I have a couple of old Russian (Soviet) pipes from my days, 1980's-90's, working in the country (Russian Far East (Magadan, Vladivostok, and many points in between), Neither are briar, both heavily stained, both smoke reasonably well. Neither are in the regular rotation. They were gifts, I never saw any for sale in the markets or, the regional "Gums". At $30 I'd have it simply for the novelty/nostalgia. If it smoked acceptably, so much the better.
I knew many "party" functionaries, still clinging to the "old" politics, a pipe like that would be attractive to them. Now days? A new regime, bringing back the old ways? There's still many who would proudly display/smoke such.
I'm still confused by the nostalgia for the "old days." Many of my co-worked and friends were "children of the Gulags", their parents/grandparents having been sent to the "Far East" or, employed in the Gulag infrastructure by Stalin. One would think they would be full of resentment. A surprising number yearn for the "all controlling" government of the Czar or the Party. It's a wonder.