Theremin's career had evolved alongside the Soviet state, but expanded way beyond geographic and ideological borders, and ultimately outlasted the USSR. He was born in in St. Petersburg, the grandson of the Tsar's court physician, and was already experimenting in the new field of electronics by the time the Russian Revolution had dethroned and executed Tsar Nicholas II, in While devising an apparatus to measure the density and electrical properties of gases under varying conditions of pressure and temperature, Theremin found a way to make the gases 'whistle' through earphones.
An unexpected and fateful side effect was that the whistle altered in pitch with every nearby movement of Theremin's hands. An amateur cellist, the budding inventor perceived the potential application of technology to music and fabricated a primitive loudspeaker so that his creation could be heard by others.
Two years later, he guided the hands of Soviet leader Vladimir Ilyich Lenin through a performance of Glinka's 'Skylark,' and thus won official government approval of his new instrument.
After Theremin's marriage and Lenin's demise, in , the military intelligence unit of the Red Army supported the idea of a European tour for Theremin and his creation, now called a 'termenvox,' hoping that the inventor might engage in technological espionage while showcasing his achievement on behalf of the Soviet state. Positive press prompted an invitation from the United States, and Theremin was welcomed to New York in by the Fords, Astors, and Guggenheims, alongside other jazz-age glitterati and the upper crust of the classical music community.
Tall and possessed of vulpine movie-star good looks, Theremin quickly gained an American following. He extended his stay, taking up residence in midtown Manhattan, formed a corporation, and in granted licensing and manufacturing rights under his patents to the up-and-coming Radio Corporation of America RCA. RCA renamed the instrument after its Russian inventor, and Theremin busied himself with performances and the creation of other theremin-like instruments, including fingerboard and keyboard models.
