubber masks for submarine swimming).
Colour: Skirt and strap — blue. Frame — yellow.
Material: Window — tempered glass. Skirt and strap — high quality rubber. Frame — PVC plastic.

The original Spine Neptun mask (above) came with a metal rim. Such early models appear now and then on the Russian online auction site Avito.ru. Glubinka (Russian: Глубинка; English: Backwoods) diving masks (below) now sold in Ukraine resemble the original Spine Neptun mask.

You've already had a glimpse of the next mask in the series, the Nimfa (Nymph), which I mentioned as being a model for narrower faces and therefore accommodating my own facial profile best.

 

[David Wilson]

On to "Nimfa" (Russian: Нимфа; English: Nymph) underwater swimming masks, which are manufactured in the Yaroslavl Plant for Rubber Technical Products (Russian: Ярославль – Резинотехника), 250 kilometres northeast of the Russian capital, Moscow, and distributed by its sales arm Spine. Several Russian online retailers, including Alpha-plastik.ru, A-ludi.ru, Alzamarket.ru and Sportinstructor.ru, stock the mask.

Nimfa

A typical product description reads as follows:

A replica of Soviet-era masks, the Spine Nimfa underwater swimming mask is a light version of the Neptun mask with an ear-clearing facility, demountable rim and strap locks. Made in Russia and priced to be affordable by anyone leading an active life, it is a reliable and practical mask designed for outdoor recreation.

Nymfa masks aim to increase visibility when sea or freshwater swimming and when carrying out underwater work. A large classic oval-shaped tempered-glass window provides wide viewing angles and extra protection from damage. Secured by a single screw, the white plastic frame can be dismantled to clean, repair or replace lens.

Spine Nimfa masks are widely used and suitable for most types of face. The mask skirt and adjustable strap are made of high quality non-toxic rubber ensure mask fits snugly. Head-strap cradle delivered unsplit. Quick-adjusting buckles can lock strap in position. Fitted with nostril-pinching bosses for relief of underwater ear pressure.

Colour: Skirt and strap — blue. Frame — white.
Material: Window — tempered glass. Skirt and strap — high quality, non-toxic rubber. Frame — PVC plastic. Buckles — metal.

The original version of the Spine Nimfa mask (above) came with a metal rim. Such early models appear now and then on the Russian online auction site Avito.ru.

A later plastic-rimmed version of the mask (below) is embossed with the Russian Standard GOST 20568-75 МАСКИ РЕЗИНОВЫЕ ДЛЯ ПЛАВАНИЯ ПОД ВОДОЙ (Rubber masks for submarine swimming), which was published in 1975 and remains in force:

In the image below, the price of the mask is clearly visible (8 roubles 50 kopecks), permanently embossed on the base of the mask below; price inflation was unknown in the USSR:

I'll move on next to a child's mask made by YaRTI, the "Pionyer" (Pioneer). It may no longer be available for purchase.

 

[David Wilson]

On to the "Pionyer" (Russian: Пионер; English: Pioneer) child's rubber diving mask, which is, or more likely, was manufactured by the same rubber plant in Yaroslavl as the other masks showcased so far.

Pionyer

In the final picture you can see the ink stamp of the quality control inspector on the side of the mask and the Russian Standard GOST 20568-75 (Russian: МАСКИ РЕЗИНОВЫЕ ДЛЯ ПЛАВАНИЯ ПОД ВОДОЙ English: Rubber masks for submarine swimming) embossed on the top. This Standard identifies two types of mask:
1. Mask with an oval or otherwise shaped lens secured with a separate (plastic or metal) rim.
2. Mask with an oval or otherwise shaped lens without a separate (plastic or metal) rim.
All the masks discussed earlier in this thread fall into the first category. The Pionyer falls into the second category because its lens in held tightly in place by a groove in the thick front edge of its rubber skirt.

I mentioned that production of the the Pionyer had probably been discontinued, but here is a product description from the time when it was marketed:

"Pionyer" Underwater Swimming Mask:
Designed for diving in sea and fresh water at temperature 15-35 °С. Comes with a wide flat oval window.
Material: glass and rubber.
Compensator: No.
Quickly-adjustable strap buckle.

And here are several examples of older versions of the "Pionyer":

Notice the manufacturer's initials (YaRTI) and the price (80 kopecks) as well as the Soviet Underwater Swimming Mask Standard.

So blue wasn't the only colour available in the past.

I'll move on next to the "Glubinka" mask, which comes with a metal rim and bolt, like most diving masks at one time did.

 

[dmaziuk]

Another minor nitpick: "pioner" is the Soviet version of boyscouts so the name a) does not really mean "pioneer" to the locals and b) is very appropriate for a child's mask.

 

[CT-Rich]

Really, several of these masks are identical to western designs of the 60s to the 80s. Ordering from Russia might be the easiest solution if one were interested in having a dive movie set the 1960s.

 

[David Wilson]

Another minor nitpick: "pioner" is the Soviet version of boyscouts so the name a) does not really mean "pioneer" to the locals and b) is very appropriate for a child's mask.

I'm grateful for the correction. I ought to have known that to be the case as the East Germans too had their Young and Thälmann Pioneers, which were a subdivision of the Free German Youth (FDJ).

Really, several of these masks are identical to western designs of the 60s to the 80s. Ordering from Russia might be the easiest solution if one were interested in having a dive movie set the 1960s.

Yes, the Russian models do resemble Western styles of mask predating the "silicone revolution" of the later 1970s. I'll be moving on at some stage to Soviet masks of that era and my impression is that Soviet mask designers were particularly influenced by Georges Beuchat's contribution to mask development, his patented invention of "compensator bosses" for squeezing the nostrils to clear the ears, and also by the contribution of Luigi Ferraro in the same field, particularly his Pinocchio design for Cressi. Fins manufactured in the USSR were much more distinctively "Soviet" than equivalent masks were. This said, I do think it's great that mask manufacturers in Russia and Ukraine didn't follow their western counterparts and outsource production to the Far East where there may be less quality control or there is some pressure to conform to a limited range of mask designs and to factor in Asian rather than European facial profiles when designing mask skirts.

 

[dmaziuk]

With the current situation in Ukraine, I'm not sure they're actually manufacturing anything. I looked at Kievgum site a while back, apparently they moved production to a new facility recently and now there's only one fin model listed in their product catalog. If you look at online shops, their products are "out of stock" everywhere. I expect things are better in Russia, but I'm not sure they can compete with imported stuff: typically people either buy "snorkelling sets" for the kids off the supermarket shelves, or those who can afford scuba diving can afford imported Italian gear and such.