Fake Oktava's were comissioned by A.S.M. The UK based firm that did international distrubution for Oktava.   The story is, they went behind Oktava's backs and commisioned a Chinese company to make idential mics.  They are generally believed to be sold through Guitar Center.  

Fake Oktavas are sometimes difficult to detect. They were manufactured simultaneously, and were distributed at the same time to the same place, and by the same distrutors.  If you are buying a new Oktava there are no longer any know fakes being passsed off as new.  

Here I will list some ways to tell a fake, and de-bunk a couple of myths on the fake mics.

What's so bad about a fake? Well they're just different. Some of them aren't bad, some of them are, they seem to vary in quality, and there may have come from more then one Chinese factory. They work, it's a mic, you probably paid less then $100 for it, so worse case it's not that bad if you own one, but genuine Oktava are better.

First I'll start with the myths I have found widely circulated on the web:

Myth 1: Microphones marked MC are fakes and MK are authentic. If only it were that easy. Oktava has branded it's mics with both MC and MK. The C and K both stand for condenser... with the C it's written in English and the K it's in Russian. Going back to the Soviet times it was common for goods made for export to be labeled in English. Since the Soviets never wanted anyone to think they made bad products often times they would make the export versions better then the domestic versions, and for the Soviet people it would be prestigious to have something in your home that was 'made for export.'   There are domestic microphone in Russia marked MC which definitely aren't Chinese or even A.S.M. branded mics. Someone told me that domestic Oktava's marked MC and not MK were military spec. Granted in the Soviet time military spec really did mean quality, but this may be a myth in itself.

Myth 2: Microphones without serial numbers are fakes. Not true! Some early Oktavas also don't have serial numbers.

Myth 3: Microphones bought at Guitar Center or Musician's Friend are fakes. Not true! They sold mostly real Oktava microphones.

Myth 4: Microphones bought on close-out at Guitar Center are the fakes. Not true. Guitar Center's inventory was made up of legit and fake mics right up to the end.

Myth 5: Microphones in a black plastic box are always authentic. Nope. It's true the earliest Oktava's from A.S.M. came in a black box and were genuine, but some of the fakes were also in black boxes.

Myth 6: Microphones with the Oktava name written in English are fakes, and in Russian are real. Not that easy. Although fake Oktavas are written in English, so are some legit Oktavas.

OK, OK, so what does a real Oktava look like?

Here are some hints I can share in spotting a fake. Let’s go by model:

012:

Oktava's official page has infor on this one,  eBay won't let me post a link here, but do a search for it.

219:
There are no known fakes. That was easy.

319:
It appears to me that Phillips screws mean Chinese, and flat head screws mean Russian.

If there's a serial number, then the NO before it should look Russian. Russian's don't have the letter N, but do use NO to mean number, but the N always looks strange with a large serif on the bottom right corner. The Chinese copies lack this detail.

Shine a light through the screen. If you can see some numbers penciled-on below the capsule, it's Russian, especially if they look like their in Russian script. In Russian script the 1 has a GIANT serif on the top and none on the bottom, 9 looks exactly like an upside down 6 and both have a rounded bottom or top, and 7 has a line trough it. Also inside the mic on the transformer there will be pencil markings on the transformer, in Russian script, also keep in mind in Russia they use a comma ',' where we use a decimal '.' If you have no experience taking a microphone apart PLEASE don’t' check inside the mic, no matter how crude it may look, it's precise and easily damaged.

2500:
Fake Oktava 2500's come with a differently preamp/power supply, so compare the appearance of the suspect 2500 with a 2500 currently for sale new.

GENERAL INFO:

If the mic doesnt' bear the A.S.M. logo, you're authentic. Atleast they put their name on all their forgeries.

Trust older Oktavas, they used to come with the date printed on the bottom of the mic for example the year followed by the Russian letter 'G' which looks like out letter 'r' (for gody or year) 2003 and earlier are apparently safe.

Oktavas all over the world that are sold as new are legit, there are currently no counterfeit Oktavas being sold as new.

Oktava USA likes to fear monger a bit, especially on ebay. Claiming if you buy an Oktava's from anyone but them your risk of getting a forge is great, and that they are the ONLY authorized distributor of Oktava in North America, and only their dealers sell guaranteed authentic Oktavas. Not true, there is no exclusive distributor of Oktava in the US, anyone who gets their new Oktavas trough Oktava-Online is selling legit mics. All Electo-Harmonix branded Oktavas are legit, and the new OtkavaMod modified mics are also 100% authentic.

When buying a used Oktava you run the risk of buying a fake unless you're careful. But following these guidelines should help. If your seller isn't sure if they are selling a genuine mic refer them to this page, or ask them to allow you to inspect it first before committing. In general the risk of getting a fake is low if you look for the signs. That being the case you can save some money buying a used Oktava.   Happy hunting!

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION!

Oktava has reportedly began using Chinese components in some of their new 012's.   I have a suspision that these new microphones may even be manfucatured in China, not Tula, but by Oktava to their specs, so probably better then the A.S.M. copies.   They went from a hand made board to a machine make board.   The change in components came at the same time a change in packaging, as well as a change in the wooden storage box, my personal opinion is that all these changes at the same time means more then a slight change in components.   I called directly to Tula and spoke to a few people at the factory, and they swore that these mics are still made in Russia, just with Chinese capacitors, but there's part of me that doubted what I was being told, just an hunch, the official quote was that the new mics are made in Russia.    Anyway, even though official Oktavas may contain Chinese parts, it's all the more reason to buy a used one, for that hand-made mojo.