On April 20, 1967, a quality mark was introduced in the USSR. The purpose of its creation was to increase production efficiency and improve the characteristics of goods. The product quality mark is regulated by GOST 1.9-67 of April 7, 1967. The right to use it was applied by all republics of the Soviet Union in all sectors of the national economy. In the USSR, state commissions carried out certification of the quality of goods and, based on its results, decided on the right to use this mark. The state quality mark of the USSR was applied to especially important products that have passed certification and are of a mass or serial nature. It was first applied to electric motors manufactured at the Vladimir Ilyich Electromechanical Plant in Moscow. This event occurred on April 22, 1970.
Quality Mark History
Only having the title "Supplier of the Court of His Imperial Majesty", merchants had the right to supply the royal court with their products. It also made it possible to establish an imperial coat of arms on billboards. This title was issued for a period of two years, after which it was required to undergo a second procedure to confirm the quality of the products. It was impossible to inherit it.
Thus, thanks to a kind of prototype, the USSR quality mark appeared. In Russia, the mark of the supplier of the Court of His Imperial Majesty was placed on these types of products: marmalade produced at the A. Abrikosov factory , confectionery products manufactured by Adolf Siu (after the revolution, the Bolshevik factory) and other products that passed quality assessment.
Since 1829, in Russia, the right to place the tsar's coat of arms has undergone major changes. Only participating in major Russian exhibitions and fairs and winning in them, could one claim this honorable mark. Merchants and shopkeepers should have had absolutely high-quality goods, that is, without complaints. Their experience of participating in such fairs should have been at least eight years.
At the beginning of the 20th century, there were about thirty carriers of such an honorary title for a supplier.
Product quality
Quality is a combination of product properties that determine its suitability for use. For example, the quality of a car is determined by indicators of safety, reliability, manufacturability and a number of other characteristics that this type of product corresponds to. To determine how high-quality it is, it is necessary to carry out a number of complex and consistent measures to evaluate it. The solution to these issues in the Soviet Union was entrusted to the All-Union Institute for Scientific Research in the Field of Standardization (VNIIS).
Product Quality Categories
In the Soviet Union, product quality was assessed in three categories of quality: highest, first and second. Products that met and exceeded world quality standards belonged to the highest. The rating "first category" was assigned to goods that were produced in accordance with regulatory and technical documentation. For export deliveries, their release was carried out in accordance with the additional requirements of the exporting countries. The second category evaluated products that underwent obsolescence.
Quality label graphic
GOST 1.9-67 [1] regulated the application rules and the construction of the product quality mark itself. The mark should have been applied to the packaging, to the packaging, as well as to the product itself. Also, the USSR quality mark was duplicated in the documentation accompanying the product, in labels and tags.
Based on the results of inspections and examinations, the State Certification Commission made a decision on the right to use the mark by enterprises for various periods of time. As a rule, this period lasted from two to three years.
The picture "Quality Mark of the USSR" is a modified image of a five-pointed star - the heraldic symbol of the USSR. The letter K is inscribed in this figure at certain angles with strict observance of dimension lines. It means "Quality". The letter has a strict rotation of 90 °.
Star in quality mark
Some sources interpret the image of a star of the quality mark as a symbol of man. Five angles - the head and four limbs. And also in the image of the star of the sign, there is a connection with the ideogram and pentagram.
The five-pointed star is known not only as one of the heraldic signs, but also as the oldest symbol-ideogram. You can form it if you connect the same lines at an angle of 36 ° at each point. If you extend the lines to the center of the star so that they come together, you can form a pentagram. For the first time such images were used back in 3500 BC. e. Since ancient times, the pentagram is known as a charm from evil.
The presence of the quality mark on the products allowed us to have no doubt both in the characteristics of the goods and in the truth of the country of origin. What has a quality mark is made in the USSR.