Looking at this old Soviet phone reminds me that I had an Orwellian office job in London in the early '90s where my supervisor cared only that I didn’t use the phone (there was one on every work station).
So rather than risk receiving incoming calls when he was around, I disconnected the bell.
Then when the coast was clear, I’d lift the handset from time to time to see if anyone was calling me.
I think this speaks to Soviet efficiency.
