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- VNESHPOSYLTORG - RUSSIAN GOODS CATALOGUE by PODAROGIFTS and AMTORG "All-Union Mail Order Trade Organization".

Published by VNESHPOSYLTORG, Moscow, USSR. Undated but circa 1960s.

Through this illustrated catalog individuals outside of the Soviet Union could order all sorts of Russian made goods and have them sent to relatives or others living in the Soviet Union. Products included VOLGA CARS, Russian made bicycles, radios, dishwashers, vacuum cleaners, watches, etc.

Softcovers, plastic spiral bound, 6x8.5 inches, 82 pages. Illustrated throughout with b&w photographs. Text in Russian and English.

GOOD condition, the covers have some creases and toning, the inner pages have some light toning to the edges, otherwise tight, bright, clean and unmarked. The illustrations of products are all bright and clear.

VNESHPOSYLTORG [AMTORG] had its offices in New York City. In 1971 its offices were bombed by the JDL.

PODAROGIFTS, representing products of VNESHPOSYLTORG [AMTORG], had a storefront in New York City. In 1971 the storefront was bombed by the J.A.R. "Jewish Armed Resistance".

About the 1971 PODAROGIFTS BOMBING (from the New York Times Dec. 6, 1971):

******A crude bomb exploded yes terday in the doorway of a Fifth Avenue gift shop specializing in Russian products. No injuries were reported.

About five minutes after the explosion at 5:45 P.M., The Associated Press reported it had received a telephone call from an unidentified man who said: "A Russian gift shop at Fifth Avenue and 27th Street has just been bombed by the Jewish Armed Resistance J.A.R. All those that trade with Russia beware. Let my people go. Good night"

Detectives of the bomb section said that apparently three or four aerosol cans taped together and set off by a lighted can of Sterno had caused the explosion.******

About the 1971 VNESHPOSYLTORG / AMTORG BOMBING (from the New York Times Apr. 23, 1971):

******A bomb In an attaché case exploded yesterday at the offices of the Amtorg Trading Corporation, the Soviet trade agency, on Lexington Avenue. No one was injured. The bomb went off about 20 minutes after the agency and The Associated Press and United Press International received telephone calls from a male caller who said:

"There have been several time bombs placed in the offices of Amtorg, at the Soviet freight office, at 355 Lexington Avenue. They will go off in less than 15 minutes. Free all Soviet Jewish prisoners. Let my people go. Never again."

Frank Hassett, engineer of the building at 40th Street, said he received a call just moments before the bomb exploded in the 19th floor stairwell at 5:37 P.M. He said: "They identified themselves as the Jewish Defense League. They told me to evacuate the building because the 19th floor was going to be bombed."

Amtorg takes up the entire 19th floor of the 22-story building. All floors between the 22d and 16th were evacuated. The explosion collapsed part of the ceiling on the 19th floor, blew out doors and windows, tore a hole in the concrete stairwell, destroyed chairs in the Amtorg office and touched off fires.******

About VNESHPOSYLTORG / AMTORG / PODAROGIFTS (from Wikipedia and elsewhere on the Internet):

******The All-Union Association Vneshposyltorg (All-Union Foreign Mail Order Trade Association) was an organization in the Soviet Union which handled trade in goods for hard currency. Vneshposyltorg sold consumer goods to foreigners with delivery within Soviet territory. This gave foreigners the opportunity to send gifts to their friends and relatives in the Soviet Union

Russian made goods could be ordered by catalog or through its Podarogifts Inc. storefront in New York City.******