The radio loudspeaker “Zarya” was officially called “a subscriber loudspeaker”, and popularly — “a dish”. It was connected to a radio broadcasting point and transmitted cable broadcasting programs: news, speeches of political and cultural figures, sports matches and more.

Such devices were produced by the Nizhny Novgorod (later Gorky) Communications Equipment Plant named after Vladimir Ilyich Lenin for 10 years, from 1930 to 1940. The “Zarya” was not as popular as, for example, the “Record” loudspeaker and its various modifications, but it was a reliable device.

At first, loudspeakers were installed in public places where people congregated en masse. Later, with the development of radio broadcasting, they became part of private homes. Pavel Petrovich Bazhov also had his own loudspeaker.

The writer highly valued it.

During the Great Patriotic War, for Bazhov, as for any other Soviet citizen in the rear, radio broadcasts were the fastest and the most secure way of finding out about the situation at the front. It was the radio that reported daily on the course of the battles, on the territories captured by the fascists and recaptured from them, on human losses and human exploits. From the loudspeaker, one could hear encouraging and parting words, reports and orders from the command or, eventually, favorite performers to relax and enjoy the music.

It was from such loudspeakers installed in cities and villages, at enterprises and in apartments, that people could listen to the familiar voice of Yuri Borisovich Levitan, who went live from the autumn of 1941 to the spring of 1943 from the studio in Sverdlovsk, where he had been evacuated for security reasons. It is worth noting that Levitan’s broadcasting studio, which was classified during the war, was not far from Bazhov’s house.

In besieged Leningrad, the loudspeakers performed another critical function: through them, the residents were informed about upcoming bombings. Thus, it is difficult to overestimate the role of the “dish” in the war years.

Pavel Petrovich used his old loudspeaker until 1949, when his 70th birthday and the 30th anniversary of the writer’s literary activity were celebrated. Among other significant gifts commemorating these dates, the hero of the day was presented with a large “Leningrad” radio receiver.