Some years ago we reviewed the technological evolution of the Soviet Union, especially through its many clones of Western systems, but manufacturing wasn't limited to computers—it also extended to various accessories. Recently, a mysterious user posted images of a 1989 mouse made in Red Russia, intact and with its original box. Its design isn't the only extravagant thing: the original price was equivalent to a month's salary.
A Time Capsule from the Soviet Union
Open the time capsules and let retro-futurism hit us in the head. What appeared on the web a few days ago not only managed to resist the passage of time, but has survived large-scale political changes. The 'political change' at the top of our list is the fall of the Soviet Union, and if we find something related to the computing world, it automatically has our attention. It's a mouse, intact, with its box in decent condition and the corresponding documentation. According to the images published by the current owner (whose name has not been revealed), the mouse model dates back to 1989, but its production date places it in 1990.
The mouse has two buttons, ball tracking (the first consumer optical mouse would arrive almost a decade later), a huge proprietary interface (no, it's not SCSI, and it has 64 pins), and an aesthetic we could attribute to Andy Warhol disguised as a cosmonaut (if we ignore the fact that he died in 1987, of course). The mouse's serial number was written by hand on the warranty certificate, and it's accompanied by a stamp. Another detail I personally appreciate is the sheet with the general circuit of the mouse and the parts list. This is the antithesis of planned obsolescence: the idea is that the user uses the mouse for years, even decades, and with detailed information about its construction, there's always the possibility of a proper repair.
A Luxury Item
Buying this mouse wasn't just a technological leap for the user at the time, but also a very high-level economic commitment. The warranty certificate indicates the sum of 185 rubles at the top. Thanks to the magic of the web we can calculate that a "decadent, corrupt American, enemy of the Motherland" received 0.6 rubles per dollar in 1990, so the final price of the flashy mouse exceeds $300. If we consider that the average monthly salary was a little below those 185 rubles, there's no doubt we're facing a luxury item.
I hope the owner publishes more information in the future, or why not a video. If today we are reprogramming 30 or 40-year-old keyboards with a microcontroller, doing the same with a two-button mouse should be simpler.
