In the late 1900s, many accordions were imported to Finland from the Soviet Union. These accordions, known as tourist toys, come in different types and are made in different factories. One Soviet-era factory known in Finland was the instrument factory Red Partisan, located in the Leningrad region. But the roots of the factory go back much further than just the Soviet Union. The history of the factory begins when in 1856 Franz-Adolf (Feodor Mihailovich) Mühlbach established a piano workshop in St Petersburg at Torgovaya 6. Later, the piano production moved to Ofitserskaya 3. Between 1886 and 1887, Feodor Mühlbach bought the 5th, 10th, and 8th. and 6. company and 7. The plots of land of the Izmailovsky regiment, where he set up a piano factory.
After Feodor Mühlbach’s death in 1895, the factory and plots of land were passed on to his son Fyodor Fyodorovich Mühlbach. At the 1896 All-Russian Industrial and Art Exhibition in Nizhny Novgorod, the F. Mühlbach Piano Factory was granted the right to use the Russian state emblem on its products. After the death of Fedor Fedorovich Mühlbach in 1901, the company was owned by his daughter Adele Fedorovna Nating. Nating’s husband was Adolf Ivanovich Nating, who served as a state adviser, director of the main German school in St Petersburg and director of the St Petersburg Women’s School. At the factory, Adolf was appointed production manager. In 1902, the factory employed 125 workers.
In 1917, after the October Revolution, the piano factory was nationalised and closed down. In the 1920s, the former F. Mühlbach piano factory housed the Sevzaples furniture factory. Since 1931, the building was known as Music Factory No. 5 (6 Krasnoarmeiskaja Street, house 7/10). Production included boxes for portable gramophones and various types of accordions. The factory was later renamed the Red Partisan.
During the Soviet era, the Red Partisan was dominated by various state actors. It is worth noting that although the company has changed its name several times over the years, the phrase “Red Partisan” has remained in the name of the factory. For example, in 1947 the factory was part of the musical instrument division of the local Ministry of Industry. In the 1970s, the factory was incorporated into the Leningrad Musical Instrument Manufacturing Organisation, which in turn was incorporated into the Rosmuzprom State Industrial Association for Musical Instrument Manufacturing in the early 1980s. After the fall of the Soviet Union, the company became a joint-stock company called Ilmera. The company was closed down in 2007.
Sources
https://www.companybest.ru/publications/60-svoboda/3549-fabrika-krasnyj-partizan.html (10.10.2024)
https://www.citywalls.ru/house10723.html (10.10.2024)