From the first day of the war, the radio speakers were turned on day and night: the radio was the main source of news. Everyone, both children and adults, followed the course of events.
The radio speaker was used not only in the rear, but also on the battlefront: broadcasting points on the front line allowed soldiers to quickly learn about the situation on other fronts. The radio also kept up the morale of the soldiers. Until the very end of the Great Patriotic War, the Molotov speech, which later became a symbol of the era, was aired: “Our cause is just. The enemy shall be defeated. Victory will be ours”.
The radio speaker had several household names, such as “plate” or “frying pan”. In the modest Soviet household, the radio speaker was a noticeable part of the interior and sometimes even a source of pride to the homeowners.
The “plate” was produced at the Leningrad Plant named after Kalinin since 1927. The speaker was made of thick black paper, which was fastened to a frame. A volume control knob was placed in the center. The speakers of that model were placed on the table or hung on the wall. The latter was more popular. The radio speaker played only one channel of wire broadcasting.
In 1937, when the device began to be mass produced, there were still problems with education in the country: according to statistics, about one in five people over the age of 10 was illiterate. Far from Moscow, radio was the only source of information and culture. The famous “black plate” was important not only for spreading news, but also for propaganda broadcasts.
