I found this insulator during my trip to St. Petersburg. As you may know, St. Peretsburg (Leningrad back then) was surrounded by german forces during the Great Patriotic war (World War II). The city starved and the Red Army fought relentlessly to break down the blocade. This insulator comes from a powerline that goes through one of the areas where the most fierce battles took place. The line itself was built in 1924 and originally had Hewlett insulators but many of those were consequently shattered during the war. In 1944 Leningrad blockade was removed and the Germans were driven away from the city. Workers began to repair the lines to restore normal power supply to Leningrad. Since one of the largest high-voltage insulator factories in Slavyansk still was in ruins and other factories could not fully satisfy the need in suspension insulators an order was placed within the Lend-lease programm. Suspension insulators were shipped by pacific convoys and delivered through the Vladivistok port. Some may have been shipped by atlantic convoys but I don't know this for sure. I know of four companies that delivered these insulators: Locke, Victor, Ohio Brass and Doulton. I also have one suspension that seems to have Westinghouse factory mark.

The insulator in the picture is a standard American 10 inch model and has black "V in a rectangle" stamp on it ("Victor" emblem). It was replaced a couple of years ago by glass suspensions and left behind in the swamp under the line. It's in a pretty good condition regarding its age and the fact that it has been in a swamp for several years.