The Russians were know for making blatant copies
of Western goods and stereo viewers were no exception.
A Leningrad viewer, probably
dating to the 1960's
The stereoscope below was manufactured in
Russia and is an almost exact copy of
the French Bruguiere Model 11 Stereoclic viewer. It is every bit as good
as the original French model on which it was based. Even the slide advance
mechanism is the same, with the viewer having an advance lever on both
sides so the slide can be moved both forward and backwards. The Russian
viewer is slightly heavier than it's French equivalent, weighing in at
182g as opposed to the French viewers 165g.
Here the French and Russian viewers
can be seen, side by side, demonstrating their similarity.
The slides that came with this viewer
have the makers name, Leningrad, embossed in the cardboard in Russian, but no other
markings. They show scenes from Leningrad (St. Petersburg today) of large buildings and monuments, as well as
streets scenes with traffic.
Anitchkov Bridge Nevski Prospect
(St. Petersburg's main street) The makers name from the viewer is
also embossed on the slides, it translates to LENINGRAD
(thanks to Bjarne for the translations)
 A bakelite Russian Stereo
Viewer known as a Leningrad
This viewer probably dates back to the
1950's and is an almost exact copy of
the French Colorelife viewer. The only
significant differences being the size of the light apertures and the
method of retaining the windows and the manufacturer's markings.
 
The translation of the markings on this viewer read,
"(OMZ)
Optico-Mechanical Factory - Leningrad - Made in USSR"
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