HI: Bicycle companies were not the only ones trading with the Soviet Union. It was common knowledge that the hard currency and trade sanctions imposed by the west played a role in bankrupting the Soviets. The trade unions in industial northern Italy were /are? mostly communist(leaning) and in lieu of money makes the world go round hard rubles( which were really so soft the exchange window clerk at the airport in Paris told my wife and I they didn't accept "funny money") so we brought a few back. The old barter system was alive and well. The Italians would send bikes and equipment to the Soviets and in return get travel and vacations to exotic, well known, and different never seen before places. That's why for a while the Russians had a fair amount of Italian equipment. The commercial goods produced in the Soviet Union were very shoddy and so the vacations were about the only thing going. Any goods the Soviets produced that had any quality was kept for sale in the tourist restricted hard currency only stores,Soviets unless party officials were not allowed in, foreign currency ownership by Soviets a felony, so that the Bolsheviks could try to raise as much hard currency as possible in those days to stave off collapse. My wife and I spent a month in U.S.S.R. back in '74 and could see what was really happening in contrast as to what we read in our papers or heard from our government. That's your Soviet bike connection and maybe I'll share my Bike experiences with you after a glass of two of champagne and some caviar. Don't have a Cinalli now, but someone should pic up the list and do a fresh job. Cinelli is one of the all time class acts and this research will be invaluable down the line. Ted Ernst.
> Thanks for the interesting replies to what seemed, I am sure, like the
> proverbial stupid question!
>
> A CR List member e-mailed privately saying that Cinelli supplied the USSR
> Olympic cycling team as well.
>
> But it seems that Cinelli did not, say like Legnano, Bianchi, De Rosa
> etc.,
> supply the famous pro teams. Or did they?
>
> It's a shame the Cinelli Registry is semi-comatose as so many folks revere
> the marque for all the right reasons and there is so little on the web or
> in
> print on it. I'd love to see Hilary Stone do one of his "Cycling Plus"
> articles on the Speciale Corsa. Surely this is one of the longest in
> production frames??
>
> Peter Kohler
> Washington DC USA