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KGB BelOMO
USSR reproduction camera
- under construction
The Yolochka 1 RA-1, later referred to as the Yolka 2 S-64
(Russian: Ëлка С-64),
was a portable photographic document copier,
or reproduction camera,
manufactured from 1985 onwards at the
BelOMO
plant in Belarus.
It was used by law enforcement and intelligence agencies of the former USSR
and its Warsaw Pact allies, for quickly and covertly making
large numbers of photocopies.
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The unit consists of a base plate on which the document is placed.
At each side is an arm with a lamp, that illuminates the document from
the sides.
At the center is an arm holding a camera with an adjustable Industar 30 mm
f5.6 lens that focuses at short distances of less than 1 metre.
Furthermore, the hight of the camera can also be adjusted by extending the
length of the arm.
The arms of the camera and the sideways lamps are foldable, so that
the entire unit, including the camera, the arms, the lamps
and the power cable can be stored inside the base of the unit.
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When folded, the unit measures 375 x 265 x 75 mm, similar to a large
phone book,
and weights approx. 5 kg.
The folded unit can easily be hidden inside a common briefcase and can
be carried around inconspicuously. When needed, it can be setup in less
than a minute. All it needs is a nearby wall socket for powering the
sideways lamps. The camera is operated by means of a short
shutter-release cable. This avoids unsharp images caused by shaking
during long exposures.
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The centre piece of the reproduction system is the S-64 camera shown
in the image on the right. It has an Industar f5.6 lens with a
focal distance of 30 mm and a viewing angle of 50°.
Two film cassettes are mounted to the sides of the camera: one holding
the supply spool, the other one holding the take-up spool. Depending on the
thickness of the film, the cassettes can hold up to 40 metres of Micrat-N
or Micrat-200 film, which is equivalent to approx. 400 shots.
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During the Cold War, making photocopies in the Soviet Union (USSR)
was not as common as in the free Western world. In fact it was strickly
regulated and any reproduction cameras, like the S-64, were kept under locks.
They were commonly used by the police and by border security for making
copies of traveller's documents, passports, permits, etc.
As the final copy was 'printed' on
photographic paper, it was easily recognised as such.
The device was also used by the KGB.
The camera shows great resemblance to the Geopol (Геопол) camera, made
by BelOMO
during the 1970s. It has a similar size and uses nearly identical
film casettes that are clipped-on at both sides. It is believed that the
Geopol was a modified or improved version of the Yolka S-64 [2].
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Yolochka is sometimes written as Iolochka or Jolochka.
It means Christmas Tree.
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Yolka (Russian: Ëлка) is sometimes written as Jolka, Elka,
Jelka, Yelka and Елка.
It means Christmas Tree.
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Micrat is sometimes written as Mikrat.
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The camera used at the heart of the Yolochka (Yolka) system, was also used
in other 'specials', mainly for use by the Soviet intelligence agency KGB.
A good example of such a special is the modified Yolka (Yelka)
camera that is also described in Keith Melton's book Ultimate Spy [3].
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In this setup the camera body is used seperately and is mounted on a 90°
angled metal plate that can be used as a mounting bracket. The bracket was
designed to install the camera 'hanging-off' the side of a nightstand,
or bedside table, with the lens facing the floor. The bracket was held in place
by a heavy object or a couple of books.
Adjusting the height and position of the camera is rather critical when taking
copies of (secret) documents, so the operative had to use some simple
measuring tools in order to ensure sharp and correctly positioned shots...
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The camera was set to the longest exposure time to allow pictures to be
taken at ambient lighting conditions. In some cases the camera was modified
for making even longer exposures.
The unit shown here was used for covertly copying documents in
an airport hotel room during the 1980s.
Images to follow
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The diagram below shows the various features of the bare camera
which consists of a small metal body with a lens at the centre, and two
large detachable film cassettes. Mechanically, both film cassettes
are identical, but one of them is mounted upside down. Seen from the front,
the leftmost cassette is loaded with a fresh film,
whilst the rightmost one takes up the exposed film.
At the bottom is an axle with a pulley that is connected to the
spring-loaded automatic winding mechanism inside the camera body.
The axle drives the pulley of the takeup cassette by means of an
external spring-belt.
Also at the bottom are various stubs and screws, that allow the camera to be
fitted to a variety of concealments and mountings.
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#
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Size [cm]
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Height
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Remark
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1
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32 x 24
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40.5
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A4+
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2
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24 x 18
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31
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A5+
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3
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16 x 12
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21
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A6+
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4
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9 x 6.7
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13
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Camera in the lowest possible position
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© Crypto Museum. Created: Sunday 15 November 2015. Last changed: Monday, 21 January 2019 - 10:29 CET.
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