Arsenal Kiev Vega Subminiature Cameras & KGB Cigarette Pack Concealments
In this video we cover the Kiev Vega (Киïв Вега) subminiature camera as well as the Vega 2. Both manufactured by the Soviet Union’s Arsenal (Арсенал) factory based in Ukraine. The Vega 2 was used by the Counterintelligence Service of the Ukrainian KGB to construct spy cameras in cigarette packets concealment devices. In the video we also present two such examples from 1975.
00:00 - Introduction
00:13 - History
00:34 - Kiev Vega
03:46 - Kiev Vega 2
04:29 - Comparison
05:49 - KGB history
07:25 - KGB-modified cameras
09:50 - Conclusion
11:01 - Closing
Kiev Vega 2 scanned manual:
References:
- Book: The Secret History of KGB Spy Cameras: 1945-1995, by Harold Keith Melton, Vladimir Alekseenko, Michael M. Hasco, Detlev Vreiseleben (2018)
- CameraPedia: Kiev Vega:
- CameraPedia: Kiev Vega 2:
- Camera Wiki: Arsenal:
- Camera Wiki: Minolta-16:
- Wikipedia: Arsenal Factory:
- Wikipedia: Committee for State Security (Ukraine): (Ukraine)
- USSR Photo: Kiev Vega 2 (export):
- USSR Photo: Cigarette Pack “Spy“ Camera: Pack “Spy“ Camera