Kiev 15 Leonid Brezhnev

- Kiev-15 TTL Nº. 8003308 "Gift Camera" - Single lens reflex outfit. Kiev 15 TTL camera 24x36 mm, with Mir-1 Avtomat 2,8/37 mm Nº. 8003308, Helios-81 Avtomat 2/53 mm Nr. 8003308, Jupiter-9 Avtomat 2/85 mm Nº. 8003308, Jupiter-11 Avtomat 4/135 mm Nº. 8003308 and 2 color screw filters. All items are attached in a styled plate. Each item has the same serial number, in which are engraved the hammer and sickle and L. I. Brezhnev 75 years (Leonid Ilych Brezhnev 1906-1982, leader of Soviet Union 1964-1982). Origin: According to our sources this outfit was made as a gift to the former USSR head of state for his 75th birthday; Dec. 19th 1981, and was planned to be given to him at his visit to the Arsenal factory in Kiev at the same date (Leonid Ilych Brezhnev was born in Ukraine). The visit never occurred and Brezhnev became sick and died in the following year. The gift was kept at the factory. During the demise of the Soviet regime this outfit disappeared from the Arsenal factory and was further sold in an auction in May 2002 by a Russian collector.
At http://www.dvdtechcameras.com/collect/arsenal/1/k21.htm various similar "Gift Plates" outfits can be seen