Olga volunteers at a warehouse at the edge of Moscow containing tens of thousands of antique items – from Lenin busts, to 1950 televisions and radio to Soviet motorcycles and hot irons.
It is called the ‘Museum of Industrial Culture’ by the enthusiasts and volunteers that run it for no money. The museum survives on donations.
Olga has contributed to the ‘museum’ part of her boat motors collection, which she says may be the largest in Russia. She said it all started when her father gave her their old canoe motor. She was 11 at the time.
”His daughter needed a toy to play with,” she said jokingly. ”Little did he know that the gift would eventually lead to a museum collection.”
Olga, who lives by herself in the Moscow suburbs, says she has more than 100 boat motors. She stores them not only at the museum, but at her home and in her garage.
She said she is the only Russian member of the Antique Outboard Motor Club Inc., a society dedicated to the preservation and restoration of antique motors.