library cataloging question

[Steven Hill]

Dear colleagues,

We know the USSR joined the International Copyright Convention in 1973.
But does anyone know,  WHEN precisely did Soviet publishers begin
assigning "ISBN" numbers to each of their newly published books?

Or did the Soviets assign such numbers from the beginning (1973), but
perhaps did not print that "ISBN" visibly, on the back of the book's title page,
until a later year?

If I'm trying to verify whether certain Soviet books (post-1973) might have
been published in an English translation,  or not,  the lack of "ISBN"
probably makes that verification somewhat more difficult. (Esp. when books
were compendiums of writings by several different  authors,  assembled by
editors, and with, so-to-speak, a "random"  title...)

Gratefully,
Steven P Hill,
Univ. of Illinois (USA).

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