VEF Spidola

VEF Spidola (Latvian: VEF Spīdola, Russian: ВЭФ Спидола) was the first mass-produced transistor radio with short wave band in the Soviet Union (tube short wave receivers were produced for many years before).

[2][3] It was named after the fictional witch Spīdola from the Latvian epic poem.

In many cases, the Spidola was used to listen to Western stations, such as the Voice of America, Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, BBC, and Deutsche Welle.

In Chukchi, the word spidola is generic for any portable transistor radio.

[7][8] There have been cases where, in criminal cases against Soviet dissidents, Spidolas have been confiscated as instruments of crime because they could be used to listen to Voice of America broadcasts (the good selectivity of the jamming stations meant that they had less impact).