User:Иван Викторович Ф/Ilych's lamp

"The Ilych’s lamp" – pathetic name of first house incandescent light bulbs in the houses of peasants and kolkhozniks in soviet Russia and the USSR.

In a modern language culture this idiom like many others sovietisms, stayed and got new meanings. Became colloquial synonym of incandescent light bulb.

The Ilych’s lamp – is the cliché of the USSR official propaganda. For example compilations of “proverbs of soviet people” published in the soviet times gave the following idiom showing contrast between pre-revolutionary and soviet periods: “There was a candle in the shed and now we got an Ilych’s lamp”.

This phrase appeared after Lenin’s visit to the Kashino village in 1920 on occasion of the launch of local powerplant distribution network made of old telegraph wires. Initially term ”Ilych’s lamp” related to the electrification of the USSR (GOELRO), especially of countryside. The eponymous photo by Arkady Shaikhet became symbolic, It was took in 1925 and published in “Ogonek” in part of series dedicated to the completion of building Shatura Power Station. Classic “Ilych’s lamp” is house incandescent light bulb, whose socket is hung to a celling by wire and dangling freely. There is no dome. In those years switch was located in a socket body, wiring was made using twisted two-core cable, Insulator (electricity) of each wire is textile braided. The wiring was attached on wood walls with ceramic insulators.

Литература

 * Лампочка Ильича в большом словаре русских прозвищ
 * Лампочка Ильича в словаре русской фразеологии