About Ilyich’s bulb

“Ilyich’s bulb” is the colloquial name in the USSR for a household incandescent lamp used without a plafond.

The phrase “Ilyich’s bulb” appeared after V. I. Lenin’s trip to the village of Kashino in 1920 on the occasion of the launch of a local “power station” with a wiring network made of old telegraph wires. Initially, the concept of “Ilyich’s bulb” referred to the electrification of Russia, especially rural areas.

The trip of V.I. Lenin to Kashino took place on November 14, 1920 and was timed to the holiday in honor of the opening of the power plant. The construction of the local power station and the power distribution network was inspired by the speech of V.I. Lenin at the XX Congress of the Komsomol, where he pointed out the need to develop an economy based on electricity.

The distribution network was built at the expense of the agricultural partnership by the residents themselves in their personal time from a telegraph wire that had not been used for a long time. Dynamo car was made in Moscow. In one of the houses Vladimir Ilyich had a conversation with local peasants. After the conversation, V.I. Lenin and N.K. Krupskaya took pictures with the peasants, and then he spoke at a rally.

This trip had a great impact on Soviet culture. Subsequently, a story for children was written about this event, and a museum was formed in Kashino, although in the 1990s the museum fell apart and was stolen. Enthusiasts eager to revive the museum and the first power station (where the exhibits are just an oil engine and generator: everything else has been stolen) has remained. All the witnesses to the meeting with Lenin died long ago, and their descendants left for different cities and towns.

After the publication of a textbook photograph used as propaganda of the achievements of the Soviet regime, the concept of “Ilyich’s bulb” began to take on a negatively ironic connotation, especially since many villages in the countryside were not electrified even in the 1980s. Also, the name “Ilyich’s bulb” extended to all examples of the hastily solved problem of lighting in warehouses, production facilities, etc.

The classic "Illich lamp" is a household incandescent lamp, the cartridge of which is suspended from the ceiling by a wire (and hangs freely). No shade. Often, the power of the light bulb (or the supplied voltage) is too small for "normal" lighting.