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In July 2013, Russia’s Federal Guard Service (FSO) reportedly ordered about 20 electric typewriters to put some sensitive documents on paper instead of creating them on computers. The reported aim was to reduce electronic routes through which information might be exposed—not to make documents impossible to steal or trace.
What did Russia buy, and who bought it?
The buyer was the Federal Guard Service, the agency responsible for protecting senior Russian officials—not the Kremlin administration as a generic institution. An AFP report published by SecurityWeek said a procurement notice called for electric typewriters at a cost of just over 486,000 rubles, then about $14,800. The Guardian and AFP reported a quantity of 20 machines.
Ars Technica reported that the Russian newspaper Izvestia identified the German-made Triumph-Adler Twen 180 as the model favored by the government. The reporting identifies the model, but does not establish that every machine in the order was independently verified as that exact model.
Why use typewriters for sensitive documents?
A computer can leave a document in stored files, printer queues, connected systems, or removable media. A typewriter does not create those same digital artifacts when it produces a paper page, so using one can reduce electronic exposure for documents drafted this way.
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An FSO source quoted by The Guardian connected the expanded use of paper documents to WikiLeaks disclosures, Edward Snowden’s revelations, and reports that Dmitry Medvedev had been monitored during the 2009 G20 summit in London. The source said the purchase had been planned for more than a year, however, so the Snowden news cycle is context for the decision, not proof that it alone triggered the order.
Did typewriters make the documents secure?
No. The reporting supports a narrower claim: typewriters can reduce certain electronic leak paths, but they do not guarantee secrecy. Paper can be stolen, copied, photographed, or mishandled. And a typewriter is not necessarily anonymous: distinctive type patterns can help investigators associate a document with the machine that produced it. That can aid accountability as well as leak investigations.
Rank #2
- Royal Classic portable manual typewriter includes manual
- Sturdy retro metal housing for durability
- Pre-installed black/red ribbon and paper support bar
- Full size keyboard 44 keys 88 symbols and Pica 87 font
- Spacebar repeat key variable line spacing and ribbon selector
How did the purchase fit Russia’s 2013 security concerns?
On February 14, 2013, Vladimir Putin called for a unified system to detect and resist computer attacks on Russian information resources in an official Kremlin transcript of an expanded FSB board meeting. In early July, a procurement notice for electric typewriters appeared on the state purchasing site, according to AFP. AFP, The Guardian, and other outlets reported the FSO order on July 11.
The typewriter purchase and Putin’s remarks point to contemporaneous concern about information security, but the available reporting does not establish that one directly caused the other. Nor does it establish how broadly the FSO used the machines after the reported procurement.
Quick Recap
Rank #4
- Metal housing
- 11 in. typing width
- 44 keys/88 characters
- Space bar with repeater key
- Line spacing
Rank #3
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