Integrated circuits with the logo of Elektronorgtechnika
Elektronorgtechnica (also spelled Electronorgtechnica, Russian: Всесою́зное Объедине́ние «Электро́норгтехника»,
romanized: Vsesoyúznoye Obyedinéniye "Elektrónorgtekhnika"), better known abbreviated as ELORG (Элорг), was a
state-owned organization with a monopoly on the import and export of computer support and hardware and software in the
Soviet Union.[1] It was controlled by the
Ministry of Foreign Trade of the USSR from 1971 to 1989.[2]
The company was associated with the export of Soviet design calculators,
Electronika being one brand that was exported, rebranding them as ELORG products.[3] Elorg also marketed the
Agat computer,[4] and imported IBM computers into the Soviet Union, starting with the
IBM System/360 Model 50 in 1971.[5]
Elorg copyright notice on the back cover of the 1987 edition of Tetris
ELORG was responsible for the licensing of the popular
video gameTetris.[9]Tetris was written by salaried programmers at the
Soviet Academy of Sciences, which was not allowed to carry out commercial activities directly.[1] As the game was owned by the state, all rights to the game worldwide were handled by ELORG.[10] In 1996 ELORG was reportedly a privatised Russian company which retained the rights to the Tetristrademark.[11][12]
ELORG was a partner in
The Tetris Company which licenses the Tetris name to game companies, along with Tetris creator
Alexey Pajitnov and businessman
Henk Rogers. Elorg was a 50 percent owner in the company until Rogers and Pajitnov bought ELORG's remaining rights around 2005.[13][14]