[0:00]In the Soviet Union, calculators were considered a luxury and most shops and stores used abacuses to calculate prices.
[0:07]In fact, there was a standard abacus model produced by the Soviets to be used as a calculator in state-owned shops, stores and government departments.
[0:15]The abacuses were designed to be large, so both the cashier and the customer could see the calculation.
[0:21]The practice of using abacuses as calculators was so common that when the Soviets first introduced everyday electronic calculators in the 1980s,
[0:29]people called them "electronic abacuses" instead of "calculators".
[0:32]Sometimes, cashiers and customers didn't trust the electronic calculators and asked to use abacuses instead.
[0:37]Today, there are still stores in rural areas of post-Soviet countries where older people use abacuses as calculators.
[0:43]Soviet made calculator abacuses are also becoming valuable collector's items for antique collectors nowadays.
