The first Russian computer mouse was used with the EC-1841 (IBM PC/XT compatible computer).
Sergei Frolov, a programmer and engineer from Saint-Petersburg, Russia, has compiled an extensive collection of Soviet calculators and computer accessories. He has graciously allowed us to reprint these photos of early Russian computer mice. You can see more of Sergei’s collection on his Soviet Calculators Collection Web site.
The early variant has a metal ball.
According to the blog English Russia, the words printed on the bottom tranlate into “The Manipulator For Graphical Information”.
This is the second old mouse in Sergei’s collection.
This classic input device has “The mouse” written on the top.
This version no longer has a metal ball.
This photo shows the mouse’s innerworkings.
The underside of another old Russian mouse.
According to the blog English Russia, the red digits are a Soviet inventory number, that was used by govermental companies for better control of the equipment. There is a word “Price ____ (blank)” embossed into the plastic, that’s a post Soviet phenomena. During the Soviet era the price was embossed into plastic parts of practically every item being sold in the shop, because the goverment set up the price for each item.
The left and right buttons on this mouse were labeled with and L and R.
The last old mouse in Sergei’s collection, this is a clone of a Genius mouse.
The original mouse and the clone
The bottom of the Genius clone
Bill Detwiler is the Editor for Technical Content and Ecosystem at Celonis. He is the former Editor in Chief of TechRepublic and previous host of TechRepublic's Dynamic Developer podcast and Cracking Open, CNET and TechRepublic's popular online show. Previously, Bill was an IT manager in the social research and energy industries. He has bachelor's and master's degrees from the University of Louisville, where he has also lectured on computer crime and crime prevention.
