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Russia GOST 7396 standard plugs and sockets |
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| The Russian GOST 7396 standard describes
technical specifications and safety requirements of plugs and sockets. The characteristics of GOST 7396 group C are
quite similar to IEC specifications. Group C has six categories: C1: unearthed plugs and sockets (6A, 10A, 16A); comparable to CEE 7/1 and 7/2 C2: earthed types, comparable to CEE 7/3 and 7/4; C3: earthed types, comparable to French CEE 7/5 and 7/6; C4: earthed hybrid types, comparable to CEE 7/7; C5: plugs comparable to Europlugs (2.5A), but also 6A unearthed Schuko/French hybrid plugs; C6: unearthed 16A hybrid plugs, comparable to CEE 7/17. |
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| 1 | Earthed
GOST 7396 C2 socket, rated at 10-16A, 250V. Hole diameter: of 5.5 mm. A
rating of both 10A and 16A indicate that the socket can be use houses
that still have a 10A local circuit, as well as more modern premises
with 16A circuits. {PO} |
| 2 | Not earthed GOST 7396 C1 socket, rated at 10A, 250V. Hole diameter: of 5.3 mm. {PO} |
| 3 | Older model than no.
2 of a not earthed GOST 7396 C1 socket, rated at 6A, 250V. Hole
diameter: of 4.5 mm. {PM} |
| 4 | Socket no. 3 has a
remarkable construction detail. To ensure a good contact between outlet
and pin, a spring presses a copper strip firmly against the pin (see
inset a). This feature results in optimal pin contact regardless pin
diameter. Inset b shows a contact of socket no. 2. The copper contact
strips have a reduced elasticity. After inserting a plug with 4.8 mm
pins the strips tend to stay wide open. Next, a plug with 4.0 mm pins
may not make good contact anymore. Inset c shows a more usual,
and safer type of contact, due to the additional spring that keeps the
strips in sufficiently closed position. |
| 5 | Earthed GOST 7396 C2
plug, rated at 16A, 250V. Pin diameter: 4.8 mm. {PO} Plug has both a Russian and Belarusian certification mark, see image nos. 13 and 15 (bottom). |
| 6 | Not earthed GOST 7396 C1 plug, rated at 6A, 250V. Pin diameter: 4.0 mm. Note that the plug will also fit in earthed, C2 sockets. See plug no. 7 for a model with a fully round base, that does not fit in C2 sockets. {PO} |
| 7 | Not earthed GOST 7396 C5 plug, rated at 6A, 250V. Pin diameter: 4.0 mm. Fits in C1, C2 and French-type sockets. |
| 8a | Russian appliance connector made of black plastic with porcelain tip. Indicated are a rating of 6A - 250V. Russian letters "ts" and "k" are abbreviations of respectively tsena (= price) and kopek (1/100 of a ruble). In the Soviet Union it was common practice to indicate the price of goods clearly; inflation was not an issue in a strictly regulated economy. You had to pay 44 kopeks for this type of connector. The logo of an unknown manufacturer shows the character M. Dating: probably 1960s - '80s. {RH} |  |
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| 8b | 10A
- 250V appliance connector. The plug tbears, yet unknown, marks. The price
tag is identical to no. 8a. Also inside they are very similar.
Why no. 8a is rated at 6A and no. 8b at 10A is unclear. 8b may have come
onto the market later than 8a. {MO} |
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| 9 | Russian
reel with 3.2 meter of two wire flat cable. Unknown brand name. It has
a logo with Cyrillic characters "EmKaZe", see inset top right. The
yellow rim has the following note: 220V up to 1200W Attention
! With maximum load fully unwind cable. The exact Russian wording
is shown below the reel. Elsewhere, a rating of 6A - 250V is indicated.
The flat cable has a Schuko/French hybrid plug with 4.0 mm pins;
outlets accept only plugs with 4.0 mm pins. {WM} |
| 10, 11 |
Russian
plug rated at 10A - 36V with two perpendicularly positioned pins. The
contact base gives the following information: 10 Ampere, 36 Volt. Plug has been made in "CCCP" = MADE IN USSR (Soyuz Sovetskikh Sotsialisticheskikh Respublik = Union of Soviet Socialist Republics). The USSR existed until 25 December 1991. A logo - diamond with letter E - can be seen at the center of the contact base. Plug diameter = 26.9 mm; pin width = 5.8 mm; pin length = 16.7 mm. {PO} The Wikipedia page on domestic AC power plugs and sockets explains the unusual low voltage for this type of plug: "In the former Soviet Union this socket1 was and still is commonly used for wiring in places where the voltage is lowered for safety purposes, like in schools, filling stations or in wet areas, and is rated 42 V2 10 A AC. Such an unusual connection is intended specifically to make the connection of standard higher-voltage equipment impossible." 1 this socket refers to a 2-slot outlet that has slots in a T-configuration (which resembles old US T-slot plugs) 2 it is assumed that the difference between 36V (plug) and 42V (socket) is insignificant. |
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| 12 | Not
earthed adapter
plug for three GOST 7396 C1 plugs. Pin diameter: 4.0 mm, diameter of
holes: 4.5 mm. Rating: 6A,
250V. {PO} |
| 13 | GOST mark of
conformity for mandatory verification. Photo has
been taken from socket no. 2, but it was also on nos. 1, 5 and 6. GOST is an acronym for GOsudarstvennyy STandart, which means state standard, initially developed in the Soviet Union and later adopted by the Russian Federation. |
| 14 | Logo on socket nos.
1 and 2. Both socket are manufactured by
Kuntsevo-Elektro OOO (≈ Ltd), Kuntsevo is a region in the southwestern
part of the
Moscow metropolitan area. The top logo might be the K-Electro logo, but
could not be verified. The bottom logo belongs to plug no. 6. Details
about the Russian company UNIVERSAL® are unknown. |
| 15 | Logos on GOST 7396
C2 plug no. 5. Top: probably logo of the - unknown - Russian
manufacturer. Bottom: СТБ mark of the National Certification, Standards, and Measurements Committee of the Republic of Belarus.* Countries of the Russian Federation - among others Belarus - have their own national standards which are based on GOST (Russian state standards, see image no. 13). * information given by Yevgeniy Kovalenkov. |
